The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

KY Te July 7, 1928 WINNETKA TALK 'Noel', Bouchor Play, Christmastide Drama for Theatron Patrons By Paul McPharlin (Note: "Noel, or the Mystery of the Nativity," by Maurice Bouchor, will be performed at the Woman's club, Evans- ton, next Christmastide, exclusively for the subscribers to Theatron, which will give a season of six distinguished plays, beginning in November. Mr. McPharlin, who is writing these articles, will design and direct the productions.) The Church in the middle ages, making the religious significance of vout, would show by means of little articulated figures the drama of the birth of Christ. These figures all came to be known as little Maries, and hence the word marionette. Reviving the old custom in all its beauty, Thea- tron will give to its subscribers special marionette performances of "Noel, or the Mystery of the Nativity." For them there will be no admittance fee; no price could be put on the enacting of this sacred drama. But they alone will be admitted, for the performance by small figures must take place in an intimate hall in order that all may see and hear. Written for Marionettes Maurice Bouchor wrote this drama especially for marionettes. It was first given in Paris by the famous marionettes of Henri Signoret, so en- thusiastically praised by Anatole | France in essays in his "On Life and | Letters." This play took artistic Paris | by storm; in what we call the yellow nineties its serenity and naivete were refreshingly simple. Its long run was closed not because of lacking audienc- | es, but because of sheer fatigue on! the part of the manipulators. The fol- lowing year it was revived by Sig- noret, and would doubtless have be- come perennial had the company con- tinued. The author is still living, a very old man. He has kindly read my translation and approved it; to put the original French poetry into equiv- alent English verse has beer a diffi- cult task, but not an irksome one. This will be the first time the play is heard in English, and its first per- formance outside of Paris. I am sure that its sincerity and charm will make as many friends for it here as it had abroad. The music, written by Paul Vidal for the original production, will ac- company our performances. Vidal is a pupil of Massenet, to whom the score of "Noel" is dedicated. His melodic invention and skill in har- monization prove him worthy of his master. The introduction is written in sonorous counterpoint, reminiscent of medieval chants. The ballads are based upon Provencal tunes, but the musical passages accompanying the action are "all his own invention." Voices ranging from soprano to bass | are heard solo and in chorus. The marionettes and scenes are quite different from those of the orig- inal production. They are subdued in color, polished in detail. In order to supply the few slow, graceful ges- tures of the characters, a special mechanism has been devised; obvious- ly the skipping and jerking of the string-controlled marionette would de- stroy the grave mood of the play. The figures, at the time of writing, await only a few finishing touches. Months of rehearsal will be necessary to assure a smooth performance, and so work has begun early. Other Plays by Figures This is not to be the only marion- ette performance given by Theatron. Another play of a very different na- ture has already been selected, and details about it will be announced | Many a fine piece that is never seen |on the boards can come to light with [the aid of the obliging mechanical 'Sy | actors. Christmas the more vivid to the de- | ---- later. There are certain plays, I be- | "lieve, that human actors cannot play-- | religious drama, such as "Noel"; fan- tastic drama, full of tricks and trans- formations; and very low slapstick drama. The sight of two comedians belaboring each other with clubs is funny, but the ever-present danger vanilla, spoils the fun of it. Wooden pates Strawberry being whacked are just as funny-- Ice | much more so because the violence se can go to any extreme. These sorts Tee Cream of plays, then, that actors cannot do, _ lati Theatron will do with marionettes. THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL "LABELLE" : . " 'Y HID Q \W IN ~~ OVP TALI me? ith A i Tinh gore, Aw %, #, Q \ Telephone Service, a Publi Tue widespread ownership of the Bell Telephone System places an obligation on its management to guard the savings of its hundreds of thousands of stockholders. Its responsibility for so large a partof thecountry'stelephoneserv- ice imposes an obligation that the service shall always be adequate, dependable and satisfactory to the user. The only sound policy that will meet these obligations is to con- tinue to furnish the best possible service at the lowest cost consist- ent with financial safety. There is then in the Bell System ¢ Trust no incentive to earn speculative or large profits. Earnings must be sufficient to assure the best possi- ble service and the financial integ- rity of the business. Anything in excess of these requirements goes toward extending the service or keeping down the rates. This is fundamental in the policy of the company. The Bell System's ideal is the same as that of the public it serves --the most telephone service and the best, at the least cost to the user. It accepts its responsibility for a nation-wide telephone service as a public trust. ILLINOIS BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY BELL SYSTEM One Policy - One System - Universal Service