THE WORLD’S BEST PLAYS
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BARRETT H. CLARK
GENERAL EDITOR
A Christmas Tale: in
One Act: by Maurice
Bouchor: Translated by
Barrett H. Clark
Samuel French: Publisher
28-30 West Thirty-eighth Street: New York
LONDON
Samuel French, Ltd.
26 Southampton Street, Strand
Copyright, 1915,
by SAMUEL FRENCH
Maurice Bouchor was born at Paris in 1855.
Bouchor is a dramatic poet of rare inspiration and tragic depth. His best-known long plays, “Tobie,” “Noël,” and “Les Mystères d’Eleusis,” are, in the words of an eminent French critic, “among the most beautiful works of our time.” “Conte de Noël”—“A Christmas Tale,” here translated for the first time into English—is a charming little dramatic episode. It was first performed at the Comédie Française, in Paris, in 1895.
This play may be elaborately staged, but the detailed stage-directions need not be faithfully adhered to. The simplest of interiors and costumes may be used.
| Saint Nicholas | |
| Saint Rose | |
| Pierre Coeur | A sculptor |
| Jacqueline | His wife |
| Rosette | Their little girl, asleep in her cradle |
Scene:—A room in the home of Pierre Coeur, Paris.
Time:—The Fifteenth Century.
Scene:—A room of considerable size, serving at once as living-room and studio. Everything is simple, clean, and neat. To the right are wooden statues of various kinds, some painted in bright colors, but most of them unfinished. Strewn about the floor are pieces of wood, large blocks, and the like, together with chisels and other implements. The statues of Saint Nicholas and Saint Rose—actors dressed to represent them—stand down-stage to the right, close to each other. Saint Nicholas is an old man with a white beard, who wears the rich costume of a bishop; Saint Rose, little more than a child, with roses in her hair, is dressed like a saint of Fra Angelico. There is a door to the right, just behind these statues. To the left is a large fire-place, in which are dying embers; two children’s shoes lie on the hearthstone. Nearby is the cradle—hung with curtains—in which little Rose is sleeping. At the center of the stage is a table, with a meal set on it, and a chair on either side. Through a bay-window at the back are seen the silhouette of the cathedral of Notre Dame and the roofs of houses covered with snow. It is night, and a few stars are out. On the mantel above the fire-place burns a candle; two other candles, half-burnt, are on the table. As the curtain rises, Jacqueline is seated on a chair. She sits listening to a church bell which strikes five. Then she rises.
CURTAIN.
THE WORLD’S BEST PLAYS
By Celebrated European Authors
A NEW SERIES OF AMATEUR PLAYS BY THE BEST AUTHORS, ANCIENT AND MODERN, ESPECIALLY TRANSLATED WITH HISTORICAL NOTES, SUGGESTIONS FOR STAGING, Etc., FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND DRAMATIC CLUBS
Barrett H. Clark
General Editor
With the immensely increased demand for new plays for purposes of production by amateurs comes a correspondingly great demand for a careful selection of those plays which can be easily and well presented by clubs and colleges. The plays in the present series have been chosen with regard to their intrinsic value as drama and literature, and at the same time to their adaptability to the needs and limitations of such organizations.
The Series, under the personal supervision of Mr. Barrett H. Clark, instructor in the department of Dramatic Literature at Chautauqua, New York, assistant stage manager and actor with Mrs. Fiske (season 1912-1913), now comprises ten volumes, and fifteen more will make their appearance during the year. Eventually there will be plays from ancient Greece and Rome, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries, representative of some of the best drama of all ages and lands.
Each volume is prefaced by a concise historical note by Mr. Clark and with a few suggestions for staging.
Plays Now Ready
INDIAN SUMMER, a comedy in one act by Meilhac and Halevy. This little play, by two of the most famous writers of comedy of the last century, has been played at the Comédie Française at Paris for upwards of forty years, and remains one of the brightest and most popular works of the period. Price 25 Cents.
ROSALIE, by Max Maurey. A “Grand Guignol” comedy in one act, full of verve and clever dialogue. Rosalie, the stubborn maid, leads her none too amiable master and mistress into uncomfortable complications by refusing to open the front door to a supposed guest of wealth and influence. Price 25 Cents.
MODESTY, by Paul Hervieu. A delightful trifle by one of the most celebrated of living dramatists. Price 25 Cents.
