The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 61, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 4, 1973 Page: 4 of 12
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern dead but well in new play
by H. DAVID DANGLO
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Are Dead is one of the most
stimulating plays of the decade,
and a blessing to contemporary
theater. Wiess Tabletop The-
ater's latest production is an-
other blessing — a good,
straightforward rendition that
is a tribute to the immense
talent of playwright Tom Stop-
pard.
The play can be taken in
many ways. On the surface, it's
a crazy portrait of two very
unimportant characters i n
Shakespeare's greatest tragedy,
Hamlet. The view from the
bottom—Rosencrantz and Guil-
denstern are Hamlet's trusted
servants who are finally order-
ed to acompany the prince
(all the way) to his death in
England. For a terribly long
time, they are left to their
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own devices in a forgotten
chamber of a musty castle —
to flip coins (and screw prob-
ability theory to the wall),
to chatter away in pseudo-in-
telleotual, existential banter
(in a series of "meaningful non-
sense" conversations) and on
occasion, join in Shakespeare's
original action, as the other
characters parade back and
forth in an insane ritual of
"getting it all over with."
On another level, it is truly
"start raving sane." Stoppard
unravels many of Hamlet's
complexities, almost to the
point of literary criticism, and
at the same time throws in
a few deliberate enigmas of
his own. On still another level,
it is absurdist theater — just
as in Samuel Beckett's Wait-
ing for Godot (the very essence
and definition of theater of the
absurd), Rosencrantz and Guil-
Huser's Jewelry
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denstern wait, and wait some
more, and at the end of the
play, are still waiting — to
start all over again. On any
level it is a highly-structured,
intelligent and very remarkable
tribute to four centuries of
Shakespeare's dominance in
world theater.
Kim Hanson has tackled the
difficulties of directing this
modern-day classic with the
same skill he showed last year
with Wiess' Butterflies Are
Free. There is nothing particu-
arly spectacular about this new
show—it's very smooth and
pretty cold—but it's the best
play Wiess has produced in
over three years. In addition,
Wiess Tabletop, now headed by
Andrew Blakeney, has proven
that it can do more with Ham-
let than rape him (last words
on a certain three-time abor-
tion).
The two leading roles are
very difficult parts. Leave it
to top-notch actors Joe Crites
and Cash Tilton to pull it off,
with very few loose ends. At
certain points they could use
a little more fire, but these
two show undeniable proof of
talent. Tilton as Guildenstern
(or was it Rosencrantz?) most-
ly plays a straight man to
dummy Crites, but this is no set
comic duo — they react, banter
and play with each other's
heads, and with the minds in
the audience, to exhaustion
They're both remarkable.
The most exciting perform-
ance is Steve Garfinkel's "out-
of-time, out-of-mind" Ham-
let Garfinkel's masterful, out-
rageously superb portrayal is
evidence that Hamlet is still
the star Shakespeare made
him. The play's biggest sur-
prise is an Ophelia who is on
stage less than three minutes;
it would take more than words
to explain how Sandi Covey
gave such an electrifying per-
formance in so short a time.
Veteran Tony Rider returns
to the stage after a too lengthy
absence as the player, a fitting
role for a multi-talented thes-
pian. His troupe of tragedians
—tired, dusty harlequins—are
all delightful. Carolyn Dahl is
the vamp feature of the play;
her lowered lids and sensually
haughty demeanor indicates
that Queen Gertrude definitely
played around. Robert Roulston
is a domineering King; Larry
Moss the wise dummy Polon-
ius. Costumes are excellent;
make-up, especially on the trag-
edians, is even better.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Are Dead will run tonight
through Saturday is Wiess
Commons.
Joe Crites and Cash Tilton as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, or vice versa.
* * CAPSULES * *
DANGLO
Uriah Heep will play Hof-
heinz this Saturday — their
31st stop in a whirlwind 32-
concert American tour which
ends Sunday in New Orleans.
Named for the Dickensian vil-
lain; the band is formed from
parts of the Stalkers, Spice,
Kenny and His Cousins, The
Jimmie Brown Sound, The
Gods, The National Head Band
and Cliff Bennetts Toe Fat (no
kidding). Once Ken Hensley
(keyboards), David Byron (lead
singer) and Mick Box (lead
guitar) got together, they had
a hard time finding a good
rhythm section; after three al-
bums, Gary Thain took bass
and Lee Kerslake took drums
for Demons and Wizards and
The Magician's Birthday, very
popular records here and
abroad . . .
On October 15 the Grateful
Dead will appear in Fort
Worth, but they don't plan to
come any closer; the New
Riders of the Purple Sage will
show on November 1 in Hous-
ton, and Edgar Winter ("Frank-
NEW ABBEY INNS
-Remodeled-
1810 Fountainview
5924 Gulfton
Now Serving Mixed Drinks
With Live Entertainment On Weekends
Dancing Now At Both Abbeys
Single Ladies Drinks 50c All Day Every Day
Regular Drinks 85c
Also, We Feature Our Famous
Half-Pound Abbey Burger
Bring Your Football Stubs For A Free Drink
enstein", "Free Ride") will play
Houston on November 14 . . .
Uriah Heep will be at Hofheinz
next Saturday, October 6, with
John Denver and Three Dog
Night (Coliseum) following on
consecutive Saturdays. Plans
for the Moody Blues concert
(November 4 in the Coliseum)
include possible distribution, of
block tickets (and possibly a
discount) here at Rice . . .
The truly big shows to look
for and be at are the October
7 Bette Midler and the October
11 Liza Minelli concerts at Hof-
heinz Pavilion. These two super-
star ladies display more talent
in a finger twitch than most
performers do all tour . . .
The Montrose Fall Block
Party last Sunday attracted
several hundred people to the
Welch-Willard-Converse area,
where Country Joe McDonald
played on an outdoor stage,
courtesy of Liberty Hall. Ru-
mors have it that Shawn Phil-
lips was there . . . speaking of
Liberty Hall, they are closed
this weekend, but will reopen
next Thursday, October 11, with
Michael Murphy. Linda Lewis
will play there the following
weekend . . .
* * *
The American Film Theater
has announced a major discount
for students and faculty of
Rice University. Their eight-
film series — eight filmed ver-
sions of classic plays with in-
ternational stars, in a monthly
series that will run through
May — will open on October
29; matinee subscriptions are
regularly $'24, evenings $30.
Rice people can get a matinee
subscription (matinees start at
2pm, Mondays and Tuesdays
only) for only $16. Purchasers
must agree on the day and
theater — the Meyerland Cine-
ma is the closest show location
— because it's a group rate.
Each film will be shown only
(Continued on page 6)
the rice thresher, october 4, 1973—page 4
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Jackson, Steve. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 61, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 4, 1973, newspaper, October 4, 1973; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245172/m1/4/: accessed June 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.