Xjood Doctor1
is really good
fun; go see it
By MARIANNE HANSEN
SUff Writer
Tht Good Doctor, Neil Simon's adaptation of some of
the worki of Anton Chekhov, opened Saturday night in
Memorial Hall, and it wai roaring good fun. From the
opening blast of music to the final folk dance (quite well
executed, by the way) the play had a vitality and earthy
vigor that caught the audience up and dragged it, willy
nilly, into the slightly off-balance world of a writer and his
characters,
The writer, played by Jonathan Farwell, provided
continuity between, otherwise, unconnected scenes with
bits of commentary and by occasionally playing a part in
one of the vignettes himself. Farwell has taken a chance
and, happily, suceeds in combining his roles as Chekhov
and director of the play, a temptation which might well
have brought a less competent performer to grief.
The first scene was The Sneeze, an adaptation of The
Death of a Government Clerk. It was notable primarily
for the excellence of the lighting and the use of most of the
cast in rather passive roles. The performance of the main
players was not particularly inspiring, but a couple of
them went on to redeem themselves in later scenes. Blame
it on opening-night nerves.
Things picked up with The Governess, a nasty little
piece which could be interpreted as having any of a
number of increasingly critical social messages. The piece
was played without too much attention to any of them,
and Gillian Plescia gave an excellent performance as the
manipulative, but arguably kind-hearted mistress.
The performers really hit their stride with The
Seduction. Kenneth Strong was amusing as the
insensitive husband of the prospective seducee, and his
strip from formal dress to long johns was endearing. It
was Lyndon Fuller's rather cynical and debauched
attitude, however, along with his calmness and
willingness to wait for exactly the right timing, that made
this scene the most delightful so far.
Capitalizing on this success, the players moved on to
Surgery, i riotous slapstick piece with an inexperienced
dentist and an afflicted nun battling for possession of the
offending tooth. The broad visual humor, the
impassioned cries of Plescia, as the sister, and the quasi
maniacal mutterings of the dentist, played by V. Cullurn
Rogers, were hilarious.
In the second act Farwell took a more active role,
playing the parts of various characters in the scenes. He
consistently was excellent. Where there is no specific
mention of him, you should read "praise." He opened
after the intermission with Rogers in The Drowned Man.
Both were very good, with Rogers again demonstrating
his skill with overblown visual humor; and a unique
sensitivity to exactly where the light was on the stage, an
ability some of the performers would have done well to
emulate.
The Audition was less successful. Lea McLaughlin had
trouble with the physical aspects of her character, relying
too much on an annoying rocking motion to signify
nervousness. Her vocal interpretation, however, was
quite good.
The most touching number of the evening was The
Arrangement with Farwell as Chekhov's father taking his
19-year-old son to "become a man" through the tutelage
of one of the local ladies of easy virtue. The lines
TOWN & COUNTRY
HAIRSTYLING
We use and recommend
- &REDKEN
Suite No. 891 Willow Dr,
Opp. University Mall
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Ph. 942-2950
942-6980
SUPER CUTS FOR
GUYS & GALS
Owner: Nancy Tempcsta
Take a break
and redecorate!
POSTERS LAMPS
PRINTS MEMO BOARDS
THEniTStMOnEAfYOUnn
nil. mi ""'if ; 1 m iiiujiii i ii n mi
A - ? I
mmmimsssh
Kenneth Strong (left) and Lea McGlaughlin perform in one of the sketches that
comprise the Carolina Union-Playmaker Repertory Company's production of Neil
Simon's The Good Doctor, which will be performed tonight at the Ranch House and
Tuesday and Wednesday in the Great Hall.
themselves are classics: "Don't you and your young
friends ever talk about such things? Yes. but we get too .
excited to listen," and, most revealing of all. "Are you
going to go in there and have your first experience with a
woman, or am I going to punish you?" Albert Walston, as
the son, was most convincing in his petulance, although
his physical appearance, too, was not as well-handled as
his voice.
The final selection of the evening was The Anniversary.
a mad little piece in which Hugh Hodgin came into his
own as the banker driven past his breaking point by
Advertise in the DTH
w
III! I
II .
r i ii ri'
(.;;'' '
8 ' "
iBfrflt stikssm
women. He was marvelous, as were most ol the
performers.
All in all, The Good Doctor was extremely well done;
the technical worK'consisi'ently good; the acting excellent.
M oreover, the moral was clear: just because you don't
inherit five million rubles is no reason not to have fun
go to the theater!
The Good Doctor plays tonight in the Ranch House
and Tuesday and Wednesday in the Great Hall. All
performances are at 8 n.m.
INSTA'COPY
Quality Copying
Franklin & Columbia
(Over the Zoom)
929-2147 Mon.-Frt 9 6
lamiimiis W ;
im mn n
DESK ACCESSORIES
AND MORE!
"OH CAMMJS"
CSN again: a flash from the past
By CHIP ENSSLIN
Arte Editor
The n.-OOOCrosby.Stillsand Nash funs who
filled Greensboro Coliseum Saturday night
probably thought they knew what to expect.
They probably expected that Neil Young
would not show. He didn't.
They probably expected Stephen Stills to
electrify the crowd with his siz;rlingguitar riffs.
They probably expected David Crosby to
complain about the microphones, which
sometimes did not work.
They even could have expected that Graham
Nash would chastize a redneck in the audience
who disrupted one of the quieter numbers.
