mn THE MICHIGAN DAILY
rts Enterta inm ent Friday, January 23, 1976 Page Five
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Acting Company stoopsforl auhs
By JEFFREY SELBST
SAMdA comedy junkie. I1
E read louesco for laughs,
Aristophanes for giggles, and
watch Mary Tyler Moore for
a few offhand chuckles. But
Goldsmith has always eluded
me before. With his silly tales
of manners and mores -
slickly presented, to be sure -
he has always seemed too aloof,
too remote.
The Acting Company's pro-
In the first act, he told us
how loutish he was; in the sec-'
ond, where he gave as good a!
showing as anyone else, he
didn't seem aware of his rough-
ness.
audience was not given the
chance to fall asleep that one
has, say, during the flatter
jokes of Neil Simon. In a play
of this sort anyway, both the
types of jokes and the jokesj
themselves are so old that one
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:
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I HAVE nothing but plau- doesn't worry about their fall-
dits for the set, too. Any pro- ing flat. Age gives them buoy-
duction of a show, from Aesch- ancy.
ylus to Sondheim, must involve ; hythm is the keynote of so
collaboration between set de-'
}
spend most of their time play-
ing the circuit.
The theatrical big boys are
unquestionably in New York,
however. The new, exciting
(and sometimes misfired)
plays all come from there; al-
though there has been a dem-
onstrable upsurgence of dra-
matic activity from the hinter-
lands, the real thing is in New
York.
I think there is nothing that
The Acting Company would like
better than to set the theatrical
world upside down. They prove
the falsehood of that oft-repeat-
ed New York tenet, that an
American repertory company
like England's Old or Young
Vic cannot exist; they're doing
it, night after night in Power,
giving sterling performances of
old plays.
The big rich boys are polite-
ly being put in their place, just
as they are in She Stoops to
Conquer. Far be it from me
to say that Houseman's group
is acting out a fantasy by per-
forming this play so well--al-
though that might account for
the excellence of the produc-
tion - let's Just say that there
is a striking similarity
This play, timeless and hys-
terical, is on display at Power
Center, Sunday at 3 and 8 p.m.
Buy yourself a birthday pres-
ent.
Jeffrey Selbs/ reviews drama
for The Daily.
signer and director (as well
as choreographers, if any).
duction of She Stoops to Con- This set consisted of a stan-
quer at the Power Center has dard frame, in the middle of
changed all that. It hit me like which was an inset. The inset
a ton of eclairs - what a de- changed from inn to drawing
licious show! room to garden with impunity,
but the continuity so necessary
John Houseman, the com- to the driving force of the show
pany's artistic director, could was provided by the frame'
write a textbook on "how-to- itself, which consisted of flats
dust-off-a-hoary-old-classic-and-
make-it-delightful". The tech- suggtyestivea hallway in any
nique used was not moderniza-
tion a la Peter Brook's Shake- But they worked with the in-
speare, but rather to work set to create whatever scene
strictly within the provided the latter suggested. Beauti-1
framework to revitalize this fully - painted curtains were on
play on its own terms. . hand to aid in the metamor-
Let me start off with a sim- p
ple account of the performance THE ACTORS ran in and out
isl.thQ dineU in frntir ThrA
much successful farce. It isn't
enough to run breathlessly from:
scene to scene, but it certainlyr
helps. Pacing, rhythm, tempo-
to any seasoned theatergoer'
these words are a cliche. Butt
they imply so much in the way
of judgment, that which House-.
man obviously has.1
The fascinating thing about
this type of comedy is that,
rather than the Evervman who
is beset with woes (like, once
again, Neil Simon's), it sets up
the aristocrat and would-be gen-
tlemen (Moliere, anyone?) to
take pratfalls.
In this, it satisfies an urge
which is as old as the skies.
If someone is moredpowerful
than you, knock him down with
a laugh. The old platitude about
man being the only animal who
can laugh at himself is really
true.
But the reflection that led
me to this brought on another
interesting thought. Goldsmith
is more timely than I had rea-
lized.
The Acting Company is afraid
of New York. As Houseman has
said repeatedly in interviews,
he is afraid that the company
would dry up both artistically
and financially if they didn't
TEACH-IN on
REVOLUTION IN DHOFAR
Speakers: HUSSEIN AL-FADHIL, First Secre-
tary, UN Mission for Peoples' Democratic Re-
public of Yemen. MAJID SIADAT, Iranian Stu-
dent Association Representative.
