Page Two

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Saturday, March 18, 1972

Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Saturday, March 18, 1972


A sear
By GAIL VROON
While endowed with consis-
tently excellent d i c t i o n, the
University Players have, in the
past, lacked a certain spontane-
ity. More often than not, one
finds two characters-say Cala-
ban and Juliet-played gesture
for gesture, nuance for nuance
alike. Last evening's production
of Bruce Jay Friedman's Steam-
bath proved a welcome change.
Ly. The atmosphere, if one dares to
speak of such a phenomenon in
a steam bath, was charged with
s an artful lack of polish.
Alan Eisenstock's direction al-
'; lowed each actor's individual
talents to be showed to greatest
advantage. Despite certain flaws
of timing, delivery, movement-
h ti the players developed a magni-
ficent empathy with their audi-
ence. The small stage of the
S,.. $~.*realetagay intimacy.." to
Daily-John Upton the evening. There was no trace
theatre
TriaUls and tri~bulaqtions of gods

nbath session

with

God I DIAL 668-6416

By JEFFREY LAINE
There is a world of 18th
century England in Ann Arbor
this weekend for Gilbert and
Sullivan have come to town and
are playing the R.C. auditorium.
Admission is fifty-cents and the
two gentlemen (one of them was
knighted while the other was
slighted,- so to save either of
them embarrassment I omit the
titles) promise not to take up
more than two hours of your
valuable time. The spectacle is
Thespis. Now, according to Gil-
bert and Sullivan, the Olympian
gods, after many years of faith-
ful service, have finally lost the
secret of eternal youth and, alas,
have grown old and feeble. But
just in the proverbial nick of
time a company of actors wan-
der into Olympus and take over.
True to their maxim, "This pas-
sion for realism is the curse of
the stage," the players cavort

happily about creating a most
confusing state of affairs in both
heaven and earth. Luckily, the
gods, under the guise of news-
papermen (how flattering) come
back to lay their old, but exper-
ienced hands firmly upon the
reins of power once again. As
for the acting troupe; well, suf-
fice it to say that they must
spend the rest of their days
struggling as }bad comedians
who no one wants to see. A
tragedy worthy of Racine him-
self.
This portion of my review is
usually reserved for lambastions
and bombastic odes to those ac-
tors who make it and those who
don't. However, I shan't pursue
the routine and ordinary for the
Gilbert and Sullivan Society.
They are not professionals and
furthermore they don't claim to
be. With the notable exception
of Gershom Clark Morningstar,

in the title role of Thespis, no
one in their right mind would
mistake them for such. The
choreography is clumsy (some-
thing which is not entirely the
fault of the players as the Resi-
dential College's stage is hird
pressed to contain three actors
at a time, let alone fourteen or
more). The voices are weak and
often the lyrics crecendo into
the mumbo-jumbo of toiling na-
tives. talking "African" in the
Tarzan films. But even consider-
ing these two, usually, devastat-
ing deficits the plays (or shall I
say operetta?) is a success. It
succeeds first on the merit of
the operetta itself. I usually
don't go in much for musical
comedies, but the Gilbert and
Sullivan variety are witty enough
to satisfy even a caustic critic,
as well as the audience who
goes to the theatre because they
worked hard all day and want

Flowing imagery at the UGLI

By WILLIAM LILLVIS
"I speak seldom, and always
In a murmur as quiet
As that of crowds which
surround
The victims of ,accidents."
So it would be misleading to
talk of Donald Justice as soft
spoken, the poet whose analyti-
cal imagination perceived the
regimentation that lies behind
the "know-it-all," "do-it-all" per-
son he entitles the Tourist From
Syracuse,
Prefacing the poem is an epi-
gram from a John MacDonald
detective novel describing the I
of the poems as "One of those
men who can be a car sales-
man or a tourist from Syracuse
or a hired assassin."
Tourist From Syracuse was
included in the reading given by
Donald Justice of his later
poetry last Thursday afternoon
in the Undergraduate Library
Multipurpose Room. Justice has
a congenial, clear reading style
that makes him pleasant to lis-
ten to.
His newer poetry has much of
the same quality; short-lines
arousd six syllables, literary al-
lusions that do not have to
stand by themselves in a poem
in order to be understood and
words that lend themselves to
his wandering but contemporary
imagery.
His poetic development seems
to have been quite successful be-
cause he brings to his new imag-
ery those same qualities that
distinguished his earlier work,
sophistication and control.
Although poetry that attempts
to criticize "types" of people, as
does Tourist From Syracuse,
can be irritating and for some
mysterious reason it seems to be
the most attractive to the most
inept poets, Justice has he in-
sight and polish of his style to
carry him through..
His changes in imagery make
for some interesting poetry; for
instance one entitled Telephone
Number of the Muse. "You were

