October 21, 1969
The N. C. Essay
Page 5
S-m'FETCAR
(Cont. from page 2)
the character, but once she did,
Jill's performance was a power
house. She made it as much her
play as Stanley's. Cynthia
Darlow, as Stella, provided the
necessary foil for both Stanley and
Blanche. Her performance
mirrored consistency throughout.
Both Darlow and Voigt exhibited a
clear understanding of the relation
ship between the two sisters. The
successful realization of that re
lationship was one of the play's
integral strong points.
Also worthy of mention was
Doug ]rfcCorkindale's compelling
characterization of Mitch, Stan
ley's friend who becomes involved
with Blanche. His portrayal was
poignant and fully realized; he
never lapsed in his understanding of
his character and his relationship
to the others.
The performance had fault, no
doubt. There was an occassional
tendency on the part of the cast to
slip into mass lethargy. However,
whenever the play began to lag, one
member invariably picked up the
slack. Some minor technical diffi
culties also delayed the action in
spots, but as a whole, the lengthy
pia;^ (vfell over two hours running
time) kept up the necessary tension
which is vital to its success.
Murray included several nice
touches to the drama. A word must
be said about the musical accompani
ment he chose. A two-man jazz group
was set off to the right of stage and
provided improvisational statements
throughout. The two musiciaris, Dave
Tillman (piano) and Nate Evans (bass),
were exceptional.
As a total presentation (and ±%
should be remembered that it was a
part of the "works in progf«a pro^
gram), Streetaar was a good, lively
production. Murray managed to keep
the emotional impact high, while never
losing the play's touching comic ele
ments. His use of Dortch displayed
intelligence and skill. It was a
gutsy approach, but thanks to Murray
and Dortch, Streetaar was given a
fresh and valid new breath.
m0fifiTORium If-
death; he can either be terrified that
his death is meaningless, or he can
at least hope that the war itself, as
well as his own death, did have some
purpose.
Bobbitt read a poem of his ex
pressing discontent in mass protests
which seem meaningless when the in
dividual becomes obscured.
Mr. Bordner presented two vio
lent expressions towards America by
two American poets in a very stirring
dramatic reading.
OBITUflf!l€S:
ROBERT DAVIS
"Did you know Robert?"
"Robert Who?"
"You know, the little colored kid that
hung around the school all the time.
"Yeah.
"He's dead."
Eight year old Robert Davis of 246
Waughtown Street was killed Saturday,
October 11, when he darted into
Williamson Street near Tilmic Avenue.
He was hit by a car going west, po
lice said.
Officer Leroy Cheek said that the
boy, with two or three other boys,
ran into the street in front of a car.
The driver was unable to stop in
time, Cheek said witnesses told him.
Cheek said that the boys turned back
but that Robert "froze" and was hit
by the left front fender of the car.
No charges were filed.
ARE YOJ TRULY ALIVE ?
Oliver Wendell Holmes admon
ished: "A man should share the action
and passion of his times at peril of
being judged not to have lived."
Share the action and passion of
our times! Volunteer your services as
a teacher aide with Project Head Start.
Call David Wilson, Director of
Volunteer Services at 723-5246.
AFFLUENCE
MISUSED
(Cor\t)
inequality has not disappeared," he
said. "It should be clear by now
that the system, without major struc
tural changes, does not work."
Arms Production Banned
Professor Galbraith blamed much
of the present unhappiness on "the
horrifying reliance of our system on
military production", a theme he de
veloped in his book The New Indus
trial State.
Michael Harrington, the author
of The Other Ameriaaj who tempers
his economics with sociology, found
that even a modest improvement had
laid the ground for the more radical
changes he favors as a leader of
America's Soiialist Party.
"As things get better," he said,
"people become more conflict-prone
and assertive. Among the black
Americans, the militant is not the
despairing person at the bottom of
the ladder, but men with some skills
and opportunities who want change now."
Material is now being
accepted for the literary maga
zine which is to be published in
November. All creative writing
and poetry should be given to
either Jim Bobbitt, Editor, or Mr,
Anthony Fragola, Advisor, no
later than October 31,
'music'
t CoMT)
Truly Pine Citizen - Moby Grape
(Columbia)
One of America's finest
and most underrated rock bands,
Moby Grape continues minus two
members and in the wake of so many
hassles that most bands would have
quit long ago. The victim of an
incredible hype at the outset of
their career, the Grape nonethe
less continued and produced on great
LP and two erratic ones. And
despite all the trouble, they still
turn out some of the best rock made
by West Coast groups. This one was,
however, recorded in Hashville
(what isn't these days?) and was
produced by Bob Johnston, whose last
studio work resulted in Bob Dylan's
Nashville Biyline. In some ways.
Truly Pine Ciizzen accomplishes
much the same that Nashville Sky
line did, only from the Grape's
particular point of view. The music
is free, honest and country, as the
Grape finally allowed their deep-
seeded country roots to come to the
fore-front. The result is some of
the finest country-rock done yet.
The best songs are ChangeSj Circles
Spinning3 a song which tells a little
about what the band has gone through.
Beautiful Is Beautiful ^ Ft ght Before
Your EyeSj and the title cut. A
good group, one whose talents have
always deserved more recognition,
who can now hopefully attain the
goals they once established for
themselves. They will miss Bob
Mosley's talents, but they seem pre
pared to try it again. I think
everyone should go back and play
It's Beautiful Bay Today from
their last LP, Moby Grape 69. It's
the best Grape song ever (and one
of the best in all of rock) and if
you can't dig Moby Grape after
hearing this song, your're pretty
hard indeed.
M
ru
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CJ
We regret that all three "Work
In Progress" productions could not
be reviewed. This points out our
need for good critical writers.
Our staff is limited and cannot
cover all these important events.
Again, we ask any interested party
to come talk to us. Thank you.