FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1967 Ghost Sonata: Chu Wednesday evening I walked into the University The atre prepared to review the opening of a great play. My task was somewhat easier than that! of a critic reviewing a new production because "The Ghost Sonata" is already established as a modern clasSic and one of the literary world's finest contributions to expressionism. This short lived advantage was soon balanced lby the fact that the level of production was university 'rather. than professional. In attempting a successfull presentation of Strindberg's extremely deep rooted message involving reality and il lusion the ;University players accepted quite a challenge. This challenge was met at many different levels of achieve ment; some very low - and some approaching perfection, but all an extremely worthwhile expirience for everyone in volved. Robert Breuler to borrow an old Broadway cliche, walked away with the show! His dynamic presence on stage makes the most uninfornied theatregoer feel sorry for any actor who has to play opposite him. Most salient to "The Ghost Sonata," however, was his interpretation of Strindberg's entire theme. Breulr was overwhelmingly successful, in his transitions from reality to illusion, an aspect of necessity that seemed to have escaped the rest of the cast entirely: I i Karen Shallo, in her portrayil of the mummy, came closest to 'achieving the height of perfection that seems to be second nature to Breuler. With the exception of sporadic lapses, she too seemed to Understand Strindberg's excla mation that reality is only manifested in the inner self. Greg Smith, as Johansson, and Donald King,l as Bengtsson, al though not faced with quite the•challenge of interpretation as the principals, did excellent jobs. At this point the level of achievement is rowered noticeably, and all that remains is the who and the why. Richard Wieand, after a tremendOus performance in last term's production of "Woyzeck,?' wasn't up to par this time around. In his one highly significant interchange with Breuler it seemed as though he Completely failed to see the significance of Strindberg'slcaiefully constructed lines. With, the lowering of the curtain on Act II comes the death of Mr. Hummel, Bob Breuler's identity. I remember hoping sincerely that this would not also be the death of a play, but my misgivings were sbon confirmed. In Act 111 those in the audience who have not as yet comprehended Nickeloden Nite For the past three years; of free popcorn and a serial Michael Radis has headed - which runs for the term. what some consider one of "Dangers of the Canadian the best bargains the Uni- Mounties" is this term's cliff versity has to offer—Nicke- hanger. lodeon Nites. I Nickelodeon Nites also pre- For 25 cents admission, sents one feature film each Radis brings of campus come- term. Lon Chaney in "Phan diens • such as W. C. Fields, torn of the Opera," perhaps Laurel &' Hardy, Charlie theh top horror flick of all Chaplin, and a host , of other time, will be shown next Fri silent and early talky film day. stars. , I According to Radis the 1925 _Fred Haupt 'at the piano classic is in color. "But it's not: color as we know it. The provides the authenticity of the original Nickelodeon. entire fra m e periodically 'changes to a tinted color for In addition to the regular dratnatie effect' he said. comic shorts, there is plenty On June 9 Nickelodeon 'Cinema X' To Feature Classic American Films Cinema "X" -- 15ecomes Cinema "A" at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Wesley Foundation with a double feature of Ameri can films, "The Big Sleep" and "Cught." . • Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in their toughest of the tough private-eye melodramas, "The Big Sleep," directed by Howard Hawks from a screenplay by William Faulkner - and Raymond Chandler. "Sleep," for the benefit of the Bogart-Bacall cultists, is the one in-which nobody has ever figured out just why one of the nine murders occurs, and in which Bogart and Bacall have the unprintable- conversation about fillies crossing the home stretch. "Caught" is a James Mason vehicle, and possibly the only film in which,he not only gets the girl, but also doesn't drink himself to death. The film also stars Robert Ryan and Barbara Bel Geddes and was directed by Max Ophuls. Do you earn too mucK to afford one? For many people the Volkswagen would be an ideal car. Except for one thing.: It doesn't cost enough. ; They're afraid nobody will realize they have any money, if it doesn't show In:their car. In other words they buy their car for other people. Not themselves. Then there are those