T E MICHIGAN DAILY

SUNDAY; MAY 3, 1931

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III

KMUSIC NDoDRAMAN

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SPEAKING OF CLASSICS
by Blanche Yurka.
It has been said that "great art
has no limits of locality or time."
"No limits" is possibly a slight ex-
aggeration. The modern mind is not
too agile nor especially sympathe-
tic in its exercise of the retrospec-
tive imagination. Recent efforts
toward re-visualizing the medieval
or antique world have been chiefly
concerned with the destructive pro-
cess which fixes its eyes so firmly
on the idol's clay feet, that the eyes
fail to travel upward far enough to
ascertain whether the god-head
may not be in the clouds after all.
An art transcends these limita-
tions of "locality and time" when
one or two happy circumstances are
contributed: when the work of art
in question finds itself before an
audience sufficiently appreciative,
sufficiently eager, emotionally, to
seek, to find the similarity in all
fundamental emotion rather than
to dwell upon the alien surface with
which it presents itself. The second
deciding factor is the equally happy
circumstance of its finding inter-
preters who are vitally alive to, and
fully equipped to interpret the
beauty or power which has survived
the ages.
In the theatre of very recent
years we have seen a curious para-
dox. We hear on all sides of the
passing of the "legitimate" theatre
-the dying interest in allsave
"canned" and mechanical enter-
tainment. Yet we see and have seen
this so-called moribund theatre
presenting one great classic play
after another with a freshness of
imagination, a beauty of production
heretofore deemed unnecessary, un-
available, certainly unusual in "the
goodold days."
We are, to be sure, still a long
way from the mental habits of any
adult middle-European community,
where a steady recurrence of the
great literature of the stage upon
the public boards would no more
be dispensed with than would the
giants of music in an orchestral
series. But we may yet grow to such
1artistic stature.
Such a season as the series of
professional plays and players in
the beautiful new Mendelssohn
theatre at the University of Michi-
gan in Ann Arbor-preceeded by a
"flying tour" through the East and
Middle West of the "Electra"-is
a definite step in this direction. A
program of such variety, ranging
from the thrilling power of the
"Electra" of Sophocles, through the
acid brilliance of Shaw and Strind-
berg, into the gayest of modern
sophiticates like Noel Coward in
his "Private Lives,' can surely bring
into the theatre every imaginable
exercise of the faculty of enjoy-
ment.
It can send out a series of audi-
ences equipped to know and de-
mand the best; not dull, "worthy"-
academic "beats," involving labor-
ious dutiful endurance of greatness
-but a public excitingly acquaint-
ed with the products of master
minds to know when they are being
played for all they are worth; and
honestly able to recognize and un-
mercifully condemn when they are
not.
T he average man is too prone to
forget (if he even has bothered to
think about it at all!) that a classic
play became such only because its
vitality, its beauty or its wit was
undefeatable by time-was an un-
married thing of "joy forever." It
is his right to work for-to demand

E that "joy"-or that power to stir
l his emotions which must have been
a part of the original performances.
We have seen in our modern
theatre a "Lysistrata" as gay and
timely as she was two thousand
years ago; a "Hamlet" as unforget-
able in its lucid intelligence; a
"Cherry Orchard' so real and mov-j
ing as to haunt one for days; a
"Romeo and Juliet" touchingly
young and ravishinglydbeautiful..
We have seen 'a production of
Ibsen's "The Wild Duck" so poig-
nantly blending tragedy with humor
that, as John Weaver once said of
it-"every laugh hurt."
That is what "the Classics" can
mean to all of us-what they can
do to an audience. We find dilutions
of these plays in almost every suc-
cessful modern play we see. You
find your Hjalmar Ekdahl from
"The Wild Duck" masquerading as
Aubrey Piper in "The Show-Off."
Hedda Gabler walks in paler form
in "The Unchastened Woman."
"Juliet" again is the pitiful heroine
in "Coquette." Indeed, if it shock
you not too deeply, in "Abie's Irish
Rose" (of tender memory) we had
the Montaaes ande the Cannipt

Burr

0

Patterson 's
GREAT MAY
JEWELRY
SALE
Offering practically our entire stock
of high grade Fraternity Jewelry at
huge savings. As we do not care to

