Page 12-Saturday, July 28, 1979-The Michigan Daily
R.C. mounts light Brecht work
By RICK ARGAS
In the midst of Art Fair bustle, those interested in
theatre or sympathetic to anti-capitalistic art will be
able to satisfy their aesthetic tastes by viewing the
Residential College Summer Players production of
Brecht's Puntila and his Hired Man. The usual heavy-
handed ideological preaching of socialist plays (Evil,
stage right; Goodness, stage left) is one forgone in
favor of the humor of what is distinctly a play for a
summer evening. Of course, Brecht does not let his
audience escape without witnessing a display of the
contrasts in spirit between the landed and peasant
classes. Puntila, in fact, hovers at the border between
art and politics.
his daughter off to an attache in the diplomatic service,
a foppish sort. But when Puntila gets drunk he scolds
his daughter for even thinking about such a match
merely for money, and draws her attention to the
manly figure of Matti. Eva, not exactly wild over the
attache, decides to enlist Matti's aid to break off the
engagement. These efforts fail (the attache is too den-
se and too interested in wealth himself to perceive
them). However, Puntila gets drunk again and,
realizing the attache to be a grasshoooer. throws him
out. Matti is substituted but has his doubts about Eva's
fitness to be a workman's wife. Eva fails "The Peasant
Housewife Test" and the match is cancelled. After an
expedition to Mount Hatelma and the expulsion of a
peasant family from Puntila Farms, Matti decides that
he has enough of Puntila and leaves the Farms of his
Puntila and his Hired Man
Bertold Brecht
Puntila ... . ...........Martin
Eva .............................. Elizabeth1
Matti................................Thoma.
The Attache . . . . . . ........ Blake R
Bob Brown, director: Ptter Ferran, usic: Deborah Kott,
A Residvntial college Summer Players presentation
s Stack
tatctifte
oppressive landowners. The peasants' struggle for
survival in their rich land and their subsequent sub-
mission is a realistic reminder of their existence and
condition. Such scenes as the second-act nocturne are
whimsical combinations of the two effects. Even the
musical quality of the scene changes on the R.C. stage
adds to the effect of the mixture.
The Residential College production is damaged by
the low caliber of the undergraduates' performances.
The cast for the most part is energetic, but is not quite
up to handling the richness of Brecht's language.
Brecht's poetic vision, however, prevails, and instead
of resolution, offers poignancy enough for the theatre-
goer or the Art-fair rainmaker.
s s
Musicians
sough tfor
fall fest ival
The Ann Arbor Council for Traditional Music and
Dance is seeking traditionally oriented folk musicians
and songwriters who wish to volunteer their time to
appear ina local festival on September 16. Anyone who
is interested should send an inexpensive mono cassette
with no more than three songs to Joan Hellmann, 933
Dewey, Apt. 4, Ann Arbor, 48104. Label the tape with
the type of music, your name and phone number.
All cassettes must be received by August 10, and
cannot be returned. For more information, call
Hellman at 769-1052. The Council is a non-profit group
which was recently organized to encourage the ap-
preciation of folk music in the Ann Arbor community.
PUNTILA is a cynic's vision of wealth and nobility.
The title character himself is a Finnish landowner who
overflows with good humor when drunk-which he of-
ten is-but shrivels to "reasonableness" when sober (a
dreaded eventuality). Matti, his hired man and chauf-
feur, must look after Puntila during his benders. He
aspires to no Anore than serving his employer and
holding onto his employment. .
ON ONE OCCASION Puntila engages himself to four
village women only to turn them out when they show up
for the engagement party. He then endeavors to marry
own accord. Friendship or family ties between a lan-
downer and a hired man, it seems, can end only is
disaster.
