■The department has put
all of its energy into a
mammoth production of a
critically-acclaimed play
By Joe Walsh
Oregon Daily Emerald
It’s not easy to recreate a man’s
life story in one theater produc
tion.
But that’s exactly what the Uni
versity Theatre Department is do
ing for the next three weeks, be
ginning with tonight’s
performance of “The Life and Ad
ventures of Nicholas Nickleby.”
The production of “Nicholas
Nickleby,” a play based on the
novel by Charles Dickens, caps a
year-long celebration of the 50th
anniversary season of theater pro
ductions at the University’s
Robinson Theatre. The enormous
scope of the production - which
contains 140 named characters,
requires three directors and runs
in two three-hour parts - is a fit
ting tribute to the theater’s golden
anniversary.
“We were looking for a project
that would involve everyone in
the program and that would be
much bigger and grander than
anything we’ve done before,” said
University Theatre’s develop
ment director Joseph Gilg, “and
we narrowed it down to ‘Nicholas
Nickleby’ fairly quickly.”
Although the story - which
chronicles the life of a virtuous
young man in Victorian England
- takes six hours to tell, Gilg said
he prefers not to focus on the
length of the show. That tends to
turn off audiences right away, he
said.
“I liken it to a good novel - the
kind that you can’t wait to read
the next chapter,” Gilg said. “The
story is put together in that way.
It’s so engrossing that as an audi
ence member it just sort of draws
The naked truth about the crew behind the ‘Nickleby’ costumes
While most people at “Nicholas Nickleby”
will be focused on the acting, they might not
realize that the performances are the culmi
nation of almost a year’s work for the costume
crew.
University theater arts professor Alexandra
Bonds started researching “Nicholas Nickle
by” last June by reading the original novel
and the script for the play, and watching the
movie and researching the dress of that time
period. t
Afterwards, she roughed out costume de
signs and began fittings in January.
“We’ve been going full speed since then,”
she said.
Bonds heads the costume crew, which in
cludes 45 University students who costume
upwards of 140 named characters in the play.
And that doesn’t even include costumes for
the crowd scenes, which boost the total num
ber of costumes to almost 200.
Many of the costumes came from the Uni
versity theater department, though some
were borrowed from the local Willamette
Repertory Theater or culled from national
costume searches.
Some of the costumes were also made by
students in one of the theater department’s
costume construction classes, Bonds said.
Students learned advanced sewing tech
niques and applied their skills to construct
ing parts of costumes.
“It’s great that the curriculum coincides
with the play,” Bonds said. “That way, the
students get to learn two things at once.”
— Jessica Blanchard
you in.”
Since its 1980 premiere as a
theater production, the prodi
gious “Nicholas Nickleby” has re
ceived equally grand praise. It
won the Tony Award and the
New York Drama Critic’s Circle
Award for 1981 and was hailed as
one of the greatest theatrical tri
umphs of the 20th century. But
because of its demands on a the
atre’s resources, the play is not of
ten mounted or seen.
While the University Theatre
has done large productions in the
past, “Nicholas Nickleby” is the
largest in 20 years, said UO pro
fessor of costume design Alexan
dra Bonds in a press release. And
while the play’s 32-member cast
is not any larger than.many of the
musicals presented over the
years, the fact that most of the ac
tors present four to six characters
each is remarkable.
“It’s in fact doing two plays at
once,” Gilg said, “and even
though we regularly do that, we
don’t regularly do it with the
same people. That’s where the
challenge comes in.”
Besides the logistical chal
lenges of casting, organizing re
hearsals and determining which
actors would wear which cos
tumes in which scenes, the de
partment also had to create count
less props and costumes. With as
many as 70 different locations
and more than 150 characters, in
cluding the unnamed crowds of
people in the streets of London
and elsewhere, the department
had its hands full.
Senior instructor and Universi
ty Theatre designer Janet Rose
faced the challenge of creating
those 70 different scenes all on
one set that could be transformed
to the various locales by the use of
different props and characters.
“Even though we’re doing a
massive show, Robinson Theatre
didn’t get any bigger,” Rose said.
Rose, who is also organizing
the lighting for the play, said she
will use approximately 200 light
ing cues throughout the show. An
average production uses closer to
60, she said.
Preparing for the overwhelm
ing play was a long and tedious
process that began in the winter
of 1999 when the department
chose “Nicholas Nickleby” as the
single production that would in
volve everyone in the depart
ment. After months of prepara
tion and with the opening
performance right around the cor
ner, everyone involved is ready to
go
“What we’re looking forward to
at this point is the moment we get
tHe audience in,” Gilg said.
“They’re going to see a delightful
story. I just think that all the ener
gy is going to be real infectious
with our audience.”
Part one of “Nicholas Nickle
by” opens tonight at Robinson
Theatre in Villard Hall with part
two following on Friday, May 19.
Part one will be performed on
Thursday evenings, May 18, 25,
and June 1; at Saturday matinees,
May 20, 27, June 3; and at a Sun
day matinee on May 21. Part two
will be presented on Friday and
Saturday evenings, May 19-20,
26-27 and June 2-3 with a Sun
day matinee on May 28. Curtain
times are 7 p.m. for all evening
performances and 1 p.m. for all
matinees.
