Imperial Valley press., 1927-02-04
SOCIETY AND CLUB NEWS

! part. In the role of his faithful
and loving wife, who remains stead
fast during the years of her lord
displeasure, Mrs. Roberts was most
| pleasing.
Ably supporting the principal,
were Mrs. Edwin o. Carter as "'Po
lixines,' King of Bohemia, the
trusty friend of Leontes who i:
forced to flee for his life by the
jealousy of his former friend, and
Mrs. n. A. Contos as "Camillo,' 8
lord of Stella, who proves himself
loyal friend and wise counsellor
to both the DISTRACTED monarchs in
their hours of greatest need.
In the first act, during which
Leontes' jealousy is growing, little
Duane Malev appeared as Mamillus
the young heir to the king whose un-
timely death later occurs from his
grief at the dishonor heaped upon
his mother.
Act II opens with Leontes holding
the trail of Hermoine, whom his
jealous rage has condemned to pris-
on, where she has given birth to a
child which the king believes to be
that of the now hated Polixines.
Paulina, 4 lady in waiting and
staunch friend of Hermione, Mrs.
Z. j. Maack,) begs for the innocent
babe and the honor of her queen,
but Leontes bids her begone, and
will have none Of the babe.
Before his harShness, Hermoine,
who is brought from prison and
hears the charges read against her
by the court officer, effectively i'm
personated by Mrs. F. D. Jacobs.
After plea for his belief in her in
nocence, in which Mrs. Roberts as
the queen does excellent work. Her
mione swoons and is borne out by
the ladies in waiting, who later re
port her death.
New Characters introduced -.
As Perdita, daughter to Leontes
and Hermione, Mrs. Calvin G. Nous
seau comes into the play as the
charming daughter of shepherd. In
reality she has but grown from
babyhood under the shepherd s ten
der care, following her cruel aban-
donment in a distant land at the or
der of her father.
Enchanted by Perdita's beauty
and grace, Florizel, Prince Of Bo-
hemia, most successfully imperson-
ated by Miss Agnes Ferris, disguises
his high rank and, under the name
of Doricles, sues for the hand of the
young shepherdess. Discovering
the love of his son for the Shep-
herd s fair daughter, Polixenes. in
whose very kingdom Perdita has
grown to womanhood, visits the
home of the shepherd in disguise, ae-
companied by the faithful Camille.
Although aware of Perdita 8
beauty and gracious manners, Polk
enes soon falls into a rage upon
hearing his son swear his love to the
maid, and snatching off his mask in
wrath orders separation for the two
and punishment for them and the
old shepherd. whose character was
realistically interpreted by Mrs. NJ.
J. Doud.
Seeing that Prince Florizel is
firm in his devotion to Perdita, even
though it cost him the throne, the
wise Camille councils that the two
lovers take refuge at the court of
Leontes, whence he will accompany
them. Together with the old shep
herd the three arrive at the court of
Stella, where Leontes IS struck by
Perdita s resemblance to his lost
wife. The old shepherd s story of
finding the babe in rich robes, to.
gether with the jewels he has treas
ured for her, prove her royal birth
and she is joyously welcomed by
the king, who has lived for years in
lemorse and loneliness.
Dramatic Climax Aeached
The play reaches its climax when
Paulina again appears and tells the
king Of beautiful statue of his
former queen which has just been
made. Spellbound, Leontes and his
new-found daughter stand before
the statue of their wife and mother.
Leontes mourns for his beloved,
Paulina tells him that she can make
the statue move, and the conscience
stricken king begs her to do so. In
a bit Of acting which was not sur
passed in the play, the statue stirs,
seems to come to life, and silently
bestows a blessing upon the kneeling
Perdita. The curtain falls upon the
pretty reconciliation scene with the
king and queen restored to the DOS
session Of their former love.
Adding materially to the effec-
tlveness Of the production was a
dance by Marcelle Jones of Brawley,
a song by Madame Katherine Ward
kupelian and a story of the further
development Of the plot given bv
Mrs. y. A. Contos between the acts.
As the "sOuth wind, the attractive
young dancer, a pupil Of Miss We
nola Eaton Of Brawley, created an
out-0f-do atmosphere for the act
which she introduced.
Singing off stage, Madame Kupe-
han gave a most pleasing rendition
Of | IN Pedlar,' from IA Win
ter s Tale" the music arranged by
James Greenhill in 1840. Mrs. Car
ter acted as her accompanist.
Mrs. Contos' little sketch Of a
portion Of the plot, was well given,
and added materially to the presen,
tation of the play.
Particular credit is due Mrs.
Hickcox upon her adaptation of the
drama, which included cnnsidcrabIo