Feature Section it igan suit Feature Section Vbl.XXX I. NO. 63 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1925 TWELVE PAGES BEHOLD- "TAMBOURINE" Work Ends On Twentieth Annual Union Production As First Night Draws Near, Ready For Premiere Monday lHE outstanding feature on the campus for the next week will be the appearance at the Whitney theatre of Mimes' latest and most pretentious production, "Tambourine." For 20 years the Union has sponsored musical produc tions of the same general nature as the offering which opens next week, but this opera is the mhost elaborate and highly developed musical comedy ever turned out by University dramatic circles. In presenting "Tambourine", the producers have kept in mind their former production "Cotton Stockings" and the stamp of approval which their patrons gave to this, offering. It has prompted them to produce an opera, which, for dancing, book, music and production is, in their opinion, the most efficient of their 20 years in the college opera field. The opera this year is a two-act comedy wtih a prologue. The scene is laid in an imaginary Balkan kingdom during the present century. The plot centers about an enchanting princess, who,- on the day of her scheduled marriage to the king of a neighboring country, runs away to join a gypsy band. She proceeds to fall madly in love with the captain of the king's guards, who prom- ises her every protction. While the king con- tinues to searcli for the princess, an American adventuress apears, ambitious for a titled hus- band. The development of the plot is ingeniously carried out with the American woman becoming hopelessly entangled in court affairs. The title of the book is particularly fitting in that the atmosphere of the production is complete- ly dominated by the brilliant and colorful gypsy band. Several musical numbers feature the gypsies, who dance with tambourines in one of the principal settings of the show. HE OPERA will he produced by a larger 1 company than in any previous year, more than ioo men comprising the cast, choruses, or- chestra, and committees. "Cotton Stockings," which scored such a tremendous hit in the East two years ago, had a company of 75. Twelve more will be used in the choruses this 'year, bringing the number to 48 as compared to 36 in "'Tickled To Death," the 1924 show. The cast will number ten as did that of the production last year. The men carry the female as well as the male parts, characters being selected for the cast and "chorus parts that are suited to female roles. The popular slogan adopted by the Union operas of past years is, "Our handsomest girls are men." The part of the princess is played by Daniel S. Warner, '27. Playing the leading female role, Warner is expected to score a decided success in this year's opera, since the book was written es- pecially to feature his acting and dancing. Warner had one of the leading parts in last year's opera, "Tickled To Death", and at that time was recog- nized by critics for his remarkable impersonation work and was acclaimed a coming star. His presence in the opera again this winter will un- doubtedly be one of the outstanding attractions of the 1925 production. The male lead is played by Russell A. Goh- ring, '27. He had the leading juvenile role in last year's play, and scored a hit with his acting and pleasing baritone voice. The complete cast is as follows: The Princess, Daniel S. Warner; Cap- tain of the Guards, Russell A. Gohring; The King of Slavonia, Barre Hill; The Black Queen, Robert B. Henderson; Johann, friend of the Princess, Stanley Lewy; The Diplomat,Gordon M. Ibbotson; The Duke of jugania, Otto Koch; The Captain of the Gypsy 'Band, Neal Nyland; Ezra Sniggs (the comedian), Valentine Davies; Babe Ladeer (the comedienne), Richard IH. Lutes. I N addition to the cast and choruses, an orches- tra made up of students accompanies the show and plays all the music for the songs and dances. The orchestra, which is composed of 24 pieces, an enlargement of eight pieces over last year, will be under the direction of Anthony Whitmire, a member of the faculty of the School of Music. Committees of approximately i5 students also go with the opera on the trip. These committees are so arranged that most of the work of the opera is done by them. A make-up committee applies and cares for the make-up, a costume com- mittee arranges and cares. for all of the costumes -and other details. In all, three pullman cars and a baggage car are required to carry the party on the trip., Key To Pictures; LEFT, from top to bottom: Daniel S. Warner, '27, leading lady; Milton Peterson, '26, show girl; Stanley Lewy, '28L, leading male dan- cer; Daniel Warner. RIGHT, fron top to bottom: Daniel Warner appears in the first and second; Milton Peterson; Henry Lathrop, '27, show girl. BOTTOM, from left to right: Daniel Warner and Stanley Levy; Milton Peterson, Stanley Lewy, and Henry Lathrop; Henry Lathrop and Stanley