Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, July 12, 1968 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY theatre University Players: to west depths By FRITZ LYON In the middle of the first act, one of the characters warns: "You mustn't talk so much!" Every- body on the stage should have heeded that advice, but they didn't, and if I hadn't been ob- ligated to write this review, I would have walked out then and saved myself two more hours of noxious tedium. The play , The Burnt Flower- Bed by Ugo Betti, is being pre- sented -this week, in Lydia Men- delssohn, with a lot of nerve, with- out much taste, by the University Players, under the direction of William Halstead. And it's time to blame the speech department for their con- spicuous failure to bring modern, living, contemporary theatre to the University community. Ironically, Flower-Bed is the "contemporary" offering for the summer season, contemporary in quotes because it's a third-rate, 15-year-old play written in a 20- year-old style. I used to read the original Tom Swift books to laugh at them-great-but Flower-Bed doesn't even have that curiosity going for it. It's not even quaint; it's just old and bad and dead. It's not even a play; it's a book, and a dull book at that. There is nothing to watch. It's all talk, and while the characters do walk around the stage while ihey talk, there's nothing inher- ently fascinating about people walking around mouthing plati- tudes. The stage is incidental, not essential, to the play. Flower-Bed is full of the ingre- dients that make bad drama- political-religious social message, imitation Ibsen well-made plot, pretentious symbolism, over-writ- ten dialogue, bookish characters, artificial stage devices, sentimen- talism, lack of physical action, in- organic plot surprises, and a. mel- odrama climax-a good textbook of clumsy writing if it weren't so boring and humorless. The production is consistent with these faults, that is, there seems to be little effort to offset the bulk of deadweight in the play. Examples: " Act. I. Political intrique, mystery of family tragedy. The actors follow the cliches instead of changing rhythms to escape them. Mark Metcalf (as Tom- asco) and Kathleen McGill (as Luisa) don't have natural speak- ing voices anyway, and both fall into repetitious intonation pat- terns that can't help but bore the listeners-it's hard to pay atten- tion. Nobody talks to anybody- they say their lines and look in the direction of the other actor. The exchanges are so rapid and sing-song that the characters simply can't be listening, respond- ing, and listening to each other. When somebody runs into an emotion, they force themselves to it, like bad movie acting. The details surrounding the characters are just as distracting- ly fake. "Yes, nothing passes over these mountains except that wind." Yessiree, Bob. Cue the wind-fade up-four lines about the- lonely winds-fade out until the third act cue when the winds get lonely again. " Act. II. The scene where Rosa talks to her dead father and Luisa talks to her dead son is downright embarrassing. If that isn't bad enough, Miss McGill and Mau- reen Anderman (Rosa) go for the bait and play it like the movies Again. Argh. You just can't be- lieve it. There has to be some way to play it or underplay it besides diving into the hackneyed melodrama. * Act III. Each of the plot- lines runs its predictable course. "You hate everything around you -you're responsible for our boy's accidental death." "It was no accident. He committed suicide. I lied about it to protect you." Fade up lonely wind. Rosa's appeal for peace and humanity: "I don't Dial 8-6416 ACADEMY AWARD WINNER BEST foreign language film .. BEST screen story "A believe they'll shoot me." Sound cue-bang. Rosa droops. Giovanni carries her body out the door as martyr sacrifice to peace, after big speech . .. blah, blah, blah. And the actors fall for this guff: they play the lines just like they're written on the page. Salvation Army. Can't they do something? Raniero, a previously unobtru- sive character, delivers two pro- phetic lines in this final act: "But why all this talk?", which I took to be a repetition of the main theme rather than comic relief; and "What's going on?", to which some giggled and I applauded. I object first of all to the play, and secondly to the director. One of us has a definite lack of taste and judgment. Why did Dr. Hal- stead choose this play? I see no redeeming virtue to recommend it, except to know that once this antiquated style of writing was popular. Even then, why suffer through it to make that point? The play is a mockery of the issues it concerns, and a mockery of plays that deal with impor- tant issues in the first place. Why the slam? Where's the harm? It's just that this kind of remote, irrelevant drama con- vinces theatre-goers that the theatre is suffocating due to a dearth of serious, contemporary playwrights. But a good look at major productions of the last decade shows that the speech de- partment hasn't begun to tap the resources-not one Beckett, not one Genet, not one Ionesco, not one Albee, and only one Pinter (chosen by a guest director). There are at least five first-rate American playwrights from Off- Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, and Ann Arbor hasn't seen one. Certainly an intellectual, educa- tional community can