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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 1958)
1 Ifr MAIL TRIBUNE. MedforJ, Oregon, Thursday, Auguit 21, 1938 Noted Drama Critic Eyes Shakespearean Plays In West; Positive Values Editor's note: Hmry Hewes, drama editor for The Saturday Beview, visited the Ashland and San Diego Shakespearean Festi val? recently, and recorded his impressions in the magazine which has an influential and in ternational circulation. His col umn is republished by permis sion of The Saturday Review from the magazine's Aug. 23 Issue.) WILL O THE WEST Of the six Shakespeare fes tivals now edifying this conti nent, two are on the West Coast. And upsetting the no tion that culture always travels irom tne more civi lized East to the land of cow boys and Indians, the two fes tivals at Ashland, Oregon, and San Diego, California, found ed their Shakespeare factories years before those at Antioch, Ohio; Stratford, Ontario; Stratford, Connecticut; and . New York City. The Oregon Shakespearean Festival began in 1935, in an open-air reconstruction of an Elizabethan stage. (Of course, the reconstruction s hypo thetical and contains several features, such as benches built around the two forestage pillars and wide doorways at each side of the stage, that are .modern supplements). Its rea son for going back to the old stage was not so much a desire to establish a living museum as it . was to make the plays work by forcing the directors and actors to solve the prob lems of the plays in a way similar to the way they must have been in Shakespeare's day. Guiding Principle This gave the festival a guiding principle to hold onto. Furthermore, there was added to this an insistence upon disciplined, articulate speech and strong use of ges ture, a directorial staff that lThe boss fwf won't carry nuihin'but jSANTIAM BLUE LAKE : STRING l ESS GREEN BEANS 6. A3 - TABLE ROCK ROAD AT 4 CORNERS 4 SWIFT'S PREMIUM OREGON GROWN FRYERS We SWIFT'S SLICED BACON ENDS 3 FRESH BEEF HEARTS NEB ERG ALL'S CHUCK SAUSAGE SWIFT'S PREMIUM CANNED mriwc U.S. No. 1 IDAHO POTATOES GUARANTEED LOCAL WATERMELON does not change too much from year to year, and an in stitute, headed by Dr. Mar gery Bailey, which does ex haustive research on thorny points within each summer's schedule of plays. Whatever the lacks in a given produc tion, the festival most certain ly has its own personality. This season it is performing "Troilus and C r e s s i d a," "Much Ado About Nothing," "The Merchant of Venice," and "King Lear." The latter two plays illustrate oa,e ad vantage of bringing back key personnel each year. Richard Graham, who played the title role in a previous festival pro duction of the tragedy five summers ago, this season has a second chance. What he learned from his first try has been applied to his new per formance. This, combined with his steady accumulation of acting experience, has re sulted in what the festival board of directors consider to be the finest productiou in their history. Bowmer Liked Similarly, the festival's pro ducing director, Angus Bow mer, has been working on the character of Shylock over a long period of time. He has not worked selfishly to make the part greater and richer, but rather has tried to find a characterization that would make the comedy work best for its audiences. His Shylock, therefore, tends to be some what in the Smith-and-Dale tradition. And even his final exit is a delayed fawning one which achieves a punctuation of laughter with the Duke's words, "Get thee gone . . . but do it!" The other virtues of this production are Nagle Jackson's Lancelot Gobbo, the best this writer has ever seen, and Margaret Vadiadis' Por tia, which combines the hys teria of love with the canni ness of a woman who knows how to get her ends. But there are for the sophisticated playgoer d i s turbing shortcomings as well. There is much too much grandiloquent gesture, and performing of the meaning of each line rather than the situ ation in which it is spoken. And in its wish to adhere to the Elizabethan pattern the policy of no intermissions is followed for every play. It is perhaps right to accept the challenge of making each production so exciting that one does not want the distrac tion of an intermission, but one wishes that the produf ers would amend their policy when it becomes obvious that an intermission would help rather than hinder. Difficult Plot In "Troilus and Cressida" we have a good example. Here is a play that presents great difficulties and particularly needs any help it can get. As directedby James Sandoe, the most effective moments are the tender ones. George Va fiadis is ideal when he speaks of love. And Margaret Vafia- PHONE There is. none better cut 'em free! Lb JtJOO. T ICE CREAM WAGON 51. $ Meat 100 .Lb. dis admirably captures the tingling anticipations of a woman who aches to give her self, but does not wish to lose her man by quick surrender. As Pandarus, Michael O'Sulli van achieves a degenerate zeal that he manages to make amusing. But the long coun cils of war are static and talky. One comes away from this festival with an admiration for the universally high qual ity of speech and for the beauty of this Oregon valley town and its refreshing cli mate (in seventeen years only five performances have been rained out). One also admires the fringe activities, including readings of source material for the plays and the famous Lilliput Toy Theatre of San Francisco, which presents thoroughly delightful per formances with miniature cardboard actors and scenery lit ingeniously and charming ly with tiny lights. Yet one wonders if the positive values that have been achieved here would be lost if the Ashland Festival would occasionally invite a guest director to pro duce a show and allow him to introduce some modern in novations that would make the plays seem less remote to contemporary audiences. Less Ambitious At San Diego, California, in a smaller and indoor Eliza bethan theatre left over from the Exposition of 1935, the San Diego Community The atre is offering its ninth an nual National Shakespeare Festival. Under resident direc tor, Craig Noel, its program tends to be less ambitious and more alert to entertainment values than its Oregon counter part. It attempts only the popular plays of Shakespeare, and is less exacting in its dis-i cipline. Its actors are promis ing students, and graduates of the nation's best drama schools, who find the San Diego summer a stepping stone to careers in the pro fessional theatre. This summer San Diego is seeing "Macbeth," "Anthony and Cleopatra," and "Much Ado About Nothing." Before each show, there is a free pageant on the lawn, or should we say greensward, in which an imperious Queen Elizabeth appears with her retinue and commands danc ers, fencers, tumblers, and singers to entertain her. Once inside the teatre the stage ap pears smallish, and the small auditorium demands a more intimate style of production. The actor is called on for subtlety; while the less experi enced actor is not always able to give us that subtlety, the challenge is good for his de velopment. Young Players In "Much Ado About Noth ing," as directed by Allen Fletcher, two much too young performers, Edward Martz and Donna Carnegie, attempt Benedick and Beatrice. Thus, there are many times when NO 4-1511 COLORED .39 TISSUE SKIPPY CANNED DOG JORGENSEN'S OR SNIDER'S NESTLE'S MILK .89. PRESERVES GRADE AA EGGS OCCIDENT 2W- FLOUR Seen the acting is overly obvious, with the actors underlining and straining at Jhe making of a point. The best parts of this production are the fun ones: Miss Carnegie's double take as she peeks back on stage to observe Benedick's strange behavior, or Mr. Martz"s crooning of a song as if he fancies himself to be a Bing Crosby. Ric Lavin, who also plays Macbeth, has a nice dryness as Verges, and Joel Martin's Dogberry is amus ingly fatuous. Both these West Coast fes tivals are performing useful functions, in the training of actors, and in accustoming audiences to Shakespeare and a form of the open stage. The best performers in each com pany could be intermingled with those of our most pro fessional Eastern festivals to our advantage. Henry Hewes. Alcorn Unleashes Charges in Debate With Paul Butler Aberdeen, S. D. (UPD Na tional Republican Committee Chairman Meade Alcorn un leashed a barrage of corrup tion charges against the Dem ocrats in an unusual face to face debate with his Demo cratic opposite, Paul Butler, Wednesday night. The party leaders met in limited debate before the South Dakota Bar Associa tion's annual banquet here. Butler won the flip of a coin and spoke first. Alcorn follow ed, and then each speaker was allowed five minutes for re buttal. Butler opened the debate with a blast at the Eisenhower administration for failure to carry, through on campaign