ent001520-008

This item has not been digitized in its entirety. The original item is available for research and handling at the UNLV University Libraries. Additional digitization is available upon request. Please contact Special Collections to request additional digitization or with any questions regarding access at special.collections@unlv.edu. /Bloomer Girl?╟╓ Wins Appl ause; [Monday Performance Added BY MARJORIE BARNHART The public is psychic. How else 'could it know that ?╟ ?╟ Bloomer Girl?╟Ñ would be a good show even before it opened Friday night in |The News-Sentinel Outdoor Theater? Why else would it rush to I buy tickets at such a rate that an additional showdn Monday night I was arranged by the Light Opera Festival before the first perform- lance had begun? Ifc Bon?╟╓t -think the advance ticket-holders will be disappointed. id con^n6nci k.^BoITKe^T^st of Iwhich, ?╟?are. its t hrelT are |Ro^rs, of New York, and George ^ 0. ~ ?╟ú ?╟úHoomer Girl?╟Ñ has to do with Ifce activities of the family of a libopskirt manufacturer in the top ^dispatch. The" show?╟╓s ^sof the Civil War and during \hovement not only to emanci- [ Vthe slaves but women and W%gs as well. r ^on weh*cast per- the amusing, but not show takes added color ^'Icfeest from its ten scene CLEV EL A h^^^bich are executed with many ?╟úpro*! I?╟╓Lost in Stars?╟╓ Revived Vividly by Karamu Group By GLENN C. PULLEN Operas also reigns at the Kara- 1 mu Proscenium Theater where ?╟úLost in the Stars,?╟Ñ one of its I most popular productions, was (given an imaginative and im- |j pressive revival last night. They call it a musical drama |ibut it seems just as much ol a | modern American jj; opera ductioil numbers?╟Ñ are effectively and distinctively staged. These in- clude a charming scene ?╟úSunday in Cicero Falls?╟Ñ which shows the Applegate family and others in their* Sunday ?╟úbest?╟Ñ marching primly and singing in the park. The Corps de Ballet presents an effective dance which depicts the course of the Civil War and its happy conclusion. The lighting is especially effective in this num- ber. The dancers are also engaging in a number( where they are cos- tumed in old ladies?╟╓ clothes; su3 One of the highlights of the show pi j is the opera house scene with Treva . *^^*m**a1t portraying Eliza cross- Ooifing the* ice. I'm a tat fcazy^on my see) ?╟úUncle Tom?╟╓s Cabin.?╟Ñ But wasn?╟╓t foul Eliza a?╟÷ilave? And wouldn?╟╓t it have, been more effective to have in l the, . M ia/lQ a 4- +;TYl?╜i , |her and Ann Colone, as Topsy mg the 1949 season. At that time pldblack face? Even m?╟╓sks? I praised the group for its fully! J ^ funniest routine is sensitive performance. The funniest routine is 4 ?╟ The J Farmer?╟╓s Daughter?╟Ñ which is pre- jQ^sented by the sons-in-law in their IMenotti?╟╓s no-less-unconventional | effects. Recommended Again That recommendation hold?jf^night shirts and long underwear in true for this edition. Director fed *he Applegate bathroom. Beano D. Frank and Helmuthfe^ .-Bmaying the strongest and most Wolfes in charge of music have !~1 prolonged aPpiause~was.,ferorge a^ain staged it with inventivef^Artiffll^iaffi^g^ho plays Ip sSowmanship. They solashed ftfjapart of ^.fiSCOBd^ve,: storing with color and dramatic lighting-^1 ?╟úThe Eagle^ndM^^dJ^ei- HTlie Medium.?╟Ñ One major difference is that ?√ß this Kurt Weill-Maxwell Ander- Ison work carries more poetic lyric beauty and gripping poign- ancy in crying out for more ra- il cial brotherhood in these troubled I times. ?√ß Thematically, it acquires a [ fresher significance than the [first Karamu musical version of I Alan Paton?╟╓s novel titled ?╟úCry, I the Beloved Country,?╟Ñ done dur- in unfolding Paton?╟╓ti 'Roomful of Roses' f j parents. Shirley Bryan and Wil- | liam Swetland are appearing as ther mother and stepfather, r?Θ╝K [| spectively, who try to break i down the girl?╟╓s,; feeling of re- sentment. -M j Dorothy Taxton, Dennis Bruns. and Barbara Widlitz also has | najor parts in the play. Directed j |y K. Elmo Lowe, it runs \rough May 20. Student mati- ns of ?╟úMuch Ado About Noth- at 2:30 p.m. will , continue iie Euelid-77th Theater as fcf its Shakespearean Festi- kDesperate Hours?