University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1912-04-03

When the orange peel hit the ap.
prentice in the eye, of course the ap.
prentice objected. The gallant on
the stage however, smoked his pipe
and threw another peel. But the
Elizabethan play went on and the
laudience in the circular tiers of bal.
comics considered the peel incident as
so much extra for their entrance
money. These Elizabethans had the
true spOrtman's spirit.
Columbia is to have its first Eliza
bethan play in the Eli.abethan style
on April l6. 1t is THE Knight OF
the Burning Pestle." This play was
selected because it shows so many
of the EliZabethan characteristics
Beaumont and Fletcher, the great
twin brethren of the stage" wrote
it for the fun-lOving EliZabethans.
1t is a play of laughter, of humorous
incident. 1t is play of songs from
the jolly old Merrythought. 1t is
story of love worked out in a most
ingenious plot. 1t has it's fights; it
has its jokes fresh from years of rest
and delightfully."- different from the
over-wOrked variety of the modern
stage. The humOr of the play is
mainly the humOr of situation But
here is brief sketch of the more i'm
portant parts. together with some
notes on the Elizabethan play lovers:
We are i'm a London theater. 1t
is O'Clock in the afternoon of a
bright Elizabethan day. Handbills
have been distributed announcing
Beaumont and Fletcher's play, THE
knight of the Burning Pestle." The
three tiers OF balconies running from
one side of the stage around the pit
and to the other side of the stage
are crowded. The stage projects far
out into the pit. which is open to the
sky. 1t has no seats but is crowded
with apprentices and others who
have paid their pennies for standing
room. They crowd about the three
sides OF the projecting stage. laugh
ing, joking, gambling. If it does ntO
rain they will continue happy to the
end of the play. They will eat
lunches which they have brought
with them; and when an actor
reaches a particularly tragic part,
they will NEW like cats.
On the stage gallants sit. The
privilege has cost them sixpence but
they consider it worth the sum to be
able the better to show their costly
clothes. to chaff the actors and to
dirt with the women in the balconies
Trumpets blow. The play is about
20 begin. A tardy gallant crosses
the stage and seats himself on al
lhree-legged stool. One of the
grOundlings in the pit throws an
apple at him, but he begins to smoke
and to attract as much attention as
possible. A sign is hung out show
ing that the play is to be THE Lon
don Merchant" The play begins. |
A man walks slowly across the stage. |
He is the speaker of the prologue
The prologue gets little more than
started when a citizen leaps on the |
stage and tells the prologue to hold |
his tongue. Such Interruptions were
quite legitimate in Elizabethan days. |
The citizen believes 1.-The London |
Merchant" to be a burlesque on the |
London commons. He insists that a
play be put on notably in honor of
he commons of the city" He is a
grocer and has more faith i'm his ap-
prentice. Ralph. than in the actors.
He determines to have the apprentice
put on a play. The citizens wife
comes on the stage. They decide
that Ralph shall kill lion with a
pestle and so the new title of the
play.
Two plays now run together. In
the original play an apprentice. Jas
per, falls i'm love with his employers
Luce The girls father
wants her to mary Humphrey. whom
he considers a better match. JASPER