Doors regain magic
arts
By Tom Jeffries
Of The Print
Cast slated for comedy
After what could be labeled
as a good turnout of competent
actors—enough to cast two
shows—Director Jennie Mahali
has chosen her cast for the Col
lege’s spring production of
“The Odd Couple.”
The cast consists of: Doug-
Rhodes as Speed, Joe
Schneck as Murray, Franklin
Merris as Roy, Randy Evans as
Vinnie, James Nicodemus as
Oscar Madison, Dana Haynes
as Felix Ungar, Amy DeVour
as Gwendolyn Pigeon and
Becky Proulx as Cecily Pigeon.
The Neil Simon comedy,
based on the lives of two newly
bachelorized men, will be
presented on May 14-17, The
plot involves meticulous Felix
Ungar and incorrigible slob
Oscar Madison. Ungar, who'is
undergoing divorce pro
ceedings, stumbles upon the
doorstep of his long-time bud
dy Oscar Madison. Ungar
moves in with Madison, and in
a couple of disinfected
minutes, Ungar drives Madison
crazy.
“The Odd Couple” will be
taken to Oregon State Univer
sity for the Community College
Theater Conference in Cor
vallis oh May 22 and 23. The
simplicity of the play’s set will
prove quite useful. Explained
Mahali, “At the College, we
will perform in what is called a
‘black box.’ It will have no stage
or curtains.”
Director Mahali chose the
Neil, Simon play not only for its
tight comedy but also for its
number of male roles. Explain
ed Mahali, “It was very difficult
to find a play with a large
number of male roles. I have
found that there is always a
To compensate for the lack
larger turnout of men com of an official stage, Mahali
pared to women at the audi plans to have a special dance
tions.’’Also because of a choreographed for prop
limited financial budget, it was changes. Thus, creating a show
necessary tp find a play that within a show. This prop dance
had a simplistic set.
will be performed by Tina
Another important factor in Riggs.
fluencing Mahali’s decision was
the well drawn character lines.
Recalled Mahali, “I went
Commented Mahali, “Because through mahy plays and I kept
of its explicit characters, it’s an returning to this one. I chose it
excellent opportunity to learn not only because it was suc
straight comedy. One learns cessful at Plymoth (Theater,
timing and business plus the New York City premiere), but
characterization techniques also because Neil Simon is an
necessary for good comedy.”
excellent playwright.”
The drug-related death of
their lead singer at the pinnacle
of their success plunged them
into relative-obscurity, where
they probably /would * have re
mained had it not been for the
movie, “Apocalypse Now.”
As it was, with their music
featuring prominently in that
cinematic extravaganza, The
Doors have once more return
ed to the vanguard of the music
scene, a decade after the
release of their last album.
Their recently re-released
“Greatest Hits” album, now all
but impossible to find in the
Portland area, shows why. The
Doors music has not faded with
time in its excellence. It fits in
with and exceeds every pop
and rock group presently ex
isting, and out “new waves”
the New Wave groups. Even
though the album is 10 years
old, “The Doors Greatest Hits”
is standing on its own.
Musically, the “Greatest
Hits” album is excellent in con
tent and composition. These
four young men were not so
much “rockers” as qualified
musicians, who had no need to
rely on the standard fingernails-
on-the-chalkboard guitar that
has been used effectively to wr
ing information from otherwise
stalwart prisoners of war. Their
music is powerful and grabb
ing. Morrison’s voice was
perfect for their music, totally
incongruous with his ap
pearance and lifestyle.
The New Wave craze
brought The Doors back with a
vengeance.
The songs are oddly com
pelling, this due to the combin
ed forces of excellent music, a
powerful voice, and masterful
lyrics. All songs on the album
were written by the Doors and
this entitles them to even more
respect, as many artists are in*
capable of both • writing and
singing (or even walking and
chewing gum at the same
time). The songs contain no
blatant allusions to drugs,
which many groups must do to
attract any kind of a listening
audience.
In short, The Doors are
back. “The Doors Greatest
Hits” is an album that should
head the list of anyone who
considers himself a music
lover.
