~THE N
CAN DAILY
as
eached Professional Size
_ _v
I GRO9WTH
UoRES SHOW
ars Since "Ifichigendae'
Aijat roduction '.
,s Prospered
FACULTY MEN WANT LUCA L A TMOSPHERE
IN OPERA BUT REALIZE DIFFICULTIES
E Announce Geology Trip
Evanson, 11t%, Muarcb22.-North-
western University Summer Session of
Service
If you want a good neat
jobw . er
attached~ come to
"-Mum-for getter 11mpressions"
_ , .,_.._. T
MIJHtES iAS MADE INSTITUTION
THAT RIVALS FOOTBALL GAMES
Senate tm dit4ey o nd i4 s 0ns .
History Below to Term Show
"UTrepresenttive""
(By Paul L. Einstein)
Eighteen years has seen the Michi-
gan Union Opera grow from a sim-
pie amateurish. presentation of inade-
quately trained comedians and chorus
girls to a finished production ever
coming closer to the realization of
t professional perfection, in spite of
incessant agitation that has been
working for over ten years to change
the nature of the Opera.
"Michigenda," the initial attempt at
} a. 'big' undergraduate. show at the
University was produced at the "New
Whitney Opera House" in 1908. The
hook. t r ftiarirst ofeaifbg was -writ-
ten by Donal Hamilton Haines, '08,
and the music by Roy Welch, '09.
Chiefly a satire on student life and
the professional dignity of certain
campus celebrities, th scenes were
laid in Ann Arbor. A second opera,
written by the author and composr of
i"Michigenda," was "Culture," and in
spite f t title, wa imet with the
samin enthssi i $iat' wIecned isr
predecessor.
Mimes Organized
The 1910 production, "Koanzaland,"'
was marked by the departure from
local settings and the transition from
light opera to musical comedy, and
the two following productions, "The
Crimson Chest" and "Awakened Rmne-
ses" were developed along the same
principles. "Awakened Rameses" was
built around the newly arrived mum-
my in Alumni Memorial Hall, then
just in his freshman year on the cam-
pus.
Mimes was organized in 1913 to
transfer the immediate respnsibility
for the annual show froni the tniIn
proper, and furthpr to egtajijh some
means by which '6en' interesed in
the Opera could be brou tL ko~get er
throughout the year. The first pro-
duction under th& dieedtion, of lihe
newly formed organization,"Contrarie
Mary," was the beginning of elaborate
costuming in these productions and
as a result, the returns for the season
less pretentious offerings. It also
-was-hrf 1StlPrrt ta °'aT~i d
tripr,.appearing aIu- Dtroitand Chi-
cago. 5
"A M oel Daughter" in 1914, was
the first !instance $ a eion Opera,
completely divested o the local color
which had been considered necessary
1thWiifin -of 'a' book for tihis pur-
pose. Its scenes were laid in Paris,
10 allusions to campusi life and -customs
being purposely avoided. At the time
of its presentation, faculty, alumni,
and student body were agreed that the
deviation from previous form was ad-..
visable, for a change, at least.
1916 Marks First Tour
The succeeding year saw the pro-
duction ofn"All that Glitters," which,
lacking both originality and local'
color, first aggravated the question
of local color. Its successor, "Tres
z Rouge," in 1916 was likewise without
local setting or atmosphere, but It had
the "redeeming qualities of excellent!
sets, costuming and music. The 1916
prqduction: was the first to take any-
tling more than a very restricted tour,
making a trip including a number of
Michigan cities, "Fool's Pradise"
was the last production of Mies be-
fore the United $tates entered the
war, while "Let's Go" was the contr-
d bittonof the war-tie influence. The
notable features abot the production
Extend Itinerary
Mr. Shuter took over the direction
of Mimes productions in 1919 and the
first Opera under his supervision was
"Come On Dad." It was greeted with
great success bnd markd a new era
for Michigan Union Operas. "George
Did It" in 1920 reverted to the remi-
niscent type and met with even great-
er success than its predecessor, thus
justifying the argument of those who
disapproved of the abandonment of
local color. "Top o' the Mornin' " was
presented in 1921 and did further cre-
dit to the ability of Mr. Shuter.
