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Theater review by Robert Thurber
Polish playwright Slawomir Mrozek has weaved a strange
and somewhat poetic dance in Tango, the UNL Studio
Theatre's current production.
The author has used the tango as a metaphor in des
cribing the play's action, which constantly changes di
rections with the music. This very demanding play contains
a complex mixture of political comment and social satire
that poses untold questions with no immediate answers.
The mood throughout Tango is dark and somber, only
occasionally broken by bits of sardonic humor. Mrozek
seems to make a mockery of everything, including a struc
ture, institutions, himself, revolution and in the end life
itself. He questions the reasons for our fastly held ideologies.
Society symbol
The playwright uses the family to represent society, with
each individual providing ideas on life's problems. Arthur,
the son and youngest family member, becomes a reaction
ary to life's dissaray and attempts to change everything
back to old form. He realizes he can only do this through
coercion, forcing everyone around him to fit his "new"
mold.
A play like Tango demands as much from the audience
as it does from the actors, requiring a high level of en
semble performance. The cast, with few exceptions, per
formed well together Tuesday evening.
Paul Baker portrays Stomil, Arthur's father and sel
imposed experimental playwright, with a great amount
of vitality and power. His control and understanding of
the character were superb. In the role of Arthur, Jeffery
Otte lacked the emotional power that Baker possessed, but
still was impressive with his versatility.
J.W. Sudik's quiet interpretation of the uncle was per
haps the most enjoyable. His ability to interact with the
other characters was excellent, and his comic tone high
lighted the more humorous scenes. V. Eric Sorensen pro
vided an interesting study of Eddie, the character whose
only principles are those "Borrowed from a friend." ,
Key to play
It is Eddie who finally becomes the key to the play.
lorferv ntre and Becci Dawson in Tango, a
Studio Theatre production which runs
through Saturday.
Following his killing of Arthur, he carries out the final
establishment of authority that replaces existing forms.
Becci Dawson and Charly D. Miller in roles of Ala and
Eleanor respectively, snowed moments of understanding,
but were inconsistent. Susan Guthrie, as the grandmother,
got off to an uneven and shallow start, but her character
development improved in the second and third acts.
As it is with most plays, Tangc suffers from an excess
of self-indulgence on the writer's part. Verbose passages,
which sometimes impeded movement of ideas, were evi
dent throughout the play.
Tango is a long and grueling dance, but a worthy one for
those who can keep pace.
Straight men add to humorous shows
By TV Aunt Hannah
What situation comedies need, Aunt
Hannah thinks, is less funny people in the
starring roles. The cast should be funny,
by all means, but the best comedy pro
grams have a "straight man" for the star.
ABC's Barney Milter, at 7 p.m. on Thurs
days, is a good example.
Hal Linden, as Capt. Miller of New
York's 12th precinct, plays a fair-minded,
likable cop. He has a sense of humor, but
he's not funny. He's the foil for the guest
stars, who come through his office and
meet his ethnic menagerie of co-workers.
Among them is Wojehowicz, who insists
his name is pronounced as it is spelled and
can't understand why everybody gets it
wrong, Ron Glass playing a black detective
slightly more hip than the rest, and Gregory
Sierra, portraying Chano, a Puerto K?can,
in much the same way as he did on NBC's
Sanford and Son.
Aunt Hannah's favorite is the Chinaman,
Yemana, played by Jack Soo. His absolute
ly inscrutable deadpan, when contrasted
with the earnestness of the other characters,
is a perfect example of good situation
comedy.
Rhoda and Phyllis, CBS, are bad exam
ples. Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman
were funny when they were antagonistic
sidekicks on the Mary Tyler Moore show.
On their own, each stars in a show that
tries too hard. Phyllis is the worst-every
time Leachman opens her mouth Aunt
Hannah cringes.
Bob Newhart on CBS is a comedian, yet
his show is pretty good. But that's because
Newhart is a comic craftsman. The humor
is set off by his goofy psychiatric patients
and his goofier friends, while Newhart
keeps the laughs rolling.
We're approaching the holiday season
this week, and it is no surprise there is a
strong smell of turkey from upcoming
programs. Aunt Hannah recommends only
these few shows:
Dr. Seuas (Friday. Ch. 6 & 10, 7 p.m.) Ah, child
hood I Hant Conried narrate three animated
vera stories: "Tha Sneetehes", about birds with
starved stomachs and snooty attitudes; "Tha
Zax", about two travelers who keep on truckln';
and "Green Eggs and Ham", about fating odd
looking food. Allan Sherman gives voica to tha
Cat in tha Hat.
Doctor Zhivago, Part 1 (Saturday, Ch, 3, 8 p.m.)
Omar Sharif, Julia Christie, Geraldlne Chaplin,
Rod Stalgor and Alec Guinness give their all In
this popular film based on Boris Pasternak's
novel. This 1965 Oscar-winner Is your basic epic
of love and war in revolutionary Russia. Pert 2
will be shown Monday at 8 p.m.
Notorious Woman (Sunday, Ch. 12, 8 p.m.)
Second in a seven-part BBC series on the life of
George Sand, 19th century novelist, essayist,
poet and rebel. Har real name was Aurore Dupln
and she was divorced, smoked cigars, wore men's
clothing and generally upset a lot of people. This
week she adopts her pen name and gets advice
from Hqnore de Balzac, Rosemary Harris plays
the title role.
Why Me? (Monday, Ch. 12. 7 p.m.) Breast can
cer documentary narrated by Lee Grant. The
physical and emotional aspects of the disease
(one of tha few curable types of cancer), are
discussed by women who have had a mastectomy
and their doctors.
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Interviews for New
Executives on the Eas
Union Program
Council
1976 TERfTl
SUN. NOV. 23
2-5 p.m.
EAST
UNIO
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