Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Saturday, November 7, 1970 Page Two THE MiCHIGAN DAILY Satur.doy, November 7, 1970 theatre: cinema American theatre lives in the RC Auditorium! A sidelong glance down the promo trail By JIM HENNERTY Judging from last evening's performance, there is a great deal of potential excellence in both American drama and the Residential College Players. The continuing fine work of the group was evident in their bill of three American one-act plays, Thornton Wilder's "The Long Christmas Dinner," Lanford Wilson's "Wandering" and John Guare's "Muzeeka." Wilder's short play examines the changes wrought by t i m e on a single family. Generation after generation sit down to a continuing Christmas dinner, as the new-born flit invisible across the stage and the old w a 1 k through the exit and into t h.e grave. Although it comes dan- gerously near to sentimentality at times, the fast pace and ap- pealing simplicity of the play make it a fairly effective short piece. The direction was fine, and the acting uniformly good, al- though the actors often failed to give the audience enough time to laugh, thus obliterating the immediately following lines. Pat Fontaine, Richard Sale a n d Cheryl White were especially good. "Wandering" is a very brief play, really more of a sketch, about a young man who enjoys a roving life, but is always run- ning into the obstacles set up by society - parents, the draft, the rat race and so on. Wilson presents no definitive answers, but he does make a telling pre- sentation of the problem. Pam Seamon, Kevin Cooper and Nick O'Connor work well with direc- tor Peter Ferran, and the result is a well-paced, precision-li k e performance. The feature of the evening was John Guare's "Muzeeka." The playwright develops at some length the themes which a r e briefly presented in "Wander- ing." Jack Argue is the bour- geois American Everyman, as he himself kills the audience, while his problems, visions, and ac- tions represent the complex character of ourselves and our society. Argue tries to f i n d happiness in working for t h e Muzeeka Corporation of Amer- ica, which produces the piped- in music we all know too well. Despite his elaborate plans to bring everyone back to Etrus- can civilization and his en- counter with an unusually in- sightful prostitute (played with heart, soul and plentiful body by Pat Maloney), Argue fails. He tries again as a soldier in Viet- nam. Although he sometimes thinks he has made it in the midst of exclusive television con- tracts for battle coverage and the crusade of the American people against those dirty Com- mies, the play makes it quite clear that Argue is much the worse for the experience. Guare employs a highly ef- fective dramatic method. The active role of stagehands, scene titles and other alienation ef- fects is indicative of Brecht's influence, which the playwright party satirizes (as in the open- ing scene, "Argue Sings a Pen- ny"), and also uses with devas- tating force (as at the con- clusion of the play). Humor, painful and other- wise, plays a central role in the action. The speeches oc- casionally become a bit wear- ing, but the skillful use of hu- mor, language and imagery as- sure the forcefulness of the moral viewpoint. Rarely has a contemporary play made such effective use of poetic language combined with witty dialogue. Cal Vornberger's direction isj excellent, as are the perform- ances of Scott Cummings, Bernie Goldblatt and the support- ing cast. T he amateur RC players' versatility as displayed in these three dramas is not to be ig- nored. Their choice of a good cross section of modern drama is enhanced by their own abil- ity to perform . . . especially when it is free. Haircuts that don't look like haircuts TRY US- U-M BARBERS E. Univ. off South U. By NEAL GABLER Very strange that they should open a picture in Ann Arbor of all places. But that's exactly what they were doing. A sneak preview with buzzing crowds and comment cards and Ann Arbor's semi-elite and the University of Minnesota football t e a in dressed up in their blazers! (Did you ever notice how mis- dressed a football player looks unless he's in uniform or in a blazer with the school emblem over his heart?) The Minne- sotans had a game against the Wolves the next day, so Mur- ray would only let them stay for Soldier Blue, which, I guess, was a kind of cinematic pep talk. Rip off their limbs, rape their women, kill their child- ren, hit 'em til the blood runs and WIN. It didn't work. They packed up their blazers and went back home. A girl sitting behind me, unimpressed by the Minne- sotans, was having a serious discussion with her beau over Soldier Blue. They came to the conclusion that they'd rather be scalped and halved t h a n hanged or burnt at the stake. That settled, we leaned w a y back in our seats for the "sneak preview." College audiences are murder for a filmmaker. They'll laugh and joke and gen- erally have a good time, b u