ARTS
The Michigan Daily Thursday, December 6, 1990
Page 5
Is G&S's Princess Ida a true feminist?
by Julie Komorn
Once upon a time there was a man
named William Schwenk Gilbert.
Perhaps you do not recognize his
name without mention of his
associate, Sir Arthur Sullivan. The
collaboration of Gilbert, the writer,
and Sullivan, the composer,
produced many ingenious works of
comic opera. So great were these
men that the University has a
Gilbert and Sullivan Society. This
weekend the society will be present-
ing a humorous and colorful produc-
tion of Gilbert and Sullivan's musi-
cal fairy tale Princess Ida.
Princess Ida tells the tale of
two warring kingdoms. In an at-
tempt to resolve their dispute, the
feuding kings agree to a future mar-
riage between their children, Princess
Ida and Prince Hilarion. Twenty
years later, however, the wedding
must be cancelled due to a change of
plans. The Princess has retreated to
Castle Adamant where she rules a
women's university which rejects,
everything masculine. Princess Ida
is an adaptation of Gilbert's earlier
work, The Princess which itself is a
comedy version of Tennyson's poem
of the same name.
The members of the Gilbert
and Sullivan Society reach beyond
*their usual artistic limit for Princess
Ida. The show has been back-dated
from its usual time frame, juxtapos-
ing several periods of history. Usu-
ally presented in a Camelot-like set-
ting, this production of Princess Ida
has a more rustic feel with costumes
modeled after early Russian paint-
ings. Instead of armor and steel, they
use leather and wood. Additionally,
the usual peaceful nature of the show
is replaced by a war-hungry mood.
Director Eric Gibson says the show
"appeals to people who don't espe-
cially like Gilbert and Sullivan be-
cause they've livened it up with an
immediate sense of action." The ad-
ditional anger in the show "makes
the seriousness of the situation
funny," he adds.
Charles Sutherland, who plays
the princess' father, King Gama,
says he feels this show is "elaborate
and full of energy." But best of all,
Sutherland says he likes the romance
in the show. "It's very romantic de-
spite the wicked satire that Gilbert
puts in," he says. Wicked ways, ro-
mance and gender issues: what more
could anyone want from a fairy tale?
And they lived happily ever after...
PRINCESS IDA will be performed
in the Mendelssohn Theatre
Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.
and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Ticket prices range from $5-$10 and
are available from the League
ticket office.
Space exploration
takes lace in art
by Laura Howe
Clinton Hill's exhibit Constructions and Paper 1990 at the Alice
Simsar Gallery, is a vibrant articulation of the relationships between
form, space and color. Having been raised in the openness of the
Southwest, Hill explores the dynamics and components of space through
combinations of color and texture in abstract constructions of wood
sculptures and paper assemblages.
The artworks, most of them quite large, are mounted on the peripheral
walls of the gallery, creating a large open space through which the viewer
must move to approach each piece. Essentially, upon entering the
gallery, the viewer is caught in the center of the room, forced to turn and
make a path through the space of the gallery to the various works.
The paper assemblages are constructed from sheets of homemade paper
pieced together in non-symmetrical arrangements. In "Garden Run" a
thick black line jumps and meanders across paper mottled in the colors of
fresh flowers. The relationship of line to paper leaves one wondering if
the configuration of paper pieces came first and thus created the play of
the lines, or if the paper was merely arranged to capture a specific section
of an infinite stretch of linear form imagined in the artist's mind.
The paper works are all of a similar construction formula, but each
work has its own mood. The thick linear elements angle and squiggle
across the paper in unrestrained exploration. Hill's formidable use of
color creates a unique experience with each nuance of shade and
complement within each piece. He is fond of deep jewel shades of blue,
green and pink and uses them with a rich intensity set against delicate
washes of paler shades.
Hill's wood sculptures are three-dimensional realizations of his .
paperworks. The poles, sticks and planes used in his sculptures are over-
painted to give a thick, tactile texture to the works. In "Construction:
Marigold Sun Spot" the elements are piled into space, creating layers of
color and shadow. Brilliantly colored poles shoot through the piece while
flat, curved elements snake about sensuously, all anchored by wooden
planes of various sizes.
The sculptures are important in Hill's exploration of space; the
experience of each work changes as the viewer moves around it,
continuously changing perspectives. As a whole, the exhibit conveys an
energy to the viewer that is created by spatial dynamics and transmitted
through visual and tactile forms.
Clinton Hill's CONSTRUCTIONS AND PAPER 1990 is on display at the
Alice Simsar Gallery, 301 N. Main, through December 22.
Princess Ida (Sara MacBride), here with King Hildebrand (Rupert
Whitaker), has some strong ideas about her impending marriage in the
Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of Princess Ida.
