The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 6, 1975 Page: 1 of 12
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£
56th Year No. It
TEEJ-TAC
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF TARLETON STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephenvilte. Texas
November 6,1975.
-ii Jiia 'T' mm ' 1 "p
'Fantasticks' to open here Nov. 12
by Beth Chastain
That lighter-than-air musical,
"The Fantasticks," which has
teen playing these past few weeks
at the Granbury Opera House, will
make an appearance cm the
Tarleton campus for a Dinner
Theatre oil Nov. 12-13.
Starring in the production are
Jo< Ann Miller, members of the
Tarleton Players, and the
Granbury Opera House Company.
The Dinner Theatre will be
held m the Tarleton Student
Center, beginning at 6 p.m. each
night, Tickets are priced at 56.50
per person, which covers the cost
of a steak dinner and the show.
Born off-Broadway, "The
Fantasticks" boomed into an
international success to become
New York's longest running hit
musical-comedy. It contains a
smooth blend of hilarious
burlesque and sentimental songs,
accompanied by melodramatic
characters who teem to "be
proliferating in high thin air. The
duo-authors of the show, Harvey
D, Schmidt and Tom Jones,
created a whimsically charming
production, yet steered clear of a
conscious cuteness.
"The Fantasticks" is a
sophistocated parable about love
and innocence which tells of a
childishly simple romance with an
air of understanding at the same
time its value and absurdity.
The tale deals with two lovers.
Matt (David Riggrns) and Louisa
(Sharon Garner), who are
separated by a wall built by their
seemingly hostile parents.
In reality, the parents (Jo Ann
Miller and Pete Wylie) want the
match between their back-fence
lovers and are faced with the
problem of finding a way in which
their pretended objections can be
overcome. They decide to enlist in
the aid of a bandit (Jerry Abbott)
and two actors (Ken Martin and
Rickie Pratt) to stage an
attempted rape (a first-class rape,
no less) in which Matt can
gaJantly rescue his sweetheart,
thus clearing up the feud.
Once these moon struck
excapades reach a traditional
happy ending, the musical turns
around and knocks the daylights
out of the newly discovered bliss
by following the couple through
an ensuing, sad period of
disillusionment in the unsheltered
world.
Louisa finds that Matt looks
different in the sunlight, and Matt
realizes his lover is "only the
girl-next-door." They part their
separate ways; however, Matt
gains only torture at each port he
reaches and Louisa, a brief,
disappointing fling with a bandit
who suffers from saddle rash.
The innocents are driven |>ack
together as a result with a new
appreciation of each other and
their ability to pursue an
uncomplicated happiness,
i "The Fantasticks" is under the
direction of Mrs. Mary Jane
Mingus and Jo Ann Miller, Mrs.
Mingus is director of the Drama
Department at Tarleton State
University. She was director of
the first resident acting company
to perform this past summer in
the historical Granbury Opera
House. Jo Ann Miller is managing
director and producer of the
Granbury Opera House. She is a
professional singer, actress, and
recording star.
Of special interest and due
attention, members 4>f the cast
1
^ ......
BURNED QRILL-A fire broke out in the University's
Dining Hall last Sunday evening which resulted in damage
to these two grills.
Photo by Charley Spiller
Johnny Rodriguez performs
tonight in Wisdom Gymnasium
Country recording star Johnny
Rodriguez will be performing
tonight m Wisdom Gymnasium at
8 p.m. ^
Rodriguez has been the
recipient of several lop awards in
the field of country music in
recent years. Nominated in
1972-73 for the Most Promising
Male Vocalist and for Album of
the Year by the Country Music
Association he has since then
developed into one of the nation's
top performers.
Rodriguez' first album sold
over 200,000 copies and since
then, has continued to release
constant hit songs and albums
According to Tarleton Center
Director Jack Matthews, the
advance ticket sales for the
Rodriguez concert has had more
response than that of any other
concert since the TCC began
sponsoring such programs.
Preceding Rodriguez at the
concert will be the country music
group "Asleep at the Wheel."
Gamma Sigma
to meet today
Gamma Sigma Sigma w 11 meet
al 6 p.m. tonight in conteieii^e
room Eat Tarleton Center.
They currently have a hit song
called 'The Letter That Johnny
Walker Read."
An admission charge of S5 will
be made of non-TSU students and
Tarleton students with ID's will
be charged $3. Students with
SAF cards will be admitted to the
concert free of charge.
KABts St CAL--J-TAC reporters Cindy Leeth (left) and
Karen Hale (right) begin a new column this week, see page
9- Photo by Charley Spiller
from Tarleton offer one of the
finest performances by student
actors in Texas. The directness of
their fresh, appealing theatrical
ability could stand up to many
professional groups.
Steve Trogdon, member of the
Granbury Opera House Company
and Tarleton Players, gives a
polished, we 11-attuned
performance In "The Fantasticks"
as the Mute, who aids the cast by
supplying props and sometimes
people out of an old, battered
trunk.
Another summer-stock student
actor from the Opera House,
David Riggins, portrays the
boy-lover gone mad. (He defies
biology and achieves ignorance.)
David proves to be an
accomplished singer in the show,
as well as an exceptional actor,
Louisa, an insanely-lovesick girl
who believes she is a princess, is
played by Sharon Garner, also
from the Opera House Company.
Her abilities as a soloist, dancer,
and actress are above par to most
college students.
- Ken Martin gives a riotous, yet
•subtle, performance as a
moth-eaten actor who cannot
resist misquoting a Shakesperean
speech to prove his theatrical
ability. Ken designed the
choreography for "The
Fantasticks" and, too, performed
in the Opera House last summer.
Perhaps the most amusing
character in the show a an Indian
with a British accent who does
outragious death scenes. Rickie
Pratt, one of the Tarleton Players,
does a hilarious characterization
of the part and brings in a full
measure of laughter to every
show.
A delightful show and
charming musical, the tunes from
"The Fantasticks" branch from
the old-time favorite "Try to
Remember" to the comical "Rape
Ballet."
The gallant bandit catalogues
the varieties of rape to be enjoyed
in "It Depends on What You
Pay." (The military rape is done
"with drummers and a big brass
band"
The Dinner Theatre is
presented Jointly by Tarleton
State University and the Granbury
Opera House. "The Fantasticks"
is quite fitting for a lovely dinner
theatre production and should
provide a very enjoyable evening
of entertainment. Reservations
can be made by calling'965-5058
Person needed
for work study
The Tarleton Bicentennial
Committee needs i work-study
person who can type to work
about 15 hours a week. Contact
Dr. Sue McGinity or Natrelle
Young in the English Department*
,1
i •
!-
*.
\
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 6, 1975, newspaper, November 6, 1975; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141327/m1/1/?q=%22~1~1%22~1&rotate=270: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.