WAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1966 PAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1966 THEATRE New Blood Makes 'Ruddigore' a Hit FILMS Tariety Lights': Trite, Contrived .................T IN........ DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN E By JOHN CRUMB, JR. Every large institution has its traditions, but few of them are as nice as the University's Gilbert and Sullivan Society. For pure. ent'ertainment last night's perfor- mance has hardly been matched on campus this season, because of the Society's remarkable color and enthusiasm (to be challenged, I understand, only by a Gilbert and Sullivan party). The Society's New Blood took all the lead parts in this produc- tion, pushing old favorites like Susan Morris, Gershom Morning- star and John Allen into the rum- ble seat. Charlie Sutherland is now driving. While Gilbert's librettos are peopled with eccentric characters, his heroes are usually simple, di- rect and possibly boring. They are the victims of improbable circum- stance and their problems are solved by more improbable cir- cumstance. Because they lack in- itiative, they are difficult to play.. Self-Confidence Charles Sutherland as Sir Ruth- ven Murgatroyed lacks the self- confidence to put that central character over. But by the second act Murgatroyed, by then a sec- ondary character to the more gen- eral happy resolutions of the play, is free to ham it up a la Gilbert and Sullivan, which Charlie does very well, Lucy Becker, as Rose Maybud, also new to G&S, flits like a co- quettish butterfly in her favors between Richard Dauntless (Greg Isaacs), Sir Ruthven, and even alights once on that glutted black spider, wicked Sir Despard Mur- gatroyed (John Allen). While she has a fine voice, Miss Becker lacks that grace of movement onstage that Dame Hannah (Kathy Kim- mel) possesses. But Miss Becker was fortunately matched musically with Richard Dauntless (Greg Isaacs), and par- ticularly in a duet in the first act. Isaacs moved monkey-like across the stage, and his agility and bright costume made him a visual delight. All the foregoing actors could not surpass Gershom Morningstar and John Allen for slick, effec- tive acting. As a reformed baronet, Mr. Allen acted with Mad Mar- garet (Julie Amato) with a dig- nity rendered hilarious by their bumbly lapses into their old char- acters (first act). Girsh Morningstar was cast into a pitiably small role, but as the chief spectre, we glimpsed at the glory of some of his past charac- terizations. The men's chorus, while bril- liantly costumed, didn't sing as well as they looked, and sang flat all through the madrigal. In Tune Mort Achter's orchestra was pre- cise, played in tune and didn't drown out the singers; that is, when we couldn't hear Charlie sing, it was no fault of the orches- tra, rather of Charlie's voice. The balance between the strings and the brass was unusually fine: for once the horns played with self- restraint and accuracy. The set design for the first act was perhaps cluttered by the background posies and nets, but the flowery tree was a marvelous creation. Yet the chorus unfor- tunately could make only one en- trance onto the main stage, only two upstage. This was a severe limitation considering the length of the first act. Ray Beard's design for the sec- ond act, especially the picture frames, was startlingly effective. Here Mr. Beard could afford to be more decorative, his set less sparse. Costumes were not only bright, but an especifically effective con- tribution to the whole production, making a striking visual contrast between actors. Allen Schreiber is apparently priming the Society for better' times, in encouraging newcomers to take leading parts. The old clique has been broken up, and somehow performances are getting better and better. By PAUL SAWYER Federico Fellini, the P. T. Bar- num of the cinema, whose extrav- aganzas display, in laughter and tears, the vast three-ring circus of humanity, made his first film nearly two decades ago. "Variety Lights" was co-directed by Alber- to Lattuada, and Fellini wrote the screenplay. It was a humble be- ginning. Yet it clearly bears its maker's stamp, containing many of the elements he was to use, generally with more success, in his later films. That is to say, it deals, in part or in whole, with showmen; it celebrates the heartaches and self-discoveries of little people; and it bears the typical Fellini bittersweetness-a sense