Volume 1 — THE FIRST PROGRAMME.
Reading edition
The following is the programme, in detail, of the first performance given in Belasco’s Theatre on what was, in many ways, the happiest and proudest night of all his life:
BELASCO THEATRE BROADWAY AND FORTY-SECOND STREET Under the Sole Management of David Belasco
Evenings at 8 precisely Matinees Saturdays at 2
D A V I D B E L A S C O PRESENTS M r s . L e s l i e C a r t e r IN HIS NEW PLAY “DU BARRY”
“Not the great historical events, but the personal incidents that call up single, sharp pictures of some human being in its pang or struggle, reach us more nearly.”—Oliver Wendell Holmes.
CAST
King Louis the Fifteenth of FranceC. A. Stevenson.
Comte Jean du Barry, eventually brother-in-law of La du BarryCampbell Gollan.
Comte Guillaume du Barry, his brotherBeresford Webb.
Duc de Brissac, Capt. of King’s GuardHenry Weaver, Sr.
Cossé-Brissac, his son (of the King’s Guard), known as “Cossé”Hamilton Revelle.
The Papal NuncioH. R. Roberts.
Duc de Richelieu, Marshal of FranceUnder King LouisGeo. Barnum.
Maupeou, Lord ChancellortheC. P. Flockton.
Terray, Minister of FinanceFifteenthH. G. Carlton.
Duc D’AiguillonLeonard Cooper.
Denys, porter at the milliner shopClaude Gillingwater.
Lebel, confidential valet to His MajestyHerbert Millward.
M. Labille, proprietor of the milliner shopGilmore Scott.
Vaubernier, father of JeannetteCharles Campbell.
Scarlo, one of “La du Barry’s” Nubian servantsJ. D. Jones.
Zamore, a plaything of “La du Barry’s”Master Sams.
Flute PlayerA. Joly.
ValroyOf theDouglas J. Wood.
D’AllaireKing’sLouis Myll.
De CourcelGuardHarold Howard.
La GardeTwo TavernW. T. Bune.
FontenelleRoysterersThomas Boone.
Benard, one of the “Hundred Swiss”Warren Deven.
Citizen Grieve, of the Committee of Public SafetyGaston Mervale.
Marac, one of the Sans-CulottesJames Sargeant.
Denisot, Judge of the Revolutionary CourtH. G. Carlton.
Tavernier, clerk of the courtJohn Ingram.
GomardCharles Hayne.
Hortense, Manageress for Labille the millinerEleanor Carey.
Lolotte Nina Lyn.
ManonGirlsFlorence St. Leonard.
Julieat theCorah Adams.
LeonieMilliner’sBlanche Sherwood.
NichetteShopAnn Archer.
Juliette May Lyn.
Marquise du Quesnoy, known as “La Gourdan,” keeper of a gambling houseBlanche Rice.
Sophie Arnauld, queen of the operaMiss Robertson.
The Gypsy Hag, a fortune-tellerC. P. Flockton.
Mlle. Le GrandDancers from theRuth Dennis.
Mlle. GuimardGrand OperaEleanor Stuart.
Mme. La Dauphine—Marie Antoinette at sixteenHelen Hale.
Marquise de Crenay Helen Robertson.
Duchesse D’AiguillonLadiesMiss Lyn.
Princesse AlixeofMiss Leonard.
Duchesse de ChoisyKing LouisLouise Morewin.
Marquise de LangersCourtMay Montford.
Comtesse de Marsen Grace Van Benthuysen.
Sophie, a maidIrma Perry.
Rosalie, of the ConcièrgerieHelen Robertson.
CerisetteJulie Lindsey.
AND
JEANNETTE VAUBERNIER, afterwards La du BarryMRS. LESLIE CARTER.
Guests of the Fête, Dancers from the Opera, King’s Guardsmen, Monks, Clowns, Pages, Milliners, Sentries, Lackeys, Footmen, King’s Secret Police, Sans-Culottes, a Mock King, a Mock Herald, a Drunken Patriot, a Cocoa Vender, Federals, National Guards, Tricoteuses.
SYNOPSIS OF SCENES.
Act I.—The Milliner’s Shop in the Rue St. Honoré, Paris. JEANNETTE TRIMS HATS.
Act II.—(One month later.) Jeannette’s Apartments, adjoining the Gambling Rooms of the Marquise de Quesnoy (“La Gourdan”). “THE GAME CALLED DESTINY.”
Act III.—(A year later.) Du Barry holds a Petit-Lever in the Palace of Versailles—at noon. “THE DOLL OF THE WORLD.”
Act IV.—Scene 1. In the Royal Gardens. Before the dawn of the following morning. “FOLLY, QUEEN OF FRANCE.” Scene 2. Within the Tent. “THE HEART OF THE WOMAN.”
Act V.—(A lapse of years.) During the Revolution. Scene 1. The Retreat in the Woods of Louveciennes. “FATE CREEPS IN AT THE DOOR.” Scene 2. (Five days later.) In Paris again. “A REED SHAKEN IN THE WIND.” Scene 3. In Front of the Milliner’s Shop on the same day.
“Once more we pass this way again, Once more! ’T is where at first we met.”
Time: Period of King Louis the Fifteenth and after the reign of his Successor.
Place: Paris, Versailles, and Louveciennes.
Mr. Belasco wishes to state that, as the traditional parting of Madame du Barry and the King of France is impossible for dramatic use, he has departed entirely from historical accuracy in this instance. He also begs to acknowledge his indebtedness to M. Arsène Houssaye for his sequence of scenes. (“Nouvelle à la main, sur la Comtesse du Barry.”)
Between Acts I, II, and III there will be intervals of 12 minutes; between Acts IV and V an interval of 15 minutes.
The entire production under the personal supervision of Mr. Belasco.
Stage Manager H. S. Millward.
Scenery by Mr. Ernest Gros.
Incidental Music by Mr. William Furst.
Stage decorations and accessories after designs by Mr. Wilfred Buckland.
General Manager for Mr. Belasco Mr. B. F. Roeder.
As an epigraph for the first performance given in his theatre, and also for a souvenir book then distributed,—a richly printed volume called “The Story of Du Barry,” written by James L. Ford and issued in a limited edition,—Belasco used, under the caption “Before the Curtain,” the appended fourteen lines from Francis Bret Harte’s versified address written for the dedication of the California Theatre, San Francisco, January 18, 1869, on which occasion (when Belasco was among the spectators) it was read by Lawrence Barrett:
“Brief words, when actions wait, are well; The prompter’s hand is on his bell; The coming heroes, lovers, kings, Are idly lounging at the wings; Behind the curtain’s mystic fold The glowing future lies unrolled. . . . . . “One moment more: if here we raise The oft-sung hymn of local praise, Before the curtain facts must sway; Here waits the moral of your play. Glassed in the poet’s thought, you view What money can, yet can not do; The faith that soars, the deeds that shine, Above the gold that builds the shrine.”