AN DAILY
Music and Drama
the University year
Association.
to the use for re-
t or not otherwiSe
dI herein.
dichigan, as second.
by Third Assistant
Strect, Ann Arbor,
NOTES ON "ELECTRA"
By Helen Watier Rowe.
OASTED ROLL
EXTRA!
EXTRA!
EXTRA!
All the world, including Ann Ar-
bor, was startled Sunday morning
to read in a well-known Ann Arbor
morning paper this headline:
SHRDLU SLCE
I TOIDIT GAR~mGOYLE
II SCHOOL
OF MUSIC
CONCERTS-,
No Admission Charge
..00-1-"
Unexcelled Baldwin Pianos
Victor Micro-Synchronous Radio
Victor and Brunswick Records
Music Teacher's Supplies
Popular Music
Complete Line of Everything Musical
..............C* S K~
........David M. Nichol
.Sheldon C. Fullerton
............ Margaret M. Thompson
.............. Bertram J. Askwith
................Denton C. Kunze
................. Robegt L Pierce
................ William F. Pyper
~DT08 J. Cullen Kennedy
C. Kunze Jerry E. Rosenthal
George A. Stauter
Assistants
. Myers Chrles A. Sanford
John S. Townsend
RTERS
ozyner Brackley Shaw
rritt Parker Snyder
er Ford Spikermnan
ozewaki Alfred Stresen-Reuter
,man William Thai
tit Glen winters
ard Charles Woolner
han
nan Margaret O'Brien
roster 1.ieanor Rairdou
ismnau Marjorie Thomson
ail Anne Tobin
leton Alma Wadsworth
hester Josephine Woodhams
S STAFF
s 21214
.............Business Manager
...............Assistant Manager
t Managers
.................ernn Bishop
............... Robert B3. Callahan
................ William W. Davis
............... .Byron C. .'Adder
...............William T. Brown
................Harry R. Begley
............... Richard Strateeieer
............ nn W. Verner
stants
eehing Thomas Roberts
:eenstonc 11. A. Saltzstein
r Bernard s. Shelnacke
Kohn Grafton W. Sharp
Good Cecil E. Welch
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following notes by Mrs. Rowe who I
witnessed "Electra" in Boston were sent as an advance report on
the produjtion in a letter which did not arrive previous to the pro-
duction. Her remarks on the Boston reception, which has b'een
reprinted in the New York Times, should be of interest: "All the
Boston reviewing was colored by the previous experience this season
of the German-romantic adaptation of "Electra" by Von Hoffsman-
thal . . . with the exception of HN. T. Parker of the Transcript,
whose estimates were governed by the ideas of classical production
prior to the excavations of the 1890's."
T HE direction of Electra shows careful, conserva.-
tive understanding work on the part of Mr.
Henderson. The play achieves strength by unob-
trusiveness of production elements.. The audience is
distracted neither by questions of accuracy raised by
attempt at antiquarian reproduction, or by unassim-
ilated modern experiments. To one who saw the
Antigone of last year an evolution is apparent. On
the whole it is a successful and original adaptation
of the classical drama to the exigencies of a small
company in the modern theatre.'
The telescoping of the setting to meet the limited
space of the modern stage, in contrast to the wide
Greekstage, was skillfully accomplished. The funeral
mound of Agamemnon is assumed off stage to the
right, with complete consciousness on the part of
the audience. An adjunct of the dance serves as
the altar which takes the place of the temple. The
steps to the palace, serve to make the audience aware
of the view in the distance, as experienced by the
dramatis personae when mounted upon them, and
an opening in the stone wall beneath the palace steps
is used for the entrance of Electra, with intensifica-
tion of the miserable state and abusive treatment
which that character is receiving at the hands of
Olytemnestra-1a matter needing visualization to the
modern audience.
Certainly the most notable achievement of the
production is accomplished through the use of the
dances of Martha Graham . . . an innovation which
seems to me to be likely to make history in modern
methods of production of classical drama. Lacking
the large and elaborately trained dancing and sing-
ing choruses of the original Greek production, the
use of one accomplished dancer to interpret the
spirit of the tragedy is a feasible and altogether ade-
quate substitute.
The world would have been startl-
ed a lot worse if it had been gen-
erally known that Shrdlu was none
other than Dan Baxter, the famous
columnist, and until today, editor
'of this very column. The news came
as a distinct surprise to Baxter and
his friends who were playing con-
tract at a twentieth of a cent an
hour at the time the announcement
was made. When informed of his
good fortune Cooley is said to have
raised to his full height. His lonely
brown eyes were glazed with a far-
away look, as he spat into his beard,
and great tears came gushing down
his seamed checks like ripe plums.
No one dared take a breath the
moment was so intense. After a
while a smile rippled over his rip-
pling lips and the crowd relaxed,
and it was about time too because
they were all nearly dead from lack
of breath. Its things like that that
sort of get a man.
Wednesday, May 27, 4:15,
VELMA WACHLIN, Organist,
in Graduation Recital, Hill Audi-
torium.
