Morning journal and courier., 1891-03-17
ANTIGONE.
First Rehearsal of the Play at the
 Hyperion Yesterday Afternoon.

First Rehearsal of the Play at the
 Hyperion Yesterday Afternoon.
 A rehearsal of the Greek play of Antigone, to be given by ladies of New Haven, was held in the Hyperion yester- day afternoon, under the stage direction of Mr. Sargent as usual It was the first re- hearsal at the Hyperion. The previous rehearsals have been held at Warner Hall. The acting was capital for amateurs, being by no means mechanical, as is generally the case with such actors. It is quite wonderful how MT. Sargent managed to make so many criticisms as he did, and if he makes them act to his taste they will certainly be perfect. He throws his whole soul in it, acting with them, and making them feel, as it were, by intuition just what he means them to do.
 The proscenium or stage proper of the Greek play will be raisedDabout four feet | above the stage of the theater, leaving a space in front of it about twelve feet for l the chorus, which in the old Greek theater | the audience; but this would, of course, be impracticable in a modern theater. The chorus will consist, as in the play, of Theban elders, or senators, and the actors in this part will wear boards and carry the characteristic staff or sceptres. In addition to this, there will be supplementary chorus of fifteen maidens, supposed to represent part of the audience, who will, however, express their sympathies by taking part in the stasima or choral songs sung by the rest of the chorus in the interludes between the acts, or episodes, as the Greeks called them. I TNI- c-. beautiful and was written by Mendelssohn for the acting of the play in Berlin. The Greek play was primarily an act ot worship to the god Dionysius, and an altar is therefore placed in the center of the choral space lin addition to the one on the proscenium before the palace) round which the chorus dances and on which the supplementary chorus make their offer. ings and ibations on entering. A special feature of the acting will be the celebrated Bacchi dance by the chorus, which will take place in one of the interludes, and II which both choruses will take part.
 The scenery will be specially constructed for the occasion and designed to represent ] background. This was representation o1 the front of the royal palace, with three doors, from the middle of which the king and queen and their attendants entered the other two being used by the other characters. The costumes used will be those of ordinary Greek life, not the Dionysiac, usually used among the Greeks for tragedy.
 The time of the action is supposed to b. in the seventh or eighth century before Christ in the city of Thebes. Antigone if the daughter of Oedipus. the former king who has been now succeeded by Creon his brother-in-law. The two sons O. Oedipus have quarreled, and one of then had collected an army and made wa ! against Thebes, and met his death by thu hand of his brother. Antigone wishes tt bury him, but Creon will not suffer it, o1 the ground that he is traitor to hi country; and therefrom arises the argu ment of the play It it universall. acknowledged to be one of the greates tragedies of Sophocles, the greatest of thu tragedians.
 There will be three more rehearsals of thu play, two in the Hyperion, and one il Warner hail on Friday next
 1 The auction sale of boxes and choice o1 seats will be held on Saturday next, Marcl 21. The premium will be for the cnoic only. The prices of seats will be for tn the parquet and the first four rows il parquet circle and balcony, $2.50; other seats in parquet circle and balcony, S1. 50 general admission S1.
 The report that the ladies will act th play in the Metropolitan opera house il New York is incorrect. They have not been invited to do so.