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O- ;
TH4E MICHIGAN- DAILY
SUJNDAY, FEBRUJARY 18; f923
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY
i8, 1923'
-THE MICHIGAN DAILY"'h
i
. ,.
of their dignified beauty, and, inci- through her efforts, and hers practic-
dentally, very much cheaper. ally alone, did "Lady Billy" amuse
iMr.Shuter, and his assistant, Carl the audience at the Whitney last Mon-
inaIX SC C nl a: Gusde, who doubtless had no smalL day night. When I heard that Mitzi
share in the direction or "The was coming to town pleasant memo-
Cloister," should be congratulated for ries came back to me; I could remem-
ROBERT BARTRON theircourage and artistry. Now if ber "The Big Show" and the song after
they don't spoil their fine record by- which her best production was named,
I suppose about the only exciuse for That is all there is to the story, and soime pathetic vaudeville, they will "Head Over Heels". I was able to
a young critic is his wild enthusiasm, it is obvious that such a tale occu- have made a beginning that will surely repeat at least ten or twelve words
his eagerness to use superlatives and pying four acts in its telling should open the way to very remarkable pro- of each song in a distressing yet, to
tire many. Yet notwithstanding its ductions in the future. In any event myself, a recognizable tune. In the
to glory in rash statements. We areEbleak, relentless tragedy, and the lack there is "Justice" to come. present instance, I can remember none
all tired of the sane, moderate thinker, of humor, there were many fnomentsof the tunes and everything about the
the man who is always right, always when the beauty of the lines, theHsAshow made"me understand at once
sadly conservative. This is why there sute I~t THE DODO PLAYERS shwId ' ndrtn toc
subtle mysticism pervading the entire _Iwhy "Lady Billy" was playing in Ann
is something exhilarating in the nerve action could not but grip the most . Arbor instead of New York.
of the youngsters. hardened listener with its tense pow- .. TWithout the star, the show would
Now what I started out to say was er. - and infinitely easier to entirely over-
that"Th Clistr,"repate bythe'look its accomplishments. Thus the have been, very rightly, hissed off the
that "The Coister, repeated, by the The cast seemed to grasp the k ssT stage, unless the audience had pitied
Mimes on January 26 and 27, was thought of the drama in an unusual unusual spontaniety, the refreshingsr
the most atmospheric, surely the mostmanner,all of the actors presenting progressive spirit.pervading all their music not worth the paper it was,
ambitious and finished production fmost satisfactory and often remark- performances more than offset the printed upon and neither costumes
ever given by the students of the able characterization. Really, when quite apparent lack of finish. Indeed, nor ladies of ensemble that madoyou
University. But this is an exaggerated one considers the vast difficulties in-h aarttheatremovements
statement for "The Cloister" is so olecode the ndetkigfichesfor the Irish National Theatre, the Pro- !sit up in your chair, the entire com-
stliee iou Tmu C oducis s volved in the undertaking, which, for pany had a bored tired air and put
unlike previous campus productions( the most part, were overcome, one vincetown Players, the North Carolinai no enthusiasm or nunch into the show.
that it cannot fairly be compared. -Im feels hesitant to offer any criticism nPlayakers, have grown from such After a g6od half hour wait, which
the first place, it is a tragedy, devoidat all. Rarely was I conscious ofteg.) put the audience in a bad humor, the
of sex interest and humor. In the rather forced rhymes of the transla- tunity and possibility of similar ac- curtain went up and the Lady Billy
second place, it is written in very tion, and the consistently smooth rn- complishments in Ann Arbor through four with the assistnce of Joe, by
idiomatic verse, and with but a bare dition of the rythms was delightful,.te wingless Doos. compliment a gentleman, but who had
shadow of a plot. As far as I can Such a play ought to, leave the actors no apparent excuse for being anything
remember such a play has never been excellently prepared for Shakespeare. MITZI i but a teamster, gave an opening of
done before on the campus. There- Indeed, it js quite fascinating to A review by Jack Briscoe 1unministakable badness.
