JULY 1, 1969
PAGE 2
SUMMER NEBRASKAN
On the Hoivett Stage .
Shakespeare is fun
with help of Hall, NU players
By Howard B. Norland
Associate Professor of English
Rhakesoeare has done it again with the
skillful assistance of Robert Hall and the summer
troupe of University players. The old bard
returned to the stage Friday evening at the
Howell Theatre as the master of rollicking farce.
Updated to the late nineteenth century in
setting and costumes, "Much Ado About
Nothing" proved its universal dramatic appeal
In an ingeniously comic production, dazzling in
Its blocking, stage business, and sight gags. The
potential for humor was so rigorously exploited
and so adeptly portrayed that "Old Billy" must
hr.ve been as Dleased as the full hcuse that
repeatedly Interrupted the performance with ap.
plause.
Broad comedy
However, as a result of the emphasis oa
broad comedy, some of the inherent dramatic
values in the play are unfortunately missed.
Shakespeare in "Much Ado" provides much op
portunity for farce in Dogberry, Verges, and
the watch, but the essence of the play is th
comedy of wit among the aristocracy.
Beatrice and Benedick are both the vehicle!
and the subjects of much of this higher comedy,
which resides in the verbal thrust and parry
of the word duel. Jo Flaugher as Beatrice,
the unrivalled star of the performance, conveyed
the mental gymnastics essential to her role with
verve and vivacity; her sense of timing as well
as her facial expressiveness made her
performance difficult to match, as Ric Marsh
playing Benedick seems to have realized.
Instead of competing with her on her own
terms, as Shakespeare appears to have conceived
the part, Marsh's Benedick worked for the
grosser laughs of the buffoon. Lacking tht
-sophistication and cynicism of. the scorner of
love, who is made to eat his words, Marsh
Jailed to achieve the dignity or sense of discom
fiture that raises Benedick's action above tht
level of farce.
Marsh is a very good clown and his In
terpretation of Benedick is very entertaining,
but a dramatic problem arises when tht plot
takes a serious turn in the slandering of Hero
and Benedick is forced to choose between bis
love and his friend. The line Marsh has been
taking cannot accomodate Benedick's dilemma
of honor or the thematic implications of his
choice.
'Rotten orange'
The leveling of the dramatic values to farce
poses a more significant problem in tht
representation of the wedding scene where Hero
is castigated as a "rotten orange."
For the first time in the performance, tht
audience began to shift In their seats as the im
port of tragedy became apparent. The audience,
unprepared for this development, uneasily
awaited the comic turn that did not come.
The disappointed expectation arose because
.the melodramatic vi'lainy of Don John and hit
'cohorts had been reduced to mellerdramer with
" all tiie tricks employed at the Gas Light.
Dana Mills portrayed a very comic villain,
but the fact Is that there comes a point In
Shakespeare's script where the burlesque just
will not work and Don John must be faced
up to as a serious force of evil.
The malcontent bastard Is the dissonant note
In the light-hearted festivity and tempers tht
fun from the first scene to the last when tht
message of his capture intrudes upon the happy
resolution, but Instead of counterpoising the in
nocent deceit practiced upon Benedick and
Beatrice and high-lighting by contrast tht mirth
afforded by love, the force of Ate la repudiated
with laughter until it destroys the artistic unity
of the performance.
Spirit of Dogberry
The spirit of Dogberry and his comic watch
pervades the production from tht beginning
though Shakespeare does not introduce them un
til tht very middle of tht play (llll.iil), where
they are juxtaposed against the villainous
machinations of Don John.
Perhaps it was the very ubiqultousnesa of tht
Prague, Paris films
are Sheldon features
The film documents art
brought together in one pro
gram that offers a factual
account of the two most Im
portant events occurring in
Europe this decade the
Russian Invasion of
Czechoslovakia and tht
French student uprising In
Paris.
Tht films art being shown
four times today at Sheldon
Memorial Art Gallery. The
showings are at 2:30, 5:30,
7:30 and 9:30 p.m General
admission Is $1.50, one dollar
for student! and 50 cents for
children.
"Prague, the Summer of
Tanks" was made by pro
fessional Czech film makers,
who began filming wi.hin one
hour after the Russians'
-. midnight takeover of tho
Prague airport.
