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Friday. December 5, 1930, Thy Daily Tar Heel 9
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Tha Cratchit family in production of 'A Christmas Carol'
...play runs through Dec. 7 in Paul Green Theatre
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By JED LELAND
Staff Writer
When the audience enters Paul Green
Theatre to see the department of
dramatic art's production of A
Christmas Carol, they are confronted
with a barren stage extending in front of
a small forest of Christmas trees. But,
the barren desolation disappears when
narrator Earl Wynn begins his rendition
of the Dickens tale.
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From then on, the stage is alive with a
zestful cast, colorful costumes,
wonderful theatrical effects and the
spirit of Christmas.
Director Del Lewis captures closely
the tale that Dickens told. Much of the
credit for this must go to Tom Haas's
adaptation which is faithful in dialogue
and spirit.
Scrooge, as rendered by Frank Raiter,
is a delightful lesson in humanity.
Raiter's skillful acting expertly portrays
the nasty, selfish and cynical old miser
who thinks Christmas and all its
merrymaking is pure humbug. Raiter's
characterization also captures the
sadness and pathos which give
character roundness and fullness.
Ebcncezer Scrooge goes through
metamorphosis from rnmthrope
idealist,- the audier.c: ::!.- experk
the painful changes and slow awakening
to the fact that riches and loneliness
don't add up to happiness.
In this production the Cratchit family
is every bit as cheerful and hearty as
Dickens intended. Hamilton Gillct, who
plays Bob Cratchit, is indeed the "poor
clerk with fifteen shillings a week and six
children." His thin, wiry body and meek
demeanor are a wonderful contrast to
the grumbly, crotchety Scrooge.
As Cratchit's wife, Karen Nelson is
marvelously robust. And the
the
As
his.
to
children including little Tiny Tim are
charming and lovable.
However, the ghosts, portrayed by
Thorn Giliot and Margaret Brewington,
lack the. spooky, eerie qualities
associated with spirits. Instead, they
offer charm and mystery.
Thorn Giliot plays both the Ghost of
Christmas 'Past and the Ghost of
Christmas Future. His performances
meet the requirements of both parts; his
Christmas Past is rightfully robust and
his Christmas Future is properly ethereal
and enigmatic.
Margaret Brewington, exotic in her
rounded head-piece and bright costume,
shows a wjde range of mood as she takes
Scrooge on a tour of Christmas Present.
Many of the second year master of
fine arts and the licentiate of dramatic
art candidates give excellent
performances in supporting roles. Their
characterizations, solid and distinct,
capture the subtle nuianccs of Dickens'
tightly drawn characters.
The lights, costumes and setting in A
Christmas Carol are all successful in
creating the mood and atmosphere of
the story. David Glenn's lighting and set
design is a perfect playground for the
actors, allowing the costumes and the
performers to brighten the stage.
A round of thank you's is definitely in'
order for this fine production. Sure to
become a popular tradition in coming
years, this second annual A Christmas
Caro is the perfect way to begin the
Christmas season and take a study
break.
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Super Friday
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A v -;- hVH Presentation
THE CAROLINA THEATRE
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"Gcna Hovland3 bursts
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GENE SHALIT. NBC-TV
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By TIM POPE
and TOM MOORK
Slarr riler
After those dreaded exams comes ...VACATION
TIME!!!!! Some folks will head off to exotic lands in
the sunny tropics or the snow-l'illed mountains. But
most of us will just sit at home watching the paint peel
off the walls.
Those boys out in Hollywood know all this and
that's why they schedule the release of so many films at
Christmastime. With school out and many workers on
vacation people have the time to go to the movies.
We've seen enough (groan) movies of Christmas
past to guess with some accuracy which of this years'
mega-buck-mega-hyped films will catch on with the
public and which ones will prove to be total dogs.
The most promising Christmas release has to be
Martin Scorcese's Raging Bull, which stars Robert
DeNiro as Jake LaMotta, a middle weight boxing
champ whose career lasted only a decade. Scorcese and
DeNiro have worked together before with stunning
results in Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and the
somewhat flawed New York, New York and Raging
Bull apparently ranks above anything the duo has done
in the past. The film opened in New York to the best
reviews that any movie has received this year.
This holiday season, as in years past, is dominated by
a whole host of comedies. The two most promising
feature teams previously paired in the box office
smashes Foul Play and Silver Streak.
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Stir Crazy, helmed by Sidney Poitier and written by
Bruce Jay Friedman, reunites Richard Pryor and Gene
Wilder. The film centers on the zany pretense that an
unemployed actor (Pryor) and playwright (Wilder) get
framed for a bank robbery and are sent to prison where
they eventually end up in the prison rodeo. Stir Crazy
holds the promise of becoming the one comedy that
like The Jerk last Christmas everyone must see.
