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Show theatre Play Proves Successful Poor Richard. His poise is perfect, his acting convincing, and his understanding un-derstanding of audience response retary, also acts well, though she is slightly more wooden, slightly less convincing in the climaxes. Vaughn McBride, Michael Evans, and Beverly Rowland present their characters with skill, though Evans is a bit rigid and Vaughn McBride needs more conviction in his lines as the rejected lover. A special plaudit for Robert Hyde Wilson and his staff, particularly Richard Lokken, settings and lights manager, man-ager, for a beautiful and appropriate appro-priate stage set and lighting. With plays like this, the Summer Season ought to be an all-around success! and dramatic irony competent. Joan Payne, the1 leading-lady sec- by M. B. Saffle Jean Kerr's "Poor Richard", a sophisticated modern comedy, proved a successful opener last Thursday evening, June 30, to the Pioneer Memorial Theater's Summer Sum-mer Season. A bittersweet, brilliant play, "Poor Richard" tells the story of Richard Ford, a witty, whimsical poet depressed by the recent death of his young wife. In a Greenwich Village apartment, Ford meets Catherine Shaw, the determined secretary and fiance of a publishing publish-ing house editor, Sydney Carroll. After a brief and laugh-filled romance, ro-mance, she breaks her engagement in favor of Poor Richard, and the couple live happily and humorously humorous-ly ever after. Richard Erdman plays the poet, Ford, Joan Payne the secretary, and Vaugh McBride the saddened editor. Michael Evans, as a reporter for Time Magazine, and Beverly Rowland, as a relative of Poor Richard, play supporting roles. Jean Kerr, a leading Broadway playwright and a subtle, scintillating scintillat-ing wit, is more than a match for bored audiences, and her "Poor Richard" is satisfying and polished, a delicious drama. The characters, simple but satisfying, are aptly drawn, and scene after scene is filled with witty dialogue, breezy and bright, but carefully constructed. construct-ed. One wonders if the hero doesn't have a few too many, too funny, punchlines, but the general quality carries the situation. Richard Erdman presents an accurate ac-curate and able performance as |