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"Imagi um. s r By DAVID E. STEELE (laniecock Staff Writer The USC Department of Theatre :inrf Siwrh has Hnnp it nc?;iin Thr> > second play of this year's theatre season, "The Imaginary Invalid," will open tomorrow. Set in the 1890's, the play focuses on a travelling medicine show in a typical small town in the middle west. With a 12-meniber east, this ' |JI UUUwUiMI MIIUUIU I1U1 MIUW cllljr f less profesionalism than was ; evident in the department's first i production, "The Birds." 1 The east is headed by Henry Russell who plays Argan, a { hypochondriac who is searching for a cure. Sparking Argan's S somewhat comical temper is his J m!iir1 Tninottp nliivpH hv Roth f Cathcart. The slapstick incidents | involving Argan's commitments to > several quack doctors sustains the f plays rapid pace. ji The play was written by Moliere ? at the height of his career over 30( ; years ago. "The Imaginary In valid" was Moliere's last play. While performing in the plaj 7 himself, he had a seizure and diec - shortly after a performance. I LaBelle?r? from p ] Love You, I Need You" when aga ? vocal lalents. By the end of his performance i crowd on its feet while he perform* || cut "Choosing You." During the | horn section marched through { Hi '"; i I but we w | Till ABC We do kn Koast Beef and a Suprk and a part vvuv y IVIi iext she "He's well known for his fastpaced comedies..." said Director David Cohen. "He had a dislike for doctors." COHEN HAS REWRITTEN Moliere's original script to fit into the 1890's time period. Leaving most of Moliere's comedic undertones intact, Cohen added the travelling medicine sho* of the SB 1 Beth Cathcart tUCfftk 1U in he displayed his auditorium, mu< crew, but to the Williams had the If one concert ?d the album's title of an artist's futi tune the two man Hatti LaBelle r the aisles of the ahead. ron't know wh< - TV gives us 1 iow we'll have Buffet Lundu it HaDDu Hour Btf ? *r ii outrageous win ty during and afte * HIV ralid >w 1890's. Cohen researched intensive!; into the history of the travellinj medicine show before attemptinj to modernize Moliere's script. Th information he gathered allowei him to create an accurate poi trayal of the period's most popula form of entertainment. The travelling medicine sho\ was popular from 1860 until 15KX when federal drug laws w^r passed preventing the sale c "quack" cures. One reason for thi i r intr a f Vin cUai IO UICUIJ V7I U1C 11 CI VUIIIII5 3I1U' cures contained possibly GO percer alcohol. If you weren't cured, yo felt like it! They travelled by wagon fror small town to small town, simila to the circuses of today. Tli medicine show was a form ( American entertainment. The would present a play or show an then try to sell their cures durin "commercial" breaks. "T.V. is our medicine show. Til medicine show...is pre-T.\ America, pre-radio America, Cohen said. The townspeop would stop work and decorate U town to prepare for the coming i the show. See INVALID, page :h to the dismay of the technic delight of the crowd, performance could be an indicate ire success, both Lenny Williams ai night have very successful yea ?n to start he word a tmWWt 'ore the game, AV vb iv<y? wards BBETSH "Town's" ? doesn't pn Hy MARK MUELLER Gamecock Staff Writer s t "The Good Doctor" probably a won't be sued for malpractice, but s the incision the comedy made was J definitely not deep enough to keep ( the usual theater goer in stitches. y Neil Simon's effort in this work of i r+ nr*f iirill r?r\t iijin (in 14nhio M c g lll^ail V Ul t YTIH IIUl 111 Ull V7UIV-, c g but for a night of relaxation and i e entertainment "The Good Doctor" I d is a good way to spend time and ; money. Overall, the play con- i r tained a good script, but as individual segments, the good and ; i i 1.. u? < ,v UcJU LUU1U VJlvTcii \y UVJ UiaUIlgUlMlCU. I 5, The casting was done rather well I e as exemplified'by the actors and i >f actresses in their separate roles, is Director, David Wesner, should be w commended on a job well done, it "The Good Doctor" consists of u nine Chekhov short stories dealing with man's little pet peeves that n show just how stupid and funny, ir man in all sincerity, can be. ie The plots range from sexuai H uciiaviui IU auutunsL'iuus oul11 lu y medical surgery. In "The d Writers," Chekhov, played by Ed g Vincent, narrates the comedy from beginning to end, occasionally ie including himself in some of the J. stories. Ie "THE SNEEZE" AND trm POI Now r ! Christine TV/f?? th ^ and Classes Houseplanl km made jew WW (Jb tery, cerai pillows, BBSS A In Conven /( n l ( Santee II roduction aduce SURGERY" (individual equences in the play) captured he laughter of the opening night ludience, but true talent and ibility were displayed in "The Vudition" and "A Defenseless "reature." k Sheryl Smith was outstanding as 1 non-break plagued actress ;eeking a role in the "The \udition." During her act she )urst forth with the emotion of a struggling entertainer loaded with unknown talent. MeKenzie Fnnce, performing adequately in "The Governess," tore the audience apart with laughter as she portrayed an overpowering Russian laborer with little sell-confidence in her attempt to gain her sickly husband's paycheck from a ^ fractured banker (Raymond Chetti). "The Sneeze" contained a simple but meaningful dialogue which presented the possible hilarious implications of a sneeze. In this story, Jack Stehlin displayed real talent. Stehlin's roles in "The Seduction," "The Drowned Man," "The Arrangement" and "The Sneeze" gave him the undisputed title of an excellent actor and the best of the performers in "The Good Doctor." See DOCTOR, page 22 ^ !ui W ' is Orders ^ Wm J/** ' Beautiful :s. handelry, potmic, dolls, M) my candles,y id uch?_Y|g