Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-02-20
A MARVEL OF Accomplishment
IS MOST SPECTACULAR HISTORICAL
PAGEANT BY STUDENTS OF c. C.I.

Stuperdcus and spectacular in its
phase the historical pageant depicting
the progress Of civilization. as por-
.rayed bv the ztudents Of Cobu-n
Classical Institute Friday evening az
the Watert-iile City Opera house, goes
down in the history Of local amateur
rnes,r:cals as the greatest effort OF
lis kind in the history OF Name
schools
-Four distinct parts, treating OF your
important periods Of history. 10 scenes
I25 people and 500 worth Of costumes
and special scenery, created especially
for the production. easily entities II TO
the leading piace among such pro1uc-
tons in Maine
A Truly ceburn Work
L is more truly remarkable because
the pageant Itself was composed ano
cou,piled for the institute students by
Miss Adele Gilpa-ricG, one o. the
members Of the faculty The scenery
and costumes were made n water
VILE. The talent is wholly Students
alumni or clos friends Of the scheei-
The direct supervision Of the produc-
-;on has been III the hands q MISS
Nary Hed.agtoa. VINO. with wonderful
facility and executive ability, trained
the small army Of performers into
historical presentation thai Would NV
a; productions % metropolitan stages
Ever minute detail, every gesture,
every sentence was modelled 10 ths
occasion b. careful and palns,aAing
preparation. Long waits between the
acts perhaps tended 10 develop lit
tie rnonotony, bu, this was forgotten
in the finished story OF the world
progress and advancement that vas
SLOWLY and realistically un:cl1ec BE-
fore the eyes.
The Undertaking
The SUCCESS Of such al Undertaking
depends largely upon the atmosphere,
the general environment and the COS
tuning, and the prod ucer5 realized
this. II was wonderful display u
dressuaking an. And more SO because
the patterns copied were those Of CEN
tur;ss ago. To the one or ones who
picked the performers for their parts
La due a very large amount Of credit
To have chosen from such an array OF
leading roles. was indeed the task Of
z keen student Of human nature and
character. Each personality, each
voice, each gesture seemed 70 Mt ex-
ac.iy the mind picture that spectators,
students II history had created in the
course Of their perusals Of books OF
long ago. Even before the hour Of the
performance. the success OF the pa
eeant was assured for practically eV-
cry seat vas sold by Friday noon
This meant that there would be q ire
mendous demand for rush seats and
there was. 81 the time the curtain
rose on the first scene the s. r. o
sign might we'll have been displayed
at the box Office. Approximately l51l
people crowded within the four walls
to learn & lesson in history, art and
culture. The classic converse OF the
ancient Greeks and Romans, the Gull
ture Of the courts and throne rooms
the delving into the classics could mol
have helped from leaving its imprint
upon the people who listened and
watched attentively for almost three
hours.
With Greek and Persian
Taken away back to the days OF the
contests between the Greeks and the
Persians, the first step toward pro-
yress was the Persian ambassadors
demanding tokens Of earth and water
from the Athenians. The Athenians re-
fused, and the ambassadors were sent
to dungeons TO find plenty Of earth
and water. Then William Coughlan.
who spoke the lines of the famous
Marathon runner, Pheidippides, was
the leading figure in two scenes laid
before the Archons. A remarkable pic
ture Of the Delphic Oracle with Ethel