Surface and Synjbol
The Emerald’s weekly arts and entertainment supplement Thursday, April 7, 1977
‘Greasepaint’ proves visually delightful
By HELEN ROBINSON
Of the Emerald
“The Roar of the Greasepaint ... the Smell of the
Crowd' by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse, pre
sented on the Mainstage at the University Theatre on
Saturday night, is at best a dated show with catchy songs.
Visually, this rendition was entrancing. The set, light
ing, costumes and choreography were delightful. The
costumes, designed by Ellen Dennis, were imaginative
and festive. The set, designed by Dale Hearth, the direc
tor and comprised of planked and raked natural wood
platforms, was an ideal complement to the brightness of
the costumes and light.
Chester Boyett did an excellent job of lighting the
show. His colours were fiery, carnival colours, his effects
imaginatively conceived and immaculately executed.
One of the most artistically satisfying moments was the
finale with Cocky and Sir silhouetted against an amber
shaft of light in a frozen attitude of flight. Throughout the
performance the cohesive element was the choreog
raphy. Imaginative, yet simple, Larry Sutton knew the
capabilities of his dancers and never once exceeded that
limit. The result was vital, disciplined and a delight to
watch.
On the acting side, Rick Harris as Sir gave a solid
performance. He had a strong singing voice and used the
full range of his speaking voice effectively. Occasionally I
felt that his acting needed an older, stiffer quality, but as a
whole it was very enjoyable.
Mark St. Amant, on the other hand, as Cocky, was
not as successful. As a young and inexperienced actor he
needed much closer direction. His position in relation to
the orchestra was frequently upstage and this accen
tuated the inaudibility of his singing. He was hopelessly
lost in the top range of “Who Can I Turn to" and was
obviously aware of it. If the last note had been rewritten an
octave lower it would have saved both the singer and the
audience a good deal of embarrassment. Special men
tion should be made, however, of the routine between
Cocky and Sir "Where would you be without me?” Intri
cately choreographed and performed, it was well deserv
ing of its applause.
Nancy Hills as the Kid was full of brattish vitality.
Unfortunately she also had difficulties with her solo sing
ing, which could have been solved by eliminating it en
tirely and simply speaking the words.
There was one outstanding performance by Jan
Powell as Cocky’s dream girl. Her dancing was enchant
ing and her singing had a liquidity which set her far above
the rest of the cast.
As a whole the show is a piece of British frivolity. The
game played between Sir and Cocky is not of sufficient
interest to hold an audience. If anything it is the contrast of
personalities that gives the show its depth.
The characters’ mannerisms are uniquely British and
this was largely ignored by the director. St. Amant’s cock
ney dialect came and went in varying degrees while Har
ris made no attempt at all to use an accent.
There was a lack of attention to the building of
climaxes and tensions during the show. Each phase of
the game was similar to the one before. The pace, though
varied from one character to another, was rarely used to
colour the moods of the play.
The Urchins provided a good chorus but their con
stant squealing quickly became monotonous.
Indicative of the dated and very British quality of the
play was the scene in which Cocky won his only point
against Sir, with the assistance of the negress.
Nathalia Smith did her best to overcome the insulting
racial inuendoes and the lamentable script, but the com
bined effect of the latter, the high volume of the orchestra,
her obvious nervousness and what appeared to be a
complete lack of direction, proved too much for her to
handle.
All in all “The Roar of the Greasepaint... the Smell of
the Crowd’’ was a mildly entertaining evening full of tech
nical brainstorms and not many directorial ones.
The show continues its run at Robinson Theatre
tonight, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
Photo by Tonya Houg
Musical conductor works behind the scenes
Last Friday evening at 8 p.m. University senior Bruce
McDonald raised his baton beginning the overture for the
recent University Theatre musical ‘‘The Roar of the
Greasepaint... The Smell of the Crowd”. As conductor
for “Roar”, McDonald had complete charge of the musical
numbers in the show. “Nobody told me it was this much
work!" he said.
“Roar is the twelfth or thirteenth (or is it 15th) musical
production since 1969 when he wrote his first musical (as
an eighth grader (called "A Spy in the White House." Yet,
the musical theatre is more than an avocation with
McDonald, an English major at the University. “It’s an odd
situation," he says. “It’s not every day you find an English
major conducting an orchestra.” He will graduate in 1978
with teaching accreditation in English and theatre.
Music has been a part of McDonald's life for many
years. Seven years of piano lessons, high school band,
piano accompanist for vocal groups at Scio High School
all led to his first “official” musical production. He served
as accompanist for the Valley Round Barn Theatre in
Corvallis for their 1973 production of “How to Succeed in
Business Without Really Trying."
Just under a year later, while a freshman at the
University, he walked into the office of UT director Faber
DeChaine and asked to play the piano for an upcoming
performance of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to
the Forum." The play’s director, Dan Hays, consented
and McDonald’s association with UT began.
Since then, he has served as undergraduate rep
resentative to the UT Executive Board (re-organized last
year as the UT Advisory Board). He has composed music
for the 1976 production of “The Good Woman of Set
zuan,' appeared briefly in last spring’s “Prism’' and
served as assistant director and stage manager for “The
Time of Your Life" last fall. He is also a member of UT's
Action Theatre Board for the current academic year.
In addition to his UT activities, McDonald has served
as accompanist and orchestra member for productions at
the Very Little Theatre, Lane Community College and
Northwest Christian College. He has composed music for
productions at the University, Oregon College of Educa
tion, Scio High School and the Scio Bicentennial Commit
tee.
Although he is picking up teaching certificates in
English and Theatre, his real dream is to work in the
professional theatre, hopefully in New York City. But, in
the meantime, McDonald seems content with his many
theatre activities in Oregon.
He urges anyone who has the slightest interest in
theatre to get involved. Noting that students from other
disciplines on campus are hesitant to get involved w.i:h
theatre here, he states, “Sometimes it takes more gump
tion and energy than talent to get involved in theatre but
once you hear the Roar of the Greasepaint..you're
hooked.”