THE FRENCH PLAY

The dress rehearsal of "Le Pedant Joue" was given last night in Brattle Hall. In many ways it was satisfactory, but there were numerous faults which, however, can easily be modified before the regular performances.

The most noticeable fault was the over-prominent, strained and labored acting. There were many groupings of useless characters on the stage, and a tendency towards long and wearing some soliloquies. The last two acts showed much skill in construction, and went off fairly smoothly. The scene chosen for all three acts was the square in front of the College of Beauvais. It was well made up, and the moonlight effect in the last act was excellent. The costumes were especially good, and in keeping with the characters.

A. S. Dixey '02, Granger, as the pedant, hardly had enough of the manner of an old man to make his acting harmonious. His state presence was easy but his delivery was indistinct and his pronunciation hurried and poor. H. B. Stanton '00, as Chateaufort, the bullying captain, played a rather difficult part with a great deal of credit. His manner was necessarily extravagant, but he was inclined to overdo his part and to rant. F. W. Morrison '00 played the part of a peasant girl with much spirit, and kept in complete harmony with his character throughout. He delivered a difficult soliloquy with excellent effect, and was uniform in his drollness.

B. F. Bell '00, as De la Tremblaye, the lover of Manon, had but little to do. His acting, however, was so consistently good that it is to be regretted that he was not assigned to a more important part. Charlot Granger, son of the pedant, was well-played by R. Goelet '02. The most natural and consistent actor was A. S. Hills '00, as the valet of Charlot Granger. His manner was always easy and his pronunciation clear. J. A. Dix '02, as the servant of Granger, was very droll and pleasing at times in spite of his extravagant part. The part of Manon was taken by R. B. Bowler '02. He had very little to do, but was slightly more feminine and natural than F. Watson '02, who played the more difficult part of Genevote.

The ballets showed careful training, and were well received. In the first one, E. B. Ahlborn '02, as La Fortune, was painfully careful and seemingly needed more practice to be altogether at his case. The "caprices" were spirited and well-drilled, but showed a great lack of lightness on their feet which detracted much from their otherwise excellent showing. The minuet was graceful and very well executed, though a little too much carelessness was shown, even for a dress rehearsal. The music, furnished by the Bohemian Orchestra, was appropriately chosen and well appreciated.

Professor de Sumichrast lectured yesterday afternoon on the coming Cercle Francais play. He said in part:

College plays are very popular and always have been, for colleges were the early homes of plays. This performance, however, brings a new era of French plays into Harvard, as Cyrano de Bergerac is the first writer of his kind who has been reproduced on the college stage. The selection of this play is an excellent one for two reasons; because it was written by Cyrano de Bergerac and because it deals with one of the leading French colleges. The introduction of the book is probably the better part, as it gives a clear idea of Cyrano himself and of his works. He was an extremely clever writer, but by no means a genius. He has neither the touch not power of staging plays which most French writers possess, but he sets his works forth in a way that have an undeniable charm and grace. It was Cyrano's idea, in "Le Pedant Joue," to make his audiences laugh, and he has succeeded admirably. The play is similar to, but on a much higher plane than the modern vaudeville.

It is a false idea that the whole play centers around Granger. The chief character is Corbineli, who runs the plot, upon whom the whole effect depends, and who is the life and soul of the comedy. Next in importance is Chateaufort, the boaster, who is always trying to ruin some one. Pierre Paquier is the stupid servant who acts as messenger between Granger and Genevote. These three characters are the chief comedians, who turn the play from a tragedy to a comedy.