A week from next Saturday evening the first public performance of the. Pi Eta play, "The Alcayde," will be given in Cambridge. Rehearsals of chorus and principals have been in progress for several weeks, and everthing points toward a successful production of the new piece. Mr. Edward E. Rose will have entire charge of the production.

The Alcayde is a two-act comic opera of a fairly legitimate order. The book is by George Stephens L. S., and the music by F. E. Barry '97, the authors of last year's play. The librettist has furnished a bright vigorous book. The plot has the merit of being substantial and connected, calling for plenty of lively situations and humorous complications, and giving the characters a wide range of acting, from serio-comic to pure burlesque, without departing from the central interest of the opera. Almost all the songs, dances, and bits of burlesque are closely allied to the development of the plot, which by the end of the first act becomes hopelessly intricate and tangled, only to unwind itself during the action of the second act and run smoothly at last.

The atmosphere is distinctly Spanish. The plot hangs on the ardent love of the young Alcayde for a fair maiden, the ward of the stern and pompous Grand Inquisitor of Seville. The latter dignitary has many schemes of his own which he puts into execution at the expense of the poor Alcayde, but not without involving himself in serious complications. The reckless projects of a wandering gypsy are accountable for a general misunderstanding on the part of all and cause grave difficulties before matters are finally straightened out. Spanish peasants, gypsies and Moors give the action a picturesque surrounding.

The principal parts will be taken by N. H. White L. S., E. M. Waterhouse '97, Vivian Burnett '98, G. D. Scott '96, E. W. Rich '97, A. R. Sherriff '96, A. E. Hatch '98, F. R. Wright '98, J. A. Loud '98, and F. Winchester '97.

Graduates' night will be Friday, May 8, and the public performances as follows: Cambridge, Saturday, May 9 and Monday, May 11; Copley Hall, Boston, Wednesday, May 13; Academy of Music, Fall River, Friday, May 15; Mechanics' Hall, Salem, Saturday, May 16, and Lynn Theatre, Tuesday, May 19.