Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-06-04
BEAUTIFUL ZEPHRA,
Pageant and Opera Combined.

\
suceeofuI, at the Auditorium Last
Evtning--th, story Of the piece. the
Carnival Of Dances and the Grand Am-
s1oniAn March.
Lephra is an harmonious ensemble Of
youth. beauty and cL.va.ry amid rich
scenic surroundings and 10 varied and pic
tures4ue costumes o. satin and velvet: The
poetry Of motion as exemplf-d IN the in
trca.e movements Of numerous dance
steps and in the military eyoluiiOns Of cav
alters and AmazOns. captivating music
which tells charming, fancful story Of
love triumphant over intrigue.
l. is pageant AMI opera combined, and
the large audience which fled out Of the
A auditorium asst evening was enthusiastic
In praise Of the most ambitious uudertak-
ing tina, local amateurs have ever put up
OF the stage-em0racing scenery TO the
value Of thousands Of dollars. a cast Of
80 people and 40 costumes. The pres
entsti0u vas under the auspices Of the
Vermont Wheel club. and vas directed BY
the author. L. W. Ayerill Of Chicago. The
costumes were designed By his sister. Mrs.
Emma Marie Foster.
The story Of Zephra, from a Morse
legend. Is a. follows:
King D-ci1s. the storm King while passing
through bis kiug1ym one DAY, discover, 10 The
but o. an cd vitcn a BEAUTIFUL orphan girl whom
Le a1pp-s. an1 glv.1g her The maine Neyera- De-
Goes sL- shall sI-C--1 O. his crown a11 klugiJ ul.
B-tw-en The clans u hl1g D-cus and Prince
Ju.a Uhy are pyth subjects = I-pnra- tt- Z leeu
o. MYTH there a. existed Tor years bitter frui.
tut JlLa, beng true typ q noble manhood.
el1-aYyrs O. ELECT recJuclAsIJu with the
lri az la-. tl- doughty prLc~ 1Hu- 1isgIl-e and
-u'-r- III Storm k.lg's castle iet-rmi1e1 70 -
H.H. .aH -
favor he fails IL this u1t Instead meets the
t--altlfll N-y-ra. who Las non grown 20 ~ a
handsome ua1-u. He wins tn p-omise q her
hand 10 marriage. t--s back O. Lls own country.
an a. tb- anlla. f.,e - the Queen. a. which
tltu~ are held al TIE dances gall-s and r-v-s q
tie Queen sui -1ts De- present.. b ,rl,-f az court
ana demands the hand " S-y-rz 10 marriage.
EErag-I al tLls. I'-als ral shes the Princess %
tn .c- caves - NorllAu1 Juua j. acquainted u
tbs ~ BE fairy Ep1u.Qtt-r Il Sey-ra. H has
ten g. L~phra. obtains as-ls'aLc- from her. AID
after many l~-l.tIs attempts r.---.l-- the Prin.
go, from her eapt9rs am reveals To- p-r.dy q
l'-e.ls o. the g--e-. Hl1 taE.sa-s tim forever
from her pr-s-n--
The hrst scene Of the frs. &C. is laid al
the castle OF King DeciuY on the bank Of
the Lake Njord. and the curtain rises on
the followers Of The king seated In a gar
den enjoying themselves after the manner
Of soldiers of duty. The princess arrives
and there ar wAisperings Of troubles be-
tween the two houses. Neyera is called
upon for song and the "B05olink" is
rendered. Jula arrives. and after the
male chorus Onward March" the com-
pauy leaves fJr the auuua. f-te Of The
Queen. During The tw..gh. the mirth-
provoking Mixes arrive, one a. a time.
Jnc-e sam. The dude. policeman. Ch.namau
and Indian ar represented and there are
: m-l--ts ia regulation Brownie costumes
with bag s,omachs and spindle legs Each
enters with music appropriate 20 the
character. 4 srO;esque dance and song is
given, and warning from the Mike
king. WHO appears on the balcony, causes
the Mixes 10 give way 20 eight newsboys
Of the BOwery type. Their "l4g2" news
boys song and dance is loudly eucored.
The third scene IS laid in the royal gar
/ dens Of Queen Zephra There Is a grand
assembling Of the clans, and more than
100 persons are crowded upon the stage at
one time. The Hail to the Queen
brings out the full volume Of the chorus
with excellent effect Zephra arrives and
Is escorted 10 her seat Of state. King De
Gus appears and his solo Il Am King"
merits the enthusiastic encore which is
accorded il. Alexis, the chamberlain,
voices the wish OF the people that the
queen may enjoy health and rule for many
:
ing over the kingdom breaks when Juna
asks the hand of Neyera. Decius is en-
ragged, and spuns Juna's offer of friend
ship. Unis, the fairy godmother Of Ney-
era. appears and presents Zephra a tails
man which will bring aid whenever needed.
The chorus and the grand tableau brings
out all the members Of the company.
Act second opens with a love scene be-
tween Juna and Neyera outside the walls
Of Decius's castle. Two Of the most al
tractIve musical numbers are here intro
duced-Junas solo III Thine Eyes" and
the duet, I'm Never Leave You. Dear"
Flora arrives with a message from Decius
Juna departs, but before Neyera can leave
Decius appears. In passion he denounces
her for her tryst with luna. Neyera,
while acknowledging the reverence due a
parent, declares her own right in matter
Of the heart, and a stormy scene ensues in
which Decius attempts to s,rangle her. but
finally calls the guards 10 lead her away 10
the castle dungeon. Flora informs Juna
of the course Of events and he secretly en-
tiers the castle TO libeIate Neyera. but she
has been spirited away 10 the ice palace of
the north. Juna informs the Queen. who
summons Decius before her He is
charged with secreting his daughter, but
he replies insolently and defies the Queen
to take the girl from him. Zephra then
brings into play the magic talisman, trans
porting the entire company to the frozen
north. Unis appears and with her assist
ance the Princess is liberated.
The third scene represents the Queen
and other dignitaries seated in the
beautiful grotto of golden ferns. A carnival
of dancing is given before them. La
Cigale' introduces Is misses in a two-step.
One-half of the dancers are dressed as
pages in satin and velvet and the other
half as Marguerites. The beauty of this
figure lies in the formation with hoops of
flowers. No more graceful dancing is ever
seen than the duet introduced in this con-
nection by Marion knight and Flossie
Howe. THE Graces," five in number, in
white drapincs withIred trimmings, appear
in the Magnolia Blossom waltz, the last
half of the figure being devoted to pos
ings TO the music Of the Star Spangled
Banner, the central figure, Edith Farr.
waving silken flag. The dance of the
New Woman" brings in five smoothly
shaver young men in stunning costumes
OF boomers, vests, womanish collars and
ties and wigs. They perform number of
grotesque steps with a zest which is re-
freshing, and make one of the hits of the
evening. One of the prettiest and most
difficult dances is by the Maids" ten
young women in striking costumes of scar
let satin over white netting, who execute a
varity of solo steps. Rich calcium light eff
fects have embellished all these dances.
and after so much vivid coloring the eve is