The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 28, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 26, 1985 Page: 3 of 12
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WRESHER FINE/IRTS
Lovett College's Bus Stop mixes right blend of comedy, drama
Bus Stop
Directed by Steve Bend
Lovett Theatre produced their
spring production this past
weekend. Bus Stop, by William
Inge. Directed bv Steve Bend, the
play is a "romantic comedy"
revolving around an unlikely
group of people that are thrown
together for the evening when the
bus in which they were travelling is
snowed in at a small-town diner
called Grace's. Written in the late
1940's, the play typifies the
beginning of the American
dramatic movement with its
realistic characters and unheroic
situations.
The play centers on Grace's
diner, where one meets the owner
of the diner, Grace (Brenda
Manry), and her bright but
extremely naive and curious
assistant Elma (Peggy McCue).
The characterizations of Grace
and Elma provide an interesting
contrast. Grace, a single woman
who was abandoned by her
husband, provides the typical
personality of the older, more
experienced maternal figure who
views the world with a cynicism
brought on by many years of life.
The properly pert and energetic
Elma possesses the idealistic-
nature of the young girl who looks
forward to life as a continuously
unfolding mystery.
it
r
Sheriff Will prepares to beat some
Both Miss Manry and Miss
McCue did admirable jobs with
their character development,
though at times Grace's character
could perhaps have possessed
some greater depth and
individuality beyond that which
was self-evident from her lines.
Miss McCue was a delight to
watch as Elma. and some
particularly nice moments in the
play were scenes between hersell
and Dr. Lyman.
The last of the regulars to
Grace's diner are Will (Chris
Hoffman) and Carl (David
McClain). Will is the local sheriff
who attempts to incorporate all of
the traditional ideals of the
gentleman while still being a real
sense into Bo. —E. Salituro
person. Carl is the bus driver who
comes through twice a week on his
normal rounds.
Mr. Hoffman presented a nice
overall picture of strength
combined with gentleness,
providing, in certain scenes, a nice
balance and stability to a cast of
diverse personalities. Mr. McClain
was a rather normal character who
did nothing wrong with his part,
nor did he do anything
remarkable. Admittedly, the part
was a small one, but at times I felt
he could have given more to it as
far as creating a less predictable
personality.
The remaining characters are
the diverse crowd who are the
passengers on the snowbound bus.
Dr. Lyman (John Thomas), Cherie
(Andrea Martin), Virgil (Scott
Macdonald) and Bo (Brannan
Smoot) compose this unlikely
grouping of personalities.
Cherie is a small-time nightclub
singer who has been carried off by
Bo, a rodeo cowboy, to become his
wife in Montana. Miss Martin's
portrayal of the girl who has spent
her lite searching for that one
knight in shining armor, yet
discovering only ordinary men. is
an intricate one. The personality of
such a character is a difficult one to
portray and Miss Martin did an
excellent job. Particularly nice was
her scene where she tells of her
childhood.
Bo and Virgil are two cowboys
returning home to their ranch in
Montana. As with the characters
of Elma and Grace, the characters
of these two provide a contrasting
view of the world. Bo is a rough
outspoken young man who is used
to getting his way in the world (i.e.,
the abduction of Cherie). Virgil is a
quiet, experienced, older man who
has travelled most of his life from
one unfulfilling experience to
another, always searching for
something but never quite sure
where or how to find it.
Both actors were enjoyable
performers but of the two, Virgil's
performance stands out in my
mind as the more memorable. Mr.
Macdonald provided an excellent
example of how a part can be
expanded and deepened to pro\ ide
a performance that while true to
the script is unique to the
performer.
The last of the performers was.
in my opinion, by far the best.
John Thomas, in his portrayal of
Dr. Lyman, gave a captivating
performance that caught and held
both the audience's hearts and
minds. Dr. Lyman is a thrice
married, thrice divorced Doctor of
Philosophy who has fallen into u
deep depression because he has
lost all sense of meaning in his lite.
Mr. Thomasdid an excellent job of
portraying this sense of
hopelessness while still
maintaining a sense of satirical wit
that kept the part alive and
entertaining. Particularly nice was
the scene between Lyman and
Elma involving the balcony scene
from Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare might have rolled in
his grave but the audience was
thoroughly entertained.
Overall. Bus Stop was a relaxing
play that combined just the right
mixture of drama and comedy to
provide a light, entertaining
evening. Steve Bend incorporated
a wise selection of sets, lighting and
actors to produce a satisfying
effect that was well received by the
Rice community.
— James Laura
Shepherd Symphony Orchestra gives best concert of 84-85
Shepherd Symphony
February 18
They Shepherd School Sym-
phony Orchestra sounded the best
it has yet in the 1984-85 season
during the concert held in
Hamman Hall Monday, February
18. Robert Fitzpatrick.
coordinator of Orchestral
Activities and Dean of Students at
the Curtis Institute of Music,
conducted the performance.
The program, described by Mr.
Fitzpatrick as one of nostalgia,
consisted of the overture to The
Magic Flute by Mozart, "George
Washington's Birthday," a
movement from "A Symphony:
Holidays" composed by Charles
Ives, and the Symphony No. 9 in E
Minor, "From the New World,"by
Dvorak.
