0
t MAIL TRIBUNE, Medfonf, Oregon, Sunday, Spcmber 7, 195S
mid
Excellent Production
Of 'Merchant Noted
It was an excellent pro
duction of "The Merchant of
Venice"' last Thursday night
in the Oregon Shakespearean
Festival theater in Ashland
but it was a sad event.
When the players took their
final bows, when Richard
Graham had SDoken the tra
ditional closing night verse
from "Tempest," when tne
last notes of "Greensleeves'
Hied awav. manv in the au
dience felt more than usual
regret that another season had
ended. For soon the old thea
ter will be torn down, and
although those of us who have
made the Festival an impor
tant part of our lives know
that a fine, new theater will
rise in its place, we cannot
see the old one go without a
twinge of sadness.
The old building and the
nlrl stage were part of the
Festival's growing pains. At
times the pains were ramer
rrim hut these were always
forgotten in the- excitement
and glow of a good opening
nipht. or of a scene which
captured and held the audi
ence; they faded away in the
color and drama, were or. no
consequence when a vibrant
voice could be heard speaking
the singing poetry.
The new theater will be the
fulfillment of the dreams of
Angus Bowmer and all the
many others who have work
ed hard to build the Festival.
But while the work goes on
for the new and growing Fes
tival, the scenes of the past
will still he a part of the pic
ture. This writer, for one, will
never forget Paul Kliss and
William Ball in their roles in
the Second Part, King Henry
IV; Philip Hanson as Hotspur,
Clara Daniels as Regan, Wil
liam Oyler as Pistol or Bru
tus, Joyce Womak for her
Ophelia, Joan Kugell for her
Margaret in Richard the
Third, or any of her other
roles, Don Gunderson as
Richard or Antony - the list
could grow longer and lon
ger. SHU Doing So
Some of these we believe,
with regret, will never be
seen on the Ashland -festival
stage again. We hope we are
wrong. Others who have made
acting history for the Festi
val are still doing so, and
each year the Oregon play
series continues to attract in
telligent and talented play
ers from all parts of the na
tion. For the season just closed,
this reporter's personal Oscar
.goes to Angus Bowmer for his
unforgetable Shylock, and to
Richard Graham for a mov
ing performance as King Lear.
We've seen both in the same
roles before but these were
richer, better rooted and more
rewarding.
Not being an authority on
the Elizabethan period, we
know not whether Bowmer's
costume and wig were truly
authentic but if not, who
cares? They subtly accented
the interpretation which he
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Jim Elbert,
? Seoisoinr vdws ff FesnvoB Ploy
chose to give Shylock this
year, and we approve.
Praises . Actors
Praise also goes to Nagle
Jackson and Michael O'Sulli
van for their skillful playing
of Launcelot Gobbo, the
clown, and Old Gobbo, his
father. William Nye gave a
satisfying performance as Bas
sanio, and the quartet of
friends, Rudolf E. Vest Jr.,
Charles A. Cook, George Rid
dle and Keith Fowler, gave
the proper color and sub
stance to their scenes.
We find Margaret Vafiadis
a fine and intelligent actress,
and enjoy her playing, par
ticularly when she speaks of
love. However, in the court
room scene of "The Merchant
of Venice" Mrs. Vafiadis, and
for that matter, other actress
es we've seen in the same
role on the Ashland stage, fail
to hold our interest. Some
how, our .imagination balks.
This year, Shirley Douglass
and 'Ellen Kay added femi
nine charm as Nerissa and
Jessica.
George Vafiadis' presence
in the Festival company this
year and last has been as wel
come as that of his wife. His
playing of the Duke of Al
bany in "King Lear" added
authority to that cast. For
that matter, the entire cast of
"Lear" turned in good, solid
performances to back up
Richard Graham's lead.
Claude Jenkins has fine sta
ture and bearing, and he uses
his rich voice to good advan
tage. One ' must not forget Ed
ward Grover's playing of the
Duke of Kent. Grover s acx
ing has weight and character
and his lines were delivered
tn eood effect. Although not
a large man, Grover is im-
nressive on stase - especially
when he stooped down, pick
ed ud a man larger than him
self - Graham, and carried
him off stage.