Brecht's play centers on the rich Finnish coun-
tryside, The peasants subsist on fish, buttermilk and
berries and the gentry exploit the peasantry. The
richness of the land is plundered. The spiritedness of
Puntila becomes the wanton indulgence of a drunken
fool as he and Matti climb a man-made mountain
(which Puntila orders, Matti to build) instead of the
real mountain. Puntila is both realistic and an abstrac-
ition of human nature. The gentry in white-faced masks
(a nice touch), are abstractions of the often silly and
* STAR TREK . ABBOTT & COSTELLO
* BET TE- DAVIS * HOLLY WOOD PALACE
* MASH 0 HUMPHREY BOGART
* BOB HOPE E ELVIS PRESLEY
* DRACULA * NA ME T HAT TUNE
* ER ROL FLYNN * EDW. G. ROBINSON
I PERRY COMO * NEWLYWED GAME
B LAUGH-IN S JONATHAN WINTERS
* BOB NEWHART . SPENCER TRACY
S THE WALTONS * CAROL BURNETT
* RED SKELTON * CHARLIE CHAN
E FRANKENSTEIN . LON CHANEY JR.
* BING CROSBY * JOHNNY CARSON
E DON RICKLES . MIKE DOUGLASC
SOUPY SALES * DICK VAN DYKE
JERRY L EWIS E JAMES CAGNEY
DON ADAMS * VINCENT PRICE, ETC.
*'PERRY FROM THEWSPORTSDWORLD
SILL SHORT SURoTS E SIONG ALONG WIT POPETE
Tv. COMMERICALS YOU WON'T RELIEVE! nd THE THREE STOOGES
o DER S NET ADER TDC PARIENT O AN
FOX VILLAGE THEA TRE 37) RT PE T
Group to si
on nursing
LANSING (UPI) - A coalition said
yesterday it will sue the state for not
implementing a landmark nursing
home reform law, while health officials
claimed they are just about to get the
money needed to put the measure into
effect.
A spokesperson for the coalition,
which includes the health care ad-
vocacy group Citizens for Better Care,
said Public Health Director Maurice
Reizen's failure to fully implement the
law is "indefensible as well as blatantly
unlawful."
HE SAID THE organization will soon
seek an otder from the Ingham County
Circuit Court or the Michigan Court of
Appeals forcing implementation of the
law which safeguards nursing home
patients' civil rights and guarantees
them decent care.
Reizen conceded major provisions of
the law have yet to be put into effect,
explaining that "not one dime" has
yet been appropriated for the needed
staff.
Reizen said a bill providing $150,000
in needed funds is finally on Gov.
William Milliken's desk and said the
department may be able to begin with a
few days what he said would be a long
process of implementing the law.
"BECAUSE OF the department's
inaction, the rights and protections
guaranteed under the nursing home ,
reform law are ineffective," said
Milton Grams, of the Lansing CBC
chapter.
"Basic patient rights are still being
denied, imprope transfers - and
discharges apg., 1bekg, t -
te state
home law
pted ... and organizations capable of
assisting patients in securing their
rights and benefits are being denied ac-
cess to nursing homes," he said.
Grams said Reizen's plea of poverty
"does not wash." He said the depar-
tment could have shifted staff or funds
into nursing home regulation or taken
unused funds appropriated for the new
Public Health Code.
TERRY BLACK of Michigan Legal
Services said the coalition does not
trust health officials to implement the
act even though the long-sought funds
apparently soon will be available.
"The department has demonstrated
that it's not going to move quickly to
implement the law," Black said.
Black said the department was a hot-
and-cold supporter of the reform act as
it made its way through the legislature.
"SUBSEQUENT behavior says they
were more against it than we realized,"
said Clarice Jones, with the legislative
council of the American Association of
Retired Persons and the National
Retired Teachers Association.
Reizen insisted his department
strongly supported the final version of
the law, but conceded it felt earlier
drafts were impractical.
The department has moved to im-
plement portions of the law it could
handle, he said, adding the coalitions
suggestions for funding the law demon-
strate their "naivete."
"THIS ACT IS going to be implemen-
ted in increments because of its com-
plexity and immensity," he said,
"The whole idea of a lawsuit is sort of
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