Mr. Fitzpatrick related to the
audience that although "the New-
World'' was written by Dvorak
while he resided in the United
States, the feeling and themes
within the piece are inspired by the
composer's nostalgia for his
homeland of Czechoslovakia.
"George Washington's Birthday"
relates Ives' memories of bleak
New England Februarys (difficult
to comprehend in Houston) and
the waiting for spring, but making
the best of life anyway.
Disorganization at the
beginning of the concert was
troubling. Programs did not arrive
until a little past eight and were
passed through the auditorium by
the ushers. When the program
began the house lights were not
lowered; the entire overture was
performed with the house lights
up. This disturbed some members
of the audience and probably
distracted a few orchestra
members. The microphone
amplifying the jews harp solo in
"George Washington's Birthday"
produced feedback in the middle
of the work, with giggles from the
audience ensuing. The situation as
it was seemed unfair, especially
since a guest conductor controlled
the podium. The first half of the
program, through no fault of the
performers, was marred through
the beginning disorder.
The overture to The Magic Flute
was given an energetic
performance. The strings
exhibited strength, precision and
careful preparation for the
concert. The wind players seemed
almost to attempt to undermine
the precision of the strings with a
few sloppy entrances, but the
strings continued energetically
despite the winds.
"George' Washington's
Birthday" wonderfully depicts
feelings produced by a bleak, frigid
environment. A picture is painted
of snow-covered trees swaying in
the wind, icicles growing off the
roofs of homes and people running
around with padding form head to
toe. Within the piece is a
marvelous section in which the young
people have a dance. More than
one dance goes on at once, with
fiddlers, small bands and a whole
slew of jews harpists (represented
in the performance by one jews
harp amplified).
After the piece was played
through once, Mr. Fitzpatrick
related an explanation of the work.
The explanation was welcomed,
but it would have been more
appropriate to hear the
explanation before hearing the
work. After this explanation the
orchestra proceeded to perform
the work again. This action,
although understandably an
attempt to edify the audience.
caused at least two audience
members to take an early
intermission. One performance
was ample, but the second did go
more smoothly.
Symphony No. 9. "From the
New World." was the highlight of
the evening's performance and
made up for all the snafus of the
first half. The audience enjoyed the
work on general musical priciples;
the orchestra played with energy,
tylany opportunities for solo
work in the wind section exist in
this work. Most notable was Pam
Ben's English-horn solos.
Tympanist Dan Spinelli did a
marvelous, sympathetic job; the
tympany was a part of it all. but
one really couldn't notice because
it wove into the fabric of the
* work so well.
All in all, some excellent
performing took place Monday
night. The new rehearsal-recital
hall in Bonner f ab improves the
quality of rehearsals for the
orchestra, improving perform-
ances as well. Now all the
Shepherd School needs is a nev,
performance hall. Just imagine
how grand that would be.
Maribeth Clark
Quartet delivers an energetic concert
The Ridge String Quartet
February 21
The Ridge String Quartet
performed a charmingly melodic
selection of pieces in their
Thursday evening concert
sponsored by the Houston Friends
of Music and the Shepherd School
of Music.
Their static instruments came
alive with Mozart's familiar String
Quartet in D Major (K. 575), as
musician and instrument became
one, evoking in their union the
spirit of the composer to beautiful
effect. Though interrupted after
the first movement by the rudeness
of latecomers, they resumed with
the deeper tones of the cello and
viola in the Andante.
Interaction between the two
instruments, as interpreted by
Ramon Bolipata and Ah Ling
Neu. proved a high point of the
piece, entrancing the audience with
the richness of their sound. Violin
and cello interchanges, colored by
Krista Bennion's virtuosity on the
violin, drove the piece to a
breathtaking climax and well
calculated close.
Violinist Robert Rinehart
introduced the second work,
Bach's From the Art of the Fugue,
which, he explained, was never
finished. Instruments entered
singly, in melancholia, building
their low tones to the abrupt stop,
pausing momentarily that the
audience might feel the tragedy of
incomplete genius and resumed
with a chorale inserted by the
original editors.
Stunning, the impact was
tremendous, the execution
flawless.
Hugo Wolf's Italian Serenade in
G Major followed the inter-
mission. Not as tight as before, the
Quartet nevertheless communicat-
ed the delightful energy of this light
piece, whose airy brevity served an
excellent lead-in to their finale.
The evening's performance
culminated with Haydn's String
Quartet in E-Flat Major (Op. 33,
No. 2. "Joke"), whose intricate
details develop the beauty of the
opening theme. Initial light-
hearted spirit is transformed in the
Largo to broadly moving
mellower feelings of peacefulness.
The Finale-Presto then brings
the piece and the performance to
their finishes on a characterist-
ically energetic note.
The Ridge String Quartet
is the first prize winner of both the
1982 Fischoff and Coleman
Chamber Music Competitions,
among other accolades.
— Karen A. Nickel
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The Rice Thresher, February 26, 1985, page 3
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Havlak, Paul. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 28, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 26, 1985, newspaper, February 26, 1985; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245590/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.