Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-04-14
ROSTAND HAD EN- GUESSING
Story Of the Writing of "Chante-
cler" and Its Production.
PARIS WAITED YEARS FOR PLAY
Mystery, but Finally Gives
the Public What IL Had
Waited For.


Brandeis theater ON April Is. pro-
duced by Mr. Charles Frohman. with
Maude Adams in the title role. Never
has q production received such a
heralding. Recall its amusing his
tory beginning in le5 when Edmund
Rostand. who had written nothing since
his L Aigion," three years previous. sd-
mitted that he was about to undertake a
new play. Then followed twelve months
Of silence. until one afternoon the elder
Coquelin, with fire in his eye and a
finger on his lip. departed in answer TO
a mysterious summons from Rostand's
villa at Cambo in the Pyrennees. At
that all Paris was agog. And rightly so,
for when the great French comedian re-
turned, wreathed in smiles. the news
paper reporters wormed from him the
statement that Rostand MAS at work
upon comedy that excelled by an IN
limited amount all his previous efforts.
Beyond this Coquelin would have moth
ing to say.
1t was quite sufficient. For the next
six months Rostands home was sur
rounded by a Gordon OF reporters, snap
ping random pictures of his wife. or his
cook. or bribing his servants for a hint
Of manuscript. By them it was an
nOuncod that the author had all but
lost his mind, that his nervousness had
gained such control that he was COM
PEELED to abandon literary work, that he
was about TO be operated on.
Play kept secret.
there came no intimation as to what the
nature Of the play would be. Not until
December. 1904, was the title made public,
and not until two years later were the
actors selected TO appear in it, Then at
last 1t became known that the action
passed in ~ barnyard with its denizens
as the characters, and a few more frag-
mentsry statements from Rostand leaked
into print. The play was TO be plan
Of lie. 1t was to be a pastoral. No
play like it had ever been presented
>beforC 1t was to be finished mex; week.
next month,
Came the winter OF 1905 Positively
the play would be presented Immediately.
Rehesrsals progressed regularly. The
price Of costumes, OF properties, flooded
the papers Photographs OF Rostand's
chauffeur snapshots Of his children. of
his wife's latest frock, appeared daily.
"Chantecier" was coming Coquelin had
taken his portfolio to the home for old
actors at the 'Pont AUX Danes TO thrill
them with the beauty Of portions OF the
text to recte to them The ode of the
Sun"
The next morning coquelin was dead.
Another walt followed. until In March.
1909. Lucien Guitry was selected for the
role. Then came more jealousy. more
quarrels among the actors. Then the
curtain was about to rise. and then the
floods.
At Last the Production.
The floods went The excitement grew
more intense. Seats were sold at fabu-
lous prices, American mIliionaires.4 play
wrights. managers, English nobility, Ital-
ian and South American diplomats. pam
jandarums from Egypt and India.
awaited ''Chantecler'' In frantic nervous
ness. And at last on a night In Febru-
airy, 1910, the five slow raps were heard
on the proscenmm arch OF the Port 81.
Martin theater. and i"chantecIerr was
revealed.
From this time to the date Of the
American production matters moved rap
idly; for Charles Frohman sat In that
first audience. and. sharing the enthusl-
asm about him. instantly sought out the
author and sent the French manuscript
TO Miss Adams. She was fired by like
admiration. with the result that John w.
Alexander, our foremost decorator, was
promptly asked TO superintend the con-
struction of the scenery and costumes
that the New York production might out
top in scale that Of Paris. And now We
have Il on the road in the Identical form
II took in New York. Even the cast has
scarcely been altered: Miss Josephine
Victor plays the Hen Pheasant; Henry
Trader Is Patou; William Levels has
all the insolence Of the BIackbird and
r. Peyton Carter all the pedantry of the
TuIkeycock, while the rest of the cast
lis equally well carried out with Miss
Marion Abbott, Allen Fswcett, A. Lionel
IHogarth and sixty others.
Expensive to show.
It. will be a large production, even
larger than its sponsor anticipated. For
though Mr.. Frohman was prepared to
find "chantecler' expensive, indeed more
expensive than any drama ever presented
on the American stage. when they SGT
before him his item for feathers alone
he was startled. The charge made By
the Partisan costumer for the clothing
OF birds and beasts was $500. And Of
this the cost Of feathers alone camo 10
800 1t is a complicated proposition
TO alter men and women into hens, black
birds. turkeys, nightingales, dogs. guinea
pigs, owls and frogs-or TO magnify trees.
houses, carts. rakes. shoes-in fact every
,bg,., q, sieb, 20 sevao fgraaa thaIr 1,s,,ai