mobTHE MICHIGAN D1 ..Y
A r srFriday, October 29, 1976 Page Seven
- r~
PTPh
By ANDREW ZERMAN
WHAT EVERY married wom-
an knows is this: that her
husband's strength, success and
achievements are due, in good
part, to her support and col-
laboration. This is every wom-
an's sectet "joke," says the en-
dearing and indomitable heroine
of Sir James Barrie's play,
What Every Woman Knows -
and, althoPgh this idea may
seem a little archaic in terms;
of today's feminism, the play
itself is a little archaic and
is all themore charming be-
cause of that.
We are dealing here with an
example of that sublime genre
of wise, epigrammatic, high
English comedy, a style that
has its roots in Much Ado About
Nothing and that can be traced
through Congreve and Sheridan
to Wilde, Shaw and Noel Cow-
-ard. Traces of it can be found
today in Alan Ayckbourn and
Peter Nichols.
I myself am a shameless and
unabashed fan of English draw-,
ing room comedy and had a
grand time at Wednesday's
onening of What Every Woman
Knows, as performed by the'
Professional Theatre Program
in Trueblood Theatre.
THERE IS SOME creakiness
in Barrie's dramaturgy. The
is way with1
first two acts, though not less
entertaining than the third and
the fourth, seem more like a
long prologue to the meat of
the play than an integral parts
of it. And a good deal of time
is spent with the characters of
the Comtesse and Lady Sybil,
who are basically no more than
catalysts. But there is wit
enough so that none of this be-
comes tiresome.
Under the sensitive and lucid
direction of Jack van Natter,
the cast, with a very few ex-
ceptions, deals successfully with
the comedy's gentle nuances
and subtleties. None of the hui-
mor has been broadened exces-
sively.
The strongest member of the
cast is Steve Meigs as the stub-
born, pig-headed John Shand.'
Meigs has the difficult task of
playing a character who wit-
nesses one of the fundamental
tenets of his life collapse in:
front of him. We see Shand's
discovery, reaction and, finally,
his arrival at self-knowledge -
and it is entirely convincing.
We believe it because of the
consistency and depth of Meigs'
performance. The Shand he cre-
ates in the first act is human
enough to grow and change be-
fore our eves in the fourth.
AS HIS WIFE, Kathryn Long
is nearly as good. She lets us
see all the charm that
obviously has but is o
to. Her marvelously ex;
face mirrors all that is g
within her. My only qu
that Long underplayed 1
intelligence, her aware
what she's up to. Maggi
sophisticated, yes, but
schemer and she's driv
doesn't get her man b
dent -- this is no N
Pinchwife - she plans i
As for her father and
ers, Charles McGraw, GI
ett and Bruce Gooch wor
tifully as a little ensemb
in the cast. As alwav
little things-glances, g
intangibles'-- that comm
an uncanny sense tha
three men have been liv
playing checkers toget
just since the stage r
called, "Places," but fo
Whatever good wor
Musgrave may have b
ing, any by the last act
'Woman'
Maggie Izcd vhe was doing some good
blivSous work, was virtually obliterated
r'essive by her dreadful French accent.
ing On Van Natter's failure to somehow
ibble is all'iate this situation was his
laggie's greatest mistake.
ness of
e is un- SUE BOROFSKY had a basi-
she's a .1y stereotypical character to
en. She play but, granting that, she still
)y acci-need not have been .so relent-
/1argery
Mirgerylssly haughty. She had the op-i
broth- port'nity, in the brilliant sec-
en Pru- tiun concerning a brooch, to give
rk beau- her character some poignancy
le with- ad vulnerability, but she failed
s, it is to.
estures, Physically, the production re-
aunicate flected the same care and fin-
t these esse as tie cast did, though the
ing and budget seems to have been lim-
her not ited. The London apartment was
manager a little shabby-looking, given
r years. the references to its elegance,
A Lynn but Henry Van Kuicken's cos-
een do- tumes were fine all around, as
I real- was the play in general.
Cinema Weekend
Friday - The Grande Illusion, Old Arch. Aud., 7, 9:05;
Children of Paradise, MLB 3, 7:30 only; What's New Pussy
Cat?, MLB 4, 7 only; Casino Royale, MLB 4,'9 only; State
of the Union, Aud. A Angell, 7, 9; Young Frankenstein
Nat. Sci. Aud., 7, 9.
Saturday - Dementia, MLB, 3, 7 only; Night of the Liv-
ing Dead, MLB 3, 8:45 only; The Last house on the Left,
MLB 3, 10:30 only; Minnie and Moskiwitz, Old Arch. Aud.,
7, 9:05; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Aud. A. Angell, 7, 9;
Young Frankenstein, Nat. Sci. Aud., 7, 9; What's Up Doc?
ML'B 4, 7, 8:45, 10:30.
Sunday - Yankee Doodle Dandy, Aud. A Angell, 7, 9;
:Masque of the Red Death, MLB 4, 7 only; The Phantom of
the Opera, (Arthur Lubin), MLB 4, 8:45 only; The Trip,
MLB 4, 10:30; Phantom of the Opera (Robert Julian), Old
Arch. Aud.,,7, 9:05.
All Weekend - Logan's Run, Silent Movie, Face to
Face, Burnt Offerings, .The Movies, Briarwood (769-8780);
Alice in Wonderland, Fox Village (769-1300); Marathon Man,
Michigan (665-6290); The Ritz, State (662-6264); The Front,
Campus (668-6416) God Told Me To, Fifth Forum (761-9700).
ii
Dalv Photo by CHRISTINA SCHNEIDER
KATHRYN LONG as Maggie engages in dinnertable conver-
sation with husband John (played by John Meigs, right) and
her father (left, played by Charles McGraw). The scene is
from the PTP's current production of Barrie's "What Every
Woman Knows."
