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m ■ .. ■■ — mm. n^H. in u hi Select Cast forPageant of WatersFive Episodes Give History of Sangamon Valley andDecatur.StSelection of a number of the major characters who will take part In the .Pageant of the Waters during the lake celebration tv a s made at the meeting of the personnel! committee and prospective characters held in the Y. M. C. A. annex Monday evening.Miss Eliza Thomas, pageant mistress made the selection from those picked by the genera! committee of twenty headed by C. J. Dojie. The book of the pageant has been prepared and consists of fifteen pages of, mimeographed copy covering theprologue and the five episodes of the piece.CHARACTERSThe chaiactert* selected Monday night are as follows:Myrna Sharlow Hitchcock—Spirit of Decatur.T. W. Samuels—Agraham Lincoln.Dr. Will Barnes—Himself.C. J. Doyle—Chemaug, Indian Chieftain.Evciett Penhallegan — Governor Oglesby.Mrs. Carleton Mattes—Spirit of the Waters.Helen Gorham—Faith.Charlotte Mueller—Givic Spirit.■Ruth Staley—Spirit of the Prairies.Edwina Irving—Spirit of the Forests.Francis Armstrong—Spirit of theFlowers.Dr. E. J. Hedgecock—Art.Eloise O’Mara—Spirit of the PastKatherine Mainnev—Lonlenes«sCarolyn G Roll—Privation.Herbert Hei!—Citizen.In the final episodes of the piere It is hoped that Commissioner Ruth-rauff. Wiisoh Bering. A E. Staley. ex-Mayor Blt;rchers and others who had much to do with the making of the water impounding oroject will consent to represent themselves in the pageant.WON DERFCL O P PORT UN IT Y.In speaking of the spirit that should be evident ed in participation m the pageant. Miss Thomas said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Decatur and Decatur people to show a real civic spirit and do something worth while. Decatur has the background cf history, the record of great progress in civic* woiks and she has a lake that will set all of these things in such a spectacle as will portray the historical development of the city and community in a way that will be invaluable historically and in many other ways. Dr. Black, dramatic professor at Harvard has said that any historical pageant in any community, rn matter how small, was worth at least 55.000 to the community. Decatur’s pageant should be worth much more.ALLEGORICAL.The pageant is not to !•* a dramatic piece. It is purely sue* taeular. pantomimic and allegnrn a!. The characters are not picked for any special talent, but for the type that they best represent. Who ever take? a part does not do it for the honor They do it fAr Decatur, and the smallest part is as important as the largest and as valuable to the whole effect.**Oblivion and takes the Past tinder his protection.Beginning with Joliet. Father Marquette and Indian characters the various episodes ^trace the coming of the pioneers to the Sangamon vallev and the hatdships that beset them. Throughout all the Spirit of the Waters is a guiding and sheltering spirit and appropriate music with the water motif running through it carries out the effect.amthe35shLINCOLN.Lincoln’s boyhood is depicted and his embarkation on a flat boat to negotiate the Sangamon. The development of the community follows centered about the bridging of the Sangamon in which Gov. Oglesby andananIJNtll1ibcitizens take part. Next comesthescenes of Lincoln’s circuit riding days, his nomination as candidate to the Presidency and the coming ofwar. Civic growth is then shown in the scenes incident to the erection of-Decatur’s dam.The pageant closes with the Spirit of Prophecy who addresses the Spirit nf pageantry and tells of the future. Figures of industry. Commerce, Education. Art. City Plan. Community Spirit and others join !n paying homage to the Spirit of the Waters in the,finaletorfat•in'wimeSclVtinteitinSTART REHEARSALS TUESDAY, JUNE 12a.Work of erecting tli* stage for the Pageant will begin Tuesday and it is hoped that the work will be finished in a few days. Rehearsals of the piece will be commenced Tuesday. June 12, by which time all of the charnrtei* will have been selected and the work of training the dancers will be weH under way. Miss Hannah Gevirtz has charge of the dances and will start at onoe on the trn?ring of the various groups.Music for the spectacle will be furnished bv the Oratorio choir, the Goodman band and several orchestras *n,d secured bv D. M Swarthout.•'Mrmfn of the music committee.Russel Rainey has asked that allofmeupsoldaaA i1C imj lt;! owning canoes -and willing to lake part in the water nngeartt communicate with him at The Review as *nnn as possible so that the flotilla f bonts and characters may be completed as soon as possibleIIIofPithfl:T1ORATORIO CHOIR TO SING AT PAGEANTr»*scStattitSi:mbet:STORY OF PAGEANT.Th*4 pageant opens with a prologue which typifies the spirit of the Past ignored by the hurrying spirit of Commerce and of Industry. Even Learning avoids her but Old Age ?reets her warmly. Oblivion comes to slay the spirit o? the Past but the spirit of Decatur Intervenes and calls {he spirit of Pageantry which staysTh* Decatur Oratorio choir willfurnish singing for the pageant on JuIY 5. The choir will be directed by D. M Swarthout. and be hopes to have several hundred members in ‘it. As the university students will be sjway. the choir will have to be reinforced by new members for this occasion.Tiie choir will sing verses from an old hymn, also a chorus, “Thanks be *lt;i r.od from the Elijah”, and probably other numbers.The choir will have its first rehearsal on Thursday. June 2S. and another early the nevt week. The rehearsals will be held tn Mtllikin aud-.torium.L?B.n*vvtrsaPAT HE TO TAKE MOTION PICTURESA telegram from J. M. Alien who is in Chicago to J. 12. Tackaberry Tuesday assures that Pafhe News will take pictures of the Lake Decatur celebration and show them in 1.000 theaters in the United States.EStTmcc
Newspaper Details
Decatur Daily Review
Decatur, Illinois, US
Tue, Jun 05, 1923
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Decatur P.
IL, USA 24 Mar 2020
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