always serious" the Muse tells
him when he calls her on the
phone. "Now we are good friends
but only friends," says the last
stanza and the poet "can hear
her phonograph in the back-
ground." .
Justice has a flexible style that
allows him to vary his subject
matter. Because of this all
twelve or fifteen poems which he
read had a quite different flavor.
In this he seems to share
something in common with other
fine American poets, though he
is not quite in the William Car-
los Williams' school yet. Justice
made this clear enough by start-
ing with what he calls a "Mid-
western poem" dedicated to, ap-
propriately enough, WCW.
Poem to be Read at Three
A.M. expresses the ambivalence
a sensitive person can feel try-
ing to live in total feredom. The
poet finds himself dedicating a
poem to whoever had a light
burning in the window while
"sick or perhaps reading" one
night:
"As I drove past
At seventy
Not thinking
This poem
Is for who ever
Had the light on."
Although Justice usually uses
a central voice he is quite cap-
able of switching his points-of-
view as he does in Tourist From'
Syracuse. But in another poem
entitled Hands he drops the per-
sonna and paints in almost pure
objectivist lines.
"No longer do the hands know
The happiness of pockets
Sometimes they hang at the
sides
Like the dead weights of a
clock.
This poem is quite masterful
in its use of surprise ending.
Justice tells us of the hand's
longing for a return to the womb
as it were; to curl up in warmth
and passivity, yet the final lines
c r e a t e an almost complete
change of mood:
TONIGHT!
Showcase 3
STEAM-
,r BATH
ARENA THEATRE
Trueblood Box Office
opens at 2:00 P.M.
THRU SAT.

"Opening, closing. Think of
The emptiness of the hands."
Obviously he is still " experi-
menting. That is good because
his work has improved consider-
ably since that first volume. A
series of short poems he read
gave some suggestions of truly
brililant imagery that could find
there way into new, longer
poems.
For the Student Body:
SALE
* Jeans
" Bells
" Flares
~5.OO
reg. to $24.00
CHECKMATE
RSate Street at Liberty

to relax. But the real credit
goes to the Society and the play-
ers. They truly seem to love
what they are doing and don't
really care if they are good or
bad. With enthusiasm and bra-
vado they perform what you
can't help but love.
Morningstar is the perfect vi-
sion of the English, almost, gen-
tleman of the music hall right
down to his bowler. He possesses
a powerful and clear voice while
his mannerisms are quite dis-
arming. Very charming actually.
I would live to have seen him
in Vaudeville.
Thespis wasn't great. In fact,
I'm not even sure it was good.
But I am quite certain that I
thoroughly enjoyed it. Marvelous
entertainment in the best tradi-
tion of the amateur. Go.
6 W.C. FIELDS
CLASSICS
StockwellHall
9 P.M.
50c
Thurs., Fri., Sat.
"Dustin Hoffman's finest per-
formance since 'Midnight Cow-
boyF'"
National Observer
"A brilliant feat of movie mak-
ing!"
Time Magazine
DUSTIN
H93FFIMN
'ESTFIAW
SHOWS AT Q
1, 3, 5, 7, 9:05 4M
"THE GODFATHER" is
now a movie
COMING MARCH 24th

of the embarrassment that
comes from sitting too close to
an amateur, about to blow a
speech. The cast managed to
overcome the selfconsciousness
that prevents the spectator from
becoming involved in such pro-
ductions as living theatre's Par-
adise Lost, Dionysus '69, and
what have you.
Jon Matousek, in his role as
Morty-a Puerto Rican janitor-
(actually God) displayed a re-
markable vocal range as he al-
ternately proved his existence
and directed the world through
the drainpipe of a sink:
..."All right . .. I want
that Pontiac moving south past
Hormosa Beach to crash into
that light blue Eldorado coming
the other way. (Bleep) Make it
a. head-on collision . . . And
give Canada a little more
rain. .
Matousek's movements were a
clever parody on those of Flip
Wilson. Surprisingly not over-
done in the least.
Laurence Coven, as a New
York stockbroker, was no doubt
the most professional of the cast
as he bemoaned his delicate
condition: "I was in the fern
game for a while. A lot of people
go in for ferns you'd be sur-
prised. I was cleaning up. But
I couldn't take the social pres-
sure . . . Guy at a party'd ask
me what do you do, I'd say I'm
in ferns. How do you think that
made me feel? I had to get out."
Coven is that rare breed of
local actor whose delivery is
both impeccable and yet free of
the all too familiar stereotyped
intonations. It is really a delight
to wath him.
Patrick Husted, as the old
timer who'd seen it all before,
worked in precise counterpoint
to Richard Frank, as the latter
10th ANNUAL
ANN ARBOR
FILM
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in the
ARCHITECTURE
AUIORIUM
FOR INFO
662-8871
Presents
TOMORROW AND
MONDAY
THE MIDWEST
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by FERNANDO ARRABAL
SUNDAY
in the
Residential
College Aud.
at 3:30 P.M.
MONDAY
in the
Architecture Aud.
at 7 and 9 P.M.

