Friday. November 6. I959

’T’V“ EI AND BLACK

Page Three

 

" 'The CrucibIe' Lacked Gus’ro:,10 Cadets CiIed

Players' Emoﬁon Too Obvious'

by Laurel Ellison

and Bill McClung
.(lieature editor)

The evolution of a play [Tom
the first reading to
night is both a trying and
treacherous process. The original
reading of a good play (and we
think “The Crucible" is a good
play) is sometimes the best
reading: it has the freshness of
the new and the manifest quali-
ties of unity which make part
and whole seem inseparable and
give the play a vitality which
entitles it to be edited. “good."

Then, those people who per-
form the play must take it apart,
separate scene from scene, char-
acter from Character, line from
line. The play is anatomized and
set upon the laboratory table for

close examination, but discction
can kill the living quality.

As opening night approaches,
the actors and directors must
reconstruct (recreate even as
the playwritc dill) the living
drama. This is no task for or-
dinary mortals. The forces for
and against a successful recon-
struction vie lor dominance.
And, the forces against more-
ation of lite in a laboratory
are by no means meager.

The Grinnoll Player's Dl’oduc-i

lion of Arthur Miller's
Crucible“ lacked the
one Ieels at the first reading.
Miller's play, centered historical-
ly about the Salem, Mass. witch
craze of 1692, is charged with an
electric intensity which givcsthe
script a dramatic impact. Ala
though the cast rose several
times to the dramatic level sol
the script and situation, the ova
erall production lacked the punch
that these observers had hoped
for.

David Palmer as John Proctor
brought a rustic virility to a
central role. in both the Coun
scene and the last scene, he
played well the part of a plain
man, the stronger for his sins,
torn with indignation at the by

"The

Docrisy and fraud of the witch,

trials.

in other scenes he seemed to
be unnaturally
contained when the
called for a- greater physical and
emotional reaction. His perfor-
mance was most able in the uiird
_act. and in the second scene of
act two.i In this scene, Palmer
and Nancy Game as Abigail
Williams played a delicate en~
counter with unusual sensitivity.

Nancy, in her first appear-
ance on the Grinnell stage,
was in tact one of the out.
standing surprises of the eve-
ning, nor Abigail was both
sweet and sensuous; yet 1110
audience was caught by a
sense of her diabolic unscra-
pulousness.

Mike Burr as the Reverend
John Hale did not quite achieve
the flat disillusionment of the
man who cries, “I came into this

village like a bridegroom to his,
beloved, bearing gifts of high‘
and what i touched

religion
with my right confidence, it
died. . . But his portrayal
was that of a refreshingly dif-
ferent and complex individual,
and was convincing.

Al Stanley, the Reverend Sam-
uel Parris, again successfully
played a villainous chc~actcr. al~
though in this case it seems to
us that Miller intended Parris
to be a more complex man, who
is not so basically evil as he is

violently uncertain of his per-i

COME ilN AND SEE
US FOR

0 Shoe Repair

. New Shoes

0 Laces

0 Polish, Spray Shine

GOODYEAR

sx—llOla SERVICE

opening.

gusto l

51le and self-'
situation-

sonal position and value in the
eyes of his congregation.

His selfishness is a faltering.
lust after security, and cannot
be put on the same shelf with
Abigail's righteous enveloping
greed. or Lhe brutal determina-
tion of Judge Hathorne and De—
puty Governor Danforth to ole—l
fine and force through “Godsl
will " 7

Another pleasing surprise l
was tile Cl'lsp portrayal in
Giles Corey by Lowell Powcu. .
His interpretation added a
fresh humor toa serious play
_a freshness which was both
true to the ﬂkeable Corey’s
character, and a welcome rc-
laxation for the theater audi i
once. I

Elizabeth Proctor, played byl
Pat Chambers, also appeared
(to the‘ exalted critics) to h2va
been we simply conceived, ,
that she became only alsi pi.
clous but ineffectual wric in her
first appearances. in thc.final
act, huwevor, she rose to much
of the strength necessary to
warrant the great respect her
husband bore toward her.

