Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 11, 1978, edition 1 / Page 7
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Romantic trysts ripen in comedy When Same Time, Next Year opened on Broadway in March 1975, playwright Bernard Slade was an unknown, and the future of the comedy was equally unknown. Now, almost three years later, Same Time, Next Year remains one of the hottest tickets in New York. The highly acclaimed comedy will be presented in Memorial Hall Monday Jan. 16. Tickets are on sale at the Carolina Union desk. Kathryn Crosby, wife of the late Bing Crosby, will star in the production, which centers on a man and a woman, both married to others, who have a once-a-year affair in the same inn. Over the course of the 24-year relationship mere physical attraction ripens into love. This scenario makes for a theater piece which, while extremely funny, is also filled with poignancy. Same Time, Next Year has received critical acclaim in openings in cities from New York to Boston. Clive Barnes, writing in the New York Times, said, "The funniest comedy to come to Broadway in years. Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Get tickets for Same Time, Next Year." Brendan Gill said in the New Yorker, "1 predict Same Time, Next Year will run for twenty years. Twenty years? Fifty!..." Theodore Kalem in Time said, "The kind of theatrical fare that marrieds have been starved for. . . Rarely have a man and a woman on stage mixed the honey of love and the glue of marriage so deftly that both are bonded in sweetness and surety." Same Time, Next Year not only made an enormous impression on the New York critics but also on the public at Playmakers' 'Hamlet' probes timeless psychological themes ..-: . ----- . . .- - .jaisi1; Kathryn Crosby, wife of the late Bing Crocby, stars in Bernard Slade s hit Broadway comedy, Same Time, Next Year, produc ed by Tom Mallow and coming to Memorial Hall for one show Monday night, Jan. 16. large, not only in the United States but around the world. In three years the comedy has grossed approximately $9 million on Broadway and more than $20 million worldwide. Walter Crane directs the production, and Tony Russel co stars. Tickets are $5.50 and $6.50. PDQ Bach show at Duke tonight We are all familiar with Johann Sebastian Bach, one of the forefathers of classical music. Professor Peter Schickelc, however, has undertaken the task of bringing a less celebrated Bach into the spotlight. In a fiendishly clever spoof of the world of classical music, Schickele, along with the Duke Symphony Orchestra, presents the slightly off-the-wall compositions of P.D.Q. Bach, a hitherto unheralded illegitimate son of the aforementioned genius. Showtime is tonight at 8:30 in Page Auditorium, and tickets priced at $6.50, $5.50 and $4.50 are available at the Page box office. Peter Schickele is extremely closely related to the serious composer Peter Schickele, who studied composition with Sigvald Thompson, Roy Harris and Vincent Persichetti. Although recognized primarily for his humorous artistry, Schickele did receive degrees at Swarthmore College and the Juilliard School of Music. His free-lance work in composition has included symphonic pieces (including commissioned works for the St. Louis Symphony), television and theater (he was one of the composer-lyricists for Oh! Calcutta). His moonlighting as the "dignified" Professor Schickele is somehow squeezed in to a very hectic schedule. pre Wednesday, January 11, 1978 The Daily Tar Heel 7 Continued from page 1. Shakespeare's timeless classic, Hamlet, wHl b-P4ftymakerr Repertory Company's first production of the new year. The story examines a man's attempt to control his passions in orOei to meet society's expectations. Hamlet begins its run Jan. 19, with performances continuing through Feb. 4. The title role is played by Ray Wise, coming to Chapel Hill directly from Broadway, where he was Damis in Tartuffe with John Wood and Tammy Grimes. Soap opera fans will remember Wise from his role as Jamie Rollins on CBS-TV's Love of Life. Carolyn Coates portrays Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, Queen of Denmark. Coates has worked at regional theaters throughout the country and appeared in Broadway productions of Albee's The American Dream and The Death of Bessie Smith. Claudius, King of Denmark, Gertrude's husband and Hamlet's uncle, is played by James Noble. A versatile actor who has appeared, on aiid off Broadway, he was most recently seen in the ABC television presentation, Breaking up. Frank Baiter rejoins the company as Polonius, counselor to Claudius. PRC audiences saw him earlier this season in Equus and A Streetcar Named Desire. Catherine Burns appears as Polonius's daughter, Ophelia. In her first film role, Burns received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for Frank Perry's Last Summer. She also co-starred with Richard Thomap and Desi Arnaz Jr. in the" film Red Sky at Morning. Tom Haas, PRC's Artistic Director, directs Hamlet, which will be performed Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8 and Sunday afternoons at 2 at the Playmakers Theater. For more information and ticket reservations, visit or call the box office in Graham Memorial at 933-1 121. Group rates are also available, and the special feature, studerit rush, allows UNC students with IDs to pick up remaining tickets at the door for a reduced price. Student rush is . -Offered weeknights only. 5 u I fflO off any purchase I U 0 or any layaway (sale and discount items excluded) With This Ad Offer Expires Jan. 21 Art Material Adult Garnet War and FenUty Gamaa Macram Enameling Caiting Retina Glaa RC Planet, Boata Model Tralna Jewelry Making Sup. Counted Croaa Stitch Need lead Engine, Motora Sculpture Tool Wood Ship Model Silk Screen Materiala Block Printing Candle Making Decoupag Intlrucllon Book Bead Model Rocketry Batik Yama Pottery Toole Floral Suppliea Collectora Miniature! Weaving Fabric PalntaDye Batketry Modeling Clay BoHmaklng Scaled DoH Houte Fumlthlng Jkjtaw Puiile Ask about our Art Discount Card for $4.00 Free Materials BILLY ARTHUR, INC. IN OUR 16TH YEAR UNIVERSITY MALL SHOP 10-9 MON.