Three Daughters
The three daughters of
"Kine Lear" are characters
in which an actress has ample
opportunity to show her tal
ents, and this season Director
Don Loper had three able
vount women in his cast. Ros-
alyn Newport's gentle Cor
delia was well contrasted to
the scheming and unlovable
Goneril and Regan, played by
Elizabeth Hiller and Rachel
Weller.
As for "Much About Noth
ing," this reviewer found
Harold V. Gould an utterly
delightful Benedick, and Pa
tricia Moran a charming Bea
trice. Gould's playing of the
cvnical bachelor was keyed
just right and his timing on
the comedy lines faultless. His
doleful attempt to sing a song
was one of the most hilarious
scenes of the season.
We liked George Vafiadis
as Claudio, and the comedy
scenes of Hugh Evans and
Robert Towers, playing Dog
berry and Verges, were well
done.
Dissatisfaction
Perhaps it was the fault of
our lack of background, but
"Troilus and Cressida" left us
with a feeling of dissatisfac
tion, as of something started
"1
I
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Manager . .
but unfinished. We have no
quarrel with the playing or
direction, and cannot actually
explain our dissatisfaction.
George and Margaret Vafiadis
achieved both sweetness and
ardour in their love scenes,
and Vafiadis has a true feel
ing for the poetry, as well as
drama.
We hope that the Festival
attempts this play again be
fore too long.
At the beginning of the sea
son Producing Director Bow
mer was heard to say "this
is a good company this
should be a good season." And
it was.
The Oregon Shakespearean
Festival in Ashland has im
measurably enriched the life
of this reviewer and her fam
ily in recent years, and as it
has done for us, so it must
do for others. Shakespeare
brings us laughter and wis
dom, poetry and drama, spee
ches that are earthy or lyri
cal; Shakespeare brings to
the valley people from all
over the nation,1 people with
stimulating personalities and
ideas who stir us up. And if
you must be practical, it
brings in money cold hard
cash which tinkles In the cash
registers all over southern
Oreeon. -
Long live Shakespeare and
the festival! - O.S. ,
Disagreement Voiced
To Critic's Verdict
This reviewer has expressed
elsewhere his .disagreement
with a verdict of Henry
Hewes, drama critic for The
Saturday Review, that the
bareness of the Elizabethan
stage, and the rather strict ad
herence to the Tudor example,
leaves something to be de
sired in the Oregon "Shake.
spearean Festival in Ashland.
Id his Review article, clev
rlv entitled "Will ! o' the
West," Hewes pursues this,
saying: "One wonders if the
positive values that have been
achieved here would be lost if
the Ashland Festival would
occasionally invite a guest di
rector to produce a show and
allow him to introduce some
modern innovations that
would make the plays seem
less remote to contemporary
audiences."
Asks What Is Remote
What, one inquires, is re
mote about these plays?
Are they remote when they
make teen-agers roar with
laughter, or shed a surrepti
tious tear?
Are .they remote when the
SRO sign is out night after
night, with discriminating pa
trons from every state of the
union?
Are they remote when pa
trons who "discover" Shake
speare in Ashland return (de
spite the wooden seats) again
and again, in preference to
the best (or worst) that Hol
lywood or TV can offer?
These plays are about as
remote as a sock on the jaw.
We do not, of course, know
to what "modern innovations"
Hewes refers.
But it cannot be costuming;
we would say this has been
getting better and better each
year, achieving a sort of col
orful mood music all its own,
as it helps delineate charac
ter, theme and action.
Little More Asked
It cannot, assuredly, be
lighting. For , with handicaps
imposed by a difficult techni
cal situation, the lighting has
reached a point of virtuousity
where little more could rea
sonably be asked. -
Surely he doesn't want a
proscenium, nor a draw-curtain,
nor a mechanically re
volving stage.
What, then, does he want?
Something, perhaps', that is
just a little more familiar to
him? And if so, wnat?
We admit to prejudice when
it comes to the lovely little
bowl in Lithia park. This is
the tenth season for this Fes
tival viewer, and some sea
sons have been better than
others.
But we have seen here
Men and women hear again with nothing
in either ear through thrilling Sonotone
research discovery. Only YOU will know
your E-Zone secret of transistor hearing
aid completely concealed in stylish glasses.