fore, let it be enuogh to say that think of the possibilities open to them. Mitzi, like the old gray mare "ain't Miss Mitzi as Billy, the gardener's
pressive, setting a very enviable Carl Guske, in the role of Dom what she used to be", but even so, (Continued on Page Five)
standard in campus dramatics. Baithazar, bad the most difficult part
sto take, and, generally speaking, he-
Mimes announced "The Cloister" as terpreted the character with drama-
the first public performance of thetintpoeretd theschrac.oerihorama-
playfirst Anmerica. Howeverthististhough--and I am almost ashamed to
but a half truth, for the drama was admit it-I felt myself at times wish- A F A C T
presented two years ago by the New. ing that he would exercise more re-
York Theatre Guild before its sub- straint in the less emotional passages,
scribers, which at the time numbered:so that in the later scenes his passion I T h on1 ni t
about five thousand; quite a publicwould standou tressclearly by
performance, I should say; while, at contrast. Edward Parnell, as the
best, I doubt if more than five hun- s yCyenzol who '
dred people saw it here was able to lend sincerity and con- aas
Indeed, that was one of the most viction to the part -of an old man, a charge as littleas $1.7..
discouraging features of the undertak- feat almost impossible for most young
ing. Of course, "The Cloister" will actors to accomplish. There were
always have a very limited appeal,I others as well, who acted minor pai ts
but surely it ought to command a with understanding, but it was Thomas
larger audience than it secured. This' Underwood as Father Thomas who j
is perhaps due to several reasons. was really the star of the perform-
Obviously, the high admission charge ance. While the rest of the. cast was;
kept many away. Somehow, the; quite apparently acting, lie fairly lived
campus dramatic clubs seem to feel his part. There was a finesse, a ,
that by lowering their prices they simplicity about his portrayal that
will lower the quality of their pro- was delightful. Subtle cunning fairly
duction. This is true of Comedy Club, oozed frdm him.j
and doubly true of Mimes. It seems There was only one serious defect
to me a very mistaken idea.. The in the production, and that was the
other reason is the failure of Mimes scenery. The artist entirely lost the We call for and deliver
to build up a standard. When one simplicity that was so vitally neces
attends a production of Professor sary to "The Cloister," and instead
Nelson's, there is no question as to acovered the stage with a lot of ex Telephone
the type of performance that will be pensive painted canvas: painted sun-
offered; the same is true of Professor light, painted shadows, painted shrub-
Hollister's efforts, and even of the bery, even painted clouds. . . III
Player's Club. On the other hand, And they called it realism! The
Mimes hve consistently attempted Theatre Guild's settings for the play,
to please every type df taste, which designed by Sheldon K. Veile, were
is manifestly absurd. As, a result" much more impressive. It would have Unlucky for Spots
one never knows whether to expect been so easy to have imitated some I
a tragedy, or a musical comedy, a,
melodrama or vaudeville, and ouite
naturally ' both the intellectuals and
the morons stay away. I firmly be-f
lieve that until Mimes decides upon MEN BUY Y JUR
a definite policy their repertoire com- M
nificance. Verhaeren is a , Belgian SM KE HER
poet, who writes in French, and whose 1S VE
philosophy isdecidedly 'Teutonic,!I
strongly influenced by the fair, Camels Lucky Strikes Chesterfields-
haired barbarian of Nietsche." "The! all for
Cloister" is fairly saturated with 15 Cents
Flemish brutality and German cruelty.ya
It shows in a most uncompromising Tareyton Omar Polo
light the bitter passions of monastic j Tuxedo P. A. Edgeworth
life. The central character is DonGT
Balthazar, a monk- of noble ancestry, I
who has joined the order to shield
himself from a paracide committed!
many years before. He has willingly
allowed an innocent man to be pun-,
ished for his crime. It is this double 'T
sin that haunts him throughout the -T
course of the play, and ends in his U N I VR SI TY
downfall. The Prior . alone knows
of Dom Balthazar's past, but condone's
his act in order that he may have a
worthy successor. Opposing him, is
one Father Thomas, a man of humble OPEN
origin, but fired with insatiable am- EVN
bition and colossal conceit. Father5 , VERY NIGHT
Thomas is technically the villain ir' TO 1I O'cLOCK.
