The Cercle Francais will give the graduates' performance of its twenty-first annual production tonight at 8 o'clock in Brattle Hall. Admission will be free to all undergraduates and graduates of the University. The two public performances will be given in Jordan Hall, Boston, on Wednesday, December 11, and Friday, December 13.
Three short plays will be given this year in place of the customary long presentation, and it is hoped thus to cater to more varied tastes, the three plays being of a widely different character. They are, in the order of their presentation, Labiche's "J'Invite le Colonel," an amusing comedy; Banville's "Gringoire," a play of pathos; and "La Gifle," a broad farce by Dreyfus. A novelty at the performance will be the singing and dancing between the acts. The rehearsals have been under the direction of M. d'Armand, who has had considerable experience in dramatic teaching.
The casts of the plays are as follows: "J'Invite le Colonel." "J'Invite le Colonel," the first of the three plays, is a one-act comedy. M. Carbonnel has had a flirtation of which his wife learns and for which she decides to punish him. She takes from him the keys of the treasure-box, and, in addition, pretends, than a Colonel Bernard of their acquaintance, has paid court to her and still presses his attentions upon her. By threatening to "invite the Colonel," she silences her husband whenever he seeks to prove his masculine superiority. Colonel Bernard, in the meantime, has become engaged and comes to Paris to celebrate his wedding. On his coming to visit Carbonnel, Elisa, the latter's wife, pretends to carry on a flirtation with him, but her husband, learning of the Colonel's intended marriage, threatens to expose the use which she has made of the Colonel's mane, and thus regains the keys. The plays ends with the discomfiture of Elisa and the triumph of Carbonnel. "Gringoire." "Gringoire," the most serious of the three plays, is one of the masterpieces of the graceful poet, Theodore do Banville. It is still contained in the repertoire of the Comedies Francaise, and is played today by some of the best actors of that illustrious company. The action takes place in the time of Louis XI. At the opening of the play, the king is seated at table with Oliver-Le-Daim, his barber and favorite, when a great commotion is heard in the street, and Gringoire, the vagabond poet, is seen outside. Gringoire has incurred the enmity of Oliver, who summons him into the mansion and compels him to sing one of his ballads with which all the streets of Paris are ringing. The ballad is directed against the king, and Oliver hopes to bring about the composer's ruin by having him sing it in the royal presence. At the close of the song the king summons before him Loyse, a beautiful bourgeoise with whom Oliver-Le-Daim has fallen in love. Louis promises Gringoire that he will spare his life if he succeeds in winning Loyse within the hour. When left alone with her, however, the poet forces himself, by a supreme effort, to keep silence on the subject of the king's command. On the latter's return, Loyse for the first time realizes Gringoire's position, and declares that by the subtlety and sweetness of his conversation he has won her heart. The play ends in the ruin of Oliver and the wedding of Loyse and Gringoire. "La Gifle." The last of the plays, "La Gifle," is a short and witty face, with repaid action and amusing lines. Blanch-Misseron, a deputy of the Chamber, desires to fight a duel, in order to silence the mockers who have ridiculed his passive attitude toward his adversaries. He therefore picks a quarrel with an army officer, Jules Chamberiot, who has come to the office of the ministry to file a claim for a cross of the Leghorn of Honor, but who lacks the necessary deputy's, endorsement for his petition. Blanche-Misserone agrees to endorse the solder's petition, and Chamber lot in return makes a pretense of a duel, thus silencing the mockers of Blanch-Misserone, and at the same time obtaining his medal. Tickets for the two public performances in Jordan Hall are on sale at Thurston's, and in Boston at Herrick's and at Shoehorns. They may also be obtained from W., G. Roelker, Cleverly 1, and a limited number of tickets will be on sale at the hall. The price of seats on the floor will be $1.50, and in the balcony $1. General admission tickets will be on sale at 50 cents
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STATEMENT FROM PRINCETON