FILM: THE HOUR OF REVOLUTION HAS STRUCK:
OUT WITH IMPERIALISM!
Time: 7:30 p.m. TONIGHT! Friday, Jan. 23
Place: MICHIGAN UNION BALLROOM, 2nd Floor
Doily Photo by KEN FINK
Cellist Joel Krosnick (left) and Samuel Rhodes (right), on the viola, warm up for the initial
concert in the Juilliard String Quartet series last night at Michigan State.
s "
.I UY S j*1
1l d r s showease
best of eethoven at MSU
he ooorwavs, ni nirenec i nreeI ;
The acting was wonderful. It Stooges fashion, and certainly
ran from very good to incredi- in accordance with the direc-
ble. James Harper turned in tional concept of the show.
a well - reasoned performance That concept could be charac-
of Mr. Hardcastle, the gentle- terized by the single word:
man of the country who is mis- rhythm. Everything was rush,
taken for an innkeeper; Mary rush, rush. Lines were snoken
Lou Rosato was brilliant as his with scarcely a breath betweenI
foolish wife. them. If there is one theatrical
ORGANIZATION
OF ARAB
STUDENTS
..
By KEN FINK
Special To The Daily
EAST LANSING - The Juil-
liard String Quartet Vednesday
night performed the initial con-
cert of the complete Beethoven
quartet cycle to over 700 Mich-
igan State patrons who jammed
the intimate Fairchild Theater.
This monumental five concert
series showcases the epitome
of chamber music repetoire.
Wednesday night's concert
was comprised of three quar-
tets representative of Beethov-
en's three composition periods.
The program opened with
the fifth quartet, Opus 18, No.
5. The four performers meshed
together to create a balanced,
unified ensemble that commu-
nicated the full stylistic spec-
trum of Beethoven's early per-!
iod-the energetic dialogues of
the Allegros to the delicate so-
norities within the Andante.
The seventh quartet, Opus 59,
No. 1 is the first string quartet
of the composer's middle per-
iod. The piece approaches a
unified structure with each
movement gaining its impetus
from a strong rhythmic motif.
Theme fragments darted
about the stage and combined
as though all the instruments
were controlled by one master
mind. The performers were
successful in communicating
the composer's genius to the
audience. The sea of patrons,
eyes closed, swayed side to
side sympathetically with the
rhythmic intensity of the mu-
sic.
The 14th quartet is not only
the finest quartet of Beethov-
en's late period but is one of
the ultimate achievements of
the creative mind.
This completely unified work
consists of seven movements
What's playing this Cinena Weekend
Hey, fiendish Ann Arbor filmgoers! There's new stuff
all over town - including such not-so-long awaited epics
as Gene Wilder's Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter
Brother and the ever popular Groove Tube. At Briarwood,
there's a match-up of two of the gutsiest pictures ever
screened, The Longest Yard and Death Wish. (Don't tell
anyone, but I liked Longest Yard.)
A complete round-up:
Friday-Holiday, Arch. Aud., 7, 9:05; Last Tango in
Paris, Aud. A, 7, 9:30; Straw Dogs, Nat. Sci. Aud., 7:30,
9:30; Dirty Harry, Couzens' Cafeteria, 8, 10.
Saturday - Rebecca, Arch. Aud., 7, 9:05; The Godfather,
Aud. A, 7, 10; Straw Dogs, Nat. Sci. Aud., 7:30, 9:30; Dirty
Harry, Couzens' Cafeteria, 8, 10.
Sunday - Midnight Cowboy, Aud, A, 7, 9.
Ail weekend long-Groove Tube,Matrix (994-0627), Ad-
venture of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, State (662-
6264), Amarcord and Cries and Whisners, Camnus (668-
6416), Romeo and Jiliet, Michigan (665-6290), Lucky Lady,
Fifth Forum (761-9700), Dog Day Afternoon, Fox Village
(769-1300), The Longest Yard and Death Wish, Let's Do It
Again, Three Days of The Condor, Monty Python and the
Holy Grail, The Movies, Briarwood, (769-8780).
A special note: The TV 2 Late, Late Movie is pre-
senting The Bowery at Midnight (Bela Lugosi's finest per-
formance) at 1:30 am. Saturday night.
played without pause. The
mood of each movement melts
into the next. Starting with the
fugal Adagio of the first move-
ment, the listener becomes mes-
merized by the haunting fugue
subject and detached from the
rest of the audience by thez
flawless realization of t h e
score.
From the simplest manipula-
tion of notes in the Adagio of
the fourth movement to the
most energetic and complex
conversations of the Presto, the
performers run the gamut of
mood, intensity, and style.
