Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Sept. 29, 1983, edition 1 / Page 7
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Drama Review: Othello, a mellow fellow Thursday, Sept. 29, 1983/Kaleidoscope/7 by Kari Howard How do you spell Trouble? I spell it R~E-L-I-E-F. Relief act ors, that is. Just as relief pitchers aren't on the first string, so aren't substitution actors. That was my first thought when I saw the notice that the title role of Othello was not, as anticipated, being played by MiUedge Mosley. Instead, we were getting Sydney Hibbert. I needed a Rolaids. My stomach didn't settle down much when I saw the stage. It looked like it WEIS going to be Einother one of those "Shakespeare in 1984" plays (don't laugh, I once saw a punk version of Richard III). Visible black stalks of stagelights grew around the stage, accompanied only by four enormous coffin-Uke monuments. Wasn't this supposed to be a tale of jealousy? Where was the fury, the brilliant reds? And the music! It was distinctly cool, almost sacred. Where was Wagner's thunder? Where were those Rolaids? I was more than a little relieved when the actors appeared onstage. The costumes were rather trad itional! The abundance of satins, brocades, velvets and gold shimmered, adding a rich luster to the performance without being, ostentatious. The same can be said of the acting. The North Carolina Shakeseare Festi val company was polished. There were no mishaps, no forgotten lines. But that is a merely superficial observance. More impor tantly, did the actors have depth? The answer is yes. And no. Most of the actors seemed to be playing with considerable restraint and understatement. They were smooth, but they stepped gingerly around the pros pect of adding new dimen sions to their traditional dramatis personae. Take, for example, Mary Hopeman as Othello's devoted wife, Desdemona. She was cer tainly devoted, but was she inflamed with love to the point of defying her father and her country's prejud ices? No. The fire seemed a trifle damp. And what about the mys terious Mr. Hibbert? His first scenes confirmed my fears. His husky-voiced delivery unsure and rather unintelligible, he did not strike me as the mighty commander of the Venetian forces. Strangely enough, however, this soft-spoken dehvery provided a nice tension to the later scenes of a man maddened with jealouly: his dignity seem ed at odds with his digni ty. Conflicting feelings provided a more wicked tension in Eric Zweraer's portrayal of lago, one of Shakespeare's most evil characters. What started as merely a jealous plot to destroy Othello and Cassio, Othello's choice for lieu tenant over lago, became a sickness with Zwemer's masterful acting . He was a man literally two-faced, switching schiz- ophrenically from paste-on smiles to sneers of hatred. More than once, Zwemer shifted mercurially from a soliloquy full of venomous curses to a flippant, "How now, Roderlgo?" The trans formation became less and less of an act as the play progressed. The one man slowly and totaUy divided into two; his face was both angelic and ugly. The strain of this di vorce of personalities chmaxed in the final scene when lago showed visible distress at Othello's sui cide. Suddenly comprehend ing, as he could not be fore, the evU of his plot, lago became a grinning idiot at the play's end. Having experienced one blinding iUumination, he finaUy was left in the darkness of total insanity. I suspect that the audience gave their stand ing ovation to Mr. Zwemer. While the rest of the cast was adequate, he alone added depth to his perform ance. I may not- have jumped ot my feet, but I at least discovered that I hadn't needed that Rolaids, after aH. Toga, Toga, Toga: The members of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority donned sheets for their toga party Friday night. Photo by David LaPour This week’s movie This week's film is The Outlaw Josey Wales. Clint Eastwood ("an army of one") stars in this western flick. It's rated PG. It shows in Lipinsky Auditorium on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., and on Monday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m. It's free to all UNCA students and is $1 for all others. THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES ..an army of one. Concert discount tickets Discount tickets to the AsheviUe Symphony Orches tra Concert on Oct. 6 are available in the Student Center Office for UNCA students at $3 a ticket. The featured guest artist is Claude Frank. His best-selling recording of the 32 Beethoven Sonatas was the first-ever complete cycle of it recorded by an American pianist. Works scheduled are: Rossini's Overture to "La Gazza Ladra," Beethoven's Piano Concerto #4, Op. 58, Sibeliu^ Karelia Overture, and Respighi's The Pines of Rome. Asheville Symphony concerts are performed in the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at 8:15 p.m. Concerts Sept. 30 Oct. 2 Oct. 7 Oct. 9 Oct. 12 Oct. 14 Oct. 20 Oct. 21 Oct. 30 Oct. 30 Loverboy Atlanta Omni A1 Jarreau The Fox, Atlanta Rick James... Greensboro Coliseum Rick James.. Charlotte Coliseum Iron Maiden Greensboro Coliseum A1 Jarreau Greensboro Coliseum Iron Maiden Charlotte Coliseum Iron Maiden Atlanta Omni Kinks Charlotte Coliseum Loverboy Freedom Hall, Johnson City
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