of phil- osophic calm that transcends the frustrations of the characters and which is at once sympathetic and strangely impersonal., Signor Checco (Peppino de Fe- lipe) leads a troupe of sagging dancers and singers that strug- gle in vain against their own mediocrity to earn a living. For- tunes change abruptly when a stagestruck and starry-eyed girl (the gorgeous Carla del Paggio) sits across from Checco on a train. She joins the troupe and is an instant success, and Checco follows her to Rome to engineer her upward climb.; Pathos But as Fellini is rarely interest- ed in successes, he concentrates his attention on the pathetic attempts of the inept Checco first to main- tain the girl's favor and then to gather together another troupe gleaned from the Roman slums. He is scorned, pitied, and thrown out of his hotel; in the end, he is taken back by his original com- pany (and his fiancee, the ever- loyal Giulietta Masina), to finish PH. 483-4680 En&&*rce Om CARPENT ER ROAD FREE IN-CAR HEATERS BOX OFFICE OPEN 6:30 NOW SHOWING- out his life in the rounds of obliv- ion. Yet as is usual with Fellini, there is little bitterness in his film. Checco is too much a good joe to be capable of tragic suf- fering, At the end, when a second beau- tiful girl sits across from CheccoI in his train, we know it will all continue in much the same way as before. Checco becomes part of Fellini's merry-go-round, the pro- totypical struggling little man, al- ways undaunted, always a clown. Smallness of Checco Yet it is to a degree the small- ness of Checco that makes this film, in the end, uninteresting. He is simply a good-natured fellow, a point which is made clearly in the film and repeated throughout with little development. Fellini decor- ates his protagonist's downward path with, as usual, fascinating vignettes and bizarre characters -the trumpet-playing Negro hobo the flophouse sharpshooter, the polly lecher who owns the mediev- al mansion. "Variety Lights" is interesting only as a comparison with Fellini's later work; Despite a few amusing moments, it is on the whole super- ficial, contrived, and quite dull. The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of the Univer- sity of Michigan for which The + Michigan Daily assumes no editor- ial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3519 Administration Bldg. be- fore 2 p.m. of the day preceding publication, and by 2 p.m. Friday for Saturday and Sunday. General Notices may be published a maxi- mum of two times on request; Day Calendar items appear once only Student organization notices are not accepted for publication. THURSDAY, MARCH 24 Day Calendar Management Development Seminar- "The Disciplinary Process and Grievance Handling": Rackham Bldg., 8:30 a.m. Bureau of Industrial Relations Sem- inar-" How to Install a White-Collar Grievance System": Michigan Union, 8:30 p.n. Prognammed Learning for Business Seminar-"Orientation to Programmed Learning": Michigan Union, 8:30 a.m. Mental Health Research Institute Seminar-Jack Durell, M.D., National Institute of Mental Health, "Thyroid Function and Psychoses" : 1057 MHRI, 2:15 p.m. History of Art Dept. Lecture-Lorenz Eitner, Dept. of Art and Architecture, Stanford University, California, "G~ri- cault's 'Raft of the Medusa'": Aud. B. Angell Hall, Angell Hall, 4:10 p.m. Dept. of Economics W. S. Woytinsky Lecture-Gary S. Becker, Dept. of Eco- i nomics, Columbia University, "Human Capital and the Personal Distribution of Income": Rackham Amphitheatre, 4:10 p.m. Near Eastern Languages and Litera- tures Lecture-John A. Wilson, profes- sor of Egyptology, University of Chi- cago, "How to Save a Temple": Aud. D, Angell Hall, 4:15 p.m. Cinema Guild - Fellini's "Variety Lights": Architecture Aud., 7 and 9 p.m. Office of Religious Affairs University Lecture - Phillip Berrigan, Josephite priest, "Non-violence, Civil Rights, and the Peace Movement": Multipurpose Room, Undergraduate Library, 8 p.m. School of Music Degree Recital - Michael David Sandgarten. oboist: Re- cital Hall, School of Music, 8:30 p.m. Speech Dept. Student Laboratory The- atre: Presents as its 11th production of the 1965-66 season, selected scenes from Aristophanes' "Lysistrata." You are cor- dially invited to attend the admission- free public performance. Thurs., March 24, at 4:10 p.m. sharp. The place is the Arena Theatre, Frieze Bldg. Graduate School of Business Admin- istration-Finance Club- Developments in the Capital Markets," by