Feature Section Ar 4ir 4AF 4kor attu Feature Section VOL. XXXV. No. 123. ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, sun1--XDA, . :i 1, 1925 EIGHT PAGES JUN10I GI X0 r a " - d, ar h: :.v - ptt.....r1oL-i' P L IN SPAIN 4,T Tuesday Night is Date Set for Premier of Annual Junior Girls' Play This Year's Production has Settings in Ann Arbor and Northern Spain Work of Months Nears End as Finishing Touches are Added to Musical Show Spanish Atmosphere Prevails + . ?'''l Upper Left: Dorothy Waldo, part of Jim Bentley (Rentsch- ter photo). Dorothy Ogborn, part of Bob (Dey photo). Upper Center: Norma B. Bicknell, general chair- man, junior Girls' play (Rentschler photo). Upper Right: Margaret Wilkins, part of part of Marjorie Hentley (Rentschler photo). ..r ........~. .. S. I Center Left: Margaret Effinger, part of Mr. Billings (Dey photo). Center Right: Mary Lou Miller, part of Jose (Rentschler photo). Loner Left : Elizabeth Blackwood, assistant general chairman, Junior Girls' play. Lower right: Amy Loom director of Junior Girls' play. Center: Chorus of Spanish girls. 1. + +' /A A+ I = ,i N, /.. I tI /00, W By Phoebe Bent *WHILE the Junior girls are not going to to build castles in Spain for everyone who ,goes to see their play, they are go- ing to deliver two and one half hours' entertainment for the approval of all who see it. There are only two acts in the play, the first open- ing in a dormitory for girls where a party is being given for faculty and students alike. Business men and professors jostle elbows familiarly. It is worth the price of admission to see how they do it. It is discovered that all the guest assembled at the party are there for one purpose, to acquire in some fashion (any fashion being acceptable as is understood before the play has progressed very far) funds to complete the Women's League building. A worthy purpose, you will agree. And when you dis- cover that-in the play-even professors and "fussers" are pleading for the building you will un- derstand just how vitally necessary it becomes to fulfill the need. There are two love affairs to be watched as the play progresses, two pairs of dis- concerted lovers when fate intervenes, one triangle well developed, and one jealous Spanish girl, to say nothing of the Supervisor of League deportment and her "once in a life time." Of course, there is a wealthy old uncle who is just about to give the needed money but wants to be coaxed a little, teased a little and bullied a little. He gets it all, the prb- fessors coax him; the co-eds tease him and the supervisor bullies him. And then a hitherto per- fectly respectable Spanish student falls in love and leads professors, business man, co-eds and supervi- sor all astray. The second act is laid in a small Spanish village in the mountains of northern Spain. There has been a general immigration from the University of Michi- gan including professors and all the other interested characters. It is disclosed that one of the professors wishes to see a bull-fight and the manner in which he sees it proves to be startlingly funny. The jeal- ous Spanish girl mentioned previously takes an ac- tive part in stirring up trouble for everyone con- cerned-and so the play progresses. Startling as it seems there are more male charac- ters in the cast this year than female. Following is a list of the major participants: Jim, Dorothy Waldo; Marjorie, Mary Van Buren; Bob, Dorothy Ogborn; Sally, Margaret Wilkins; Mr. Billings, Mar- garet Effinger; Jose, Mary Lou Miller; Miss Turner, Harguerite Dutton; Professor Harley, Dorothy Pud- rith; Professor Black, Jane White; Professor Green, Elaine Stevely; Professor Brown, Henrietta Voor- Iheis; Mrs. Harley, Genevieve Goodman; Miguel, Al- I After having created a definite reputation for her- self and her dramatic work here on the campus she went to New York where she attended the Academy of Dramatic Art, for a year, later becoming a part of the Montauk Stock company of Brooklyn. She con- sidered a long time before finally accepting the po- sition offered her by the junior girls. It doubtless seemed something of an undertaking and it has turned out to be all that she had expected. The play that has been given Miss Loomis to work with was prepared by a committee of three junior women, Ruth Carson, chairman, Helen Ram- say and Lucy Wilson. The Spanish atmosphere of the second act allows of a worthwhile scenic effect. While the sets will not be extremely elaborate this year, they will be of a modern design and something more artistically and technically correct than the average musical show. The first act scene will be the interior of a dormitory on this campus, carrying out the idea of the Italian renaissance period, with its long grilled windows and arched doorways. It will have an arcade effect and the series of arches will divide the stage into two levels, an effect which is said to be quite new and unusually distinctive in this type of production. The second act set is in the mountainous region of northern Spain, depicting a small village. landits, Spanish officers and matadors will lend to the scenic effect. O. S. Davis of Detroit has made the sets for this year's production. They were taken from old sketches of Spanish life found in the col- lection of the Detroit public library. 