‘Sam’ cast treks to unsuspecting Cannon Beach
Dear Auntie Hildegarde,
Boy, it was rough. But, it
was a vacation. The memories
of our five-day excursion to
Cannon Beach will remain in
our minds forever, no matter
how hard we try to forget
them. There we were, 17 of us
theater, people, taking our
winter production of “Play It
Again, Sam” down to the
Coaster Theater in Cannon
Beach. ,
I could sense from the mo
ment I trudged outside with my
Samsonite luggage that the
weatherman was on our side.
Dark and ominous rain clouds
began to fill the sky. Yes, a
perfect sunny day4o go to the
coast. How could we miss? We
did. We were in good spirits as
we began to unload our U-haul
van (loaded to the gills with
props and set materials).' I felt
the warm coastal rain caress
my cheeks. Well, maybe it
wasn’t caressing them, more
like pummeling them.
It was late the first evening
when we retired to our cabins.
Our cabin overlooked the
ocean. We were the envy of all
the other theater people. Ac
tually, you had to sit in one
particular chair to see the
ocean . Our cabin was complete
with a dinky shower, two beds
and a 3x4 kitchenette. It was
incredible! You could wash
dishes, open the refrigerator
and tend to thé stove all from
one strategically positioned
chair.
I really love the smell of the
ocean, but our cabin smelled of
crabs. I hate fish! The odor was
so overwhelming my cabin-
mate and I practically raced to
the store to purchase a large
can of Glade Air Freshener.
After four days of spraying the
curtains, bedroom and
kitcenette, they no longer
smelled of crabs. They smelled
of sand, salt water and pine-
scented air freshener.
I awoke the next morning to
the pounding of hammers and
the sawing of wood. I walked
groggily to the window to see
what was going on. I could
have screamed! They were
building a stupid cabin right
next to ours. I felt the steam
escape through my ears and
my teeth were clenched, A
deep breath. You can handle
this
The theater was only a short
jaunt from our cabin. After a
leisurely breakfast of french
toast and orange juice, we
were ready to face the day. All
we had to accomplish was:
finish the set, hang the lighting
and do a light; sound and dress
rehersal. As we walked into the
theater I felt a sudden, almost
uncontrollable urge to run back
to our crab-scented cabin. But,
I resisted and we all set to
work. A lot of time, sweat and
tears were put into the set.
People were moving left and
right and a dedicated few even
mastered the technique of (you
guessed it) sitting.
That night was our big open
ing of the play. Everyone could
feel the excitement and anxiety
of the first performance. The
audience was huge, gargan
tuan. Twenty people crowded
the seating area. We did a
good show, anyway.
Our later two performances
improved both from the aspect
The best man for the job
is a woman...
Staff photo by Duffy Coffman
This Leong Wing painting was one of many works
displayed last week in the Fireside Lounge.
Wednesday, April 8, 1981
SN: OL0055
Vote S
ASG Vice
of audience attendance and ac
ting quality. Performing in front
of an audience of 130 people
on our last night exhilerated us
all.
The next morning, my cabin
mate and I really got ambitious.
We decided to go for a jog on
the sandy beach. After 15
minutes
of convincing
ourselves that jogging really is
good for you, we set out on our
way. We had been jogging only
about three' minutes when we
both decided to scrap jogging
and collect seashells. As 1 wat
ched the waves slosh in and
break upon the sand, I felt like
being really mean. “Shark!” I
yelled. I never saw a florescent
yellow Nike sweatshirt run so
fast. My cabinmate did not ap
preciate my humor.
Toward the end of our stay
the sand dunes grew larger.
This was in our cabin. The
shower alone had about an
inch of beach on its tiling. We
became used to our small cabin
and even got sort of fond of it.
Rolling out of a single bed onto
the floor of sand was
something to look forward to. I
even felt a twinge of melancho
ly when the construction
fellows didn’t arrive at 8 a.m. to
hammer me out of bed on
Saturday.
The memories of that week
will linger in our thoughts
forever, and we will smile.
Though we have gotten rid of
most of the sand, we still will
remember the gritty hotdogs
and the beer can in the win
dow. My only problem now is I
need a vacation after THAT
vacation. Boy, was it rough!
Your loving niece,
Amy
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