vw
M*R PO
Rf IA(,
4J!
RC's 'Hedda' focuses on
liberated life's tensions
or"l2'
41
By DAVID WEINBERG
There's a standard joke concerning-
Residential College drama productions
about how the only peonle that come
after the Wednesday night show are a
small but intimate group of librarians.
Tonight is closing night of RC Players'
production of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda
Gabler, and if you have the time, I
would say not to let it go by.
I don't say this without some reserva-
tion because the RC performance of the
play was not as good as it could have
been. I wanted it to be better. But there
is something in RC drama which has
distinguished it always from any of the
theatre in this town.
There are no flashing lights, no falling
leaves. It's all there, it's all in the
people. There's none of the hype of
Big Business theatre today which has
so drastically removed the sponteneity
and the power from drama 'and put
shows like Pippin on Broadway.
Set in Norway, Ibsen's drama centers
on Hedda Gabler, a spoiled aristocratic
woman who has married just slightly
below her means and vastly below her
spiritual needs in uniting with pedantic
George Tesman.
Tesman is a boring and stupid medie-
val scholar who graps nothing about his
wife, understands only vaguely that she
is someone precious, but who really in
the end would prefer to get back to his
studies.
Why Hedda has married him is never
fully explained. Perhaps it's just a mis-
take. In her own words, she had "danced
until she was tired."
And so her boredom, her frustration,
her spiritial search for something better,
hecomes the foc'is of the play's tension.
Ultimately it is just one moment of
courage, one moment of beauty she
seeks, as the pressure of time makes
anything more seem impossibe. It's this
one moment which must say all, in-
carnate all.
Surrounding Hedda is one lecherous
judge, a concerned aunt, and Ejlert
Lovborg, a writer and ex-lover of Hed-
da's and the only other character in the
play who seems to function on her level.
The RC production I saw had prob-
lems. Part of the problem may be
directorial: John Reed is a neophyte to
RC theatre.
One such problem was in energy
levels. Paul Zorn (Tesman) has a very
good energy level on stage, but he needs
to control it more. The character takes
on the feeling of being slightly out of
his mind, because it's not broken up
enough. As a result, moments that need
the energy-in this case Julie's use of
the annuity and Hedda's burning of the
manuscript, lack credibility.
Another problem was in indicating.
Iledda (Diane Dowling) was constantly
grimacing, constantly drifting into the
corners of the stage to display her
frustration or moon over something.
And yes, there were moments of real
beauty, real involvement, moments that
I was convinced in this production of
Hedda. I wish that there were more of
them. But it's RC theatre and it's a
brand of theatre that's not around so
much these days. And that's why, when
you have the chance, it's so very im-
portant to see it.
I
I-1F.r 74thFr.ltE{ t
Daily Photo by PAULINE LUBENS
Fincy that, Hed da!
Eighty-four years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Georg Tesman (Paul Zorn, right) hands Hedda Gabler (Diane Dowling) the
precious manuscript of Ejlert Lovborg. The RC Players show closes this evening
at East Quad.
Saturday, October 19, 1974
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
FOUR DAYS AGO, we used this
space to express our support for
Student Government Council and the
concept of student government. We
urged students to vote in this week's
SGC election as a gesture of solidar-
ity and backing for continuation of
a Council that was at last showing
some signs of pulling itself together.
Since then, another SGC election
has gone up in smoke. Only 1273 stud-
ents - 3.5 per cent of the campus -
bothered to vote. When The Daily
learned Wednesday of a gaping loop-
hole in the voting security system,
Council Election Director Alan Ber-
covitz urged us not to publish the
story. "If you print that," he said
Wednesday night, "there's no way we
can finish the election.
The story described several unbe-
blievably easy methods of thwarting
the ID-card marking system and vot-
Ing many times. Late Wednesday
night, Bercovitz announced: "Due
to the problem with the markers, I am
postponing the election until Mon-
day, Tuesday, and Wednesday of next
week." It was a hasty, last-minute
grab at keeping the election's credi-
bility, yet it demonstrated an hon-
est concern for legality, and that
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Glen Al lerhand, C. Cooles,
Steve Hersh, Cheryl Pilate, T o m
Preston, Judy Ruskin, Becky War-
ner
Editorial Page: Peter Blaisdell, Bar-
bara Moore, Steve Ross, S t e v e
Stojic, David Warren, Sue Wilhelm
Arts Paae: David Blomquist
Photo Technician: Pauline Lubens
man date
from SGC was refreshing.
BUT THE APPARENT concern evap-
orated quickly. Early Thursday,
the voting continued as originally
scheduled, marker problem and all.
Bercovitz claimed the election could
still come out clean. He flatly refused
to acknowledge his announcement of
the voting delay, and would not even
explain his sudden belief that the
marker problem was not a problem
at all,
Wednesday night several SGC of-
ficials admitted the marker loophole
effectively poisoned the election's
credibility. Bercovitz' answer? "If
The Daily thinks anyone voted twice,"
he said yesterday, "it is their job to
prove it."
