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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1957)
Festival's Romance Play Well Received William Shakespeare's "Peri cles. Prince of Tyre" was among the first romance plays he wrote. It was popular with audiences during the Elizabethan period, but there have been few times since then that it has seen sim ilar popularity. Perhap's this is due to Shake speare's use of formal devices which gave the play a fairyland quality in order to render it plausible. For indeed it does border on the supernatural in places, and it abounds in sensa tional situations and surprises. But whatever the cause of its unpopularity following the Eliz abethan period, it has, since the . turn of the century, been staged with general success at various times. Wall Received Robert B. Loper's production of "Pericles" at the Shakespear ean Festival in Ashland Friday night was well received by al most a full house. Directing such , a play does not in itself make the play success, however. Se lecting good characters, particu larly for the parts of Gower and Pericles, Is necessary to carry the play forward in a smooth, en tertaining fashion. George Vafiadis, cast as Per icles, does a commendable job, not only as the young prince flee ing Antioch in the face of death but also as an elderly king mour ning the loss of his wife and daughter. Ed Brubaker as Gower has a part as important and about as long as that of Pericles. It is Gower who provides the narra tive, and does it well in pre senting background material during time lapses representing several years at a time. Without good casting in those two parts, the play would not have received the audience re sponse it did. But as in any play, supporting roles play a major part, and several such roles in Pericles enhanced the over-all production. Stand-Out Scenes Because the play contains some supernaturalism, family partings and reunions, ship wrecks, and other events which are seldom seen in modern plays, there are several scenes which stand out. The first scene, in which An tiochus. King of Antioch, pro vides the reason for Pericles' flight from death, is marked by evil. George Hchock's presen tation as Antiochus, and Marcia Thayer as his daughter, not only have evil in their voices, but also in their appearance, thanks to wardrobe artist Julia Sandoe and to excellent lighting effects. Another memorable scene takes place in Epheus after the coffin bearing Pericles' wife, Thaisa, is washed ashore. Mi chael O'Sullivan, who played Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII so effectively, has a natural-born part as Cerimon,, a lord of Eph esus, and a magical physician. Ku voice and physical actions provide what Shakespeare prob ably had in mind in mystifying the character. It is Cerimon who, after Thaisa's coffin has been opened, brings her back to life. Brothel Scene Scenes in the brothel, to which Pericle's daughter, Marina, is taken after her capture by pir ates, are staged with excellance. Marina's virtue dominates all forces of vice, and she reforms the bawdy house clientele, even tually forcing the house into bankruptcy. Jean Cartwright portrays Mar ina as an innocent, virtuous lady exceptionally well. In fact, had she remained in the brothel much longer, she may even have reformed the Bawd, played by Muriel Eisenberg, who did as a good a rendition as the Bayd as she did Audrey in "As You Like It." Jerry Turner as a Pandar and William Sharp as Boult, his ser vant, provide a touch of comedy in the brothel scenes, and both characterizations seem to be well adopted to the parts. Perhaps the two most import tant scenes are those in which Periciles is reunited with his daughter and wife. Pericles is most impressive when his daugh ter, whom Pericles believes is dead, attempts to have him speak after a three-month silence. It is a moving scene in which Va fiadis reaches his acting height in the play. Final Scene The final scene, in which Per- 1 . J if: It-' A group of Portland professional women were honored at a luncheon given by M ad ford Altrusa club Thursday noon at Rogue Valley Country- club. The group included (left to right) Mrs. Marguerite Spicker, radio logical technician; Mrs. Freda Cowling, club editor of the Portland Oregonian; Miss Ade line Kendall, owner of Kendall Handicrafts shop: Miss Pearl Base, assistant vice-president of the First National bank, Portland and Mrs. Ruth Kennedy, director of Arts and skills for the Red Cross in Portland. All but Mrs. Cowl ing are members of Portland Altrusa dub. The women attended rehearsals and per formances of the .Shakespearean festival in Ashland during the week, as well as a number of social events. They returned to Portland by the coast route, (Knackstedt photo) iclas is reunited with his wife, is in the temple of Diana, god dess of childbirth. Thaisa, played commendably by Margaret Va fiadis, becomes a priestess when she believes she will never see her husband again. Ellen Kay played the part .of Diana with out a motion. Her part was only to remain on the pedestal with out moving, and throughout the entire scene, she remained as a statue. There are other parts which are noteworthy, among them that of Helicanus, portrayed by William Crossett; Dionyza, wife of Cleon, played by Carole Cox; and Cleon, governor of Tarsus, portrayed by Hugh Morton. Costuming added greately to the production, especially in some of the more elaborate scenes such as the dinner for tournament knights in the King of Pentapolis's court, and the final scene in whieh Pericles and Thaisa are reunited. The white flowing robes of Diana and her Bark Converted Into Good Soil Builder Chicago (If) Scientists at the Armory Research Founda tion report they have developed a method of converting bark in to an inexpensive and unusually effective soil-builder. In tests with greenhouse plants and field crops, the new product was found more ef fective in promoting growth and improving the soil than either peat moss or a commercial soil conditioner, the ARF said. Dr. Roland McCully, scien tific adviser in the foundation's chemistry and chemical engi said the bark soil-builder, used with fertilizer, turns clay and sand into . rich, loamy soil in which plants grow at a surpris- priestess provide a bright fresh ness at the play's end. E.H.A, ing .rate. Contemporary Antennae Unsuitable for Rocket East Lansing, Mich. (IP) The first rocket to the moon will need antennae, but space ships won't be able to use the cumber some devices we know as home radio and television receivers. Two Michigan State Univer sity scientists currently are at tempting to solve mathematical problems in hopes of stripping away part of the mystery still surrounding the operation of antennae. Rockets and satellites couldn't use clumsy outside antennae such as those perched on top of roofs for television reception, say the scientists. They not only would slow down travel speed but would break off. Sunday, August IS, 1957 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE ELEVEN Historic Alaska Town Gets Lifting Valdez, Alaska TO This his toric old gold-rush port is get ting a face-lifting. Seven civil works projects which will cost the federal gov ernment $7,000,000 are sched uled for this fiscal year. The projects include flooa control, breakwaters and a small-boat harbor. Valdez had its beginnings in Revolutionary War days but didn't become famous until the gold rush. During the harsh winter of 1898, some 3000 poor ly prepared, but eager prospec tors attempted the "All-American" route from Valdez through the raw wilderness of the Cop per River valley to the boom ing Klondike gold fields. Hundreds of ill-equipped, ill- informed men died by the trail. In 1899, only a year after the rush began, the population -of Valdez cemetery outnumbered the population of the teeming tent city. By 1910, a trail was blazed to link Valdez with Fairbanks. The trail grew into the Richardson Highway. Today an endless stream of highway transport trucks links the almost-tamed interior with Valdez. Company Provides Insurance for Help Chicago (in A Morton Grove, 111., manufacturing firm claims it is the nation's, first major industry to give retired employees medical care insur ance. Bell and Gossett company said the coverage is in the form of single premium contracts, ef fective on the retirement dates of the employees. 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