The Washington herald., 1914-03-29
Preston Gibson. Society Playwright
and Direetor-General of Charity
Play. Announces Successful Ar
rangement of Preliminary Details.

Preston Gibson, director general OF
the Greek Pageant Drama, to be given
in this city, announced last night that
George Lask, one OF the best-known
stage managers in the United States,
and who was last year stage director at
Polls has been engaged by the commit
tee of arrangements and will arrive in
Washington tomorrow to take entire
charge of the production. The head
quarters of the pageant committee in the
old Builders Exchange Building, the use
OF which has been donated to the COM
mittee by Frank Walter. the owner. will
be opened tomorrow afternoon. The en-
tire second floor Of the building. afford
ing an immense floor space, will be util-
lied by the committee both for admins
trstion purposes and for group rehearsals
of the dance and musical features of
The Fire Regained."
The members of the executive COM
mittee, of which Isaac Cans is chairman.
were particularly pleased yesterday at the
announcement that Miss Effie Baker,
daughter of Dr. Frank Baker, Director of
the Zoo. has consented to direct the
aesthetic dances OF the production. Miss
Baker is recognized as a most competent
exponent Of Greek dancing and is spe-
cially well qualified to direct the big
NN'SS dIt OF
the pageant drama.
Sidney NJ. Hirsch. author Of The Fire
Regained." expects to put in a busy week
with the inauguration Of rehearsaIs of his
play. THE Fire Regained" was pro-
duced for the first time in Nashville
Tenn. last summer. where 1t made a
wonderful success.
Theme of Drama.
The essential theme is that of an an
cient Grecian tradition that there burned
in one OF the temples a fire sacred to the
GODDESS OF Maidenhood. This fire had
oeen nghted by the gods themselves
and was tended by the Hestian virgins
In Roman times there were six virgins.
but Mr.. Hirsch has chosen TO use the
number thirty in order to personify the
thirty virtues. which guard the divine
fire in manhood. the INTERPRETATION is
put upon the sacred fire OF the temple, 1t
was tradition that if at any time the
nre died 1t was dIre omen OF a vista
tlon or wrath from the Olymplan gods
believed TO be occasioned by the treason
OF one OF the maiden priestesses to her
vows and unless the guilty maiden was
discovered and put TO death in a tradi-
tlonal manner plague was visited upon
Greece.
In The Fire Rcgained" the affairs are
WIN NOIu dSntS. Inc name
has died. The Hierophant. a broad
orowed ample man OF Jove. on discover
ing the cold and dead aItars, has as
sembled before him the thirty vestal yir
gins. all the citizens and soldiers Of
Athens. Priests the monks, and wise
men appear coming in from the desert
on camels and dorkey's, and then the
Hierophant attempts To discover the
guilty maid.
Confronted by Demons.
when none among the number con-
fesses, the thirty maIdens are confronted
by the demons who come up from the IN
derworld and perform their weird cere-
monies in attempt to blast the maid of
the guilty one.
For time the maidsns stand firm
shielded behind their veil of innocence
But suddenly at the sight of Inc kim
OF Demons. now at the apogee of his
frenzy, the mind of one Of the yestaIs
gives way and she fees about shrick-
ing broken-minded maiden attempting
to escape.
In the meanwhile far of upon a grassy
meadowland. a young shepherd tending
ms mock, overcome by the heat of the
Grecian sun. falls into troubled slumber
While he sleeps great numbers OF wood
nymphs appear and dance about him.
In the midst of their revels they are
disturbed by number of pans and
satyrs who attempt to capture them.
The wood nymphs fee franticaIIy and
suddenly the nine muses. appear. Thres
muses. dance forward to the sleeping
snepherd, and, after chanting OF their
respective gifts, they stoop and kiss the
handsome youth, imparting in this COM
munion the gifts OF lyric, epic and reIig-
ious poetry.
Maiden prfxe In n.oo
The youth enthralled by the beauty OF |
what he considers vision dreamed |
awakens and addresses an ode TO the |
gods in Thanksgiving. when to his ecsta- |
tic eyes the Goddess OF Wisdom appears
She tells him that down at the temple |
one of her maidens is about to be put |
to death. The maiden is falsely ac-
cused. the goddess continues This is |
but the accusations OF the underworld |
demons who are trying to get the maiden |
In their power.
The three Furys in the fire garden are |
the conspirators and already they have |
dispatched fire demon runners in a race
down to Athens, the winner TO have the |
maid
They can only be defeated. the god
dess continues. by the youth taking her
shield. which will turn all beholders to
stone, and racing on the back of the |
winged morse down TO the temple and !
winning the race and maid
The youth rushes forward impetuously |
to claim the shield and 10, he himself |
was turned to stone. Then the most |
weird ceremonies are performed by thir-
ty-two black garbed males carrying light |
cd taDers and spears. a form Of bier
and to the accompaniment of a weird |
chant they bury the youth in stone
sepulchre. The Goddess Athene moves
ever majestically and attends sfpre the
aperture of the sepulchre. and 10 the
astonished gaze OF all resurrects the youth |
from the grave ard to her call the wing
ed horse appears guarded by the God OF
Love. The youth leaps into the saddle
and speeds off upon his perilous race.
Trial by Ordeal.
Again a scene before the temple is .
disclosed where the maiden is about to
suffer the traditional death. The hun
1reds OF males break into wild barbaric /
demanding the immediate death |
Of the maiden, that she may be the saCri /
rce, lest the nation be plagued. Just at
his moment the Goddess Athene makes l
4 miraculous appearance and they fall I
in reverent awe. To gain time for the
shepherd to defeat the demons in the
race. Athene demands that the maiden
be granted three trials by ordeal. Here
ensue three OF the most beautiful and
spectacular scenes in drama.
The first ordeal II that of dove flight Il
zach person liberating two doves. ad this
most beautiful spectacle of a canopy OF /
living birds forms overhead (the doves
being weighted so that extended fight