Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Thursday, November 14, 1968
Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday~ November 14., 1968
theatre
G&S Society returns
music
The excellent Stanley Quartet
TONIGHT and TOMORROW
at
it is worth your time; it is worth your money;
it is worth your experience to see, hear, touch,
taste and feel
1421 Hill St.
8:30 PM.
By THOMAS SEGALL
The spring of 1889 was a dif-
ficult one for Messrs. Gilbert
and Sullivan. One sof the many
personal quarrels was threat-
ening to break up the partner-
ship, and the original Savoy
company was falling. apart.
Some singers were demanding
higher pay, and others were
leaving for different jobs.
By the time "The Gondoliers"
opened at the Savoy on Dec.
7, 1889, the breach between com-
poser and librettist had been
healed and the company was
.once again, a happy family. A
few of the old guard were wel-
comed back, and many bright
new faces were added.
So it is with the University
Gilbert and Sullivan's Society's
production of "The Gondoliers,"
which opened at Lydia Men-
delssohn Theatre last night. Es-
pecially welcome was the re-
turn of Charles Sutherland, and
the addition o'f David Kaeuper,
who filled the title roles. Their
wives were played by veteran,
Nancy Hall and newcomer Joan
Susswein. Sutherland and Miss
Hall' will be remembered for
their performances in "Pina-
fore," "Patience,'' and "Prin-
cess Ida." This quartet display--
ed great versatility, from the
carlefully controlled "In a Con-
templative Fashion" to the
boisterous "R e g u1a r Royal-
Queen." The youthful enthu-
siasm which animates this whole
production bubbled out in the
latter with choruses of the
Charleston and boogaloo, which
seemed strangely appropriate to
this usually traditional re-
viewer.
It was precisely such ener-
getic, spontaneous, and tho-
roughly untraditional. business
which gave this wonderfully
funny production a personality
of its own. It began at the be-
ginning with the first chore-
ographed overture to grace the
Ann Arbor. stage, and Makram
Joubram has our admiration.
His choreography was both
graceful and apt, affording a
visual as well as musical pre-
view of what was to follow.
Ligthiing effect was added, 'the
dramatic melodies in colder
blues, the gay ones in warmer
reds.
And there were other entirely
unexpected and entirely delight-
ful surprises which could only
have been dreamed up by young
people and pulled off only with
the greatest of precision. Like
Giuseppe falling off the back
end of the gondola at the end
of the first act, splashing up
waves of colored cellophane. Or
like the disconsolate little chorus
girl who sized up the Grand In-
quisitor after he had' disrupted
P1
Pugged-in banan'as Wnay
be funky funky artwork
By SUSI WESCHENFELDER their society, and so turned inside
(CPS)-A synthetic green lawn for the answers.
u pholsters a free form sculpture. "the casual, irreverent, rsin-
Fiberglass feet are imbedded in a cere California atmosphere, with
steel' slab. A banana is plugged its absurd elements, . weather,
into a wall socket.' No, you're ,,ot 'k
feeling the side effect of speed. drenched mentality, Doggie Diner
Welcome to the Land of Funk Art. all this drives the artist's vis-
ion' inward."
The word 'funk' dates back to Bruce Nauman, a West Coast
Victorian times when a young artist, dumped flour on the floor,
lady who "funked on the floor" scrambled it up and called it
had no graver problem than faint- "flower ,arranging." He was more
ing. Andre Previn revived the than pleased when a janitor threw
word in the '50s when he told his it away at the end of the day, not
jazz musicians to "make it funky." realizing that it was a work of art.
The hot blues were threaty, emo- Funk art reassigns traditional
tional, deep-down blues. In funky values. Thereis planned misaffili-
art the material was unimportant ation-Winston Churchill standing
-only the creation itself mattered. next to a gorilla,. for example.
'Funk art' is essentially a San The balance between the absurd
Francisco creation. Harold Paris, and the pathetic spells true. funk.
writing in "Art in America," be- Funk art is most of all fun-an
lieves that artist felt betrayed by attitude that says, "Go on, why
the traditional forms and. ideas of not?"
I. WKN presnts'I
a dance of celebration, decided
he was the bad guy we all
thought he was, and then de-
livered a ladylike but resolute
straight right to his midriff.
It was precisely this sense of
fun, coupled with a disciplined
performance, that made the
chorus the real star of the show.
