The sun., 1908-05-17

ITALIAN MARIONETTE \ PLAYS
FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL PDPTLS.

Signor Parisis shew the Kind OF T1ilng New
| York children Need, 20, Charicfnagne
4 ana His Paiadins win Emerge From
| the Obscurity OF the sicllian Colcny.
The. Elizabsth street marionettes have
At last won recognition from the American
public. Fc- ten years Signor Antonio Parish.
lately Of Messina. has ohanted the songs OF
| Roland and clashed his wooden inansxins
| for, his countrymen alone. Except for the
restless explorer Of foreign colonies or tho
stray newspaper reporter, he has been un-
known and unsought by Americans.
=! Still. he has never given up the dream
| OF his boyhood that some day the Ameri-
can people would appreciate his art and
would come to love the legends OF Charlie
F., magne. which are the passion, Of his life.
His long delayed success has como alta dra-
'mafic moment. for rival shows have de-
| pleted his audiences Of late. 4
r Penny wonders and moving picture shows
have invaded the quarter to attract the
| rising generation. And now. when the Pa
risi fortunes run low, Nunzio. the sixteen
| year-old son. whose brush has embellished
the dingy little theatre at 25s Elizabeth
.street, has discovered that IL he is to be
\ q great artist like Raphael and Michael
| Angelo he must study at a school. which
! costs money. r. ~,
just at his crisis the drama committee
| OF the Peoples Institute. which lays
guiding hand on the theatregoing Of the
! public school children, has discovered
| that. the ,marionettes will All a long felt
want In the instruction and entertainment
OF the New York school child Accord;
| inglv Parisi and his puppets are deserving
tbs Sicilian quarter, not for the Gay White
Way, TO- be sure, but for retfedt near
| Washington Square. which will be more
accessible to the 100000 school children
| and their teachers. 80
For the appreoiative Peoples Institute
| 10 going to treat the marionettes just az il
has sThe Top O. the World. and The Toy
Maker. of Nuremberg. 1t 10 going to ad-
| vertise them In the public schools and issue
half price tickets for teachers and children.
According to Fred r.. -Conant. secretary
| OF the drama committee. 1t is difficult to
find plays among the broadway attractions
suitable for the pupils Of the elementary
schools.
| S0f course the marionette plays are
scarcely drama in the same class with
| Peter Pan. for instance, to which We
sent 10000 of our children" Mr.. Conant
explained. but they do supply the sort OF
\ entertainment which the New York child
Ia badly in need Of. You see. these stories
| Of Charlemagne are OF value historically,
| and aside from that the performance Of
the puppets stirs the fancy. while the dra-
matic adventures of the Paladins fire the
| imagination"
| The msrionettes which next fall may
win laurefs from American audiences are
| at present ouartered In the heart OF the
Sicilian quarter. The visitor who with
the aid Of the drug clerk on the corner and
ssHe'S iair finds a himself stumbling @ up a dark
stairway, pushing open a sliding door and
| entering low smoke filed room.
Here the brick walls are bright with
brave knights. and fiery dragons, rude
audience. eager and absorbed, a battered
old piano throbs beneath the touch Of an
impassioned yirtuoso, dramatic Voice
concealed behind the scenes intones the
"song Of Roland while upon a miniature
the battles and love scenes Of the text.
The visitor, whose entrance Is unnoticed
by the audience except for a warning growl
il he disturbs the performance, sinks
into an orchestra chair, annexes the young
| son Of q ditch digger to interpret between
the acts and at the invitation Of the cordial
Parish peuetrates behind the scenes and
even visits the workshop upstairs. IL
| is here that the wooden actors are carved
from blocks of wood, here scenery is painted
costumes made and all the ingenious
! mechanisms Of a marionette stage CON-
\ trived.
Concealed among the flies Parish reoites
the poetic libretto Now his voice is stern
and commanding as Charlemagne ad-
and bold when the pagan Antiforo meets
Orlando in the dark forest. now revengeful
when Rinaldo takes an oath to kill the
wicked psgans When the beautiful Aida
1 l. IL = k- a -A- -
bsnssd Ss hs Pss 70 wife atss
up the tale and chants the unhappy lamenta-
] tions Of the deserted Princess.
The Parisis are graduates Of no dramatic
school, they are untutored by Courses In
Expression, but for all that the visitor who
by the dramdtic intensity Of the scene.
joins in the Misses which greet the pagan
king and wesps with pity when fair
princess dies Of grief.
dressed puppets hanging by iron hooks
wait for their cues Several small boys
guard these forces. When Antiforo is
dragged slain from the stage they receive
him tenderly and restore him to his niche.
| Again when the Turks and Christians line
up before their painted tents all hands
| are busy marshalling them In the flies ready
for dramatic entrance.
To these young scene shifters the sense
I,less manikins are endowed with life. They
I
heroes of the story. Tony leads the visitor
| proudly to a painted warrior.
1Dere- amt no one wot can beat him"
he declares. "The wicked pagans isalways
putting up foxy tricks on him. but dey don't
catch him. Last night he killed q whole
! trench Of Nem wild dat sword"
And the sonof the fruit seller reverently
tou6hes the tin weapon Of the hero who
lived and fought !, 200 years ago.
Another urchin worshipe at the shrine
of Ia bella Roeanna. the faithful maiden
who is true to humble lover even though
/ the King himself presses an ardent suit,
while one andall bow the knee to the mighty
Emperor Charlemagnc. His star dressing
room is bar Of state where he hangs in
solitary glory. and never In the fervid heat
Of battle 10 he misplaced or handled with
aught but Difference and veneration!
The stage manager and his assistants
are ranged upon q bench which stands
behind the scenery, and from here they
put the actors through their parts Some-
times in the heat OF battle the swarthy
arm which holds the puppets from above
and works their wired Joints extends down
into the public view.
When the cast is large. II large armies
Il