Evening star., 1938-04-24

r. VERY spring for the last
~ IS years and more, during
the month of April, New
Workers have been priv
ileged to see the children of the
King-Coit School give their an
nual play. This is a treat so
rare, 50 choice that hard bitten
critics come to see and leave en-
raptured. Stark Young, Alexander
Woollcott, both acerbate judges of
the drama in their time. have
written ecstatically about perform
ances of "Aucassin and Nicolette"
and The Tempest" Brooks At
kinson's prose has radiated praise
=. They give eight performances,
Tuesdays and Saturdays. All the
tickets are sold ahead of time. Not
only do old New Yorkers come out
OF the woodwork for this, but the
theater people come and come
again. Katherine Cornell has been
three times in the last two weeks.
This year, in their own theater,
which holds about $50 people, the
children gave The Golden Cage"
arranged from the poems of Will
liam Blake by Catherine Cook
Smith, with music by Arthur Whit
ing. Dorothy Colt directed the
play: the costumes, scenery and
makeup were designed from the
engravings of William Blake by
Edith King, Helen Farr and Martha
Ryther. Mikhail Mordkin (the
great MordkinD and Catherine
1nnes Renouf taught the children
the dances.
The characters in the play are
q Shepherd tthe human souD,
the Children of Eden, who are the
birds, the flowers, the peacocks and
the insects; a Malign Spirit lthe
pSince of the love of illusion),
Child "a creative image, the other
Children (spirits of innocence, a
Nurse. an Angel tthe shepherds
heavenly counterpart), and the
Morning Stars (the comforters).
The argument is based on the
poem of Blakes'. which starts:
How sweet roamed from field to
field
And Tasted all the summers
pride.
Till I. the Prince of Love, beheld
Who in the sunny beams did
glide"
And Is described thus:
"A young shepherd following his
sheep to pasture, watches the
dances Of the birds, the flowers, the
peacocks and the insects. He is
happy until he is deceived by the
Prince Of the Love of Illusion.
who entaneles him in his net and
shuts him in a golden cage. The
child hears his means and comes
to him. The shepherd pipes to
please the child who calls other
children to play. The child hears
an angel singing and brings him
to counsel the child. The angel
calls the morning stars to comfort
him. The child frees the shep-
herd from the golden cage and
shows him the way to strength and
JOY. The angel bushes the earth to
sleep and the stars return to the
sky"
This is a plot of cobweb delicacy,
but there was nothing to mar the
light and glowing texture of
the childrens Interpretation of
Blake's poignant lines. The lumi-
nous stage and the gossamer cos
TUNES were as fragile as a Blake
water color. The oldest in the
cast was IL and the youngest under
4. During the rehearsals, which
are conducted with the precision
and regularity Of a Broadway pro-
duction, with the same profess
sional attention to makeup and
lighting, George DeKay, the IL
year-old boy who plays the lead
ing role of the shepherd said to
Miss Colt:
This is lovely way for us
actors, but think it will be too
highbrow for the audience"
WE DIDN'T get to see the cir
Gus last week when the strike
was on and every one from the
men on the flying trapeze to Frank
Buck were shifting scenery, but We
did go the other night and. be-
lieve us, it Is something" When
John Ringing North, the execu-
tive head of Ringing Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey's combined
shows employed Charles lie Marie
to recostume this show, he made
dream come true. Gone are the
shoddy old pink tights and ostrich
feathers and rhinestones We learned
to know so we'll. Now the ele-
plants stride in with trappings Of
gold and silver cloth that cost s25
a yard. Tigers are led on by a
troupe OF Bengal lancers that de-
lighted Gary Cooper when he saw
them. The Oriental princesses
who sway around on the backs Of
camels are dripping with long,
richly colored wells and glamour.
Even the lovely. fat, white horses
who galump around the rings are