By CINEMA WEEKEND STAFF
THE INFORMER--John Ford's pow-
erful depiction of one man's betrayal
of another during the Irish Rebellion.
Informer is the film that supposedly
established directorial artistry in the
American film. Ford and star Victor
McLaglen won Oscars. **** (Cinema
Guild, Arch. Aud., Tue., Wed., 7, 9)
PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE
KID -- Sam Peckinpah's crusty west-
ern doesn't reach us intact. MGM
hatchet man Jim Aubrev edited the
film so ioorly - without Peckinpah's
permission - that it hardly resembles
a film r all. Kris Kristofferson and Bob
D0lon are in there somewhere, as is
I':kiaimh's basic conce~tion.* (New
World, Nat. Sci. Aud., Wed., 7, 9')
THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE
--Winner of the Best Film award at
Cannes, Mother and The Whore is a
rather lengthy psychodrama dealing
with a voriety of aspects of human
sex'vlit. Jean-Pierre Leaud, consider-
ahly .-gP I ince his appearance in Truf-
fu't's 40 vows, plays the bored hour-
geois h'ine man in a film which de-
picts the whole sex love aspirations of
man as a vision of despair. ***(Cine-
ma II Ann Arbor Film. Co-op, Aud. A,
Thurs., 7:30)
GREED - The two hours of frag-
ments left of this eight hour Erich von
Strohein masterwork is a sad testa-
ment to what commercial cinema can
do to art. But even in its slaughtered
farm, Greed is a massive epic on the
making affair is too obscure to bother
with. Unless you're a real Beatlema-
niac, pass this one up. The music is
great, but the album sounds better. *
(Ann Arbor Film Co-op, Aud. A, Tues.,
in a series that begins at 6)
THE KID - Charlie Chaplin made
many fine films during his career, but
.1c 1in a tonih t
- This early Jean Renoir film of his-
torical importance reflects the rebel-
lious sentiments of the French in 1935.
Lange. should prove interesting for all
cinema viewers. *** (Cinema Guild,
Arch., Aud., Thurs., 7. 9)
THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL -
Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner per-
form adequately in this basically stereo-
typed peek at Hollywood's inner work-
ings where depravity and destructive-
ness reign supreme. ** (Cinema Guild,
Arch. Aud., Wed., 9)
The ratings - four stars, superb;
three stars, excellent: two stars, all
right: one star, tolerable; no stars, for-
get it.
Cinema Weekend Staff
David Blomquist (Daily Film Cri-
tic); Chris Kochmanski, David
Weinberg (Copy Assistants); Da-
vid Crumm, Mark DeBofsky, Lin-
da Fidel, Cinthia Fox, Linda
Kloote, George Lobsenz, Judy
Lopatin, Joan Ruhela, Bruce Web-
er (Staff Writers)
tragic consequences of a lust for gold.
It definitely is worth seeing. *** (Cine-
mi Guild, Arch. Aud., Tues., 9)
REEFER MADNESS - One doubts
whether the anti-pot message of this
corny film was really taken seriously
even in 1936, the picture's year of
release. There .re plenty of laughs,
sure, and its one-hour length is per-
fect for a novelty. But as art, Madness
iust doesn't cut it. * (Ann Arbor Film
Co-op, And. A, Tues., in a series that
begins at 6)
MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR - The
plot of this Beatles singing and merry-
this is one of his most beautiful. Play-
ing The Tramp, Charlie has an or-
phan left in his care. A very fine of-
fering from the master of physical
comedy. **** (New World, Nat. Sci.
Aud., Thurs., 7, 9)
THE GODFATHER - The original
stand-out gangster film that vividly de-
picts the violence and ruthlessness of
the competing factions of the Mafia.
Francis Ford Coppola directed: Marlon
Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan
star. (New World, MLB, Mon.,
Tues., 7, 9)
THE CRIME OF MONSIEUR LANGE
I
Students and
the Commission
Governance are
faculty members on
to Study Student
currently preparing
to recommend massive overhauls of
the student government system here,
and we are forced to endorse their
effort. SGC leaves us no choice.
It is true that CSSG is a function
of the Regents, who may seek to
liquidate much of student govern-
ment's role. That would be a terrible
step backwards for this University.
But a student government must
,stand up for its constituency in times
of crisis and need. In the late 1960's,
the Council proved equal to that
tasks Most recently, the crisis has
been SGC itself. The Council has
been tested and found wanting.
IT IS TIME TO look elsewhere for
new forms of student leadership.
-DAN BIDDLE
I BRDE
When his partner opened 1NT
(16-18 hcps), North, with his
17 pts., knew that the two hands
belonged in a slam. But, real-
izing that 4-4 fits usually played
one trick better than notrurnp,
he bid .,dstayman. When
South responded 24, North sur-
prised the table by bidding a
direct 64, which all passed.