Extended itineraries began with the
production of. "Make It For Two,"
the 1922 Opera when twelve out-(X-
town perform'ances were given. T~his
production also introduced more elab-
orate costuming and scenery than had
been included in previous presenta-
tions. "In and Out" continued to stand
off from the local element, as did
"Cotton Stockings," the most recent
! production. The 1924 Opera included
fifteen cities in its tour, among which
were the five largest cities in the
NOT NEW IDEA
"I approve of the idea of making the
Union opera amore representative of
college life,- hit this has 'been attempt-
ed for some time," said' Prof. Ocar J.
Campbell of the English department,
in an interview. Professor Campbell
has been for some time a member of
the conmittee i h charge of selecting
the pla'y fbrthl -annual production.
Professor Campbell explainel that
naturally the committee is limited' in
choice to. what the undergraduates
submit, and the amount of college at-
thosphere in the accepted story is up
to' the student body. Every year it has
been the aim of the committee in
choosing the play, to slect' one con-
taining a representative college atmo-
sphere, according to Professor Camp-
bell, who has served on the committee
for three years.
A greatsmany of the plays submitted
for consideration annually are not
worth reading, and this is especially;
true of those which 'attempt college
atmosphere. The ideal thing, is to
have a book distinctive of college life,
said Professor.Campbc11, but in age-
eral way. It obviously would be un-
desirable to have a plot laden with
local atmosphere that would prove
popular only in Ann Arbor, he said.
.The character of costumes and set-
tng, Professor Campbell explained,'
did not pertain to his field. Regarding
the book for the production, however,
he said that it.was nqt a new nive to
t'y to eliminate its professional char-
acter, as there has always been a tenst
dency toward the culmination of this
wish. The recent books of the opera,
he said, might well have been written
by a Broadway playwright, and it is
desirable to choose one containing
more of the college touch than has
been true in the past.
VEHICLE FOR DISPLAY
In spealting of the resolution of the
University Senate decrying "the ,grow--
ing professional character of 'the
Michigan Union opera," Registrar,.
Arthur G. Hall said yesterday .th he
considered this body "very cons va-
tive and circumspect in their choi e of
words:',; '
"It seems to me that the:: ion
Oe'iJis now a revue, a vehiclejo the
display of gorgeous costumes4nl as
good dancing as can be produced,'"D
Hall pointed out. "I know that the
U i e fficers
and instructors would we cone a real
comic-o era. w.r-ittnadcomposed -by
students. There is certainly a distinc
tion lbetween -two f pes--that produc-
tion which has thought and musio-or
the ond. arangd a 7 r "pe~j tclfa ir ;
the oth rhdhllM
ALUMNI ENTIIUSIA S-1
During the past few years the Union
has been greeted with increasing en-
thusiasm by the alumni. This is par-
ticularly true of "Cotton Stockings,"
for which all the graduates who saw!
it had nothing but praise. In view of
this fact it seems rather ungracious toi
criticize the Opera, which has suc-!
ceeded so well in the thing it set out
to do-namely, to furnish funds for'
the Union,
Nevertheless,. I can't help but feel1
that the Opera does:not take the full-
est advantage of a great opportunity.
It could be3 a unich finer production
from an artistic point of view, This
mears better music, better lines,nore"
humor, and a more'characteristic re-
flection of student life. I do not be-I
lieve that it should necessarily bel
"9igh-brow," but I feel that it needs,,
and deserves, more real ability and
clverness in these features.
I feel that the.Opera should aim' at
something higher than a mere reflec-
tion of''the popular musical revue.