Paris orch. refined
r
I
1
By KAREN PAUL
ANIEL BARENBOIM led the
Orchestre de Paris in a de-
lightful concert of Berlioz, Rav-
el and Brahms on Wednesday
night at Hill Auditorium.
After the orchestra curiously
appeared dressed in street
clothes, Barenhoirn explained
that they had just arrived, aft-
er being delayed in Minneanolis
since 10 a.m. This informal ap-
pearence and unfortunate delay,'
however, did not seem to effect
their performance. The orches-
tra's playing was exceptionally{
musical and .refined.
The Love Scene from Romeo
and Juliet by Berlioz is not an
attention grabber; it opened thei
concert on a serene note. The;
orchestra displayed an impec-
cable balance and blend and,
though subtle, the dynamics and
phrasing suited Berlioz' sonor-1
ous music. At times chord chan-
ges were somewhat ragged; usu-
ally the sections played together
precisely.
A PERF'CT interpretation of
Ravel's Daphnes et Chloe, See-
and Suite, seemed to flow nat-
urally from the Trench music-
ians. The web of changing col-
ors and harmonies of the im-
pressionist rnsic had a beau-
tifll continuity throughout. Bar-'
enboin controlled the orchestra
VISIT.*
WUOM'S
917FM OPEN
HOUSE IS
OCT.29
FRIDAY l AM --7PM
SATURDAY. 10 AM - 2 P.M
VNST WiT -H STAT E
I OURS " DISPLAYS
REFRESHMLENTS
5th Floor of LSA Blg
UM Campus
to produce all the correct ef-
fects - polished blend, flowing
tempo changes, swelling and eb-
bing dynamics. The flute, in its
many solo lines, played fault-
lessly. After the swift, whirling
of the "danse generale" the
piece ended with a wonderfully
complete orchestral sound.
Barenboim again exhibited his
exacting control of the orches-
tra in the Symphony No. 1 in
C minor of Brahms. His unique
interpretation included an abun-
dance of subtleties - nuances
of tenno and dynamics-which
niade ^ pry phrase interesting.
The t- stra was so well-bal-
anced tiat the violas, cellos and
basses could always be heard
while also properly blending
with the rest of the orchestra.
The winds added to this effect
of rich sonority created through-,
out the symphony.
In the allegro of the fourth
movement, the brass sections
had more spirit, although they
did not seem really impressive
until the end, where, along with
the timpani, their robust play-
ing created an exciting culmin-
ation to the enjoyable evening.
special Attractions
Performing
Oedipus
"Nobility, Swiftness
and Horror"
"ExpliosMeyMoving"
Nov. 5&6 8:30pm
And
The 9Ta m
of the shreW
"BoisterousIrreverent,
Knockabout Version"
"lBa~sy, Jovs,& Fine'
Nov.7 2&8pM
Power Center
Tmckets available at PTP Ticket Office
MenteessonnTheatre Lobby, Mon Fr.10 2-
For l 'smation Ca i A 76 04O
Introduction to Kundalini Yoga
AS TAUGHT BY
Swami RUdran nda &MichaeI Shoemaker
BEGINNERS CLASSES EVERY
MONDAY 0 WEDNESDAY ®FRIDAY
at 5:30 P.M.
Rudrananda Ashram
640 OXFORUD o995-483
- - -
IT S
IDNIGHT
at the ADNESS
ICH IGAN
When VINCENT PRICE
meets EDGAR ALLEN POE
meets ROGER CORMAN
IN
"THE HOI
OF USHE
AND
"THE P1
AND TH
PENDULU
FRIDAY and SATURDAY
UOSE
ER"
IT
IE
m~'
r
12:00 Midnight
MICHIGAN THEATRE
ALL SEATS $2.00
._ ........................... ...... .
I
TONIGHT in MLB
MARCEL CARNE'S
CHILDREN OF PARADISE ,
(LES ENFANTS DU PARAD!S) (1943-45( 7:30 ONLY
'while the Gestapo hunted for some of the filmmakers, Carne made
his film about art, life and the theatre in the Paris of Balzac.
It is a monumental film of incredible richness-comic, tragic,
philosophic-filled with strong, subtle characterizations and at
least five kinds of theatrical performanees. A kaleiodoscope, the
film shifts from the life of the theatre to the relationship between
art and life, to the problems of love. "A film-poem on the nature
and varieties of love--scared and profane, selfish and possessive."
-Pauline Kael. With Jean-LeIuis Barrault, Arletty, Pierre Renoir.
French with subtitles.
WOODY ALLEN
WHAT'S NEW PUSSY CAT?
(CLIVE DONNER, 1965) 7 ONLY
Woody Allen wrote this witty story about a Casanova type (Peter
O'Toole) who's swinging himseli to an early grave and so goes to
a psychiatrist (Peter Sellers) who doesn't want to cure O'Toole-
he wants to emulate him! With Romyv Schneider as a patient
fiancee, Capue'ne as a cool nymphomaniac, Paula Prentiss as a
suicidal stripper. Ursula Andress as an oppo'tunistic parachutist
and Woody Alln as O'Too'c's tlest friend and main schnook who
works a desser at a strimease joint and still can't get a girl.
l
7.m u i t l ti U'. 4 W- .' - - m .' -*