SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1924
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
itr- a
g
^
Atusic and Drama
rxr
t 4p t
4t
le
IA'
r l
,K
-_. 2
M ore About The Opera I The Background Union, an honorary dramatic society i taken .America was in the war and
I y ~IntneI~~ whose duyit was todirect tefuture Ann Arbor became turned into a miii-
YI ho e uy t wa t 'di et hef tu e An A b r e am t r edi to a ii-1By Valentine Davies ;productions came into being. The first tary camp rather than a Universit
(Continued from Page Ten) chanacters ar ania hfii cent. Enhanced "Michigenda," the first Union Opera presentation under the new organi-car campus. imes managed to produce
a Chinese who has been wandering by the Iely colored settings, the which was produced in the spring of eationwasContrarie nary," the 1913 an pera. that year however which re-
throughout the world and has just speindor of the 1925 show is expected 1908, was the immediate result of lack opera, which was taken on the road fected the spirit of the times in that
found his way hack to his native land of funds on thepart of the then em- for a short trip, and thus a new prob- the scenes were here and in the war
to srurpa;s even the exquisite display 1 par rp rb
and aged, but haidly weary soul, is of lasti yr bryonic Michigan Unio. The Union, lem was brought before Mimes. For zone and thecharacters were chiefly
,the comedy lead. Gordon Ibbotson, '27, which had opened the year before as a this had been the first Union Opera officers, and nurses: Due to the fact
as Professor Tromnbs, an eminent arch- Th"' tii)p irranged Ior this year's club for the men on the campus found which had ever been seen outside of that it was impossible to muster
gcologist from the University of Opera includes Grand Rapids, Sagi- that the old county fairs and circuses Ann Arbor and it now became evident enough men who were not engaged in
Michigan, also has an important naVw, Bay City, Port Huron, Flint, De- did not bring in enough to enable the that if future operas were to make some sort of war work, women for
iomic role, singing a song entitled trait, Toledo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, continuance of the various student I trips they would have to be of a type the first and only time taken into the
"Archaeology" and ,delivering an ex- 1Milwaukee, r nd Chicago, with one per- activities which the Union at that time which would make a more universal cast. That year was Mimes' worst
frniance in each of thesec cities ex-
tensive dissertation on "Why What undertook. "Michigenda" was the appeal and be of interest to those not for no worthwhile amount of time
Is Is Good Enough". The Russian cept Detroit where there are four per- work of Donal Hamilton Haines, '08, intimately connected with the Uni- could be lavished on the piece and it
countess and her companion playedormae and Chicago where there of the journalism department' and a versity life. is not usually classed as among the
by Robert Henderson, '26, and Lyman will lbe two. As has always been the imember of the Mimnes committee on "The Model Daughter" in 1914 average Union Operas.
Bright, '25, are also the means for Icase in lprevious years, alumni in the Opera books. The music was written showed the working of this influence With the renewal of peace and the
introducing a new element of humor cities whv~ich tl' Opera will visit have by Roy Welch, '09 and the setting was which ultimately was to result in the rc';ival of learning and general rout-
into the play. Both are derived from aain signified their intentions of en- in Ann Arbor, the Opera taking the absolute disassociation of the Opera ine at Michigan came a desire for a
the great Russian dramas and novels tertaining the company en masse. The form of a satire on campus life. from the Campus. It had no allusions greater expansion of the Opera. It
and their conversation is even more company will travel in three private The first Opera was highly success- whatsoever to local events or pecu- so banpened that during the summer
amusing than the Chauve Souris and cars, carrying the stage properties ful, both because of its immediate liarities and was the first of a series of 1917 the general chairman of the
other Russian players, and is in Eng--and costumes in a special baggage popularity with the student body and of productions which were to follow next year's production witnessed a
lish besides. Charles Livingstone, car exclusively for Opera properties. because of the financial aid it brought this precedent. This tendency \Was to per-ormance of society amateurs given
'25, who represents the college girl, During the fifteen performances on the Union. The next year the Union have two effects on the future of the under the auspices of the American
sthe road "Tickled to Death" will play ddertothehe production of a second Opera. First, it was to allow expan- Red Cross and for the ediflcation of
more comnonly spoken of as co-ed, in to 28000people.y opera, "Culture" which also played sion of mechanical production as well the soldiers in the various camps
"Tickled to Death" as Marceline Pot- ito 28,000 people.
The war conveniently ended in time
to permit Mr. Shuter to come to Ann
Arbor and take charge of the first
post-war performance. The rehear-
sals were held on the rough cement
floors of the then bare shell of the
Union and the equipment was by no
rmeans what it is to-day.
Nevertheless, "Come On Dad," Mr.
Shuter's first Mimes production, was
the best Opera that Mimes had ever
presented and was the beginning of
the series of which "Tickled To
Death" will be the seventh, which
has made the Michigan Union Opera
the outstanding college presentation
of this country today. The aim of
the new series was toward a greater
perfection of every detail and a corn-
plcte reversal from the old amateur
spirit which even after the trips be-
gan still was noticeable in the annual
efferings. Dancing of an entirely new
type was introduced and scenery and
costumes became startlingly elabor-
ate.
