The sun., 1897-02-07
COLUMBIA TO GIVE A PLAY.
STUDENT Actors BARD at WORK
REHEI RISING.

a dtngy room In an uptown nall, that has seen
many rshearsals Id its time. now surrenders
unauslinedly to its present occupants. The at
mosphere of peroxide hair and iashy neckties
that nourlsbed In the place during its posses
sion By the ahoruses Of various opera COM
panies has disappeared; . new and o strange
one has taken Its place. The room Is as
decided in character as II ever was, al
though the difference 10 great On the wooden
benches about the walls arc now lines Of fresh
faced young men. A fox terrier gambols un-
conhnedly about the room. There IL an odor OF
pipe smoke, and brisrwoods lie about on every
side. These young men who are taking their
work so seriously are mem osrs Of tho Columbia
College Musical Society. and they are flushing
their rehearsals. The play 10 tn be given next
week.
They are all very much in earnest about II.
The tall fellow with tho gray hat and the SOL
emn expression has written the music. He
starss over his folded arms at the singers with
as much deliberstion and question In his look as
Nine. Cosima " agner might show when she is
selecting singers for Bayrsuth. He leads .
quartet, marking the time with his hands. IL
is perfectly clear from tho satisfied expression
of his face that the singers have succeeded In
doing his work Justice. The liorettst has no
such opportunity for sharing In the direction Of
his part of tho entertainment. He can only
behind him. and an air of tsnss though some
what disguised interest In the procsedings He
10 hearing every word that the college actors
speak. He hears them N he walks across the
room, and he listens closely whom he stops
for . moment or two to Join the groups that are
scattered about the room.
"Bow-all bow" reechoes through the room.
and Richard Barker. the stage manager. makes
it known that he is in tho room That's the
cue for bow"
That is also tho cue for every body to look at
Mr.. Barker. and IS the young men repeat the
lines and make their bow the author and the
composer have turned TO look at the stage man
aser. He is quiet In . moment II the actors bow
in accordance with their Instructions But II
they don't succeed at hrst they try. try again
until the stage manager Is satisfied.
"Cross thors-come down this way. Don't
say your words like that. Go slower about IL,
like this; 'This-profsssionAl-lAu g hin g-wfll-
ruin-me.' Say It like that. Now. all over
again. Commence at that speech and let's have
the whole thing over"
Tho actors are delighted to have the whole
thing over. They are willing to do It as often
the stage manager suggests. Their companions
who make up the chorus play the other roles
have grown very blase. They neither watch nor
listen. Tho fox terrier hurriss about with the
characteristic preponderancso of nervous energy
over hxed purpose that Is . trait Of his kind.
The pipes pun. The young men look impor-
tAnt The author aud the composer grow more
serioua The business manager. on whose brow
"deliberatlon sits with public care" smokes .
long cigar. and knits his brow a. he stares at
the tips of his polished boots.
Come on Ike this" Mr.. Barker calls out.
But the young man who 10 to act Cleopatra
10 apparently unable to come on " like this" So
the stage man ager leaves his seat At the table.
walks through the door that serves as q sort
of . proscenium arch. and mimics Just the
should assume. The Cleopatra in her tweed
suit was amusing enough with only her min
Sis.rsnca 10 al. other saters sut NM Ss.s, ne,
assumption OF feminine manners would have
up.s. the eomposuEe of any body but an inter.
men cracks q smile as tho stage man
aser trips over the floor. When he
is resumed only 10 BE- int.rrupted again BY some
particularly emphatic direction from Mr.. Bar
mons into Activ. service the tall and tho1rhtful
composer. The young men loange and smoke:
ties receive. thr-ateus TO brins on an attAes Of
nervous prostration by his unconnned sayety.
and the rehearsal as Il progresses is viewed BY
The young men have been rehear.ing " Cleo
patrs' for nearly month now. and they feel as
experienced As the oldest stager. Catch them
look king Interested In what the others doingl
Find them looking As though they were any
thing but profoundly bored by the whole busi-
ness! Not muchl they will step out in front OF
The stage mansser wnsn the times comes aud
them as well As their names for years: even
though they have been repeating them over and
time they looked so Awfully Indifferent The
amateurs soon learn to DO lust as professional
their youthful looks. their quiet drsss and re-
hned manner. they might have been profess
But they are only the mem bers OF tn. Column
biA College Musical socisty, which has succeed
ed the strollers and become really the nrst
genuinely undergraduate dramatic society that
Colum bA College ever had. Formerly there
was an organization known As the Columbia Col
lege Dramatic Club. which contained among its
mem bers some men who really were In Columb blA
and some who were undsrgraduAtss. But the
friends Of the prominent members OF this older
men-were generally most conspicuous. The
but son others o bs
.tudsas: in SOM. ''ta' OF the % soiiegs depart, H
been near Columbia and never had any idea OF
going. SO the organization wNs not much more
Normal College. After . while the Absurdity OF
tho business becam. so apparent that this club
With the college. and went into business on iys
own hook. When tho air was once cleared In
this way, 1t became possible for an orEanizAtion
sentative OF the college and the student inter-
ests. The present musical society fitted that
place. ana It's performances during the few
years OF Its eX stence have resulted In very sub
stantial contributions to the college athletic
funds.
This year tho performance will again be on
tirely tho work OF the Undergraduate. The bur-
lesque In to be called CLEOPATRA" and will
spectfully psrvert some OF the information
about that interesting Egyptian sovereign that
has come down to this day. The book 10 by
Clarence G. Sargent, the lyrics by A. A. Powers,
and the music by Donald MacGreTor. The
scene Of tho hrst act Is laid in Egypt and tho
second passes In . public square in Rome. Tho
historical characters to DO used in the ourlesque
will be Marcus Art0nius, Osiris, NestOr, Judtcus
Ler. Scdrtg. Memn0n. OctdrttLs, Cleopatra, and
Chnrmi0n. The actors will be Garrett Chat
field. q. w. d. kesly; Harold u. Hall. Henry q.
+. ChataIn, Arthur Ware, Is. Is. Lieb, Theodore
Blondell Charles +. w ood. VI. B. Bogart. Henry
q. Hershheld. J, L. Conover. &. II. Macken, and
Frederick w. Brown.
The college actors will have the assistance OF
a professional orchestra, to be conducted by the
com poser. The expense OF the production will
amount to moro than $4,000, FOR the musical
society. like all amateur college associations,
makes the error OF believing that the audiences
demand sumptuous scenery and costumes,
when. as a matter OF fact. they are interested
in the actors only. The first performance Of
the buris.que viii be given on Feb. Is, and IL
tviIl ha nj ed hara hrDu n hOut the weak n a