THE ROTUNDA VOL. LV
LONGWOOD COLLEGE, FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1980
NO. 17
Carousel Termed Cautious Success ByDUDLEYSAUVE Seeing a production of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is like greeting an old friend you haven't seen for a few years. After a joyful reunion you begin to make mental notes on how that friend has changed. In the case of the production of CAROUSEL, a cooperative venture of the Ixmgwood Players, the Department of Music, and the Department of Speech and Dramatic Arts, this reviewer had three hours for those mental notes. A blue editing pencil would have helped the show tremendously. Even the Rodgers and Hammerstein Library which controls the production rights includes a clause in its contract stating that the show can be cut to help the production move smoothly. It would have been wise to follow this suggestion. The integration of story and character into music and dance to advance the plot was a
Rodgers and Hammerstein innovation. Indeed, the director's notes on the program inform the audience of this fact. For the most part the elimination of the dancing would have advanced the plot (and, incidentally, materially cut down the running time) in this production. The dancing children were cute, the dancing men didn't delay the show because they danced during the song, but the opening pantomime, Louise's ballet on the beach, and the girls' dance interlude in "June Is Bustin' Out All Over" seemed interminable. A musical is designed so that major set changes can take place behind a closed curtain while another scene takes place in front. Several close curtainchange set-open curtain delays added to the length of the show. There are, however, several moments of sheer beauty in CAROUSEL. Every time Mary Breeden began to sing, the
Fall 1980 Tentative Housing Plan The following tentative fall housing plan has been developed by considering predicted housing needs as well as input from Residence Board, students, resident staff, and administrative personnel. Please feel free to direct comments, suggestions, or questions regarding this plan to the Housing Office by February 29, 1980. North Cunningham — freshman men Tabb — freshman women Curry (7 and 8) — freshman women Cox — open to all men Main Cunningham — open to all men Frazer 2, 3, 4 — open to all men where fraternities are not housed Wheeler — open to all women Curry 2, 6, 9 & 10 - open to all women South Cunningham — open to all women Frazer 5-10 — open to all women French — open to all women (Note: French Hall may undergo major renovation effective January, 1981) Stubbs — will house all sororities Notes: 1. Rooms and suites will be assigned during room selection only if filled to capacity. 2. No single rooms will be available with the exception of the three single rooms in South Cunningham. 3. All regular triple rooms will be clearly designated for upperclass sign-up. Students who wish to voluntarily triple-up in a regular double room may do so by special request to the Director of Housing. 4. Conversion of double-occupancy rooms to triple occupancy will include all Curry and Frazer triples (not occupied by staff members) and French 205 and 206. 5. Homesteading will be allowed by roommates in all undesignated, upperclass residence hall rooms. 6. Sororities and fraternities will provide the Director of Housing with lists of members and suggested room assignments. Members who cannot be housed will need to go through the regular housing process. 7. The Stubbs Hall ground floor rooms not currently assigned to the sororities will not be reserved for freshman women. 8. Should tripling become necessary, freshmen will be assigned with other freshmen whenever possible and any upperclassman affected by an over-assignment will be notified as quickly as possible. 9. The following areas may not be homesteaded: North Cunningham, Tabb, Stubbs — ground floor, designated RA rooms, designated handicapped rooms, fraternity and sorority spaces, Curry (7 and 8) and South Ruffner.