Tickets for “Nicholas Nickle
by” are available at the Hult Cen
ter and the EMU ticket office.
Tickets are $10 for the general
public; $8 for senior citizens, fac
ulty and staff; and $5 for UO stu
dents with a $1 discount for
Thursday performances. Patrons
will need separate tickets for
each part of the production.
Proceeds from tickets sold by
the Community Internship Pro
gram for the May 21 matinee will
benefit that program. For more
information, call 346-4351.
Letter laments long distance dilemma
Dear Harlan,
My boyfriend and I went out
for 10 months before I left to
study here in the states. We have
had a long distance relationship
ever since. We recently had our 1
year and 7 month anniversary.
When I left we had talked about
staying together, but that we
could see other people. That nev
er happened, and we decided to
be monogamous. I was able to go
visit him during winter break and
he came over during Easter. And
it was great.
But now he wants to do the
"open to other relationships
thing” and I don’t anymore. I
agreed to it before because we did
not know how things where going
to be, or if we were going to be
able to talk. Yet things have
worked fine and we talk every
day. Now, I don’t want to be with
anyone else. He says he loves me
and does not want to break up,
but he does not have me there
and it is hard on him to not do
anything (sexual) with anyone
when I am not there.
He just wants to play around
just to fool around, but still have
me as a girlfriend.
Still, I know it’s going to hurt
the day he tells me about other
girls and I don’t know if I want to
be his girlfriend while he goes out
with other girls. I am so confused
and don’t know what to do! I love
him, and he has been faithful for
eight months of distance, but I
don’t know if I can deal with this.
Yet I don’t want ter ruin every
thing...please help!
- Delirious over the distance
Dear Delirious:
It’s just so "(insert expletive)
stupid" when two people in love
can’t be together because of long
distance.
The only way these distance
things work out is with trust. If
you’re always thinking he’s out
messing around with some other
girl when you can’t get in touch
with him you’ll never want to
touch him again. If you’re going
to be together forever you need to
be in this thing together. If you
need a monogamous relationship
and he’s not willing to provide it,
he might not be the guy for you.
Not being with other partners
is part of being in a relationship.
If he can’t deal with it he should
n’t be in this thing. Random sex is
meaningless. The longing to be
with you physically is part of this
thing. This is part of loving from
afar. It’s not easy. It sucks at
times.
It takes work. If he can’t meet
Advice
Ask
Harlan
his sexual
needs
alone he
needs to
visit you
more often
or get cre
ative. If he
can’t han
dle it
maybe he
needs a
break.
That’s what
it means to
be in an
adult relationship.
Express your feelings and see
what he has to say. Maybe, one of
you can relocate sooner then
planned. If he can’t commit and
you need him to commit, this
thing is only going to slowly dete
riorate. I only hope love will con
quer all...
Dear Harlan:
I was really hurt by a guy, but he
didn’t really know he hurt me. He
is only after sex and sees it as a
game. I find it more emotional and
something that should be shared
with someone in a relationship.
Well, I did something bad, and
I got really hurt by it. I still like
this guy a lot, but I know' he does
n’t like me. I’ve never told him
how I feel, but I need advice on if
I should tell him or not. Should I
tell him how much he hurt me
and how much I like him?
I have not spoken to him in
over a week, but I’m not really
sure how things are between us. I
just want to be with him, but I
know he’s not ready to tie down.
So what should I do?
- To tell or not to tell
Dear to tell:
If you need to talk to him,
make sure you stand far enough
away, so he can’t reach out and
undo any of your buttons. That
would be something bad.
You know what he’s all about
and what he’s after so do your
best to stay away from him.
Clearly, you need someone who
understands you and won’t take
advantage and hurt you. Tell him
what you need to tell him, but
know that he can’t give you what
you want and need. There are
plenty of guys who share your
feelings. Don’t do something bad
with someone bad. It will only
make you feel bad.
Harlan is not a licensed psychologist,
therapist or physician, but he is a li
censed driver. Write Harlan online at:
www.helpmeharlan.com. All letters sub
mitted become the property of the col
umn.
^I_IH^I686-2458
t3 ■ m 492 E. 13th Ave
www.Dijou-cinemas.com
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0H05T DOE
007653
Community
Center for the
Performing Arts
8th &
Lincoln
■ Tonight ■
The Red Elvises
with The Brainwashers
Surf/Suing
$7 door, 8:oo pm
■ Friday ■
Easy Target
The Varicoasters
Lando Calrissian
Punk/Skaw
$6 door, 9:00 pm
■ Saturday & Sunday,
May 20 & 21 ■
Youny Women’s
Theater Collective
with Guys
Drama/Comedy
sliding scale $$-15 door,
7:30 pm
■ Tuesday■
The Original P.
Funkadelic/Parliament
Funk
$18 advance, $20 door, 9:00 pm
All Ages Welcome • 687-2746