THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Friday, February 19, 1971 t
THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, February 19, 1971 ~
theatre
A
play
in,
all
times
By GARY HUMMEL
Director William Tate of the
University Players has given
John Whiting's The Devils an
abstract, uncertain ambiance, a
blend of sombre, austere Gothic
tones and graded illumination
which flickers like a votive can-
dle.
Although based on the actual
dementia of the French town
of Loudun in the early seven-
tenth century, the play - as
its atmosphere suggests - be-
longs neither to the past, pre-
sent,or future, but to all of these
times: it-is the highly personal
story of a man, a vicar, who re-
vels in sensual satisfaction, b u t
finds it is not enough; who seeks
penitence for his sins, yet suf-
fers from self-doubt; who des-
perately needs meaning in life
but discovers only its final fact,
death.
He is the victim, the ino-
cent who is burned at the stake
by the devils of his tormentors,
who see flesh and sin as one
entity.
At once a handsome seducer,
a clever cynic, and a devout
priest, Grandier, the vicar, asks
God to "show me a way." He
searches for salvation through
death, but finds that his humble
apotheosis - which occurs when
he is burned at the stake - is
predicated upon humiliation
and intense suffering. He has
but his own tortured, imperfect
self to offer God, and God's love
is what he is.
A young hump-backed prioress
who vainly searches for love
is the agent of his destiny. She
secretly yearns for Grandier's
love, but when he sends her a
letter refusing her offer to be
her convent's confessor she be-
comes a maniacal witch, pos-
sessed by a devil which she in-
sists was placed in her by Gran-
dies. Thu painful dull world of
self denial of the convent be-
comes a haven of lewd defiance,
of debauched devils. The nuns
decide to toss up their skirts
and toss outlascivious inventive.
When the gay intelligent Prince
of Corde exposes the Sister
Jeanne as "possessed by the de-
vil," the whole town is hushed
and then runs riot - Sister
Jeanne's evil is real, it is an
aspect of her owneconvulsed
mentality and has relegated her
soul to eternal damnation.
It is the irony of the play
that Father Grandier and Sister
Jeanne never meet directly, even
though both characters are jux-
taposed in certain scenes. Gran-
dier, as played by Robert Mc-
Kee, came across as a self-con-
tained almost smug man (even
when he's making love) given to
melodramatic sonority and
hoarse cries of anguish. At the
beginning of the play he rush-
ed his lines, but by the end one
genuinely felt his realization of
the presence of God in all things,
as well as his final agony. One
wonders if any one could de-
pict a character with so many
diverse aspects such as char-
isma, tenderness, and lust. One
is not made aware of w h y
.Grandier is bent on self sacri-
fice, or if indeed he can "fon-
dle a rose as if it were the
secret part of a woman.,,
Karen Tate sensitively delin-
eates the character of S i s t e r
Jeanne, expressing the frustra-
tion, self-disgust, righteousness
and perverse delusion of a wo-
man who has been denied sen-
sual love and as a result, de-
spairs of the love of God. Her
depiction of the humpbacked
nun's despairing self awareness
and conscious lapse into fiend-
ish mockery of Christ and self-
degratation provides a' b a c k
ground for the play's sudden
changes from serious to comic
tone. One is always aware of her
desperation and dejection -
"the purpose of man is loneli-
ness and death", but knows also
she is a woman who understands
people: "deep in the invention
of mumbo-jumbo to justify his
own existance, he (man) is deaf
to laughter."
The structure of the play
unfolds througha series of brief,
impact episodes which take
place within a symmetrical, bi-
level set whose diagonal a n d
bare wooden beams are faintly
reminiscent of a church or a
dark street. The episodes, each
of which is demarcated by a
timely use of a different inten-
sity of light, reveal the char-
acters of the town and further
the action. There isthe beauti-
ful, young Phillipe, played de-
licately by Diane Elliot, who
confesses her love for Grandier
and God, and rueful disgust for
her final fate. There are the
role players, the priests who re-
place self-inquiry with grisly
ceremonies of evorcism. John
Arnone's Father Barre is one
of these, a priest obsessed with
Satan, as stiff and as eager as
a Southern fundamentalist. Me-
mory, the vicious simple minded
surgeon, done by Steve Chap-
man, is sufficiently sneering,
while Terrence Haggerty's
Adam, the chemist, jealous of
Grandier and eager to plot his
down fall, reveals a proper tinge
of remorse at the end. Harvey
Feldstein, as the bumbling, wise
old friar Ambrose, and J am e s
Harris, as the King's commis-
sioner help to delineate t h e
plight of Father Grandier, his
terror and final resolve to die.
Clearly the supporting cast
has much to do with the drama-
tic success of The Devils.
NOW AT
POPULAR PRICES
CO),.'WA PPCTOWS AtVRA'TAP Q j19P RES'C' T
A RAY STARK -HERBERT ROSS Production
Barbra Streisand
IcngeSegal
andtdo
Panavs~cr, Corow
TONIGHT at 7, 9, & 11
1214 S. Univ.
DIAL 8-6416
One complete show
Tonigh at 7:15
e
ingm arbr m n's
FEBRUARY STEREO SALE
Hundreds of receivers, record changers, tape record-
ers and speakers in this sale. Stop in and see the
list.
A
Hi-Fi Studio
121 W. Washington
668-7942
Downtown across from Old German Restaurant
fl
i
TRYOUTS for Jerry Blks
original musical comedy
"Th Bas an Grs orvr
"T eBrs adGrs will be held at Civic Theatre
Building-201 Mulholland Dr.
