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Kansas University Weekly.
THE SENIOR PLAY.
The many people who saw the Senior play given on June 3, would not think of the hours of anxious care required in its preparation. Those who went might read the posters kindly provided as adornments for the curtain, and so know the state of indecision that reigned for months within the class of '96.
The play as presented finally was an adaptation from the Spanish; the original was in a great measure retained; some unimportant details and a few distinctively Spanish characteristics, names, costumes, and the like,-being the principal omissions. Additions there were in abundance and these in most cases really added to the
MISS ALICE ROHE.
play in interest, life, and brightnesss.
The Spanish play "Zaragüeta" deals with the vicissitudes of a student's career in Madrid; its hero, Charles, is sent to school by his indulgent aunt and uncle; in Madrid he speedily spends all his substance and pledges more; when at last his debts are too heavy and creditors too pressing, he concocts a tale of illness, declares a trip to Paris necessary, and so hopes to get money from his rich relatives wherewith to pay his debts. He comes back to them in Salamanca, and there the plot is entangled and disentangled in a most delightful manner. A love affair or two give flavour to to the play. One character, that of Zaragüeta,the money lender of Madrid,gives the play the name and much of its life; Indalecio,the hero's hungry uncle,is another of the characters that add spice to the comedy;Charles, the hero,and Maruja,the heroine, complete the list
F. W. BREWSTER. heroine, complete the list of really interesting personages in the play.
The others, though at times amusing, are really useful only to complete the mechanism of the production.
It will readily be seen that the plot and plan of the original were followed in the main; the play, however, lost but littie interest by the localization, and gained much local brightness through the clever but good natured "hits" at students and faculty. Sharp, unkind thrusts at personal peculiarities or unavoidable defects were commendably few in number. The players themselves added such "hits" as seemed best to them.
In one or two points the adaptation showed lack of appreciation of the artistic; the theological student added no interest to the plot as localized and might well have been done away with;
MISS MABEL HALL omitted entirely.
the open and constant use of wine, while very realistic in the Spanish play, was unnecessary, inartistic and unnatural in the localized version; the use of chocolate, and other distinctively Spanish customs might well have been altered to something American or have been
The play was translated by
members of the class, and the translation was thoroughly gone over and carefully corrected by one of the class.
It ought further to be said that the play, as it left the hands of its final translator, Miss Mabel Hall was wholly without localization, this being added by the students who acted the various roles.
The players with their parts are named below, Mr. Brewster,and Miss Rohe,hero and heroine, acted their roles admirably; Miss Moon made a very good aunt for the wretched hero;Mr. Hill and Mr. McMurray understood their parts well;Mr. Raymond as the deaf money lender from Baldwin undoubtedly carried his part the most successfully of all the actors;the other four of the ten characters played their parts well, but they were of less interest in the plot.