New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-27
THE CAST

Queer ......................Ada ST. clair
Quaint ,..................M Mrs. Kate de Becker
Head Gardener. .................. Luke Martin
Second Gardener. ..-......... EDWIN CusnHsn
Third Gardener. ........,....'..'W iilam ENlhe
Garden Boy. -. AioeIt JaIhes
Pierrot. Ernest Giendihhihs
Scaramei ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Reginald Barlow
Hawk. .............''.'''''' - .prlHltn Lushy
Kennel ....................R Raymond lockwood
Callow. ....................... Paul Gordon
Mouth Observation-Disclosures. lheodor Won EltL
Doll OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. Lorraine HullnS
Romp. Observation-Disclosures. Becky Gardiner
ld"drN .s.......''. '''''' s.l''i'''. rV''oI
Coquette Kathleen Comegys
Tenor NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. george odei
Love Observation-Disclosures. Leslie Palmer
Laurence Housman's poetic fantasy.
"Prunella," which was played to an In
vited audience at the Little Theatre on
Saturday evening. and will be presented
to the public tonight is at the other
swing of the pendulum from the plays
which have caused so much discussion this
season 1t is trihe light In air. some
| thing quaint and delicate. delicately done,
designed to give pleasure to those who
are not so buried In the searching ethical
questioning Of the day that they may not
go to the theatre now and then In some
| what the same mood that they would look
at fine porcelain or listen to chamber
| music.
Prunella is a little girl who lives in
| more or less real Dutch garden with her
more or less real aunts. Prim, Prude and
| Privacy She falls In love with a strolling
Pierrot and runs away with him. and
out in the world he deserts her. After
three years she comes back TO the garden,
broken by the world she had wanted so
much to know, and here Pierrot. having
| shaken of his own egoism and his seinsh
! companions, comes back at last TO find
| her. IL appears that he had given her
nearly everything he could think OF but
| his love. That he took with him, and
presently he found that he couldn't get
rid OF II.
II grew heavier and heavier and more
distressing. until at last he returned to
the garden to see II the cure was not
| there.
II takes a little courage in this day and
age, after all the thousands OF plays and
| poems and stories, from Faust down
through Maeterlinck's sister Beatrice" to
Miss Eleanor Gates's The Poor Little
Rich Girl" on the theme OF escape from
the chains Of convention and circum-
| a.
IL takes some courage TO begin a play
with restless little girl In formal
garden and a band OF strollins players
surely worn enough symbol-singing
o.tslde OF II. There are good many
stirring things In the air to-day. Mr.
| Barrie and others have accustomed us To
fantasy which is also dramatic-an au-
thor must be very original or eloquent or
very something to make us Interested In
a Dresden china Faust and Marguerite IN
more or less fanclful Dutch garden
and II must be confessed that there were
parts OF Mr.. Housmans first act which
| seemed considerably lighter even than arr
| In the second act however. when Pierrot
begins to plead TO Prunela TO come down
into the moonlt garden
| They would say nothing. They won't mind:
| People when sleeping come out OF their shells
and nnd wings:
| They become wise They open their eyes and
They become happy and young They become
! free,
Here there IL curious mounting some
| thing In Mr.. Housman's rhythms. In the
| music which serves as an undercurrent
| 10 most OF the lines. in the exquisite
beauty and harmony OF the colors and
movement, which captures the doubtful
, spectator and is altogether perfect OF Its
/ kind
| The third and last act. set in more
/ minor and autumnal key, with chast-
ened Pierrot, in black now, coming back
20 what seems at first deserted garden
sustains the interest. and in color. light
! ing and all that goes to make up stage
atmosphere, similarly beautiful Indeed,
| the whole fabric is so gossamer-like an"
so much dependent for vitality on the
| ntnosphere I'm which II Is suffused thAt
the charm which it undoubtedly exerts
! IL not easy to describe once the music
has ceased and the lights have gone.
As the little girl Miss Marguerite clark
was always in the picture. and always
did lust what she should very pretuiy
and nronerly. without once losing an air
of complete circumstances or giving
pruneIIa the slightest emotional signih-
canoe except that conveyed by the mere
| reading OF the lines. II MISS Clark c"c'u
| act anywhere near as well as she iooNs
| the part she IL put In. she would pe very
! remarkable. indeed. Mr. Ernest Glehdih
| ming was in rather a diHereht case no
contrived to put a good deal Of feeling
into his Pierrot, and his delivery OF 'he
line. quoted here and others In the oai-
cony scene and in the last act was nat
ural musical and eloquent HIS BODY Is
| not quite what is needed for Pierro''
however. and his performance IN gen
era, lacked a certain lightness and vola-
,uity. 1t WAS a good and inteihseh'
niece OF work. nevertheless. and credit.
able to so young a player. The rest oi
tho picturesque company had not much
20 do which was not In pantomime.
While the idea and the poetry are MT.
uousman's, the play. which was produced
In London several years ago, was pre-
narcd for the stage with the assistance
| 81 Mr. Granville Barker the incideh'ai
,,usic which added decidedly to the gen.
! ,ra, effect, Is by Mr. Joseph Moora''
..prunella" is something to when the
,or,,,v may be taken. and something
nh,ch erown-ups with a certain taste Tor
ds,,cate and fanciful things Will ike,
oe'''"'' A. r.