The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-20
"ROMEO" IN ARABIC.


we take our seats in the low wooden
| theater to witness performance OF
| William Shakespeare's romantic TRACE
dy Romeo and Juliet'-in Arabic.
From our box facing this stage we look
down on sea of red tarbooshes, broken
here and there by the turban of a
sheikh. On our left a few harem boxes
with white lace curtains drawn tightly
| across the front indicate that the fair
sex are not entirely shut out from the
joys of the drama. The peep-holes orig
inally cut to enable the women to obtain
a clear view of the stage have been in
| several instances materially enlarged by
the hands of the fair playgoers, and we
catch now and then glimpse of a face,
| the flash of an earring and the red glow
of lighted cigarette.
| Impatient for the play to begin, the
occupants of the back benches stamp
their feet with logged persistence. and
after ten minutes of this amusement the
curtain is rung up, revealing the entire
| company, stiff and erect, formed in two
rows, the principals, of course, in the
| foreground.
| In a doleful chant punctuated with
| mournful groans we have the prologue,
and assuredly the "misadventured, pite
Gus overthrows" Of the lovers of Verona
never fathomed the depths of woe sug-
gested by this Arab choir The curtain
falls amid vociferous applause, and five
minutes later rises again, revealing the
amorous Romeo clad in red doublet and
sky-blue trunks, gazing with rapture at
the balcony of his lady love.
Our Romeo, a noted singer-in the
Arab style-pours forth his tale of love
In frenzied song, and at each pause the
sympathetic audience chime in with
deep and dolorous "A-h-h-h- h-h,'
rolling up their eyes meanwhile, after
the manner q diners at charity ban
quet when the chairman in his post I
prandial speech dlates on the sufferings
of the starving poor
No Juliet appearing, the actor comes
down the stage apparently to secure the
sympathy of the house, which groans
"A h hi -h-h," as one man, to
stimulate him to still greater efforts. !
Romeo harangues now the balcony. now |
his audience. breaking here and there
into song with strange facial contor- .
tons. the inevitable accompaniment of
Arab vocal music.
IhC iONSi passionate dpptuio CIV
heard at last. At the tiny window of
the little balcony the face of substan-
tial Juliet appears, and, while the fair
heroine delivers her soliloquy Romeo,
with ecstatc gestures, turks in the
shade on the o. p. side. Then, reveal
ing himself to the damsels's window,
and pours forth once more his amorous
story in a very agony of love.
The lady, judging from her response,
is not to be easily won. Voluble of
speech and matter of-fact in tone, she
seems to say: How inconsiderate- Of
you-young- man-to e-here-at-this-
unearthly- hour-to make ak
of-all-the- neiGhbors" and then, as a
squeaky voice within cries Juliet she
slams the window in his face and incon-
tinently withdraws.
In sporting parlance Romeo Is not to
be denied. Retiring to his corner on the
O. P. side he fervently clasps his hands ]
and heaves deep signs and then as the
lady appears again. he resumes his seat.
This time the fair Juliet proves more re- {
sponsive but again the squeaky voice
within breaks off the wooing, and, again,
the ardent lover retires to his appointed
corner. At the third essay binding {
vows are exchanged and having had the i
window slammed in his face once more. t
Romeo cries 'Sleep in peace" and the /
act is done. !
My mentor assures me that there is /
good literary work in the version of y
Romeo and Juliet that is being +
played But the story itself has been {
tempered with. The garru- c
lous old nurse does not appear, and the 8
County of Paris furnishes all the comic d
relief vouchsafed by the translator. f
This doughty noblemans costume con- /
sists of brown velvet doublet, sky blue |
which only continue to g
the knee, ending in little lace frill; I
striped socks and brown slippers. JUL
ct houts him to his face whareat the C
Arab play-goers howl with delight. t
A curious assembly this, from the a
western standpoint At the utra-senti- Y
mental scenes many of them sway their
bodies to and fro to the accompaniment s
Of their melancholy and appreciative t
Ah-h-h-h-h's." But when in the street \
crawl Mercutio and Tybalt fall hilarity a
oud and bosterous prevails. and the n
victims are carried off the n
tage amid the stentorian laughter of S
hose for whose behoof they have died. n
The admiration of the house, though, is Il
avished freely on the lovers especially 6,
n Romeo, and when Juliet, dressed for s
Ter wedding in a white nuns yelling Il
costume, with a lace shawl draped on v
Ter head, appears, the universal cries of 81
oh h h-h!" must be extremely graf ii
flying to the lady's soul Greater still 81
re the marks of melancholy approba- d.
ion reserved for the parting scene, to
When, after the ill-starred Tybalt's fall, r
romeo, with frenZied cries bids a long w
arewell to the lady of his heart.
Though lovers signs draw melancholy ey
owls from the region of the Arab slip in
err corporal sufferings fail to harrow tt
he Arab heart. In the last scene al the sc
air Juliet's tomb, when a perfect holo- HI
aust is offered to the god of love, it Is
he endless passionate chant of young
.omeo alone that holds the house
,omeo indeed is long a-dying; not so r
oor County Paris who, dispatched
18th a casual thrust of his rivals
word, promptly yields up the ghost
mid the delighted laughter of his coun- ~
ymen in front. Silence may reign d.
lille Romeo and Juliet in turn set up az
leir everlasting rest" but when old "a