New-York tribune., 1894-04-21
THE CHILD IN "HANNELRs
MIR. GERRY OBJECTS TO HER Acrrvc
HIS PROTEST TO THE MAYOR AND THE Ma,
AYERS ARGUMENTS AGAINST 1T.

| AYERS ARGUMENTS AGAINST IT
| The promised production OF Gerhart IIauptma,,,.
! play, "Hannele." at the Fifth Avenue Thes,,.
seems TO be not quite certain. Elbrldge T Co.
the president of the Society for the Preventlon :.
Cruelty to Children, objects to the empoymen, :.
Alice Pierce In 1t, and az she Is to play the leaa,
part the refusal Of the Mayor to permit her to -.
II nc shall refuse will stop the play altogether ",
Gerry yesterday addressed the following proes, !.
the Mayor
This society has received notice Of an applcatn,
for your consent pursuant 70 Penal Code sec;oss
the exhibition Of Alice NJ Pierce. aged nh..Ss
years in speaking parts only no singing or dane.
Twenty -eighth-st. and Broadway for six evenns..
and two matinees weekly from April % 70 May /;
protests against your consent being given 10 ~
application first upon the ground Of the lmploS::
Jury TO the health and morals OF the child =" III
BY the courtesy of the managers Of the exhibitio.
the play, which IS a translation from the German
and in two parts: The plot OF the piece consists ia
the child in question: OF httie glrI who, after ID.
treatment. is rescued from drowning and visited by
the Chrtstian religion In so doing the names :,
Almighty Cod Of our Lord Jesus Christ and Of hs
ticularly in connection with the unpardonabe xa
against Him. After this the child Is supposed "a
see visions and apparitons, OF her dead mother
who appears in the form of an angel and describe,
TO her the attractions OF Paradise and subsequently,
| Of Angel IA
represented on the stage In a most ghastly and ap-
palng manner. The second part OF the piece, which
IS contained in a separate Iype%rItIen m MSS, then
the angelic visitation. ana without narratlng al
the details her doubt as to Us realty or the mental
impression made upon her, she Is hnally supposed
die and IL placed in coffin where she Is visited BY
variety Of other children ana eventually BY on.
who has done her harm. Then tand ms Is the mos
impous part Of the whole plecel Fersonage who
= other r., han Wss our m 3a ano.s sns
the scene. with the auXiarles OF unnatural light
etc. and in His own words ron on lHtayy H9y writ pei,
iyely dead from the coffin. The play begins with
the Of our Be ssed Lord as the initial word
a well-known hymn. and finishes with his personal
appearance. This revolving ana horrible trayesty q
a resurrection, as a theatrical eXhplton IN public
theatre IS not only perfectly shocAhg ana az Va.
rance with public decency, but Is wei calculated
In the mind OF a nervous child. 10 create a mental
TO say nothing Of the awful basphemy In which Sd.
is thus compelled to take part; Not only IS such
performance one which should De suppressed eg
law in all details but 50 far as the child is con.
cerned II she were allowed - take part N H. al
persons of any wise assisting or promoting her 50 e
do would be liza BILE arrest under Section 2ss OF tn.
Penal code, cannot imagine wen a periormanc.
child than an exhibition Of the character OF the ore
in question. 10 say nothing OF tne shocE 10 us ner
vous system from the suggestive apparluons ap
pealng powerfully to the imagination
The managers have offered 70 STRIKE out the o.
whole pay hinges on the action OF the child In The
matter If you will personally peruse the two MSS
NV descrirtion of it, | sincerely trust YOU will Do
so before granting the application in any FORM
The author OF the pay. Mr. Hauptmann arrived
in Nen-York yesterday. He said 10 a Tribune re.
porter: Il trust that here. as everywhere else The
public will come 10 the theatre entirely unpre!l.
diced re.ying upon its own judgment The STATE
ment that the Christ has a speaking part IS 10,
true The person in the play called the stranger
IS no person at all He IS appart!on. which
Hannele sees in her derium. existing only IN the
head OF the girl The only being that has been
,,krr fraA
Now this teacher appears to the s!r the embot'
ment Of everything that is good and noble There.
fore In her delirium. when her thoughts crowd a
her mind. the centre always remains this form O.
the teacher Gottwld. lie appears u her, as
were. in holy light"
car. Rosenfeli one Of the Resented orotaHA
who manage the play. was w.th Mr. haIplmana
He said that Mr.. Gerry must have read the play
hurriedy, as he had evidently misunderstood som.
parts Of H. The Christ was present In the pay
only IN the ina gnston Of the child. She reyefet
her old teacher. and mistook him FOR the Chrlst
/: was he who raised her from the conn, a~
seemed 70 lead her toward Heaven. and W.
he who was called the Stranger. but this was ou
In the child's vision. No real miracle was suppose
to be worked In the pay. and the child was D"
raised from the dead except in her oTn dream
As 70 the nervous shock - the child. Mr RosenieA
said that would come. II all. a, The rahearsA.s
of which there hal been several already, bdt tae'e
was 10 danger OF &. The chri Vas an actor ana
her father had been an actor, * Was ony acuhs "
her and the persons who might appear 20 y.
audience as surprising visions were - hel on! ~.
fellow actors. There waS .ess danger ~ a nervous
shock 20 her than 20 the audience. -.
Theodore Rosenfeld explained yesterday tnst @ !ns
child who To play the part Wa nofh iI I9s.on S
in January 1873 and was Therefore over Hlteeaa
years old sixteen being the age at whicn sne ,oo.a
play whatever she pleased without inter'eres.s.'
She was a child he thought. OF renarkanle talens
ard her appearance in the play MoIli he'p 70 % va.
her for a useful stage career. There was HQ1H.s
in the play ne insisted to offend moral setsiUns!'
IL had been played different theatres I'D F.soge,
including the Court Theatre In Berlin Wben u.e
Emperor himself n. and II han nor peeh III.
bdden or objected TO. lie dt NOT see "nii
a play that was moral enough for Germany shoSu.s
not be moral enough for America. he ADDED tns.
the child and her mother. who was a "IdoN, Nes.
poor. The girl acted for six weeks last slihei' ~
t25 week--Since then she had not actei AZ a.
and the $50 which she then earned was an ". mn, ~
come that she and her mother had had from mar us
10 this They had both been feeling mu.h e.as.s .
al the prospect OF this engagement ana they VIZ WI.
now both alarmed at the possibility OF the MaiTVt
refusal TO let the girl act. by which they "oulu ~
deprived Of the means OF living 10 when they W.
looking forward. Mr. Rosenfeld wished 70 h.SS Si,
whether IL was the more immoral 70 alio" w. u.'
play, which he declared had no obJectonapIe hs". e
ures whatever to be performed. or 10 deprive 80 u.
needy people OF the help that was IN store loI y,
The Mayor did not decide yesterday whethWsI u
allow the child 20 act or not. but II was oensst,..ss
that he would finally refuse the permission WIN"