Barnard Bulletin from New York, New York • Page 2

Page Four A A I Wednesday, April 10. 1968 'Loot' Shocks B'way Theatrical Papp Test By ELLEN SHXJLMAN This season may go down in Broadway history as the 5 ear that the avant-garde playwrights and directors tried to bring t'ae Xew York theater out of its catatonic daze by massive shock treatments For the most part, the shocks have come in the form of novel stage techniques, weird effects, the use of film on stage, electric guuar or jazz scores, and the "psychedelic." bag of tricks But Joe Orton's-LOOT. at the Biltmore Theatre, proves that there is a more direct way to shock an audience, without breaking a single tradition of stagecraft Indeed, the fun of this wicked comedy is that it seems to stick so faithfully to the conventions that it demolishes. BasicaHy, the plot and characters are familiar foundations of many a Grade British murder mystery like many a late- show detective flick. Wife of wealthy, respectable business-" man dies after a long illness, attractive nurse sets out to marry the bereaved widower.

Meanwhile, the scampish, ne'er-do- well son of the deceased has become involved in a bank robbery with a buddy of his, and the formidable Inspector Truscott of Scotland Yard comes sleuthing around. Nurse is revealed as wife's murderer, son is revealed as bank robber. This may sound rather ordinary, and it would be perfectly so if only you couldn't hear the dialogue But tune in on the sound, and the'play becomes one of the most irreverent, acervic, sacriligious, and iconoclastic comedies that B'roadway has ever seen. Prom the first malicious musical joke, a Gregorian chant that slides into a cool jazz coda, the play breaks every polite convention of respect for the dead, reverence toward religion, faith in the honesty of the police and all the furnishings of "common decency." For example, the nurse and the son conspire to hide the bank loot in the dead woman's coffin which means that the corpse must be evicted, stripped, and relocated in a closet And then there's the matter of the glass eye which rolls out of the corpse and gets lost on the, floor, to be discovered later by Inspector Truscott, who immediately checks to see if he has lost a cuff link. The comedy works, and hysterically well, because of excellent timing and a smooth pace that constantly changes the background of conventionality with unexpected shocks.

The verbal humor is quick and devastating. "The Ten Commandments? She was a great believer in spme of them." "How dare you involve me in a situation in which no memo has been issued!" "What a terrible thing to happen to a man who's been kissed by the Pope." The cast is quite competent, and succeeds in bringing off the fast tempo of the comedy with a dry, straight-faced style. George Rose, as the insuperable Inspector makes the show unforgettable. "Looi," by Joe Orion, directed by Derek Goldby. is now playing at the Bilimore Theatre.

261 W. 47 Si. The phone number is 582-5340. By CHRIS IIJIMA Joseph Papp's EHGO is like, well, like an overheated lover: hard to take at first but impossible to ignore, and if one relaxes, ultimately stimulating. Before 1 beginning a few words must be said about the new Florence Sutro Anspacher Theater, part of the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater complex now under construction at Place.JThe Anspacher Theater is an intimate holding perhaps 300400 people.

The stage is below the audience in a modified, three quarter theater in the- round style. The interior is relatively simple and the seats spacious and very comfortable. Unfortunately there is one rath- 'er serious defect in the house: the theater situated above subway track and every time a train passes, a noticeable rumbling shakes the building. Ergo is completely suited to this intimate and informal environment and the set, designed by Ming Cho Lee. The play is in two acts which are in turn divided into a number of scenes.

The scene serves somewhat like an overture. A tape recorder spews forth the voices of a multitude crying "Heil!" while actors paired with dummies parade about the stage. As the tape-switches to polka music, flashing electric Tom Aldredge and Maxine Greene in "Ergo." "Financing," Columbia Players Milbank Chapel itself looks Shakespeare Workshop Performs 'Macbeth' An amateur production of Shakespeare's MACBETH will be performed May 2, 3, and 4, at 8:00 p.m. in the Milbanfi -Chapel of Teachers College, 120th Street and Amsterdam. Most of the cast are members of an informal Shakespeare Workshop in the College.

Co-directors of the production are Phil Wohlstetter, a College student on leave this term, and Elizabeth Caughran of the Barnard Speech Department. Phil Wohlstetter, who will play Macbeth, and Julie Halitsky, Lady Macbeth, are in the Shakespeare Workshop, which has recently been doing scenes from the play for Prof. Oupee's classes in the College The scenes were so well received that several members of the to cast a performance of the entire play. Wohlstetter, "will not be-much of a problem, supplying the costumes and no set is necessary, the accoustics of Minor Latham and the room 13th' century baronial Ths, group" has not or not to charge admission. signs descend from the ceiling reading, "TONIGHT," ERGO," "NOT FOR EVERYBODY." The next two scenes are incoherent and for the most part boring.

