Page Two

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Wednesday, October 14, 197G* I

Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday, October 14, 1 970


theatre
The facts,' Dr. Oppenheimer


music


Voila

. C'est magnifique!

. .

By JOHN ALLEN
Timely plays, based on historical fact, some-
times beg the question of the medium in their
insistence on the message. The merits of the
case being re-enacted invite more heated debate
than the re-enactment, and there is a danger of
losing sight of the theatre altogether. Drama
criticism metamorphoses into political theory,
social analysis, or historical commentary.
It is a strength of The Actors Company's
production of Heinar Kipphardt's In the Matter
of' J. Robert Oppenheimer that the play is not
overwhelmed by its raw material, The focus of
attention remains fixed on the performances-
most of which are satisfying and a few of which
outstanding.
As the play proceeds against a backdrop of
Movietone newsreels and photographs-against
the "facts" concerning the real world in which
we live and in which the drama of Dr. Oppen-
heimer unfolded - it becomes painfully clear
that the Bomb itself is no threat at all compared
to the force of fear, hysteria, ignorance, ide-
ologies, and the more negative human passions.
The play does more than breathe life into the
transcript of the hearings: it emphasizes the
fragility of the individual human in stressful
circumstances. It also emphasizes the human
capacity for change and growth in both its
progressive and regressive aspects. At times, un-
fortunately, it slips into stereotypes and over-
simplification.
But the central substance of Kipphardt's
play - adequately, if not excitingly, translated
by Ruth Speirs -- is in its capturing of character.
If the historical situation obviates the need for
creating character it is no less a challenge simply
to capture it, and this Kipphardt has achieved.
Allen Fletcher's direction of the play is tight,
though there are times when the second act
seems too long - the parade of witnesses takes
attention away from Oppenheimer without suf-
ficient compensation of dramatic development.

Even so the performances are interesting as
cameo roles and that of Albert Ottenheimer as
the physicist Jacob Lehman was perhaps the
best of the evening.
William Myers as Ward Evans, one of the
three members of the Personnel Security Board
charged with investigating Oppenheimer's fit-
ness for continued security clearance, gives an
equally fine performance. The presence of the
actor is submerged into the vitality of the
character.
Joseph Sommer's portrayal of Oppenheimer
was generally reserved, occasionally obscure --
perhaps in keeping with the ambiguities and con-
tradictions inherent in the man portrayed. Som-
mer, like most of the cast, faces the difficult
problem of being on stage virtually the whole
time - and succeeds in maintaining his involve-
ment in the action without disrupting the
sense of ensemble which is so difficult to achieve
in a play focussed on a single character.
Stanley Anderson and Robert Porter as the
two counsels for Oppenheimer add greatly to
the sense of ensemble, giving to their silent
responses an unflagging note of spontaneity.
Chester Smith and Richard Kuss complete
the Personnel Security Board, with Patrick Gor-
man and Dirk Benedict performing as counsels
for the Atomic Energy Commission.
Clayton Corzatte, familiar to Ann Arbor audi-
ences in lead roles with the A.P.A., appears as
one of the witnesses, Edward Teller. It is un-
fortunately not easy to tell whether his German
accent is migrating toward or away from Ger-
many. Nonetheless the sense of professional
jealousy which Teller undoubtedly felt toward
Oppenheimer comes through clearly.
Those seeking "facts" about the hysteria
of the 1950's or about J. Robert Oppenheimer
himself may find the play less rich then they
hope but those who are seeking an introduction
to the potentials of the newly-formed Actors
Company will be glad of a play which makes
telling demands 6f them.

