The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-20
THE FRENCH ACTORS AGAIN.
They play In "BrittRnicus" and Gle
Kaiser" AZ the Harris.

The French Stage Society, which Mrs.
Henry Harris shelters In the Harris
Theatre. has already advanced to Racine,
which is n step beyond its previous efforts.
"Brittanicus." followed by Theodore de
Ranville's lie Baiser." was acted yester-
day afternoon. This is certainly n typi-
cally national programme. II would be
impossible to finds it's like in the theatre
of any other nation.
ITEMS reads vdireos from the copy Of
the Figaro, which In bringing to- him and
Gubcrtc at Nenice--already unhappy In
their independence of all the world-thc
news of that Paris they have both begun
to long for. ITEMS, une premiere au
Palais Royal. ON commencera hut
heures ct demi."
1t is GHbcrtc's duty to be brave. so she
tries her harmless little Joke:
Nous n'aurons temps pas o'ariiver.'
IL is the best she can do In the circum-
stances. for this wonderful scene in
"Frou Frou" of the disenchantmcnt that
may follow too sudden love Is pitt
less In the problem It poses for the
woman But they keep on reading the
theatre announcements. these two desper-
ate souls, to find La Juive" at the Opera,
Les Faux Manages" at this theatre and
lie Premier Jour de Bonheur" at that.
But "Brittanicus' at the Odeon does not
make them homesick. IL IL the one echo
Of Paris that does not whisper to them
that they both want to be back there.
But Racine's play was acted here yes
terday afternoon and II has been u long
time since Mehac X Halevy's MASTER
piece adorned the programme of any New
York theatre. There ought TO be a pub
| lie for these performances of the French
classics--a larger public than there was
IN the Harris Theatre yesterday. The
French verse In recited with sufficient
| skill to give the Language it's full effective
ness. 1t is altogether possible that the
! persons TO whom the pieces would be
most beneficial might be rather bored by
what they witnessed. But culture IL not
| all beer and skittles. and youth might
occasionally be reminded that there are
other words In the French language than
the and "dansant' and that the COM
bination of the two was not altogether
the highest achievement of the artists in
, the Gallo tongue.
Nine. Yorska, who betrays her lack o.
| experience chiefly In her paucity of ges-
ture and its unimagnstiveness ana In her
| indifference to the presence Of her ASSOC
| ciates. played Brittdnicils. There Is m
record of any production OF the PLAY
here so II cannot be said that this part
is custonarily acted by man. Bu,
| this is true of those theatres In which
| Racines tragedy Is still alive Nine
| Yorska should not forget that a Listened
| may be quite as eloquent ~ the most
| vehement declaimer. Her associates yes.
| terday were Jose Ruben. Adrien Grevln
| Henri Nerneu!l, Mary Norton, Georgetty
| Passsdoit and Name Defrance. NJ. Ruben
| ~ evidently much more experienced than
any OF his associates. and he acts with
| a freedom and variety known to none of
! them. His performance of Pterrot, with
| its suggestion Of natural and ingenious
gayety and his graceful gesture, was A
| most agreeable achievement IN fanta J.
| tic comedy Nine Yorska scintllated IN
| her white and silver frock and read the
| lines OF De Banvile with feeling