PARISIAN THEATRICALS.
A new adaptation of Kotzebue's .Misanthropy and 12epentanee, (The Stranger of the London stage,) written by M. Gerard de Nerval, has sup- planted at the Theatre Francais the old version, which has held posses- sion of the boards ever since the year 1798. The Odeon, which then maintained a sort of rivalry with the "Theatre Francais de la Repub- lique," was the original place of its production, and such an effect was produced, both by the singular character of the work itself, and the acting of Saint-Phal and Mademoiselle Simon in the two principal parts, that all Paris was wrought up to an excitement that manifested itself under the most absurd forms. It is recorded, for instance, that a young lady was so offended by the insensibility of her lover, who witnessed with dry eyes the sorrows of Eulalie, (our Mrs. Haller,) that the intended marriage was broken off. When the " run " of the theatre had exceeded thirty nights, the Odeon was burned down ; but even this calamity did not stop the good fortune of the wonderful play ; for the homeless actor; who successively played it in several theatres, made it the companion of all their migrations. Success is never complete in France unless it assumes, among other shapes, those of satire and parody. Kotzebue's work had the good fortune to elicit the laughter as well as the tears of the Parisians ; for no fewer than six different theatres burlesqued in as many different pieces the woes of the repentant wife. Since then the piece itself belonged to the repertoire of the Francais as well as of the Odeon; and in 1820 it had all the attraction of novelty, from the fact that the prin- cipal parts were played by Telma and Mademoiselle Mars. Divers ce- lebrities bring the play nearly to the present time ; but at last the French have grown tired of their old favourite, and it is made to wear a new dress. One of the chief modifications of M. Gerard de Nerval consists in the omission of the comic parts. The old translation was ascribed to Madame Julie Mold ; but the real translator was an actor named Bursay, from whom the lady purchased the copyright.
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