'Dresser' characters debate
whether the show will go on
By Chuck Jeoda
The Dresser," a play by HoncJd Nor
wood, presented by t he Nebraska Direc
tors' Theatre in cooperation with the
University Theatre, welcomes both
praise end criticism. In other words,
it's a mixed bag.
The NDT, a cooperative venture of
UNL graduate students will split its
income from this show with the UNL
theatre department to supplement
Theatre
review
funds for grad uatc asststantships. Local
actors David Landis and Nancy Marcy,
Hex McGraw, theatre department
chairman, and university graduat e and
undergraduate students and staff are
7TiTTDTJunpT
the fund-raising production.
The play is set in January 1912 in a
theater in an English province. There
is a Nazi air raid, an aging actor
manager, his valet, a leading lady,
other actors, a house manager and of
course, a show to put on. And therein
lies the central question of the play:
Will the show go on? Or, more specifi
cally, will Sir, the actor-manager, played
by McGraw, be able to pull himself
together enough to remember his lines
and perform the very demanding part
of King Lear?
Sir himself faces a number of prob
lems: the inroads of age and deterio
rating health, sympathetic madness
The play has potential and the cast
at times reached those levels.
In the first act the players, especially
Landis and McGraw the former as if
imitating Stan Laurel on amphetam
ines, the latter like Willy Loman on an
express streetcar to the EJysian Fields)
needlessly hustled and bustled along
as if late for something. By intermis
sion, they were taking time to enjoy
themselves, which allowed the audience
to do likewise.
The prc-show music, lighting effects
and set were all effective and beauti
fully done.
The acting should have been either
more believable to involve the audience
or more exaggerated to take advan
tage of several comic opportunities
and subtle jokes that were in the script
but went unnoticed by those on and off
r
c
AUG 25. 3. 27. 20. 31
& SEPT 1. 2. 3
TEMPLE STUDIO THE ATHC
12th & R LINCOLN
Ph: 472 2073
TICKETS:
$4. StudentSr Cit
$5. Regular
ococo oo
A PLAY BY
the stage.
I fa ITS uilTTTUI riTiTOaar
Heading Korth, was flawless. Actors
were never hidden from any part of
the audience for more than a few
moments, not always easy in the round.
Nancy Marcy and Julie Uribe (as
Irene, a young actress and object of
Sir's flirtations) brought sparkle and
vitality to their roles. William Schutz, J.
Christopher Wineman and Constance
Hill played their supporting roles well,
albeit with moments of superfluous
intensity.
The actors and crew did an excel
lent job of creating the off-stage and
on-stage effects. The storm was espe
cially rousing.
O O O O O O O O O 00 O OO CO- o o o o
The play will run Thursday, Friday
brought on by identification with the and Saturday at the Studio Theatre, in
part he is playing and his own demons, the Temple Building, 12th and It streets.
Kimball . . .
Continued from Pejs 31
Ticket sales make up a third of the
funding for the Kimball Performing
Arts Series, and the remaining money
must come from other sources.
Although some financing comes from
the university, from special
endowments and from government
grants, funding from private sources
has become a concern.
Kimball could not survive without
private contributions, Meilander said,
so the search is always on for more
patrons. Kimball and Company was
formed last year to get contributors
involved with the Kimball Performing
Arts Series and the UNL Music
Theater. To become a member of Kim
ball and Company, a person must con
tribute $25 or more. UNL students may
join for $15. Meilander said Kimball is
trying to get away from federal fund
ing, and instead is looking for better
ways of including the private sector.
Meilander said she would like to see
Kimball Recital Hall expanded to
accommodate bigger audiences and
larger productions. Kimball's seating
capacity is 850, and Meilander said she
would be delighted to have the capac
ity increased to perhaps 2,000. For
some popular events, it has been
necessary to turn away people want
ing to buy tickets, and as a box office
manager, Meilander said, she hates to
see that happen..
A concert by the St. Louis Symphony
Orchestra recently was added to the
Kimball Performing Arts Series sche
dule. That performance will be Sun
day, Sept. 11, at 8 p.m. The St. Louis
Symphony is a popular attraction
among Lincoln residents, and the
Kimball box office will be open Wed
nesday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. to sell
tickets for the event. Regular box office
hours are Monday through Friday
from 1 1 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein,
Gertrude Stein," starring Pat Carroll,
will be presented Sunday, Sept. 25, at 8
p.m. to officially kick off the 1983-84
Kimball Performing Arts Series.
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