Mr. Shuter next offered, "George
Did It" recalled definitely the old days
when a picket fence surrounded the
PM I t w arii dwith m h
successful. It was al;, at ths n
that the new Mir)-s tli-,;re w
used. The entire ; g was a
to what had fa ut
hall of tle ol a
added. The ;Jr~a iae sK '
the most cowpti'+p n
in Ann A rb'a a d cwIi n~ ~d'
scene dock, room to :i the sd
costumes and scenery which is kel t
from year to year. All the scenery
for the Operas since that time have
been constructed by master carpen-
ters in the Mimes theatre and all the
painting and lighting effects are com-
pleted there.
"In and Out" the 1923 offering was
a Dutch opera and the settings and,
costumes were decidedly unusual and
attractive. The trip took in practical-
ly all the important cities of the Mid-
dle West 'and it met with such popu-
larity that plans were made to take
it east the next year.
"Cotton Stockings" took the road a
year ago on the most extensive tour
ever attempted )y a Michigan Opera.
Including all of the largest cities in
the country, it played to cities whose
populations totaled 15,500,000 persons.
ter continues the attitude of the mas- Essentially different from "Cotton
'uline members of the student body Stockings" in every respect, "Tickled
"in "razzing" the weaker sex. "She" I to Death" has however as great or
sings of campus life in the much dis- greater drawing power than any of
cussed vocabularly of the half-civil- its predecessors. Mimes proposes to
ized flapper, and sheds light upon the judge the success of this compromise
successfully at the Whitney theatre.
"Culture" abounded in local color,
and Haines and Welch were again thet
authors of the book and music. With
the success of this second productiont
in 1909 the Opera as an institution
was assured.
7,-1----- ~ - - 1
h'
S oblems which she herco an-he musical comedy-tevue Iocal color became unpopular for
Ions face, in "Vamping." Charles type of "Make It For Two", "In and use in opera plots, and the next three
Higley, '26, as Galahad Jump is the Out", and "Cotton Stockings" and the operas, "Koansaland," "The CrimsonU
helpless college man who has been semi-local comic opera type repre- Chest," and "The Awakened Rameses,"
"compromised" in a moment of ec- sented by the 1925 Opera. It is for 1 took the audiences to African junglesc
static bliss under the Venetian moon. the University public to judge what and Egyptian plains. During these
q ,-. fis plight is a further 'comic element sort of production they best like, but years the popularity of the operaI
"t etlecting the student attitude in love a further point of consideration not steadily grew and with it a demanda
oy affairs. The poor fellow! to be overlooked is the view point of for a complete and elaborate produc-t
Lively dialogue carries the thread persons who are not intimately con- tion. It was felt that in order to do is
,- of the story of the little white girl nected with the University any longer, I this a definite organization should bev
along rapidly, and songs and chorus- but who once had close personal asso- formed which would undertake thet
es are introduced in a most delicate ciations with Ann Arbor and its stud- ' active work of producing the Operas.I
manner, always fitting into their place ent life. Thus the Mimes of the Michiganc
with remarkable ease. Several songs
asung in trio and quartet are anlinno-
"vation in this year's Opera, and lend _
K :further to the character of th'e pro-;-
duction as a comic opera. "The
'League of Notionls", a comic song rid-
iculing certain of the high and
Amighty, is sung by Edward Brown- -
bridge, '25, as Egg Fu Yung, together
-ith Tu Yung and the Russian noble-
rnan, while Galahad, Ivan Awfulitch,
Tu Yung, and Egg Fu Yung sing a
S ,,number called "Here's to the Girls"
In quartet. The theme of the "Love
is Fate" number predominates
a 'throughout th'e entire opera. ,-
r~a :< The orchestra composed of sixteen
pieces under-the direction of Anthony
.0.Whitmire, a member of the School
tf Music faculty, will accompany the
g:pera on its entire trip. All of the?
members are capable musicians and = -
give evidence of furnishing a large
force for the success of the produc-
tion. All of the music was arranged
by George S. Hurst, prominent in
New York theatrical circles as the
arranger for all of Jerome Kern's
niusical shows. He also did the ar- 320 Liberty
ranging for "Cotton Stockings" last
~yar. .
! -iPhone 294-Fl'
yCostuming in "Tickled to Death" is
again being done by Lester, the fa-
nious Chicago costumer whose crea-
ti ons for Mimes productions in the F
past several years have been an im-
portant factor in the success of those '
offerings. The opportunities afforded
py. to the costumer by the Chinese set- --
ting and abundance of Chinese char-! i@tilill Ii I i9 ii t11D dt111t @[li
y acters have given him new fields for
w exploitation and his creations for the i
oriental as well as the American
as plot and dialogue, which result- throughout the East. The show was campus.awseiveciLmh " -"' .,'
ed, after the arrival of Mr. Shuter, in one of the best that he had ever seen enthusiasm as it was the first opera The tour embraced 26,000 miles, a dis-
the Mimes presentation reaching a amateur or otherwise and he imine- which had dealt with Michigan life tance equal to that covered by many
level which is equal to if not above diately became interested. It develop- for many years. In spite of the hit road companies of big professional
that of any college show of its kind ed that the play had been directed by which the local setting had made the productions in a year. With an en-
in this country. The other effect was a Mr. E. Mortimer Shuter, who had year before, the 1920 opera had no terprise that represented the invest-
to get farther and farther away from been connected with many Broadway reference to the University of Michi- iment of $75,000, Mr. Shuter took pos-
the original spirit of the annual plays plays in the Past and who, finding gan at all but was an Irish atmos- session of Broadway and left that
and to cause mucl unfavorable corn- himself unable to join the service as phere play, "Top O' the Morning," famous theatrical center with a repu-
ment on this account. the result of a serious attack of which met with as much success as its tationafortMichigaL and for lhimself.
