Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-07
ROSTAND'S DRAMA
THRILLS AUDIENCE
"CHANTICLEER" PROVES AR
TISTIC SUCCESS
Although Verse Is Considered Bril-
liant, Some Doubt as to its
Success After Novelty
Has Worn Off

PARIS, Feb. 6.-The dress rehearsal
of Edmund Rostand's "Chanticleer' at
| the Porte st. Martin theater tonight
| in the presence of a remarkable audi
ence. comprising the elite of the liter
airy, artistic and dramatic world of
Paris, as well as of other European
capitals, was an artistic success of the
| first magnitude, the exquisite verse
being up to the finest traditions of
Rostand's poetic genius.
The brilliancy of the first act, which
was preceded by a charming prelude
delivered by Jean Coquelin, preparing
his audience for the atmosphere of the
piece, fairly set the theater mad with
| enthusiasm. But the second and third
acts, which were somewhat tedious.
were less favorably received.
In the last act, however, enthusiasm
was revived to the boiling point. There
were five calls after the curtain fell,
| but M. Rostand himself did not ap-
pear M. Guitry, who took the part of
| Chanticleer. stepped before the cur
tain and expressed his thanks.
The piece was wonderfully staged
and the plot is thrilling. NJ. Guitry,
Nine. Simonne Lebargy, the hen pheas-
ant; Callipaux, the blackbird, and
Coquelin, the dog, carried off the
| honors.
The secret Of the many delays Incl
dent to the presentation of the play
is now explained by the changes made
at the end of the play. The hen pheas-
ant, after trying to induce Chanticleer,
whom she has enticed to the forest, to
prolong the night thirty-six hours in
their nuptials, betrays him, and he
returning to the barnyard to his faith
full hens.
| Verse Is Brilliant
The critics generally consider that
the brilliancy of the verse surpasses
even "Cyrano" if that be possible, but
the artistic note struck is so high that
they doubt whether the play will be a
popular success after curiosity has
worn off.
1t is rumored that M. Rostand him
| self will play the role of Chanticleer
at the benefit to be given for the flood
sufferers.
Rostand's "Chanticleer," probably is
the most unique production ever pre-
sented on the stage No human char
acter appears in the cast. The dra-
matte personae are fowls, birds and
animals, and, as they are necessarily
as large as the men and women who
enact the parts everything which ap-
pears upon the stage is upon CORE
spending scale.
Chanticleer, the hero (Guitry) is filed
with Illusions about his place in the
world. He imagines he is master of
the sun; that the sun rises at the end
of night because Chanticleer has awalk-
ened and crowed. The play dispels this
| illusions in the heart of Chanticleer
| alone.
The first act opens with the sun
rising on a barnyard A mountainous
manure pile is on one side of the stage.
A fence, which seems immense, though
it is in proportion, separates the yard
from a road beyond, which is forest
background. To the right a wooden
shoe, forgotten by the farmers wife,
is of the size it would appear to the
chicken. and a chair completes the
| scale illusion, it's legs, which alone
are seen, being eight yards high.
In the center of the stage, with his
companions of the barnyard grouped
around him, Chanticleer halls the SUM-
whose first rays gild the scene, in a
| hymn full of the poets lyric magnifi-
cence. On the manure pile perches the
blackbird (Gallipaux),. jealous of the
cock and breaking into his noble sem
| timents with jibes and puns after the
manner of Cyrano. The dog dean
Coquelin) is the droll moralizer of the
piece. Chanticleer falls in love with
a beautiful hen pheasant (Simonne),
who is wooed by fighting cock.
| second ACT scenic Gem
The second act is the scenic gem of
the piece, showing the upper branches
of a blasted pine in the heart of
forest, the human-sized birds perched
in the branches. The owl calls the
roll of the birds of the night, each,
as his name is called, answering and
| opening two luminous eyes, which
shine in the semi-obscurity of the
stage. green, yellow or blood red These
birds disclaim the hymn of the night
and afterward conspire together to rid
themselves of their arch enemy, Chan
ticleer. With him gone. they believe
the sunlight will be forever quenched,
and they will be masters forevermore.
! In the third act Chanticleer learns of
the conspiracy, of the night birds and
| fights a duel With his false friend, the
game cock, killing him. despite his
| steel gaffS and redoubtable skill.
! This is the beginning of the end for
| Chanticleer The treachery of his
! friend poisons his optimism. The hen
pheasant, the prize of the combat, Of
| fers the consolation of her love in
| fine outburst, and then draws his head
under wing and bids him "sleep."
When the fourth and last act opens
| Chanticleer wooed by love- has slept
| so long that the sun has risen without
| him.
And I have not crowed," he cried.
The dream of his life. at his belief
in his wondrous power, crumbles. So
he was not the ruler of the sun. All
the tenderness of the hen pheasant
cannot bring back the lost Illusion.
His hens do not know it. The birds
of the night still believe in him. He
has his followers and his enemies as
before. The sun still rises when he,
Chanticleer, crows. If the dog doubts,
he Is silent. But the iron that has
entered his soul is the death of the
glorious Chanticleer.
NOME simply allow it 20 die-that plan OF
yaurs Find little capital through advertis-
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