But the reteaming of Chevy Chase and Goldie Haw n,
with the added attraction of Charles Grodin, in Neil
Simon's Seems Like Old Times also could vie for that
prize. This . movie, w hich Variety calls "extremely
commercial," is about a bouncy lawyer (Hawn) whose
marriage to the huffy district attorney (Charles Grodin)
is upset when her ex-husband (Chase) seeks refuge
from the FBI.
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Another promising comedy is Colin Higgens' Nine to
Five. It, too, could become the must-see comedy of the
season. Nine to Five stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and
Dolly Parton, shades of dream-cast, as three
disgruntled secretaries who decide to do in their
tyranical boss or something like that. Whatever the
plot, how could a cast like Fonda, Tomlin and Parton
be less than fantastic. x
Probably less, much less, than fantastic is Change of
Seasons, which features Shirley McLaine, Anthony
Hopkins and Bo Derek in a comedy sex romp. It's a
typical Hollywood creation that should meet with a
typical mediocre response.
And the comedy release that looks like the low point
(sometimes what we see as the low points turn out to be
the financial highpoints) is Clint Eastwood's Any
Which Way You Can, a sequel to the incredibly bad
Every Which Way But Loose.
Two of the biggest-budgeted films of the season are
based on comic btrip characters, Flash Gordon and
Popeye.
Judged by the reviews, Flash Gordon is a well-made
and highly enjoyable camped-up version 'of Alex
Raymond's futuristic strip about adventures in space.
But the question is, will enough people w ant to see Star
Wars without Darth Vader to make this $30-million
flick show a profit.
Popeye stars Robin Williams as the old salt himself
and Shelly Duvall as Olive and features the startling
behind-the-scenes talent of Robert Altaian's direction,
Jules Feiffer's script and Harry Nillson's songs. The
result? Well judging from the previews this baby isn't
too promising.
Things look pretty bad for drama outside of Raging
Bull. The Competition, which features Richard
Dreyfuss, is about two concert pianists, one from
Russia and one from America, who meet and fall
tragically in love. Bad reviews make this surely one of
the biggest dogs of Christmas.
Yuletide movies look a little more promising than did
those of last season. But it seems we say this every year
and end up getting burned at the box office. Oh well,
it's better than just sitting at home vegetating.
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'Nutcracker to he presented
By TOM MOORE
Arts Editor
Certain things make Christmas
Christ-mas. Without them the
yuletide wouldn't, be the same. The
season would feel incomplete without
mistletoe, Santa Claus, Ronco bottle
and glass cutter commercials,
eggnog, Bing Crosby crooning
"White Christmas," the Grinch,
. giving gifts to relatives you can
hardly stand, Dickens' A Christmas
Carol, Handel's Messiah, the last
minute shopping rush, worrying
whether those blinking lights will set
the tree and house aflame, Rudolph
and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.
The Carolina Dancers, the
, performing dance company of UNC,
presents its popular modern dance
interpretation of Tchaikovsky's
Christmas classic at 8 p.m. Dec 12
and 13 and at 2 p.m. Dec. 14 in
Memorial Hall. Tickets are available
at the Carolina Union Information
Desk, the Dancers' Shop in Chapel
Hill and the Danshop in Durham.
This version of The Nutcracker
will differ from the 1978
interpretation of the ballet; the new
version is described as Clara and the
Nutcracker's search for truth.
The Nutcracker is choreographed
by UNC dance faculty members
Diane Eilber, Carol Richard and
Marian Turner. The three
choreographers appear in the ballet
that features a company of UNC
dance students. The Nutcracker also
features appearances by some of the
Triangle area's most noted dancers:
Jack Arnold, Donald Blumenfeld,
Marion Calloway, M'liss Dorrance,
Kay Gross, Joy Javits, Gene Medler
and Jennifer Potts.
What?
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bu haven't
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donated
this year?
1 r i l1 h r i r j PLITT THEATRE REDUCED ADMISSION
j TICKETS ACCEPTED ON ALL ATTRACTIONS II
!
HELD OVER
8th WEEK
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J BARGAIN MATINEES $2.00
I TIL 6 PM MON.-FRI. ALL SCREENS
2:45 7:15
5:00 9:20
GOLDIE HAWN
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The definitive exam-time
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ANTHONY HOPKINS fl
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STARTS TODAY! 3:00 & 7:30
IVKHJER OF 6 ACADEMY AWARDS!
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Late Show Fri. & Sat. at 1 1 :45 PM
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