THE MICHIGAN DAILY
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MANAGING EDITOR
RICHARD L. TOBIN
cctor ..............................Beach Conger, Jr.
...............Carl Forsythe
............ .. .......David M. Nichol
r ......... S.Sheldon C. Fullerton
itor........ ............Margaret M. Thompson
ctiols ....... . ..... ........Bertram J. 'Askwith
ty Editor......... . ..... .... .....Denton C. Kunze
ws Editor........... ..............Robert L. Pierce
........................ .....William F. Pyper
NIGHT EDITORS
conceived it. For the Greeks, abnormal psychology
and disproportion of emotion were matters of no con-
cern to tragedy.
Our reviewer is not the first to try to make melo-
dramas of the tragedies of Sophocles. Nor is he the
first to hide his vagueness behind such impressionistic
will-o-the-wisps as "sensitive experience," "emotional
tone," "plastic rhythm," "fine meaningful curves of
tonal beauty," "nervosities," "the tempo of things,"
and "broader rhythms of the production." I respect-
fully submit that such terms sound more pregnant
than they really are, even to their authors. To be
honest, I must say that they mean almost nothing to
me. They represent a confusion of dramatic criti-
cism with criticism of music and art. I am inclined
to suspect that if Mr. Gorman or anybody else dis-
covers a connection which was really intended be-
tween the dance and the action, he has received a
hint from the performers. The dance is not an in-
tegral part of the play, and adds nothing valuable to
it. We need less discussion of the purely personal
impressions of the reviewer and more of the funda-
mental objective considerations of action and charac-
ter.
The apostle of impressionism or sensationalism,
whether he be an actor or reviewer, will do well to
ignore classical drama, for he can never interpret it
truly. Mr. Gorman has admirably interpreted Mr.
Henderson, Miss Yurka, and Miss Graham, but in
doing so, has missed Sophocles. Irving Goldman.
OIL
DEAR
ME
Here we have been edtiting this
column scarcely a week and already
someone is offended: At least that's
the impression we got from the let-
ter printed below: (appropriately
censured)
Mister Smiley that ------
You have got a lot of ---- and
thinking you are funny when you
make fun like that of our little
High-School "news-bee" in your
column. We may not be quite as
smart as you ------- are, Mister
Smiley, but you don't have to make
us look like bums your riot so awful
hot.
In spite of the fact that even if
you did try to conceal the identity
of the newspaper you were "-------"
in your column the other day you
can't make cracks about the "-"
Club and get away with it we don't
like it at all. Some time you will be
sorry, Mister --- -- -------, and go
too far you wait. We hope that
nothing like that, which has given
us quite a lot of embarrassment,
and no little anger and we're mad,
will ever creep into the columns of
you're column again.
Hoping you are-------
PATRICK HENRY.
cth
sciffert
Denton C. Kunze
George
J. Cullen Kennedy
Jerry E. Rosenthal
A. kStautikr
t
Arn
agley
E.
Sports Assistants
sWilber J. Myers
John W. Thomas John
REPORTERS'
heim James Krotozyner
Y JRobert 1Merritt
Becker Henry Meyer
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ooper Albert Newman
Harrison Jerome Pettit
per John Pritchard
man Joseph Renihan
rt Elsie Feldman
t Prudence Foster
ockman Georgia Geisman
)flins Barbara Hall
idall Martha Littleton
nmings Susan Manchester
CileIfiller
Charles A.
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nof
1reha
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Parker Snyder
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Alfred Stresen.Reuter
William Thal
Glen Winters
Charles Woolner
Margaret O'Brien
Eleanor Rairdon
Marjorie Thomson
Anne Tobin
Alma Wadsworth
Jocephine Woodhams
a
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Music and Drama
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BUSINESS STAFF
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S T. KLINE...........................Business Manager
P. JOHNSON.........................Assistant Manager
Department Managers
g ......................Vernon Bishop
g ...........Robert B. Callahan
ig .................................William W. Davis
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ns....... ... .....,.............William '. Brown
on ..................Harry R. Begley
... ".... ..Richard Stratenieer
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Assistants
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Bursley Herbert Greenstone R. A. Saltxstcin
A. Combs loha Keyser Bernard E. Schnacke
ark Arthur F. Kohn Grafton W. Sharp
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Bayless Ann Gallmeyer Helen Olsen
ecker Ann Harsha Marjorie Rough
Field Rathryn Jaekson Mary E. Watts
Fischgrund D~orothy Laylin
hrynI
nna Be
ievieve
'ilic F
NIGHT EDITOR-DENTON KUNZE
TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1931
ur Prohibitionists
isit France.
