Page four
Meredith Student Government Sponsors Shakespearean Production
By Road Company of Carolina Playmakers Under Samuel Selden
‘Romeo and Juliet’
Is Well Received
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By ANNE O’QUINN
A commendable crowd of Ra
leigh theatre-goers turned out
on Monday night for the Caro
lina Playmakers’ presentation
of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and
Juliet” in the Meredith audi
torium, and the majority of
Meredith students, who found
other cultural interests for the
evening, missed a fine perform
ance.
Though the short scenes in the
beginning of the play produced
a rather jumpy effect through
out the first act, the effective
ness of the exceptionally utili
tarian flats and the players’
very convincing abilities were
quite enough to hold the atten
tion of the audience until the
play smoothed out into a more
logical sequence of events. The
responsive audience undoubted
ly enhanced the fine perform
ance of the cast.
Anne Martin as Juliet and
Josephine Sharkey as the nurse
turned in especially fine charac
terizations. The servants’ by
play, by Bruce Strait and An
drew Adams as Sampson and
Gregory, and by Albert Klein
as Peter, did credit to the play
wright by letting modern audi
ences get full benefit of all
puns.
The feminine audience would
no doubt acclaim Donald Treat
as Romeo, though his was per
haps more of the modern idea of
his part than that of Shake
speare’s. And the beautiful
voice of Louisa Cartledge as
Lady Capulet couldn’t be left
without mention.
The two principles made a
well-known story quite believ
able .and at times touching,
while Frederick Young’s playing
of Mercutio gave more credence
to the theory that Shakespeare
had to kill the foil in order to
preserve the love of the audi
ence for the hero.
In final acknowledgement the
direction of Samuel Selden was
implicit in the results of the
cast’s fine acting. Thanks to
Lynn Gault and his stage crew,
the settings were arranged and
re-arranged so quickly as to
speed the action of the tragedy.
u"
Anne Martin, above, in the role of Juliet in the Shakespearean tragedy
in the Carolina Playmakers’ production presented at Meredith this week.
achievements in the field of
dramatics. Born in Canton,
China, and a graduate of Yale
University, where he worked
with the Yale Playcraftman, Mr.
Selden worked for five years
with the Provincetown Play
house in New York City as
technical director and stage
manager.
While in Provincetown Selden
performed in several of Eugene
O’Neill’s early plays, and was
general manager for the touring
company of “Desire Under the
Elms.” Later this theatre group
produced Paul Green’s Pulitzer
Prize play “In Abraham’s
Bosom.”
In 1927 Frederick Koch,
founder of the Carolina. Play
makers, invited Selden to join
his staff at the University; SeL
den taught classes in acting di
recting, and playwrighting, as
well as supervising Playmaker
productions.
Awarded the Guggenheim
Fellowship in 1938 to prepare
a new book on basic principles
of design in play-directing, Sel
den has traveled widely in
Europe to study foreign produc
tion techniques.
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Director
Samuel Selden is well-known
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STATE
Last Times Today
"THE LAWLESS"
Starring
MACDONALD CAREY
GAIL RUSSELL
• • •
SATURDAY, FEB. 17
On Stage
'STUDIO SCANDALS'
20-PEOPLE-20
On Screen
"BEAUTY ON
PARADE"
with
ROBERT HUTTON
RUTH WARWICK
• • •
SUNDAY, FEB. 18
IRENE DUNNE
FRED MACMURRAY
in
"NEVER A DULL
MOMENT"
with
ANDY DEVINE
WILLIAM DEMAREST
“Symbolic of the coming of
a new day and achievement in
the department of music,” ac
cording to Dr. Harry E. Cooper,
“is the completion of the new
auditorium.” When asked to
comment on his new office, he
replied simply, “I like it.” Those
were also the words of Mrs. Jim
Reid, head of the News Bureau,
which has also been moved. In
addition she remarked that she
las lots of room and that it is
convenient to be near the music
department and events in the
auditorium.
Included in the building be
sides offices are practice rooms
for piano and organ, spacious
studios, a large music library
with three small 1 i s t e n in g
rooms, classrooms, a recording
room, and a small auditorium.
The recording room with its
double glass window, tape and
wire recorders will be very use
ful and helpful to others on the
campus as well as to the music
students.
