Page Four

SCARLET AND BLACK

November l4. I958

 

‘Tiger', WUS. Concert Arouse Student Comment

To the Editor:

in the last issue oi the 5&3,
there appeared a review oi
“Tiger at the Gates." it was.
however, a criticism, most of
which was unjustiﬁed.

I will agree that Giraudox
did not measure up to the
standards oi “Mr. Sophocles"
and that the play does not hold
a candle to the riprsnort’n dra—
ma that we may he used to,
but, to be drama, must it?
Does this mean that it cannot
be conceived as something
worth while to be seen and
read? 1 don‘t particularly
care ior the style or message
either, but I conslder it to be
a play to be dealt with on
its own merits, I am not at
all sorry that Players chose
to produce it.

Yes. the costumes were gen-
erally bad, in poor taste, and
in bad repair. Brooks Inc, N.Y.,
showed.an extreme lack of con-
sideration ior a college located
in the wilds oi lowa. I must
coniess that the scenery did
look like painted cardboard, but

To the Editor:

Thank God tor tough criticism!
Previously. Players have thrived
on boring laudatory reviews but
now a reviewer ﬁnally has got:
to divulge the iacts, The play
last week was static, undramat-
ic, and uninteresting. The per-
centage oi “ﬂops” in the theater
is high, and we at Grinnell
have been‘fnrtunate in seeing
iew at these. When one comes
along, everyone becomes upset.
This is ridiculous.

Criticism of personalities is
delicate, and the reviewer

 

then it was never meant not to.
it was readily recognizable as
what it was supposed to bees
series oi platiorms and a gate.
it was not intended that the
gates look like an ordinary
lencc; rather, it was a represen—
tation or a protection, and it
served its purpose well.

However, these errors oi the
physical in the production can
be written off, important as
they are, to the critic’s luck
at knowledge ot the backstage
area.

My main comment, ho ever,
concerns thc method oi c cisrn.
Since when is it the right, even
the prerogative, oi a critic to
impose his own wellrjelled, pre-
conceived judgments on the in»
tcrpretation oi the message or
the characters? For example, an
actor should not be given a
“rave notice" just because his
interpretation at c h a r a c t e r
agrees point by point with that
oi the reviewer, Rather, the ln-
terpretation oi character should
be in harmony with the rest oi

could have used more ﬁnesse,
particularly with the com-
ments about Demokos which

e unjustiﬁed. rer—

courage but enlighten.
Distracting costumes and set
coloration only added contusion
to the inane mixture oi philo-
sophic themes and comedy.

Whose iault? The play iteeli
is diiiicult and uninspiring.
The acting was excellent con-
sidering the script,- but yet
the show did not hang togeth—
er. 0ne person is largely re.
sponsible ior a show: the di-

\rector. He is oit iorgotten by
the audience whether the play

of the play and the way the
whole production is directed.
Most important, an actor must
work with the others on the
stage, he must give each actor
something to work with and
play oﬂ‘ — without this there
is deﬁnite lack in the character
and the play. similarly, an ace
tor who insists on bringing all
the attention on himseli by
“overrplaying” a role, or bring
ing something to the role that
does not belong to the charace
ter supposedly portrayed, is not
doing the type oi job that
should receivea pat on the back.

in the iuture. may the critic
oi a production be a little more
careful to bring a \vellrfounded
judgment. to the readers.

Ann Moore
, a . .

(Ell. note: Due to an Sim;
printshop error, Miss Ellison’s
commentary on Bob Clapp read,
in part, “He lost commitment."
The sentence should have read
“He lost some lines, but man-
aged to develop a sense oi mor-
al commitment which made his
characteri ation mnving.")

be a smash or a dud. ii audi- ,
ences realized how much the

director is onstage during a .
show, they would be shocked. l
Criticism oi actors alone is .
not always appropriate, as t
their creations have been ;
molded, shaped to ﬁt the I
whole.

Negative criticism could mean:
that "riger" was not the cor'
rect script, and that we should
produce plays within our realm.
ci experience. This is not at
lowering oi standards but rath—.
.er appropriate theater that
‘moves. Better luck to Saroyanl

Dennis Flu-bush

i

 

(Eli. note: We have receiv-

ed several criticisms oi and (lea
lenses irom criticism oi the
Monday night Beaux Arts Trio
concert. To get an expert
opinion. we asked Richard
it. Howe (music) to com—
ment upon the program-
ming. The concert was spon<
sored by the Community Con-
eert Association which is an
organization in the city oi
Grinnell that subscribes to the
concert series provided by the
national community Concert
Association.

