Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-02-22


Bergerac" last night. / am SO glad
Cyrano did not marry Roxane, but saw
fit to die by tree. Il always like those
outdoor deaths) before he could clasp
her in his arms and murmur in stage
breath, dearest one, mine forever,
mine to hold until the end Of the
world" He saved us the humiliation
of imagining him In a few weeks 10
smoking Jacket and chin whiskers, de-
claring to Roxane, jealous and with I'M
curled hair and slippers down at the
heel, that as one Byron said marriage
is the death knell of love-" Rostand
knew what he was about when he
killed Cyrano, just as Shakespeare
knew when to remove Romeo and Juliet
from possibilities of squabbles over
dreassmakers' bills and boiled mutton.
Lcye when it is making, on the stage
lis a delightfully."- steaming dish, the
| flavor Of which intoxicates you. Love
when it is made-on the stage--is
heavy, soggy mass, and only the funny
| man in the matrimonial squabble can
make it palatahle. Cyrano stands the
| test of two seasons better than does a
popular debutante. Last year every
thing was Cyrano. Everybody was
reading the book, everybody was seeing
the play. Cyrano hats were the rage,
and | think there was even a Cyrano
corset, although there is no mention of
any such article in Rostand's play.
l don't think Roxane knew anything of
such uncomfortable apparel. People
| who had never heard of Rostand before
| courted him with familiarity, and Tow
Cyrano, with its variations of pronun-
citation. fs back again with Mansfield.
It is difficult to imagine Cyrano with
out Mansfield; he seems cut out for the
part. Miss Evelyn as Roxane is a
| picture, but she Is part Of the scenery,
that is all. !.
Gan the world loves lover" and
| Cyrano, brave and pathetic, brings out
| the rocket handkerchiefs. People
ashamed to be seen crying, jam their
| opera glasses against their eyes, strong
| minded women swallow Jumps in their
| threats one after another, like hot dump
| lings / don't SEQ how Roxane could
have loved Christian when Cyrano, as
Mansfield represents him, was In the
| field. | think every woman in the
audience mentally decided il she were
hanging over that balcony and Chris
tain and Cyrano were to appear, Cyrano
could give Christian minute handicap
and then win by two heats. You see
it is the love in the play that wins the
women, and many Of the men, too.
Love! love! lovel The paraquet, the
balcony and the amphitheatre are full
Of it. When you start to learn new
language you always find yourself con-
fronted with the verb ito love-" ip.
variahly the normal Tyre of the first
we hear students declaring that he, and
| and fhau and chm havn lnuad Tr
love, shall love and will love, and the
verb Is always regular And yet on
the stage, alas, there is no verb so SIR
regular"
On the stage it counts for every thing,
In lawn tennis 1t counts nothing.
But we are talking of the stage now
If Roxane had not loved Christian
and had loved Cyrano--but there would
have been no play, and she would have
married Cyrano, and the curtain would
have gone down on the first act on a
steam heated fiat with baby grand
piano, n profusion of iardinieres, and
impossible hangings-l wonder what
would have become of that nose in a
steam heated fat. Cyiano's nose is a
feature you never forget. l wonder II
it is putty or wax. All it is just as
we'll Royane did not marry Cyrano.
Think OF children inheriting that
nasal appendage. am afraid they
could not carry 1t through life with that
grand, dignified air Cyrano does. /
guess Il learned that in PHILADELPHIA
Rostand knew best, after all.
But, as Beth says, for real matinee
girls lover, give me Sothern. Sothern
of the ierky walk, Sothern of the fearful
voice, Sothern, than whom no other
man can say with such feeling in his
tone, ~ love you." Don't you Ie-
memer the jerk in his voice and in his
walk when he strides across the stage
with that pathetic droop to his eyes,
and when he says, kitty" - jerk
"Kitty'--ierk-"m my Kitty Terrill."
There is much uniform in 1.-THE
Song of the Sword" We say 1t last
week. 1t is just an old fashioned war
play and has real live horse in it.
They love in the old fashioned way.
You, know the heroine is going to love
the hero from the beginning, and the
hero loves the heroine the minute he
sees her. Even the baby in the gal.
lery in its mothers arms this baby is
a regular st-niehter) knew that. You
can't keep anything from theatrical
baby. OF course the regular theatre
goer Is not quite so certain, for there
are the usual Interruptions, DISCUSSES,
intercepted letters, lost dispatches and
suspension of distrust, but at last
the heroine gives in and they love Just
as hard DIS they can. But the babe
knew she would give in. 1t takes babes
and stockings to see through the trans.
parencies OF modern plays. Virginia
Harmed made as attractive loved one
as can be imagined, and Sothern, like
a true soldier, loves her madly, and nc
one can better that combination in
loye-Sothern and soldier.
1t is just the sort of n MAY that
leaves good taste in your mouth. and
the curtain goes down amidst visions
OF orange blossoms and Hymen's bless
ing. Sometimes feel quite put out as
l think that the sweet young man and
woman, who have billed and cooed and
suffered from all kinds of three act
drama Interruptions, should be dragged
away from us Just as they are about to
be married. We have taken such
trouble to sec that they did get each
other in the end. We sit for three
, hours and see them do nothing but
gave the way for final Sat last" from
!, him, and eurele of dearest" from
her. This little episode generally takes
place, stage centre in the heroine's
drawing room, while the housemaid
and her lover, the funny old man and
, the buxom lass who has been PLAYING
with him, the Juveniles and the cid
lady stand around in the background,
while two policemen are Jerking the
william out of the door. Sometimes IL