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July 01, 1941 - Image 9

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Publication:
Michigan Daily, 1941-07-01

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ULY 1, 1941

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

PACE NINE

'Much Ado About Nothing' To Open Drama Season

Today

Windt, Kane, Meredith, Baird
Direct Summer Productions
*

Direction of the productions of the
Michigan Repertory Players will be
supervised by Prof. Valentine B.
Windt of the speech department as
managing director and visiting stage
directors Whitford Kane, CharlesaH.
Meredith and Mrs. Claribel Baird.
'Prof.Windt is director of Play Pro-
duction of the department of speech
in the winter and for the last two
seeasons has been director of the
spring drama season. He organized
the Players as part of the entertain-
ment of the summer session in 1929
when the professional season decided
to play in the spring instead of the
summer and is serving his thirteenth
season as managing director.
Kane's Sixth Season
Kane is returning for his sixth sea-
son and will direct Harold Brighouse's
"Hobson's Choice."' Mrs. Baird of the
speech department of the Oklahoma
College for women will be on the
teaching staff for the fifth summer
and will direct. "Storm Over Patsy."
Meredith, present director of the
nation-wide famous Dock Street The-
atre in Charleston,. South Carolina,
is scheduled to be in Ann Arbor for
the first three weeks of the summer
session to direct "The Contrast" by
Royall S. Tyler. Prof. William P.
Hug h Norton
Will Direct
~Lab' Theatre,
University students will be offered
an opportunity to gain experience in
all branches of theatrical work this
summer in the Laboratory Theatre
under the direction of Hugh Norton.
This program was inaugurated last
summer for the benefeit of those stu-
dents who were interested in drama-
tic but who codld not work under
the strain of a performance a week.
The Ann Arbor High School Audit-
orium and the University High School
Auditorium are used for the Labora-
tory Theater productions. Norton
will supervise several one-act plays.
A Secondary School, Theatre with
Nancy Bowman as director will be
added to the laboratory theatre this
summer. This theatre will have the
specific purpose of producing plays
which can be used in high chool.
Miss Bowman will direct two full-
length productions. The first will
be presented in the University High
School Auditorium on Monday, July
21. The cast will be chosen from
high school students in. high schools
in Ann Arbor and surrounding towns.
The second play will be given in
the same auditorium on Tuesday,
August 12. Although a play suitable
for high school will be used, the cast
will be made up of university stu-
dents.

WHITFORD KANE
Halstead, also of the speech depart-
ment, is associate director.
Alexander Wyckoff, who is head of
the design department and stage-
craft director at the Philadelphia
Museum School of Industrial Arts, is
serving his ninth summer as art di-
rector. Robert Mellencamp, art di-
rector of the speech department's
play production, will be assistant.
Costumiere Returns
Costumiere for the eighth succes-
sive season is Evelyn Cohen, mem-
ber of Guild O'Craft and costumiere
for a number of New York produc-
tions each year. Emma Hirsch, cos-
tume director of Play Production, will
be assistant.
The acting company is made up
of students in the speech department
and an occasional visiting profes-
sional actor. More than 150 students
usually appear in the series with
many more assisting in the mounting
of the plays. All actual production
work is done by students under the
supervision of the faculty directors.
Drama Schedule
Much Ado About Nothing, by
Shakespeare ........ July 1 to 5
George Washington Slept Here, by
Kaufman and Hart .. July 9 to 12
The Contrast, by Royall Tyler
..... July16 to 19
The Little Foxes, by Lillian Hell-
man .............. July 23 to 26
Storm Over Patsy, by James Bri-
die .......... July 30 to Aug. '2
Hobson's Choice, by Harold Brig-
house.............Aug. 6 to 9
The Gondoliers, by Gilbert & Sul-
livan, Aug. 13 to 19 (except Sun-
day.)