MERICANS have come to resent the general
European attitude toward them. They insist
y are not boors, that they have as high a cultureI
the average Frenchman or Englishman. It is,
course, impossible to settle this controversy. But
r side has been considerably weakened by the
:ions of one of the z8 mayors of leading cities
o are guests of the French people at the present
A IEis a somewhat dextrous, fairly amus-
ing comedy of the squabble of two women-
one dull, prosy woman, the other a brilliantly mali-
cious woman of the world-for a man. It is, on the
whole, a trivial play. Its real merit lies in the fact
it gives two actors with comic sense and style a
plausibly motivated opportunity to talk at one an-
other with bright hardness and delicious antagonism.
In the production given this week the two actors are
Blanche Yurka and Reynolds Evans. Just as appears
to have been the case when the Theatre Guild did it
with Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne, the actors are
distinctly the thing.
The fete galante atmosphere is one of the thea-
tre's unique contributions. Of course it appears in
the other Arts. But in the theatre there is a crys-
tallised form for it-the comedy of manners. The
excellent artificiality which this form insists on is
enjoyable release from the more prevailing senti-
mentality of life and literature. These artificial peo-
ple do, as Ilse says, give Life, which is too simple,
"nuance." That is comedy's fine reversal of the
truth tragedy insists on, that life is so complex that
its nuances torture even the hreoic.
As Ilse also says, you can spot the people all over
the world who believe in the comic truth by the tips
of their tongues. Their talk is a coruscation of epi-
grams. To play one of these people requires real
style, real ease, real certainty in an actor. To main-
tain this artificial attitude is a, terrific strain. The
actor must conceal that strain. The actor must
manage to constantly convey the impression that he
is really enjoying creating "Nuances." To thus de-
lineate the cynic's hard-won, hard-maintained joie
de vivre is one of the hardest tasks the theatre can
set an actor. Miss Yurka, then, displays real vir-
tuosity in going from Electra to Ilse von Ilsen. She
plays this role with grace and irrisistible guile. Rey-
nolds Evans similarly plays von Eckhardt very amus-
ingly. They play excellently to one another (though
it is possible they could play more rapidly, less lan-
guidly). They both have joy which is the mark of
good comedy style. In their manner there is a sug-
gestion of savouring the part they are playing and'
the way they are playing it. This joy in technique
coincides with the character's joy in creating "nu-
ances"; and thus are the characters made real and
vivid. It is a pleasure to watch Miss Yurka and Mr.
Evans. "Caprice" is perhaps most interesting as a
prediction of what can be expected next week when,
these same actors will have the, real thing-the best
of all comedy of manners-to work with: when they
will play Mirabel and Millaman. W. J. G.
The outstanding example of stupidity came at
Havre, when Mayor John C. Porter of Los An-
geles, the town that has produced Aimee Semple
MacPherson, walked out on a dinner when a toast
to the presidents of France and the United States
was proposed in champagne. Even though the
wine was of a respectable age and vintage, Mr.
Porter's principles would not allow him to show
a lack of respect to the American constitution.
Since we do not know how near the next elec-
tion is in Los Angeles, we must admit that Mr.
Porter's principles may have some sincere founda-
tion. It is possible, with a little effort, to swallow
the statement even of a mayor of Los Angeles.
But the main point is not altered. Stupid mor-
ality, long a deadweight on American mental pro-
gress, is manifested in many ways. Such dunder-
headed overriding of the niceties is typical. It
seems that the ways of a gentleman and the ways
of a politician are divergent in more than one way.
But we say this with charity in our souls, for we'
realize Mr. Porter is only a type, acting typically.
The article signed '32," which ran Saturday
morning under the heading of "Editorial Com-
ment," by mistake, should have been headed "Cam-
pus Opinion.-The Editor.
Campus Opinion
Contributors are asked to be brief, confining themselves to
less than 300 words if possible. Anonymous communications
will be disregarded. The names of communicants will, however,
be regarded as confidential, upon request. Letters published
should not be construed as expressing the editorial opinion of
The Daily.