75c

eulogized his generation: ".
my generation wouldn't know
how to mix a drink, drive a car,
kiss a girl, straighten a tie-if
it weren't for Linda. Darnell and
George Brent . . . the sole rea-
son for my generatiorr's awk-
ward floundering in the darkness
is that Zachary Scott is gone
. . . and I assure you that Den-
nis Hopper is' no substitute."
Erika Fox, who surely fills a
bathtowel with enviable aplomb,
played Meredith Wilson to a t.
One wishes that she would lower
her voice slightly. It is clear and
melodious enough to carry with-
out the excess baggage of super
volume. Robert Giber, as David
Tandy, has a similar need to
work over problems of move-
ment and delivery-although his
part was straighter than the
others and certainly more diffi-
cult to execute.
Kudos to Robert Leib who
plays God's helper. He doesn't
have many lines, but the slight-
est movements of his facial
muscles speak for themselves.
James Cromar and David Riker
play two "phagocytes" and while
their role is perhaps insulting to
the aims of gay liberation, they
nevertheless did a most convinc-
ing (whatever that may imply)
Circle-K Club
presents
Q RAY SM IT 0
Sun. - 7:30 p.m.
3rd floor S.A.B.

and hilarious job.
Then there were those little
touches . . . The New York
Daily News laid across a steam,
bench, the red socks and needle
point shoes of Morty (pronounced
MorrrTI).
You really ought to see this.
It's probably the most hopeful
prospect for your Saturday eve-
ning that will occur for a long
time. Unless the next Showcase
Production matches it.
QUICK PUBLISHER
The quickest publication of any
book, measured from receipt of
the manuscript to public sales, is
661,/2 hours in the case of The
Popes Journey to the United States
-The Historical Record, a 160
page 75c paperback. Written by
51 editors of the strike-bound New
York Times, the first articles
reached the publishers at 1:30
p.m. on Oct. 4, 1965 and the first
copies came off the presses at 8
a.m. on Oct. 7, 1965.

NOMINATED
FOR

ACADEMY
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BEST SCREENPLAY
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AND
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JANE FONDA
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SCREENPLAY

Harold Cruise
"Blacks in Film"
FEATURES:
King Kong
Thief of Baghdad
MARCH 20

? MLB--Room B-115
4-5:30 P.M.

I


m

6:30 &10:00.P.M.
8:00 RPM.
LECTURE RM 1

Corner of State & Liberty
Program Information 662-6264
OPEN 12:45
Shows at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 P.M.
SHOCKING!
FUNNY!
VERY ADULT!

MODERN LANGUAGE BUILDING
YES, WE'RE GAY !
and we're talking out about it
00
- PANEL DISCUSSION -
MONDAY, MARCH 20-7:15 p.m.
WCBN -89.5 FM
Maybe we can answer some of your questions
Info - 338 Michigan Union, 763-4186.(Jim)

10

HELD OVER!
TWO HIT
ENCORES

THE BLACK FILM SOCIETY
exploring black images in film
PRESENTS
LECTURE-

6

fP /O

t~J


MAN'S QUEST FOR
SPIRITUAL FREEDOM
in the light of
RUDOLF STEINER'S THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
by MR. ALAN HOWARD
Lecturer for the Anthroposophical Society of North America
8 p.m., SUNDAY, MARCH 19, Assembly Hall, Michigan Union Basement
sponsored by Anthroposoph ical Student Assoc.

I.


1972 UNDERGRAD
ART SHOW
3rd Floor
Rackham Galleries
MONDAY thru SATURDAY
8 A.M.-11 P.M.
Until April 1st
This ad compliments of
Quarry Photo Inc.

!CINEMA II
AUD. A, ANGELL HALL, shows at 7:00 & 9:00 P.M., 75c
TICKETS ON SALE AT 6:00 P.M.
THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY--SCIENCE FICTION SPECIAL!
The End of August at the Hotel Ozone
(1966, dir. SCHMIDT)
As strange and lyrical a movie as its title suggests, this Czech new line film won the International
Science Fiction Film Festival award in 1968.
The story concerns a band of eight women who roam the barren wastelands of Earth after the final
world war.
"Particularly fascinating . . grace and beauty and natural ease of expression." - Film Comment
Quarterly.
NEXT WEEK: FRI.-SAT.: Bergman's PASSION OF ANNA (1970)
SUN.: Douglas Fairbanks as THIEF OF BAGHDAD (1924)
Rene Clair's Classic Satire
A Nous La Liberte
" a2eill amnnr the tn hpct filme nf all timeo"

VIOLENT 4
"Rising rates of violent crimes cannot
be tolerated, especially by the victims
who are often University students. In-
creasing the number of police or reor-
dering police enforcement policies are
not full solutions. We must explore
many new ideas aimed at the reduction
of opportunity for the criminal to act.
A program for massively increased
street lighting should be instigated.
Thought should be given to developing
a program for citizen involvement in
crime prevention in several areas in the
Midwest."

CRIMES

VOTE

APRIL 3

I

ARIL

11_ v fI1