The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-06

1nm.n .h bSS purlesqne o. the scene Where's
up bodily and carries her on the stage.
In 'The Princess and tho Butterfly" Arthur
Pinoro uses four languages, including the
tongue In which the play is written. In Its
original form, French, italian, and Hungarian
arc spoken by two Of tho characters in the play.
In the version Of the play which Mr.. Frohman
uses at the Lyceum tho Hungarian disappears
entirety, the French remains In only one speech
ana there is little of the italian. Pinoro has
been addicted to the use Of foreign languages
as u means Of creating atmosphere ever since
The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith,' and the slight
scene at the rising Of the curtain when two
servants talked together in Italian was the
most striking novelty in dramatic writing that
tho stage had seen in some time. But this in
cidental treatment of plays was never fol-
lowed by anybody else, and very s~cnsibly. 1t
is ono OF the fixed conventions of the stage that
persons who are not supposed to understand
ono another's speech can readily converse to-
gether. That convention 10 about as well es.
taolished as the conception of tho stage. as q
TO vary it by the use of foreign languages for
the sake of the color they. may give to a scene
is an efiectetion, unworthy = writer Of Mr.:
and the butterfly Ro has carried It to an extont
9ne9ualled in any of his former plays. and
much Of this artificial pose.
In the scene OF the Princess Pdnnonta's
young Oriei delivers several long speeches in
French, to which the Princess replies in the
same ;s ne Language; and the speech &c ,f Of the servants VA
It is. indeed. very English French. But Mr..
Irohman has cut the scene out Of the play, Just
Ian when she heard the band boneath her Win.
dows playing the Rakoczy march. The sem
more justiaabie as Indicating tho state Of her
mind at that particular moment. Under. the
, eR%ot ion,t e her 10, r ree ,Sn SIsE ,d Fay ,I zolf f,.. in
and that brief speech has the same effect as the
Princess's. Hungarian words in recalling to the
effect the means are scarcely Justified, as not
one spectator in ten is as 9 rule capable Of un.
sound Of 9. strange tongue can scarcely create
any valuable result in 9 play. and its use is less
p ssaSS sss w shsn Il II t { S0 sss not Th az irs Sns s.S afn
lar. But spoken on the stage they are heard but
once, and 4 they are not understood then their
such an illustrious example as Mr.. Pinero
would not make the affectation popular.
A stage manager who oame to New York not
long ago to superintend the local production Of
q foreign play expressed great surprise at the
celebrity with which all dramas are got ready
for tho stage. "The average length Of time
taken hero to rehearse o play" he said, els four
weeks. That happens when all the conditions
are favorable and when there 10 no especial
hurry. In many cases so much time is not pos
sible. but the average performance carefully
undertaken has that much preparation. In
London and Franco that would DO considered
about time enough to let The actors learn their
speeches thoroughly and the positions they are
to assume on tho stage. That is the outline, az
It were, Of tho picture, and after that details
which really mako 1t finished and complete
ought to DO put in. That requires two or three
weeks more. which, in tho foreign theatre,
would be devoted to drilling the performers
carefully in every shade and variation Of speech.
According to tho point Of view that maintains
in other countries. plays produced in New York
always need about three weeks moro OF rehear.
sal than they ever get. Ono often hears that
the French eotors rehearse for a very brief time.
That is true of some Of their plays, such as lie
Cid 'Ernani,' and the other works of the classi.
cal repertoire. They have very little rehearsal
because the actors who play them mt the Odeon or
the Theatre Francais have been carefully trained
IN she Se siga,t tSep ee an on t The stSae. OF T eveTy Ie llne
them in the conservatories, and by the time they
get the opportunity to act the roles every detail
So the classic plays are In fact rehearsed for q
very short time.
works. there Is an endless amount of trouble
taken over details which, so far as I can see.
oially important in the conversational plays Of
modern life, in which everything depends on the
denCacy with which the lines are spoken. In
such works the actors arc made to repeat their
speeches over and over again. One instance of
the effectiveness OF this careful training would
be seen in Secret Service which was rehearsed
for a much longer period than the average play.
William Gillette, have been told, rehearscd
one of his actors every day for a month on one
particular speech. The Importance of the pre-.
liminary work lies largely in the fact that II the
actors do not acquire their finish before the first
performance they never do get 1t. If the play
succeeds they think that it Is not worth while
To take the trouble. If 1t fails, they know it Is
not. That ia one reason why conversations
plays OF little incident with only studies Of char
scter and bright talk to depend on have so little
chance of success here. 1t is above all ncces
sary that these lines should DO delivered with
just the right emphasis and expression. But sc
far az 1 can see, there is never t. me enough fol
those qualities to be impaired to American
plays. When the curtain Is about to be raised
the actors have learned little more than q gen
eral idea of the way in which their words are tc
be uttered and the positions they are to take or
the stage. AS a rule, about one-half the time
and care spent on the first production of q play
in London or Paris is considered necessary here
This is not true merely because tho prompt
books Of many European pieces are sent ovcl
and tho directions for the performance are very
explicit. 1t Is @ tradition in this country tina
only II certain amount-to our foreign ideas al
inadequate amounted time should DO devoted
TO rehearsals."