Lewy. Lester, of Chicago, famous costumer, whose creations for Mimes productions in the past sev- eral years have been an important factor in -the success of those offerings, again will design and create all of the costumes. He personally comes to Ann Arbor each year to make measurements and to select the costumes which will be the most fitting for each type of man in the show. As a result, the extravagance and splendor that rmarks each dress and suit makes the show seem a parade of the finest and most luxuriant of fashions rather than a light musical comedy in which men alone take part. The opportunities afforded to the costumer by the gypsy.settings and the abun- I nce of gypsy characters have given Lester new elds for exploitation and his creations for the Bohemian as. well as the American characters are magnificient. During the last summer Lester personally toured central Europe, accumulating ideas and materials for the gowns in this year's production., D ANCING, both in instruction and creation of numbers, is under the personal direction of Roy Hoyer, leading man with Fred Stone in his well-known success "Stepping Stones." Hoyer spends -several weeks with the chorus candidates every spring, instructing them in the new steps, and returns several times each fall to oversee the work. In this way the dancing in the opera is made professional in aspect. E. Mortimer Shuter, director, will again handle the production of this year's show. Since 1918 Mr. Shuter has developed the entire pre- sentation of Union operas, including the selection of the books and the training of the cast and choruses. Since his affiliation with the Union, he has directed seven successful operas : "George Did It", "Top Of The Morning", "Make It For Two", "In And Out", "Cotton Stockings", and "Tickled To Death." Under his direction Mimes is this year producing an opera that partakes of several of the new tendencies in the musical comedy today. The outstanding dances of "Tam- bourine" are character and gypsy dances, which offer a rare opportunity for artistic work. The chorus numbers are produced on a gigantic scale, larger than ever before, 48 persons appearing in a number of the choruses. These are arranged in two divisions, one composed of the "girls" and one of the men. The members of the choruses are nearly all experienced in the art of dancing, most of them having appeared in operas previous to the current edition. The singing in "Tambourine" is of a calibre far superior to that of previous years, for those who have leading vocal roles are students of voice culture as well as actors. The main body of the singing is carried by Barre Hill, who is gifted with a voice of remarkable richness and carrying. power. T HE trip arranged for this year includes Chicago, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Flint, Detroit, Buffilo, New York City, Philadel- phia, Washington, i Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo, with one performance in each of these cities except Detroit, where there will be three. Members of the company have been assured hearty receptions in each of the cities where they appear. Friends and alumni, as has always been the case in previous years, have planned numerous and varied social functions for the entertainment of the Michigan men during their afternoon and evening in each city. The culmination of eight months of continual worln in preparation for "Tambourine" will come' Monday night with the premiere performance at the Whitney theatre. For 20 years the Union has sponsored operas, but with rise of the curtain Monday the public is promised the most novel and dazzling spectacle ever staged by a group of college men. Since the first opera, the dressmaker and the make-up box have 'softened somewhat those astonishing discrepencies between the covered and the uncovered parts of the anatomy of the members of the company. In the early days the boys used costumes cast off by profes- sional companies, altered to a questionable fit, and make-ups that neglected the sinews of the graceless arms of gridiron stars or the knotty calves of trackmen. They pinched themselves into tight corsets, wore shoes never meant for males, and did their best to act most feminine. Since Mimes of the Michigan Union was or- ganized to "raise to the highest possible level the standards of the books, lyrics and music, to pro- mote efficiency in all departments of the opera management, sand to furnish a nucleus around which shall center during the year, interest in matters operatic", the operas have been more elaborate, and well up to professional standards. Growing as it has from a crude and incompletely directed local show of early Union history to the almost professional production that it is to-day, the Union opera has become an institution that lives and gathers its reputation by entertaining the public, and for this purpose the Union offers "Tambourine" as "the opera extraordinary." mn 11