promises. Broken Promise . "Perhaps the most brazenly broken promise of all was the famous Eisenhower pledge to reduce crop surpluses, to raise farm income and farm prices, and to obtain for the farmer his 'full parity 100 per cent parity with a guarantee in price supports of 90 per cent'," Butler said. He called the administration farm policy the biggest na tional calamity suffered by any one economic group with in our population. Alcorn, in his opening re marks, defended the integrity of the Eisenhower administra tion and said 220 separate scandals were uncovered dur ing the administration of Pres ident Truman. No Indictments "There has not been a single indictment, trial or conviction of even one official of the Ei senhower administration," Al corn said. He said the Internal Reve nue Service in particular was MIDGET PRICES Thursday, Friday, Saturday OPEN 8 A.M. TILL 8:30 P.M. EVERY DAY WALDORF FOOD 14 EVAPORATED Tall Tins ROYAL CLUB PURE STRAWBtRRY 3 SMALL 3 Locally produced HARD WHEAT LOCKER MEATS A SPECIALTY NEW" OFFICER Andrew Hawver, Talent, (left), president of the Southern Oregon Humane Society, and William O. Herring, new investigating officer for this district, pose beside the truck used by the district humane society office. Herring is a former U.S. Navy recruiter here. Local humane Walkout Against Company Settled Portland (UPD Agree ment to end a three-day walk out at the American Can company plant here was an nounced Wednesday night. Members of Local 2070, United Steelworkers of Amer ica, refused to report for work Monday in protest over disciplinary action taken last week end against two em ployees. Union and management ne gotiators agreed to submit the incident to normal grievance procedures provided for in the contract. An employer spokesman said the union members would be back on the job today. Former Vancouver Woman Killed Ventura, Calif.' (UPD A 34-year-old former Vancouver Wash, resident was killed and nine other persons injured in a two-car collision Wednesday four miles west of Ventura on Highway 101. Dead was Mrs. Lois Ann Johnston of Oxnard,' Calif. She lived in Beaverton, Ore., and Vancouver before moving to Oxnard. California State Patrol of ficers said one car swerved into the path of the other. Both vehicles were loaded with women and children. Mrs. Johnston is survived by her husband, Les, who presently is at sea with the Navy, and two children, Bruce, 7, and Leslie Ann, 6. "shot through with graft and corruption at the very top" during the Truman adminis tration. Butler replied that the is sue of morality in government has been "cynically, ruthless ly and hypocritically exploit ed by Mr. Eisenhower and his coterie." "And of course," Butler said, "the chief moralizer of them all was Ike's assistant and Bernard J. Goldfines helper, Sherman Adams." Cans 79? Gallon 6 - 79 10-oz. Glasses Dozen 4 Ron 5 $1.00 59 9 10 s 8.9 Police Prepare . Charges in Killing San Francisco (UPD Po lice prepared today to file a murder charge against Al bert H. Lewis, 48, a brewery employee who confessed strangling his wife and bury ing her body on the Nevada desert. Lewis was expected to re turn here sometime today from Eureka Nev., where he pointed out to police the lone ly grave of his wife, eight miles west of the pioneer town. "That's where she is," he said, as he pointed to the grave in a dry alkaline gully. Early Monday orning1 j-iewis telephoned police and confessed he strangled his wife, Dolly, 36, Aug. 5 after a drunken quarrel. Four days later, he put her body in the trunk of his car and drove to Eureka, 255 miles east of Carson City, and buried her. The body was taken to Ely, 78 miles east of its grave, for an autopsy r Nevada and California au thorities took brief statements from Lewis to ascertain that the slaying occurred in San Francisco. Nevada authorities said they plan no prosecution in that state. As the party left -the burial scene, Lewis said: "Well, that's it. I'm ready to take my punishment." Practically all the canned pork' exported by the U.S. in 1957 went to Korea, Spain and Venezuela. mw How is it you know you're taking no chances when you let a youngster take your shopping list? Isn't it for the same reason that you buy 70 of your family's food without actually seeing it? You know that A good brand is your best guarantee : : . and that the name on the label is your best buying guide. You have learned to count on good society office