the play, and as is so often the case,y
the most commanding figure in it SATURDAY NIGHTS
He represents materialism, selfishnessj
and cynicism, in short, the spirit of O'CLOCK.
the new age. Finally it is. he who
triumphs, and ,as the curtain falls,
he assumes the Prior's rank. 1
~I~ieFebrary 9imesAreyou carrying your
AGA WINTERS
This "campus opinion monthly" did ular magazine such as , "Chimes", al-
not improve with its "J-Hop Num- though-itsseems to me that Lew Har- The eavy,cumbersome an'°ornate timepiece your
ber." "Chimes" still has a very ir- lan in his poem "The Sea" is a little hev,"n.tmpic
regr Cstandard of st bys whr it- too fanciful when he writes: "The sea father carried is out of keeping with your present
regular standard f merit by which it ves sunrises and sunsets, all kinds
selects its material. Its fiction is about s and social activities,
asasnneas*of fish, pearls, sponges, 'choral'. . .
as puerile, as paltry, as asinine as is d. . ." N. E. Martin's poem "When
conceivable in a college community; RD Barks i the Night" is a de-FMEN
but on the other hand, the' feature ar- Dgasindefa isa r ae il gl
titles are often well written. In this lightful idea and fair verse. We are offering a 20% reduction on all Elgin, Waltham
month's issue by far the best contribu- Especial mention should be given Illinois Watches
"tt b ndinJohn Mitchell's "Book Reviews"
tion is the tardily printed "Binding'whei'ein Mitchell takes the -liberty to
Time Through Print" of Arthur Pound expound some of his prejudices which, ' FOR WOMEN
in which Mr. Pound really says some by the way, are far from being imperti-
significant things and makes his talk nnt s e s aalu We are offering a 20 reduction on all white gold and
noticeably' stimulating. The little plea clever American writers, but e suc- on all yellow and green gold wrist watches
for tobogganing, "'Snow Matter" by ceeds in using it to say something-ta
Wallace F. Elliott is an aptly handled success which is deserving of great
feature and hints at a community in- sspf course, Mr Mtchell's e
terest that is worthy of considerationv et ble; but th
at eat.Alo own chinike's"Chim er qestwichabe;puotstchiJeder er&s e f i
at least. Also Bowen Schumaker's fact that he has ethics at all is note-
"Reconstruction of Student Govern- worthy. 'Chimes' which purport to 113 East Liberty Street
ment" is a fair-minded opinion even 1e a "campus opinion monthly" should
though it is uninterestingly written, contain more-articles like "Book Re-
But articles such as "Much Ado - views."
About the 1924 Hop" by Hall De "Chimes" would indubitably be held-' tiIIIIIIIIIIit!iIIIIIIII
Weese, "Perfect Behavior at the Hop" in higher esteem by the student body
by Thornton Sargent and Leo Jay if it limited its articles to those that1=
Hershdorfer, and "I Defy the Faculty" really say something in a popular but CLEA R Y CO L
by Hershdorfer are nothingbut "slap- intelligent manner. As it is, one feels
stick" comedy and would be more val- as though the editors (who compose ,_PREPARES FOR THE HIGHEST SALARIED POSIT!
uable if they were not written at all. their paper excellently) collect two or
"Chimes"- has a mania for this clack- three good papers and then pad their INCLUDING
ery. sheets with prattle for the sake ofINU
The poetry is consistent with a pop- bulk COMMERCIAL TEACHING
In Conjunction with the Normal College
Two Year Life Certificate Course
BUSINESS SERVICE
NEWELL BEBOUT
STENOGRAPHIC TYPEWRITING BOOKKEEPD
"The Death-Dance of the Leaves" by is nearly as sentimental as some of-= ACCOUNTANCY SECRETARIAL MANAGERIAL
Eloise Street is the best contribution J. M. Barrie's. I am not satisfied with G
f GOVERNMENT SERVICE
to the January "Whimsies". Here we the unity of the thing, however, be-
have a real poem, and incidentally cause it seems to me that the author = STENOGRAPHIC BOOKKEEPING
some fine studies in mood.. The plan fails to discriminate between the im- RAILWAY MAIL
of the poem, as you remember, is to portance of Gordon's father and Gord-
mention the winter leaves and then to on. Would it have made any essential Positions Procured for Graduates
recall the leaves as they were in the difference if the title were "Gordon"?=
spring, sumer, and fall, and to con- There was assuredly a purpose in Write for Year Book
lude with the Death-Dance itself. mind when the sketch was written, YPSILANTI MICH. P R. CLEARY
Each division of the subject is blest but I doubt if it was to give a char-
with a lyric which definitely portrays acter sketch of Gordon's father. If
the tone of the season of the year, and that was the conscious purpose, ; IIIIIIIIII iliiiliifIIIIliiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIII iH l ilhitii i ilUliHIIII1iiiiiranwt
raises a question or two, which it though, Mr. Osborn failed to utilize
would be exquisite if the leaves them- his convenient possibilities.
