Omaha daily bee., 1911-01-29
atbeIbeatsfF3
Here is
Maude Adams
as "Chantecler"

AUDE ADAMS was given a
Ia hearty welcome by New York
LIVE ers when she made her appear
T-v-r5r4 ance as tho hero of Rostand S
SS931H "Chautecler" Here is the way
S the World tells of the premiere
at the Tnlckerbocker on Tuesday:
Rostand,s cock at last has crowded in
America. At the Rnickerbocker theater
last night and before another OF those
eagerly expectant ana indulgent thronys
which always gather when Miss Maude
Adams is TO appear in a new role. Charles
Frohman made the first production in the
English language Of the French poets Gu
rious symbolical play. "Chantscler," in a
translation by Louis N. Parker. slightly
altered to remove the purely Gallo appli-
cntion of the work.
For months the play has been antici-
pated as the event OF the dramatic season
and the rush to see It was prodigious.
Long before the curtain rose the theater
was filled and the sidewalks and Hobbies
were blocked by disappointed crowds that
could not secure even standing room. From
the moment the prologue was spoken the
applause began for the frail feminine little
star who was attempting an aggressive and
gigantic masculine role. The curtain was
lifted again and again in response to the
uproar, lengthening the drama far beyond
the time actually needed for its perform
ance.
This acclaim for Miss Adams does not
necessarily mean that she typifisd 10 her
audience the vainglorlous cock Of Ros-
lands strange barnyard or that she could
realize the full Significance of the role in
It's application TO the theme Of the play.
Her reception was largely Of a personal ma
ture; Il would have been the same had she
been impersonating Little Eva in new
version of Uncle Toms Cabin"
AS TO the play itself IT will awaken I'M
bounded curiosity and It will surely call
for great admiration as a spectacle.
Whether IL will be so strong in its appeal
on its dramatic side is a matter which is
by no means certain. The settings, four
In number and OF great beauty, are ex-
aggerated so that the relation of their
size to the stature of the barnyard fowls
OF Rostand's fable is preserved Neverthe-
less, they are very realistic and they fur
nish the desired Illusion As a spectacle
alone "Chantecler" should attract the
town, while it's philosophy and symbolism
will give rise to no end OF argument and
discussion.
Inc play requires the largest cast that
Charles Frohman has organized for a pro-
duction since the days Of 'L'Aiglon."
SO great in Europe has been the zeal
70 dig into "Chantecler" for hidden
meanings that the one essential fact
that, after all, it is a play and, as a
play, II must stand or fall-has been gem
orally forgotten one person at least is
not responsible for all this nonsense. He
Is the author Edmund Rostand He has
clearly stated that "Chantecler" is only
what Is Indicated on It's surface-a drama
OF human endeavor in its struggle against
the obstacles, disappointments and dsil-
Instruments of life-of the human will in
conflict with the heart, II you please,
and that his humans have been repre-
scented as birds and beasts In order that
they may better be suited In the poetic
treatment OF his theme. Therefore, dis
missing all the high-sounding buncombe
OF the commentators. let as get at tho
kernel OF "Chantecer" by finding out
what Il expresses In spectacle and action
on its surface as play. There is a pro-
logue spoken by the only human who ap-
pears as such in the work. It is skilfully