The Detroit times., 1910-01-19

Public Interest in "Chantecler" Re-
vived by Unauthorized Publica-
ton of Part of the Text. ~
i9.-"Chanteclcr'


hertz. Coquelln, and Raschet. the al
rector OF the great weekly Journal
L'lllustra ion profess TO feel that they
have been greatly wronged by The pub
lication In one italian and two French
papers OF a very lame, CARRIED ver-
sion Of small portion Of the text oil
the play. end suits for heavy damages
have been begun.
The version thus given Is by no
means 80 convincing as the sketch Of
the play which was presented In these
dispai chcs two months and more ago.
It's only really important feature 10
the owls "Hvmn to the Night, and
Rostand complains bitterly that In this
his verses, on which he great, prides
himself. have been egregiOusly mutt
l-: a.
IN actor, who was deprived 10y Ros-
( tand OF the role in the piece to which
he had BEEN assigned. Is charged.
tholgh not by name. with having sold
material for the article in question.
partly from spite and partly from
desire OF gain He denies this. and
! lays the blame on another actor who,
he SAYS. had access to his room In
which was a copy of the manuscript.
or ~ least part or II.
Alleged Story OHcrcd.
In truth 4, seems TO be case Of the
robber robbed Weeks ago an alleged
story of the plav with alleged copious
extracts was offered To many news
papers outside OF France for a good
round price. An actor was known To
be the medium through which the
material for this story was obtained.
The Hymn TO the Night" was
part of his wares. The story was not
to be printed until the dav after the
first performance of "Chantecler
There's not the slightest doubt that
this first traitor 10 the RostIa aud
CoGuelin-ilertz interests has been be-
trayed in turn by one of his confidants,
the result Being the abortive piblica-
ton at Milan and Paris.
In any case. the litigation which has
been commenced against the three
Offending journals is regarded here as
scarcely serious since "ChanteCler
has been enormously advertised by
this publication and public curiosity
regarding il when IL had begun TO
flag had been again greatly stimu-
lated.
There is still much skepticism as TO
"Chantecler" ever being played in pub
lie. The latest semi-officia statement
regarding the date OF production
again puts IL off another three
weeks One Paris journal declares
that there is now a "Chantccler' Ques-
ton lust as there is the question OF
the far east.
Generations will have passed
AWAY" Il says. before this question
shnl have ceased Ia he " ST. Peter
were TO quit his posi- Of porter nt
haaven's gate for vacation trip TO
-l~, car'h bn Would i'p-a l,ionty ot
leisure To denv his God manv and
many timer before tho cock Will crow
~ the rorte Saint Martin, II indeed
It ever does crow
"Rnt the worst blow Of all to the
syndicate of silence. which had been
formed around Rostands creation.
came later when weekly review or
music and drama published. almost in
it's entirety. tho FIRST act of Chan
iecler." Further legal thunderbolts
were AZ once prepared against this
nCw librarv poacher. " is highly bro''
able. however. that the primary med.
iHm of is information was ne same
a. i'm the other instances. This text
OF the FIRST act is preceded 10y clear
explanation OF the play.
Problem Is Difficult.
AS before intimated, the problem or
the physical proportions OF the actors.
scenery. and accessories was one OF
the most difficult ones connected with
tie production. Bv way OF illustra-
tion, 1t may be mentioned that the
black bird impersonated by Gallipaux
must. mt a certain moment. hide him
self In The gardeners waterpot. When
/ becomes necessary for the gardener
to cross the poultry yard. only two
enormous legs and feet shOd with ei-
eantic wooden shoes are seen. The
rest of the figure is supposed to be
hidden by clouds and the spreading
tops of trees. A chicken coop on the
stage Is as tall as a normal man.
The rebellion of the principal actor
against the torment OF wearing cos
tune of papier mache and feathers
for weaiisome length OF time caused
Rostand 10 compose a prologue for
Cuitry to recite in ordinary human
dress, presumably comprising much |
OF the matter he formerly delivered |
in dialogue In the course OF the pro- |
lcgue Guitry. by an ingenious device. |
Is transformed. little by little. into the
cock.
Restand will doubtless continue -
modify his work to the end. Not
only has he constantly cut and
changed II since the rehearsals began. /
but hardly one has passed without
alterations having also been made in
the cast. He who was formerly the
owl Is now the peacock. and he who
was once the cat is now the owl.
Many ingenious chickens have been
ruthesslv slaughtered ny the impa
tent author.
The first act. as presented in the
contraband version. contains little OF
the dramatic element The dialogue
is quaint and fanciful. but not in the
least degree exciting Aside from the
very numerous puns and other PLAYS
upon words, the wltticisms. il is 10 be
feared. will be found much too subtle
for popular appreciation.
Still. IL must be forgotten that the
p,ece Is planned to he not only a
drama bui wonderful spectacle. !
This phase Of il may suffice TO save
IL from failure.
Although doubt has been suggested
as 10 the genuineness OF this latest
supposed contraband version. the
prompt action of Rostand and his asso-
ciates i'm seeking to suppress II would
seem to SET any such question at rest
Law officers were sent around the CITY
early to seize tho edition OF the offend.
ing review. which had just been dis