The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 58, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 11, 1971 Page: 3 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 21 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Players "Amorous Flea" delightful whimsy
By JOHN GREENE
Moliere, up-beat and set to
music, is the latest offering of
the Rice Players. The Amorous
Flea, with book by Jerry Devine
and music and lyrics by Bruce
Montgomery, is a farse loosely
adapted from School for Wives.
Briefly, the tale is of an old
roue, Arnolphe, enamoured of
his young, sweet, virginal ward,
and of the elaborate precau-
tions he takes to guard his
charge. Despite his defenses, he
discovers, much to his chagrin,
that his fortress hase been in-
vaded. A young swain, Horace,
the son of one of Arnolphe's
dear friends, has been making
rapid progress with Agnes (who
by the way is a very quick
study in the wiles of woman-
hood). Through a series of in-
trigues the plot thickens. All
ends well, however, as Agnes'
long, lost father turns up at
the end of the play, the loose
ends are tied together, and ev-
eryone is happy — except Ar-
nolphe, who winds up sans
wiard and sans bride.
The costumes are traditional,
but the sets, dialogue and lyrics
are all modem. John Merkling
and Dave Gipson have created
a stylized, imaginative set with
Roccoco overtones whose most
ingratiating aspect is a mov-
ing wall ably pushed by David
Upp who appears as a grey
bust (no pun intended!), ap-
parently mounted in a niche.
Upp is in full view of the au-
dience during many scenes and
affords some of the more amus-
ing moments of the play with
his mugging.
Donald S. Bayne, in the role
of Arnolphe, turned in a truly
professional performance. He
obviously relishes the role and
managed to convey this to the
audience. His timing was ex-
cellent his voice true in the mu-
sical numbers, and his panto-
mime expressive. All in all, a
first-rate interpretation. Col-
leen Jenson and Jim Alderman
complemented each other as the
pair of "almost" ill-fated lovers.
Becky Bonar and Charles Tan-
ner ably handled the roles of
Arnolphe's overworked, harried
servants, and exhibited a good
comedy and musical sense in
their joint numbers. John Merk-
ling as Horace's father, Oronte,
and Bill Horowitz as Agnes'
wandering- father, Enrique, both
gave amusing performances in
their short scene. Completing
the cast, I. J. Aarrons appeared
as Arnolphe's confidant and ad-
viser, Chrysalde. The music was
well executed by pianists Wayne
Shandera and Larry Lake, and
drummer Leslie Owens. The
musical numbers were chore-
ographed by Ellen Horr and
Debbie Waldman.
As usual, Neil Havens' di-
rection has extracted a good
deal from the cast. Although
hampered by a lack of strong
voices (in some cases caused by
illness or having to sing out of
range), Havens has capitalized
on the comic abilities of his
performers — especially Don-
ald Bayne — to present a very
delightful piece of whimsy.
Tickets for The Amorous Flea
may be reserved in the box of-
fice located in the EMC or by
calling 528-4554.
THE AMOROUS FLEA
Arnolphe Donald S. Bayne
Chrysalde I. Jay Aarrons
Alain Charles Tanner
Georgetta Becky Bonar
Agnes Coleen Jenson
Horace Jim Alderman
Oronte John Merkling
Enrique Bill Horowitz
Statue David Upp
Costumes Chelo Murray
Lights Gene Mutchler
Set Design John Merkling
David Gipson
Music:
Piano Wayne Shandera
Larry Lake
Drum Leslie Owens
Choreography Ellen Hoor
Debbie Waldman
Huser's Jewelry
Diamonds — Watches
Jewelry
2409 Rice Blvd. 528-4413
Your Questions
On
ABORTION
Can only be fully
answered by
PROFESSIONALS
Call (215) 878-5800
24 hours 7 days
For Totally Confidential
Information
Legal abortions without
delay
"... I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room . .
