D R A M A
........ . ‘ !
‘Lazarus’: Expressionist look at fearful society
The stam* in
shirk, with
<rude. slick'
11 k;v m:l lo h '
draw ings on
the backdrop
: "laiXarus huighed" by the
American playwright Kugeiie
O'Neill.: was written in..l!l2H.
’’during ih«»" Kxpressiomst etii m
art It sbuvvs , ;.
All the characters except..
• Lazarus wear masks'.. desig i k m I
bv Nan I h iff mail. The masks ah*
• one .bfjho'high(Miiiits and
disturbing, jeaiure* in this
(ilavo i'b« .!!%• of masks Is tin*
d radiatfc: fultdlined I of. ihr Kx
. ‘ pressionl*t" tendency to focus
the eve im myriad disparate
-parts vvhu h when 'Mowed
together-1 emprise a iinilv The
inasks ari; . 'papier niai lie,, and
represent the tlierne V»( distorted
consciousness and emotion,
O'Neill was tonterned with
presenting a so* i.-i\ out ot
hutch. W ith ilsell I lent e re« ill
ii-dt. 'siiftine.il laughter is
enrphned .is ,t mei h.inisiii to
delineate the man ot peat e
I .i/arus from those who with h
and. i‘mv,( hint Hebrews I ml It
common and pr iest I\, (.reeks
(tomans alt blame |esus lor
raising la/aru> Imm the dead,
and all are unable to curtail his
Infections, lulls satisfied
laughter
l,u/urus laughs and everyone
on stage (logins to twitch
laugh, and grimace l or all the
i harat tors exi ept hi/.inis' w ife
Miriam and Marv mother ot
production., the use of elec
ironic laughter creates an
almost parii psychological ef
fect I aizarus' laughter might be ■
•wn as white magic. and the
tablaaotented music Imtween
M i'iii's heightens the nnslical
flavor
l-a/.ams is the animus of the
society he inhabits, and of the
|> I a v ■ / .'>l).e"a I It ' Death !
Vengeance'" i r\ the Romans
and I If lire vy s l.a/,mis answ ers
them In telling them for thVfirst
of several tunes that All deal’ll,
is our invention, so laugh!" „ *
Perhaps I .a/.mis' most tmpor
taut opponent is Caligula ll‘is°
in answer to Caligula's nianu
i.iuiings and ntpat urns niitni
lion th.it l-a/ams gives us some
of his most shining nuggets of
philosophy
Caligula asks Li/.arus, upon
Ci/anis arrival in Koine. "Veil
me why I love so to kill?"
lal/aruV answer is dev.islating:
because y ou tear so much to
die." Thus. Caligula represents
the psy i hit stale ot .ill tile
i haraclers cm ept l.a/arus'
In-loyed Miriam and Mary In
I hi* second act. Caligula even
says of la/anis. "VVe must save
death from him''
After the iuleimission, we
meet Tiberius ( aesai ( ailigllla's
degenerate nut It*. 11101 the
ohstai le I>etyyeen Caligula and
the Imperial seat. Tiberius
wishes to see l.a/.anis bet a use
he has heard that Ci/arus might
lie able to leslore Ills long lost
y outli a lit I y igor
...The use of masks is the dramatic fulfill*
ment of the Expressionist tendency to focas the
eye on myriad disparate parts, which when
viewed together comprise a unity....
lesus, lat/nnis' peaicnt minil is
•i threat
Kven li'iis jtiandtathcr
l\1ar\ s l.illii i that is) i.ursrs
lesus and l-a/arus and "the
(treat hum kum <i> \ 11 whic h
l.iu«hs Inmi ht> mouth " I in
niediatelx taped laughter
lit'Kins ntlsl.iui' and tin*
characters twist anti contort
their bodies in their desperate
< 11nvt■ ■ >Vs to death
When "lat/arux I-amdied"
opened at the Community
Theater in Pasadena. Calif in
1M2K. 400 costumes. 400 masks,
and over 125 people were used.
There were no tape recorders in
use at the time In this modern
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
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★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
\\ <* iiImi moot
Tiberius* manipulative
mistress; she is .1 (it contple
mi'iil lu (!.• 11xtiI<i. in her
x n iuusness .uni i hameleonlike
XOIISO Ilf (Hllilil s 1‘ompeia SIM'S
lo it that Miriam mils poisoned
food from Caesar*# special
plain. Miriam is Ihn only
• harm lor (resides l.a/.arns who
at i opts iho idea that physical
death is not the end ol life, and
she oals it \\ illinglv. after ascer
taining from (.a/.anis that it is
alright to leave his side.
Lazarus shows that his
strength is human, regardless ol
the mirai le ol now Ido which
permits him to display it lielore
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she dies, learns asks Miriam to
call him from beyond death's
door Kventuallv. after (atligula
and the others think that they
have lieaten Li/iifus that
death has won Miriam does
call him. and Pompeia knows
love (or seems to) for the first
time in her life She savs that
she ( mild weep for Iris defeat
The production ol l^/ains
lidn'xhed is not always evenly
parVrr. .There are places where
•actors" .hues run over each
' (Mlier In ihe.first scene, inpar
lic ul a r .the \',pi c e s ol the student
actors lietrav the voulh of the
■cast. Once one nets used to that,
and especially when Ihe
dialogue im hides Ihe Komans.
the audieni e t an i oiu enlrate on
the spiritual lessons and
siibtleties of the plot
| Kichard Williams, a I hiiver
sitv professor of theater, plays
I .a/.arus lie has a very mund.
melldluoiis voire width ion
(lasts sharplv u itli Ihe voices ol
even other ill.lie i harm lei hi
I hr play
Coir llornaday plays several
rol«*s. including Caligula
Short , with long blttixl hair pro
I rutlntg' from lament h hismask.
his Caligula reminds one of
Ilenry M s petulant son John in
“The I doji In Winter"
I ho u g h in ii i: h in o r e
hint nil hirslv.
karen (IIliege does a good,
slinky job w ith I’ompeia. I lei
mask shows more ol her lace
Ilian many of the Hoffman crea
lions; the more the ladter.
Sandra Wiley has some of the
most poignant lines .isMiriam,
especially when she is doomed
to eat her last meal. She could
have spoken up a little more in
her final scene, in order to ac
centuate her entrance to life,
and not her surrender to death.
I ’ll i I Dunn, as Tiberius, is suf
ticienllv depraved, hut does not
sound unite old enough for the
role. This is always a problem
with student repertory com
panies. as most students are
7
voting Ymi can't fault them tor
it.
Some people have wrongly
identified "l.a/.arus Lmghed'
as a (deck li.igedy. Rather, it is
|or was conceived as) an ex
istential. avant-garde vehicle
lor universal significances.
"l^/.arus laughed" will be
plaving at the Villard Hall
Arena Theatre tonight and
Salurdav. and M,i\ l-.t.
Showtime is at H:(H) p in., and
admission is $2.a0 The Arena
Theatre is not large, and
playgoers would do well to pur
chase licki'ls and arrive earlv
Tickets mav he purchased at
the Robinson Theatre box of
fice. or by calling i»Hi»—1*1 *» I. Tint
Robinson Theatre box office is
open Monday through Saturday
from noon to 4 p in., and until
It: III on perform,tin e evenings.
By William Homans
The EMU Cultural Forum Presents
3t the 2
Ser Garden i
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30
fym T ? i?
EMU FOUNTAIN COURT DINING ROOM
i ^JJp
$1 COVER
Get your tickets in advance at the EMU Main desk or at the door.
Food and alternative beverages available.
I D Required *