Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-19
Society Turns Out in
Force to Greet
Tragedienne
Thousands Of Persons Make Journey
to Venice to Witness Production
Of sardou's Masterpiece,
"La sorciere"
by WILLIAM HAMILTON CLINE

Sarah Bernhard the worlds greatest
actress, opened brief season of drama
last night for the delectation of Los An
geles and it's vicinity. To the musical
surge of the swells of the sea, which
rolled and tumbled and beat about the
foundations of this temporary temple
of Thespis, erstwhile beer garden, her
soft and singing French found utter
ance, and the voice of the deep kept
resonant concord While the white
caps Tapped the piers, the salvos of ap-
plause above them quite drowned their
mutterings, and when silence hung
spellbound on the wondrous art Of La
Bernhardt, they murmured in monoto-
nous monotone their own chorus of ap-
prevail The sublimest sea greeted the
supreme Sarah; each recognized the
rank and greatness of the other, and
each accorded to the other the full
measure of acknowledgement and
courtesy.
In many queer and uncanny places
have the greed of the theatrical trust
and the exploitation of the publicity
promoter doomed frances idol to play.
She has appeared in theaters and in
tents, in stables and in parks, in sheds
and in gardens, and even in a temple
unique, the bizarre, the extraordinary,
the engagement in the Venice palm
garden exceeds all. There is nothing to
compare with it in all theatrical his
tory.
In the first place, Venice itself is
eighteen miles from Los Angeles,
whence all the multitude save a modi-
cum from thereabouts perforce jour-
neyed. BY train, by trolley, by auto
and by carriage, we went; we fiocked
thitherward, helter-skelter, pell NELL.
We began to go before the afternoon
waned; we were still en- route when the
curtain rose! And some of us doubtless
are not there yet!
And at Venice? There, at the end
of the long pier, in a huge barn of a
place, thrown together in twenty-eight
days, with a flat floor and horse
shoe gallery, a huge stage, all ILL
equipped, with naught between us and
the resounding deep that lashed below
us save a wooden floor. with a blaring
brass band and garish decorations"
galore, approached between a long line
of strident takers and not out of sound
of a crashing, bowling, yelling Midway
there we of Los Angeles assembled
to greet tragedys queen! Imagine 1t,
We lovers of the fitness of things! Re-
joice, ye devotees of the incongruous!
All, but this was Bernhardt in LA
Sorciere"-and that makes all the rea-
son in the world why we ignored all
else.
So did we go to Venice, and those of
us who went early and avoided the
rush, lined up outside La Sarah's
private car, out on the sand, all in our
fine clothes and patent feathers and
white satin slippers, and watched her
feed her artistic face on inartistic sub
stantials, for all the world as if she
were monkey in a zoo-till she drew
the curtains in disgust!
(How Behymer ever overlooked that
chance to sell standing room to watch
Sarah eat, l don't see).
And we followed her carriage along
the pier and made blase comments
about her-only she didn't understand
'em-and we pretty we'll filled the audi
torium-better than L thought we
would. We didn't wear as many low
gowns as l imagined we'd affect. but
1t was raw, and long ride-besides,
those Short-sleeve frockS are very
dressy, anyhow Neither did we men
get into our decollete waistcoats so
generally as we should have done; per-
haps we thought we ought to garb our
selves for the place as we usually know
it, and not for the artiste. But we
turned out in pretty good style, all
things considered, and I'm right proud
Of Los Angeles for it, too.
And we treated Sarah well, also. We
waited till a quarter of nine for her to
appear, beguiling the time with Chiaf-
farelli's excellent music; we put up
with fiickering lights and an uncertain
and balky curtain; we were lavish i'm
our applause, our shouts and our
"bravos,'' and even to a degree We
knew what twas all about-thanks to
liberal diagrams, synopses and libretti.
And what more could even La Sarah
ask?
So much for our part; now as to the
play and the performance.
While L would hardly consider La
Sorciere" the strongest in La
Bernhardts repertoire. yet it is by no
means weak. Written by Sardou with
the divine Sarah in mind, it gives her
many opportunities, and makes the most
of her great genius, while yet not taxing
TO the utmost her wondrous powers. In
a degree, it is essentially a Bernhardt
drama; done into English and pre-
SenteQ III Ine united 0LdleS, IL WAS NOT
an UNQUALIFIED success.
Love is the all-inspiring motif of the
drama-fiery, untamed love, that may
not be too wise, but certainly is all too
well-strong love, that endureth to the
end and prefers to die with its beloved
rather than to see that beloved live IN
the arms of another-in this essential,
not true love, but rather passion sub
lime for it's very intensity and glorified
by the sacrifice of itself. Incident to
1t are depicted the long continued strife
and racial hatred which followed the
ascendency of Catholic Spain over the
Moors, and the horrors of the Inquisi-
tional period.
The heroine, Zoraya, impersonated by
La Bernhard, is a Moorish girl, who is
skilled in medicine as the daughter OF
a physician, and whose exercise of that
skill has caused her to be looked upon
by the Spaniards as a patron of the
black art. A young Moorish man, who
has won the love Of Spanish maiden,
has been stoned to death for his offense.
The girl, as punishment, has been Inn
INJURED in a lightless cell for life on a
diet of bread and water. The body of
the murdered lover has been secretly
removed by zoraya out OF sympathy for
one even of her own race, who could
love REGARDLESS OF DANGER. This act OF