THE ART OF BEING BORED, (Le Monde où l’on s’Ennuie), a comedy in three acts by Edouard Pailleron. Probably the best-known and most frequently acted comedy of manners in the realm of nineteenth century French drama. It is replete with wit and comic situations. For nearly forty years it has held the stage, while countless imitators have endeavored to reproduce its freshness and charm. Price 25 Cents.
A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL, by Anton Tchekhoff, a comedy in one act, by one of the greatest of modern Russian writers. This little farce is very popular in Russia, and satirizes the peasants of that country in an amusing manner. Price 25 Cents.
THE GREEN COAT, by Alfred de Musset and Émile Augier. A slight and comic character sketch of the life of Bohemian artists in Paris, written by one of France’s greatest poets and one of her best-known dramatists. Price 25 Cents.
THE WAGER, by Giuseppe Giacosa. This one act poetic comedy, written by the most celebrated dramatist of modern Italy, was the author’s first work. It treats of a wager made by a proud young page, who risks his life on the outcome of a game of chess. Price 25 Cents.
THE LITTLE SHEPHERDESS, a poetic comedy in one act, by André Rivoire. A charming pastoral sketch by a well-known French poet and dramatist. Played with success at the Comédie Française. Price 25 Cents.
PHORMIO, a Latin comedy by Terence. An up-to-date version of the famous comedy. One of the masterpieces of Latin drama; the story of a father who returns to find that his son has married a slave girl. Phormio, the parasite-villain who causes the numerous comic complications, succeeds in unraveling the difficulties, and all ends happily. Price 25 Cents.
THE TWINS, a Latin farce by Plautus, upon which Shakespeare founded his Comedy of Errors. Price 25 Cents.
THE BOOR, by Anton Tchekoff. A well-known farce by the celebrated Russian master; it is concerned with Russian peasants, and portrays with masterly skill the comic side of country life. Price 25 Cents.
THE BLACK PEARL, by Victorien Sardou. One of Sardou’s most famous comedies of intrigue. A house has, it is thought, been robbed. But through skilful investigation it is found that the havoc wrought has been done by lightning. Price 25 Cents.
CHARMING LEANDRE, by Théodore de Banville. The author of “Gringoire” is here seen in a poetic vein, yet the Frenchman’s innate sense of humor recalls, in this satirical little play, the genius of Molière. Price 25 Cents.
THE POST-SCRIPTUM, by Émile Augier. Of this one-act comedy Professor Brander Matthews writes: “ ... one of the brightest and most brilliant little one-act comedies in any language, and to be warmly recommended to American readers.” Price 25 Cents.
THE HOUSE OF FOURCHAMBAULT, by Émile Augier. One of the greatest of recent French family dramas. Although the play is serious in tone, it contains touches which entitle it to a position among the best comedies of manners of the times. Price 25 Cents.
THE DOCTOR IN SPITE OF HIMSELF, by Molière. A famous farce by the greatest of French dramatists. Sganarelle has to be beaten before he will acknowledge that he is a doctor, which he is not. He then works apparently miraculous cures. The play is a sharp satire on the medical profession in the 17th Century. Price 25 Cents.
BRIGNOL AND HIS DAUGHTER, by Capus. The first comedy in English of the most sprightly and satirical of present-day French dramatists. Price 25 Cents.
CHOOSING A CAREER, by G. A. de Caillavet. Written by one of the authors of “Love Watches.” A farce of mistaken identity, full of humorous situations and bright lines. Price 25 Cents.
FRENCH WITHOUT A MASTER, by Tristan Bernard. A clever farce by one of the most successful of French dramatists. It is concerned with the difficulties of a bogus-interpreter who does not know a word of French. Price 25 Cents.
PATER NOSTER, a poetic play in one act, by François Coppée. A pathetic incident of the time of the Paris Commune, in 1871. Price 25 Cents.
THE ROMANCERS, a comedy in three acts, by Edmond Rostand. New translation of this celebrated and charming little romantic play by the famous author of “Cyrano de Bergerac” and “Chantecler.” Price 25 Cents.
THE MERCHANT GENTLEMAN, (Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme), by Molière. New translation of one of Molière’s comic masterpieces, a play which is peculiarly well adapted to amateur production. Price 50 Cents.