Yet you use both ears (just as normal per-
E-Zon: Everything worn at EYE-EAR lvl,
nothing worn anywhere else. ,
C. R. ADAMSON, Manager
drama which was to us surely
as evocative as .Oliver's "Hen
ry V" or "Hamlet," or Robe
son's Othello, or Evans' "Ham
let" in modern dress,- or Lunt
and Fontaine's "Shrew."
Different-of course. But if
Old Will himself is hovering
somewhere around, we sus
pect he's on our side.
Approve Final Lines
And before we leave Friend
Hewes, let us recall with ap
proval his final line: "The best
performers . . . could be inter
mingled with those of our
most professional Eastern
festivals to our advantage."
Harold V. Gould, Michael
O'Sullivan, Hugh Evans, Rob
ert Towers and Nagle Jack
son tickled our funny bone as
it is seldom tickled. Edward
Grover is a stalwart and cap
able man who gave his
"straight" roles credence and
likeability, and Richard Gra
ham's professional poise, and
occasional moments of real
feehng always are an asset to
the festival. '
Patricia Moran, among the
women, was superb as Beat
rice rather better on opening
night than in mid-season, al
though this was probably the
result of an "off-night" rather
than a decline in the quality
of her acting. Margaret Vafi
adis' Portia grew in stature
and believability as the season
advanced.
Standouts of Season -
These, for our money, were
the standouts of a generally
exceptional acting season, ex
cept for the one real dramatic
triumph of the festival, that
of mild, innocuous little An
gus Bowmer, who by some
theatrical legerdemain trans
formed himself into a crafty,
self-centered and evil Shy
lock, played for laughs.
And why not?
Old Will never turned up
his nose at a belly-laugh, any
more than he tempered the
prejudices of -his age with a
blurring of character, or any
more than he sugar-coated the
animal instincts of mankind.
No, Bowmer's Shylock is
greasy, but funny; self-centered,
and funny; avaricious, and
funny; revengeful, and funny i
Even the lines, which un
der other auspices and other
interpretations c a ri be so
poignant ("I am a Jew. Hath
not a Jew eyes? Hath not a
Jew hands, organs, dimen
sions, senses, affections, pas
sions . . . ") were here, some
how, ludicrous.' Here was not
a Jew crying sympathy for
his tragic race, but a small
boy crying to another "I'm
just as good as you are!" be
fore spitting in his fellow's
facenir, in this case, insisting
6n his pound of flesh.
There is something else
about the festival which
makes it something apart
something beyond the lights
and Costumes and acting and
direction and color.
It has an aura. .
Difficult to Pin Down
The source of this light is
difficult to pin down, but
from the "feeling" of the par
ticipants toward the entire en
deavor. And in "participants,"
we include the audience, for
they, indeed, partake of the
festival, and are a part of it.
-This participation breeds a
special kind of loyalty and a
special kind of affection.
And maybe that is why the
festival is such an overwhelm
ing success,' and remains so,
good season or poor, year in
and year out.
After all, isn't that what the
stage is for to make the au
dience ifeel a part, of what
goes on?vJS.A.'5 $ jV
Festival Goes Modern
With View of Rocket
One claim that : may be
added to the Oregon Shake
spearean Festival association
this year would be that it is
"modern" as well as being the
first . Shakespearean Festival
in the United Estates: Not
every outdoor theatre, Shake
spearean or othercould boast
that the rocket of Sputnik mr.
i - -
sons listen) to enjoy latest hearing revolu
tion recommended by doctors. Based on
Sonotone bone-conduction invention, by- i
passing outer ears." .- , . . .'; ; ;t
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be viewed during a perform
ance!
Regardless how much this
writer, reads the plays in ad
vance, character identification
is always hard, especially
when names are not used until
well into the play.
Too bad the Bard didn'f use
the scene in more of his plays
that was used in "Troilus and
Cressida" when Cressida and
Pandarus were on the balcony.
Pandarus quite nicely, for the
audience identified the ma
jority of the Trojans as they
entered the stage.
Particularly Good
The costumes were particu
larly good in Troilus and Cres
sida, especially the men's uni
forms. They did not have the
clean polished look about
them as many of the cos
tumes did, but looked as
though they had been worn
(as if in battle)) and looked
natural for the setting.
