Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Saturday, December 7, 1968 Poge~ Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY , I theatre I EhIl-uIpE-IEE- 'The Castle: Placed in the' wrong milieu I By DANIEL OKRENT Feature Editor It is fitting that the Pro- fessional Theater Program's New Play Projects are sched- uled to run for only one week: this way. plays such as Ivan Klima's The Castle, which will be ending tomorrow night, can be presented as "events" and then can be allowed to quietly and quickly fade away. For The Castle, a Czech play first presented in Prague in 1964, is not in any way a great work for the stage; rather, it is a great work for Prague, 1964. At the time of its release, as a strident, proud blast at Stalinist oppression, I'm sure it could have been regarded as bold and daring, a courageous statement. But, if the play is viewed from any other point, if we choose to look at it in Ann Arbor, US.A., 1968, it is a hack- neyed, dull polemic with little redeeming dramatic value. The castle of the title is the home for a handful of promi- nent individuals who have re- acted in various ways to the pressures of Stalinism. A writer convinces himself to believe, terrified of actually recognizing realities; a scientist refuses to believe, and resigns himself to wasted pessimism; an athlete needs to believe, for in his be- liefs he finds an obnoxious pride; another ignores the op- pression and loses himself in hollow contemplation, another lives with it in hopeless buf- foonery. But all of them, when it can support them and save them, resort to the protections of totalitarianism. The parodies of human re- action might be effective, and the "moral" that springs from nowhere in the last two scenes could perhaps be swallowed. But the simplicity of the formula (and its basic -triteness) spoils with the intrusion of Young Moral Innocent, the eager lad,. a l m o s t embarrassingly over- played by Peter Simon. The character is a too-familiar left- over from Saturday morning television's animated morality }plays. Marcella Cisney's too-obvious direction only accentuates the play's possibilities. At times re- sembling the Keystone Kops, at other moments rigidly severe, her players scatter through six clumsy scene changes with a sense of pace that stimulates only by its wild fluctuation. The cast is generally bland, neither bad nor good, although Henderson Forsythe as the aging scientist, doddering and senile and emasculated by his glorified imprisonment in the castle, saves at least some of the production with a solid, feeling portrayal. Also worthy of note is William Weaver, stage manager for the produc- tion, who has substituted for Wallace Rooney as the buffoon ince the latter suffered a heart seizure before the play opened. Performing last night without the script he used to walk through the role in its first few showings, Weaver rose to some high levels of homey wit with his marvelous voice, a pungent mix of gravel and honey. Were we to apply the stand- ards of a restless Prague, try- ing to emerge from 20 years of cultural stagnancy, Klima's play could conceivably be heralded. But here, now, The Castle is in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it tells us little we couldn't read in the newspapers. Order Your Subscription Today 764-0558- I .3 I 0 , fi/00 1, I I Il A U"'- "Long Day's Journey Into Night" by EUGENE O'NEILL with KATHERINE HEPBURN JASON ROBARDS CANNES FILM FESTIVAL BEST ACTING AWARD DECEMBER 6-7 I*Ca - music Hallelujah for 'Messiah', again ses Falad Pne ubcito ae 4.5 per term by carrier ($5 by maili): S8.OO for regular academic school year 49 by mail). By JIM PETERS Handel's Messiah always brings out the best in people; after all, it's usually performed around Christmas time, and all that good old religious fervor gets to people. But it takes a lot more than good cheer to make this gargantuan composition, which practically everyone knows, suc- cessful as a musical experience. Once again this year, the Uni- versity Musical Society has come up with a winning performance, both emotionally and musically. This season's first perform- ance, at Hill Aud. last night, featured Susan Belling, soprano; Elizabeth Mannion, contralto: Henry Nason, tenor; and David Clatworthy, bass. Conductor Lester McCoy had the services of the Interlochen Arts Acad- emy Orchestra - whose members played like pros. Soprano Belling was easily the outstanding soloist; she sang eighteenth century Handel with soul. The short Christmas re- citatives were but a pleasant prelude to her final aria, "I know that my Redeemer liveth." I missed the vocal ornamen- tation ih all the solos, but Bell- ing came closest with her subtle trills and ad libitum adorn- ments. The contralto's work was