New Britain herald., 1915-02-06

i
 ar adaptation from the French of Eugene Scribe. Those familiar with 1 French literature will recall that | Scribe was the most prolific. prob i ably the most popular. and propor- ! tionately the most wealthy, play 1 wright of French literary history. 1 No Dramatist. hardly any writer of 1 our time has accumulated such 1 wealth. His annual income from 1 copyrights often reached $30.000. The 1 play which the Teachers club com ! nittee has selected for it's initial per ! formance. though written by the
 famous French playwright, is essen- 1 tially a Russian story, and not French. | The action takes place in small
 village in Russian Poland, and all | the characters are Russians. | The plot of the play will recall Shakespeare's Flaming of the | Shrew." though the shrew will be tanned in a purely Muscovite fashion. 1 "A Russian Honeymoon though not
 a problem play by any means, has an underlying serious strain. into which is woven much humor. The action
 takes place partly in a peasants cob
 bling shop and partly in the drawing
 room of a wealthy chateau, and thus
 affords a medium for portraying Russian life among the different classes.
 The committee in charge of the costuming has spent much time and study in an endeavor to have the costumes true to life, and has been
 fortunate in receiving much help from the Russian Americans living in this cCsm mopoitan city The music incl dent to the play has also been ranged by Professor Matthews from Russian scores. A Russian peasant dance has been arranged under the direction of Miss Wescott. The stage properties also have been carefully selected, and many Russian citizens
 have very generously loaned articles
 Of household furnishings which will preserve the historical accuracy of the
 lt cal color.
 There are in all about twenty people
 in the cast, all chosen from the teach
 ing force of the city schools, and Pro-
 lessor Moody, president of the club, believes that an all-star cast has been
 secured. The play, though admirably
 adapted for an amateur performance,
 was written for the professi ional stage,
 and had a very successful run on the
 boards of the Madison Square theater
 in New York. The Teachers club
 actors have been greatly assisted by
 the management and several of the
 individual actors of the Lyceum Stock
 company The proceeds from the
 performance Thursday are toward a
 fund for the furnishing of club
 room for the use of the teachers in the city.
 Enough cannot be said in praise of those who so successfully managed, directed and took part in the opera, 'The Red Mill" this years play given for charitable purposes
 The laurels and appreciation of the now well known cast are all their due, as they more than fulfilled the prophecies regarding their dramatic ability.
 'The Red Mill" is the most diff
 cult play our local artists have under
 taken, but it has proved the most
 popular and the best presented of any.
 Undoubtedly the key to the success of these operas, which have become
 a fixture in the social life of New
 Britain, Is the inspiring influence of
 Mrs. Charles F. Wetmore, who has
 found no amount of work too much for this worthy cause and who has won the high esteem of all who have had the pleasure of coming in con- tact with her charming personality Following Wednesday nights per- formance of the Red Mill" a dance
 for those who took part in the play and members of the local social set
 was held at Booths hall.
 The closing feature of New Britain's biggest society event was largely at tended and all enjoyed the pleasant
 evening which the committee in charge had arranged.
 The proceeds of this function
 amounted to twenty-seven dollars and will aid in swelling the receipts de- voted entirely to charitable purposes The patronesses were MT. Charles
 F. Wetmore. Mrs. George P. Hart, Mrs
 A. N. Lewis and Mrs. Elford w. Eddy
 Those in charge of the affair were Donald R. Hart Maurice H. Pease,
 Stanley Eddy and Frank Lewis. Last evening the Methodist Social 1 Union of Central Connecticut met at 1 6:30 o'clock Ut the local Trinity
 church. Supper was served and was ! followed by the feature of the eve | nlng's entertainment, an address by 1 Rev. Dr. J. P. Mains of New York, l who chose for his subject "Metho odisrns l Greatest Institutions Mrs. H. F.. | Horton favored with a solo and was
 accompanied by Harry Burdick |
 Mrs. Robert J. Vance of Maple 1 street and Miss Agnes Vance left yes- ! terday for a months visit in Florida
 Miss Mable Rice of Schnectady N. ] Y is. hn of rd