Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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By BOB CRAFT Features Editor "Company" was here in Carolina Coliseum Monday night and to out it mildly, I didn't like it. To begin with, it took forever to get the thing started. And to continue, Carolina Coliseum is not the ideal place to have such an event. It is a sad state of affairs when one realizes there was no other dhoice. The sound amplification was terrible. I was sitting in Row A and had to strain throughout the play to hear. I can just imagine the problem people h,&d in Row Z. Not that it really mattered that much. The songs in the play were truly forgettable, written in sort of a Burt Bachrach "Promises Promises" style, but the songs weren't nearly as good as those in "Promises." I saw someone at intermission who asked me how the play was going because she had fallen asleep during the first act. The basic premise of the play is that there is a bachelor named Robert, who has five married couples for friends. These friends keep trying to sell him on the idea of marriage while being the worst examples of that exalted state. Cute, huh? It could have been a very sophisticated play, but when one remembers Noel Coward and Oscar Wilde, one could (and almost did) throw up. In a lot of places the play attempted sophistication of this sort, par D US till 2 p. we'll give job irl Cll ompany ticularly in the character of JoAnne. Unfortunately, the sophistication was often on the level of the hotfoot. The play had a lot of characters that talked about sophistication, but didn't display it. Ain't that the way, though? There is a scene in the play where Robert is trying to make out with an empty-headed airline stewardess. He goes through all the motions. He unbuttons her blouse, okay. He takes off one of her shoes, okay. She then flashes out her other foot for him to take off her other shoe, okay. Then, in a helter-skelter type action they both take off their clothes and there's Allen Case standing onstage in a pair of jockey shorts and the girl hops into bed and pops off her bra. That was a little much, I think. It would have probably been better, if after she stuck out her fcot, there could have been a black out. (Not that I'm telling you how to do your job, Harold Prince.) Then on top of all that, there is this coital conversation between Robert and the airline stewardess over which there is music. Out from somewhere comes a dancer, wearing little. else but a flesh colored bra-slip type affair, who proceeds to do a dance that would be more appropriate to a pre-Castro Havana cabaret than the Broadway stage. What she can't caress, she fondles and what she can't fondle doesn't exist. HELP WANTED OPENINGS: y and Niaht Counfcr. Help Apply In person Borger Kimg Restavret. 1211 Cellgo Shreet 9.10 e.m. 2.5 p.m. -s mn., Mon.-Fri., you a quality. just 2 houg:s! F.AERS & LAUNDRY 1908 Blossom St. Lt% blocks from U.S.C. Iour OuR CAGE PLAN disappo There were a lot of "oh, God"s and "son of a bitch"s and similar oaths worked into the play. There were unfunny marijuana scenes, unfunny wedding morning scenes, unfunny divorce scenes, the whole schmeer. It was like a two and half hour "Love, American Style" segment, con trived and unfunny. AtT ANY 4 PIC THE HITS F NOW IN STO4 Featuring: Ry Coo Hopkins, Bill Wym Nit - Ne Black Oak Ark; "Keep The Fa $379 Rai In 1957 the single 'Rockin' Pneumonia and B was a hit. Who was th DI ints viewt Allen Case had a really hard part, though. Except for a very few moments he was onstage con stantly. Maybe that's why he looked like an amused bystander. Julie Wilson was supposed to be the sophisticated older woman and it came out like Julie Wilson doing an Elaine Stritch imitation. SII SM E RECORI SINGLES ROM THE TOP 100 "Jammii With Edwan der, Nickey C an, Mick Jagger ty Gritty Dirt Ban w - $379 rnsas ith'' ph's Trivia Quiz for To oogie Woogie Flu" e artist?. ITCH SQUARE (Elaine Stritch did the part on Broadway and one could see how it was tailor made for her.) It must have been a slow year on Broadway for them to give so many Tony awards to this play. Or maybe, with an intimate theater and the right cast it would have been much better. Who knows? AMGL E IGLES INGLES ) BARI $298 19 :1" )NLY d Paul Simon $379 d$y: Open 10 - 9:30 Mon.-Sat.