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
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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