J. Alfred PRUFROCK's (Beer Parlour)
A most unusual atmosphere—Classical recordings, bridge,
chess, and other games of innocence.
423 Westheimer
For those over 21
528-8360
Daily Five 'til Two
Williams asks for lettuce boycott
To the Editor:
Cesar Chavez's United Farm
Workers Organizing- Commit-
tee (UFWOC) has called an
international boycott on lettuce
grown in the Southwest. Let-
tuce workers, whose pay ranges
from a low of $1.10 an hour in
Texas to a high of $1.75 in
California, who have an aver-
age life-spatt of 49 years and an
infant mortality rate 125% of
the national rate, have decided
that their time has come to de-
mand collective bargaining,
decent working conditions, pes-
ticide protection and other ba-
sic rights of working-men. Bill
Chandler, Texas organizer of
the boycott, is coming to Rice
next Tuesday to discuss the boy-
cott with Rice students.
The issue in the lettuce boy-
cott is simple: Will farm work-
ers have the right to build a
union of their own or will their
employers choose a union for
them? When UFWOC began
organizing the lettuce workers
after the successful grape boy-
cott, the growers quickly signed
"back door" contracts with the
Teamsters Union, without con-
sulting the workers. Yet the
workers have consistently dem-
onstrated their wish to be rep-
resented by UFWOC. Where
elections have been held they
have voted overwhelmingly in
favor of the United Farm
Workers; and when denied elec-
tions have made their support
known through massive strikes,
such as the Salinas Valley strike
last August.
The Teamsters have since
recognized UFWOC's right to
organize form workers, have
stopped enforcing the contracts
and have offered to release the
growers from them. The grow-
ers continue to claim that the
Teamsters represent their work-
ers and the courts have injoined
the workers from striking. With
no further justice to be won in
the fields, the lettuce workers
are forced to bring their cause
to you, the consumers. You can-
not be neutral — if you eat let-
tuce at all you are involved.
Think about it. Then act.
Things you can do: (1) Go
hear Bill Chandler — Tuesday,
March 16, 7:30 o'clock at Rayzor
110; (2) Don't buy head lettuce
(no UFWOC lettuce available
in Houston at present); (3)
Boycott Ivroger-Hencke store
on University Blvd. (as with
the grapes, Kroger has gone
out of its way to try and break
the boycott and has become boy-
cott's no. 1 target). For further
information contact Laura
Klein, Brown College.
CLANCY MULLEN
Hanszen '74
DROMGOOLE'S
NEW
and
USED
TYPEWRITERS
Electrical and Mechanical Adding and Calculating
Machines
DROMGOOLE'S
TYPEWRITER SHOP, INC.
In the Village
2515 Rice Blvd.
• Rental
Purchase
• Repairs On
All Makes
New Location—Free Parking
You Can Pay More
Elsewhere, But Why?
JA 6-4651
• Rentals
• Sales
• Service
BOB DYLAN
DON'T
LOOK
BACK
"An exceptional portrait of the young man who is probably
the most potent single influence on youth in the world
today."
SCREENING ROOM THEATRE
2905 MAIN ST. 528-5881
HOUSTON'S NEW AGE BOOK STORE
Invites You to Attend
GRAND OPENING PARTY
7:00-11:00 P. M.
Monday, March 15, 1971
. Refreshments/Entertainment/Celebrities
v
% 4 . •
BETHE FIRSTTO SEE OUR
* > UNUSUAL COLLECTION OF BOOKS ON
; . :r • METAPHYSICS
• ASTROLOGY
, • RELIGION
• ART
PLUS DISCOUNT RECORDS, PRINTS AND POSTERS
Houston has never had a bookstore like this!
AQUARIAN BOOK CENTER
508 Louisiana—Around the Corner from Alley Theatre
the rice thresher, march 11, 1971—page 3
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Mauldin, John. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 58, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 11, 1971, newspaper, March 11, 1971; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245102/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.