7:30-10:30 P.M. Thurs., Feb. 25
1-5 P.M. Sunday, Feb. 28
In Michigan League Studio Room
7:30-10:3 P.M. Fri., Feb. 26
Singing and dancing roles for both men and women,
as well as good character parts. Performances May
5-8 and May 12-15 (8 performances, all together)
At Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre.
4
)t
Ilk
11
"the passion
of annaa
[RJ COLOR by DeLuxe
Tonight at 9:20
AND
HENDERSON
HOUSE
I
Musical Society concert
to feature Isaac Stern
formance. Isaac Stern, world-famous
The Drama Festival is import- American violinist, will give a
concert at The University of
ant for presenting the kinds of Michigan in the Choral Union
juxtaposition we had last eve- Series at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 21, in
n Te o essential ingredi- Hill Auditorium, under the
ents of drama were isolated, and auspices of the University Mu-
developed on their own. Master/ sical Society.
Slave employed the physical ele-
ment exclusively. Whatever there This will be Stern's fifth ap-
was to be communicated was ex- pearance here.
pressed by the actors' bodies The program will be a Sonata
and any props they chose to add in B-flat major by Mozart;
Gesture, facial expression and Sonata No. 3, Op. 25 by Enesco;
physical rhythms intermingled Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op.
to explore and express ideas and 78 by Brahms; and Divertimento
images. The satire was a study by Stravinsky.
in the verbal element of drama. Stern, who has been called
Here everything depended on "the world's busiest violinist,"
vocal inflection, pitch, the power tour after an active fal land
of words to create pictures and embarks on his nationwide
capture the audience's imagina- tour after an active fall and
tions. The results were instruc- spring that saw him concertiz-
tive as well as entertaining. ing widely in Europe, Israel and
NEW HEAVENLY BLUE
and
FOATING OPERA
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19
UNION BALLROOM
Admission $1.00
ALICE'S
presents
W.C. FIELDS
in
BANK DICK
the Three Stooges
with
Outer Space Jitters
PLUS
A documentary on experimental
flights that never got off the
ground.
Friday 8, 10,12 p.m.-75c
Alice Lloyd
763-0795
buck rogers is free on wednesdays
Japan.He also performed with
most of the major European
orchestras,as well as making a
dramatic appearance on Mt.
Scopus overlooking Jerusalem
with Leonard Bernstein and the
Israel Philharmonic.
This season his schedule in-
cludes, among others, appear-
ances in Philadelphia, Washing-
ton, Denver, Chicago, Los An-
geles, Pittsburgh, Miami and
New York as guest soloist with
orchestra, and in recital.
Stern's Columbia recordings
are among the top-selling clas-
sical releases in the country. -He
has appeared on such television
programs as "O p e n End,"
"Twentieth Century" and "The
Telephone Hour," and performed
in a Hollywood movie, "Tonight
We Sing," a film biography of
S. Hurok.
CHINESE STUDENTS
ASSOCIATION
SKATING PARTY
Sunday, Feb. 21-3-5
Coliseum
FOR RIDES, CALL 764-7992
Refreshments following at the
International Center
NAIOLGNERALV
S 375 N. MAPLE RD. ..
76s-13Q
MON.-FRI.
_7:15-9:00
SAT.-SUN.-2:00-3:40
_ 5:25-7:15-9:10
Tickets for the Feb. 21 concert
here are available at all prices
$7, $6.50, $6, $5, $3.50, and $2.50)
at the office of the University
Musicial Society in B u r t ,)n Read and Use
Tower, Ann Arbor. Daily Classifieds
N_________________-__--
TONIGHT AT 7:15
i
AR T E
RIVE 4
1024
by U of
FEB.
Open 8 p.m
: a7m E2s~
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f XHI
AT
GAUCI
HILL ST.
M stud
19-24
.-12 p.m. d
BIT
HE
ents
aily
,mx "... ...I . . ....... ..
apply before March 12
for fall-winter terms (668-6774)
SL
offers
inexpensive
cooperative
living
for
thirty
girls
in
a
comfortable
old
house
on
hill
street
THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN'S
PLAYERS
AN EVENING OF
IRISH PLAYS
Folksinger
LUKE BALDWIN
at
RIVE GAUCHE at 9 P.M.
Friday and Saturday
Admission 50c
1
W.B. Yeats-"Purgatory"
Lady Gregory-"The
Rising of the Moon" and
"The Travelling Man"
PLUS "Tom and Mary Courting,"
with Bert Hornback
CANTERBURY HOUSE
8:00 p.m.
Sat.-Sn. 20-21 Feb.
Donation
The Project Community
presents
~IKE& TNA TURNER REVUE
plus SUC
Friday, March 12th TICKETS ON SALE
Fishbowl, Union,
HillAuStudents International
$3.50-3.00-2.50
2 shows BLOCK TICKETS
& 9325 or more for7 only)
$3.00-2.50-2.00
v
I
r
SE LLE RS
®ALF M
fG bCOLOR- From Columbia Picturif
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
I
! " T
-w- - W- - =- --"W- - - - - - -
$1.508@
Rosalie
Sorrels
Coed Residence Hall
Program for Juniors
Oxford Housing 1971-72
I
--
-IqQO MAYNAKQI
ANNMAR
"Rush"
Tickets:
200
at $1.00 each
(2 tickets per
person-no choice
of location)
ON SALE
11:30 to012:00
SOMMOOM
An
PRESENTS
ISAAC STERN
-VIOLINIST
in HILL AUDITORIUM
SUN., FEB. 21, 2:30
PROGRAM
SONATA IN B-FLAT. K. 454 ._........... .. Mozart
"the best damned cow-
girl singer you've ever
heard."
-MICH. DAILY
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