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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1976)
) - thursdsy, novcnr.bcr 10, 1070 dd!y ncbrcsxen 1 1 1 11 1 1 ." : or is & .entertainment rAlie' leaves audience Irs wonderland 1, 1 i J .... . rk'-, ...Mxn;' ;V nv Vi - . V, V -A y. ; s9 . , . .-. , i-vi,-..,,-,. .,--.T - - ,- 11 nn ,1- 11 -1111 , .,. Thoto fey VLsebst Hsay The tta Theatre-prodsscfba c.f A'ice in Wonderistd h a assskl 'tsiszsa cf tie ; ' ' Lewis GsicSisnd. , ' ' . . By Carla Engstrom ' Alice in Wonderland is so hopelessly abstract and absurd that one cannot help' getting lost in the plot. But at the same time, its originality makes it entertaining ; The production runs through Sunday at Studio Theatre. . ;;'. - v If you're expecting a play similar to a Neil Simon comedy, Alice isn't for you. It has its moments of comedy, but it consists mainly of scenes thatvmake you wonder. ; Somehow Alice (Elizabeth McCord) was different in the book, but there is no doubt in your mind who Alice is. Her small frame and blond curls give her away. , , , A cast of six play various parts, except for Alice, who remains Alice throughout the show. The cast begins the play, by discovering . an sbaadcjitti iwui. At first, it appears to be hectic backstage action. Then one. sees thst they're just children. They scream like children, jump up and down in place and try to frighten one another with the props in the room. - , ...... . v . . Jsbherwcck recognizable ' The first recognizable scene, from the book involves the, Jabberwock (Judy You expect to see an adult characteri zation, but she retains a child's perspective. This is hard to adjust to because it seems somewhat unprofessional. - The J&bberwock's costume is not frightening itself.: It's made up of an eld coat put on backwards and a mop wig. The audience has to ry on the reactions cf tM cast for the impact cf the Jabber wock. j!. jj, ,t t. (J . , '...TlttimilsBiJasL ' - The transllMSiis are Mrd to follow. And the actions dras until the White Rabbit (Scctt Hsbhs) sppssrs. s The V."hite Rabbit convinces the aud fcace. thst tfsM of Mt own shadow. : IIs's perfect except he doesa szy his dasac line Tra late. Tm bte for a very feporttnt date." One nice thing about Lewis Carroll's characters is that they are so human. It's easy to identify with the conversation Alice has with the rabbit. Because the play is surreal, some of the things that appear in the play don't appear in the book. 7 In avante-garde theatre, it's easy to attach meaning to actions. So the scene where the ventriloquist (Hobbs) and his puppet Alice perform, doesnt relate to - the story, but it might add to Alice's fur ther loss of her identity. Growing sequence Ingenious' . ' The cast does an ingenious job of help ing Alice in her growing sequence. They inflate Alice by blowing in her fingers. Her body seems to grow larger than the rest of the cast. ;' At the end of the scene, Alice doesn't like her shape and deflates. The scene is interrupted by art absurd chorus of "By the sea, by the sea.'! It doesnt make much sense. The Mouse (Greg Wagner) plays a typi cal versbn of a scared mouse. He is timid in his actions and his costume consists of a rope tied around his waist for a tail, a pair of wire rimmed glasses and a Mickey Mouse hat. - ' . . " ; Conthsisdcap. 13 School of Music ; slates frea concert " Use UNL Schot rA Msesc will present " a free public concert at 8 pjn. Th'jrsdsy at Kimball Recital HaH, 1 1th and R streets. The concert will feature the UNL saxo phone and percussion ensembles. ; ;Ccstssoniy'; and dasdeal - ccsrposi tions. will be peifcrsxd along with orpnd . works by members cf the saxophone . ensemble. Theme: of i he Front gives s WIG us, lasting ; lesson DylYLlikiffssssi I,!any people w3 go to see The Front with fee Ulusloa ' ihsy aisofflg to see pmt no&er Woody Allen ccsaedy. . They come sway disappointed feecsass The, Front certsttfy doe t - - ' certainly doesn't fit the mold of the usual Woody Alen brand of cinematic comedy. The film deals with an intensely important subject the blacklisting of writers, directors and actors during the McCarthy Era. Although the studios and networks never admitted that such a list indeed existed, many persons were denied any type of work simply because they refused to cooperate with the witch-hunters. . In rite Front, Woody plays a small-time, unsuccessful bookie who serves as a "front fpr three blacklisted writers. Hes in it for fee money, which allows him to live the high life he has always dreamed of. Things aren't quite so simple. One of Woody's friends, an actor named Ifccky Brown (Zero Mostel), commits suicide because he has been blacklisted and can't find work. The realization arrives that it's more than just a game. s In the end, Woody must make a decision. Should he continue to play along and .3 retain his new found - The fZzs t!sa is sscccssfcl in trasbrrdr.g a politicd true cto rrdi, fctsasn terms. The fZtrkcrs cbvkKiily l&wfr &zsp SkIsjs jzd. :sysspll2tks' for- ihs'duxacters.. - and sitastioss, md the find creis explain why. Prddum-dirscior Martin Ritt. writer Walter Bernstein, and actios UsstV 3croidi and Lieyd Gough were all blxkHsted duricgihe early S0s. Their tone is not bitter; rather, they seem to be trying to explain just how easily such shameful occurences can happen. ' The McCaslliy Era is one of the low points of American history,' and the flm translates those histories! terms into hum&i cnes by showing us how many innocent people suffered. ; ; Many hetvUy thems-orkstM fSms Y2zz T!& Front lose . relevance after a few years. Either their- messages lose topicality, or the controversy surrcuadirg the films dies down, revealing the film wai.'t good to begin with. I believe The Front will withstand the test of time. I certainly hope thetMcCarthy nightmare is never forgotten. It could happen again so easily. That is the main achievement of The Front-tesskiihiz us in a subtle, yet effective way just how quickly and easily our rights can be breached. freeze frames tSumxl The find scene, whsre Woody tcstifbs bsfore the Un-American ActVitls $ Ccnrnittee, is superb. 1 Alan's face can express more in cat sma3 glance than cth:r actor's can in a hcle scene. AH cf thf rforrnarces are first rate, including Allen, I! .-sid, HerscSel'BcrBardi as a tslri'mon producer caught ti he mkldls, and Michael Murphy as one cf the fcbek- your especta- because it avoids the heavy, preacny sryie cx : A Iizls4 w&ztt. ----- iSV J IZZZZS SCC IflC rival, tui iirfuv ;u4 t;.;-ns. The fUra treats a serious subject in a secretin:? l.-tt-bzziici. wey. Fortunately, this approach proves mere manv otbsr lhcrne movies. - i t IZcbsd UsrpSy cJ Wcc5 A2ca play ia The Front, a very wt2bne movie about the tladJIir that went ca '