Monday, February 27, 1C34
Pcga 10
Dsily Ncbrcskan
'Agnes of God'
Continued flroia Pcs 9
The first act set up a multiplicity of relationships.
Strasberg left the Catholic Church because her sis
ter Marie died in a convent of neglected appendici
tis. Strasberg dislikes Cass because the reverend
mother represents the church and selfish purposes.
Strasberg adores Agnes because she is, pure and
good, untouched.
Ado
I Aboil
vA vv William Shakespeare
' Wv March 1,2, 3
Yx and 6 through 10
YlY- at 8 pm
UkTvERSITY THEATRE LINC0LnN yV'
Howell Stoge-12 4 R Sts. Vv
PH: (402) 472-2073 Y .
Hours: 12 to 5pm, weekdays v O"-
U StudentsSenior Citizens Vvs. """d
S5 General Admission WWW'
S3 Groups Rote - 20 or more X
n UmvefSily ot Nebfaska-Lincoln W.
Cs was widowed. She had two daughters who
lifted licr because site was a "failure as a wife and
net her." Cass has a deep affinity for the church and
its ikr.j.iLtic effect on her life. She loves Agnes and
protects her because Agnes is the symbol of this
pure simplicity. Cass dislikes Strasberg because she
thinks the psychiatrist may take Agnes away: cither
to prison for prcmcdiatcd murder, or to a mental
institution. .
Agnes loves God. She loves everyone. She loves her
mother, and she tells Strasberg eerily that her
mother "watches me." Her mother, of course, is dead
the orphaned Agnes came to the convent at age
17. Her mother had "headaches" during which she
heard angels speak. The angels said Agnes was a
mistake. A&nes was her mother's mistake, an acci
dent resulting froma visit by one of an endless
stream of men. Agnes' mother kept her "mistake
sheltered, protected from the world. Agnes never
went to school, never saw a television, never heard a
radio.
What Agnes did hear was a "sky lady" who turned
into clouds and talked to her. The lady sings through
her, and we often hear a distracting tape recording
of Agnes's supposedly ethereal voice offstage. The
lady tells her things about the past and the future.
She even tells Agnes about Strasberg's dead sister
Marie during one of their sessions, giving the "mira
cle of Agnes" some credibility in Strasberg's eyes.
The only relationship the audience doesn't find
out about is the one that resulted in Agnes' baby.
Agnes is no help; she doesn't remember conceiving
or having the baby a mental block, as it were.
The trouble with all of the relationships was that
they seemed contrived. No emotion rang true, except
during a few exceptional moments when Agnes was
on stage. Strasberg's offhand sarcasm was humor
ous, but it never felt natural. Her respect for the
reverend mother never built up, it merely flared
during sporadic episodes of camaraderie. One min
ute, they discussed each other, the next day, they
kidded around about what kinds of cigarettes the
apostles would have smoked. (Peter, the or nal
' Marlboro man," etc.) The cigarette stmt "f?'
but lost effectiveness because the impulses were
forced.
Aqnes's revelation under hypnosis of her motor's
cruelty highlighted the first act. Though Strber
suspected6alf along that Agnes' mother mc Jested
her; the worlds and imagery Agnes used to jlcscnbe
the pain and humiliation - the fear and degrada
tion she suffered did evoke powerful emotions.
The session also set the audience up for a letdown
during the second act. Instead of searching for
answers and the strength to deal with Agnes neu
roses, the audience was sermonized unmerciiuiiy.
The struggle between scientific and spiritual answers
fell flat on its face. The revelation that Cass is Agnes
aunt only served to make you wonder why it was in
the script. And when Agnes finally admitted under
hypnosis that she killed her baby, the ending smacked
unintentional melodrama: Agnes shrieked that God
"did it to her," or a man who sang to her from the
fields, blood flowed from her palms, Cass bowed her
head and cry, Strasberg collapsed dejectedly to the
floor, and Agnes suffered a breakdown on stage and
was lead off to God knows where, singing "Charlie s
neat, and Charlie's sweet, and Charlie he's a dandy.