-SAT. o I Let the Promote your Dally Tar Heel Product. Advertise today! Though drama faculty deny that undergraduate opportunities for acting have been significantly reduced, Arthur Housman', chairperson of the department, says he expected more productions for undergraduate actors. "I knew when I came that there were not many opportunities for acting here," says Julie Plott. a junior transfer from Appalachian State University. "They made it very clear to me that there would be lew chances' to act. I wanted to get the technical side of drama so I transferred. I had a lot of parts and leads at Appalachian. It is frustrating not to be able to act. but 1 knew what I was getting into." Joseph Coleman, PRC managing director and drama department lecturer, says he believes undergraduate acting opportunities have not diminished as a result of the changes. But he adds that a high school senior interested only in acting should not come to Carolina. Coleman says the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salcm provides more of the conservatory atmosphere necessary for studying acting at the undergraduate level. "To prepare students 'for professional theater takes intense courses in the art ol acting." Housman says. "We can't do this. 1 he School of the Arts provides this kind of intense tiaining in acting at the undergraduate level. The MI A program here is designed to provide this kind of intense training, but at the graduate level. We feel decisions on a career in acting should be made later in life. Most professional actors do not really mature as actors until they reach the age of .15. "The implications of the HI A program were that we could prepare the undergraduate lor work in professional theater. I his is something we just can't do. The faculty chose unanimously to drop the BFA. and we have been in the process of doing that over the past two years." All undergraduate drama majors interviewed agreed that Carolina was not the school to attend if acting as an undergraduate was what one wanted. They suggested that incoming drama students look somew here else. 1 he drama faculty members say they feel the BA at l.'NC is a good option. "1 think the temperament ol the youngster should determine what type of diania school will be right." Graves says. "I have seen students who, from the minute they get here, are interested only in acting. Other students are more well-rounded with wide-ranging interests. Our HA program is meant to provide a general liberal education for an undergraduate plus courses in acting technique. "The real issue is a good education. I don't think it is up to the undcrgi ad to ask whether he gets to act, but are funds being diverted from his education that effect its quality." Some students, however, feel differently. Thank You... for giving more to Christmas Seals . . . It's a matter of life and breath g Your local LUNG I Association I MEDICAL BOOKSTORE Serving The Health Sciences Campus serving the healing arts cr Sill i WZlH Preclinical Education Bldg. HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Sat. BOOK RUSH OPEN TIL 9 P.M. "Teachers can only teach you so much in acting," says Tom Sasser, a senior drama major. "You have to get in front of an audience and feel it. You have to sense whether the audience believes you. You can't be taught that." The introduction of the PRC is viewed by many undergraduates as a major reason for the reduction in their chances to act. The professional PRC has taken over the dominant position in the drama department that was once held by the amateur Carolina Playmakers. "The Carolina Playmakers hold a very special position in the University's history," Housman says. "It means a lot to the alumni." The Carolina Playmakers started as a local community acting group working out of the drama department. It gained a national reputation for its productions, and many of the finest actors to graduate from the University gained experience in the Carolina Playmakers. Roles in these productions w ere open to faculty, graduate students, undergraduates and townspeople. "We want to retain the Carolina Playmakers tradition while at the same time supplementing and modernising it," Housman says. Undergraduates, however, feel that they are taking a backseat to the professionals and graduate students. "There needs to be a balance between undergraduates, MFAs and the PRC. Undergrads get stuck with the garbage work few get into positions of responsibility," says Marshall Ballcw. a senior drama major. "In scenery class you are working your tails off fixe hours a week for free, making props for the .PRC, and all you get is your name in the program," Sasser says. "Why can't the PRC be a business separate from the University? Right now the students are doing the work for free while UNC is paying the bill. Don't make the students do the work without pay; make it a business." Another drama major, Jcanine Jackson, puts it bluntly: "Is the University for teaching or providing jobs for actors?" "The undergrads may feel that they are not appreciated by the professionals, but every , professional actor knows how important a stage clean of cigarette butts or a clean coffee cup to drink out of is," Housman says. Despite a consensus amount those undergrads interviewed that the PRC has hurt their chances, to act at Carolina, there is some ambiguity in their feelings toward the PRC. "I was really against bringing in the professional actors at first, but contact with the pros has been beneficial," Jackson says. " Through working with the pros, even if it is just as a walk-on, you learn some of the tricks of the trade. You also get to see what you will be up against in real professional theater. You have to be aggressive and really put out the effort to get a part here, but that is the way it is out in the world." Some undergraduates seem to feel that the PRC may upgrade the overall drama program. The rapid changes in the drama department have confused some students. And some programs that might benefit the undergraduates have not gotten completely off the ground. Housman agrees that there has been some confusion as a result of the changes. "Any change causes dislocation. There are always people who will be put in an uneasy position," he says. But as one senior puts it, "1 would appreciate four big plays supported by the drama department for undergrads. 1 feet ready to do some real work on the stage in front of a real audience. It's selfish, but I feel that I deserve more." fflij.iiic lrtirisili.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 11, 1978, edition 1
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