face the in- securities and challenges and risks of the real contemporary theatre-why dig back to one of the insignificant plays of a minor playwright? It seems to me that the speech department is ignor- ing a responsibility-to keep the- atre in this area new and alive and relevant-and "experimental" programs at the student lab the- atre are poor compensation for that failure. It's harder to attach responsi- bility to the actors. I'd like to say: "Where are your values? How can you be an artist if you submit to this crap?" And they'd answer: "To be an actor you have to get on the stage and act. You don't ask how good it is; you take what you can get." Then too, once you're in it, you become loyal to what you create. That's a ne- cessity. So although the actors might not rave about the play's merits, they probably don't think it's as miserable as I do. An attack on their play is an attack on them. If it's possible to separate the technical acting from what was being acted, a few bright spots shine through. A reviewer can't blast actors for not rising abovel the play, like James Dean sur- passed the script in the movie Rebel Without a Cause. The two actresses I accused of melodrama, Miss McGill and Miss Anderman, weren't all that bad. I don't think that either had much to work with, and at least they threw themselves into their roles with- out reserve. After seeing Mack Owen play many roles, I've come to the con- clusion that he consistently turns in good performances. As Gio- vanni, the lead, he delivers ter- rible lines and makes them cred- ible, and to my mind he saves the whole show from farce. Again, his voice isn't full beyond the pros- cenium, and he too forces him- self to intensity occasionally. But although he may not be faultless and exceptionally gifted, Mr. Owen is a hard-working, consis- tent, and capable actor. I haven't seen David Raher (Nicola) before. He sounded more real than the others, even dur- ing melodramatic p a s s a g e s, though he seems bothered at times by jerky gestures. I've already spoken of Mark Metcalf (Tomaso). H a 1 f the weight of the play falls on him, but he doesn't have the natural delivery of Owen or Raher, and he's unable to sustain interest during the long passages and monologues. When I asked members of th, audience what they thought of the actors and the play ,they said the set was magnificent, which may give some credit to designer Alan Billings. And that's about as much credit as I can manage. Why did I get so angry about a cruddy play? Because I'm' disappointed. Be- cause I go to the theatre, not to be entertained or amused, but to be excited, and what I saw was a bad production of a bad play by people whom I had once trusted to know better. That that sham, is what's suffocating theatre. One thing. I kept hoping, up until the last, that lots of people from the audience would leave during intermission, or walk out sometime, or sneak out. Nobody did. They waited patiently and applauded politely at the end, said the play was "a bit talky." I didn't find anybody who had liked it, but nobody who had minded it much either. Still, folks, it was terrible. DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of the Univer- sity of Michigan for which The Michigan Dailyassumes no editor- ial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3528 L. S. & A. Bldg., be- before 2 p.m. of the day preceding publication and by 2 p.m. Friday for Saturday and Sunday. General Notices may be published asmaxi- mum of two times on request; Day Calendar items appear only once. Student organization notices are not accepted for publication. For more information call 764-9270. FRIDAY, JULY 12 Day Calendar Audio-Visual Education Center Sum- mer Previews - "Navajos - Children of the Gods," "Italian- Farm Family," and "Niko, Boy of Greece". Multipur- pose Rm., Undergraduate Library, 1:30 P.M. Midwest Community College Leader- ship Council - Registration, Statler Hilton Inn. 5:00 p.m. Cinema Guild - Jacque Cousteau's "The Silent World", Architecture Aud., S:00 and 9:05 p.m. Department of Speech University Players - Ugo Betti's "The Burnt Flower Bed," Lydia Mendelssohn The- atre, 8:00 p.m. Attronomy Department Visitors' Night. Fri., July 12, 10:00 p.m., Aud. B, Angell. Hall, Prof. John A. Williams will speak on "Stellar Photometry." After the lecture the Student Observa- tory on the fifth floor of Angell Hall will be open for inspection and for telescopic observations of a globular cluster and a double star. Children welcomed, but must be accompanied by adults. General Notices TV Center Program: On Sun., July 14 the following program produced by the TV Center willrhave its initial telecast in Detroit: 12:00 Noon, WWJ-TV, Channel 4 - AFTER EDEN: "The Garden Gateway." Prio rto World War I, a rebirth of na- tional pride and identity surged among the Arab nations, following centuries of Ottoman oppression. Doctoral Examinations Clyde Arthur Morrison, Nuclear En- gineering, Dissertation : "Direct Spin- Crystal Field Interaction in Solids," on Fri., July 12 at 10 a.m. in Auto Lab Bldg..hConference Rm. Chairman: C. Kikuchi. Marvin John Erik Johnson, Educa- tion, Dissertation: "The Effectiveness of Programmed Instruction in Teaching. Basic Gymnastics," on Fri., July 12 at 5 p.m. in W. Council Rm., Rackham. Chairman: S. A. Howard. Placement BUREAU OF APPOINTMENTS 3200 SAB GENERAL DIVISION