MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON
WEDNESDAY. JULY 25. 1962
'Coriolanus' Said Absorbing
Production at Festival Theater
Shakespeare's tragic heroes i
are complex men who wrestle
in a death struggle with the
knottiest possible problems in
ethical and moral relation
ships. Events, as well as other
men, seem to conspire against
them, and they inevitably
lose. But in their defeat each
reasserts the basic nobility of
man, reminding the audience
that there is virtue in the bat
tle well fought, that there are
principles worth dying for,
that there is meaning in the
midst of meaninglessness.
"Coriolanus," the fourth in
this year's cycle of plays
staged by the Ashland Shake
spearean Festival, is such a
play, and the protagonist is
such a hero.
A near capacity first-night
audience gathered in the Fes
tival theater last night to
watch Director J. H. Crouch's
uneven production of the play.
It was only partly a satisfy
ing experience.
Possesses Flaw
A standard explication of
the heroes in classical drama
is that each man, no matter
how great or powerful, pos
sesses a "tragic flaw" in his
character, an Achilles' heel of
some kind that will make him
vulnerable to fate and be the
certain cause of his doom.
Using that approach, for
example, Agamemnon was
guilty of hubris, Oedipus suf
fered from an uncontrollable
temper, and Macbeth was cor
rupted by a lust for power.
With Coriolanus, the appar
ent flaw is an excess of pride
fused with a volatile temper.
Unfortunately for him, his
wily enemies, the tribunes
Sicinius and Brutus, know
exactly how to trigger the
combination.
Sat Against Ethics
The problem is that set
against the expedient ethics
of his friends, and the spine
lessness of the Roman citizens
of common rank, Coriolanus'
"flaw" appears to be shining
virtue and not a defect at all.
Director Crouch seems to
have shored up this problem
by injecting an element of
Freudian psychology into the
play. Indeed, in the director's
notes in the program, he re
fers to an article soon to be
published In The Psychoana
lytic Quarterly.
He develops a man un
naturally attached to and
dominated by Volumnia, his
mother. Crouch's appar e n t
motivation for the suicidal
risks Coriolanus takes in bat
tle is the desire to satisfy a
mother whom he can never
satisfy short of death.
Dwells en Wounds
She dwells lovingly on
each wound that he has re
ceived in his many battles
(she's even kept count of
them), and it is clear she is
the kind who would much i
rather her son earn a Purple j
Heart than a Good Conduct
medal.
Her motivation? Inexplic
ably, she would rather seem
to be a man than the woman
she is. so she attempts to ap
propriate her son's body. And
her ambition knows no
bounds. I
Hounded by it, and made
ramrod stiff by the pride she
has inculcated in him, Corio
lanus blunders like a con
fused bull. He is upset by
genuine praise, distrusts and
is repelled by emotion, and
seems happiest when he has
a bloody sword in his hand,
hacking at physical forces he
can cope with and understand.
The Festival is fortunate
that Peter D. MacLean was
available to play Coriolanus,
for he was the only one we
saw on the stage last night
who could have come within
a country mile of handling the
role. Visually, he was the per
fect proud Roman warrior.
Overshadowed Otheri
Unhappily, he totally over
shadowed everyone else in
sight, so that a group of, un
usually weak supporting play
ers seemed so much the
weaker.
However, all is not on the
credit side with MacLean. His
pitch and volume were nearly
unrelieved by variation
throughout the play so that
there was no demarcation be
tween the moments of high
drama and the scenes with
lesser impact.
Probably the most accom
plished actor on the stage was
Rod Alexander, who brought
a wit and versatility to the
role of Menenius that pleased
the audience and livened the
play. There were some incon
sistencies in his characterisa
tion - his strength and age
seemed to vary - but it was
easily .the most satisfying per
formance of the night.
The demanding role of Vo
lumnia, Coriolanus' mother,
was capably handled by S'isan
Brewer. One could have '.v ish
ed that she could have appear
ed a bit older, but she gave
the part an icy strength and
power that lent credulity to
her son's actions.
Scenes Exciting
Director Crouch's staging
of the battle scenes was ex
citing and one involuntarily
held his breath when the
swords started flailing about,
but he erred in attempting to
do too much with too few
actors.
The audience involuntarily
laughed when the gates of
Corioli were stormed by a
Roman legion of a scant half
dozen soldiers. We recognize
the company is perforce lim
ited in numbers, so that any
attempt at realism in such a
scene is bound to fall short.
Perhaps some method of
blocking might have been
used, however, whereby num
bers were suggested and left
to the imagination rather than
literally shown.
But, the defects picked out
by the jaundiced eye of the
reviewer notwithstanding, it
is a fast-paced, absorbing pro
duction which held the rapt
attention of last night's audi
ence to the final curtain. And
so it will be with all others
who are fortunate enough to
see it this summer. G.H.B.
WITH WING
Pfc. Robert G. Criswell and
Pfc. Robert E. Walker are
serving with the Third Ma
rine Aircraft Wing at the El
Toro Training Corps air sta
tion, Santa Ana, Calif.
Criswell is the son of Mrs.
Mae A. Criswell, 622 South
Central ave., and Walker is
the son of Mr. and, Mrs. Jack
Walker, 2415 Lyman ave.
Car Court Group
To Check Rumor
A committee representing
the Jackson County Motor
Court association voted re
cently to send a committee to
Weed and Mt. Shasta, Calif.,
to investigate a rumor that
most tourists are going by
Highway 97 or the coast route
because of misinformation
about poor highway condi
tions on Highway 99.
The highway committee re
ported at a recent meeting
that 20 per cent of all visitors
to Seattle, Wash., are pulling
trailers or are using camp
facilities.
The committee selected to
go to Mt. Shasta and Weed
will have its travel expenses
paid, it was agreed. The com
mittee plans to contact the
Ashland and Medford Cham
bers of Commerce to seek
help with this program.
William (Bill) Patton, gen
eral manager of the Shake
spearean Festival, showed an
aerial view of the Ashland
theater and told of the wide
appeal of this unique theater.
An average of 80 people
daily tour the theater, he said.
The present 12 active Shake
spearean Festivals in the Unit
es States increases the com
petition considerably, he
noieo.
The Ashland theater is the
only one, however, that has
no subsidy nor government
help and maintains its own
operational costs by box of
fice receipts, he said.
Rain Brings Relief
In Alaskan Forests
Anchorage. Alaska - IUPD -
Rain and the forecast of more
in the next few days brought
welcome relief Tuesday to
firefighters combating nine
forest fires covering approxi
mately 19,150 acres in West
ern Alaska.
Meanwhile, in the northt rn
district, Bureau of Land Man
agement officials reported
that the two largest blazes
there, one near Hughes and
the other near Shungnak. "are
pretty well under control
control now, thanks to the
rain.
A total of 144 men were on
the line at Hughes and 71
more were at Shungnak. Offi
cials said that only four fires
were still burning in the dis
trict Tuesday and that all
were manned.
ACTIVE DUTY
Lt. Col. Howard B. Shontz
has completed two weeks an.
nual active duty training at
Oakland A r m v Terminal.
Calif. He is reeularlv assicneri
to the U.S. Army Reserve
school in Sacramento, Calif.
He is emDloved hv the tJnl
versity of California at Davis
as registrar and admissions
officer. The son of Mrs. Alma
Shontz. Route 1. Gold Hill
Colonel Shontz received his
master's degree in education
from the University of Call
fornia in 1958.
RECEIVES AWARD
Pfc. David L. Baker, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Bert L. Baker,
Butte Falls, recently received
safe driver award for driv
ing one year without an acci
dent or traffic violation. Ba
ker is assigned to the 507th
Ordnance company, Hanau,
Germany. He attended Butte
Falls High school.
Kennedy To Break
Ground for Dam
Fresno, Calif. - IUPD - Presi
dent Kennedy will participate
in groundbreaking ceremonies
for the $400 million San Luis
dam and reservoir project this
year.
Interior Secretary Stewart
L. Udall telegraphed Ralph
M. Brody, general manager
and chief counsel for West
lands Water District, that the
President would appear.
Brody is in charge of arrange
ments for the ceremony.
The ceremony is expected
to take place after the middle
of August.
Also expected to attend the
ceremony were Gov. Edmund
G. Brown, U.S. Sens. Thomas
H. Kuchel and Clair Engel
and Udall.
