Quote Origin: The Theater is Not the Realm of the Real; There Are Cardboard Trees, Diamonds of Glass, Tinsel Gold

Victor Hugo? Lorenzo O’Rourke? Agnès Pierron? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A literary titan commented on the stylized representations employed in theatrical productions. I do not recall the precise phrasing, but this was the gist: The stage does not embody realism. It employs cardboard trees, glass diamonds, gold tinsel, and painted faces. The sun rises …