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 Ii 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 on!=: I .; , * x;{.k;2 Swvr Ci~x afa::_ -- , f, s-.<'."' .I ElI 1.