.Touch of Venus.
Said .Mediocre.
By Donna Moulding I-chncr
Emerald Critic
The University theater's produc
tion of S. J. Perleman, Ogden
Nash and Kurt Weill's musical
comedy “One Touch of Venus” is.
at times, a bright, melodic and hu
morous piece. The script is medi
ocre and the humor was only hu
morous in spots.
"One Touch of Venus” is F. J.
Hunter's first venture into the
realm of directing a musical com
edy, and I am sure many of the
problems this show has will be
cleared up in lys following en
deavors.
For example an audience seeing
tliis type of drama is willing to ac
cept an appearing and disappear
ing statue with aid of thunder
and lightning. It is disillusioning
when, at the end of the show, the
statue is revolved mannually to
make it disappear.
The orchestra was not of a high
calibre, and detracted from the
musical numbers. Weston Broeka
way, though, did a fine job with
the limited amount of talent he had
at his disposal.
If we may digress for a moment,
we would like to comment on the
reason for this. There seems to be
a feeling of dislike by the music
school for the drama department.
No—I won't say that . . . but they
definitely are not co-operative, in
any way.
The music school made it quite
obvious that they did no wish their
students to participate in this pro
duction. Musical comedy is strictly
an American phenomenon. It
seems to me that the music school
would be glad to have their stu
dents participate_or are they
too highbrow?
Verla Thompson's “Venus" was
sexy and vivacious. If she had
squared her shoulders she would
have been a far more convincing
goddess.
“I'm a Stranger Here Myself"
was Miss Thompson's most real
istic song delivery.
Whether it was through an
oversight of the director or Larry
Swanson's characterization, the
„ character of Rodney Hatch never
made the transition from the
mealy-mouthed man to the self
directed person he should have
been after he received ‘the touch.’
Other than this, we felt Swan
son’s song delivery and characteri
zation of this mousy man was
quite convincing.
Audrey Mistretta vocally por
trayed the sarcastic secretary, but
was so beautiful that the charac
terization did no come across.
Therefore “One Touch of Venus”
was ridiculous, as one look at Miss
Mistretta would tell you she had
more than one touch.
Paul McMullen made a suave
Savory, and his execution of “Dr.
Crippen" was fine. He added a
great deal to the production, and
seemed to fit his part.
John Jensen’s and Barbara
Johnson’s choreography was an
outstanding part of the show. Their
takeoff on the modern dance in
scene eight was delightful, as was
“Ozone Heights.” Miss Johnson
added spark, always,, to the danc
ing numbers.
Many of the minor characters
’ were very well done. Outstanding
were Marilyn Paterson aud Dalece
Peterson.
Also in his category, William
Veatch added a great many chuck
les to the production.
Singer to be Featured
Friday at Four today in the
Student Union fishbowl will in
clude songs by Chick Nichols,
freshman in liberal arts. The pro
gram was planned by Russ Cowell,
sophomore in liberal arts, and
Sally Jo Greig, freshman in lib
eral arts,
Mens Dormitory Under Construction
by Joe Gardner
Emerald Newt Editor
Women of Carson, look to your
laurels! With the completion of the
new $1,250,000 Virgil D. Earl hall
ill September, 1955, University of
Oregon men will have a dormitory
every bit as modern, luxurious and
comfortable as yours.
Construction on the four-story
building, first permanent men's
dormitory to be built on campus
since John Straub hall was fin
ished in 1929, began during final
week of winter term.
The ground breaking on the lot
back of Straub climaxed a full
year of planning, according to H.
P. Barnhart, director of dormi
tories. Many informal discussion
sessions between the architects,
Church. Newberry and Roehr of
Portland, and the University's dor
mitory policy committee were held
before final plans were drafted,
he said.
The underlying philosophy that
went into the planning was a de
sire to fit students into dormitories
to the best advantage of both the
University housing system and the
individuals themselves, Barnhart
said.
Divided Into Units
With this thought in mind, the
committee decided to divide the
328-man dormitory’ into five sep
arate units connected by covered
walks on the first floor only. Each
unit will be connected to an ex
panded and remodelled Straub
kitchen. The entire new building
will face Emerald street.
It is the hope of the administra
tion that the separate units, which
will house approximately 65 men
each, will create closer ties among
residents and stimulate more pride
in their dormitory, said Barnhart.
The division will also aid the coun
seling program, especially if the
units are used for freshmen as is
now planned, he added.
Each of the units will have its
own lounge, complete with fire
place and easy chairs. To save
a little wear and tear on the
lounges, the all-cement basements
are being left unfurnished for
recreation rooms. Ping-pong facili
ties and card tables can be in
stalled in these basement rooms at
a later date.
The lounges will give access to
individual dining rooms connected
to the Straub kitchen, which will
serve as a “central service core’’
for both Straub and Earl halls. The
dining rooms are designed so that
meals can be served either cafe
teria or family style, Barnhart
said.
Suite for Housemother
In addition, the central unit will
have a complete suite for a house
mother and several parlors in
which to entertain guest3 or par
ents.
IT'S Jl'ST A PILE of lumber and a few holes In the ground at this stage In Its ronstrurtlon, hut the
ned Virgil D. Earl hall, men’s dormitory, will be completed by September, 195.1, at a cost of $1,250,000
and will house approximately 328 men.
All of the rooms in the new dorm
are planned for two-man occu
pancy. Most of these combination
study-sleeping rooms face outward
toward the street, while the ma
jority of the rooms facing on the
inner courtyard, overlooking the
kitchen area, are service rooms.
Furnishings for the new build
ing will be selected under the guid
ance of the architects and are in
cluded in the $1,250,000 cost. Built
in furniture will be constructed by'
the University physical plant.
The exterior of the building will
feature a brick veneer, similar in
appearance to that of nearby Car
son hall and the Student Union. Al
though it is impossible to match
the weathered bricks of the adjoin
ing Straub hall, the new building
will complement its neighbor
structure and blend in nicely with
the other two buildings, according
to Barnhart.
Financed From Fees
The new dormitory is being fi
nanced entirely out of dormitory
fees and such housing revenue as
the sale of trailers previously used
for temporary housing back of the
tennis courts.
When all the first bids on the
project were too high and had to
be rejected by the State Board of
Higher Education in February, it
became necessary to trim a few
Springtime Is Time For ...
SADDLES
• Single Needle
• Orange
Colors!
This Is Strictly The College Man's Shoe!
Lucky Student No. 546
If you have this number on your registration card,
stop in for a free necktie! Watch our ad each
week for • new number!
FENNELL'S
860 E. 18th
itema from the plana to meet the
construction figure approved by
the board. Such itema as a food
conveyor system, dumb waiters
and exterior brick damp proofing
were eliminated at a saving of
nearly $55,000.
r
The construction was not cheap*
»ned, nor was quality sacrifices}
by these modifications of the orig
inal plan. Barnhart declared. Non
essentials were eliminated, so that
Uhe high quality of the other fea
! lures could be maintained.
1