t when the curtains close they'll hiss and boo just to make it perfectly clear that they weren't enjoying the film so much as the company: kids are nar- cissistic that way. Since nobody goes to the theater just to see the "sneak" (Who'd lay down two-fifty for a picture they've never heard of?), these pre- views are fair game, and the collegians react 'ike a laugh machine gone sadistic. T h e y groove on the movie because it unites them in their reactions, and when all is said and done they're really grooving on each other. A few days after the preview and after the comments had been as carefully calculated as the Detroit election returns,v came the press luncheon. A star, Robert Walden, a guest star, Lois Nettleton, and the executive producer William The MichigantDaily,tedited and man- aoe6~ by students at the Universitv of Michigan. News phone: 764-0552. Second Class postage paidat Ann Arbor, Mich- igan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor Michigan 48104. Published daily Tues- day through Sunday morning Univer- pity year. Subscription rates: $10 by carrier, $10 by mait Summer Session published Tuesday, through Saturday morning. Subscrip- tion rates: $5. by carrier, $5 by mail. over a fence and start to kick the pigeons. But if the ASPCA is listening, no actual contact was made. Walden is part of the post- Graduate era. He's young (23) and forlorn and slightly rump- led, looking as if he just got hit with penumonia and t h e mumps. He was happy to be in Ann Arbor, he said. The Big Ten used to be his Mecca. He calls over Max Gurman, the publicist for the distributor MGM, and asks him if they're going to show Michigan foot- ball highlights. That's w h a t somebody told him. Gurman nods and walks away. But some- how, even though the screenis set up, the Michigan football highlights never get shown. Walden is quite a talented actor, the youngest male mem- ber ever of Strasburg's Actors' Studio, a distinction previously held by James Dean. Pigeon Kicker is his third film, after The Out-of-Towners and Roger Corman's Bloody Mama. Of Corman he says, "The guy is elegant, very conservative. Looks like someone out of Yale; but he is one of the most daring directors around. He'll try any- thing. Just go to him with an idea and he'll try it. And he doesn't care about getting all the credit for it. "When I worked on The Side- long Glances of a Pigeon Kick- er I -tried to get the director's and writer's attention for ten weeks. I mean, no one ever says what Winslow does for a liv- ing. And I had this theory. Win- slow was a messenger boy on a bicycle, or a runner on W a l11 Street maybe, with a lot of phy- sicality involved. But I never got to talk with them about it." Somebody else came in to get an interview. Miss Nettleton watched him set up his tape- recorder. "I'm really sorry this is going to be over tomorrow. Back to the dull ordinary life." Walden stretched and grinned, "I'm going to have my o w n press conferences for the rest of the week." Gurman came over and handed a note to Wilson, and Wilson mentioned the name of the film a few more times. Walden went through his ana- lysis of the title again. Miss Nettleton said something= about the feeling she got watching the film, "I don't know. I can't quite describe it." She finished and Wilson start- ed talking about youth movies. "The Graduate is a love story of the fifties. Goodbye, Columbus is a love story of ,the sixties. Our picture is a love story of the seventies. That's what Ar- thur Schlesinger said when I screened it for him." Wilson wasn't name-dropping. He knows Schlesinger from t h e Kennedy days when Wilson re- presented John Kennedy on the technical side at the debate in Chicago. After the election he served Kennedy as a television advisor, and in 1964 he headed up Fobert Kennedy's television campaign in New York. He See MEETING, Page 7 -Daily-Tom Gottlieb music Amusical tradition not soured with age By J. P. MILLER Of the many traditions which make up reminiscences of college life, there are several which are outstanding. That of the Fall University of Michigan Men's Glee Club Concert, by reason of its excellence and not its tradition, ranks foremost among them every year. Last night's was no exception. The concert, which also featured the University of Illinois Men's Glee Club, was indeed a unique event. Starting with the Illinois Clu, an extremely varied program was presented. So de- manding was it, that the question posed to this reviewer was to discern shades of excellence rather than relative goodness. Starting with the classic hymns and baroque melodies, Illinois moved to "The God Who is in the Fire" by Hovhaness-a stirring Indian Ritual Fire Dance fully accompanied by kettle drums, gongs, and xylophones. This was followed by more modern selec- tions leading to "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (Galt McDermott). In several of the pieces, the throaty tenor sections of this club gaped vacantly for correct