BOTH VUL.
WE
73
9 5 3
J 1()
10 7
1
ST
NORTH
K( Q J 2
A J 10
A F
Q 9 5 2
4-4 tits should
play better
than notrump.
by FRANK BELL_
the dummy, he played the ten
when West followed with a low
heart.
East won his queen and re-
turned a club won by declarer's
kin,. South continued with a
small heart towards dummy's
ace-jack t e n a c e, confidently
playing the jack when West
played small, but East won the
king for the setting trick.
"Oh well, bad luck partner,"
East said as he noticed North's
frown.s"it took both heart hon-
ors offsides to beat us, only a
24 per cent chance."
North was right that the con-
tract would play better in a
4-4 fit, but South did not take
advantage of it. South missed
his chance to insure the con-
tract against any lie of the
cards, as long as trump broke
3-2.
Upon winning the opening
lead and drawing trump, South
should have cashed all of his
club and diamond tricks ending
in his hand. Now he could lead
a small heart towards the board
and claim his contract.
For, if West plays small, de-
clarer just covers with the ten
of hearts, and when East wins
the trick he will be endplayed.
East will be forced to return
either a diamond, which gives
declarer a ruff-sluff, or a heart
into dummy's ace-jack, giving
declarer his twelfth trick and
his contract.
TIL ELAD Up FO 3S1b 6 MONI* 46OR U 13 n~h.4 E EC DOF Th
WAflR IST6CCMV1?UP -1R14L WNICR4EVRCS? $ FV6-1 '
1* jl zl
M
V*
Vi
3 v I
9972 +6
3 4b
SOUTH
A A 10 9 8
V 7 4 2
A K Q
+ A K3J8
Polsh
ore/hestra:
Semi-successful
EAST
6 5 4
K Q 8 6
6 5 4 3
6 4
Polish National Radio Orchestra,
Bohdan Wodiczko, Conductor,
with Roman Jablonski, cello solo-
ist. Thursday, October 17, 1974,
8:30 p.m. in Hill Auditorium.
Program:
Don Juan. . ichard Strauss
Cello Concerto in I3 major.
Antonin Dvorak
Symphony No. 10. Dmitri Shosta-
kovich
By TONY CECERE
When Bohdan Wodiczko gave
the initial downbeat in D o n
Juan to open last Thursday's
concert I had a feeling that it
was going to be a bad night.
I was only half right.
My disappointment grew out
of the total lack of sound from
the brass section in the Strauss
tone poem, especially when
compared to this group's rela-
tively fine string and woodwind
sections. It actually sounded like
a prankster had stuffed socks
into the bells of the brasses,
resulting in a shrunken and very
unvirile reading of. a very heal-
thy piece.
The strings, despite their rela-
tively small numbers, played
with a full and rich sound. The
woodwinds also projected a solid
section sound, but Don Juan
sounds too much like a eunu.h
without an assertive brass sec-
tion.
The appearance of cello soio-
ist Roman Jablonski alleviated
the prevailing atmosphere of
insecurity. Jablonski perform-
ed in an emotional and dyna-
mic fashion, pouring a lot of
soul into a treacherous concerto,
There were occasional problems
arising from excessive pow
noise, but these did not detroct
from the poetry of his perform-
ance.
Unfortunately, Maestro Wod-
Perhaps there was a huddle
during intermission: by -omie
act of God the brasses daoided
that they would start to out out
some sound. With this sudien
loss of inhibitions a reaiisc
equilibrium of orchestral sound
was attained, with smashing re-
sults.
The concert closed with an
excellent rendition of a fiend-
ishly difficult symphony. Par-
ticular mention should be made
of the excellent solos on both
piccolo and alto flutes, as well
as on snare drum.
Audience reaction was quick
and positive: they gave the
group a standing ovation. As
an encore the ensemble per-
formed a vivacious mazurka
from Halka, a modern opera by
a contemporary nationalist com-
noser named Stanislaw Monush-
ko.
The Polish National R a d1 i0
Orchestra is a tight and well-
disciplined body of musicians
with the potential to be a truly
virtuoso orchestra. Several
things must change before that
happens, however. The brasses
must mature in their concept of
balance, and a new conductor
might be more responsive to
the needs of the orchestra. For
now, they still do good work.
The bidding:
South West North East
1NT Pass 24 Pass
24 Pass 64 Pass
Pass Pass Pass
Opening lead: +.
South won the opening lead
with the king of diamonds. He
saw that the contract rested
on finding West with at least
one of the two missing heart
honors, a 76 per cent chance, so
he pulled the outstanding trump
in three rounds ending in his
hand. Leading a heart towards
i
- - - - I
11
III
OVIES on L.V.
b) ' A-' iIGJJAI XT Y
-xx: