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Thursday, April 8, 1976
5
'Sellers' tvpifies classical farce
Entertainment Co-Editor
By EVIE RAPPORT
The most interesting thing about the two short plays billed as "Colonel Sellers: An Entertainment," playing through Saturday in the Inge Memorial Theatre, is how unexpectedly enjoyable classical mid-19th century farces are.
The most unexpected thing is how painful bad barry Twain's and William Dalton's fights were.
According to George Weiss, director of the revival pieces, the original "Colonel Carter" was more than two hours long. He cut it down to about 20 minutes and it's still a boring and uninformed piece.
The play was written around a minor character in Twain's and Charles Dudley's novels. It was the story of Colonel Mubbery Sellers is one of those engaging eccentrics that will, at least momentarily, solve his problems and make him a millionaire.
AFTER YEARS of dragging his family around the country to escape bill collectors, he settles in Washington where he hopes to win support for his newest scheme—materialization, a process to restore life to the bodies of people long dead.
Sellers promotes it as a way to save money. Use the materialized corps, he
says, to man the police forces and sit in Congress, saving the taxpayers in thousands.
This germ of an amusing political satire is quickly dropped, however, in favor of a
review
Despite some funny lines and the attempts of the cast to breathe life into it, the play just doesn't move. It has no energy or invention, it plods through expected plot twists, and it displays none of the puckish humor expected from Mank Twain.
story of bebeledger young lovers that
would have known it would from the first mention of it.
IT'S WORTH waiting for the end of this piece, however, to hear the delightful story of Joey Gouffre, who joys by Joy Guffre, who plays the ingenuie in "Colonel Sellers." It's one of those slightly naughty 19th-century songs, full of double meanings and forbidden hints, and she is all the way down.
Then Mark Twin himself, portrayed by Cliff Rackerd with a mistwife in Irish browne.
Indeed they have, and just how well is made clear after intermission when the curtain squeaks its way up on the second short play, an 1846 farce by John Maddison (who was also a famous another funny period song, "Nobody Coming to Marry Me," rendered with feeling and pathos by Tamarra Zook, the audience is plunged into another tale of lovers and their problems--this time caused by aging martinet who worships the duello.
presents a curtain speech, saying, "This play was intended for instruction rather than amusement. I think we have succeeded."
Century-old entertainment headlines Inge presentation
Entertainment from the 1870's will be presented in two plays at 8 tonight through Saturday night in the Inge Memorial Theatre.
BOTH THE martiniest his sister and niece are in love and wish to marry. But, when he learns that one of the prospective husbands was insulted and didn't challenge the offspring, he goes on to offer another young man is president of an antidivision society, he throws the cowards out.
The plays opened last night.
"Colonel Sellers" is a character study of one of Mark Twain's characters. George Weiss, director, said he made the adaptation "a realization of the dressed Age," because he like the character.
Nonstudent tickets for the two plays, "Colonel Sellers: An Entertainment," are on sale at the Murphy Hall box office. All student tickets have been sold.
"I liked the character's optimism and attempts to make money," he said.
He creates one practical invention but considers it too simple to bother with.
The lovers are ultimately reunited and all ends well, of course—this was the 19th century, remember. The dash and vigor of the play, however, overcomes the latent syrup of the plot. The actors play to the hilt the well-drawn characters Morton gave and there's lots of stumping, shouting, hiding and chasing to enliven the plot.
warmer and a vacuum cleaner that blows out instead of sucking in.
Sellers is an unsuccessful inventor. Two of his inventions are a battery-powered foot
Weiss said "Colonel Sellers" was a good example of the American businessman obsessed with making money and with the 1870's corruption in government.
“An Entertainment” is a recreation of the movie, which won the 1980s Liberty Hall hallever a hundred years ago.
The set was designed in imitation of treas-
ter costumes. The hall theater to use on stand
75 ft and 70 ft.
It consists of a couple of old-time songs and "a surprise for the audience," Kevin Keating, Great Bend junior, said. Keating is an actor in both productions.
Stan Haehle, the quavering but determined Slasher in the second piece, is paranoid. He turns to his pimpily collapse instantly into abject terror or bride into enraged dignity.
The small cast performs these interesting bits of forgotten theatrical history well, using the down-front, straight-forward method of performance of the period, yet still managing to get the most out of what's available.
ART SLOAN, as the dim and gullible Hawkins in the first piece and the blustering Major Blowhard in the second, uses his pop-up glasses to create a whimsical right just the note of over-done histrionics.
Carl Packard, as Colonel Sellers and as Christopher Craster; Virginia Help, as Captain Jude; and thankless women's roles; and Kevin Keating, as the young leader man in the first piece and a coarse military man in the second, give admirable performances of his own.
It's unusual to see this style of acting, and it's well worth an evening to take it in, if for no other reason than to see what audiences laughed at 100 years ago.
--for Week of the Young Child
Be a Montessori Teacher
Attend Program at the Lawrence Public Library, Thurs., April 8, 7:30 p.m.
Presented bu
The Montessori Plus Teacher Preparation Center and Sunshine Acres Montessori Preschool & Private Kindergarten
This program and demonstration for teachers and parents will also count as orientation for the 1976 summer school Montessori Teacher Preparation & Certificate Course, June 7- July 30. You need not be a college graduate to take this course and earn a Montessori Teacher Certificate. You may do the required nine month internship of student teaching (half days) during the 1976-77 school year in Topeka or at Sunshine Acres in Lawrence as you might work part-time or go to school pair-time. Six interns selected by Sunshine Acres will receive partial course tuition scholarships as well as a scholarship-stipend toward their tuition and practice teaching expenses.
THE ELDRIDGE HOUSE CLUB AND DINING ROOM
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For a good meal,new flavors,and superb service-try the Eldridge House on Sundays.
- See tomorrow's ad for our new menu.
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