pitches, but the overall renditions were excellent. The "Other Group," seven singers from the Club gave a rousing chorus of "She was only a Baker's Daughter, But I Needed the Dough," a piece of especially excellent in vocal, if not dramatic, quality. In terms of dynamics and precision of both pronunciation and music, they were practically unequaled-only a truly superb group could have beat them. Michigan's Club was indeed the fore-announced competitor. Starting with works of Bruckner, Handel, Bach, and Schuetz, they soon proved mastery of the classical form. In Bach's "Sheep May Softly Graze," the hallowed majesty of the Chorale was deeply felt. The use of two recorders, along with piano accompaniment, brought Hill Auditorium to the center of the Arboretum-the pos- sibility of mellow bass voices piercing silence truly achieved. Most certainly the climax of the evening was the performance of two negro spirituals. Willis C. Patterson, Michigan's conductor, was able to display his excellent powers of musicianship in the transformaton of eighty-five mid-western men into "de old south." "The Friars," Michigan's selected group, sang a folk ballad from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with a darkened blue stage-an effect which was perfectly harmonius to the subdues nine voices and guitar accompaniment. This section of the program showed the inspiring versatility to which this Club both identifies and masters. The Concert concluded with some of the more popular tra- ditional Michigan Songs. There, in the singing of typical Glee Club songs, the group appeared-by then an expected part of their own tradition-as a marvelous proof of their own existence. Wilson came to our town, to hypo their film, The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker and to be queried by Ann Arbor's journalistic giants, people like the News' Norm Gibson, and a reporter from some Ypsi paper and radio stars from WAAM. WPAG, WNRZ and WCBN and me. A photographer wearing a short bush jacket and w i t h cameras strapped over his shoulders, snapped some pic- tures as if he were actually from some place other than Ann Ar- bor or Ypsi, like Flint maybe. He clicked away: Lois Nettleton groaned, "I'm no good at pic-, tures"; he smiled and left. Very professional, didn't even stay for lunch. Then there were a few radio interviews. What is this movie about? Who's in it? Did you always want to go into show business? Where do you come from? The same old questions, MIKE'S STEAKS 1313 S. UNIVERSITY S Strip Sirloin Steak Dinner! I Steak and Eggs! 0 Souvlaki Sandwich! +! Weekend Specials! For lunch or dinner choose from our complete menu of reason- obly priced delicious steaks and sandwiches. and Walden, Nettleton and Wil- son sat there graciously dispens- ing the same pat answers. Interviewer: What does the title mean? Nettleton: Oh, he gives the best answer. Tell him your theory. Walden: Well, I think that Jonathan, who is the m a i n character, identifies with the pigeons who do nothing, just sit around and get fed. So he and a friend of his, Winslow-that's who I play in the picture-jump DIAL 5-6290 Shows 1,3 5 7 9:10 IS THE MOST MOVINGTHE MOST INTELLI- GENTI .TE MOST HUMANE -OHNTO HELL WITH IT!- IT'S THE BEST AMERICAN FILM I'VE SEEN THIS YEAR !" ~ .TIMESANBY, A MIKE NICHOLS FILM ALANARKIN * C ON SEPH HURER MARTIN BALSAM; RICHARD BENJAMIN ARHUIR INEL; JACK MM I. ;BCK HNRY BOB NEWNHART, ANIHONY PEMlUN PAULA PRIENTISS; MARTIN SHEEN,;JON VOCHT & ORSONWELLES ASDREE0LE SCREENPAYBY BUCKH Y PRODUCED BY JOHN CALEY B MARTIN RANSOHOf DIRECTEBYNIKENICHOIS misai msuma na ' vmv au. -s JB1~I~srTmWa REPRESENTATIVES ON CAMPUS November 9-11, 1910 Fi I 1 f MICHIGAN FOOTBALL on WCBN 650 with THE RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE PLAYERS present An Evening of American Drama THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER-by Thornton Wilder WANDERING-by Lanford Wilson MUZEEKA-by John Guare Malt Bass Pete Falkenstein Fri. and Sat., Nov. 6 & 7 East Quad Auditorium 8:00 P.M. GRATIS GB BLUE Be a Winner uy I Michigan I Souvenirs at FOLLETTS F' Chill OUILI AMERICAN COMEDIES FESTIVAL Sat., Nov. 7 - ADAM'S R IB Dir. GEORGE DUKOT, 1949 Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy as married lawyers on opposite sides in a trial. With Billie Holliday. SHORT: One A.M. - CHARLIE CHAPLIN SUN.: Last of American Comedies-Sabrina 7 & 9:057 ARCHITECTURE 662-8871 7cAUDITORIUM Larry Barak 1:15 P.M. SATURDAY Listen! Bandorama '70 re pV U i FREE UNIVERSITY BIRTHDAY PARTY with TERRY TATE and Buddies in the Saddle AND Laurel and Hardy, Keystone Cops, Our Gang, Charlie Chaplin movies FREE ADMISSION Featuring The Michigan Bands and The F riars i SAT., NOV. 7 8-12 P.M. Michigan Union Ballroom A THE PROJECT COMMUNITY presents ederick Wiseman's documentary A broad selection of classical music on records, open reel tapes, and cassettes at the lowest regular prices in town. Saturday, November 14 8:00 p.m. Fr HILL AUDITORIUM I F I I i II