They just get better and better
all the time. Director Roger
Wertenberger and Musical Di-
restor Bradley Bloom did mar-
velous things with them last
spring in "Princess Ida," but
this time they have outdone
themselves. They sang with one
voice. Their diction was im-
peccable. And most important-
ly, they were acting every mo-
ment they were on stage, never
lapsing out of character..
But then, so was everybod'y
else. The Duke of Plaza-Toro
(John Alexander) and his en-
tourage provided the most in-
terestingl departure from tra-
ditional characterization. They
were so incredibly gauche as to
qualify for the Polish nobility
(no offense meant, really).
They were ,people who thought
that. as long as they went
through the proper steps, bows,
and grimaces, then they were
"doin' the nobility thing." In
their duet "To Help Unhappy
Commoners" 'the Duke 'and
Duchess, he with his thin little
mustache, looked, like a pair of
of real crooks. Their daughter
Casilda (Ann Temple) and
drummer boy (Michael Rein-
hart) were little Eloise with a
vengeance and a myopic Mor-
tier Snurd, How strange it was
to hear beautiful voices emana-
ting from such peculiar char-
acters, but 'then ' razy Guggen-
heim and Pat Paulsen sing well,
The final effect of this mot-
ley crew was to give even Gilbert
and Sullivan themselves a turn-
about, for Luiz and Casilda be-
come King and Queen at play's
end: the world of topsy-turvy
never gets righted.
Let us not forget David John-
son who bucked and winged his
way through' the role of Grand
Inquisitor with admirable ease.
It is with great pleasure that
the semi-annual Merry Molar
Award, for the most dazzling
smile in the ladies' chorus and
enthusiasm beyond the call of
duty, is presented this fall to
Barbara Kaufman.
Fcuty, staff and
Grad Students
TIME FOR
SINGLES
DANCE
By JIM PETERS
It's little wonder that we at
the University rarely see string
quartets performing in the
Chamber Music Series or as
visiting performers. Who needs
anyone else, when we've got
the excellence of the Stanley
Quartet in residence? ,
In their second concert of the
semester last night in the Rack-
ham Aud. the Quartet proved
their reputation of profession-
alism to be true, word for word.
The concert itself was just
the right vehicle to show off
this craftmanship; it featured
music from widely differing
periods. And each piece suc-
ceeded in , its own particular
style and way,
One of Franz Joseph Haydn's
innumerable quartets, from the
set of opus 74, "No. 3 in G
minor," was the opener. There's
a catchy four-note tune that's
repeated over and over in the
first violin leading to the main
theme; and the Quartet offered
the wit of Haydn perfectly
from the very start.
Haydn's delicacy and charm
is balanced by a certain earthy
robustness; the sound is bright,
but there are no bubbles, no
frills-power even in the menu-
etto.
It was the smooth even cello
of Jerom Jelinek that kept the
bubbles from forming, kept the
strength in the music at all
times. First violinist Gilbert
Ross's tone was a little unsure
at times, but the Haydn quartet
was beautiful.
The concert would eventually
get to a long quartet by Schu-
bert, but we went by way of
Bela Bartok. From Bartok's
mad set of six quartets, the
Stanley group chose the second.
Dividing into three movements,
the quartet is unified by slow
and very tense opening and
closing movements,
There are beautiful melodies
shared by all the instruments,
woven into the complex fabric
of sound. Ross was tense and
ready for all the writhing,
lingering sound, and-suited
just as well for Bartok as for
Haydn-he sailed into the music
with ease. Y
The second, fast, movement
is one of those pizzicato-strewn,
wild, thrashing races from its
first measure to the last, stop-
ping only to pant and then ex-
ploding once again. There are
no stars in this movement; it
demands one instrument playing
four parts. The Stanley Quartet
was tight and had little trouble.
The finale was less success-
ful. The movement breaks often
with rests of various lengths;
the men were not smooth
enough here-and the starting
and stopping was uneven.
For Franz Schubert's post-
humous "Quartet in D minor,
Death and the Maiden" I had
no need to jot down notes on
performance and interpretation:
everything worked more than
well.
I !hesitate to use "perfect";
but, listening to the final move-
ment, I can recall no finer
blending of skill and intensity
in my concert knowledge of the
Stanley Quartet.
The quartet, in the traditional
four movements, epitomizes
sombre, fierce Romanticism.
The second, andante con moto
movement begins with 'a fun-
eral tune that has become quite
famous or at least well-known
by most string-music fans, then
bursts into a scherzo middle
section with an outstanding
cello line performed beautifully
by Jelenik.
