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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1971)
Murder play blends satire, comedy Hi' ( j I I s j L ' ' - i c' ( wit Hair 9 comes to Kansas City Hair is finding its way into the Great Plains, and in case you're wondering, I'm not refering to the slender threadlike outgrowth of the epidermis of an animal. Rather I mean the folk-rock-love musical written by Gcrome Ragni and James Rado about a tribe of kids who smoke pot, burn their draft cards and enjoy all types of sexual activity. Hair, being performed by its Chicago Company, opened its area engagement at the Capri Theater in Kansas City, Mo., on Febr. 2 and will run through Febr. 21 . It seems to me that with the most talked about musical of the century just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Lincoln, there should be no excuse for the so-called entertainment starved public to miss this production. The tickets at the Capri range from $4.90 to $9.90-not really that expensive when you consider that (1) this is a professional company and (2) this show is a real workout for the cast members. Until you have seen Hair you don't realize the amount of creativity, imagination and pure sweat which the actors put out. Also the cost of tickets is low considering the fact that this will probably be the only production of Hair in the Great Plains. Otherwise if you want to see the show you may end up paying, as I did, $15.00 a ticket in New York City. Some people might be offended by Hair, specifically its use of certain four-letter words, its dance movements, its put-down of the establishment and its nude scene. However, all of these things are an important part of the show and the play would suffer if they were cut. For those of you who might be offended by these things, I recommend that you stay home and watch Lawrence Welk on television; but if you have an ounce of a love for life try to make it down to Kansas City and see Claude, Berger, Woolf and other friends in Hair. For those of you staying in Lincoln this weekend, there are numerous things to do. The Lincoln Community Playhouse will be performing Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on Feb. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21. This drama was a winner of the New York Drama Critic's Circle Award. Curtain is at 8:30 on Friday and Saturdays and at 7:30 p. m. on Sundays. On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the Lincoln Broadway League is bringing in Forty Carats. This comedy is about a 40-year-old divorcee in love with a boy young enough to be her son. Curtain is at 8:15 p.m. and ticket prices range from $2. to $6. Musically don't forget that the Chancellors will be performing in the Nebraska Union Saturday from 9 p.m. to midnight. Admission is $1.50. Also remember that the University School of Music production, The Rake's Progress, is being presented at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Kimball Recital Hall. In addition, The White House Murder Case by Jules Feiffer will be presented Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. in Howell Theater. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1971 Anyone who's seen the cartoons of Jules Feiffer in Playboy magazine should be able to guess that one of his plays, The White House Murder Case, is something more than a whodunit. This play, the first at Howell Theater handled entirely by students is described by director Stephen Gaines as a "caustic, biting satire," and a "black comedy about a future president, his advisers, and United States foreign and domestic policy." The setting is " several elections hence," but the play also applies to today's political issues, Gaines said. The morals of the President and his surrounding staff revolve around the slogan, "What's good for the party is good for the country." The politicians come across as something less than sincere, brilliant statesmen, Gaines said, and "are constantly discovering the obvious." In the play, war in Brazil, one of four Vietnam-like fiascos entered into by the U. S. in the past six years, has resulted in the loss of 25,000 lives. The secretary of defense views .these as acceptable losses. Every issue facing the politicans, including the murder of the Fi.st Lady, becomes important to them only because of the effect on the image of the President and his party. "Every word spoken by the administration is a contradiction of what is done," Gaines said. To help get this idea across a split set is used, showing the political pronouncements from the White House on one side, and then the contradictory reality of the war in Brazil on the other side. In 1965, Gaines earned a degree at NU in physical education, an unusual credential for a director of a play at Howell Theatre. But soon afte, he became involved in community theater in Hastings, and he said the "theater got into my blood." He came back to NU and received a master of arts degree in theater. In the last 2lA years, Gaines has participated in every major production at Howell, in addition to summer work in the Nebraska Repertory Company. Tickets for The White House Murder Case are on sale in room 126 of the Temple Building for $1.50. The play will run Thursday through Saturday, at 8 p.m. The set designer is Jerry Litwin, the lighting designer is Joanna Hill, and the stage manager is Dan Stratman. The cast includes Dave Starkweather, Bill Ostby, Tony Brehm, Diane Lee, John Crumrine, Christopher Stasheff, Gregg Graf ft, Gary Carper, William Szymanski and Tom Bredenberg. df 1 O V, Expert on Asian cities speaks ;r "The Pre-Industrial City in Southwest Asia" will be the topic of a public lecture by Dr. Paul English of the University of Texas at 8 p.m. Thursday at the University of Nebraska. The lecture will be held in Room 206 of Burnett Hall on the Lincoln City Campus. An associate professor of geography, Dr. English has done extensive field work on the pre-industrial city in Iran and Afghanistan. His book, "City and Village in Iran" received the Herfurth Award in Social Science. liKOOft-lflWIOMI lUffCOIN WMOfflB-IMSE&HM love westerns ...you'll Isvc all these men!" warn a -Cosmopolitan CFOOliefl 1 ' TfCHNlCOlOR PANAVISION FREE PARKING AFTER . 6 . P.M. grander Caesar! No greater cast! w WRUam Srk 'paw.'. JULMJS CAESAR f . y ConwnorevMMh United ppMontt starring MirSntl production Charlton Heston Jason Robards JohnGlelgud? PANA VISION', color by TECHNICOLOR 14 TH AND 0 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN PAGE 7 ' t