'Cuckoo':
a hip morality play
opening tonight
Arthur Bremer appeared in the public
eye May 15, 1972, when he shot Alabama
Governor George Wallace at a Maryland
shopping center. Then, almost as quickly
as he came to prominence, he vanished,
overpowered by the rush of news.
In this short period we learned very little
about the man who almost became the
fourth assassin in our timeßut a . more
complete picture can be found in part of
his journal, published as An Assassin's
Diary (paperback, Pocket Books, $1.50).
The diary covers less than six weeks'
time; the first portion is, in Bremer's
words, "hidden and will preserve for a
long time." But in the book, we can begin
to see what drove him to follow Wallace,
and before that, Nixon, across the country.
Bremer desperately, wanted to be
famous. He wanted a, '`T.V. entoroption in
Russia or Euro - pe" when he shot Nixon and
he wanted to "shock the shit out of the
S(ecret) S(ervice)) men with my
calmness." It also seemed the danger
By Regina Andriolo
Diamond in the rough
a 21-year-old student's rock musical
element gave him what sexual satisfaction
he had.
But Bremer was almost pathetically
unequipped for the job. He accidentally
fired one of his guns in a hotel room and
used a war movie he found on television
and the imcompetence of the staff to cover
himself.
In order to hide a gun from Canadian
customs, Bremer pushed it so far into the
inner structure of his car that he couldn't
retrieve it. He also got lost several times
during his pursuits.
Finally, a sense of failure began to
overwhelm him. The format of the book
precisely follows Bremer's entries, and
several pages have only a few words
printed in block letters.
One page says simply
Just another
But this man, described by his
acquaintances as timid and withdrawn,
wouldn't be stopped. He is convinced his
One man's struggle against a repressive
society is the central theme in "One Flew
Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Dale
Wasserman's "hip morality play"
opening 8 p.m. tonight in the Playhouse
Theatre.
Adapted form Ken Kesey's best selling
novel, the warm and funny melodrama
concerns the inmates of a mental
institution in the Pacific Northwest which
is, according to the show's director, a
metaphor for the "regimented madness of
today's world."
"When we call this a 'hip morality play,'
we mean that - it is reminiscent of the
morality plays of the Middle Ages,"
director Richard Edelman explained.
Edelman also is Artistic Director for the
Summer Festival of • American Theatre
and director of the traveling Arts
Company.
Edelman said the play resembles a pop
art piece, "...with real heroes and villains,
but even the villains are forced into their
position because of the system.
It's not every 21-year-old composer who
gets his plays produced at a major
university. But student Eric Diamond has
written the music, lyrics and book for the
rock-musical production the Thespians
will present tonight and tomorrow night in
Schwab.
The undertaking has resulted in
"Brother-Hood," a musical exploring the
problems and fantasies facing adolescents
in the mid-1960'5.
"I first conceived the play in my
freshman year," said the 10th-term
Diamond. "I presented it to the Thespians
this past spring and, using their
guidelines, rewrote parts this summer."
Diamond is acting as musical director
for the show's band but has left the
direction up to Thespian Thomas O'Leary.
"I've put my complete trust in Tom and
our choreographer, Jeanne Sacco. If they
tell me a line has to liecut or rewritten, or
that a dance tempo has to be slowed down,
I don't take it as an insult to the play but as
an improvement for it," Diamond said.
Learning to be flexible is the biggest
lesson Diamond has learned from taking
part in the production of "Brother-Hood,"
he added. "I've also learned to be very
picky about the people that are cast and
that certain things that might look terrific
on paper just can't work on stage."
Diamond said he feels it is difficult to
obtain play writing experience. "If you're
diary will be among "the• closely read
pages since the Scrolls in those caves."
And on May 4, last year, he wrote, "I've
decided Wallace will have the honor."
He never lists any political reasons for
his decision. His only rationale seems to be
that he makes "a big shot and not a fat
little noise."
The last entry in the diary is dated May
13, two days before Bremer, wearing a
red, white and blue shirt decorated with
Wallace buttons, shot the presidential
candidate.
A long introduction attempts to list the
factors that set Bremer on the road to the
shopping center, but few of them seem to
be supported by the diary itself.
In fact, despite the insights, An
Assassin's Diary leaves unanswered
questions about the book and its author.
god Damn
What can be done about people like
Arthur Bremer, people who are convinced
they must die to become famous and who
write,"l hope my death makes more sense
than my life?"
P.S. Friday, November 2, 1973-3
"Ken Kesey is a true anti-establishment
hippie and this is strongly reflected in his
writing. This is also probably why the
show was not a Broadway hit, but has
witnessed phenomenal success in the hip
communities of San Francisco, off-
Broadway and on college and university
campuses," he added.
"As enlightened as the Broadway
audiences would like to think themselves,
they are 'establishment liberals,' and
when this play appeared in the early 1960 s
it was just ahead of its time," Edelman
said.
As for the play's pop art aspect, the
director explained that Kesey, a gifted
social critic, is in love with the American
myths of the cowboy, the noble Indian
side-kick and the good-hearted whore, and
expresses this in the comic book terms of
the play.
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" will
be presented 8 p.m. tonight and tomorrow
night and Nov. 3 and 6 through 10 in The
Playhouse. It is recommended for mature
audiences.
an actor, singer, dancer, technician or
musician, you can get experience from
being on stage, in the pit or backstage. But
where does someone who writes the play
get exposure?
"Also, the theater system as it exists
today is one where onstage performers
are usually quite young, whereas the
writers are people in their 40s and 505.
That's why it's especially nice to see plays
like "Hair" and "Godspell," which were
written by young people, become so
successful. It starts to open up the field."
Diamond said he thought the time set of
"Brother-Hood," 1965, was a fascinating
one to explore. "I didn't want to get into
the 50's nostalgia rush and write another
'Grease.'
"The 1960 s are still too close to get
nostalgic about and yet they were a
fascinating, rapidly changing time. On
one hand, Dick Clark was still going
strong, and yet you had the Beatles
coming over and freaking out a lot of
people."
"'Brother-Hood' deals with a bunch of
kids who Are close friends and how a
special attraction between two of them.
can cause a rift in the whole group."
Diamond said he hopes to continue
writing music, lyrics and scripts. He
added he is working on another musicial
but will "wait and see how this one turns
out.
'Assassin's
Diary'
By Bill Spangler