╟Ñ also Ver in the Play House's theater. brooding saga, of fears, deep frustrations and racial animosi- ties in South Africa. The tale of a humble Negro country parson and a harsh British planter, united by trag- edy which strikes their sons, is told against a bewitching back- ground of quick-footed dancers and in African ballets; Katherine Kelley Cremer?╟╓s picturesque coloreji slides, cast against a transparent screen, add more fluidity to the action set in Johannesburg. Weill?╟╓s haunting melodies are I the seal _ shall not] have them] S3siwE2252r55rii JonM&m 1 dom JThe vigor and beauty of his^yoice^ cqn^ibute more heavi- ly to the_success of th^ show than the reiatiy^ly shqrt^phe stage would indfeafe. ?╟╓Jr'is inferesShg To see Jeanne eauvais change from the furious Kate in ?╟úKiss Me, Kate?╟Ñ to the strong-minded but sweeter Evelina, of the song ?╟úEvelina?╟Ñ which is the best-known in the show. It is sung by Ronald Rogers, who sang here last year in ?╟úRo- berta?╟Ñ and ?╟úThe Great Waltz. ?╟úEvelina?╟Ñ and ?╟úRight as the Rain seem well suited to the pleas- ing voice of this attractive young man who, in the story, seeks to marry Evelina for her money but falls in love with her. Miss Beauvais pleased as much with her spirited acting as with her lovely voice and looked pretty in the most elegant hoop skirts on the stage. It is probably stupidity on my part, but I couldn?╟╓t see why they were making such a whooptedoo about women abandoning hoop skirts for ankle-length bloomers when Ann Colone, as the very fun- ny maid, trots around with her legs hanging out and an oh-la-la French maid is even ipore so. There are ^some other puzzle- ments in the hoop-less costumes which show up in the scene where Mr. Applegate is selling hooped jobs to the buyers. But on the whole, the gracefully bobbing hoop shirts add much to the delight of the show in spite of the fact that some of them are becoming as familiar as some of the perform- bbery. His strong baritone 1 [rticularly eloquent in hisj j" ?╟ÑL,ost m the stars.?╟Ñ ur?╟╓$ irresponsible sonwas I 3 tersely by Herbert! . His tenor sounded best! he chanted about the hills I po he would see no more/ m Simmons, cast as the I i Whose bitterness turned! acial understanding, did | convincingly, kibled Man,?╟Ñ sung ten-1 by Victoria Harrison, the I ter?╟╓s sad-eyed wife, and j fne Busteris sen su o u s; of ?╟úWho Will Buy??╟Ñ Of the show?╟╓s finest j | gressive ideas in Evel| head. uhL Fort Wayne?╟╓s Lawri. weather does well a slave who sings i?╟ I with George Arthur./'* | ers. The large cast is headed by some I ??f the Civic Theater?╟╓s ?╟úbig names?╟Ñ [who prove that they can sing as [well as act. Heading this list are [Cam Applegate as the hoop skirt manufacturer and Grace Drum- mond as his wife. Both depart with success from the character types j they usually portray. Evelyn Erek- |son is effective as the crusading I Apnt Dolly Bloomer who puts pro- weather asks no qu?· his applause on the/ as all the other Ns moves on and off the\ 3 and acts without anydk dience suspecting that . This is to his great cret credit of the Light OperL for giving him they chak helping him to succeed. Others in the cast are.9. Rumbaugh,) Patricia Mead, Harrod, Joanne Zimmer, Hele^ A1 Germanson^-J^rr-T^aa dill, Lyle Cotton, A1 Busse, Pa^ Greiner, Jack Morey, Jo Cavacini, japs Hines, Nancy Vendrely, Jim McGraw, Frank Leto, Jack Per-, feet, William Billue, William Sham- baugh, William Gotschall, Bob Becker, Tom Krigbaum, Lee Fil- son, John Renforth, Joyce Ann Voegele and William Phillips. One of the improvements shown in this production is the incorpora- tion of the smaller chorus into the action. The music does not seem as demanding. What the smaller chorus may have lost in vocal ef- fect is more than made up in the more artistic staging. Also, the Festival is giving the qveerhead microphones another try. At times they work just fine, which seems to indicate that improve- ment is possible with that method. If we had a choice we?╟╓d rather cope -with the more faulty recep- tion from the overheads than have those fiendish floor mikes blocking off somebody?╟╓s face, as they al- ways were. Keep on trying, boys. And we?╟╓ll keep on coming and hop- ing. *