The three girls, played by Ann
Weller, Bonnie Postl and Donna
Jo Briley, must have exper-
ienced the difficulties of pro»
ducing hysteria ”on cue," esper
cially at the and of act one,
when they were Very successful.
During other parts. though. one
sometimes felt that their unre-
lleved, almost too obvlous emo—
tion was due to a disregard of_
the implications of the words of
the other characters.

most central one in the produce
ton and was recognized by
one of the speakers at last Fri-
day‘s coffee hour as “u disbe-
lief on the part of the actois
that this kind of a situation
could really happen,"

Perhaps because the specific
time of the play is 1592. or be.
cause Senator Joseph McCarthy
is no longer with us, we tend to
forget or avoid the fact that
witchhunts have been contem—
porary to almost every age and
are still being conducted in
1959, Miller has been criticized
by some who say that the im-
pact of “The Crucible" depends
too much on thelemctional and
moral connotations aroused by
the McCarthy hearings. and that
when they have been forgotten
the play will be less effective.

True, this is not Miller's best
play. but it seems impossible to
imagine anv great period of
{time in which men, in theiri
lceaseless attempts to simplify
the universe to a point of Come
nrehensibilitv. will not condense
it into a "sharp_time . . . a
precise time " and will not want
to declare "we live no longer in
lthe dusky afternoon when evil

"For Achievements i

This fault Seems to be the .

-La.Hue, a wide variety and
'price range of prints will be

 

I
At an allards ceremony

EFSII'IIOH )l'ViEUiS SrEINAVM
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pexeiai 51111135.“ up scan in )[m'is ‘z’tzld ‘laump e Karla

NMOG N0 EI‘WOI)

 

-1ast Fliday, the Grinnell
AFROTC cadet squadron Cit-
ed 10 cadets for achievement
during the preceding school
year.

Dean of the College R. Homer
Norton awarded Grinnell col-
legc academic medals to Cadets
Robert S. white, Charles P.
Turner and Steven A. School—
man for maintaining the highest
academic averages in their
spectivc classes.

Lt. Colonel Erskine Wigley I
(AFRDTC) prcscntcd the mil-
itary awards. The Consolidat-

ed Vultec Aircraft Corporaton
award was presented to Cadet

re-

 

lSAVE FINA! lSAivn
'Pelrmwnte‘nlf Ami-(Freeze
Ethylene iGlch Base
Per Gallon. $1.89
lPlR/OtT'EX
Methanol Base - Per Gallon

$1.10

Warren Boyd
6th 6: Broad \Sits.

 

Marcus F, Cooper, who was
designated the outstanding,
sophomore at those selected
into advanced AFROTC in a
category leading to ﬂying
training.

AFROTC night badges were
awarded to Cadets Cooper, Jer-
rold w. Ekey and Merlin D.
Ford, denoting their selection
into advanced AFROTC in a-
catcgory leading to pilot tl’aln-’
ing when called to active scrv-i
icc.

 

Good Conduct ribbons were
presented to Cadets Cooper,
Lowell T. Hockett, wilbur J.
Lathain, William P. McKnight
and Myles Van‘ Patten for
having received no dcmcrits
during the preceding semester,

 

 

Coupled with their having

1 demonstrated exemplary con-

HERMES—Li 6. SMITH—'RE‘MINGTON~SMITH—CDBDNA

TYPE'WRITE’RS

Complete Line of

. School Supplies 0 Poster Board
. Tempra Paints .Religious Items

Gr nneII Office
Supply

Across from the Post Office

 

 

 

duct in all matters pertaining
to the AFROTC program.

Bronze, silver, and gold stars
to the basic award of the good
conduct ribbon were awarded
to Cadet Ford for having re.
ceived no demerits throughout
the entire basic course encom-
passing four semesters.

Thela Sig To SeII
Prin‘ls Nexl' Week

Theta Sigma PM will con-
duct its annual print sale
Monday through Saturday,
Nov. 14, in Main and Cowles
lounges during the noon
holll'. According to Conchair-
men Cathy Foster and Marge

Offered.

The chairman said that print:
Ordered during the, salc’would
be delivered bcfm‘e Chrlstmas

A garmeni‘ will look
sharp on you regardless
of your shape if you send
if lo IOWA CLEANERS.

ll! costs no more so why settle for lea. Get
the best.

IOWA C‘LEA‘NER‘S
Across from the Laundromat
on good old 4th Ave

 

 

vacation.

 

Imixed itself with good and her
Ifuddled the world Now by
,God's grace, the shining sun is
up . . " to let as clearly see
and tabulate, and decree the
fate of, a man's conscience.

The print sale is the chief
money raising activity of the
year for the womens national
professional journalistic fratei—
nity.

 

Foundation

i

You ‘W

 

For Your
Gossard and Warner

Bros and Paulie Girdles

I Find 11+ Al'
lGreem'

GR‘EEN'S TOT SHOP

Across 'F-rom Post Ofiice

Garments

 

RAIN

Your clothes got cleaner

ai. the

lAUN‘DROMAT

 

 