But the full-house could not have
anticipated the tremendous performance the
trio gave as a group, the harmonies that were
still tight after eight years, the high notes CSN
could still hit and the feeling of deja vu that
permeated the auditorium.
Crosby, Stills and Nash were back. And they
were having a good time.
"We're gonna try to play all the songs we can
remember the words to," David Crosby said
after "Pre-Road Downs" and "l.ove the One
Keaggy in concert
rhil K.eaggy, one ol the country s tup
contemporary Christian musicians, w ill be in
concert tonight at 8 in Memorial Hall.
Lead guitarist for the group 6'kvj Harp
from 1968 to 1972, Keaggy has since devoted
his talents to "Jesus music," recording and
performing with Christian artists.
He has cut two solo albums. What a Day
and Love Broke Through. He formed the
Phil Keaggy Band a year ago, now on its
third national tour.
Tickets are $3 in advance at the Carolina
Union desk and Logos Bookstore and will be
$3 at the door.
lOOcwn ( P'P)SW ,
jm KJaeajMM roc . ;t C
,....,'.'.,': .,. I 1
tOwwn Ww ntU Hpm o town 1rtlv j
Durtww H C !
Ul "oiti- ' WORLD'S UROEBT
UlU""'" PPtNTINO CHAIN I
-L. ir:a; J
Union Gallery Exhibit jsjqv
Smithsonian Institute Dec. 13
Photographing the Frontier
OPEN STAGE NIGHT!
Tues., Nov. 15, 8:00 P.M.
Deep BYO Beer & Wine
Jonah FREE
NovDec. Union Calendars now available at the
Union, Y-Court, Chase Cafeteria and Residence
Areas.
Friends of the College present
Scots Guards & Grenadier Guards
Nov. 18 & 19 Reynolds Coliseum
8:00 p.m. Raleigh
Students only: Tickets at Union Desk
5
Sat., Dec. 3 3:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Memorial Hall
Tickets on sole now of the Umon Desk
Neil Simon's
The Good Doctor
Nov. 12 through 16
All shows: 8:00
Presented by the Carolina Union in
You're With." "You're not in a hurry, are
you?"
Each man had his chance to steal the show.
Each deserved to, but their spirit of unity was
overwhelming.
Crosby and Nash teamed up for
"Guinnevere" and "Our House," then turned
the stage over to Stills to let him do his favorite
acoustic blues numbers, "Treetop Flyer" and
"Crossroads."
Midway through the second set, the group
pulled down a big screen and showed a film of
whales gracefully moving underwater,
produced by the Cousteau Society and set to
the music of the trio. The presentation
concluded with thethreesingingNash's"VVind
on the Water."
The most dramatic songs of the show were
those from the original Crosby, Stills and Nash
album, released in l9.
The musicians began the second set with
"Suite: Judy Blues Eyes," probably the one
song most associated with CSN. Stills played
on guitar, and Crosby and Nash shared a
microphone.
Yes, they hit the high notes. The crowd
jumped to its feet and spontaneously
j""
Tonight!
Buy one Auggie
Get one Free!
I
OUR AUGGIE IS MADE OF DELICIOUS CHOPPED SIRLOIN OF BEEF.
TOPPINGS OR SAUCES EXTRA. THIS OFFER GOOD
5 P.M. UNTIL 10 P.M. TONIGHT ONLY!
Bring
or a
Phone
L.
Bring
Videotape
Robert Klein""
comedian extraordinaire
Today thru Friday, 2:00
2nd Floor Lounge, Union FREE
SAT. NOV.
8:00 p.m.
MEMORIAL
Tickets $2.00
at Union Desk.
Call 933-2285 for locations.
cooperation with the Carolina Playrnufters.
WW
(?
Monday, November 14, 1977 The Daily Tar Heel 5
applauded when the three hit and held "... ifs
my heart,'' ". . .thrill me to the marrow. . ."
and "... be my lady. .."
Their next number was "Helplessly
Hoping "
CSN built toaclimax,beginningwith"Deja
Vu." from the album of the same name,
followed by Still's l atin-influenced "Fair
Game." Next Nash was in the spotlight with his
"Military Madness," then Crosby's "l ong
Time Coming" and finally the rousing finale
"Carry On," by Stills.
The band encored with a song many
members of the audience had been w aiting for,
"Wooden Ships," and returned for a second
encore to play "Teach Your Children."
"This is a song for everybody," Nash said,
introducing that second encore, and Crosby
told the audience to sing along. They did, and
when CSN quit singing, the audience helped
them complete the song.
Crosby, Stills and Nash fans left the
Coliseum satisfied. They had seen a deja vu
flash from the Sixties. They had seen a group
with a history of strife and pet sonality conflicts
playing together and having fun.
Ciosbv, Stills and Nash were back.
your Date
Friend
1010 Hamilton Road
Down the Hill from
Carmichael Auditorium
Now open
5 to 9 Sunday
942-5153
This Ad!
Carolina
Friends of the College
present
JOSE MOLINO
BAILES ESPANOLES
Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh
Students only: Tickets at Union Desk
in Deep Jonah
Rabbit
&
Ken
Nov. 17 BYO
9:00 p.m. Beer & Wine
IJJ iuyl 1
National Lampoon
"THAT'S HOT RSKIJi;
THAT'S 5IE"
mm :i
I"
19
HALL
Tickets on sale at
Union Desk.
HAMPTON
INSTITUTE
CHOIR
Fri., Nov. 18
,12:00 noon
GREAT HALL
FREE
!