By A. R. KEILER
Monday night the audience at
Hill Auditorium was treated to
one of the loveliest musical de-
lights - a good French orch-
estra playing French music un-
der a great French conductor.
It is a combination of sensuous-
ness and intellectuality, of re-
finement a n d craftsmanship
which satisfies both the artisan
and man of sentiment. T h is
time we heard Ravel'snLa Valse,
and Pirene's ballet score Cyda-
lise. The first part of the pro-
gram contained Schumann's
Fourth Symphony and t h e
Strauss Till Eulenspiegel.
We were not disappointed
either by the Orchestre Nation-
al of Paris, an integral part of
Frenchmusical culture for four
decades, nor by its great leader
Jean Martinon. French orches-
tra playing is something to
which we are not accustomed
from our big American orches-
tras. It is luminous rather than
brilliant, and favors cultivation
of texture and balance, between
choirs as well as within, of an
especialsrefinementand plas-
ticity. The Orchestre National
is one of the best in this tra-
dition and these French mu-
sicians gave us a rewarding and
pleasurable time.
Jean Martinon spent some
time in this country recently as
permanent conductor of the
Chicago Symphony, but I think
he lefA unappreciated. Perhaps
it was because he followed
Fritz Reiner, from whom he is
very different. He does not have
the severity or classicality of
that conductor. But his readings
have great rhythmical continu-
e Inc. ty, a delicate and subtle blend-
- ing of sound, uncanny balance,
and an instrumentalist's refine-
n ment of phrasing. And he could
~ann
11 not have chosen a better pro-
gram to exhibit his talents.
ed his The Schumann Fourth Symn-
is in- phony, actually the composer's
ty ad- second, revised over a period of
from ten years, is the most ingenious
of the four symphonies, both
nenda- formally and melodically -
burner really motivically. But it is not
aid. "I an easy affair to bring off. It
o wait has a wealth of melodic inven-'
ident." tion, and also the typical prob-

lems of Schumann's (to say
weaknesses is self - indulgent)
orchestration - t o o many
needless doublings, and an over-
ly repetitive division of b r a s s
and woodwinds, and strings. For
these reasons the texture has a
tendency to sound opaque, and
many conductors tamper with
the revised score in some way.
Martinon did not tamper, but
solved the problem of balance
and texture nicely, and at the
same time brought out all the
boyish impulsiveness of the
score. The pulse he established
had great plasticity and flexi-
bility within the phrase, b u t
superb rhythmic propulsion for
each movement. Much the same
could be said about his Strauss.
Martinon's reading of Till Eu-
lenspiegel contained much to
admire in its perfectly weighed
orchestral detail and the subtle
rhythmic accomodation of the
individual sections to each oth-
er.
I did not care much for the
Pierne. It had one good tune,
some rather empty striving for
orchestral effect, and a lot of
long passages that went no-
where (unless going from one
section of the orchestra to an-
other is musical progress). Per-
haps it w o r k s better coupled
with choregoraphy and dancers.
The program ended with a real-

ly brilliant performance of the
Ravel La Valse. It had lucidity,
transparency, and an almost
intoxicating delineation of mo-
tion. The piece was every bit as
hypnotic as R a v e 1 surely in-
tended. The whole concert was
a Gallic gift of great relish and
enjoyment, which the audience
communicated well enough to
induce the orchestra to p 1 a y
several encores.
DIAL 5-6290
Shows at 1. 3. 5, 7, 9 P.M.

I,

MARTIN
"MONTE WROS"
A Reel Wnstem
A CINEMA CENTER ILMSPRESENTAION
PANAVISION and TECHNICOLOR,
A NATIONAL GENERAL PICTURES RELEASE
COMING *
"CATCH 22"

-Richard Le

w -or -r im mr A

6

'HUMANITARIAN EFFORT'; Charge bias U considers new loan ph
NUC supportsUA- U'h - - iConUnued from Pae 1)mendations, Spurr mention
When the committee first is- short term in office and h
' a g sued its recommendation, the Of- volvement with the minorii
(Continued from Page 1) fice of Financial Aids was under missions program stemming
D Rn s to, et to the principle of equal treat- the auspices of Barbara Newell, the class strike last spring
ment of women," Fleming added. then acting vice president for stu- "The committee's recomm

the place to meet
interesting people
BACH CLUB
presents
"PICCINI:
MAN AND ARTIST"
THURS., OCT. 15, 8 P.M.
S. Quad-West Lounge
Refreshments (c h i I i, yogurt,
cookies) and fun afterwards.
Everyone welcome (no musical
knowledge needed). Info: 663-
2827, 769-2003, 663-9619.