Seven Dramas
Will Be Given
In 13th Series
Halstead And Windt Direct
Summer's First Play;
Tickets Available Today
(Continued from Page 1)
blight, road trouble, leaky roofs, dry
wells, and disagreeable neighbors. In
addition to their other troubles they
receive a visit from a completely un-
disciplined nephew and a rich un-
cle who mast be peteted in order to
insure their inheritance.
Third play of the summer will be a
third comedy - "The Contrast"-
which was the first comedy written by
an American to be acted by a profes-
sional company in this country. The
style of the play copies the English
drama of the Restoration and 18th
Century, but the theme and the chief
source of amusement is in the con-
trast of typically American customs
and those modeled on the British. It
will be given from July 16 to July 19.
'Little Foxes' July 23
From Wednesday, July 23, to Sat-
urday, July 26, the speech depart-
ment will present the famous Broad-
way hit, "The Little Foxes," which
starred Tallulah Bankhead in the
original production. The story is
one of a family which becomes weal-
thy and whose desire for money is so
great that its members ruthlessly
turn upon each other.
"Storm Over Patsy," based upon
Bruno Frank's "Sturm in Wasser-
glas," is scheduled for a four-day run
from July 30 to August 2. "Patsy" is
the name of a mongrel dog and the
comedy of the play lies in the furor
and trouble that his dog-tax makes.
A reporter's job, two divorces, the im-
prisonment of seveeral people and the
election of a member of Parliament
finally hinge upon a lawsuit over the
theft of the dog by his rightful own-
er after the dog has been impound-
ed for failure to pay the tax.
Hobson's Choice
Harold Brighouse's "Hobson's
Choice" is a simple comedy telling of
the trials of a Mr. Hobson to marry
off his daughters and of the diffi-
culties which result when they are
finally married. It will be given
from Wednesday to Saturday. Aug.
6 through Aug. 9.
Last production of the Summer
Session will be Gilbert and Sullivan's
"The Gondoliers" which will be pre-
sented in cooperation with the School
of Music. The pioduction will begin
on Wednesday, Aug. 13 and will con-
tinuenthrough Tuesday, Aug. 19,
omitting Sunday.
A large cast plus a chorus of 40 and
the University Symphony Orchestra
will join to present the fantastic tale
of an heir to the throne and a gondo-
lier's son who as babies were mixed up
by their respective parents.

Star1 n Comedy

Your Pictures
To Be Offered
By Art League

Michigan Repertory Players
Have Notable Drama Record

Cinema Group
Outstanding
Movies For

Schedules
Foreign
Season

ADA McFARLAND

Four outstanding foreign moving
pictures will be presented during the
Summer Session by the Art Cinema
League, two French, one English and
one German picture are to be shown.
Season tickets will be on sale this
week and next at the Union, the
League and Wahr's bookstore at the
price of $1. A season ticket will grant
one admission to each of the four
films. No individual tickets will be
sold during the season.
English Film
"Peg of Old Drury" will open the
season at 8:15 p.m., Sunday, July 13.
An English film, "Peg of Old Drury"
broke the house record when playing
at the Plaza Theatre in New York.
This showing, as well as the otheer
three, will be held in the Lecture Hall
of the Rackham School.
The second offering will be a
French film, "The Baker's Wife,"
which will be shown at 8:15 p.m.,
Sunday, July 20. "The Baker's Wife"
was presented by the Art Cinema
during-the winter session last Janu-
ary and received great acclamation.
German Movie
The third film, to be shown at
8:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, will be a
German movie, "The Cobbler of
Koepenick." The French picture.
"Crime and Punishment," will con-
clude the season at 8:15 p.m. Sun-
day, Aug. 10.
The Art Cinema League has been
active on campus during the last
several years in bringing the best
foreign films to Ann Arbor. Last
summer the League offered four pro-
grams at two-week intervals, includ-
ing the American documentary films,
"The River," "The City, "The Plough
That Broke the Plains," and "New
Schools for Old," the French film,
"Grand Illusion," the Russian movie,
'The Childhood of Maxim Gorky,"
and the German, "Kameradschaft."

BY GEORGE W. SALLADE
When the curtain rises for "Much
Ada About Nothing" today, the,
Michigan Repertory Players will be-
gin their thirteenth annual season on
the campus.
The Players were organized in the
summer of 1929 by Prof. Valentine B.
Windt of the speech department 'at
the behest of Dean Edward H. Kraus,
then director of the summer session.
Previous to that time there was a
regularstock company of profession-
al actors performing during the sum-
mer in Ann Arbor.
In 1929, however, the professional
shows were moved up to the spring
as Dean Kraus thought the students
attending summer school should par-
ticipate in the plays. Chester Wal-
lace, head of the dramatic depart-
ment of Carnegie Institute of Tech-
nology at Pittsburgh, came to the
city during that first summer to aid
Prof. Windt in the organizing .of the
new. company.
In the early years all the work on

the production was done by the fac-
ulty directors with the assistance of
only four students. The number of
play4 presented during a given season
varied from seven to nine with seven
predominating.
The Players gradually expanded to
include several professional visitors.
Thomas Wood Stevens, noted author,
lecturer and director, was one of
these early visitors. In the stagecraft
division Alexander Wyckoff and Ev-
elyn Cohen became early members of
the staff.
In 1934 the tradition that the sea-
son end with an operetta produced
in cooperation with the School of
Music was begun. This year with
the coming of Charles H. Meredith,
director of the nation-wide known
Dock Street Theatre in Charleston,
South Carolina, a new interest is be-
ing shown in the community theatre.
Meredith is an exponent of the theory
that there is a wide field for students
in the community theatre where there
is a need for leadership.