Mr. Howe‘s opinion: “The
Beethoven and Ravel trios,
which started and ended the
program, were periormed
with considerable taste and
virtuosity. There was, how-
ever, little noteworthy music
between these two selections.
The insistence upon popular
programming on the part of
most community concert series

Headquarters

for your
HUNTING (BOOTS

ARNOLD'S
SHOES

may or may not be necessary
for the commercial success of
these organizations. Presuma
obly, national management
contends that it is

“It should be said that Mon-
day night’s programming was
the work neither oi the artists
nor oi the local oiiiccrs oi the
association,

“This is not a matter oi
program contrast, or stylistic
variety, but rather one oi
quality. A program can be
varied without the inclusion
oi transcriptions. (Debussy-

T0 the Editor:

We would like to take this
opportunity to express our
thanks to the members oi the
iaculty and student body who
contributed to the success oi
the wus auction dance through
donations, booths, etc. A big
{thank—you is also in order to
PremEX‘ and buildings and

Save 50% on
WE NE‘VE

 

GRIN

WestinghousW

It's Fun - - It's Easy
Do It- Yourself.

Hartmann — The Girl i 'th
the Flaxen Hair." “Tartini-
Kreisler H "Variations on a
theme by Corelli," etc) rure
thermore, li a varied program
is the objective. why do so
many artists insist upon a pier
pondenanee or 19th century
music? l
“I have no great coniidence
in the musical taste oi the
average lay audience, but
many periorming artists, par—
ticularly those under the in-
ilucnce oi national manage-
ment, tend to underestimate
the receptivity oi the layman
to good music.")

grounds for contributing their‘
services. without such wonder-l
iul cooperation, wus would
never be able to reach its goal‘
_on the Grinnell campus.

Sincerely,

Judy Mahle
Bill Christmzn

Cit-Chairmen, WUS

N‘ELL

Your ‘Luund‘ry
R CLOSE!

 

Open 7 Days a (Week

Clark Prep Stunt-
Nominales Nassl-F

For 'Flutf' Award

by Sue O’Brien

Joe Nassii looks like next

week’s top contender for

KGRW’: “bad actor award”, a

ieature ot the “John and Gary
Show.”

His periormance began when
his hall, Smith, was invaded
by a group ot' Clark preps,
Aiter twice blockading him-
seli in the house president’s
suite, Nassii was captured,
blindioldcd, and walked around
campus lor ten minutes. Then
he was dumped in a car and
taken tor a half-hour ride.
He iinally was escorted into
“some kind oi structure." Here he
was placed on the floor, still
blindiolded, with his hands tied
behind him, yelling, “I'm sup-
posed to be on John Roberts
and Gary Nolder's show irom ll
to midnight!"

And on the show he was. For,
when he removed his hiindtold,
the iirst thing to meet his eye
was the “fluorescent appliance

Dostoievsky Novel
ls Topic 0t Talk

The second oi two lectures in
a series entitled “The Search tor
the Meaning oi Lite" will be
presented at 9 am. next Friday
in ARH auditorium.

Wilhelm Kautmann, New York
Foundation visiting proiessor oi
modern ioreign languages, will
speak on Dostoievsky and his
novel, "The Brothers Karama-
ZOV.”

oi studio B at the radio station."
Told that all he had said
(“I had said everything, irom
to “so had beenbroad»
cast, he rushed to tile micro-
phone and gushed an apology,
“trying all the time to remain
anonymous.” “Thank you.
Joe," said Nolder as Nassii
started to turn over the mike
which he immediately grab-
bed back to amend Nolder
with “no, not Jae, it’s John,"
The clincher to his evening
came when he iound that noth-
ing he had said had been broad-
cast—nothing, that is, except his
apology.

 

RESERVATIONS
for Busses home for

Christmas Vacation.
MAKE THEM NOW

to Des Moines, Omaha,
and St. Louis

Where ..
When

.lst flour Union Office

VTues" Thurs, Slab—L3 p.m.

Payment in full

(the ibusses .ledve from the

campus at 12:00 noon
December 13.)

| THROUGH oun

LENS - - -

KATIE PRANGLEY is at senior sociology major
from Winnetka, Ill. She is active in the llRlC,

Young Republicans and YWCA, and is a mem-
ber of the Loose hall Baffleboarcl.

WE‘LLHQUSE STUD‘lO

Official Cyclone Photographers for nine years.
Across from the post office

 