smooth and rich, but often Man- nion's amber voice lacked emo- tional intensity. Not so much in "O thou that tellest"; but I felt the need for more earnestness in the Passion aria "He was despised." Nason's voice seemed too tight and restricted in his very first aria, but the aria "Behold, and see' found him relaxed, steady, and in very full voice. The bass had trouble with the presto section of "But who may abide," but things worked well in his final aria, "The trumpet shall sound," despite some lack- luster orchestral accompani- ment. The University Choral Union were beautiful, everything I could have expected: tight, en- semble, staccato brightness, and good control of dynamics. The chorus "Glory to God" with its emphatic accent on "good will" was stunning, and the power of "He trusted in God" never ebbed. The small ensemble of the In- terlochen Orchestra had much work to do. There are sections of as soft and subtle dynamics as in the Pastorale Symphony, as well as the bombast of the Hal- lelujah Chorus; and whenever weakness showed up in one spot, it was soon corrected. Their main troubles were in the strings, with a second violin section that started off wobbly in the Overture. But the final chords of the "Amen" were broad and loud, but still per- fectly controlled. And the mastery of all these forces falls to Lester McCoy; and though I disagreed with his tempi in certain spots, I still think him a very g e n e r o u s Santa, bringing this tremendous Christmas present to Ann Arbor every year. I f TAKE AN EXAM BREAK Ann Arbor Junior Light Opera Presents I Living Theatre comes to Ann Arbor Mon., Dec. 9 "Antigone" (Cancelled) Tues., Dec. 10 "Mysteries & Smaller Pieces" more reviews ^' ANEW M41SltAI. JUST RELEASED FROM BROADWAY[ (a.sed on the film,"The World of enry rien t") Wednesday--Saturday 11-14 December TRUEBLOOD THEA TRE-8 P.M. Box Office Open Daily at 1:30 P.M. beginning Mon., Dec. 9 Tired of Selling Out? Sell in! ! at Student Book Service Best prices in Town on books. Wed., Dec. 11 "Paradise Now" +i PETER GRIFFITH Classical guitarist, composer at MARK'S COFFEE HOUSE 605 East William performances at 9:00, 10:00 & 11 :00 P.M. Fri., Dec. 6th and Sat., Dec. 7th Admission $1.50 TONIGHT at HERB DAVID 00 1421 Hill St. 8:30 P.M. musical mixtures featuring instruments and music especially concocted for the evening by Herb David and P.D.Q. Bach-in vile, clatters, transverse open hole hose flute, bladder pipe, electric broom, and playing the, recent hit "Transplant," or r" (subtitle) "Change of Heart." pmwwi wwmm wwm ww ww wwmww ww ww ww ww ww w ww wwm ww ww ww w ww ww!w / ww ww j ir r CLIP AND SAVEr Ir r ;r r r r Er r Fr r * r r Il Ir r _ r ! r r r 1 r r r r *r r I.A STUDY BREAK' rI r Deebe 3 n 1 , "The Magnificent Seven, Yul Brenner--Steve McQueen ] James Coburn-Robert Vaughn ALL PERFORMANCES 8:30 UNION BALLROOM All tickets $3.00 Available at Centicore Book Store, Plaster of Paris FOR RESERVATIONS CALL 665-0606 Tickets also available at the door { i S A tl 3020 Washtenaw, Ph. 434-1782 Between Ypsilanti & Ann Arbor } NOW SHOWING IS A GROOVY MOVIE WAS MADE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE CAMELOT WAS MADE WITH YOUNG PEOPLE STARRING RICHARD HARRIS 2 SONG HITS ON KEENER ALSO STARS VANESSA REDGRAVE STAR OF "BLOW UP" (CAMLO CO-STARS DAVID HEMMINGS WHO ALSO'STARRED "BLOW UP" &s "BARBARELLA" cAMELOT IT'S A MOD-MEDIEVAL LOVE-IN I I i1 I '1 " 0. - * sA ar If ** 1____________ w~rww"sairw~ww~rwr~wsw irwr~r" "rar~rrrrrw rwww wrw w® r sww row u" wwwr~I i; I THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY 11:00 P.M. separate admission !!WORLD PREMIERE!*! "SEASONS CHANGE" THE BATTLE OF CHICAGO Feature length-revolutionary I4# MAD MARVIN PRESENTS UNDERGROUND FILMS AT THE Vth FORUM 5th Avenue at Liberty 761-9700 I I 662-6264 Complete Shows At 1 :00, 3:00, 7.00 and 9:00. 2nd Week No one Admitted Under 18 Unless Accompanied By a Parent Mobilization and A.C.L.U.'s answer to Mayor Daley's telecast This will not be shown on TV. in this area!! PLUS ON THE SAME PROGRAM: ! OH DEM WATERMELONS-highly acclaimed film that turned thousands on to the underground film movement. An examination of stereotyped Negro sensual- ity. Starring "The Watermelon." " PORTRAIT OF LYDIA-first prize 1964 Cannes Film Festival. A succession of sexual images and symbols. "A must for any art lover"-M.M. " KENNY'S FIRST VACATION-recommended for liberal minded adults. 2nd prize 1967 Chicago Art Institute. W. C. FIELDS at his guaranteed best in: "THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER" c UNDERGROUND NEWSREEL-"RIOT CONTROL WEAPONS" the first in a continuing series I Metro.Goldwyn*Mayer presents ' . A Mildred Freed Alberg Productioni Starring Peter Ustinov. MaggieSmith. Karl Malden. I 11 I I :v Q.Xc I