To the Editor:
N OW that the last performance of "Electra" is
' history, the temptation to review the review of
the production ,is irresistible. Mr. Gorman seems to
have the ordinary modern obsession against every-
thing traditional. If we could call tradition by some
other name, it would seem that any artist might
profit at least as much by what the best men of all
ages have thought as he could by his own whims,
or even his own reason. The aversion to all tradi-
tion, which is more blind than the most tyrannical
tradition, has apparently led our critic to suppose
that if modern audiences can find anything worth
while in the play, it must be something new which
modern producers and actors have discovered.
Mr. Gorman is fair enough to stipulate that new
styles of production should not convey "anything
WHAT ABOUT THE
MICHIGANENSIAN?
The recent Michiganensian has
been criticised pretty freely lately,
the main tenor of the criticism be-
ing that the book has gone to the
dogs. (Especially to white ones with
black spots). A comparison of the
present Michiganensian with the
publication might prove to be en-
lightening. (Note: This column is
not trying to vindicate Mr. Dusen-
birdy). The 1910 volume begins
something like this:
"There are times when a traveler
toiling up a mountain suddenly
reaches a warm sheltered peak
whence he can survey the valley
far below him. He lays aside his
burden, wipes the sweat from his
eyes and views the landscape. Grad-
ually, insensibly, his tired muscles
relax. He forgets the lofty, ice-clad
peaks he still must scale and lets
his fancy wander back to the lowly
valley whence he came. So shall we
today, from our sheltered coign of
vantage, look, back over the path
this great 'intitution of ours has
. travelled, and from the difficulties
which have been surmounted in the
past, take renewed courage to meet
the trials of the future and renewed
appreciation of this beautiful home
of ours."
The 1931 volume, scorning liter-
ary preludes, opens with this sent-
ence: "The present day campus is
not the logical product of the mod-
ern University and student temper."
Editor Jas. S. Lawshe, in 1910,
says: "Here where life is untram-
meled and things are new, liberty in
its broadest sense has found a
dwelling place, liberty which eter-
nally battles against caste and un-
just discrimination.
Editor Dusenbirdy, in 1931, says:
"Aside from creating absurd stu-
dent inhibitions and lending a de-
plorable provinciality to Ann Arbor
life, the parental policy of the Uni-
versity is detrimental as to its own
i interests. The continuous abortive
exposal and discipline of student
life before gleeful reporters has
built up a press bread line that is
responsible for the public metamor-
phosis of our glorified boarding
school into a debauched Valhalla
for high school rakes."
In 1910 the Michiganensian stated
that: "The Student Council during
the past year has vindicated itself
in the estimation of its critics ....
By its failure to cope with the Star
Theatre situation a year ago last
fall, the Council had been severely
criticised and it is particularly for-
tunate that its members have this
year so adequately demonstrated
the efficiency of the Council in
dealing with great Campus prob-
lems." Editor Dusenbirdy, on the
other hand turns out these choice
bits: "If the Student council should
cease floundering after the Senate
Committee will 'o the wisp, the stu-
dents could more clearly see . .
etc." And again: "The long overdue
removal of the Student Council
from the university scene would be
only another step in the rational-
ization of the Campus."
Editor Lawshe, '10, looks forward
and says "To you, Michigan, we pre-
dict a future worthy of such a
grand institution." Editor Dusen-
birdy, '31, looks backward and
draws a "contrast to the sterile
autonomy of the old campus."
Some tell us that the old policy
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STUDENT RECITAL
R UTH McCORMICK and Marjorie McClung, voice
students of Prof. Arthur Hackett of the School
of Music, will give a joint graduation recital at the
School of Music tonight at 8:15. Piano accompani-
ments for Miss McCormick will be played by Ava
i Comin Case, of the Piano faculty and for Miss Mc-
Clung by Helen Van Loon, a piano student. Both
students have made splendid reputations in their
numerous student appearances. Their joint program
will be as follows:
Clair de Lune . ............Faure
Papillons .................... Chausson
Green .............................Debussy
Barcarolle ..........................Gounod
Ruth McCormick
The Bird of the Wilderness ........ Horsman
The Shepardess ...................Horsman
The Black Bird's Song ........... Cyril Scott
Moon Marketing ....................Weaver
Ecstasy ...........................Rummel
Marjorie McClung'
Air "Depuis le Jour" from "Louise"
...............................Charpentier
Ruth McCormick
Aria "0 mio babbino caro" from Gianni
Schichi ...........................Puccini
Girometta ...........................Sibellat
Stornello ............................Cimara
Ouvre tes yeux bleus ............. Massenat I
Hymne au soleil .....................Georges
Marajorie McClung
The Soft Footed Snow ...................Lie
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