Their main contribution is to initiate the plot, if one might call it that. Generally, the play concerns the feud between a fat and sloppy but engaging fellow, and Wurz, a severe, nervous, sterile individual. Wurz inhabits a gleaming white contraption and we find his wife painting the already dazzling interior while Wurz contents himself with spraying the premises with insecticide in a mad attempt to rid the place of all germs clean man is a free He and his wife settle down to some sex but not before they don sterilized gloves. The scene switches to Wac- holder's place where we find him groveling in a pile of newspapers. He, too, has two sons, both intellectual.

To one son, Asian, Wacholder explains his idea about "nerve foam" and seems to scare the hell out of him. The other son, Leo, formulates his "Placental Theory of Existence" the object of which is to disprove the existence of Wurz by a unanimous agreement among the people of Vienna (the play's setting) that Wurz does not exist. What does it all mean? I have my own theories somehow drawing upon ideas about the fears of the middle class, the class conflict between the poor and well-to-do, seduction of the poor, by the government, sex, Christ, the generation gap, you name it. "It's all probably wrong, but- half the fun is trying to figure it out. The performances were generally good.

Tom Aldredge who plays Wurz, Sam Waterston who plays Asian, and Miriam Lehmann-Haupt who was Dr. Bock- ling deserve special commendation. I found Jack Hollander, who played Wacholder a bit too cuty-cuty for my tastes and he became somewhat grating after a while. Director Gerald Freeman kept things light and extremely fluid. As for Mr.

Jakov Lind who wrote the piece: well, what can I say? Although "Ergo" is understandably a bit uneven, I think Joseph Papp has got a winner. It is daring as well as entertaining theater, the kind of theater that explores the' forbidding regions beyond the proscenium stage and to a large extent survives. I like to think of productions like Papp's let" "Ergo" as -a of theatrical Papp test, because in exploration lies, I.believe, the survival of New York Theater. As the 'subway sign says: it's valuable, and.if.done well, not too painful. "Ergo" is now ploying at New York Shakespeare Festival Piiblit Theatre at 425 Laf ayelle Street; call 677-6350 for more information.

musical makes Shakespeare Rock -Leland Palmer and Rusty Thacker play twins Viola and Sebastion in "Your Own Thing," a musical loosely based on "Twelfth Night." By PHYLLIS RICHMOND It works! Or, to be more precise, sometimes it works. YOTJB OWN THING, the Driver-Hester-Apolinar rock musical at the Orpheum, seems unsure of the possibilities of the new the rock musical, and as a result it swings back and forth between the conventional and the original. The Tshow's use of multi-media-mix is very exciting, the most successful aspect of this being the projection of still photos and movies instead of sets. The images, projected on three panels set up as a proscenium, are well integrated and effective. Portraits are also projected, with voices, as a commentary on the action, including John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Shirley Temple, Shakespeare, God, and Buddha.

Buddha and hippiedom alone emerge unscathed from the evening; "Your Own Thing" turns an acid pen on almost everything else. The Establishmelnt, America's big hang-up about homosexuality, male-female resemblances in mod society, puritanism, Sarah Lawrence, God, and rock musicals themselves all are attacked by a barrage of puns and put-ons. As a matter of fact, "Your Own Thing" consists basically of badinage interspersed with scenes from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," and liberally sprinkled with songs. Shakespearels words do fit into the production, partly because the additions are along Shakespearean lines of bawjly humor. The songs are on the whole bouncy, cheery, and tuneful.

Some of the words are excellent thematic statements, for instance "I'm Me!" and "Do Your Own Thing." Sebastian's "Come Away, Death" is a beautiful ballad. However, the music is erratic, at times strictly Broadway commercial, and boring. As a rock musical "Your Own Thing" had to develop new kinds of stage-movement rock' ways. The Apocalypse, the show's rock group, stand slouched over like Mick Jagger, not straight and tall and theatrical. Many of their songs are sung as take-offs on traditional rock styles Danny belts out his verses; with soul, Michael warbles almost off-key.

The choreography, based on the bugaloo, jerk, et al, unfortunately dots not take advantage of the possibilities for inventiveness inherent in the framework and remains for the most part pedestrian and repetitious. The cast is excellent, uniformly lively and vivacious. I noted Rusty Thacker, a most personable Sebastian with a pleasing Danny Apolinar, coauthor and member of the Apocalypse, and Leland Palmer, for her dancing, although her voice tends to strain and "Your Own Thing" is an ingenious updating of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." It is energetic, happy, and relaxing. It is, however, uneven and seems overlong, probably because there is no intermission. It would seem desirable to cut some of the excess verbiage, to omit i those songs which are below par, and to speed up the -1 staging.

This musical has a it is meant only for those who are already True Believers in the hippie ethic; it is too light-hearted to encourage serious thought j-- but that is rfot'the point of his enjoyable evening. "Your Own Thing" is playing oH Brodway at tEa Orpheum Theatre. 2nd Ave. al 8th for more YU 2-6410..