U Players present Rev. Falwell, circa 1664
by Jenie Dahimann
W ho is Tartuffe? Is his puritan
*outlook genuine or a front masking
the true con artist that lurks deep
Within his soul? Will this
manipulative nature undermine the
naive Orgon and all that his family
holds dear? Will he manage to
seduce Orgon's lovely wife Emile
out of her husband's bed and into his
own? Will the young lovers Valere
and Mariane be fated to a life
gpart? How does the maid Dorine
get away with being such a bitch?
Por answers to these, and other
equally scintillating questions, go to
see the University Players'
production of Tartuffe.
Written in 1664 by the French
actor and playwright Moliere,
Tartuffe centers around Orgon, a
disillusioned man going through an
emotionally unstable stage in his
Olife. He finds hope in the piety and
seeming stability of Tartuffe's rigid
religious beliefs, and invites him to
live with and influence his entire
family. Orgon fails to see Tartuffe's
GOOD LUCK
ON YOUR EXAMS!
FROM THE
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manipulative nature that is
succeeding in gaining control over
his household. Orgon's young
second wife Emile, however, sees
the true Tartuffe. She constantly
strives to enlighten her husband,
with the help of her outspoken,
"good bitch" maid Dorine, before her
entire family is destroyed by
Tartuffe's schemes.
In its day, Tartuffe was censored
due to its long commentaries on
religious hypocrisy. Moliere's
reputation with the Church suffered
so greatly because of this work that
he was denied the sacrament of
Extreme Unction on his deathbed.
Impiety was a big issue in 1664,
but, says director Philip Kerr,
"religious hypocrisy is ho-hum in
1990." Instead of focusing on the
religious aspect of Tartuffe, Kerr
has chosen to concentrate on the
domestic aspect of the play. Kerr
believes that the disintegration of the
family unit and inter-familial
relationships is a much greater issue
for this time.
Truly, Moliere's Tartuffe could
be interpreted in the night-time soap-
opera genre. Interweaving plots of a
See TARTUFFE, Page 7
215 S. State St.
Ann Arbor
995-DEAD
(upstairs)
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This note is worth 1s CHAPTER
SIX DOLLARS '=Eand r
WORSE!
THURSDAY, DEC.6 WOSE
(MADventures in Good Music)
and FR IDAY, DEC. 7 ANN ARBOR CIVIC THEATRE
toward the purchase 1035 S. Main
of tickets to the near the U-M Stadium
outrageous musical revue:Redeemable at the door.
a Limit: One per costumer
""" """ """""""""" "" "''" " "
I'
MICHIGAN vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN
* Alternative Sporting Goods
. Rockshirts A-Z
. Grateful Dead Stuff
- Imported Clothing
- Large Sticker Selection
- Indian Blankets
Michigan
" Crystals and Jewelry
Wolverines vs. Western Michigan Broncos
Saturday, December 8, 1990
BANNER NIGHT/TOYS FOR TOTS
Yost Ice Arena
Puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
Would you trust this man?
Don't forget to bring your banner and a new unwrapped toy!!!
BRIARWOOD
ON BOARDWALK'
We Make Your Weekday Special!
Lunch Buffet & Beverage M-F 1 1-4 p.m. $399
Sun. - Fresh Ground Round Chopped Steak
Mon. - 5 oz. U.S.D.A. Choice Sirloin Steak Dinner Only
Tues. - Char-Broiled Chicken Breast Dinner $599
Wed. - U.S.D.A. Choice Sirloin Tips Dinner+tax
Thurs. - Char-Broiled Rainbow Trout Dinner
All dinners include choice of potato and dinner buffet.
9J3
VICT('Rs
t y ~O~f
i'neK GMA"ACS , Minority Summer IF-MMILuute
Color Printing
Color Printing
Color Printing
Color Printing
- .oci rcn n rsrr~rr
Business schools face a critical shortage of minority professors. According to current estimates.
by the year 2000, 28 percent of the college-age population will be Black, Hispanic and Native
American, while less than 3 percent of business processors will be from those groups. The Graduate
Management Admission Council-American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business Minority
Summer institute, to be held June 9-July 19, 1991, at the University of Michigan, is intended
to increase the number of minority students pursuing the Ph.D. and careers as business school
faculty.
The institute will bring together 30 talented Black, Hispanic and Native American rising college
seniors in order to introduce them to the challenges and rewards of the career of a business
professor. Applicants will be considered from a variety of academic disciplines, including
economics and other social sciences, humanities, education, engineering, and business. Previous
study in business is not required. The program provides the following financial assistance to
all Aarticinants-
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