Page Two

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Thursday, November 4, 1971

P:e w TEMIH-A DIY.hr-a, ovmer4 17


So

who

irons

pajamas

anyway.?

By JACQUES
Is anyone still young enough
to remember when "musical"
connoted also "comedy," lots of
pretty girls, colorful costumes,
lots of brass in the orchestra,
and a few tunes you could hum
on the way home? Stretch.
You know . . . plot, characters
and dances all were concerned
with getting the right girl with
the right* guy in the end. This
was the heyday of fifties broad-
way-and this is "Pajama
Game". The show has some
tunes you'll remember: "Hey
There" and "Hernando's Hide-
away" help get two very attrac-
tive people back in love from
opposite sides of a union-man-
agement pay hassle over seven
and a half cents.
The production in question is
Soph Show 1971, now in the
Power Center. And how can you
criticize Soph Show? It's like
hitting your little sister. It's an
institution. And, in fact, the
youthful exuberance of the cast
is very happily matched with
the Richard Adler-Jerry Ross
score. The performances have all
the enjoyment which seems oft-
en to be missing from some of
Ann Arbor's more serious the-
atrical ventures. This can be
seen particularly in the tre-
mendous chorus which can real-
Wargo ly fill the immense Power stage.
(And I've lost my heart to one
little blonde in an orange hat.)

But when the chorus goes off
the theatre begins to, excuse
this, overpower the show.
Everyone's talking about the
new magic box on Fletcher St.
Why should I keep quiet? It has
one huge architectural blunder,
which makes it impossible for
musicals. The orchestra pit is a
concrete cavern with a huge
concrete beam overhead. As a
result, a wall of sound is created
by the orchestra which the sing-
ers cannot penetrate; ironically,
they cannot hear it very well,
from the stage either. But
they've been told to project
through it in the songs, and in
the few parts of the show
which aren't underscored they
don't stop shouting. It doesn't
really sound any different to
them, so we get a love scene
played at the top of the actor's
lungs.
Four of the principals in "Pa-
jama dame" came away from
the acoustical war bloodied, but
unbowed. John Robison in the
male lead is a very strong figure
on stage with an arresting shock
of red hair and- a fine, if un-
trained voice. Karen Mann is
just lovely as his "Small-Talk-
ing" girl friend, a sprightly bru-
nette who really knows where
she is on a stage. Jan Wishnet-'
sky does a very nice job of
cooling off the jealous Hines
(Michael Tobin), and the ca-
meo award of the evening goes

to Pat Ursin as Mae. Karen
Goren's dances were nicely con-
ceived, though occasionally
coming out of the middle of a
number as a separate statement
rather than as an extension of
the song's idea. The orchestra
will get together better as the
week progresses, though the
"Entracte" - and "Steam Heat"
were particularly fine last night.
Director Joanne Kaufman had
her hands full getting the per-
formance from the stage to the
auditorium, and some of the
subtlety was lost on the way.
It's too bad for this great
company that they had to com-
pete so with the theatre. They
would have been impressive in
Mendelssohn. (Should Musket
re-think?) But the facts of the
matter are these: Soph Show as
a Michigan institution is alive
and well, and pleasantly enter-
taining.
z what It paid to see.
THISOQRATED FILM IS
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
BY THE MANAGEMENT
* Plus 2nd featur
r Mai CIvi'tY 0
Zci honemia 3.
- A OU

"'FRIENDS' IS SO FULL OF TENDERNESS AND INTELLI-
GENT DETAIL that only the most thoroughgoing curmudgeon
could resist it! The love scenes are enacted w it h incredible
conviction by the two young actors! The two young lovers
create a little world as full of love as that pf the old poets!"
-Howard Kissel, Women's Wear Daily
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
PRESENTS
- \IA FILM BY
LEWIS GILBERT
Music by ELTON JOHN
riPTA OPum1 THURS. FRI.
DOWNTOWN ANN ARDOR
INPOR*AATION 761-9700

I

ii

I

THE ALLEY

presents

FRI.-SAT.-SUN., NOV. 5-6-7
MUDDY WATER S

4

Opiate of the Masses?