This writer's vote for favor
ite this year goes to King
Lear, possibly because it is so
well known, but then Mer-'
chant of Venice is, too, widely
read.' The costumes in King
Lear seemed well suited to the
play especially the order and
belt worn by the king and
other royalty.
The brightest costumes were
found in Merchant of Venice
and particularly liked by the
undersigned was the cloth
ing worn by Shylock. , '
Note Lesser Roles
Also worthy of note are sev
eral of the lesser roles. For ex
ample Hugh C. Evans as Dog
berry in "Much Ado About
Nothing," Robert Towers as
the Fool in "King Lear" and
Nagle Jackson as Launcelot
Gobbo in "Merchant of Ven
ice." This writer repeats what
was said in 1956 that copies
of the words of the s ongs
sung prior to the perform
ances by the minstrel singers
would make .a clever souve
nir book. This reviewer was
also pleased to note that the
singers were offering advice
to smokers again this year.
P.H. :
Actors Are Gone, But
Not at All Forgotten
"Our revels now are ended.
These our actors,
As I foretold you,.
were all spirits and
Are melted into air,
into thin air:"
Thusly did Richard Gra
ham, quoting William Shake
speare's Prospero in "The
Tempest," close the 18th sea
son of the Oregon Shake
spearean Festival in Ashland
Thursday night. .
The actors now are eone.
but not at all forgotten. Nor
are their interpretations and
presentations of Shakespeare's
colorful characters, forgotten.
For who is it can f oreet
George Ridde's Gratiano. An
gus Bowmer's Shylock, Nagle
Jackson s Launcelot Gobbo,
Harold V. Gould's Benedick,
Hugh C. ' Evans' Dogberry,
Richard Graham's King Lear,
Jerry Turner's Earl of Glouces
ter and George and Margaret
Vafiadis' Troilus and Cres
sida, to name but a few from
a company of about 90 who
made the Festival productions
a success.
Not Melted Into Air
They have not "melted into
air, into thin air." Nor have
the costumes, the lighting,
and the very staging of the
plays themselves. The Fes
tival's policy to stage Shake
speare's 'clays as thev were
staged in the late 1590's and
early 1600 s will bring Fes
tival patrons- back season
after season. Aha! as the Ash
land performances become
more well-known inevitably
will increase.
It is not one segment : of
the production which is re
membered. It is the over-all
presentation from actors
through the technical aspects,
and the Elizabethean setting
including singers and dancers
on the green.' .
Individual acting parts, such
as Bowmer's Shylock, Gra-
Hearing Secret
ham's King Lear and Turner's
Gloucester, will be remember
ed as outstanding, but generr
ally, speaking, the high-caliber,
versatility of the com
pany is what made the pro
ductions attract Shakespeare
enthusiasts .from all sections
of the country.
Company a Good One
This, year's company seem
ed an especially good one, en
dowed with the versatility
necessary to play a leading
role one night and a messen
ger or a man in armour the
next night.
Not one play can be sin
gled out as being better pro
duced or directed than an
other. Shakespeare was seen
in all his diversified genius
in the four plays; he por
trayed tragic men, egotists,
comics, lovers, arid fools with
human qualities which per
haps today a . psychologist
could use. to categorize such
persons. -
Actors selected for the parts
rewarded audiences with .top
quality characterizations; they
lived and die"d the parts they
played; they injected into
Shakespeare's verse and prose
animation which brought the
audience into the play; they
presented the plays to carry
themselves, and the under
signed believes they would
have carried themselves even
without elaborate costumes or
modem lifhting.
Problems To Present
If there was a play which
could not carry itself, it was
"Troilus and Cressida." But
it would not have been be
cause of acting. Rather it was
because of Shakespeare him
self. The long, uninterrupted
passages in "Troilus" are
problems to present and main
tain audience interest.
"Troilus" is probably one
of Shakespeare's least pro
duced plays, and it is under
standable. It has an enormous
cast of. characters, jvho trav
erse back and forth between
the Trojan and Greek camps
creating confusion.
The acting itself nn "Troi
lus" was on a par with that
of other plays. Mr, and Mrs.
Vafiadis portrayed Troilus
and Cressida admirably, and
Claude Jenkins and Robert
Loper fit the parts of Achilles
and Hector.
