New-York tribune., 1920-01-11
Behind-Scene Secrets
OF Staging ''Aphrodite"
Here and Now Reveal led

Handling big scenic spectacle like
"Aphrodite" at the Century ,Theater
is an expensive proceeding. The stage
hands of the Century have been making
fabulous wages because of the demand
for their services, and Morris Gest,
who produced. "Aphrodite' in associa-
tion with F. Ray Comstock. has been
paying out small fortune every week
to electrlcians, scene shifters and prop
erty men. All this is due to the fact
that "Aphrodite" as a scenic spectacle
is unquestionably the most elaborate
stage Offering ever shown in a legiti-
mate theater in New York.
The biggest part of the spectacle and
the feature which causes more trouble
than anything else is the great tower
which is used in the last act. This
colossal affair is an exact duplicate of
the celebrated Pharos or lighthouse
Of the Port of Alexandrja, Egypt. The
original Pharos, built by Alexander
the Great, when he conquered Egypt
name, is more than sixty feet high.
Its ruins may still be seen by tourists
visiting Alexandria. On the top of
tins tower flares an enormous beacon,
the fire being lighted at night to warn
the mariners entering the harbor. 1t
vas reached by circular inclined
runway which extended round the
tower three or four times until it
reached the top.
Swete, the stage director, determined
to reproduce this Pharos as accurately
as possible, although necessarily on a
smaller scale. He called in Theodore
Reisig, the sene carpenter and artist,
VINO bullt all of Hammerstein's operatic
productions. Between them they evolved
reproduction of the Pharos, which
stands AZ feet high on the stage of the
Century. Theater. 1t is 26 Feet in diam
eter at the base, and is bvlt of solid
wood and fireproof material 1t is built
IN two sections, as the combined weight
OF the tower would be too great to per-
nit of this enormous "prop" being
hauled all at once. Each section is
mounted on platform, which in turn
is mounted on steel wheels Electric
motors inside the apparatus move it
across the stage and into position, as it
is too heavy to be moved by even an
army of stage hands.
Immediately after the Bacchanalian
reve!, which ends the second act, stage
nands and electricians move this gigan-
TIC lighthouse from its moorings in
distant corner of the stage. and it is
1t is up this great lighthouse, with its.
winding path around the outside, that
Dorothy Dalton climbs when she makes
tne supreme sacrifice to atone for her
SINS. She climbs to the top Of the bea-
con, and in the story is supposed to
throw her red robe down to the populace
below while she poses nude upon the
Dcason. pretending to be the goddess
Aphrodite
AS Miss Dalton climbs this tower
every night, she actually passes from
sight of the audience, up in what is
known as the "fy gallery" of the thea
red robe, and meanwhile Miss Dalton
IS being hurried down another staircase
so that she may be all ready for the
death scene. which takes place few
minutes later on the stage in view of
the audience. 1T is great dsappoint-
ment to some people in the audience that
MISS Dalton passes from view lust at
the critical moment when she climbs the
tower. but some idea of the enormous
SIZE OF the mechanism may be gained
when 1T is explained that Miss Dalton
actually disappears from sight up among
the clouds.
In handling the enormous sets for
the Fokine ballet and the Bacchana-
l1an revel exactly eighty-two stage
hands are required. There are 150
electrical operators, who manipulate
the lights and there are forty-two
'clearers" whose sole business it is to
handle the furniture and the portable /
props which are used in the per
formance. Among the props NAV be
mentioned seven litters of different
style. varying from the gorgeous gold /
en- litter on which Chrysis is carried
t,,,o
The tiny little fragile sedan chair used
by Myrtis and Rhodocelia. the two
little girls of the play.
There are fifteen animals used in