The remaining four concerts
of the series are sold out. Al-
though Beethoven's string quar-.
tets are staples in University
of Michigan Musical Society's
Chamber Arts series, there was
only one successful series of
the complete quartets in 1965
with the now defunct Budapest
String Quartet.
With the success of the cur-
rent MSU series, perhaps its
time will come again.
Ken Fink, presen/ly chief
Ihloographer of The Daily,
serr ed as Ar/s and F/er/ain-
lilen/ edi/or durin( 1974.
UNIVERSITY
SHOWCASE
PRODUCTION
BY
JOE ORTON
JAN 28-31
8:00p.m.
ARENA THEATRE
$2.00 Gen.Adm.
NOT AN ugly woman herself,
she is a textbook example of
how physical ugliness can be.
portrayed by suggestion on the
stage. Sandra Halperin was en-
ergetic and winning as the
daughter Kate, and Nicolas
Surovv was quite good as her
suitor, Young Marlowe.
Perhaps the only argument I
had was with the first-act por-
trayal of Tony Lumpkin (Kevin
Kline). He seemed to be
straining to prove just what an
uncouth brute he was, whereas
to be successful, his loutishnessI
must seem integral to hischar-
acter.
Crab lice infest
even the
nicest people
II KILLS
CRAB LICE
IN CONTAC
.Special comb
included
o Without a
prescription
at Drug Stores
"Hello, Dolly" Poster Contest
Turn in your design for a "Hello, Dolly"
poster. Entries must all be in color, pref-
erably in standard poster size.
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2
$25 GRAND PRIZE!
Submit at UAC OFFICE, 2nd Floor, Union, 763-1107
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tenet this company knows -well,
it is tempo.
Rather than seeming breath-
less, then, the show moved. The
FRI.-SAT.-SUN.
NORMAN
BLAKE
A brilliant musician,
a warm and genuine
performer
$3.00
21ohs THE FUN STARTS
TONIGHT!
SHOWS TONIGHT AT
7:00-9:00
OPEN AT 6:45
"A charming slapstick comedy,...
A marvelously low-brow caper.
Gene Wilder makes an impressive
debut as a comedy director."
--VINCENT CANBY, N.Y. TIMES
"A comedy of wit and imagination.
Kahn and Wilder, never better in per-
formance, c a r r y the day with good
humor."
---JUDITH CRIST, SAT. REVIEW
THURS. JAN. 29: "DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES"
Documentary film on Spain w/Soul Wellman, speaker
1421 H ILL ST. 8:30 761-1451
G
night at 7:30 ii
Advance sales through PTP Ticket Office
loated in lobby of Mendelssohn, Theatre
Building. Mon. Fri. 10 am. 1 pm., 2-6 p.m.
Professional Theatre Program Ticket Office
431 7614.0460t
STARTS TONIGHT!
SHOWS TONIGHT AT
7:00 & 9:20
OPEN AT 6:45
THOSE MIXED-UP KIDS ARE BACK!
"A JOY! STUNNING! BEAUTIFUL!"
-N Y TIMES -SATURDAY REVIEW -PLAYBOY
Paramount Pictures presents the return
of the greatest love story of all time.
STARTS TODAY-Two great
Award-Winning Features:
THE RECIPIENT OF
N.Y. FILM CRITICS AWARD ACADEMY AWARD
Be"t Pictures Director Best Foreion Film
Gene Madeline
Wilder Kahn
Marty
Feldman
f/eoo
- N -
PARAMOUNT PICTURES pnrent
The5
FANico ZEFFIREIn
Production of
ROMEO
g1ULlIt-
ROGER CORMAN Presents
FELINIs 4 CR
Directed by FEDERICO FELLINI PoduedbyFRANCO CRISTALDI
Screenplay and Story by FEDERICO FELINI and TONINO GUE RRA -" ector of
Photography GIUSEPPE ROTUNNO . Film Editor RUGGERO MAS',ROIANt
Music by NINO ROTA- PANAVISION' TECHNICOLOR'- AN ITALIAN FRENCH C
PRODUCTION F.C. PRODUCTIONS (ROME) PE C F (PARE)
Distributed by NEW WORLD PICTURES R --"
A RIIHARDlA. ROTH IOUER PRDDrTIrOM
-PLUS THE RECIPIENT
N.Y. FILM CRITICS AWARDS-Best
Screenplav, Actress
OF-
Picture, Director,
AND
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