Thursday, May 28, 8:15,
JAMES HAMILTON'S students
in selections from "Aida" and ,"Il
Rigoletto."
Tuesday, June 2, 8:15, MAR-
JORIE McCLUNG and RUTH
M c C O R M I C K, Sopranos, in
Graduation Recital.
Thursday, June 4, 8:15, MIL-
DRED DRINKAUS, Soprano, in
Graduation Recital.
Sunday, June 7, 4.:15, Concerto
and Aria program: Misses Mc-
Cormick, McClung, Field, So-
p r a n o s ; Miss Peck, Pianist;
Messers. Poinar and Hamilton,
Violinists; the University Sym-
phony Orchestra; E A R L V.
MOORE, Conductor, Hill Audi-
torium.
Monday, June 8, 8:15, RUTH
PARDEE, in Piano Recital.
Tuesday, June 9, 8:15, ELEAN-
OR WHITMAN, in Piano Re-
cital.
Thursday, June 11, 8:15, NELL
B. STOCKWELL'S students in Pi-
ano Recital.
*In School of Music unless
otherwise announced.
601 Bast William
w
UNIVERSITY MUSIC HOUSE
William Wade Hinshaw
Devoted to Music
Amn1h etada
Among the Best and at
Reasonable Prices
FREEMAN'S
DINING
Phone
ROOM
Lunches 40c, Dinners 60c
Sunday Dinner 75c
ONLY ONE BLOCK NORTH FROM HILL AUDITOR
Helen Olsen
Marjorie Rough
Mary E. Watts
i
3T EDITOR-FRANK GILBRETH
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1931
Writing on The Wall
JT questionnaire distributed at the
i State University to students asking
not they could study comfortably
ouses brought a decidedly strong
aswer from most of the fraternity
y men and women on the campus.
1 noise," "too many distractions,"
g the answers given in this survey.
ities will, in the near future, un-
be forced.to prove a reason for their
or else gradually become extinct.,
pity movement started in the East.
of the Eastern colleges, fraternities
ne mere clubs for upperclassmen.
novement may spread to the west,
e original system did,,constitutes a
er to fraternities, especially in con-
e' recent educational developments
A at Chicago and Michigan. Though
istant in the future, the menace
i
I
>n'ly answer which the system will be
iake to the demand that it die out wiTl
tify its existence. In general, fraterni-
first founded as literary groups, re-
xercises and papers. In the late '90's
a gradual transition took place, and
ame more or less social organizations.
iture, there exists the possibility that
become mere traditions.
V face of this development, many of
>s have already started to prepare for
ng struggle, aLthough perhaps not con-
that impending conflict. At Lafayette,
ter has introduced, as an experiment,
.sl tutorial system, employing a grad-
nother chapter, who is taking advanc-
to supervise the house, and assist the
d niembers in their scholastic work.
group has commenced Uw installation
1 central organizations which are to
ouch with the chapters in certain dis-
well as the University authorities in,
ig to build up a group that will be
to the student and to the University.
fraternities are absolutely essential to
rn University is a question. That they'
e abolished is most impractical, and,-
e, impossible. Nevertheless, unless
i to be transformed into eating clubs
f maintaining their present character
individuals molded into a compact
writing on the wall appears, only too
Miss Graham's performance lent immeasurably to
the communication of the spirit of Sophocles,..f
though the dances j themselves were in a manner
which is entirely modern. The break in the pre-
sentation of a Sophoclean tragedy was mucht regret-
ted, but the summary dance of Miss Graham, which
opened the second part, regained the continuity.
Summary in scope, the dance was carved in severely
stylized forms which conveyed to the onlooker the
impression that he was.witnessing an emotional pat-
tern which had been reduced to these terms that the
anguish, the frenzy, the soul-torture might be bear-
able to witness. One was almost afraid to watch the
dancer, as the emotion of the piece mounted, so
connotative was she of reserve capacities, lest the
furies should burst forth in a display too terrible to
view.
The chorus, which is again broken down into in-
dividualized characters, as was Mr. Henderson's
chorus of Antigone, is refined in movement under the
direction of Miss Graham. AltAough this individual-
ization of "a group of Argive maidens" in costume
and in line has the advantage of less remoteness for
the mpdern audience than the unified chorus, the
intense isolation and the moral teaching, particularly
in Electra, the emphasis on moderation, of the Soph-
oclean tragedy is sacrificed by the method.