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Today

By SHARI COHEN
New University Conference, a group of radical graduate
students, teaching fellows and faculty, has resolved to
support striking auto workers through group action.
At a meeting Monday night motions were passed to picket
an auto plant; to contact other students working in support
of the strike to coordinate support efforts; and to attend
the Regent's meeting tomorrow to support tuition waivers for
students whose parents are striking. A special committee is
finalizing plans for the actions.

"However, there are extraordinar-
ily difficult problems in establish-
ing criteria for what constitutes
equal treatment. We believe that
they are quite different from the
now familiar problems in the field
of race."
The report apparently did not
deal w i t h University admissions
policies. There is some doubt as
to whether discrimination in ad-
missions falls under HEW's juris-
diction.
Admissions records show that
only 45 per cent of the 1969 fresh-
man class were women though
women have higher grade point
averages than men at all under-
graduate grade levels. A higher
percentage of entering women
graduate than do their male
counterparts.{

50 confront
Fleming on
recruiting
(Continued from Page 1)
against the police officer qui1te
hard but the officer did not ?e-
spond.
At 2:25 p.m., after a meeting
outside the West Engineering
Bldg., the demonstrators decided
to go to Fleming's office.
While about 50 protesters left
to go to the Administration Bldg.
some remained behind to talk
with a reruiter from Firestone
Tire Co.
Upon arrival at the president's
office in the Administration Bldg.,
the demonstrators chanted slogans
and called on Fleming to meet
with them.
After Fleming sent word through'
to his secretary that he would be'
available at 3:20 p.m. for a short
time, the demonstrators sat-in at
the president's office to draw up
the list of demands.3
DAILY OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
Day Calendar
Center for Continuing Education of
Women Symposium: Women on Cam.
pus, Registration, Rackham L o b b y,
8:30 a.m.
Anatomy Seminar: Dr. A. Menge, "Im-
munologic Inhibition of Fertilization,"
Rm. 5732 Med. Sci., II, 1:10 p.m.
Physics Seminar: C. Vepkatachalam,
"Theoretica iCalculation of Protein
Structure," P & A Colloq. Rm., 4 p.m.
Engineering Lecture: W. R. Debler,
"The Effects of Gravity and Surface
Tension Gradients on Cellular Convec-
tion in Fluid Layers with Parabolic
Temperature Profiles": 311 W. Engin.,
4 p.m.
Speech Student Lab Theater: "I Rise
in Flame Cried the Phoenix and Fumed
Oak," Arena Theatre, Frieze Bldg.,
4:10 p.m.
Thomas M. Cooley Lecture: N e w;
(Continued on Page 7)
National General Theatres
FOX VILLBGE
37NOMAPLE RD..7694300

The motions were passed after
guest speaker Michael Flug talked
about the strike. Flug, who is from
Detroit, is connected with News
and Letters, a paper put out by
factory workers in the Detroit
area.
"The real question is work griev-
ances," including racism and sex-
ism, Flug said. In addition, Flug
said, workers are determined to
have the "30 and out" policy of
retirement. This would permit re-
tirement after 30 years of work
regardless of age.
There was some disagreement
among NUC members over reasons
for supporting the strike. Some
members believed their efforts
would have little real effect on
the strike and doubted the value
of any action. Others thought that
support was necessary as a' "hu-

dent affairs.
"We didn't hear from M r s.
Newell until six months later," Mc-!
Elroy said. "And by that time the
financial aid office was moved
under Spurr. And now he's had it
for almost a year."
While the recommendation was
under study by the administration,
McElroy sent a copy of the pro-C
posal tohbusiness administration!
Prof. Thomas Gies. asking his:
opinion of the feasibility of the
program.
In a letter to Spurr, Gies stated,
"I think that we have a substan-
tial number of graduate students
in business administration who
would be very interested in a loan
program to finance their first or
first and second years of graduate
study, and this encourages me to
think that we have many more"
students on campus who would
make use of a loan program."
As to the feasibility of the
recommendation, Gies stated, "1
think the economics of the plan
can be worked out."
Explaining his delay in making
a definite response to the recom-
DIAL 8-6416
ENDING TODAYs
Today is LADIES DAY,
Doors Open at 1 2:45
Continuous Shows
from 1 P.M.

tion was put on the back
during the strike," Spurr s
realize this is a long time t
from the standpoint of a stu
All
&I0 $1.50

a

U

U

State & Liberty Sts.