Current Position Openings received by General Division by mail and phone, please call 754-7460 for further information. Announcement:. Last Day VISTA Team here, Head- quarters in room 3524, S.A.B. No appts. (Continued on Page 6) i Dial NO 2-6264 Smusic Ashkenazy displays 'stupendous' power ATE NOW By R. A. PERRY Stupendous is not a very critical word but it nevertheless describes the power and tech- nique of Vladimir Ashkenazy, past winner of the Moscow and Brussels piano competitions. Certainly no scarcity of out- standing young pianists exists today, and with record com- panies vying for new talent, young musicians quickly re- ceive due attention. Ashkenazy mu'st stand at the top of this group, along with the brilliant- ly mercurial Glenn Gould and the more intellectual Ivan Mor- avec. Though not a banger at the keyboard, Ashkenazy does not make a point of dignified re- serve; his steel-fingered tech- nique and especially strong left hand lead to a virile, impas- sioned, and totally ebullient sort of piano playing. At the same time, he is a poet and his re- cordings of Schubert and Cho- pin approach the feeling that Schnable and Lipatti brought to the music. What was so exciting about his Rackham recital was that he did not sit down to the piano and perform a "set" piece that carried the musty odor of pre- determination; he made each rendition a fresh discovery, and thus his powers of expressive- ness convinced me of their au- thentic sincerity and involved me in their artistic creation. Ashkenazy's artistic person- ality was immediately apparent in the opening of Beethoven's Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, Called the "Moonlight" Sonata by the critic Rellstab, to whom the piece conjured up memories of Lake Lucerne, the piece's power lies beyond the famed opening adagio. In a way, this piece was Beethoven's Bolero, a work slowly building in tempo, en- ergy and motive. In the final presto of this sonata (consid- ered basically experimental by B e e t h o v e n), the composer forges ahead, with obdurate confidence into cascades of sounds and masses of unheard of chord structures. The equally Romantic and equally confident Ashkenazy, in full command of the score, managed to convey the giddiness in the surges of sound that seemed almost about to escape Beethoven's own con- trol. One of the most painfully ex- quisite moments in piano liter- ature comes at the beginning of the Rondo of Beethoven's "Waldstein" Sonata. The pre- vious adagio serves no other function than to create the heavy atmosphere out of which so naturally drop the tears of the first Rondo theme. Beetho- ven then takes this simple theme, which Ashkenazy in- trodweed and developed with beautiful cantando feeling, and varies, explores, and magnifies it into his pass-key to Par- nassus. In the opening allegro, the right and left hands weave the warp and woof of the richest aural texture, and Ashkenazy chose not to give us the struc- <------ -- ture of this carpet of sound, as Brendel does on his Vox record- ing, but to revel in each vital strand of color and changing form. After the grandiloquence of the Beethoven half of the pro- gram, Chopin's Barcarolle Op. 60 emerged pretty near hearts and flowers sentiment. Ashken- azy's strong left hand proved heavy here and he did not achieve the perfect balance that Lipatti has created. Chopin's Twelve Etudes, op. 10, resemble the Paganini Ca- prices; they are not very en- grossing music, but their vir- tuoso demands and display do provide concert hall excitement. The young Russian whipped through them with astonishing ease, variance of touch, and expressive ardor. A witty little bagatelle, perfect for encores, provided the encore, and a standing ovation, seldom given in Ann Arbor, told the pianist of the SRO audience's wonder- ment. David Bar-Illan, Jorge Bolet, and Rudolf Firkusny will com- plete the summer concert series, all of the recitals taking place in the remainder of this month. Tickets are still available. W! R I. A John BeckNAHO Producton s.ft,, oc kle JOHN MYHERS-MAKO.HENRYWILCOXON-.DICKSARGENT-CHRISTOPHEDARK MICHAEL BRS.8I~ WEILMAN JR:ROBERT OONNER JACK GRNAE E-I%AIJJ CH OPHIlR FRANK TASHLIO J(Jf L GREENE ~ ROBERTM.FRESCO- FRANK TASHLIN-JOHN BECK a TECHNICOLOR'uimoi SEE FEATURE AT 1 :25-3:25-5:25-7:30-9:35 NEXT: James Stewart in "BANDOLERO" aussssamassanssnsaamanmanasam m : I 0 1 Russ Gibbs Production Presents At the 5th Dimension R I 216 W. Huron, Ann Arbor Direct from England I NATiONAL OEN!'~AL CORPORATION __ 3rd GREAT FOX EASTERN THEATRESI cNu mmansE COMPLETE SHOWINGS WEEK! rai n Ebb1t6 1:00-3:00-5:00 375 NO.MAPLE RD. -769-1300 7:15-9:30 WEDNESDAY SHOWINGS - 3:00 - 5:00 - 7:15 - 9:30 3020 Washtenaw, Ph. 434-1782 Between Ypsilanti & Ann Arbor "'DON? RaISE THe BrIDGE LOWER THE RJ VeR TECHNICOLOR" j[9 -----SHOW TIME- WED.-SAT.-SUN. 1-3-5-7-9:05 OTHER DAYS 7 & 9 THE PINK FLOYD RATIONALS THYME Saturday and Sunday, THIS WEEK ONLY I University Players' i I JULY 13th and 14th 7-11 P.M. NO AGE LIMIT -. Admission $2.50 I a __-_ rnr r nn "NO ONE WILL BE SEATED DURING THE LAST 88 MINUTES... THEY'LL ALL BE ON THE FLOOR, LAUGHING!--LOOK MAGAZINE ",Pure lunocy... uproariously funny!" -TIME 8 p.m. Air-Conidit ioned Lydia A: 4 "I s""tI' 'S" "4A riot. The funniest flicker since the Marx Brothers. -MADEMOISELLE 1 0 Joseph E Levine Presents n Mel Brooks / , -, ,J~ w y ._.. 16,