New-York tribune., 1911-01-29
VIEWS OF ''CHANTECLER'
The American Production Seen
from Within and Without

IN tndt tnefe was notable u,., -
among writers, playgoers and Others V NV
fed TO judge-the production has as' yah
the interest Of the public to an sv,..a
nary degree. No play for years has ,s'1- .,,s''-'
a wider interest And this in sp,,e :, go 20
fact that echoes Of the Paris cra,...s
come and gone. New York was ,er...
from the first brainstorm. yet its h,,o...
ters registered the disturbance. No,, I.
in the very centre Of a second. To -
extent the public interest is duo ~ ~.
Adams's popularity and 10 what degree a.
play is responsible any one IS free 10 yr.,'
Miss Adams's impersonation OF the Co..
in "Chantecler" does not establish 49,.
title to credit. That is not an artistic o..
cess Did any one ever dream that (, cor,,
be? But 1t is in the role OF producer ,h.,
Miss Adams may now be considsr..
II is a matter Of common knowledQs ,h.,
Miss Adams. more than anybody else !,
responsible for Mr.. Frohman's productio,
For months the presentation Of this n,y
has been her leading thought When h,
Intelligence did not help her TO understand
her woman's instinct came 10 the rescue.
and often IL came first One qualified IA
express an opinion said that Miss Adsns
understood the part az we'll as Rostand.
who wrote H. But she simply couldn't play
Il because OF her w0man's frame. her won.
ans voice, her woman's personality.
Guitry is reported as having said tha,
Rostand tyrannized over the Paris prOdvc.
tion. II Mis- Adams did not tyrannlze sh.
dominated It completely. When Mr. Gustav
Won Seyffertitz, Charles Frohmans pro
ducer," was asked what part he had IN the
preparations he gracefully laid all the
credit at Miss Adams's feet He sad:
Every idea, every suggestion, came from
Miss Adams. The production is all hers
Mr.. John w. Alexander was present a,
dress rehearsals and he offered suggestions
as 10 color effects, costumes, scenery, etc,
hut Miss Adams was ultimately the one 70
decide. One day she would adopt sug'
eestion from one OF the rest OF us, but as
likely as not It would be changed three or
four days later for her own. And she was
almost always right. She seemed TO undsf'
stand lust what to do instinctively."
"You had no part in the production
Mr.. Won Seyffertitz was asked.
"Oh. yes" he said. Il went over 10 Pan'
for Mr.. Frohman and l saw the pay SIX
times"
"Then you told Miss Adams just howl
vos done AT the Porte ST. Martini
Yes; but she seemed to know "''n0U
Are there any marked changes in the
piece as 1t is presented hereT
ono. we get in all the ideas and we doH
in about an hour less time than tne rs
fans did IT. You see. the poetic si'u4u0o'
IN this piece afford the French the oppO''
.rn,t,, for verbal display which they lo's
so well. -, ~.
"Tn the Paris production, however, We
owls walk off the stage in the seco"u ~.
M,ss Adams thought It would be lar lnOs'
hoap,ifuI TO have them fly of; so Mr. f'Va'
mon az great expense. had the ufs0~",
=, paris send men over here 10 set up '"u
Giving machines. Each owl mas
-. ororrd his chest to which Is attacnel
80, -,,,re ~ small gauge, and on the snsa
s,anaI the owl faces In certain r.v
"a ufted I'D and gracefully soa'S !,
pacb machine is operated oy one 10" a. ~.
49, saroe way the Hen Pheasant
arst act has her flying machihe anu .
" rSa s,aee OF the KnickeroocKe, e
,oaIIar than that Of the Iho'-
lliuoH e. ,Ior,tn that numerous dirhc"us'
had 10 be met. According 10 '" ,ha
more Mr.. Frohman's stage n'aA%e s,sl.
tr,ckerbocker stage IS thirty-n'e ,s.,
-. ord twenty-five feet narro"e,
49, a.oga or the Porte ST. Martin W., -
,.I, distance effects had TO oe se'- 'a,
~ ,ha use of gauze scenery ana -
,,s...,,,, had 70 be devised. Mt "li'Y,
OF the sunrise la0ND'
which is an invention Of his own, " 's. ann.
All of the llght lor ~" ,,,s,
rise scenes comes from the cei'' hact
,ho staos Extending clear across '"0 ,
- ,ha stage underneath q trap Is
-. ,rar,e around which Is woVhu
-, e,,,, ., elk. starch and gelauhe' -"
-, oil +be tints and shades from u.'
darkest OF blues 10 the prlsn,'s -, four
r-raerneath the films are placeu S'N.' -,
"ba nv spot lights" OF lOo-candiepo"'' -.
As these are turned on, the 'i''-. ..a,ss
- unwind bv means of cranKs ops''
~, s.agahands. The darkness grows
b,ack es the lighter blues follow ,he 90, s,n..
- oros The greer. blues and the D.u
rreens the yellow-reds ana ,a,k
FOLLOW I'm infinite variation WINE s.uv
=, Tho animals goes on apaee' unt'l "D'' :,
.,,or evolve minutes, the bright ra''
49, s,,,,,,ated sunlight burst ,orth' 70 'uY
''e I,.,,, ., Chanteclers song UT
umphant. -, h,ris IN
Nv reason OF the size OF the anar,,,, Dnor
"Chantecler." all Of the stage IRA
have 70 be made on a large -. az.
cage is feet hign' ~, ..s,
o,,,,,Ia The wheels OF the cart are ~ -,
g., diameter The water barrel Is -.
-. ,be suneower stalks are ~ iee' -.
80 soorecrow is IS feet high. Ihe ." ~,
~. 90, sits In is enormous; the Us
bonse Is big enough for barn. anu
nencoon during idle hours is used 60
storehouse. 80, oyac,s are
those produced by the great uees
high and IS feet wide. Ihey loON ,hsn
they weighed tons. You shoulo 80 - ,he
collapse when the stagehands sum '.,,oo,
scenes They are constructed Vi "a, s,A
rauze on a semi-circular frame"o'N' STy
a. a given signal they collapse IN . The II.
,rd dron through a trap In the stage,
weight OF the biggest one is 20 poN"e II
,ov could pick il up and carry aNs'
= orother invention OF Mr.. Gilmore
twenty-five feet up in the enai'e. ,,ooa.
face of one Of the great oaks Is inc 70
oeckers hole. The problem Was ..ossA
,et the woodpecker up there Easy ns
.or the stage manager: Coas'ru'' .oroesl
: behind the tree. and there you O., - The
here the woodpec!.er is. % fee' W ."
,ir sticking his head out of the ho's' o,s,s
with all the properties IN 'ns rhs
nothing seemed to be in the Wa! ,r,at
and the big chair, the re.
art and the doghouse all collapse and
% cage is up out OF the way, n.s,r. s
'na henhouse is at one side. very o.~s s,x,
..l