Page 6-Wednesday, July 18, 1979-The Michigan Daily MICHIGAN REP'S 'HA Y FEVER' Comedy nothing to sneeze at By JOSHUA PECK Praise Heaven. There's a must-see show in the Summer Rep season, and Noel Coward's Hay Fever is it. Kay Long, who directed Travesties, putatively the best of last summer's of- ferings, has again emerged as the most gifted of the season's directorial stock with a production that is keen and smart, almost perfectly cast, with scarcely a jagged edge to speak of. In fairness to the other directors, it should be pointed out that Hay Fever is Hay Fever Noel Coward Power Center July 15, 18, 20 and August 2 Judith Bliss ............. Kathy EackernBadgerow David Bliss ................Jon Haltquist Sorel Bliss.. ......Terryl Wright Hallquist Simon Bliss.. . ............ . Terry Caza Myra Arundel................Georgette Fleischer Richard Greatham ............... Richard Pickren Jackie Coryton..................Lorel Janiszewski Sandy Tyrell............... DanielChace Clara ......................Shelly Ballmer Kalhryn Long, director; Gary Musane, lightig; Anne Mueller, sets; Diane Monach, costumes probably the easiest of the summer plays from a production standpoint, in that Coward's polished wit pulls the ac- tion (and actors) along, seemingly of its own volition. Still, mistakes can be made with the Briton's works, and they often are. One comedic source in Coward's plays is the contrast he ex- ploits between "proper" upper class behavior and the seethingly discordant emotions that may be boiling beneath the surface. The problem with many American treatments of comedy of manners is that the humor too often stops with stereotypes. Directors fail to see the comedic potential in toying with the particular madness of each charac- ter, and are satisfied with playing off the general foolishness in lieu of the in- dividuals'. Ms. Long, in tandem with her cast's creative abilities, has pierced the customary preconnections, and imbued each of her nine players with pec- cadilloes and peculiarities of his/her very own. And there the fun begins. She and the other members of her little matriarchy-husband David, an author nearing mid-life cirsis, and Simon and Sorel, less-than-dutiful children somewhere in their mid-twenties-have inadvertently all invited houseguests out to their Cookham cottage for the same weekend. Judith and her progeny begin bickering about the invitations they've independently tendered, leading Mother to collapse into a chair and overdramatically threaten to do away with herself, distraught as she is over everyone "fighting for the bath." "Overdrama," in fact, is the leitmotif of Judith's character, who at times seems to lose appreciation altogether of the distinction between artistry and ac- tuality. Badgerow's waggish treatment of the Bliss role ensures her exalted position as the comic light of the local theater scene. Her marvelously elastic face retains the wealth of expressions it has evidently always had, but her voice has changed of late-for the better. Badgerow used to have a problem with screeching out some of her lines in a manner that swiftly became annoying. No more. Even at her most perturbed, the actress stays well within a reasonable range of pitches. Her comic sensibilities have never been better. One comic gem of patticular luster is her matter-of-fact response to her young guest Sandy, when he discovers that Mr. Bliss is alive and kicking. "I thought he was dead." spouts the aspiring gigolo. "No, he isn't dead-he's upstairs," replies Badgerow-cum-Judith, investing her delivery with just enough humor to make its practiced absurdity all the more effective. majestic charm nearly overwhelms Gerogette Fleischer, his half-willing prey. Terry Caza makes good use of his usual dour manner, scoffing his way through snipes on the ways of the ruling class. Terryl Hallquist exhibits great proficiency in managing the proprietory-fury quandary, as she cat- tily picks on her mother, always with the utmost taste and restraint. Lastly, congratulations are in order for Lorel Janiszewski, who admittedly is a friend, but who would have them coming even if I didn't know her from Adam. The actress is stuck with one of the most trying roles in the play-the poor girl never stops sobbing-but carries it off with aplomb and evident ease. Her character's shyness and per- sistent bawling prevent her from having much in the way of spoken tid- bits of amusement, but then Janiszewski has always gotten most of her laughs from demeanor and physical humor, and she does here. Her hem- ming and hawing to get out of playing a parlor game steals the scene, and later, when she finds out that Simon considers her his fiancee, her resultant ex- pression of terror and shock brings boisterous laugh indeed. Reservations: Georgette Fleischer's non-committal sauntering through her part, and Randy Neighbarger's trite choices of incidental msic. and that is FOR ALL Eacker Badgerow's ex- JUDITH BLISS (Kathy Badgerow), n traordinary gifts, she is far from being well-known and recently retired Lon- the only mirth-provoking figure on don stage actress, has settled into a stage. Job Hallquist's David, is a mud- happy country life, puttering around her die-headed, self-absorbed Casanova, garden and reveling in past stage gkory, whose sweening confidence in his own Richard (Richard Pickren) and Judith (Kathy Eacker Badgerow) entangled in Summer Rep's "Hay Fever," playing tonight, July 20, and August 2 at the Power Center. TheAnn Arbor Film Coopersf9'e PresentstAudA -$1.so WEDNESDAY, JULY 18 AUTUMN SONATA (Ingmar Bergman, 1978) 7,8:40, 10:20-Aud A Bergman's latest film is a grueling look at the relationship of mother and daughter, and the consequences of consuming ambition. LIV ULLMAN, the plain wife of a Norwegian pastor, invites her mother (INGRID BERGMAN), a wordly concert pianist, to visit. In a harrowing climax, she unleashes a rage built of a lifetime of envy and separation. "Ingrid Bergman gives a stunning brittle performance in her native Swedish."-SIGHT AND SOUND. Swedish with subtitles. Tomorrow: LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR " WE SUPPORT PROJECTIONIST'S LOCAL 395