'l'he bac- ground( 1s suggested by the landscas (1of Z til aga n limp ___ __I that the tunes are quite catchy and that many of them, particularly the dance numbers are extremely appropriate. The Spanish setting of the second act lends itself unusually well to picturesque music and chorus work, and songs for this act are notable for their typically Spanish rhythm. There are 14 num- hers in the complete scores which will be placed on sale the day of the opening of the play. The score cover will be a reproduction of the poster that is being exhibited in several stores in the city dur- ing the play. Rehearsals of the entire cast have been held at various intervals during the preparation for the pro- duction of the play. It is believed by those most intimately connected with the play that "Castles in Spain" will be a good production. Arrangements of the dances have been done by a dance committee, appointed at the beginning of the year by the general committee, assisted by the direc- tor who has brought from New York new ideas for steps that should inject an entirely new spirit into this year's play. The dances are remarkable for their effectiveness both in execution and idea. The Spanish coloring of the last half of the play has given a number of opportunities for the introduction of various Spanish specialty numbers. Costumes are being made by the costume comn- mittee except two sets which will cone from Christy, in New York. They are the Matadors and the Span- is!i shawls used in the second act. "Thank You ladam" last year's play bore the re- sponsibility of nroving definitelv that nublic pre- their performances from other campus productions, the Union Opera in particular, would vanish in an effort to popularize the undertaking.. "Jane Climbs a Mountain," given by the class of 1924, was present- ed to the public as an experiment and seemed to elicit praise from all sources. It was still fanciful with that touch of amateurishness which women playing the parts of men necessarily give. The Junior Girls' play has always had local color incorporated in its book.. Much of the. comedy de- pends on satire about current Michigan customs, especiallly since one of the acts is laid in Ann Arbor. Besides the technical possibilities of each perform- ance of the play, however, it is an institution well established in the lives of Michigan women. It fur- nishes in an admirable way the means for the junior class to become better acquainted. Last year especially an unusual endeavor was made to incorporate local jokes and situations in an effort to disclaim the idea that campus productions tend to become professional as they progress. Prof. John R. Brumm who has previously directed the play is in Europe this year. For the past ten years he has had entire charge of directing and producing each Junior Girls' play. This year the play should be very unique in every way having an entirely new director and inspiration. A tradition of the play not ordinarily stressed but very vital is that as many girls as is possible are incorporated in the cast. This of course neces- sitates using people who have never before partici- pated in anything of this sort, giving to the direc- tor an additional worry. It is surprising to see how quickly the steps are picked up and how uniformly executed. Even some of the cast members are new at the game, having no previous experience. Doubt- less the enthusiasm and spirit of good fellowship that pervades the preparation of the play is in part responsible for the finished state of the production. The book last year was slight, as a musical comedy book should be. It was about a college boy who fell in love with a co-ed who later became a movie star and almost inaccessible. His efforts to attain her and retain his dignity furnished the gist of the story which was well carried out. Each- year a comedy part stands out as unusual and last year was no exception. - It is hard to prophecy of course but it is expected this year that Marguerite Ainsworth as the active bookagent and Jane White as a typical professor will carry off the honors. Special attention has been given to details this year in every respect, concerning the play itself, the scenery proper and the actual casting. Featured in the second act of the plav is a bunch of "siemDre _...... ... , senior women. Growth and tradition have gone to- gether through the twenty one years of the. play's existence. Two years ago it was op)ened to the general public, prior to that time only women were allowed to attend. With the change the play itself broadened and grew----and it is still growing. Especially is this growth apparent in this year's music. It will be played by a professional orchestra with Phil Diamond, well-known Ann Arbor musi- c(iai, directing. With eight pice s in his ensemble and the music specially orichn nit r ed for him by a