- Near the end, the play moves at some distance, I
believe, from the original Greek intent. When Aegis-
thus has fallen into the' trap set for him by Orestes,
Pylades, and Electra, and drawn back the veil from
the face of his murdered wife, he is stricken with
fear. The fear is not alone the fear of two mortal
men, evidently to him by now intent upon his de-
struction, but the Greek fear of doom . . . predes-
tined by an adverse God. Under Mr. Henderson's
direction, "I then am lost, woe's me!" follows upon
a physical combat in which Aegisthus has lost his
sword (and .during which Orestes, Mr. Henderson,
has executed a spectacular leap from the high palace
steps to the floor of the stage). "Go thou within
quickly" refers in the text to within a second room,
to the chamber where Agamemnon had been mur-
dered by Aegisthus. As presented, the "within"
refers to the palace itself. There is no suggestion in
the text of physical combat or of flight by Aegisthus
until the ,line "Lead thou," whep we might expect
that the crafty and able Aegisthus entertained some
fleeting hope of escape. The heigtened action of this
scene, as it is presented, lends undue emphasis to
the physical means for the murder of Aegisthus, and
detracts from the Sophoclean emphasis on causation,
a divine doom for transgression. Device and struggle
of a physical nature, by rule of the Greek stage, were
reduced to complete subordination . . . murder neces-
sarily taking place off stage. The noise and clatter
of the contention of the armed men came as a dis-
turbing note after the beautifully intoned lines of
Blanche Yurka.
Members of the Ro'ls editor-
ial staff are making prepara-
tions for a gala day of celebra-
tion, beginning tomorrow and
probably lasting the rest of the
week. (You know how those
things are.) There will be a
parade thisiafternoon toshon-
or the occasion. The lines will
form at 2:15 in front of Angerl
Hall and by 4:15 everything
ought to, be ready to get under
way. The line of march will be
from the front of Angell Hall
due west to the Romance lang-
uage Bu'ding thence South
a r o u n d President Ruthven'sk
tennis court to see the Scotch
terrier, thence straight across
the brass to the New Law Li-
brary, where the parade will
disband, if it hasn't already.,
The student Council and the
Senate Committee will be on
hand to see that there is no dis-
orderly conduct. We don't want
to get that Scotch terrier ex-
cited.
LIFE STORY OF BAXTER
Baxter was born in Detroit and
its environs exactly eight years,
three months and twenty three
daysbefore ThenAllies signed the
Peace Treaty with Germany. His
early years were checkered and
eventful in the extreme. At an
early age he was known to have
hurled ten-pen-
ny nails from
the housetops at
passers-by.. The
next y e a r he
4 w a s hu rlin g
twelve - penny
nails, and the
y e a r following
he was using railroad spikes. By
an assiduous application to his tal-
ents Baxter has developed into a
boy marvel. He can draw pictures
of horses without tails, horses with
tails. He can sing "Yes, sir, That's
My Baby" with guitar accompani-
ment in either A, E, or F. He swings
a mean. He can take apart any
known variety of typewriter with
ease and dexterity and can execute
plain and fancy parlor tricks with
grace and abandon.
* * *,
Where Are
You
1
. .
1I,: ',
" f
"
I
' '
F.
:
r ,.
r
fi
.
k .:
i «.
I
f 1
f
i
,.
/ E
i'
rj
f
i
f
,.
This 'Holiday?
Tatsall we need to know
Are you going to play golf?
going to dance in the city ort
try? Or are you going to be
ested spectator from the
Whatever you do, the College
provide grand clothes for it.A
cost .... glance over this page.
that anything' is possible in
in a shop of fashion!
Are you
the coun-
Light Weight Wool If
You Play Games
$1050
Be smart in a one-piece frock of light
weight wool crepe. Natural, eggshell
and white.
Shantung, If You
Merely Watch
They are so very charming along the
sidelines, and equally smart in action.
Sleeveless or short sleeved frocks with
contrasting jackets.
Goin
Organdy Any Evening, Any Place
$19.50
After the sun goes down, be feminine and charm-
ing in a crisp organdy. Some are embroidered in
all-over designs. Pastels and white.
Washable Fabric Gloves No Matter
Where You Are, $1.00-
You may wear them with everything. They are
four button length . . . eggshell, white and
pastels.
D
'.r
- . . ,4,
( Ir
is gone!
.5 .1 '
-
0
Publicity Flying
E open season for flying is on. Newspa-
'ers are being deluged with pictures of
ors being nonchalant in front of planes
iich they hope to fly from Berlin to Bag-,
in a new record time, or to accomplish
other such publicity-acquiring feat.
has been repeated many times that little
Miss Yurka's characterization of Electra was
superb. The contrast to Miss Anglin's statuesque,
masklike acting of Antigone convinces one of the
possibilities of variety in distinguished acting of
Greek tragedy. Miss turka presented a volatile, now
brooding, now unleashed Electra whose whole intent
in life is revenge for the wrong done her father, but
capable of the tenderest human ,emotions for the
brother and sister who suffer with her. With exact
Well, what of it, now that Bax-
ter is out of the way maybe I can
make something out of this column.
What this paper needs is some good
dramatic criticism and a few short
stories. We goI to be cultural above
all things else, because that's what
we're here for, to get refined and
cultured. Culture is 0. K. and I'm
all for it, so my policy is going 1'o
be culture more than anything;
I'm even contemplating changing
the name of the column from
"Toasted Rolls" to "Browned Rolls,
Buttered," because it sounds so
much more refined.
White combined with bright and dark colors is
smart with your sports or daytime things.
Don't Forget Your Jewelry
$10
Goodyear's
I College Shop