A mericat Pinsk Perla&Cal Carter CLIPTON AVILNVI - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO 5 'II I E DETR OIT .1 EW IS II l'llItONICLF. an (ITHE LEGAL. CII 120 NI C I. E "The most A LIVING SACRIFICE TO THE IDOL MOLOCH: Amid the frenzied bacch- analia of a pagan dance, a virgin is dragged to the fiery jaws of the idol Moloch, as the high priest of Moloch prepares to re. ceive the sacrifice. This is only one of a great many similarly thrilling and impressive scenes which mark the g reat pageant "The Ro mance of a People," opening here at the Olym. pi• on Monday evening, April 16. Artistic Phases of the Pageant "The Romance of a People " . By MEYER W. WEISGAL, General Director A truly democratic theater I epochs. Tile individual actors in such a production, while of int- GOOD WILL IS ACHIEVED THROUGH "THE ROMANCE OF A PEOPLE" I eess achieved in Chicago, the spec- tacle was brought to New York, where it was presented under the sponsorship of the New York Daily News, the largest newspaper in The histor y of an ancient people, i came a national identity. What nterpreted t hrough those tragic transpired in those centuries is America, which felt it an honor teal is definitely aleolisheel and in portance, become merely a unit interpreted n t ed with s° hist"rie and tent inomonts of es- part of tht• history of all mankinel to it i he tt i,f_t:,1,,,, attilighUt.,Ild.(:rithaekint ro. htithh. ettt ,:,t,t,i, n's"ei on ,,f ,,, tw,h,,,,,, 17,04,,,,,.„,.,,,,,.,,,,I,,,,t,h. The Itlrigiesf masses dominate the of a large ensemble. A stage had and which the eermit to p of such mass Ii n " People„ "-n" shown in the lac - I il i ' s ' i the musical age and the auditorium will re- t ton. f stag i i le." their religion.: adrili'ctril'i 'esc lo(feni the " t'est structure in the nietromilis. "'rho . movement and a, a consequence tacle, "The. Itomance of a Peol rho i.hoos of folk songs that heritage of millions of people who lo re than -100,000 people saw the suit from the. productions Of do not now profess their faith. That ' of a People" at Olym- now lighting and amplifi cation have lived threeugh the centuries, It 1"4""' " 7' nA rr ee"rd h an never of theatrical gives uniye r ' a l eh atnetee 1.:"; ri "r1,7 Before the ri , fir, of legends that have given i' i what Problems were created: I impressiveness hfiete:r'; in that hit tn i l te ! : 'rod t hie:,tite., , ,etititettl et'ettittuiihiti tgre:e tei„ cr eituttfitt l tetss alit 'bee . 1 lletwh''' spectacle. I'"" on A l' Ill In ' f 4 , of our realized the scope In New York, too, the Koehn.- y w . w e i sga l, wt• fully So thinks Meyer pageant has extileirilinaeY Appeal. - rusitth,i;gittt,"rts executive director "I'. the musical Production we were confronted slides that have created pride in Through musk, dance. and dra- hi:',tit,,,tit,-a;:ntid'esii.iiiie(i,,it ov e r it a r,,..iger,:,, , i , ;;7 g a ,,,,,r7,,,,ntiii.,,,u(.,,,_ ii teqteet tet'hxIi with the task of producing proluced in this country. Burns ,1:,-. ii:) ,1, ),:ig1 ;,7 1 ;i i„r na and drionatic spectacle, W110 eon- i.,t,,i1.t".,::',,','.:,1,Ttit ill the annals11?1,0111i1I.:Er nod i ,.■ . 1 I i:11 ,1,1,1 111,,l :ti.ttI li tilhilitietegtittI v.t 11 ,li ,n , in I N ,lhi i 1 . American that has no parallel the which for art tfri om its lerith in primeval chaos ceived the idea of the huge pro- ' 11 "w . etilkane irain'i..7. ' duction which created a world's theater Presented no P recedent s" 'Pfee 'll's"ifi'l'it I It IhTsi t eri i ''X'' ' 'of f ' 'i ()1 " -antnwrg " l'ussi "" l ' hi >- h.. "The Romance of a People" is nitte'rn't'::..+.n;1111.1ilundt!'sri,tletirr.ni'i•ITenht(!ialif. I , w puteet itthe t , r e e 0(1,1,1 tthhi e, majesty at fif el.lif o "Tht• larger an audience, the artifieT and mooch'of a PeoPlee” rigidIY avoid- . record for attendance andfor size r and histry, t th tueit ittt er,„ eetite.t. t :imnhaiitt'he, rtysivt:tit Il l 'ttti. 1.1tut.itite : ie.11 destiny. ihnahread sitt.y,.r,Th f• tit, tie: : ii hritg, IttI tt.thel of cast at the Century of Progress more difficult becomes the task of Developing Community Spirit. ,t,.t. more than Exposition at Chicago. and then the elireetor. Mr. Isaac Van Grove, dart general director of 'The Romance lesions, musicians and scenarists, ish people in its mast character- •" I • "Thi• Romance lIf a Peo flea spontaneous re- ',tie attitudes. The birth of mono. li,l'Ill ililiV 11 frienin- ill NeW York. of the dos.