The Graduates' Night performance of the Cercle Francais play, "Les Plaideurs," was given last night in Brattle Hall. The acting throughout was of a high standard, and the scanning of the French verses and the intonation, which is very difficult in classic verse, was exceptionally good. The articulation, which could be noticed by the motion of the lips and the opening of the mouth--the chief characteristic of Latin tongues--was very marked. The movement of the play was fairly well sustained, giving fair unity to the plot, which is more complicated than those of past Cercle plays. The action was especially well sustained in the second and third acts. In the first act there was a little hesitation in the dialogue, which was soon remedied when the nervousness incidental to an initial performance wore off. Throughout there was an absence of that strained, awkward rendering of the French, which usually accompanies an amateur play in a foreign tongue. The costumes and scenic effects were excellent, and the French dress typical of the period was carefully portrayed.
W. D. Haviland as Daudin, the old judge, delivered his lines with fluency and acted the part of the eccentric in good style. A. C. Champollion and Haviland articulated the French verse in perhaps the best style. The acting of K. H. Gibson, playing the difficult part of the old countess, was exceedingly good, but his articulation was indistinct from his constant attempt to imitate the shrill treble of an old lady. With the exception of F. B. Thompson and L. de Koven, the acting was rather suppressed in the attempt to give the French accent and intonation correctly. E. C. Edson as Leandre, the timid son of the old judge, played his part with great skill and he impersonated the character of the subdued lover very carefully. W. A. Burnham as Isabelle, was well made up and acted the part of the proud daughter of Chicaneau very daintily.
The ballet, which was given in the entre-acts, opens with a scene showing the coast guard walking his beat. As soon as he has gone by, appear the five Nereides in a dance. They are followed by Amphitrite who, issuing from the sea, throws on the sand an oyster, during a graceful dance. The first part ends with the five Nereides and Amphitrite dancing. In the second part appear the Travelers, who wander along the shore and discover the oyster. The sea nymphs and Amphitrite watch them from the background. The Travelers quarrel over the oyster and are surprised by the captain of the coast guard, who takes them off to court. In the third period the trial scene takes place in which the judge emphasizes the nature of all men of his kind by giving each of the Travelers a shell and appropriating the oyster for himself. The ballet closes with a grand march. The three features of the dance are the "wave dance" of E. B. Ahlborn in the first act; the grotesque dance by H. Kellogg, with its original acrobatic features, and a solo by the improviser, W. H. Chase.
The cast of "Les Plaideurs" was as follows:
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