This does not mean that it should
necessarily be given over entirely to
a college background; but it should at
least have some 'relation to college
life'and interests, even if-In view: of
the out of town audiences-this: is
only a general atmosphere, rather
than localized. jokes and songs. In
the latter case, however, it is well to
call to mind the fact that most of the
best and most popular songs of past
Operas have been distinctly college
songs. Some of them, which have
been almost forgotten now, might well
be given again in a review of the best
things in previous Operas. They
could not fail to be effective, especial-
ly with Mr. Shuter's genius for devis-
According to the Registrar's scholar-
fects. And students and alumni
would welcome them.
l realize fully 'how hard it is to
get good -books and good music,. but
that is where the Opera most nleeds
improvement, if it is to be fully
;woltliy of going out beore the world
as a representative Michigan produc-
tion, which will Justify in the eyes of
everyone the'time and money spent on
it. We have gone just as far as we
can in a limited field. What the opera
needs now is to get away from doing
the same limited musical show every
year and try at least to produce some-
thing more worth while.
Troupe Grades
Reach Average
Of University
What kind of grades do the Opera
boys get? Tliat is a question often
heard around the Mimes .theater where
one sees these would-be Rctors prac-
ticing dahlk iighf to h seitg!iO
absolute neglect of all scholastic
duties. Some figu es compiled by
Jack Brisco4 l ,$rpide4tffI
will answertlhis questlon. '
According to he Registrar's scholar-
male stuents i the niversity as
1 ner cent and of fraternities 72.1
per. cent.... Ze.averag..o . hek,, ;
University was 72.4 per cent. Com-
itaigfe gradgfr 0 #d.ig le5ru
ary by the 64 men comprising the cast,
whoruses' and-tommittees-of-the perai
and t.king a general.. average, the
mark of 72.4 per cent was found. This
s eact verage r atreI by a totalk
+f A t t Uiersitd
higher thanrthe average& en, e e
as a whole or by fraternity organiza-
tions.
Hence it would not seem that the
tme spent practicing to be a chorus
girl or a comedian is too great.
Either that or all the bright students-
go into the Opera-the kind that
don't have to study anyway-for their
grades are certainly just as good as
those of. other students.
The hours of each grade received
are as follows: 110 hours of A, 257
hours of B, 382 hours of C, 74 hours
of D, and 40 hours of E. Of these
there were two students who got'17
hours of A each: -William H. Arnold,
'26E, and Willard W Spanagel, '225E.
Another received 13 of A and 3'of B,
and still another .7 of A and 10 of B.
Lionel E. Ames, '24, received 9 hours:
of B, and 6 of , As leading lady he
probably speent more time in ie-
hearsals than any other man in the
Opera.
1924, announces a geology field course
in the Lake Superior region for men'
"This goes to prove," said Briscoe, who are interested in the mining and
"that the work reiuired by tho Opera, working of iron ore. The trip will be
does not interfere with one's school conducted by the department of geo-
work. Of the 64 students in the Operaj logy and geography. "The geology of
one wasexpelled for poor marks, two the Lake Superior region will be
put on probation, and one warned. studied extensively;" the department
This, also is about,the average." :;announces.
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te Artof Entertaining j
TEA-WAGON
that may be.
wheeled to your,
guest s chair, an end-tabl for
convenience, a mellow-ligW 1
lamp, a footstool--will make
our entertaining easier. We
Iave priced them low-6o low
THE WELL-DRESSED man is an Anglo-mniac
this season in the matter of clothes. Ameri7an
men have given a"princely welcome" to the Eng-
lish styles which have taken this country by
storm.
American radaptations and interpretations of
these styles are to be found in the lastest models
from the Daniel Boone Stylists, at prices within
the reach of all.
1
$2 5 to 45,,,!,
- '~I7' "4
3)'
~43 ,4 34 ''4
Essanay*clothes Shbp
214 S. J~'ain St. 3' 604E" betS:
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