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 DASCOLA STYLISTS Liberty off State 668-9329 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) VLIOHT J 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 L ........................-.....-----.. --........ .... -..." 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- m A T"3 rlr 7' Trrr. I