The Detroit times., 1913-12-02
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE.

DETROIT OPERA HOUSE.
A fairy tale In poetry. not 10 much
Of words ~ OF thoughts and feeling.
y sermon without preaching. "A mas.
terpiecs OF stagecraft and good
show into the bargain---that Is "A
Good Little DEVIL az presented un-
der the Belasco auspices. In the DE.
trit opera house. Monday night.
The good little devil" Charles
MacLance. IL a mischievous boy to
whom even the birds and squirrels
listen and obey. In his geography. ~
river IL silver thread that binds the
hills to the seas" He il ill-used by
wicked old aunt who binds him over
70 Old Nick, ST., and Old Nick. Jr..
masters OF the Big Black school In
Ballachulish.
The aunt. with all OF the concOc-
tons she brews and her dread OF the
supernatural. might have stepped
right out OF Macbeth, or the pair Of
OId Nicks might have come from a
mover or Dickens. but the good little
devn' and the way that his story Is
told are creations not of Anglo-Saxon
hAndiwork.
The frst act. In the cottage OF
Aunty MacM1che. shows the pranks
OK Charles. playing upon the snpersti.
lions OF his aunt and how he il cruel
" driven To his attic for punishment
Ihere he cries because OF lonliness
and then the ceiling Of his garrett
changes. stars appear, while down
through the sloping roof. singing
with voices like blue-bells ringing"
come the fairies as II directly out OF
heaven.
The wizardry OF modern stagecraft
IL best shown In the second act. which
drew q round Of applause when the
curtain went up. Monday night. Two
years have passed. with Charles away
IN the Big Black school. The scene
shows the garden of Juliet. the little
blind girl whom Charles had loved "a
make see the thousand things which
show day turning into night"
On one side is a cottage and the
otner well; flowers are all around:
snere ID an immense tree In the
pranones OF which the songlbirds and
SQUIRRELS i've. and from the. hollow
fairies. s al"
In the background is forest and
IN tne distance crag and castle.
10 this enchanted place Charles
returns. having escaped from the
scnool, disguised as a beggar. He
meets his Juliet. The fairies come
again and their queen waves her
wand; daylight disappears; the moon
comes up from behind the forest, and
All to make It kissing time" for the
youthful lovers.
just as the school masters are
about to drag their charge back to
prison., London lawyer appears
10 INFORM Charles that his rich uncle
has died and left him a fortune and
ute. Sorrowfully he goes away from
juliet, promising to return when he
is grown up.
The third act Is back In the old cot.
tage OF Aunty MacMiche. She is old
and III and Ii cared for by Juliet and
her faithful servant, Betsy. But she
has learned that the fairies that loved
Charles are good fairies. The now
wealthy duke. who spent his boyhodo
there. returns on hearing that his
aunt Ia dying.
But he IL changed. He has become
like the associates who come with
him. and the beautiful belle to whom
he 10 engaged. He has forgotten his
friends and almost even Juliet. While
The ID musing, in through the window
breaks the Charles Of the old days
Ito plead his cause. With the fairies
Ito help him. the spirit Of youth wins,
and the duke orders his friends OF
title and rank to return to their un-
real life without him. Again the fairy
queen waves her wand and juliet can
See. The wedding feast brings the
play to It's close
This play. written by Maurice Ros-
|tand and his mother. the son and wife
|of the French poetauthor, Edmond
|Rostand, 10 adapted by Austin Strong.
The parts Of the two principals.