Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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rk In the spur The British rock band, Caravan, above, will be appearing at 8 and 10 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in the Russell House's Golden Spur. There is no admission charge for students with I.D. cards. The way wefigurit isaccurate easy. X- -- Complex calculations or conversions from standard units to mnetric equivalents are facilitated by these handy slide charts Each is made of a durable material that's s coated for moisture resistance And your choice is only $2.00. That's a good deal -anyway you figure it' Please send me.._5" Rotary Slide Rules &i $2 00 ~Pocket Slhde Rules &d $2 00 U S to Metric Conversion Slides @$200 Name~ Address The Bilhan Company P0 Box 8504, Sta A Greenville, S C 29604 'Mancha BY TERRY DUGAS of The Gamecock staff The Town Theatre opened its 56th season with what might be termed a qualified success. "Man of La Mancha" is a difficult production to stage and its theme of idealism often strikes too close to home for an audience's comfort. Nevertheless, segments of Town Theatre's production shone with a light far brighter than would be expected of a community theatre. At the opening of the play, Miguel de Cervantes has been imprisoned in a dungeon in Seville for "offenses against His Majesty's Most Catholic Church." he is awaiting the Inquisition and, following an old tradition, is fur ther boundand tried by his fellow prisoners. Cervantes defends himself by performing various scenes from his work, Don Quixote. The action takes place in the prison and in various other places in the imagination of de Cervantes. Here Town Theatre shines brightest. The technique of actors masquerading in another role requires more effort on the part of an audience's imagination than the average theater goer is willing to give. The Town Theatre prod duction, however , lessens that burden through truly brilliant stage setting and verbal scene painting that enables the simplest of props to convert a prison cell into a courtyard, an inn, a church and a villa. The transformation is enhanced by the simple yet ef fective costumes and stage designs that appear out of de Cervantes box of props, the imagination of the audience, and the skill of the setting designer, Walter P. O'Rourke, Jr. Another bright spot in the production is the excellent acting of Adrian Elder in the role o Don Quixote de Cervantes. The role of Don Quixote is fraught with the danger of overacting which would transform the part from one of mild ridicule and eventual ad miration to one of pure ludicrousness and scorn. The nature of a crazy old man chasing windmills and serving wenches cum ladies leads an unwary actor beyond the brink of decorum. Fortunately, Elder remained in perfect control of his part throughout the night. Even when Quixote was at his most ridiculous, HE WAN NIG Apply 1211 College i ': A brighi pathos still clung to him and never was forced into the absurd. The performances of the rest of the cast, with one tragic exception, was equal to the standard set by Elder. Gerald Floyd, as Sancho, managed to break the established tradition of the pot bellied servant who is tolerant but not un derstanding of the struggles of his master. Floyd played Sancho as a foil to the befuddlement of Don Quixote. He was steadfastly realistic in his approach at the beginning of the play but his gradual understanding of the meaning behind the madness of Quixote parallels led the audien ce's grasp of the deeper meaning of the play. Tom Patterson as the Innkeeper skillfully fulfilled what is basically a character role. The remainder of the patrons of the inn and friends of Quixote performed their roles with equal skill. Special mention must be made of The Padre, Richard Veale, whose performance as the one un derstanding friend of Quixote almost stole the show. The near tragic performance was that of Shellie Bransford as Aldonza-Dulcinea. The role requires a woman who epitomizes both the basest elements attractive men and, at the same time, the purest elements of the unob tainable goddess. The part in itself is difficult, made even more dif ficult by the addition of songs which must be projected to reach the audience. The animalism which make men desire Aldonza despite her emotional detachment and physical resistance emerges as little more than bragadocio. The beauty and gentility which Don Quixote sees as Dulcinea was totally absent until the play's last scene. The part is one of the most demanding on stage and, un fortunately, Bransford tries too hard. Her fault was not lack of talent but in over applying the talent she obviously has. "Man of La Mancha" is a musical blessed with Droductions that fit so perfectly with the spirit of the action they are almost un noticeable as productions. No obtrusive songs leap at the audience without regard for the tone of the action. No dancE gyrations destroy the flow of the action on stage. Each number i! handled with calm and a keetr sense of its place in the overal LP TED H TS delight entire cast are excellent and Kay Holley and Mimi Wortham are to be complimented respectively on a fine job of musical direction and choreography. As with all theatrical produc tions, it is difficult to see the hand of the directror guiding the cast and crew through a performance. However, when the talents of an actor and the skill of a director merge there is the excellence of performance that was evident on Friday night. Joseph T. Riaolfo directed this play to near per fection. The play is thoroughly en joyable, perhaps the best musical performed in Columbia. The ticket prices are $3 for students $10 for a season membership. The play is highly entertaining and well worth the time and money. "Man of La Mancha" runs through Saturday night. Film series Highlights Revolution A series of films based on the Russian Revolutionary period is being presented throughout the fall semester at USC. The series, sponsored by the Honors Program and the Cinematic Arts Committee, is being held in conjunction with an interdisciplinary honors course on the Russian Revolution, taught by Dr.. Benjamin B. Dunlap, Dr. John D. Basil and Dr. Frank J. Miller, USC faculty members. The films are open to the public and are being held Tuesday evenings at 7 and 9:30 p.m. They are scheduled weekly through Dec. 10, with the exception of the week of Nov. 19. Students participating in the honors course are examining the phenomenon of the Revolution from three different perspectives, , film, history and Russian literat ure in an attempt to gain a fuller understanding of this ex traordinary event. This is the second in a series of similiar courses offered through the Honors Program. Last fall the European 17th Century was Iviewed through the perspectives of art history, english and french literature. Next fall a course is planned on Avart-garde theatre from the point of view of people in french, english and theatre. The schedule of films in the series for the remainder of the semester is :Oct. 8,"Lenin in Oc tober;" Oct. 15, "October (Ten Days That Shook the World);" Oct. 22, "The End of St. Peter sburg;" Oct. 29, "Chapayev;" Nov. 5, "Arsenal;" Nov. 12, "Earth;" Nov. 26, "The General Line;" Dec. 3, "The Man With A Movie Camera;" and Dec. 10, "Sh ch fs. the films will be shown in the Russell House Theatre except "Lenin in October," which will be presented in Belk Auditorium in the Business Administration Building.