VICTIMS
(Continued from page three)
and gave me a delightful maga
zine to read — the July 1944
issue of “She”—It’s a great life
if you don’t weaken. But the
point is—life’s too short to be
spent in the infirmary!
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In the chapel and music
center, or the small auditorium,
is the large three-manual organ.
It has recently been rebuilt and
has a new blond console which
adds to the modern touch of the
architecture. Another feature of
the designing are large win
dows, affording much natural
lighting.
By JANE SLATE t
If my halo seems a little small
for my head these days I can
assure you the reason well jus
tifies its size. The reason? Why,
none other than my interview
with Lauritz Melchior.
When we of the privileged
press arrived at the Governor’s
suite for a press conference
with the Metropolitan Opera
tenor, he was being interviewed
by Harriet Pressley. It was dur
ing this interview that I learned
many different highlights of
Melchior’s life, including his
meeting with his future wife for
the first time.
At the time Melchior was in
Munich and his wife was then
an actress. During the shooting
jf a parachute scene, his wife’s
parachute landed in a tree.
Melchior saw the white cloth in
the tree and proceeded to get it
down; when he unbundled the
cloth (as he expressed it) there
she was. He dated her tnat
night, and they are now happily
married.
Of course he has had many
amusing experiences in the
opera. I’m certain you all have
heard about the swan’s leaving
him in “L o h e n g r i n.” When
asked what he did, Melchior re
plied, “When you miss one boat,
you just wait for the next one
to come, along.”
Funniest Experience
His most hilarious experience
occurred in “Tristan and
Isolde,” which, by the way, is
his favorite role. While wearing
a suit of armor, Melchior heard
a sudden “pop” and his pants
started to fall. Playing with
Kirsten Flagstad that night, he
told her in Norwegian what had
happened, and that since he
couldn’t move, she would have
to do all the acting. “Never
have you seen a more wooden
lover!” he said.
I know that many of you
noticed the medals Melchior
wore on the evening of his con
cert. One indicates that he is a
Knight Commander; this honor,
I might add, makes him the only
artist in Danish history to re
ceive such a title. He also wears
a regiment pin, showing that he
was a soldier in the King’s
Guard. (He hopes to go back to
Norway in May to see all the
men in his regiment, who are
all over six feet tall.)
Favorite “Music”
Melchoir’s concerts, I learned
at the interview, number from
95 to 110 a year. When asked
about his favorite leading lady,
he tactfully replied that tne one
with whom he was currently
playing was his favorite. Out of
515 Wagnerian operas, Melchior
has missed the performances of
only two. In all he has done 230
performances of “Tristan and
Isolde.” His reply to the ques
tion of his favorite kind of music
was “a well-balanced meal!”
Hunting is the tenor’s hobby;
he shot a leopard once, and his
wife used the fur for a coat.
Around his arm he wears a
bracelet made from the hairs of
the tail of an elephant he killed
in Africa.
Melchior’s first role in opera
was that of a father. He was
only eighteen or nineteen at the
time, and his son in the opera
was the mature age of forty-
five! Melchoir made his first ap
pearance with the Metropolitan
in 1926, upon invitation.
A great admirer of young
people, the singer has no chil
dren of his own; he hopes to
start an opera school for young
artists someday, in which he
“will be able to hand down his
many experiences which could
lever be written in a book.”
Although it has been a very
gradual process, tha new music
building is no longer a dream,
but a reality.
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‘Our Care Saves tf'ear’
CHAIRMAN
(Continued from page one)
Currin, director of religious ac
tivities on the campus, the
chairmen of the student com
mittees have completed plans
for the activities of the week.
The chairman of the entertain
ment committee, Marie Ed
wards, is in charge of the stu
dent teas, on Tuesday and
Thursday, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
in the Blue Parlor,, and of the
faculty tea on Wednesday at the
same hour.
Music chairman for the week
is Bet'ty Jo Smith; chairman of
the hospitality committee is
Betty Jo Welch; program, Helen
Brunson; books and literature,
Evelyn Wilson; and of the in
formal discussions, Mary Ann
Westbrook.
In charge of arrangements is
Alstine Salter; of personal con
ferences, Drake Morgan; of
publicity, Nancy Walker; and of
continuation, Z!arolyn Massey.
Bess Francis is treasurer.
James E. Thiem
“Everything for the
Office^’
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