.,

'I

IF YOU WRITE,

WE HAVE IT

A Large and Complete Stock of Writing
Materials of Nationally-Advertised Makes
at Considerate Prices.

HUGH NORTON
Wyckoff Designs Sets
Serving for his ninth season as
Art Director, Alexander Wyckoff will
again design the sets for the seven
productions to be offered this sum-
mer by the Michigan Repertory
Players. Wyckoff was formerly a
professional scene designer on Broad-
way and next winter will start a new
school of design in Leonia, N. J.,
where he lives.

TYPEWRITERS
New and Used, Office and Por-
table models. Bought, Sold,
Rented, Exchanged, Cleaned,
Repaired. Also Supplies. Ini-
tial payment of rent may
apply in the event of purchase.
Correspondence Stationery
Student & Office Supplies
Greeting Cards. Novelties

FOUNTAIN PENS
SHEAFFER, PARKER,
WAHL, EVERSHARP,
WATERMAN and Others.
Priced $1.00 andup
Service Work a Specialty.
TYPEWRITING and
MIMEOGRAPHING
Promptly and neatly done by
experienced operators at mod-
erate rates. Student work a
specialty for 30 years.

F

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SECRETARIAL .and
BUSINESS TRAINING
FOR DEFENSE OR CAREER
Hamilton Business College
Air-Conditioned William at State

0. Ds MORRILL
314 South State Street
The Typewriter and Stationery Store

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Since 1908,

Phone 6615

111l

Read And Use The Michigan Daily ClassifiedAds

I II VII YIr

The Department of Speech Presents

I

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,.H.i

GAN

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JIUTO

KY

PLAYERS

Seven Outstanding Plays - Thirteenth Summer Season

JULY 9-12
"GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE"
by GEORGE KAUFMAN and MOSS HART
America's two best writers of farce collaborated again to produce one of the
comedy hits of this year' Broadway season. Writing from their personal experi-
ences, they tell of the hi arious troubles of a city family with a new "country
place" within commuting distance of New York City.
JULY 16-19
"THE CONTRAST" : . . by Royall S. Tyler
Written in 1787, "The Contrast" is called by historians "the first comedy
written by an American to be acted by a professional company in America." It is
an uproarious comedy, with its ludicrous contrast of the manners and customs
of Yankee Americans and Americans who ape the British.
JULY 23-26
"THE LITTLE FOXES" . . . by Lillian Hel man
One of the finest dramas produced in recent years, "The Little Foxes" was
written by Lillian Hallman, author of "The Children's Hour" and "Watch on
the Rhine." It has just been released for amateur production, having reached the
end of its two and one-half year run in New York and on the road.

F
i

"MUCH ADO
ABOUT
NOTHING'

/;,

/Mt/am

SLa/epeare

JULY 30-AUGUST 2
"STORM OVER PATSY"
by BRUNO FRANK and JAMES BRIDIE
"Patsy" is a mongrel dog, and he doesn't have a license. From this simple
circumstance arise innumerable farcical complications until divorces, elections,
and lawsuits hang upon his fate. James Bridie's Anglo-Scottish version of this
play, based upon Bruno Frank's "Stunm in Wasserglas," played long engagements
in London and New York.
AUGUST 6-9
"HOBSON'S CHOICE"... by Harold Brighouse
This delightful comedy tells of the trials of the genial shopkeeper, Mr. Hob-
son, when he attempts to marry off his daughters to his satisfaction, and of. the
difficulties which result when they are finally married. VHobson's Choice" has
had a number of successful revivals in summer theatres during recent years.
AUGUST 13-16, 18-19
"THE GONDOLIERS" ... by Gilbert and Sullivan
This fantastic tale of the missing heir to a throne. is the gayest of all the
Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. The heir was mislaid when he was a baby, mixed
up with a gondolier's son, and now no one knows which is the rightful king and
which is only a gondolier. This gives Gilbert excellent chances to devise absurd
situations and lyrics, and Sullivan, special opportunities to compose lovely and
amusing ensembles.

.0

SEASON TICKETS - $3.75 $3.25 $2.50
SINGLE ADMISSION - 75c 50c 35c
(''The Gondoiliers''- 51.00.~/75r50c

PRODUCTION STAFF
Valentine B. Windt . t..... ... ..............Director
William P. Halstead .................. Associate Director
- 6 . i i U A ..- 4 . 1i:.:4 -. -r..

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