New American music:
Reworking old media

FREE BILLIARD EXHIBITION
JIMMY CARAS
5 TIME WORLD CHAMPION
TH URSDAY-4 P.M. & 8 P.M.
Michigan Union Ballroom

2 Shows
Each Night
at 7:30
& 10:00
All
Tickets
Only $2.25

Upstairs
All Chairs
Have Been
Removed
Pinball
Again
in the
Basement

By PHILLIP S. MARTIN
The tendency amiong contem-
porary composers has been to
avoid -writing for orchestras or
large ensembles and to concen-
trate primarily on chamber,
music. The reason, I presume,
is that when one hears the lavish,
romantic sounds that come from
the orchestra in the music of the
past century, he finds himself
with a precedent somewhat too
Olympian to attempt to surpass.
+ Last night's concert in Hill Audi-
orium, the last of a series of
three concerts of contemporary
American music, showed us
that the possibilities for large
ensemble writing have indeed
not yet been exhausted.
Riegger's "Music for Brass
Choir" was a startling example
of what can be done with brass
alone, always a difficult ensem-
ble with which to produce enough
of a variety of color to hold
one's interest for long. The work
was built mostly around half-
step clusters which are particu-
larly effective in brass, since
dissonances tend to blend rather
than clash. Riegger was fully
aware of this and managed to
create an air of supreme intens-
ity by, ending the piece on a
cluster including all twenty-four
notes within a span of two
octaves.
T h e University Symphonic
Wind Ensemble, conducted by
Edward Downing, made its first
appearance in the Contemporary
Music F e s t i v a l, performing
George Rochberg's "Apocalyp-
tics," a piece which might have
been more successful had it
lasted only three minutes in-
stead of twenty. Still what few
ideas there were were potent
and original and led to an effc-
tive climax.
The Place To Meet
INTERESTING People!
presents
BACH
and
BEET HOVEN
played by
Cello & Piano
ARGENTINE FRUIT
Stevy Served after Program
THURS.-8 p.m.
So. Qd., W. Lounge
ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE
INVITED!
No Musical Knowledge Needed
Further Info.--
Sue 764-7894; John 482-5858

Theo Alcantara conducted the
University Symphony in the last
half of the concert, which began
with "Colloquy," by Leslie Bas-
sett, a member of the composi-
tion faculty at the University.
"Colloquy" was a paradigm of
orchestral color with a rich,
varied texture that kept one fas-
cinated throughout the work.
Certainly one need do nothing
more than listen to this piecerto
discover that therd are still re-
sources in the orchestra to be
discovered.
The concert ended with the last
portion of the third act of Roger
Session's "Montezuma," an
opera based on the encounter
between Montezuma and Cortez
during the Spanish conquest of
Mexico. Waldie Anderson was
the tenor soloist, and in Ses-
sion's own opinion the perform-
ance was even better than the
premiere performance of the
opera in Berlin in 1964. As might
have been expected, the piece
was fresh and dramatic and well
deserved its place as the finale
of a festival of contemporary
American music.
TG
Delta Sigma Delta
Fraternity
FRIDAY, Nov. 5, 8-11 p.m.
Live Band & Refreshments
1502 Hill St.
Thursday and Friday
THE RISE TO
POWER OF
LOUIS XIV
Dir. ROBERTO ROSSELLINI, 1965
The Neo-realist director
defines his conception of
history.
An intensive analysis of
the implications of ges-
ture and costume with a
sumptuous decor.
ARCHITECTURE
AUDITORIUM
7:00 and 9:05 75c

i

MAOR Theater presents

Adv. Tic.-Salvation Records, 330 Maynard, 1103 S. Univ.-Now on Sale
COMING: BUDDY GUY and JUNIOR WELLS
NOV. 11-12-13-THURS.-FRI.-SAT.-TICKETS NOW ON SALE-ONLY $2.25
Subscribe toThe Michigan Daily

The

Ne wcomers

I

A DRAMA OF SURVIVORS OF THE CONCENTRATION CAMP
by JON BERNSTEIN

This Weekend Sat.-Sun., Nov. 6-7

8 P.M. at Hillel

1429 Hill-50c


Sir Laurence Olivier,
in Strindberg's corrosive classic

4*

4

RAT D
FRIDAY G SATURDAY

PARAMOUNT PICTURES PRESENTS A BHE FILM IN ASSOCIATION WITH
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LAURENCE OLIMER
rT TU TX A T/ A UT /'ky ~ T 'n AT PTAT