Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
4
Friday, April 16, 1971
Y iI AIIIyYf.
Ruddigore
':
Surprise scintillation
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maids always seems to be on the
stage, going through almost the
same routine.
But that doesn't really mat-
ter, because the show is a lot of
fun for everybody, cast and qu-
dience. Not enough credit can
be given to the G&S Society for
the quality of the staging. The
dancing was especially good;
choreographer Lenore Ferber
used all kinds of forms, from
hornpipe to Charleston, and the
cast carried them off with skill
and lively enthusiasm.
Being stronger on the Gilbert
than the Sullivan, I cannot ac-
count for the technical perfe^-
tion of the singing and orches-
tra; but I can say t h a t all
sounded perfectly good to me.
The musical frills that accom-
pany the melodrama were de-
lightful.
The sets were an appropriate-
ly charming village of thatched
cottages and an appropriately
menacing castle gallery. The
picture gallery very cleverly
came to life - a tribute to the
ingenuity of G&S Society. The
scene must be seen.
Stealing the show - almost-
were three of the second layer
of characters. Sandy Yowik was
a graceful Dame Hannah; Joan
Susswein a very mad fallen vir-
gin named Margaret; and H.
D o n Cameron an engaging
ghost; Sir Roderic Murgatroyd.
The others were very good,
too, although the heroine, Judy
Levitt seemed a trifle old fox
sweet little Rose Maybud, her
voice more than compensated.
Jerald Wigdortz, t h e :ailor,
was a handsome rake who car-
ries on direct conversations with
his heart, "My heart calls me
Dick, because we went -to school
together," he explains. His neart
also tells him to watch out for
his interests, and damn every-
body else. But how could a man
who follows his heart go wrong?
All the various choruses --
bridesmaids, gentry, and ghosts
- were just fine: Helene Freed-
man (Zorah) is quite a come-
dienne in the C a r o l Burnett
style and made me for a mo-
ment wish I was watching her
in Once Upon A Mattress, or in
another larger role.
But no matter. When Ruddi-
gore dragged in the first act you
could watch the changing colors
on the kaleidoscopic backdrop
(more great staging); the sec-
ond act didn't drag as much,
and there was always the music
to fall back on. It's a good show.
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---Daily-Terry McCarthy
By MARCIA ABRAMSON
Gilbert and Sullivan may not
have planned. it that way, but
Ruddigore is delightful. The sa-
tire of Victorian melodrama has
ceased to be cutting, but it is
still charming.
Ruddigore was not the most
successful G&S play, and with
good reason. The plot, however
involved, creates little interest
because the stock characters are
generally dull. The humor is
missing a certain edge, and pro-
vokes gentle smiles rather than
laughter.
Only occasionally is the show
funny, as when the sailor pro-
tects sweet Rose Maybud from
the evil Murgatroyd by waving
the Union Jack, or when Robin
Oakapple tells t h e infinite<
bridesmaids, to shut up at last.
The play is designed to ex-
pose the hypocritical interiors of
all the stereotype characters.
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Rose Maybud claims to be de-
voted to goodness but lives by
her etiquette book; foster broth-
ers who pledge eternal friend-
ship cut each other down to win
her; a loyal old servant is really
quite a sadist who enjoys com-
mitting crimes for his master.
The plot spoofs sentimental
drama and medieval romance
as seen by the Gothic novel and
assorted following literary gen-
res. The villains hiss and wear
flowing black capes. There are
mistaken identities. spooky cas-
tles, ghosts, curses, a madwo-
man and an equally mad happy
ending in which a ghost and his
long lost love marry. Along with
everybody else, of course.
But Ruddigore is more a per-
iod piece, a satire of literary and
brutality
and
urder
a garden
of
sensuality
eastman teems
1 PM. Dai ly Zt a CNEX film
art-o
dramatic conventions of the
times which d o e s not hit as
deeply as better well-known
plays like Pinafore or Mikado.
The other problem with Rud-
digore is the repetition of scenes.
The action moves slowly, a n d
the chorus of fifteen - count
em - fifteen perpetual brides-
SEEGER
of the New Lost
City Ramblers
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"THE DUTCHMAN"
with Al Freeman, Jr. and Shirley Knight
Directed by Anthony Harvey ("Lion in Winter")
From the play by Leroi Jones
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"SCORPIO RISING"
Directed by Kenneth Anger
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April 16& 17
Both films shown in double feature at 7, 9, 11 p.m.
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Friday and Saturday
April 23 & 24
7:00 and 9:00 p.m.
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SAT., SUN.-APRIL 17, 18
THE DEVIL'S EYE
dir. INGMAR BERGMAN (1960)
Comedy based on the Swedish proverb "A chaste
woman is a sty in the Devil's eye."
THURS., FRI.-APRIL 22, 23
KIND HEARTS AND
CORONETS
dir. ROBERT HAMER (Eng.) 1949
Dennis Price as the murderer and Alec Guiness as his
eight aristorcratic victims. A wonderful British mur-
der Comedy.
SAT., SUN.-APRIL 24, 25
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