Alcala 1958

ity

l

t"

r

,

l,

i

Des pite the sin cer ity of effort shown , audie nce s out side of do tin g rel ati ves an d frie nds woul d not fee l inc linedto view suc h inadeq uat e histr ion ics mor e ofte nthan their loyalty wou ld dem and . Per hap s it was un fair to me ntion that triumvirate of gre at drama tist s, at leas t And erso n and She rwood , bec ause the y cou ld har dly be cla ssed as sor did or sul kily psy cho log ica l. Ad van ced co lle gia ns cou ld han dle them suc ces sfu lly,pro vid edthe best fac ilit ies in sta ging and cos tum ing were ava ilable. O'N eill fo r col leg e drama tists is out of the que stio n,exc eptper hap sfor "A h, Wi lde rne ss"and "D ay sWi thout End ," both of wh ich ha ve their ug ly mome nts . Un for tun ate ly, fo r Si r Ced ric' sthe sis, the ga y, brig ht, plea san t play is too rare ly wri tten . A mere gla nc e at the cur ren t Broadw ay off eri ng s will est ab lish thi s. Eve n wha t cou ld ha ve bee n a cle ver com edyabout ple asa nt peo ple , "V isi t to a nces i g tives s l li ed ate histrionics ften l . s unfair to mention that great dramatists, at least s n he o d, s could hardly be classed as sordid or sulkily logical. Advanced collegians coul l sfully, provided the best ilities in staging and costuming were il l . eil ege dramatists is uestion, except perhaps for "Ah, W rnes " a s , both i ve their ugly moments. tunately, i 's si , , t, t l t . e t ay ings lis s. y l , i it t

Small Pla ne t" by Gor e Vi da l, ru ins itself by sce nes tha t are com ple tely out of go od tast e. Th e co llege pro duc er mu st sea rch lon g and har d for dramas that are wo rthwh ile and of av era geau die nc eapp eal . The se ne ed no t be come die s. Se rio us sel ect ion s and even clever lycon tri vedmy ste rie scan ente r­ tain an au die nc e and make it fee l bett er fo r ha vin gspe nt tho se two hou rs wit h tha t viv aci ou s, en er ge ticand com ple tely enj oy­ ab le cas t. Shaw onc e said that you cou ld ma ke peo ple cr y by hit tin g them in the stoma ch,bu t ma kin gthem lau gh was mu ch har der . So , "W hic h way, College Dr am a? "To the plea san tand up lift ing ,we trus t. It can be don e wit hou ttoo gre at a fin an cia l stra in. Witne ss Thorn ton Wi lde r's "Our Town ," Pa ul Vin cen t Carr oll's "Shadow andSub ­ sta nce "and tha t all- time bes t of com edi es, John Pa tri ck 's "H as ty He art ." Co lleg e the atre ne ed smo re shows lik e the se. l tely . er s t hile ge a i nce ppeal. These need dies. i us tions an even cleverly contrived mysteries can ent - i nce e it feel better for having spent those two hours with that ious, getic l tely enjoy- l . you could l hitting ch, bu i g harder. , hi h Drama?" To t li ing, t. t cial strain. s to r's ," l t ll' dow and - " i e t e ies, ic 's asty t." ll e s s .

PASSION PLAY, PALM SUNDAY

44