who earn enough to buy a much better car than the VW. But they don't. Because they can't find one. ; For them the best car Is onej that's simply cbrn fortable and economical. One they don't have to worry about. That doesn't make many stops for gas. And rarely needs repairs. A car where the sare'repairsFlon't costa lot. A car where the car doesn't costa lot. • They'feel they con afford to save money with a Volkswagen. Nov next .time you see somebody driving a VW-don't feel sorry for him. Who knows? Someday the bank might use his money to give you a new car loon. Niv - Mierley Volkswagen, Inc. 1500 North i•Aiherten Street AUTNCRUID DEALER Opening Night Challenge Well-Met By ALAN Collegian I Cl= State College I I SLUTSKIN rams Critic Strindberg's message have it handed to them on a -"silver platter through the dialogue involving the student, Robert Barber, and the Hyacinth Girl, Mary Pickering. Strlndberg built this act around those two characters in such a way that only a magnificent performance by the student, or a complement of good . performances by the student and the girl could have carried the play. Miss Pickering. however, was merely adequate, and Barber was a• great' disappointment. As a result of his snythetic per formance and the impression that he gave of reciting his lines, the last act dragged slowly along and, much of the impact of the author's insight into the nature of man was lost with the tempo. With the exception of the music written especially for this prciduction of "The Ghost Sonata" by James Case, the play was' a great success from a technical viewpoint. Vin cent Piacentini's set design provided the naturalistic atmos phere that was an integral part serving to reflect Strind berg's question of what is reality and what is, illusion. Herbert O'Dell's lighting design was beautifully accented by the shocking appearance of the dead man, and Phyllis Kress' design of costumes did everything possible to height en the illusion achieved. "The Ghost Sonata," however, was not originally accompanied by any score and its addition in this case seemed entirely superfluous. It commended' as serving 'any purpose at all, this would have to be• attributed to the direct parallel it drew to "Death of a Salesman" where the insertion of a few musical bars signals the vascilla4ion between illusion and reality. Lowell Manfull, the director of "The Ghost Sonata." said that his main objective in this presentation w as , to bring out Strindberg's belief that hidden reality is real reality and that the trouble lies in distinguishing between reality and illusion. In this endeavor I truly feel that he has succeeded. Manfull, reflecting his responsibility as an astute di rector and a fine educator, presented his cast with a chal lenge. Some rose to the occasion and distinguished them selves, some. encountered one of the many stumbling blocks on the way to the utmost development of their talent, but I reserve no doubt that all have profited and will return with still another contribution to that which they love; the theatre. : 'Rare Bargain', . Nites will present a four hour Radis. "The supply is almost special free to the public on inexhaustible. We haven't the Hetzel Union Building gone through half the cats . - lawn. Logue yet. And the firm "Next fall marks the 50th where we rent the films con= performance of Nickelodeon tinually adds to its stock," Nites," Radis claimed. said Radis. , Those who wonder how Nickelodeon Nites is prel long the . film supply will last, sented each odd-week in the need not worry, according to HUB assembly room. When You Think of PIZZA RELIVE THE PAST BRING BACK THE good . Old days with the THREE STOOGES Friday, April 2 HUB Assembly Room Shows are at 7:00 and 9i30 Admission is 25c Sponsored by the HUB ARTS COMMITTEE i SPRING STOMP JAMMY The Blues Development- 9:00 to 12:30 TONIGHT ~_ AT THE EAST HALLS Girls Admitted Free Until 9:30 Free Temptations Concert Tickets Given as Do') THE DAILY COLLEGIAN, UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA Music by FUB West m Johnson; WASHINGTON (JP)—Geri.; William C. ; Westmoreland 'conferred wiht Presi dent Johnson and other top administra tioni officials yesterday as he prepared to prevent a commander's eye view of the Vietnam war to Congress and the nation's governors. I The four star general is due to brief the governors at a White Housd session and 'address a join meeting of Congress at the capitol today. • His day long round of meetings be. gan with a'7:3o a.m. session at the Pen tagon and proceeded through a forenoon conference with Johnson at the White Houie. Government Leaders Presidential Press Secretary George