764-0558

p-


manitarian effort,"
means of establishing
worker link."

and as a
a "student-


THURS., OCT. 22
STEVE MILLER
BAND
SAT., OCT. 24
TEN WHEEL
DRIVE
AND
SHA-NA-NA

Billy
Vanaver
"One of the b e s t
guitarists & banjo-
ists in the business."
Ac compa nist
of Ethel Raim & the
Pennyhistlers

Are you still
reading
the way your
parents read?
In the first grade, when you were taught
to read "Run Spot Run," you had to read it
out loud. Word-by-word. Later, in the second
grade, you were asked to read silently. But
you couldn't do it.
You stopped reading out loud, but you
continued to say every word to yourself.
Chances are, you're doing it right now.
This means that you read only as fast
as you talk. About 250 to 300 words per
minute. (Guiness' Book of World Records
lists John F. Kennedy as delivering the fast.
est speech on record: 327 words per
minute.)
The Evelyn Wood Course teaches you
to read without mentally saying each word
to yourself. Instead of reading one word at
a time, you'll learn to read groups of words.
To see how natural this is, look at the
dot over the lire in bold type.
w
grass is green
You immediately see all three words.
Now look at the dot between the next two
lines of type.
and it grows.
when it rains
With training, you'll learn to use your
innate ability to see groups of words.
As an Evelyn Wood graduate, you'll be
able to read between 1,000 and 3,000
words per minute . . . depending on the
difficulty of the material.
At 1,000 words per minute, you'll be
able to read a text book like Hofstadtler's
American Political Tradition and finish
each chapter in 11 minutes.
At 2,000 words per minute, you'll be
.able to read a magazine like Time or News-

I

week and finish each page in'31 seconds.
At 3,000 words per minute, you'll be
able to read the 447 page novel The God-
tather in 1 hour and 4 minutes.
These are documented statistics based
on the results of the 450,000 people who
have enrolled in the Evelyn Wood course
since its inception in 1959.
The course isn't complicated. There
are no machines. There are no notes to
take. And you don't have to memorize any-
thing.
95% of our graduates have improved
their reading ability by an average of 4.7
times. On rare occasions, a graduate's read-
ing ability isn't improved by at least 3 times.
In these instances, the tuition is completely
refunded.
Take a free
Mini-Lesson
on Evelyn Wood.
Do you want to see how the course
works?
Then take a free Mini-Lesson.m The
Mini-Lesson is an hour long peek at what
the Evelyn Wood course offers.
We'll show you how it's possible to
accelerate your speed without skipping a
single word. You'll have a chance to try'your
hand at it,'and before it's over, you'll actually
increase your reading speed. (You'll only
increase it a little, but it's a start.)
We'll show you how we can extend your
memory. And we'll show you how we make
chapter outlining obsolete.
Take a Mini-Lesson this week. It's a
wild hour. And it's free.


I

I

A bathtub full
of laughs

*

TONIGHT-

WILL

DO

IT! I

aaW1C.FIELDSi s
I RIS
-Thu rsday=
"WOMEN IN LOVE"
and "TOM JONES"

HOOT

w/ JACK QUINE
CHRIS DELOACH
DAVE SIGLIN

HOMECOMING '70

a Classified Ad

MINI-LESSON SCHEDULE

etc.

U.


Mini-Lesson Schedule

TONIGHT AT 8:00!

WED.
Oct. 14

TUES.-

DON'T MISS! THIS WEEK ONLY!

CHRISTOPHER
DELOACH


Howard Johnson's
2380 Carpenter Road
at Washtenaw and Route 23

NEXT WEEK-

6 P.M.
and
8 P.M.
6 P.M.

Oct. 15
6 P.M.

ALY BALM
& MIKE WHELLANDS

University of Michigan

ENDS TUESDAY

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