New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-05-14
"MORE THAN QUEEN"
EMILE BERGERATs PLAY PICTURING
JOSEPHINE AND NAPOLEON.
PERFORMANCE AT THE PoRTE-sAINT-
xAprTS THEATRE

Queen" play in FIVE acts. by Emile Bergerat.
The new play Is not exactly a specimen OF the
anecdotic style. such as. for example, Nine. de
Lavalette." which is winning applause at the
Vaudeville. In that style any ordinary occurrence.
such would be reported In newspaper gossip is
taken as the basis and its successive episodes
made to pass In procession before eyes. In
More than Queen the author proposes 10 trace q
whole life. at least large part OF it. without
attempting 10 link the different pictures TO each
other by any philosophc idea. The play Is series
OF tableaux and It's successive scenes play. 10 a
certain extent. the part of narrative In the same
manner the Life of Rembrandt has recently been
retold for us at the theatre and terribly
bored by It. in spite Of two or three fairly good
scenes. and in spite Of the genius for style which
the authors showed
remember seeing a piece Of that kind. in my
childhood In which the elder Dumas conducted
Napoleon all the way from the school at Brenne
TO St. Helena. must admit that Dumas. who was
a marvellous playwright and therefore felt in
stinctively that there could be interest In play
without unity. had conceived a personage-the spy,
who from the shadow. watched the hero.
counseed him, extricated him from difficulties,
always ready to sacrifice himself for him, and
whose devotion the Emperor only learned at the
end II absurd invention. from the historical
point OF view, and believe some clever people
made fun OF II: but It happy from the dra-
matte standpoint for It linked together all the cpl
sodes of the play by one common Idea.
am inclined to call these plays Biographical
Dramas. Nothing is required but to cut up the life
OF a celebrated parsonage into scenes. I can only
two subjects in which this style is indicated -
and that because they belong to the religious order
The first Is Christ: the second. Joan OF Arc Joseph
Fabre has written the story OF Christ for the
theatre In this fashion. 1t is mystery-pay, which
takes Jesus at Bethlehem and conducts him 10
Calvary. As for Joan OF Arc, there Is scarcely any
other way. least in France. OF dealing with her.
It would be almost a sacriege to touch the story.
These works accordingly. not listened TO for
their dramatic interest: people edited by them,
which is something altogether different.
Do not bring up against me The Samaritan
Woman" which Nine Sarah Bernhardt revived
with such success. W. Rostands work begins to
be really interesting and pathetic only in the act
from which the figure OF Jesus Is absent. Then
the poet is at liberty paint human passions, and
In order to reveal bit OF history. to lift the sacred
veil OF legend.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL PLAY.
I believe It TO be impossible to construct a bio
graphical play which will hold the spectators at
tention from beginning TO end, and satisfy him.
There will probably be- here there, more or
less striking scene. more or less impressive stage
setting-but the whole will be fatiguing More
than Queen" does not contradict this generanza-
ton. The audience made no secret OF being bored
by the first FIVE scenes, only the last two woke
them up because there the catastrophe. which was
pathetic and tragic. was seen approaching.
More than Queen" is the biography OF Josephine.
from the day OF her first meeting with Bonaparte
TO that other on which he repudlated her. TO marry
Mare-Iouise. gypsy had predicted TO the beauti-
'fuI Creole in her childhood that she would be
more than queen but that her atness would
| only have one period, and that short one. This
| prophecy. to which her Imagination gave ready
| credence dominated the life of Josephine. and
Of
~ the author had been careful bring Il out at the
| start and to recall II different points OF the
| drama even at the expense of giving the fortune
teller a considerable part She would. at least
have been more amusing than Talleyrand
| Emile P.rgerh has been accused Of portraying a
| false Josephine. You have only to read Frederic
| Masson's Josephine de Beauharnais" and Jose
| phine Empress and Queen" or Larroumets mas
| terly article entitled THE True Josephine" to be
| convinced how much Bergerats portrait differs
from the reality. But for any drama In which his
| tory plays a part, be It anecdotic or Geographic
the real truth is the legend, or In other WORDS Is
| what the public believes 10 be true.
Now what Is the current opinion on Josephine'
Henri Monnier who very exact and mi
| mute observer Of popular ways and IDEAS. depicts
two excellent concierges who are talking OF LOUIS
| XVIII whose restoration they have just witnessed
| and OF the Emperor. whom they regret
You see my dear" says Nine. Bergeret to her
| neighbor the Emperor. like you or me- ike every
body made his mistakee-just like anybody else
| I've made EN- and dare say you have. But when
a mans lucky enough TO have vile IKE Josephine
on a throne, ought 10 STICK 10 her-aho ths'
lust what he didn't do. II his nature was sucn that
he had TO have amusement, he had plenty OF
chances TO get 1T needn't say any more II 1t was
n son he wanted for his crown. he had one ready
10 his hand-for all he had to do was just to follow
my advice-and didn't grudse 1t to him. gave II
to him in the middle OF the Champs Elysees: You
want a son-well, adopt Eugene There was noun
ING as sood-looking as Eugene horseback ahead
OF his troops Well he didn't listen to me- but
that's not all He married-whom? An Austrian a
handsome failure that afterwards married some
kind OF a sergeant-msjor in her own country
CHANGING VIEWS OF JOSEPHINE
WAS myself brought up In these ideas and senti-
ments During my youth | heard people about me
saw The sweet. charming Josephine. Inc goou
angel OF Napoleon little frivolous perhaps Du'
so amiable! II is only In the last few years tna'
this opinion has begun 20 be shaken by new pupnca-
tons But how many people have read them Inc
multitude still swears by the good the charming
the lovely Josephine Bergerat then. has done rght
to paint her In the colors given by legend and ac-
cepted by the public. Truth on the stage. say
once more is what the man In the street thihKs 10
be true Nothing can possibly be gained by running
counter TO his opinion Half century from no" II
NAV be necessary II another Josephine Is put on
~ r.crasen, her ns Indifferent egotistical clumsy
a crowned trollop And all this will not be done 70
90, any nearer TO the truth but simply TO make her
conform more closely 10 the public opinion OF the
year 1850
The first scene is a sort OF prologue. II there can
be a prologue where there Is no action. IL taxes
place In the garden OF the Palais Eedh'e' vi INC
18th vendemiaire OF the year Ill
We see a Young woman walking about With her
lapdog under her arm and a friend by her side
This young woman is Nine. de Beauhrnais OF
rather Nine Hading The beauty OF Nine. Hadins
is perhaps trihe TOO opulent and massive TO repre-
sent Josephine correctly but she possesses the grace
OF the Creole. a superb and victorious grace. sne
,rakes a charming picture-gay smiling. selling to
all purchasers the coffee which she gets from Mar
Unique
Her pet dog escapes from her; young man In a
military cloak brings him back TO her This youna
soldier is Bonaparte-or Coquelln. as you please
You all have In your minds the pale ana emaciatec