James J. O'Leary, director of economic research for the Life Insurance Association of America, on Thurs., March 24, at 4 p.m. in Room 131 Bus. Admin. (Continued on Page 8) LIVE AT 5 Itty JIM BRIGNALL JOHN MILLER BLL IVY TOGETHER FRIDAY G103 S.Q., Open 8:30 4 CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL presents UBU CORNUTATUS by ALFRED JARRY starring DONALD HALL THOMAS J. GARBATY LITTLE THEATRE, FRIEZE BUILDING (ROOM 2065) MARCH MARCH 24, 8:00 P.M. 25, 8:30 P.M. SYMPOSIUM, MARCH 25, 10 P.M. ADMISSION FREE MARCH 26, 8:30 P.M. I-_ - NOW! -ai I~CIill Shows at 1:00-3:40- 6:20-9:05 I i 'An absorbing and gripping What really went on when the movie about that exclusive girls got together at Vassar 'Group' E"-Det. Free Press GRUP" THIS PICTURE is RECOMMENDED FOR ADUE"* INS MASTE RPCE FELUIN HIS FIRST IN COLOR! UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEN'S GLEE CLUB SPRING Co Saturday, April' 2...8 NCR 1:30 P. M. Across Campu THURSDAY, March 24 2:00 and 8:00 p..-The Pack- ard Avenue Playreaders will ap- pear in the world premiere of Al- fred Jarry's "Ubu Cornutatus" in the Little Theatre of the Frieze Bldg. 2:15 p..-Jack Durell, M.D., of the National Institute of Mental Health will conduct a seminar on "Thyroid Function arnd Psychoses"' in Room 1057, Mental Health Re- search Institute. 4:10 p.m. - Lorenz Eitner of Stanford University will lecture on "Gericault's 4Raft of the Medusa'" in Aud. B, Angell Hall. 4:10 p.m. - Gary S. Becker of Columbia University will speak on "Human Capital and the Personal Distribution of Income" in the Rackham Amphitheatre. 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. - Fellini's "Variety Lights" will be shown in the Architecture Aud. 7:30 p.m. -Dr. Stephen Spurr, d e a n of Rackham Graduate School, will conduct the third of a series of illustrated lectures on "Bioeconomics of Great Rivers of the World" in the Rackham Amphitheatre. 8:00 p.mj - Philip Berrigan, Josephite priest, will speak on' "Non-violence, Civil Rights, and the Peace Movement" in the Mul- tipurpose Room, Undergraduate Library. FRIDAY, March 25 8:30 a.m.-A seminar on "Orien- tation to Programmed Learning" will be held in the Micliigan Union. 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. - Fellini's "Variety of Lights" will be shown in the Architecture Aud. 8:00 p.m.-The Newman Stu- dent Association will present Father Philip Berrigan, S.S.J. speaking on "Pacem in Terris and the ProblemN of War" in Aud. A. Father Barrigan has been a fre- quent speaker on the war in Viet Nam and has participated in the civil rights movement. 8:30 p.m. - The University Chamber Choir, conducted' by Thomas Hilbish, will give a con- cert, free of charge, devoted to the choral music of Bach in Rackham Lecture Hall. 8:30 p.m.-The Packard Avenue Playreaders will appear in the world premiere of Alfred Jarry's "Uba Cornutatus" in the Little Theatre of the Frieze Bldg. 8:30 p.m.-The University Sym- phony Orchestra, conducted by Josef Blatt and Theo Alcantarilla, will appear in Hill Aud. pOKInG FORASH OW7BLDW fYUR COOL? In PANAVISION-And METROCOLOR Shown at 7:14-10:30 ELVIS PRE LEY % NN-MARG RETf 4 CUMMGSEORGE SINY PRODUCTON *i a1 cANAIS0N'& IVETROCO3LOR.., ALSO-At 9:00 Only 2 Cartoons & Featurette NOW OPEN EVERY NITE "What are you doing after the Concert?" Block Carder Requests Submitted by Thursday, March 24, 3:00 P.M. -SGC Office General Ticket Sales Start Monday, March 28 f I Ticket Prices: $2.50 $2.00 $1.50 I *TONIGHT The Gilbert & Sullivan Society presents at Lydia Mendelssohn March 24, 25, 26 BOX OFFICE OPEN-8:30 A.M. 'TIL CURTAIN Thursday, March 24-$1.50 Friday, March 25-$2.00 Sat. Mat. & Sat. Night-SOLD OUT ANGELO RIZZOLI FEDERICO FELLINI GIULIETTAMASINA TECHNICOLORe SANDRA MILO whSYLVA KOSCINA MARIOPISU- VALENTINA CORTESE-LOU GILBERT- CATERINA BORATTO.SILVANAJACHINO LUISADELLANOCE - JOSE DEVILLALONGA - WALESKA GERT - FREDRICH LEDESUR ORIGINAL sroRYFEDERICO FELLINI - TULLIOPINELLI SCREENPLAYFEDERICO FELLIN, TODAY at I 6:45 & 9:00 *STR=fTO . /Rf~ttNI II -fill I Shows Start at 1 :00-3 00 5:00-7:00 and 9:05 HELD A i ...m..... I CINEMA II PRESENTS HITCHCOCK'S GREATEST COMEDY THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY STARRING y 9 TOGTheg a ot l oln 9 G II TA A ° Sat/Sn. Because of the great response to this engagement, we are moving across the street in the basement of St. Andrew's Church in order to have more room for dancing, and dancing, 4, I III I F --UNIE 1 I 1111 Al