- 'ices its 1unique signiticami; of a People,' recognized the theat- ort.ation of historical fact, owing theism, the formulation neitional the e tart (hut h it is an enterprise. de- t, tii trines of the vi stotnoarl of „ sixtycan- sr .t Weisgal believes that "'f he Ro- at u .ii nel iiwttetr ri beauty f rival axiom- a t theater in time can tortes of ..struggle. disaster .: ie to- ;let, I . t u ' i tIfiitri n tTiisutrk° retee!esegrits t i ht!'"ii ers'e'e‘it'aII arc il iiilt ie lt brute brute mtter—thes art' 1 1811Ce of a People.,prod 1 productionpresent a Play with but two per- umph upon which no dramatist events which are given breathless each city. For the spectacle is will have a revolutionary influence, In4'"'"e' to the Jewish ealendar and imagined ive form in t he yid- built upon a local cast, recruited According sonat• driu»atis in the clutches of :null Ro- from among those who are t a lented o The on the contemporary American ' mprise " '. some inner conflict which ex- reckoning, sonic six thousand years 'riles which c and who have the desire to aid a ed age, Presses itself in subtle dialogue have passed since the Ilelervw•s he- mam'e of a People," undertaking, , worthy uommunal Origin of the Spectacle. "Our pageant realizes the dent- and meaningful silences. An open .., People " is the ocratic mass (heater which Ito- air theater surrounded by tens of (vets. These problems are merely, t, When plans were made for the "The Romance of a ' \thtit ttt iriutt' h ot Progress Exposition, first major project which succeeds . .. ,, main Rolland dreamed about when th . ,r eager intellectually emphasized to undt•rline the many ; N .lases In uniting all elements of a coIll Intl- he wrote his cycle of French ' eeiitril U'V;.e i ' "tilie wI t' ilit- a irate and variegated production diflicul- they Might port rayal of one hundred nity—both in its sponsorship and `:lei,::. i irl . ,:,' plays—plays which , i le R eVO Illt i111111rY 'l i l e the luxury if del ties of so huge a production. The "" tt" its prialuction organization. 1.1::l1Iii,. of American progress. Asa in no producer brought to the stage tow+ , nor can it ntior' d t( o ' rel axlts e resu e_ we achieved at Chicago, ' re sult there was conceived and Pro- M'orking under outstanding figures kt unabridged form." , the tempo of its show for even It and later in New York, and the Iluced "The Romanir of a People, in the musical, dramatic and dime- "At one time Max Reinhardt fraction of a moment. It must call response of the audience con- which was presented ton Jewish ing world, the huge casts, linkol planned to give a season of Rol- on all the auxiliaries of modern winced me that the American thea- by their sympathy for the cause t i li"eleY i1! etti'll'e.I''sl'-'1•Pi 'irrit Ifn„nr. ererniele 'gellnagy ta" land's plays in Berlin at the huge dramatic art, music, dancing, mass ter-goer has outgrown the vege- greater number of people than had which benefits from the production, Cirrus Busch, but financial prob- pantomime, and the latest devices ' tarian dishes of the small sophis- before or had in visited the Ex- are welded into groups likely to o ught endure for a long time after the lems made it impossible," in of lighting to keep up an intense ticatt•l playhouse. catering to a Position. Soldier's Field Dr t , g.other I35,11(10 people on a single blase minority. plained Mr. Weisgal, discussing , pac• of continuous action. night. At the conclusion of that projec t has been completed. From movement in which the star sys- . • ■ The Guild production of the ineniorable pe•rformance, the vast that point of view, "The Romano. We were faced, for instance, aWel• t by of a People" is a distinct contrileu- with the problem of intermission. O'Neill plays, designed as regards audience remained silent,I tlhatet magnificence of the conception lion to civic-mindedness as well as production. The sho w was re- "In Chkago, at Soldier Field. It was found impractical, the risk the element Of time on a generous a we threw overboard all theatrical . being too great to destroy in the scone, would have gained tremen- pealed for a second night under the t" artistic , nok ( • • • In Chiego, 3,000 young men and ' dourly if they could have had the sponsorship of the Chicago Tribune . t r aditions as to dimt•tisions and' Intel ruption the 1110041 of the more visited i Sold- women portrayed the incident. of setting of a huge open-air theatri- ttni1,65(1,1.1111 spec-=rain car- In a (l technical limitations. tees le will, brought there by the It cal arena. It would be able to the pageant. In New York, 6,200 l so laboriously built up. unprecedented praise of laymen lain sense we were compelled to , . do to because our scenario depicts , also brought up the problem of project the true grandeur of and particularly of critics who were actors, dancers and singers were greatest east the history, not through the tribula- 'change of scenery which, in the O'Neill's vision and liberate his unanimous in proclaiming "The Ito- re..ruited into the e a i l,,,,, , . '1'i,`;',T,I,e; ( ' ht. e.. . rn .(s - t wort I has ote r , e. en. The massive- t lions of individuals, but paints on 1 absence of intermissions, have to dramatic creation from the all too mans it - mess of the Production requires ' ' ' a regulation messed in the 7 city. a huge canvass the life of nations ' he 111 8,11. during the performance narrow confines ed. (Turn to page 291 I Spurred on by the unique sue- and the significance of historical I with the help of skillful light of-; size stage. the di tectot i al aspects of "The Romance of a People." • 4