The Stanley Quartet has two
concerts scheduled for next
semester, on Jan. 22 and Feb.
26; and with their expert han-
dling, they'll have smooth sail-
ing even with all the snow
around.
1
I N-"
I
Thursday and Friday
Mahan agar
(THE GREAT CITY)
Directed by Satyiiit Ray
(1963)
By India's foremost director;
one of the unquestionably great-
est in the world today; director
of the
APU TRILOGY
First time in Ann Arbor
ARCHITECTURE
AUDITORIUM
662-8871
I
BOB FRANKE'S MUSIC
with Bob, Gene Barkin, Alan Neff andJeremy;
SATURDAY
JOHN SUNDEL L-
singing blues, contemporary, and original folk music
--accompanied by guitar.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE MICHIGAN DAILY
III
=.._ ._._ _ __ _.m _.--.-..
.._ _ _ -, i
The, University of Michigan .
Center for Russian and East European Studies
i
presents a lecture
by
PETER C. LUDZ
Professor of Political Science
FREE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN
ll
FI
i
jj
f;
MY HUSTLER
by
ANDY WRHOL .
Sex, sin, and Surf ... as men and women battle for the
some lover from 42nd Street to Fire Island. A study of
deviant subculture.
plus "CAPTAIN MARVEL" 7
Next week: An Eros Festival.
Mad Marvin presents: Underground Films at
The Vth Forum, 5th Avenue at Liberty. 761-9700.,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: 11:00 p.m.
Separate admission required.
lul III II
%a
on
"POLITICAL"AND SOCIAL CHANGE
IN EAST GERMANY"
Friday, Nov. 15-,-8:30
American Legion
TIME: 4:10 p.m., TI
November 14
PLACE: Room 200 L
hursday
one Hall
$1.50
over 21
Sponsor: Ann Arbor Singles
_
I
' . !
COBO ARENA
Sat.,\ Nov. 30th 8:30 p.m.
Tickets:.$6, $5, $4, $3
Mail Orders only to: Cobo Arena Box Office; Detroit, Michigan
48228. Include self-addressed, stomped envelope. In association
with Audio Arts.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
i
I
SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND DEPARTMENT OF ART
Present
I
THE SECOND IN A FESTIVAL OF FILMS BY THE WORLD-FAMOUS
DIRECTOR OF "BELLE DE JOUR," LUIS BUNUEL.
PUCCINIS "LA BOHEME"
(English Translation by Josef Blatt)
NOVEMBER 22-23, 25-26, 8:00 P.M.
Lydia MIendelssohn Theatre
ALL TICKETS - $3.00
MAIL ORDERS ACCEPTED NOW. Make checks payable to "University of Michigan." Send
self-addressed, stomped envelope to School of Music Opera, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, Ann
Arbor, Michigan 48104. Box office opens Monday, November 18, 1968, 12:30 to 5:00 P,M.-
I
"ABSOLUTELY
UNFQRGETTABLE.
A MAGNIFICENT FILM!"
--Joseph Morgenstern, Newsweek
"BUNUEL stages this play with explosive fer'o-
cities. He is showing usithe played-out privi-
leged classes in all their stubborn sterility.,.
fascinating, well-staged " and well- played."'
-B osley Crowther, N.Y. Times
"%One of Bunuel's powerful, relentless prob-
ings of humanity. One 'has an inescapable
sense of life, death and meaning. The picture
has the ability to haunt you."
11
II
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I
It
('i iii i r r r n w n irrwn wiar l
-
-II
"i' sterongesto1i
many strong films."
-Archer Wi
-mnuel's
-Time'
nsten; N.Y. Post
I
I
i
I
POO
i
I
THE NEWMAN STUDENT'ASSOCIATION PRESENTS:
A CATHOLIC VOIE LECTURE
Albert S. Moraczesk,
OP PhD.
"THE USE OF DRUGS
IN AMERICA"
FATHER MORACZEWSKI is a research professor in the interdisciplinary studies
at the Institute of Religion of the Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas. He has
done much work in studying the effects of drugs on animals and human beings. He
holds the degree of PhD. from the University of Chicago, did post-doctoral, work
"Bunuel's chilling shocker,
weird, brooding journey
into the supernatural,,.
frighteningly real!"
-Florence Fletcher, Cue
Nk %am
clem parry pero~ni
LIJIS B8U NU FLS 41
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