is located at 2902 Table Rock rd. in Medford. Telephone number- is NOrmandy 4-2406. Any reports of sick or injured animals or of neglect or mistreat- . ment may be made there and will be in vestigated, Hawver said. Soil Bank Payments To Be Increased Portland (UPD Soil bank payments in Oregon will be increased next year, it was announced Wednesday. Oregon's average annual payment rate per acre for land put in reserve will be $16 compared to the present $12, according to Joseph E. McBurney of Gaston, chair main of the State Agriculture Stabilization and Conserva tion committee. i The announcement was made at a meeting here of ag riculture leaders from north west Oregon with state offi cials. Opening, date for farmers to make inquiries at county ASC offices was set for Sept. 2. Closing date is Oct. 3. First of Bridge Piers To Be Blasted Aaway Portland (UPD The first of four old Morrison bridge piers will be blasted, about 4:15 a.m. Friday, Harry Dick, Portland manager of General construction Co., which is tearing down the old span, announced Wednesday. Next week blasts are planned on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at the same time to demolish the steel-jacketed concrete shafts FOR SAFETY'S SAKE Buffalo, N.Y. (UPD The Trico Products Corp. here has developed a safety device that automatically locks automo' bile doors when the engine is started. Some 1959 model cars are expected to carry them send d child Committee Hears Progress Reports Salem (UPD The gover nor's committee on natural resources Wednesday heard a progress report on the Alsea river basin study. Executive Secretary Rich ard Bain told Gov. Robert D. Holmes and the committee that an impoundment study of salmon was getting much attention now. Bain mentioned that ar rangements were being made with an organization called Salmon Unlimited, Inc., which wants to build a number of ponds for fish study. Under the plan, the committee would furnish a fish biologist and two graduate assistants to work with Salmon Unlimited. The plan touched off a dis cussion of the proper role of the committee in the Alsea basin study. .. Gov. Robert D. Holmes and committee members agreed generally that it was not the intent of the Legislature to set up a basin agency which would be another -agency of state government. The committee plans to ask the 1959 Legislature for about $250,000 for its various studies, including Alsea, and the governor cautioned mem bers to " break down their budget requests by individual pVojects for the convenience of legislators. . The U. S. has one-third of the world's railway mileage. most refreshing... made GET ON THE VODKA WAGON ,WITH . 80 S 100 Proof. Distilled from trail. Sti. Piirre to the store? brand names. You know the company standi back of them. You know they protect you. The more good brands you get to know, the fewer buying mistakes you'll make. Get ac quainted with those brands in this newspaper. You'll get more value for your shopping money if you do. ' i BRAND NAMES FOUNDATION Incorporated A Non-Profit Educational Foundation 17 West 57th St., New York 19, N. Y. MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE Long Beach Yovth Taken from Ledge Yosemite, Calif., (UPD A 17-year-old Long Beach, Calif, youth was hauled 750 feet up the sheer face of Yosemite's famed Glacier Point Wednes day after being stranded ov ernight on a narrow ledge. The youth. Bill Beeghley. was cautiously pulled up on a rope by rangers from the ledge where he bad become stranded after attempting a forbidden short cui from the peak to the valley floor. Beeghley was unharmed and suffered no ill effects from his night on the cliff ledge. i - Contracts Awarded for Apartment Buildings . Portland (UPD Contracts were awarded Wednesday for the construction of the two million dollar Park Vista apartments, a 10-story tenant owned cooperative to be erect ed by the Park Vista Corp., at S.W. Vista Ave. , and Park Place. Completion date for the project is late 1959. Work is scheduled to begin immediately under contracts totaling $1921,000 awarded to' Hoffman Construction company. The luxury apart ment building will contain 60 units. A total of 1,142 Americans have become permanent resi dents of Jamaica in the Brit ish West Indies during the past five years. with Smirnoff M fht greatest nanw in Smirnoff Fit (Dir. if Riuiliii), Hirtfirf, Chi. (fa i TOM THUMB MOBIL FEED FRISKIES 20lbs.1.79 MEAL 50 lbs. 3.98