The next two years marked an in- typhoid, volunteered to do what he predecessor. His star, the sames Lionel Ames who
t - 1 took the middle west by storm a yeatir
crease in the deviation from localisms. could by way of amusing the dough- Enlarged itineraries began with lefore, was 'the talk of Broadway.
"All That Glitters" in 191.5 and "Tres bays. "Make It For Two," the 1922 offering. Washington society turned out en
Rouge" in 1916 were both without The general chairman managed to The trip was moved from the shorter s
any reference to Ann Arbor. lDuring meet Mr. Shuter and tell him of the spring vacation to the Christmas msoductin that made its debut there
these years the tri) was taken (lur- I Mimes productions and of their de- iolidays, allowing the opera to' visit the samne week, and "Cotton Stoci.-
ing the spring vacations and (lid not sire for a director to take charge of a much larger number of cities. This sthe
var toan riptoo insuh ctie asCleelad;I tugs "wath talk of the cffldial ctlo
vary to any particular extent from the general production. It was agreed took in such cities as Cleveland d a week following.
those of the past. 1917 saw "Fool's i th ut should the war end before the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Chicago. ______aweekfolowing.
Paradise" and this was to be last nest Opera was ready to be put on, I That edition was even more elaborate ad
tf the more or less amateurish Operas, ( Mr. Shuter would be willing to con- than the past few under the new di- Read the W ant Ads
for before the next edition was under- sider coming west and helping out. rection, and the trip proved quite
1
ti
3
r
Largest Stock in the City
JOHNSTON'S, BURBANK'S
BUN\TE'S CANDIES
In Beautiful Presentation
Boxes
Now is the Time
to Select Your
Christmas Cards
and
Gift Box
Stationery
Before you realize it Christmas and New Year's will
be here. Don't neglect this little but so very important mat-
ter-make your selection now, from a complete and varied
assortment of new designs--the kind that are different, y-t
sure to pca1c. Avoid the last minute rush.
The Stationery and Typewriter Stores
14 and 17 Nickels' Arcade
,
E
s
4
F
WE WRAP
AND MAIL.
The Arbor Fountain
313 South State
- .,4,,.:. ..
. :
"as. uw....ur b..,..a ...44 .. u s e wm.. a..M......c c
t
it
afY
S G^
,s
r°
,k
y
4Y
r±
M
ioc
J
J'
S
a
T
R
THEA TRES
Charlot's Revue of 1924 will open
at the Schubert Detroit theatre to-
night with Beatrice Lille, Gertrude
Lawrence, Sam B. Hardy, and Her-
,bert Mundin as its quartet of leaders.
With it comes the entire English com-
pany that has been entertaining New
York for the past three months. One..
of the features of the revue is that .
every girl in the chorus, while repro-
senting English beauty, plays a part
in a production that has scored I
heavily in popularity because of its
originality.
Irving Berlin's third annual "Music
Box Revue" comes to the New Detroit
theatre tomorrow night for a week's
run, and Anatol Friedland's novelty S d iS O S
revuette, "Anatol's Affairs of 1924" is
the unusual headliner announced at ..
13. F. Kieth's Temple theatre. Dc For the discrimiatig man we
Wolf Hopper will remain another Ime 'ith Smart Shoes.
week at the Garrick in revivals of fCommenu '5lLiSh .
Gilbert and Sullivan's operas. T1is footwear is fashioned from
Anna havlowa, Premiere sian ibe finet of leathers-and the
danseuse, will come to Orchestra hall .~
Thursday, December 11, for a thre -mstyles are always the very latest.
lay engagement. She will open with
the new Spanish ballet, "l)on Quix-
ote," with its scenes laid in Spain,
'round-about Barcelona. It is in pro-
logue and two acts, and calls for a
cast of 125 people. Friday night Pav-
Iowa will revive two of her favorites -
of six years ago, "Coppelia" and
"Flora's Awakening," and Saturday
Just as we recommTend
A Laundry Service We
Guarantee Will Please
t
iz
_;
,;
Sincerely we make this statement
not only to demonstrate our aims as
laundry men, but also mark our place
i nthe community which we serve.
Of course, if you are a user of the
Varsity Service, you will verify our
claim, and if you are not, we would
like to, suggest to you a possibility of
our service. Surely, then, you will be
Abe to verify this trust.
I}
I
tO.
u Il
PHONE 2076 OR 2077
III