The film gives a precise
account of what happened,
hour by hour. The coverage Is
so thorough that the first 25
minutes of the film are con
cerned with the action up to
noon of tht first day of the
Invasion, August 21.
"The Right to Speak"
presents the sequence of
events m Franca from
February to June the Paris
atudent revolution. Made by
four young French film
makers, It documents the In
itial period of popular tup
port, tht unions' opposition to
student contact with workers,
and the erosion of effective
purpose which preceded D
Gaullt's re-assertion of
power.
The setting and the causes
for tht sudden magnification
of a student protest at
Nanterrt Into a crisis which
nearly toppled tht govern
ment, Is a subject which
needs the examination pro
vided by a comprehensive in
depth film.
These two films cover two
subjects which dominate tht
t resent course of European
lstory tht changes and
tensions radiating from them
have not yet been resolved.
Both documents will continue
to be relevant to the daily
news through t!ie coming
year. ,
This program runs approx
imately 100 minutes. With the
original live action shound on
each film, there is an English
narration or subtitles.
SUMMER
NEBRASKAN
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farce that made the appearance of the watch
less impressive than it might be, though the
costuming and tht performance of Verges (play
ed by William Turek) and the two watchmen
(Gary Carper and Rex Rodgers) were brilliant
In their way.
Paul Baker as Dogberry Improved consider
ably after his first scene, but a more Dlckenslon
caricature, perhaps with an exaggerated nose
and spectacles, would better exploit the comic
potential.
A delightful directorial touch In the Dogberry
vein of comedy that does fully exploit the comic
potential is the transformation of Balthalzar,
an attendant on Don Pedro, into a female singer
(acted by Linda Varvel) and a band. Though
the words of the song could unfortunately not
be understood, the antics of this trio deservingly
received more vigorous applause than almost
any other scene In the production.
Professional polish
The professional polish of these cameo roles
la Indicative o! the performance in general.
Though one can argue from an academic
point of view about the representation of the
dramatic values and the Interpretation of
particular characters, it is impossible to go away
from tht production feeling anything but ad
miration for Robert Hall, his cast, and his
crew.
The quality of the acting was consistently
high. Stephen Gaines as Leonato demonstrated
extremely well the variety of moods demanded
of Hero's father and Introduced some interesting
comic notes. William Szymanskl turned in his
usual fine performance as Don Pedro.
But more impressive was William Lacey't
portrayal of the difficult role of Claudio.
Something of a cardboard conventional lover
at the beginning, Claudio then behaves like a
polled child and ultimately becomes an In
senstitlve prig. Lacey made these stages in
Caludio's development appear most natural and
human, even the acceptance of the feigned cousin
of Hero at the end. The changes of mood and
dramatic function were skillfully registered by
changes In intonation and facial expression.
Hero is also a tough assignment because
sht is forced to play in the shade of the witty
Beatrice, but Susan Vosik after a slow start
captured the excitability and youthful innocence
of a maiden's first love and Its ensuing crisis.
However, the performance that truly
amacked of greatness was that of Jo Flaugher
as Beatrice. It is difficult to conceive of a more
perfect rendition of the beautiful but bitchy,
light-hearted but loyal comic heroine.' Her
remarkable stage presence was further set off
by the brilliant directorial touch of having her
appear for the festive entertainment in swallow
coat and breeches, which exemplified her
masculine Independence and at the same time
emphasized her diminutive features.
Closer to modern world
The late nineteenth century context
established by costume and set brought the ac
tion closer to the modern world while still re
taining tht necessary aesthetic distance.
This choice of dramatic milieu is particularly
appropriate to both the wit and the melodrama
of "Much Ado," though if the qualities of Wilde
and Bouclecault had been more completely
realized, the effect would have been stunning.
The permanent set proved to be a very
serviceable fusion of the Elizabethan mulitplt
stage and tht lata nineteenth century back-drop:
it afforded both a variety of levels on which
to play and a concrete decor for the action.
Only once were tht limits of tht realistic
set seriously strained and that was the scene
in which Claudio delivers the epitaph on Hero
at tho monument. This sequence might have
been more effectively performed in front of the
gate on stage-left.
The lighting was adequate If not imaginative,
and the costuming satisfactory though uneven.
Stage uniforms too often have that moth-eaten
look and cotton does not a gown make, but
ingenuity overcame the low budget in the in
triguing masks and the dress of Verges and
the comic watch.