TYPEWRITER
REPAIRING
All makes of machines.
Our equipment and per-..M
so n n e1 are considered
among the best in the State. The result
of twenty years' careful building.
O. D. MORRILL
314 South State St. Phone 6615
H. W. CLARK
LADIES' SHOE
SPECIALIST
LADIES' HALF SOLES.. ....60c
MEN'S HALF SOLES... .....75c
1113 So. University Ave.
Our Weekly Financial
Letter Contains
Analysis of
Drug Inc.
Union Pacific
Copy on request
WATLING
LERCHEN &
HAYES
Daily Market Letter
Members
New York Stock Exchange
New York Curb Exchange
(Associate)
Detroit Stock Exchange
Mezzanine Floor
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
BLDG.
Phones: 23221-23222
School of
Concer ts
(No Admission Charge)
SCHOOL OF MUSIC TRIO,
Faculty Concert, Wassily Besekir-
sky, Violinist, Hanis Pick, Violon.
cellist, Joseph Brinkman, Pianist,
Sunday, May 3, 4:15, Mendels-
sohn Theatre.
RAYMOND MORIN, Pianist,
Student's Recital, Tuesday, May 5,
8:15, Mendelssohn Theatre.
PALMER CHRISTIAN, Organist,
in Organ Recital every Wednes-
day, 4:15, Hill Auditorium unless
otherwise announced.

carry this

line over the summer

vacation, we are marking prices
so extremely iow that everything will
sell within a short time.

20% to 30% Discount
Some Articles as much
as 50% off
Crested Rings
Cigarette Cases
Necklaces
Bracelets
Lighters
Compacts
Charms
These are only a few of the many
items which go into this stupendous
sale.
ALL NEW JEWELRY
EACH PIECE OF JEWELRY IN-
CLUDED IN THIS SALE IS
BR AND NEW THIS YEAR,
WITH THE FAMOUS _ BURR
PATTERSON QUALITY. MANY
ITEMS IN STOCK LESS THAN
A MONTH.
EVERYTHING PRICED TO SELL!
COME IN AND SEE OUR
STOCK WHILE IT IS STILL
COMPLETE.

0-
Festival
Hill Auditorium, May 13, 14, 15,
16.
Tickets (6 concerts) $6.00, $7.00,
$8.00.
FIRST CONCERT, Lily Pons, So-
prano; Chicago Symphony Or-
chestra, Frederick Stock, Conduc-
tor, Wednesday Evening.
SECOND CONCERT, "'St. Francis
of Assissi" by Pierne. Hilda Burke,
Soprano;Eteanor Reynolds, Contral-
to; Frederick Jagel, Tenor; Nel-
son Eddy, Baritone; Fred Patton,
Bass; The Chicago Symphony Or-
chestra; The University Choral
Union, Earl V. Moore, Conductor,
Thursday Evening.
THIRD CONCERT, "Old Johnny
Appleseeci"by Gaul. Hilda Burke,
Soprano; Eleanor Reynolds, Con-
tralto; Palmer Christian, Organ-
ist, Orchestral accompaniment;
Children's Festival Chorus; Eric
Delamarter and Juva Higbee,
Conductors, Friday afternoon.
FOURTH CONCERT, Ignace
Jan Paderewski, Pianist; Chicago
Symphony Orchestra, Frederick
Stock, Conductor, Friday Evening.
FIFTH CONCERT, Ruth Breton,
Violinist; Chicago Symphony Or-
chestra, Frederick Stock, Conduc-
tor, Saturday afternoon.
SIXTH CONCERT, "Boris Go-

02

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a certain quantity of set facts and L ouisve ) Clsser
set information known as a 'gen- CONSTANCE BENNETT Hale are chief in
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upon the theory that he is him- Tallulah Bankhead, daughter of
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tual needs and should be allowed aned am re, an evry
to shape the combination of courses ga bted fame, renown, and every-
most helpful for his later career. thing but the Prince of Wales over
The seal of success for the more i merrie olde England, makes her
lihral nrn f+ f TTr. picture debut in "The Tarnishe1