selves could only answer. One regrets The other articles in "Whimsies",
that the first stanza is a bit trite, and although better than the poetry and
that it leaves an impression of over- fiction of "Chimes", are more mediocre
sweetness and sentimentality; but the than the ones mentioned above. - Dor-
iwem as a whole is vital enough to thv Tv1 t tn kr hr l.' f tnn4 ' riom s
a
survive in spite of this. There is such
unity in the piece that any excerpt
lases its chief significance by being
abstracted, but the final Death-Dance
is, in its movement, so superbly a
dance of death that I cannot refrain
from quoting it:
"Dance!
Mad Children of death!
Dance
To the wind's breath:
To the wind's pipe
Through the bare trees.
Dance
To destiny
To life at the lees.
Dance
To time
And the gods of circumstance!
Dance."
The second best article in "Whim-
sies" is probably "Shadows" by Walter
Donnelly. Phe simplicity of its style,
which is nevertheless forceful and
vivid, is very remarkable; and while'
the theme is rather too conventionally
Christmas-like to be original, it is pro-
ductive of beautiful results. Mr. Don-
nelly writes so directly that you trust
him; for you know he will not burden
you with pretty but superfluous
phrases.
Edgar Sluoser's "Dorine" is much
less a literary achievement. He has
an idea, but he has not yet mastered
his rhetoric. I guess that his favorite
authors are Edgar Allan Poe a n d
Sherwood Anderson; but the first-
person beginning of his tale is far
more egotistical than Poe would have
had it, and his revolutionary phrases
are much more obvious and unrestain-
ed than Mr. Anderson, at his best,
would use.
"Gordon's Father" by Paul Osborn
is a fascinating sketch although it
on 1 yer Lazes ersei oo sei tuy y;
John M. de Haan does not properly
define his thoughts; and John Mon-
goli's "Poems" are utterly unworthy
I except the third one, which alone at-
tains this magazine's standard. I re-
gard Egbert R. Isbele's "Comrades" as
'common. The editorial, however, is
very sane criticism, more of which
sort is desirable on the campus.
MITZI
(Continued from Page Four)
son, who it turns out is the countess
dressed as a boy rushes in and is be-
rfriended by John Smith who after
'hearing "him" sing urges him to come
to America as a boy soprano.
In the second act he goes to a party
1 at Madame Kosiankowsky's apart-
ment. This lady turns out to be the
old cook. There Billy changes back
into female dress, very female and
very negligee, and to prevent being
caught with these clothes on, hides in
a large box. Here is where my friend
Joe has something to do.. He comes
in and carries the box to John Smith's
apartment where the last act is laid.
Here the usual clutch takes place fol-
lowed by the usual finale and the usual
curtain on which is painted the un-
usual bal dhead of one of Mr. Ed.
Pinaud's costomers.
Lady Billy came here as a good
show and the audience paid goo&
money for it, which did not go to keep
the Union running or buy food for the
starving Roumanians, so it should be
criticized as a Broadway production.
The least of the necessary things a
musical comedy should have is a plot;
but in my mind there should be con-
siderable more than was apparent
here. Several of the numbers needed
(Continued on Page Seven)
ppearanee ma sel
twear is th
mla . test of its wortfh,
jlhis new acne shoe pos"5
Sesse+s bo*tmgoua tifiea-
unreserved reeommes,
dain-.
Grossand Dietel
117_ -. Washington k