THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Tuesday, March 3, 1970
THE MICHiGAN DAILY Tuesday, March 3, 1970
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This is 20th century love?
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The four Cohans on the vaudeville circuit
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George's second wife
MUSKET
'70
presents
eore
AW
s
March 10-14, 1970
Lydia Mendelssohn
Theatre
lickets on sale at the
Lydia Mendelssohn Box Office
Proceeds from Tuesday Night's Show will be
donated to the Environmental Teach-In
Ma and Pa Cohan swing (it turn of the century
M
By PETER MILLER
"People aren't pleased with a
good try - the show just has to
be good," says Jim Hosbein, who
plays Jerry Cohan in Musket's
production of George M.
The average theater goer does
not consider all the work that
goes into a show before opening
night. He pays money to see a
good show, and he is not pleased
if it turns out second-rate. For
several months, the cast a n d
crew of George M have b e e n
working hard to make their
show a smash.
It all began last September
when director John Reid Klein
selected his 35 member c a s t
from some 250 persons who au-
ditioned. "No professional cast
has the spirit this cast has,"
says Klein, who spent ten
years on Broadway.
Klein selected h i s cast ac-
cording to three criterion: "pure
personality," agility, and sing-
ing ability - in that order. He
says that he would normally
rank singing ability first when
auditioning, but that stage
presence a n d agility for tap
dancing are more important for
George M!
The cast members come from
many different schools in the
University, including Law and
Nursing, However, most of them
are undergrads. "We pride our-
selves in recruiting people who
are not theater majors," says
Geoff Holczer, MUSKET'S pro-
ducer.
Last term, the cast attended
MUSKET classes once or twice
a week to master the difficult
tap routines and music required
for George M'.
The tempo picked up after
Christmas break, with principal
cast members being called for
rehearsal almost every night.
"I've had three nights off since
Christmas," Jim Hosbeih says.
Reid Klein runs his rehear-
sals Broadway-style, blocking
the cast members while they are
in front of him rather than on
paper before rehearsal. "I like
to see people learn something,"
he says. "Everyone takes part in
the staging process."
Despite the rough schedule,
the cast is still excited about
the show. Dale Gonyea, w h o
plays the title role of George
M. Cohan, explains that "en-
durance" is a problem, but "it's
all worth it."
("Ipr) L iiton muinpOh ec -
ter putting scenic designer Al-
ice Crawford's ideas into con-
crete form. Although they work
behind the scenes, the crew is
a spirited group - technical di-
rector Trubowitz has composed
lyrics f o r several crew songs
using the George M! score.
The show itself traces the life
of George M Cohan through his
music. "I picked George M! be-
cause of its loudness and brassi-
ness," explains Klein, "it is
puresheer fun." He adds that
the show has the same basic
format as Hair except with old-
er music.
Klein says that the show is
particularly suited to an all-
campus cast because the script
is not difficult, and the produc-
tion numbers are well suited to
an exuberant amateur cast.
What about the "red, white
and blue" aspect ofuGeorge 1M?
"The show is about American
entertainment," Klein explains,
"and there was a great deal of
'flag-waving' on the stage dur-
ing World War I." But he adds
that politics is only incidental
to the entertainment aspect..
Things have been hectic since
last Thursday when the com-
pany moved into Lydia Men-
delssohn Theatre. Cast and
crew have been working fever-
ishly -- adjusting to the new
playing area and attending to
many minute details import-
ant for a successful run.
The months of toil and sweat
culminate tonight when George
M! opens at Mendelssohn. The
show is a real entity now, and
as Jim Hosbein says, it has t
be good.
Dale Gonyea hoofs and sings as 'George M!'
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Plho sby
icclard Le
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