Ingenuity manifest
Ingenuity was manifested in many aspects of
the production, but nowhere was it more ap
parent than in the devices of farce.
Gestures, facial expressions, and stage
business consistently reinforced the comedy of
the lines, though at times the appeal for laughter
led to distortion of the meaning.
Robert Hall has In his Interpretation of the
comedy taken the title seriously, so literally in
fact that tht entertainment of the "much ado"
so dominates the production that "nothing" of
the implications about love engages our atten
tion. However, a serious comment about man and
his world seems beside the point in a
performance that makes Shakespeare so much
fun. '
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Reader views
In Washington, D.C
sex education M street could be
half way to China
"And what do you do for a living?"
"I'm a homemaking teacher."
"Oh, I see ... Uh, you like cooking
and sewing, do you?"
"Well, yes, that is part of it," I
must reply. Contrary to what most
people believe, there is more to a
homemaking class than preparing
meals and making clothes.
Along with a search for in
dependence the teenager wants to
discover who she is and where she
Is going.
More specific questions concern
dating what to do on dates, what
to say on dates. To be really specific
teen-agers seem to be in a real quan
dary when it comes to sex.
As a homemaking teacher, I feel
that this is an area which can be
covered in a personal development
unit along with the social and
psychological effects of families and
discussions about personal goals and
life expectations.
An effective discussion about sex
cannot be held, unless the teacher
takes a careful approach. After a
rather "matter-of-fact" discussion of
how important it Is to be
knowledgeable about the physiological
and psychological aspects of sex, It
was my experience to have
homemaking classes still In dialogue
on premarital sex at the end of R0
minutes.
As a result, the students seemed
to be clearing their misconceptions
about word meanings words such
as fertilization, ova, sperm, in
tercourse, testes, and many more.
They weren't clock-watchers that day;
they wanted to learn.
My only question is: Why are adults
so afraid to answer questions? Could
it be because they themselves do not
know the answers? If this is the case,
then my answer is that sex education
must begin somewhere. What Is your
school doing?
Geralyn Cornell
Homemaking teacher
Omaha Public Schools
Editor's note: Kent Cockson is a
senior majoring in journalism at the
University. He is currently serving a
journalism summer internship with
the United States Information Agency
hi Washington, D.C. This is the first
of several columns which he la-writing
for the Summer Nebraskan.
By Kent Cockson
A funny thing happened to me on
the way to the agency the other day.
Actually, it was the first day that I
was to report to the United States In
formation Agency to begin a summer
journalism internship.
I had just started to pass in front of
the fence surrouding the White House
grounds on Pennyslvania Avenue
when I noticed a group of about IS
Japanese students standing in the
vicinity of the main gate. None were
holding a protest sign, so I knew that
it could not have been another group
trying to make the front pages by pro
testing the war in Vietnam.
I approached them, as It was in
evitable that I should pass them on
my way to work (not that I am
particular about what race or na
tionality I associate with or anything
like that). I was less than 20 steps
away when one member of the group
sauntered toward me.
"How do I get to the National
Education Association? "he asked me
in broken but intelligible English. He
looked like a university student, about
my own age and very lost.
I was in a pickle.
Should I pretend to be a Washington
white collar know-it-all and just give
him some random directors? Or
should I be frank and admit that, as
far as the NEA was concerned, I was
just as lost as he and his friends
were.
"Hey, listen," I started. "Believe It
or not, this is only my third day in
Washington, and my first day
downtown. So I really don't think I
can help you guys out at all."
He looked back at me blankly, prob
ably astounded by the fact that the
well-seasoned bureaucrat he had ap
proached for directions was turning
out to be only another stupid
American who didn't know which way
from up. No telling how many times
those young men had asked for direc
tions and had been given what was
probably a bum steer.
One of his colleagues came to the
rescue announcing that he knew tht
street address where the building was
located. It was on 16th and M. Now I
had been on 16th Street before, but M
Street could have been half way to
China for all I knew. (I didn't put It in
those exact words when I explained
that M Street could have been In any
direction.)
Determined not to let me get away
(it was getting late), another member
of the group rushed over with a little
six-inch square map, probably printed
by the NEA. Now I'm not necessarily
putting in a plug for ROTC, but I
oriented the mcp toward the
area where we were located and
discovered that the studenU were
about sixteen long Washington blocks
Continued oa page I
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