audience was thrilled. The clarity of tone, the accuracy of pitch, the emotion in her words were a joy to hear. Local audiences, familiar with Mrs. Breeden's roles in SHENANDOAH and CAMELOT, were not disappointed in her Julie Jordan. The part is made for her, and even in comparison to the original Julie, Jan Clayton, Mary comes off on top. From the opening notes of "If I Loved You" she felt no doubt that she was in command of the role. Rebecca Nunez's "Carrie" was a good foil for Julie's serious ness. Her voice is beautiful and her comedy deft. I feel that she played the part too old—or perhaps it was her costume and make-up. Billy Bigelow, played by J. Douglas Blevins, is the anti-hero of the show. His -singing is nice. His acting needs improvement. He wasn't totally believable as the rough, self-centered, ladykilling Billy. How does he "throw away my sweater and dress like a dude" when he's already dressed like a dude. "Soliloquy" was a disappointment. Robert Webber was appropriately prim and proper as Enoch Snow. His comic interpretation of "Geraniums In the Winder" was fun. The orchestra, under the direction of Louard E. Egbert, was a beautiful compliment to the show. It's a thrill to hear good music performed well, and this was. If the main curtain had been open, we could have heard the overture and entre-acte better, but sacrificing the pit brought the actors closer to the audience.
Carrie played by Rebecca Nunez sings of the Wonderful Mr. Snow as Julie played by Mary Breeden listens in Longwood Players Production of Carsousel. phot0 by Jacklt 5tw CAROUSEL is full of singable and memorable songs: "If I Loved You," "I'm Going to Marry Mr. Snow," "June is Bustin' Out All Over", "This Was A Real Nice Clambake," and of course the hauntingly beautiful "You'll Never Walk Alone." The latter song, used as the finale to the show, brought tears to the eyes of many sitting around me. All in all. CAROUSEL was an enjoyable, if long, evening. It was entertaining and a classic in the repetoire of musical comedy. If
you've never seen it, you owe it to yourself to see it. If you have seen it, comparisons will be inevitable. Perhaps comparing a college production to any other production is unfair. If the purpose of educational theater is to provide students with the literature of the theater and to provide a vehicle for students to get experience and to learn, then CAROUSEL was a good choice and served its purpose. And it was a cautious success.
Student Government Day Set By ROXANNE SLAUGHTER Would you like to have a voice in issues and express your opinions? Here is your chance, Student Government Day! Legislative Board is the sponsor of Student Government Day which has been planned for March 4. The day is organized so students may get together with faculty and administration. A student is assigned to a faculty or administration member with whom he or she can spend the day, attend lunch or the Banquet that evening, talk with for any given length of time about concerns, Student Government, or the Faculty, Administration member's job. A student may also elect to attend class with the faculty member, take your assigned person with you to your class, or to the Press Conference. The list of main events for this year's Student Government Day is lunch at 12:05, a Press Conference in I-ower Dining Hal! at 12:45, a mock trial-time to be announced, and a banquet in the
Virginia Room at 6 p.m. The banquet in the Virginia Room will have entertainment by Charlie Mason and Dale Roller. This year's guest speaker will be Dr. Anthony Cristo of the Business and Economics Department. Dr. Cristo's topic of discussion is not known at the time. Also, the Board of Visitors have been invited to the Banquet so this will provide an opportunity for students to talk with them. On March 6 and 7 the Board of Visitors will be meeting again. Students are urged to sit in on their meetings. The Board has stressed in the past the lack of communication between the students and Board members. Mary Slade and Julia Combs, co-chairpersons of Student Government Day, said, "Preparation first began with over 250 letters being mailed to all administration and faculty members. They were given approximately two weeks to respond. Out of these 250, only 30 some teachers responded at all.
This is a very small percentage and we were quite disappointed." They are really pushing for students participation because it has been felt that in the past many students did not turn out, so therefore the faculty and administration have lost interest. Flyers have been placed all over campus and sign up sheets were placed in the New Smoker for students. Julia Combs stated that administration and faculty members could still sign up for lunch or the banquet, by contacting her at Box 831 or Mary Slade, Box 204. Further information on SGA Day will be in the Daily Bulletin. It has been stated that in the past the main problem was getting the students to get in touch with his or her assigned person before SGA. Day. Students must contact the person prior to March 4 to set up an agenda for the day. So go out, get things set up with your person and spend the day trying to improve things here at your school, Longwood College!