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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1975)
Can you believe it? Se venteen architecture stu dents actually agreed on something! In this case it’s the design ol the set to be used for the University’s May production of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass.” Speaking of which, be tween 75 and lOO voices are needed for a “Mass” stand ing choir. Anyone who has participated in choirs in the past is invited to join the standing choir either by fil ling out an application at the School of Music office or by calling 6*6-3793 and having your application completed by phone. No auditions will be held! And University students may arrange to obtain two spring term credits. Rehearsals will be Tues day and Thursday even ings from 7-9:20 p.m. in music school Room 202, starting April 3- Additional questions may be directed to Dan Sachs, 6S6-3793. Photo by Beth Van Deuser Ait accent on wit By RANDY SHUTS The current University Theater production of Noel Coward s “Pri vate Lives,’’ directed by Dan Hays, is immensely successful. The charm of the actors, the awing set and tasteful costuming, can transform the most downcast mood into its own wistful delight in its 21/2-hour performance—a 21/2 hours which rushes by in laughter. The three-act comedy, set in the 1930s, follows the lines of a Shakespearean comic love romance except that it is dosed with perpetual one-liners with an accent on wit rather than poetry. The plot is relatively simple. Amanda and Elyot, divorced from each other for five years, are hon eymooning in the French Riviera with their respective new spouses, Victor ard Sybil. Amanda and Elyot soon find that they accidentally have been as signed neighboring rooms Upon meeting, they decide they are in love again, and rush off to Amanda s lavish Paris flat where they quarrel and make up innum erable times until Victor and Sybil show up. The drama s denoue ment then evolves into the quin tessential happy ending. Despite the simplicity of the plot, the stylized characters and rapid-fire one-liners keep the play both interesting and stimulating. Though this interest is largely due to Coward's own good script, it takes a professional cast to make the script work. And this produc tion definitely works. In an ordinary UT drama, Jeanne Beaird as Amanda would steal the show In a production as this, where the acting has almost uniform excellence, she must set tle for the title of most captivating character She has a complex role where she must at times be bitchy and at other times seductive, while still maintaining her de tached charm. Beaird pulls off this many-sided characterization quite well Her voice, body move ments and especially her eye con tact, enthrall the audience throughout the play. Oregon Daily Emerald Elyot, played by John De scutner, seems to have trouble settling into his character during the first act as he^occasionally overacts-FgfJhts reason, the first act drags^briefly. For the second and Miird acts, h^^r, he ad justs himself yhi surdist portrayal antj^Bcomes alv natural; convincingly nat | Both Ave and Ron h tbeir partj Amanda must pla dictable compiic, not so predii they don't pull off good one themselves. Hanlon's high pitched, Mary Astor voice and shrill Edith Bunker laugh, bring constant chuckles throughout the comedy. At first, she seems un comfortable within her body -moyenients, but by the play s finale, sheFStaj^nto her charac ter. Hansen gnjjBir looks, talks, sighs and walks"!ke the bewil dered, befuddled business efcpcu \ \ [»in acting is ovan who uise, thfe ich is awfyl. ing with a ieemsh/talk 'nation. Her Jwever, is not from the suc ^jerlough "cess of the play. No little credit for this play’s achievement is due to Ron Gloekler s glamorous, period cos 50% to 70% SAVINGS ON ALL MERCHANDISE New Discount Stock Arriving Regularly Famous Name Brand Shirts $4.00 to $8.00 Elsewhere *15.00 to *22.00 Pants — Jeans, Cords > Brushed Denims Jj All $7.00 £ DON’S DUDS f & THINGS J warehouse outlet MON—THURS 10-6 FRI, SAT 10-9 539 East 13th Across from MAX’S turning. The elegant dresses and sharp suits probably would be the show stopper if it were not for Jerry Williams' intricate set. When the curtain rises on the set of Amanda's Parisian flat, the audi ence responds with a chorus of oohs and ahs. This implicit ap plause to the set—colored in hues of green and gold—is well deserved. The fact that “Private Lives" is not a particularly profound drama, is both a minus and plus. It is a minus in that the cast must work doubly hard to maintain the audience's interest and a plus in that the cast has only to refine thpir characterizations instead of a possibly burdensome message. Dan Hays' direction manipulates all the pluses and shoves any possible problems into the corner. The play’s final performances (to night through Saturday) are guaranteed to offer 21/2 hours re spite from the grueling load of this term's end. SUMMER ORIENTATION AIDES 164 Oregon hall deadlines aprll 4
