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.entertainmen Prize-winnin From Staff Reports USC's first mainstage theater production, Robert Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Idiot's Delight," opens at 8 d m tonight i? ? - ft *o"v " Drayton Hall. Although the anti-war commentary has relevance today, it was first produced in 1936 and won the Pulitzer Prize that year. "Idiot's Delight" takes place at a skiresort hotel in the Italian Alps near Switzerland and Austria on the eve of World War II. The hotel guests are eager to leave fascist Italy, but they are blocked from obtaining visas. AMONG THE guests is Dr. Waldersee (Reid Davis), a German scientist who claims he is developing a cure for cancer. Waldersee insists he must leave Italy immediately; he quotes Thomas Mann in saying the world is experiencing "spiritual backsliding to that dark and tortured age." Irene (Lucinda Hamrick) is a middleaged Russian who accompanies Achille Weber (Robert Johnson) to the hotel. She senses the impending war, although Weber, a munitions expert, scoffs at her thinking. Harry Van (Charlie Peterson) is an American vaudevillian promoter with a troupe of six chorus girls. Van is trying to get himself and his group over the border to continue their European tour in Swit zerland. Van seems to be conservative, proclaiming, "We have become a race of drug addicts, hopped up with false beliefs, false fears, false enthusiasms." This atWorkshop Thi By John Vaughan Workshop Theatre's second offering of the season is almost everything the first was not. Workshop presented "Cyrano de 1??4 il ll ?1 ui 1 Dei gei at?lasi inuiiin; uie piay, wruien oy IpS Weller Martin (Lou Kaplan) and Fonsia Dorse Workshop Theatre's production of "The Gin Gi Act I s 'Deathtr n. . l *a uy Jonn vaugnan "Deathtrap," currently playing at West C( Theatre, is a production of ups and downs. Some of these are emotional ups and dow written comedy/thriller takes the audience on ride as the plot twists again and again. But at Act I, some of these are production i the acting, technical work and direction giv varying degrees of success. ACT I has grown from last year's products Good Man, Charlie Brown." The theater was one couldn't be sure if it would live. This year, the theater has been "born ag still housed in the rather Spartan Heyward M Center, the organization has augmented its v ? for example, bringing Jim E. Quick, a amateur actor and director, to direct. In essei has begun a move into the territory of es theaters such as Town Theatre and Workshop With this move, Act I has increased its st anH ito anHiurino frnm thia ii/nrlH nf < -VW^/IA MIIM A UJ UUVI1VIIV/V Jli Ulll HIV ff W? ?\? v/? ? Mom-and-Pop community shows to take-us-i amateur theater. With this in mind, Act I opens itself to more and more frank criticism. THE PRINCIPAL ups in "Deathtrap" formances of the three principal performers as Sidney Bruhl, Jane Turner as Myra Br Shelley as Clifford Anderson. Included in this < interesting set and most of Quick's direction. Downs focus on erratic pacing and a hea^ trayal of Helga Ten Dorp by Louise Linari. t g play open; titude clashes with that of Quillery (Avon Stephenson), a radical French socialist. SHERWOOD'S PLAY is certainly moralistic, but is structured to avoid a nrpnonHprmic tnno Rnccuil n?****.** - * v- ? *? J* v>> v? WJ vw?*V I V VIOOA 1 VJ1 Wil j d tCl department professor, will direct the drama. The play's title is drawn from a reference made by Irene, who says she feels sorry for "poor, dear God," who has nothing to do in Heaven but play solitaire ? " 'idiot's delight' ? the game that never means anything and never ends." The USC theater season includes three more mainstage productions, which run for five shows or more, and three showcase presentations, which usually run for shorter periods. The next staep nffprina will Ho "Buried Child," Sam Shepard's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the death of the American dream, Nov. 11-14. Mainstage productions will be "The Amorous Flea," a musical version of Moliere's "School for Wives," Dec. 7-11; "Fifth of July," Lanford Wilson's powerful play about love and family in America, Feb. 22-27; and "Everyman," considered the greatest of the English morality plays, April 12-17. SHOWCASE PRODUCTIONS will be "Buried Child"; "As You Like It," Shakespeare's classic comedy, Jan. 24-30; and "Bent," a violent look at the treatment of homosexuals in Duchau, a Nazi concentration camp, March 23-27. eatre stages b Edmond Rostand in the 16th century, featured a large cast, swashbuckling action, elaborate prvstnmincr uorco Hioinrtna nnri ^?uiuiugut anu different locations for certain scenes. The theater's current production is "The Gin Game"; the play, which won D.L. ^ ??? Photo by ABnon Rime II y (Ruth Gottlieb Moore) play a hand of gin in ame." 3 - B - ap snowcases i Local audiences may not I )lumbia's Act I stage form, although it enjoy way. Many people, however, ns; the tightly starring Michael Caine as Br a rollercoaster and Christopher Reeve as And Ira Levin's play revolves ai ips and downs; New York playwright with a e "Deathtrap" Hungry for a good play, he i protege and recognizes the v, young playwright, Anderson, t )n of "You're a born then, but THE PLAY takes an omi creasingly obvious that Bruh ain." Although what he wants, and that he [oore Fine Arts lengths ? his home is stocl olunteer assets productions of his stage thrille familiar local What follows is a constantly ice, the theater confusing pressure of a psychi tablished local measure. ineaire. uuDose is excellent as .andards ? for presence, wry