Gaston duc d Orleans

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Beaucaire (1901), a comedy by Booth Tarkington, Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland. [Herald Square Theatre, 64 perf.] Because his escapades have forced him into hiding, the Duc d'Orleans ( Richard Mansfield) has disguised himself as a French barber, Monsieur Beaucaire, in Bath, England. Yet even his somewhat precarious position cannot restrain the fun‐loving nobleman from further adventure. When he catches the Duke of Winterset ( Joseph Weaver) cheating at cards, he threatens to expose him if the Duke refuses to introduce him into society as a French gentleman. Beaucaire's charm and breeding make him instantly welcome, and he successfully courts Lady Mary Carlisle ( Lettice Fairfax). But his newfound friends reject him savagely when they are given to understand he is merely a barber. He returns as the rightful Duc and courteously puts them in their places. This comic attack on society's often‐absurd distinctions was based on Tarkington's novelette Monsieur Beaucaire. Star and producer Mansfield, convinced by the failure of his Monsieur de Jadot that Americans were embarrassed by their inability to pronounce “monsieur” correctly, insisted on the shortened title. The success of the production helped the young Shubert brothers start their first New York theatre on a firm footing and Mansfield kept the play in his repertory until his death. It was later made into a popular operetta by André Messager.

Gaston Orléans, duc d' , 1608–60, son of King Henry IV and Marie de' Medici , younger brother of Louis XIII . He took part in many of the conspiracies of the great nobles against Louis XIII's minister, Cardinal Richelieu , and several times fled from France. Although Gaston was pardoned after each revolt, his associates did not fare so well; the younger Henri de Montmorency and the marquis de Cinq Mars were executed. After the death (1643) of Louis XIII, Gaston became lieutenant general of France and successfully campaigned against the Spanish. For his leading part in the Fronde he was exiled (1652) to Blois. Gaston was the father of Mlle de Montpensier .