OCR Text |
Show SCRUTINY' Comments on the Arts : ; I by Zj Ed Ditterline V 'Front Page' opens with no typos j " X f ,J - ' .:r -.5:, sbr y Jim Kriley, Marilyn Holt and Jolin Tobinski (L to duction of tlie new University of Utah Pioneer R) in "Front Page," currently playing at Pioneer Theatre Company. "Front Page" is the story of the Memorial Theatre. "Front Page" is the first pro- newspaper coverage of a murder trial. BY ED DITTERLINE ENTERTAINMENT WRITER If you've ever picked up a newspaper just as it has come off the press and you rub your fingers over the printing, undoubtedly un-doubtedly some of the fresh ink will rub off on you. And if you look at the front page and read through it, knowing that there isn't a typographical error anywhere any-where in the copy ... it looks just GREAT! "The Front Page" I'm talking about came fresh off the press last night at Pioneer Memorial Theatre and there wasn't a single typographical error anywhere in sight . and the audiences loved the entire issue as the pages were turned before them. "The Front Page," by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur enjoyed thunderously responsive opening night. The professionalism professional-ism evidenced by the Pioneer Theatre Company was a grand way to start off a new season. Inscrutible Editor The play starred Leon Ames as the inscrutible Walter Burns, editor of the Chicago Herald Examiner. Ex-aminer. Ames, a veteran of 75 movies and numerous television series, added a delightful scruffy scruf-fy character to the cast whose "promise 'em anything" policy of running a newspaper paid off in the end. Burns' huffy superior super-ior attitude, hasty and often un-thoughtful un-thoughtful actions toward others helped to make the evening a delight. The Pioneer Players each deserve de-serve a separate ovation to attest at-test to their quality performances, perform-ances, but the outstanding efforts of Stephen Coleman as Hildy Johnson, Dr. H.E.D. Redford as "Pinky" Hartman, Elaine Vet-terli Vet-terli as Mrs. Grant and Charlotte Pomeroy as Mollie Malloy deserve de-serve accolades of greater substance sub-stance than just applause. Stephen Coleman worked! There is no other way to put it. He had a long and difficult part with difficult-to-sustain dialogue dia-logue and he carried off the entire en-tire three acts beautifully. Dr. Redford must have found "Pinky," the dippy dumb sheriff sher-iff as entrancing as the audience did because he relished every line. Who else but Dr. Redford (as Pinky) could get away with hiring 400 deputies to find a murder, only to have them end up as midwives in a police car? Who else could tell an audience (a full house by the way) that it was HIS gun that was used to kill the doctor, and that he GAVE it to the murderer. How could anyone still keep a straight face through the melee? Elaine Vetterli really hung it on this time! She was definitely great. There could never be a lumpier gumpier granny whose craning neck seemed almost always al-ways on the verge of being chopped of. Elaine gave a magnificent mag-nificent finesse to the character of the harried Mrs. Grant and that sagging brown knit suit still makes me chuckle when I think about it. Finally, Charlotte Pomeroy's role wasn't quite as enjoyable for the audience as the other ones I've talked about, but its intensity and demands were definitely def-initely just as great. As a Chicago Chi-cago prostitute, (or tart as the authors of the play call her), Molly had an unhappy affiliation with Earl Williams, the murderer, murder-er, and Charlotte managed to carry out a leap out from the window which was so damn real people screamed. Charlotte's diversity di-versity is becoming greater all the time. Just compare her role in "The Front Page" with her character in David Krane's "I'm Nobody' last year. Stage Wizardry Dr. Keith Engar, Artistic Director Di-rector of the Pioneer Theatre and Director of "The Front Page' Company should also be congratulated for his wizardry in stage movement. With much of the fast action of the play in volving the entire cast, often in a herd, or combined or even completely separate in their movement, I felt that much of the success of the opening night was because of the exacting movements which Dr. Engar added to the play. The Pioneer Memorial Theatre Thea-tre has a magnificent season planned for the year ahead with its two separate seasons, the Heritage and the Broadway, both containing outstanding plays. "The Front Page" will run nightly October 2-11 with curtain time at 8 p.m., rather than at a later time as an advertisement advertise-ment in the Chronicle y V S jf. - - Ballerina Toni Lander, who is sturdier than most American Ballerinas, illustrates the contrast between European and American Ballerinas. |