facial expressic >trictly-for-fun, playwright a thoroughly conv seriously, local the intended subtle humor an< as when he vaguely strokes hi genuine praise "Nothing recedes like success. Turner and Shelley are b delivers a fine performance. are the per: Billy Dubose TURNER, a theater grad uhl and Mark anxiety nicely, reaching a pit category are an first act. She is careful not character development is ai< /y-handed por- subtleties. > tonight in I \; 'yZ." '" ^jajCdBMr 2* -i Elaine (Suzanne Fernandez), Francine (Helen I (June Hamrick) are four of the six chorus girls The season opened with a shnwoasp presentation of "The Birthday Party," which ran Sept. 29 through Oct. 3. The show will be the university's entry in this year's American College Theatre Festival. Tickets for individual shows will be available for two weeks prior to opening night. Mainstage show tickets, including itter, emotions Coburn the Pulitzer Prize in 1978, features nn 1V t\l/n norfnrmorc lWHn ~ " 1 ~ ~ ' w.iv pviiviuitii}, muc cKJllUU, simple costuming, modern dialogue and is played in one setting. THE GIN GAME" unfolds in a lounge of the decrepit Bentley Home for the Aged. The play begins as Weller Martin, one of the Bentley residents, introduces himself to Fonsia Dorsey, another resident. It is Visitors' Day; since neither Weller nor Fonsia have visitors, he asks her to play a game of gin with him. After the stubborn Weller has instructed his acquaintance in the rules of the game, she proceeds to win ? repeatedly. The gin game Droves to be an imnnrtant Hpvirn ac Weller and Fonsia reveal themselves in a bitter, emotional statement about growing old alone. The play is both funny and unsettling to the audience; for the actors and director, it is a supremely demanding work. Workshop's production is directed by Jim Blanton, who moves the drama along deftly, remaining true to both the humor and the ugliness in the play. BLANTON IS aided by the intimacy of a cm oil fKonfnr oitnK on niiiuii LV,I ouv.il cio TY ui i\anwp ? llllb factor has been noted before in reactions to shows that operate on a smaller scale. With ips, downs [Orch lave seen "Deathtrap" in its I ed an extended run on Broad- lliilM saw the recent film version, . uhl, Dyan Cannon as his wife ; ffn?| Staff R< erson. . ound Br uhl, a once-successful Four soloi string of recent stage bombs. USC's tJWve eceives a manuscript from a tonight in Be ork as superb. He invites the 0 his Connecticut home. The solois 00 obo$, K<3 nous turn as it becomes in- j bassOOtt ff| v 1 will go to any lengths to get has the means to go to such ted with weapons from past SThe four a rs. Caro^lS twisting who'll-do-it, with the c, Ten Dorp, thrown in for good ^ ;/ x The coac? Bruhl. His animated stage fo^tojjteC ns anH elixir mnlro W -AiiJiiii M U??va? V4V11 VVA J I11C4IW' UIV . UJU#| incing figure. He scores with .**j?6Vane? a' i adds nice subtleties himself, s high hairline as he declares: 9th USC students, and each uate student, builds Myra's jpjjjhett :h as excitement builds in the 3jjws?i$i'fetljis$ to upstage Dubose, yet her ied with her own considered fjuisi<2 See "Deathtrap," page 12 I. Drayton Hall H|<v: :i^S|^R MHHv /.raggEM^g^^ : : : Ingebritsen), Shirley (Natalie Picow) and Bebe in "Idiot's Delight." "Idiot's Delight," are $4 for the general public; $3 for USC faculty/staff, senior citizens and military personnel; and $2 for students. Individual showcase tickets are 50 cents less for each category. "Idiot's Delight" will run through Sunday, wun penormances at 8 p.m. except for a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee. il drama "The Gin Game," the Workshop audience feels it is watching Weller and Fonsia through a door that has been left ajar. Local stage veterans Lou Kaplan and Ruth Gottlieb Moore earn this reviewer's respect for sheer effort alone. "The Gin Game" is physically and emotionally exhausting for the two actors who must shoulder the drama. The Dlav is more a tost of a r?prfnrm<->r than an opportunity to showcase talents; the success of the play will always owe a great deal to its superlative writing, and while an actor cannot hope to outshine the work, the work could surely outreach the actor. It is to their credit that both Kaplan and Moore remain true to their characters' development. In short, the drama is excellent and Workshop's handling of the material results in a finished product worth seeing. THE GIN GAME' does not play tonight, but continues with performances at 8 p.m. tomorrow through Thursday. There is a 3 p.m. matinee Sunday and the play ends its run with performances at 8 p.m. Nov. 2 and 3. Tickets are $5.50 for adults and $4.50 for students, senior citizens and military personnel. For more information, call the Workshop box office at 799-6551. ************* 69Ua VUIiliCII ires soloists sport* ists wi.ll perform featured selections when rsity Orchestra gives its fail concert at a p.m. iokerT, Washington auditorium, ts? Doug Graham on clarinet, Eric Qhlsson >bert Pruzin on horn aiul Jdii Williams on dll perform the Mo*art Sinfonia-Concertante i the orchestra. re USC faculty members and members of the merata. a woodwind rtmt aneonflute. * rt will opot* with Leonard Bemteirt** over$K?retta "Candide." Stravinsky's 'Wcineil* a ba&etiii 191% imdFaure's * Su?te"&&*sedon music supposedly written ^P^gole4%Jthe-38t|i cettfciry, Itoearchhas &v<ar> that much of tfii* mtaiic attributed to tuajuy was not wriuea r>y mm. ioleai died at age &, he wa# a popular com* jperfomir^: and their . roduced works under his name to help sell , according !# Robert Jesselson, a music ri'iiii iiimmm ,iii:J