The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-01-09
ABOUT INV AND OLD PLAYS.
A COMEDY FROM TIE FRENCH
OF EDMOND ROSTAND.
PORT ens q tho Romsnesques' Given u
Q Fore Piece- Philips's "a In .
Looktng Gisss' and Mnler's tho
Dsnites'' After Years OF Neglect.

Danitos" After Years OF Neglect.
When one Of Edmond Rostand's earlier
comedies, the Romanesques,' was re-
Gently performed at Q matinee OF the Acad-
emy Of Dramatic Arts, the first OF It's two
acts was described In The Sun as singu-
hrly amusing and making by Itself a COM
plete play, with no need Of the much-less
satisfactory moiety. The good portion
was placed In tho bill at the Madison Square
Theatre last night as a fore piece to Sweet
and Twenty The experiment had a
happy result. The audience enjoyed the
half hour OF tho Romanesques' keenly,
for various reasons. The oddly OF the
play, the facility Of the performance and
the fame Of the author combined TO reach
a remarkable success In q small but de-
lightful way.
This Rostand play Il q travesty Of Romeo
and Juliet The French verso has been
translated Into English rhyme by an anony-
nous writer. AS the curtain rises, a boy
and a girl are standing on benches at either
side OF a garden wall. They are extremely
romantic lovers. The youth Is reading TO
his sweetheart a passage from Shakes
peare's tragedy. and h is a rapt listener.
They readily imagine that they are very
like Romeo and Juliet. not only because
they know they love eaoh other intensely,
but also because they believe their fathers
are hateful enemies. and that their own
clandestine trysts are extremely dangerous.
The fact "a, however, hat the parents are
DESTROYS Of q marriage between the young
sters, and, as a means to that end, have
falsely pretended that a feud exists be-
tween the families. Their idea Is that a
show OF violent opposition will hasten the
courtship to a betrothel, and so It does.
While the humor Of this conceit had been
apparent In the semi-amateur representa-
ton. 1t was left to be developed fully by
clever professional actors. The young
lovers became charmingly romantic. Eliza
beth Tyree made a comedy boy and Isabel
Irving a lovely girl. Their encounter
across the garden wall was charming with
innocent fervor and childish recklessDess.
It was too pretty and natural to seem abb
surd. The audience smiled amiably. but
did not laugh. The levity set In when W.
II. Thompson and Ellis N. Harris discussed
their plot and, being surprised at 1t by the
son and daughter. had TO engage In a mock
fight in order TO keep w the deception.
Mr.. Thompson was particularly unotuous
AS n KDlUIH COThDlTdNOTs VI W hllF BOAllh
the action ran from comedy Into something
like farce.
The concluding ten minutes Of the half
hour were merry with a burlesque of an
attempted abduction OF the girl and a res
cue by the boy. Stanley Darb, as the
mimic rufian hired by the parents TO oon-
duct the sham outrage, gave the right
exaggeration to his foolery. But through
all his antics and those Of his gang, In their
prearranged seizure Of the maiden and
their fight from the sword OF the youth, the
'romanesques' bore themselves seriously
and were q pleasant sight. II would have
seemed q pity II, In the picturesque tsbleau
that ended the quaint play with parental
forgiveness, these ardent lovers had
seen the chief abductor rise from the ground,
whereon thoy thought he lay wounded.
and present to the father his bill for the
Job.
The American drama Of The Danitee'
is the weeks revival at the American. and.
judging BY the delight Of the audiences. 1t
isa good choice. People who are particular
may observe that the construction is wo-
fully old fashioned and clumsy, but the
story OF Mormonism IL still engrossing.
1t took nearly as ANY person TO write
IL as oollaborate In a modern London musi-
cal farce or a French melodrama labelled
by Victorien Sardou.' Joaquin Miller,
the poet and novelist, took the material
for the play TO Mckee Rankin, who saw
10 much In II that was good that he thought.
80 he said, Of making Of IL a drama In two
parts TO be acted In successive evenings.
Instead. he hired a man 10 help him drama
tire the Miller material. But three authors
were not enough, and Mr.. Rankin brought
John Habberton In as a fourth. His CON
'hbution was a published short story that
fitted so well into the narrative as 70 make
q nAEanlafA NhNYH nRN eIn Ana AAnNatnlmH
the reception OF the sc!Ioolmistress. Even
the names Of the characters la Mr.. HabbeT-
tons tale have been used. That was a
quarter OF a century ago.
In its present resurrection after years Of
oblivion THE DAnites' II wrongly an
uounced as M~cKeeItAnkin's ainousd drama
Sandy. the heroic role that Mr.. Rankin
used 10 act, Is adequately taken by james
Z Wilson II was as Billy Piper, the bogus
boy fugitive FROM AormoL revonge. thai
Mrs Mckee Rankin. who has only recently
reminded US la The GiH and tho Judge
what an exceptionally fine actress she IL.
made a great success ~ a boy Tho con
~plcuOusHsss of that part had made Mr.
Miller think Billy Pir~f' would b. a good
title for bic play Georgia Noi4.s tAkcs
the role clarmugly At the American
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