The reservoir and 300-foot
high earth fill dam will be
one of the key units in the
project to transport Northern
California water to the San
Joaquin Valley and Southern
California. The dam will be
completed by 1966.
REASSIGNED
Airman Second Class Jerry
E. Leach, son of Mr. and Mrs.
R. E. Leach, 438 North Main
St., Ashland, has been reas
signed to Lincoln Air Force
base, Neb. He is a recent grad
uate of the United States Air
Force training course for air
craft radio repairman at Kees
ler Air Force base, Miss.
Fire Weather Forecaster Named at Local Station
A 5
As a result of an increased
appropriation, the US. de
partment of commerce has
created a fire weather office
in the Medford station of the
weather bureau. Named to
run the branch was James K.
Tyrrell, fire weather meterol-
ogist.
Tyrrell and his wife, Char
lcne, moved to Medford re
cently. They have two chil
dren, Janice, 11, and Michael,
8. and are living at 681 Sun
rise ave.
A native of Manistique,
Mich., Tyrrell has served with
the weather bureau for 12
years in various parts of the
United States. Before moving
to the Rogue valley he was
assigned to the bureau in
ADLAI SEES PREMIER
Rome - IUPD - Adlai Steven
son, U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations, conferred
Tuesday with Italian Premier
Amintori Fanfanl. Stevenson
planned to leave for Greece
today.
Sheridan, Wyo.
Tyrrell attended Central
Michigan college and took ad
vanced meteorology courses
from Pennsylvania State uni
versity. His job is to predict fire
weather conditions for the
southern Oregon district of
the weather bureau. This in
cludes jurisdiction over four
federal forests, Siskiyou,
Rogue River, Winema, and
Fremont National forests; Cra
ter Lake National park and
state lands.
Although Portland and Sa
lem have had fire weather of
fices for some time, it Is only
as a result of the increased
appropriation that offices
have been established here. In
Klamath Falls, and in Pendle
ton.
ON LEAVE
Pvt. William Nelson, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Nelson,
775 Walker ave., Is home on.
leave from Fort Ord, Calif.
Nelson, graduate of Ashland
High school, is taking basis
training.
A WOMAN'S TOUCH
Waterbury, Conn. - IUPD - A
local gas station operator ap
parently thinks his busin-ss
needs a woman's touch. Ha
notified the state employment
service he needs four or live
women to pump gas, supply
oil and clean windshields.
FIRE FORECASTER Jim Tyrrell has been named fire
weather meteorologist, new post created in the Medford dis
trict of the Weather bureau. The fire weather office has
charge of predicting fire conditions in the district for both
federal and state forests. Tyrrell is the first meteorolgist as
signed to the new post, and moved to Medford from Sheridan,
Wy.
FUNERAL
INSURANCE
The Oregon State Funeral Di
rectors' Association (over 130
members) heartily recommends
the Oregon Funeral Plan Insur
ance to you. It't wise to investi
gate now. May we assist you?
LITWILLER
FUNERAL HOME
Highway 66 at Norms'! Ave.
Ashland Dial 482-2816
C.
M. Lirwiller
77"
Mrs. Lltwlller
Ashland's Leading Funeral Director Since 1935
8AVEI
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Here's what Mrx. Dean Payne of Yrckn says about electric living...
"Electricity gives us more comfort and
convenience than anything else we buy"
"With twn votingslen in the family, a hornerriakfiT'g
time is more precious than ever. It's really wonrler
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refrigeration and light. And for all the service we
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Thousands of other Pacific Power L Light custo
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U me typtcat U. 5. home
Reddy works 332 hoors pw month.
In the average Pacific Powerland horns
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.M.9satafaswiaa)i.i.aiMii
In Mra. Pavna a home
Reddy works 1348 hours per monrhl
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(Vf Range
Bf Water Heater
0 Refrigerator-Freezer
0 Dryer
(yj Washer
0 Television
IvI Radio
(wf Iron
y Vacuum Cleaner
vf Mixer
Electric Blankets 2
yf Ventilating Fas
(Sf Portable Fan
lyf Toaster
PI Fry Pan
0 Hot Plate
wf Sandwich GrDt
Wattle Iron
Heating Pad .
0 Sewing Machhx
4 Power TooU
J Lighting
(3) Air Cooler
vj Shavers 2
(3 Corn Popper
0 Barbecue Spft
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