Better Entertainment
Shakespeare's -construction
in the other three plays,
"King Lear." "Much Ado
About Nothing," and "The
Merchant of Venice," is more
adaptable to better entertain
ment. And entertaining they
were, not because they were
written by the great Dlav-
wright alone, but because ex
cellent- actors and actresses!
were cast in parts they lived.
They brought into that life
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the audience
Although the actors now
are gone, the plays remain
vividly in our memory, and
in another year, we shall look
forward .to more productions;
productions which we hope
will include many of the com
pany of the 18th season.
- E.H.A.
Shakespeare Would Let
Viewer Review Play
We ran into Bill Shake
speare in a coffee shop in Ash
land the other night. He
squinted at us whimsically
through the hole in his dough
nut, and invited us to sit with
him.
We ordered coffee, black.
We told Bill our problem.
'"There's nothing worse than
reviewing plays," he agreed.
"Especially four at once. I
couldn't review one. I had to
take up writing them instead."
We told him we didn't think
we could do it either, and to
make matters worse we had a
deadline.
Forget Being Reviewer
"Well," he said slowly, "if
I were you I'd just forget that
deadline for a minute. I'd for
get I was a reviewer or any
thing else.
"I'd say to myself, look
here. You've been sitting out
there in that theatre time and
again this summer. You
thought you were watching
plays. But you weren't.
"And then I'd say to my
self, those weren't plays.
Those were dreams you sat
through. They were taking
place right there in your own
brain.
"And I'd say, yes, there
were some actors up there on
the stage, good ones, too. But
they were only there to in
spire those dreams of yours.
Dreams Real Plays
"These dreams were the
real plays, the ones you took
away with you, free, after the
actors were all through and
the lights came back on and
you trudged away through
the crowds, under the stars."
But you can't review those,
we said. .
"No, maybe you can't," he
replied. "Not for other people.
But you can for yourself. At
least you can make them live
again, those dreams I'm speak
ing of, inside yourself. That's
what re-viewing means after
all." ,
Maybe that's all right for
us, we said, but we have to
write this review for other
people, our readers.
"The trouble with critics or
reviewers or whatever you
want to call them," Bill said,
"is that they always tell peo
pie what they themseves think
about this or that.
v.
On this New West inghouse
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Read Between Lines
"What they ought to do
once in a while is tell their
readers to read between their
own lines. Tell them to re
view the plays and come up
with their own ideas."
We sipped our coffee, and
thought it over. We weren't
sure what the boss would'
think of this.
"Besides," Bill said, "when
you think you're reviewing a
play for other people you sel
dom write what's really go
ing on deep inside yourself.
"You write what you think
you want to write, but what
you don't put down, those lit
tle glimpses or phrases which
keep swimming around your
mind, that's what the play's
really all about as far as
you're concerned.
Each Is Different
"Just remember, they're
swimming around inside oth
er people too. Not the same
ones, because for each person
the play, the dream rather, is
a little different.
"But why don't you try,
just once, reminding people
they should do the re-viewing
themselves."
Maybe, just this once, we
thought. i
Later, driving back to Med
ford along Highway 99 with
its drive-ins and its snack
joints, we thought what a
wonderful thing it was that
Bill Shakespeare had come to
Ashland. ' - '
He's been there 18 summers
now. We hope he sticks
around E.W.
Westi nghouse
Crater Lake Lodge
To Close Sept. 10
Crater Lake National Park
Overnight accomodations at
Crater Lake National park
will close for the season -next
week, it was announced Fri
day by Thomas J. Williams,
superintendent.
The lodge will close after
the night of Sept. 9, with
breakfast on the 10th being
the last meal served there.
Cabins will be closed after
the night of Sept. 14, and the
cafeteria will close after
breakfast on the 15th. They
will remain closed until June
June 15, 1959.
A light lunch will be avail
able daily in the warming hut
section of the cafeteria build
ing as long as weather per
mits, probably until late Oc
tober. Thereafter the warm
ing hut will be open on Sat
urdays, Sundays and holidays,
with lunch available, through
out the winter. The road to
the rim will be kept open.
Gasoline and oil will be
available in the headquarters
area until Oct. 10. Thereafter
it will be available at Union
Creek and Prospect to the
west, 24 and 35 miles from the
rim, and Wilson Camp and Ft.
Klamath to the south, 20 and
24 miles away.
' Model
BLK-30
Phone SP 3-6241