Last Sunday, September 14, the Biruta Choral Society presented its first production of the season at Meldazis Hall, on the West Side. This was the first of a series of performances, scheduled for this winter (six performances are scheduled to take place before Christmas).

In accordance with the old saying "a precedent sets an example for the future," we can judge the future performances of the Biruta Society by the first one. We must admit that there is no ground for pessimism.

There was a great deal of talk and discussion about this production from the very beginning, when it was first selected for presentation.On the question of which play should be chosen for the first performance, there was a great deal of discussion. Some wanted to start the season with an important production, particularly since the Biruta Society is one of the outstanding Lithuanian 2dramatic societies in America. Others argued that the first production should be a simple play, suitable for the average person. This group argued that there wasn't enough time to prepare an elaborate play, that, for the time being, they had no first-rate play to present, that it would be difficult to call together many of the players who had gone away during the summer, and that an indifferent performance of a first-rate play would have a worse effect on the public than an excellent performance of a mediocre play. After a long discussion, the advocates of the simple play succeeded in winning all the other members to their side.

A one-act comedy, "Consilium Facultatis," was chosen for the first production. It was translated into Lithuanian by A. Matutis. This comedy is a satire about a farmer, Gasparas Bublickis, who believes that he is very dangerously ill. In reality, all that is wrong with him is that he eats too much and does no physical work. The family is awaiting the arrival of a new doctor, Dr. Reskis, who is unknown to them all. While they are waiting for the doctor, the engineer Murickis, sweetheart of Ona, Bublickis' daughter, arrives; a short time later, Ladislavas Suskis, nephew of Bublickis, comes in. The purpose of the latter's visit is 3to effect a reconciliation between his father and Bublickis, who have been on bad terms for some time. Both visitors, the first, deliberately, the second, unwittingly, are mistaken for Dr. Reskis, whom the family has been awaiting. More or less unwillingly, both try to cure Gasparas of his imaginary disease. The whole play revolves around the efforts of the visitors to cure Gasparas. The patient and the two doctors--by the grace of God--provoke much laughter. Finally, the real Dr. Reskis arrives and everything is cleared up. At first Gasparas feels insulted, but in a short time, he is pacified; he makes peace with his brother and permits his daughter to marry Murickis.

The play is well written and is rather simple. It evoked much laughter and greatly pleased the audience. Those who witnessed the performance stated that it was one of the most amusing and entertaining plays presented thus far by the Biruta Society.

This performance, as I have stated before, permits us to await the forthcoming 4productions of the Biruta Society with optimism. The cast of the play was well chosen. The role of Gasparas was played by B. Vaitekunas, permanent theatrical director of the Biruta Society; he also directed this performance. He has long been recognized by the Chicago Lithuanians as an excellent actor. He gave a splendid performance. Particularly fine actors were chosen for the roles of Joana, servant girl, played by Miss Rudzukis, and Suskis, nephew of Gasparas, played by Mr. Doviatas. In the opinion of the writer, these two individuals have great talent, and can develop into fine actors. All they need is more experience, after which we will undoubtedly derive still greater satisfaction from their dramatic performances. Mr. Doviatas, particularly, deserves attention; it is to be hoped that he will not hide his talent in an attic. The right people were also chosen to play the other roles. Some of them were making their debut performances, and as such, acquitted themselves nobly.

Naturally, there were weak points in the performance, here and there, both in acting and directing. The latter fault could hardly have been avoided, because the director also took part in the performance. This practice of doing two 5things at once should be discouraged. Generally speaking, however, the performance made a good impression upon the audience, and it is believed that everyone, after two hours of laughter, was satisfied with the performance. Dancing followed the play and lasted until midnight.

Criticism could be made here of the management of the affair, but the members of the Biruta Society evidently realize their mistakes, and undoubtedly will strive to do better in the future. The dancing should have begun with Lithuanian folk dances, not Chinese or American. Another thing; the program was supposed to start at five o'clock in the afternoon, but the curtain rose at seven o'clock in the evening.