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Show "ri I C f ! DESERET TnffJHrfSS JLNJ U TV Log Dear Abby Comics 2, 974 FEBRUARY h--J V Theater Dining Out Arts I Fun, farcical 1 k masquerade uncovered in 'Fledermaus' By Harold Lundstrom Deseret News music editor ; Johann Strausss first opera. "Die lustiger Weiber von ttien." came to nothing; his second opera, Der Kameval was a mild success. But it was with the third, "Die Fledermaus, that Strauss played his ace The complete distillation of gaiety and joie de nvre that the composer put into Die Fledermaus has never been equaled. It is the masterpiece that the Utah Chic Opera is presenting m Kingsbury Hall next week, February nightly at 8 p.m. Ardean W.- -s is serving as artistic director and conductor of the opera Joining with him are Michael Pollock, distinguished guest stage director; Mattlyii Gavers, choreography; William Barber, scenery, and Keith Gibbons, costume design. in Rom, Daniel Sul- The leading soprano role of Rosalnide is being sung, on alternate nights, by Jewell Cutler and JoAnne Ottley. The othpr rntoi; are heing ung or performed in some characterizations by Daniel Sullivan as Gabriel von Eisenstein; Mary Bidder as Adele; Marvin Sorenson as Falke; Prince Orlofsky by Ben Lokey; Alfred by Steve Covington; Warden Frank by Bill Call; Dr. Blind, Noel Twitchell; Sally (Rosalindes sister), Jili Lesser; and Frosch, a jailer, by Stan Russon. The plot of Die Fledermaus is, of course, not perfectly constructed, in that Falkes revenge is too deAlfreds arrest as Eisenstein, pendent on mere chance Rosalindes attendance at the ball, Adeles abilbut the net result is a senes of situations, each ity to go of which contains enough dramatic irony to make it extremely amusing. when he firpt had the Strauss inspiration was great libretto, he took fire. And, virtually cutting himself off from the world, he completed the entire score in 43 days a score of which nearly every bar is memorable and stamped with his own personality. livan and Jewel Cutler enjoy roles in farcical Opera Die Fledermaus last-minu- presented by Utah Opera Company. T Stan, Allien Russon return Entertaining stage couple By Howard Pearson Deseret News theater editor entertainUtahs popular ment show is back in business. The members are Mr. and Mrs. Stan Russon. Shes known all over by her first name, Allien. They have just returned from six months in Europe, where she taught and school, Stan played paddle ball loafed around and together they saw the theater and sometimes put on their own shows. This week, they presented their first concert since their return at the Utah Technical College at Salt Lake, which is located in Taylorsville. The reception made us feel we were really home again, snd Stan, who noted they-wil- l be doing many other shows. two-perso- n building enters Smithsonian City-Coun-ty Sszanne Dean Deseret News staff writer Isabel Jarvis usually spent about a month working in her Evanston, 111. hotel room to complete one of her courthouse designs. But she spent six weeks sketching the Salt Lake City and County Building. Miss Jams, who is proud to be known as Americas courthouse artist, was pleased with the result. Her freehand ink sketch is, as she puts it, a perfectly exquisite little design." In fact, before she gave the Smithsonian institute her courthouse collection spanning more than 200 years of Americas architectural and she made a specultural history cial copy of the Salt Lake City sketch and sent it to City Historian Newell Knight. Miss Jarvis knows courthouses. Until she retired (shes now in her 80s) last summer, she had been traveling to county seats with her sketch V better than most Salt Lakers that the Building is a stupendous structure. The building was designed in the 1890s by a Denver firm, Proudfoot, Bird and Monbeim. But they, like many architects of the day, copied the Richardsonian Romanesque style originated by Henry Hobson Richardson, one of Americas greatest architects. City-Coun- ty Richardson sought to capture the boldmonasticism and fortress-lik- e ness of 12th century European architecture. He perched huge arched eutryways on groups of pillars. In a day of rickety construction, he insisted on stone walls. The style seemed appropriate for an era of industrial barons and political spoilsmen. Aside from its architectural significance, the City County Building is something of a construction marvel Because the ground in Washington Square is all sand (and, in some places quicksand) the building had to See DESIGNED on page Y D-- f Among their performances will be one on behalf of Salt Lake groups collecting theater documents and artifacts at the University of Utah. The event is scheduled Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ui the Mamott Library Auditorium at the University. It is being sponsored by Friends of the University and Friends of Ms.Tiott Library and those attending will be invited to the display of theater memorabilia being collected. Dr. Ralph E. Margetts of the Theater Department and curator of Utah Theater, will emcee the show. The public is invited. Admission is free, according to Theron Pamlee and Beth Oyler who head the two groups. Even before they left for Europe, Stan had committed himself to a theatrical show on his return. He plays a drunken jailer in Die Fledermaus, beginning Feb. 6 at Kingsbury Hall. Stan does drunken roles excellently. Asked how come, since he is a tetotaller, he said, You dont have to be a killer to play one on the stage. Regarding the Fledermaus production, he said: It scares m plumb to death. They put these operas together entirely different from the way we do plays. They just sit down and discuss the role. shows Then we fumed to two-perso- n y,a- - he and Allien have been presenting throughout the state for 30 years. We keep a repertoire of 20 or 30 shows, Stan said. We cut them to an hour or 90 minutes at the most. We concentrate on comedy because we find that drama doesnt go over in situations like ours. We find Neil Simons comedies the most popular, and the favorite shows are Never Too Late, Four Poster, Moon Is Blue, Two for the See-Saand Anniversary Waltz Stan naturally takes the male roles and play the feminine ones, Alben broke in. We do as many as four characters each. We use no costumes; we try to effect changes with our voice and body movement only. That they are effective in delineating the different characters is shown in the fact they receive loud applause after each performa.ice. While Allien has been teaching and writing books, Stan has been playing on stages and working in the jewelry business and in education. His playing has consisted of performances in nearly 200 plays and musicals over the years, most of the times as a comic although I have strayed to drama on occasion, he notes. Now hell have more time than ever to devote to show work. He has retired from both the jewelry business and he is not serving on any educational boards. Im going to try out for all the roles at the University Theater and Lagoon, he said. Those for which Im suited, of course. I can Allien, meanwhile continues teaching in the Master Business Program, which took the Russons to Europe, where she teught claseses at Mildennaull Air Force Base in England and at Ramstein, Stan and Allien Russon have returned to Utah stages with n their entertainment offer business retirement. two-perso- r 9P uJ i Wj B; n |