Every time he goes to town he gets his girl some
candy..." -
Too many lopse ends left untied, too many dis
jointed events with no glue and no clear, thrust
toward the ending which was yet another plastic,
- dissatisfying soliloquy by Strasberg. When she 'in
formed listeners that Agnes was taken to an institu
tion where she stopped singing and eating and died,
the guilt-ridden psychiatrist screamed quite sud
denly, begging for "a reason."
Not only did she need one, but the play needed
one, too. -The gestures were fine, the blocking was
fine, the set was fine all spit-and-polish. But it was
hard to believe that anyone but Agnes really cared,
and she was too tired to keep it up any longer. By the
end of the play, the audience was, too.
Daily
Nebraskari'i
Newsline
472-25C8
tke zco m $?&m.
... .
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THE ROBERT CRAY-IE
THIS IS THE BAND THAT TURNED JOHN BELUSHI CM TO THE BLUES WHICH
RESULTED IN THE BLUES BROTHERS BAND AND EVENTUALLY THE MOVIE OF
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THE ROBERT CRAY BAND HAS PERFORMED WITH: f."JSDY WATERS. GEORGE
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ONE NIGHT ONLY 11
7ft ft 'Rf1 MON. FEB.' 27th.
W lw "' 9-1:00, 03 Cover
Television
Nebraska ETV pro
duced Edgerton and His
Incredible Seeing Machine,
which airs at 8 p.m. on
Channel 12. The program
profiles the work of Neb
raska native Dr. Harold
Edgerton, who invented
the electronic strobe. The
strobe allows for stunning
split-second photography,
which highlights tonight's
offering.
What's surprising a
bout Those Fabulous TV
Game Shows, which airs
at 9 p.m. on Channel 3, is
not only that the show is
i -
CRAY'S NEWEST ALBUM IS A DYNAMIC
RECORDING FULL OF HOT ROCK, BLUES
ROCK AND SOUL. r
DOWNBEAT 04
In..
Szv3 now on color Him
clsvsloplng & printing.
12 exp .... ....$1. CD
15 exp ............$2.79
20 exp ............ 02.7Q
24 exp ............03.70
36 exp ..05.70
Ofczrcccilon 110, 123, 135
cr. j Dbc Film (C-41).
.f to
' - Expires
r far loon. , m
Open Monday-Friday, 8-5.30, Saturday; 9-5.30
12 iHtirssts in Lincoln Cen!sr 47S-C 111
even on the air, but also
that they could stretch it
out to one hour. Carl Rei
ner hosts the "event"
Radio
This week's edition
of the New York Philhar
monic, led by conductor
Zubin Mehta, features a
stellar cast highlighted by
opera tenor Luciano Pavo
rotti. Pieces to be per
formed include Verdi's(3ver
ture to Vespri "Sicilian's
"Soldier's Chorus" from II
Travatore and Bizet's "Pre
lude to Carmen. "The pro
gram airs at 8 p.m. on
KUCV,0O.9FM.
At the Sheldon
James Ivory's VvcIIaHa
baloo over George and
Bonnie's Pictures will be
screened in the Film Thea
tre as part of UPC's For
eign Film series. The film
will show at 7 and 9 p.m.
A review will appear in
Tuesday's DaltyNebraskm.
At the Ilimbdl
A recital of original
music by UNLstudent com
posers will take place at 8
p.m. The program includes
a horn quartet by George
Brissette, a piece entitled
"Suite Moods" by Barb D
wen and a flute trio by
Marty Shrader. There is
no admission charge.
Aro'jnd Toivn
: Robert Cray, the blues
man who, legend has it,
inspired John Bciushi to
form the Blues Brothers,
, will be appearing with his
band at the Zoo Bar, 13G
N. 14th St., tonight only.
The cover charge is $3.