Chrikian said among the others present were Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Se cretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and Gen. Earl G. Wheeler,' chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Christian gave no details ofj the dis cussion. In between conferences during the day Westmoreland, who commands U.S. forces in Vietnam, did some editing and Solera Helps 'Revival of Magazine Rodrigo Solera, assistant pro fessor ,of Spanish, will partici pate in a special meeting to morrow aimed at reviving pub lication of the "Hispanic Amer ican' Report." The session, called by the California Institute of Inter, national Studies, will be held at Stanford University and be under, the direction of Profes sor Ronald Hilton. A I number of American Uni versities have been asked to help Hilton organize the under taking, 'and Solera, a recog nized expert in the field of Latin American studies, will represent Penn State. The "Hispanic American Re portl' at one time served as the most important publication ever to appear in the United 'States on current events in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. reland To Confer With Address Congress polishing of the text he will deliver at today's appearance before the Senate and House. He is the first commander to leave an active war theater to address Con gress. Other' top military leaders have appeared before the legislators in differ ent circumstances. In 1945, at the end of World War 11, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adm. Chester Nimitz addressed Congress but the fighting in their respective theaters of operation had ended. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was a guest speaker in 1951 after President Harry S. Truman relieved him of his command in Korea. Westmoreland's speech has taken on new dimensions of interest in the wake of a controversy stirred up this week by his address at the annual meeting 'of The Associated Press in New York Monday. Congressional critics of the adinini stration's war policies charged that West- Moreland's appeal for support of the war effort was aimed at ,stifling debate. j Westmoreland's address is expected English, Math, r Science Language Majors TEAC H • • Qualifications .Earn while learning ... • No Education Courses Required • Master's Degree , Q s Bachelor's Degree • Professional Certification • A Liberal Education • Annual Income to $6lOO • • Preparation in a Subject Area • Placement and Tenure. I ; . INTERN TEACHING PROGRAM • TEMPLE UNIVERSITY • Philadelphia; Pa. 19122 To Town Men and Freshmen: The Town Independent Men's Council elected its five officers for next year on April the twenty-fourth. They are elected exclusiirely by the present TIM Council and must be on Council now to run. They need not be re-elected to Council next i year to preside. - This means that the Councilmen who won't be here next year get to vote hut nest year's new councilmen, (the People they will lead) will not. Also, since the new councilmen can't run for office their first year on Council, the resources and representa tion from which they are drawn are not the five thousand (or so) Town Men, but the dozen or so carryover Councilmen. budget-balancers. o,ne less thing to worry about? . Thefteleotric company people Who are-working all the time to keep 'the price of your electrici service low. And to make sure you always have pialtyl of electricity, no matter how many new ways you find to use it. That's why we say your electric service is one of .your best buys today! West Penn Power ilk Part of the Allegheny Power System /II New Interest TIM TALKS One heck of a limitation. to 'be mainly •a progres report on the conflict summing up what the United States has achieved sine the Southeast Asian buildup began two years ago. Among others he swas scheduled to see during the day was Arthur J. Gold berg, U.S. ambassador to the United Na tions. He also was booked for what the pentagon called informal discussions with individual members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. No formal meeting of the joint chiefs was scheduled. Additional hlanpower There has been some speculation that Westmoreland would prlsent a new bid for additional manpower in Vietnam, but sources say the general probaly will avoid any specific • statement on numbers of troops which might be needed beyond the presently pl an n e d fear end total of 470,000. However sources said Westmoreland might indicate to Congress that there are additional military operations which he could conduct if he is given additional troops. PAGE SEVEN
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