Article on establishment of the French Theater

“The power is finally given to us to speak about the French Theater of New York other than from the point of view of hope. The hypotheses caressed for so long, the combinations studied and discussed so laboriously, have become realities.

          Today we feel an accomplished fact; for the distance that separates us from the goal is so minimal, that which remains to do is such a small thing next to what has just been done, the matter, thanks to the honorable names who support it, is so well launched, that whatever will happen to hinder it isn’t anything to fear.”

          [Update about the problems in finding a suitable location to build a theater, not too far downtown nor too far uptown, not too far from the main arteries of traffic.] After four years of fruitless searching, M. Juignet has finally been repaid for not having given up hope. One might say that it is a marvelous stroke of fate that has finally put him on the trail of a piece of ground that is about to be acquired, ground that unites all desirable conditions both for size and for position, for (the moment has come to raise the flag!) it is placed on Fourteenth Street, right near the corner of Sixth Avenue.

          The site having been found, it is now a question of acquiring it and bringing together the funds necessary to build; now, the purchase price for the land, the sum necessary to erect the theater, according to estimates that have been seriously studied and broadly settled upon, with a portion set aside for unforeseen circumstances, all adds up to a total of $130,000. A sum like that, even in America, is not exactly a trifle and is difficult to find in a day.

          But blessings do not come along singly and M. Juignet knew how to obtain immediately the support of people so eminent and so honorably known in New York that their names alone, as heads of the project, are a certain gauge of its success. Messieurs CHARLES A. HECKSCHER  and WILLIAM BUTLER DUNCAN have happily wished to accept the responsibilities of trustees and by virtue of that fact to give all the most desirable moral guarantees to the enterprise. It is under the auspices of these gentlemen that the underwriting [fundraising] has begun and continues. The results are unhoped-for, and there remains only about $13,000 to subscribe in order to complete the necessary total.

          We can give a word of advice here to those who like to combine their pleasures with personal comfort: if they want to assure themselves of good seats, they have only to subscribe: according to the design that has been adopted, there are only a certain limited number of orchestra seats and private loges; those who will have put up the capital will have the right to choose their seats.

          The architect asks for between four and five months to build the hall; if, as we hope, our compatriots grasp the honor of participating in the founding of a building whose character is essentially national, the small [remaining] balance demanded will be underwritten within a few days and we will be able to see the THEATRE-FRANÇAIS of NEW-YORK inaugurated next winter.

          They have told us about all the designs and we shall be indiscreet enough to say a few words about them to our readers. The hall is of a beautiful design and is prepared to offer us the most pleasant and skillful arrangements: at the ground floor level, parquet, circumferences and pit level boxes; on the first floor, four tiers [rows] of armchairs and one tier of boxes; above, a vast second gallery whose two first rows will be in stalls; boxes in front of the stage at each floor, that goes without saying. The interior decoration of the hall promises to be at the same time harmonious and simple in its richness: white, gold and red velvet. No glitter, no goodfellows—true or false—nor little harshly-painted machines in front of the fireplaces.

          What we have noted with pleasure is the good placement of the exits and the private entrances; the staircases, belonging specifically to each part of the hall, are large, wide and well set. The exterior passages as well as the interior hallways are arranged with a view toward the best conveniences of the public. According to the word of the architect—and having seen the design, we have no reason to doubt him—all the seats will be good and from all parts of the hall, without exception, the eye of the spectator will be able to embrace the entire extent of the stage. Finally, to finish up with the public section, we will state that they have asked for a model from Paris of the armchairs called grands confortables and that, even for as long as the reign of the crinoline lasts, one will be seated as comfortably, in the Theâtre-Français de New-York, as at the new Grand-Opera of Paris. We can only speak from memory of a superb foyer level with the first gallery, bringing the daylight in from Fourteenth Street through three large windows.

          If we pass from the hall to the stage, we will find the same fortunate arrangements revealing a perfect understanding of the technical demands of the art. The dimensions given to each part of the new hall permit the director to have all types of [theatrical] pieces presented, from intimate comedy all the way to grand dramatic spectacle, without being hindered by the arrangement of the site. The new stage will be furnished and equipped in the most modern way, and the most complicated scenery will be able to be moved with promptness and ease; this consideration is far from being disdained by the public, for it is intimately linked to the fatal question of intermissions. As far as the decoration, we will also state that it has just been given over to the proven talent of an artist universally known and appreciated, M. L. Duflocq; that is to say in advance that this part of the material will be in harmony with the elegance of the hall.

          The exterior is complsed of a spacious façade on Fourteenth Street with a peristyle of many steps. The architect—and we congratulate him on this—has been shown to be sober in his ornamentations and appendages; the whole is of a pleasing and solid style, and the general aspect of the building pleases the eye and reveals its purpose sufficiently. The artist has not sacrificed it to the unhappy mania of allegory; he has spared us demigods and muses of cardboard; Olympia and Parnassus were very little of the contribution and he knew, in a word, how to avoid dryness without falling into confusion.

          By means of this rapid sketch one sees that we are going to possess a true artistic jewel, a truly neat little house. We can be proud of what M. Juignet has done in the past, who has known how to do so much with so few resources, so that we can be persuaded that the contents will be worthy of the container and that we will possess henceforth first-rate troupes. Having arrived at the goal of his constant efforts, our impresario will show himself worthy of the confidence that the subscribers have witnessed in him, and we have the firm conviction that he will devote all his zeal and all his abilities to the success of the enterprise.

          This is the place to let our readers know that in order to alleviate the burden of this important enterprise, M. Juignet has just become partners with M. Drivet. There isn’t anyone among the subscribers and the public who doesn’t know him and who hasn’t rendered justice a hundred times to his urbanity and his activity. For our part, we can only congratulate M. Juignet for having made this association. As in the past, M. Drivet will remain in charge of the exterior administration, while M. Juignet will be able to devote himself entirely to the special and multiple tasks of the theater itself.

          We can say in an almost absolute way that, in our eyes, there doesn’t remain a shadow of a doubt that the $13,000 remaining won’t be subscribed by a few days from now, and by our compatriots, who wouldn’t want to know that they lagged behind the Americans.

          In brief, without counterfeiting optimism, we only see chances of success, for the matter presents itself surrounded by all the most favorable conditions. Thus we heartily desire and wish to find out very soon that the list of subscribers is closed, and that the cornerstone of the Theatre-Français de New-York is in place."