Los Angeles Music Center
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lodged against him but because there were those in power who envied, Curtains Going Up at frothy Graustarkian operettas and feared and hated him seems equalJy lilting bodyless musicals, This is sturdy historically accurate. stuff, an exploration of the unquench Director Gordon Davidson 1H:1ieves able spirit of man in the daTk days of 'The Devils- is a deeply Christian play, the Spanish Inquisition. D a I e Was dealing with the temptation, the fall the Taper and Ahmanson serman wrought his drama from tbe , and the redemption of man. Certainly it Ufe of the great Miguel de Cervantes y is one of the most powerful and Saavedra as revealed in his Immortal important plays in contemporary dra· BY CECil SMITH -Don Quixote.· rna. Albert Marre has staged the musical The <:ast includes some of the finest drama as if the audience were the professionals in the current theater~ derelicts,.ln a hellhole of a. Spanish • ,nt:tl Ol·gan \'aguety and uncertainty presented this arternoon in the Pavi notably Frank Langella as Father prison into which the aging Cervantes Grandier and Joyce Ebert as Sister :10 y<'ar;;; aso with the notion that Los lion. 1'11c Melrollolitan Opt'I'" r\ationlll J. tossed. It is a cUl'tainless drama, Angeil'." liholiid justify Hs position ns a Company will opcon two weeks DC Jeanne of the Angels, his accuser. played, without intermission, during Among the others are Robert Casper, mcll'opolili.lTI ccntcl' with some sort or repertory in the Pa.... ilion MumIny nleht which, to save his neck from the'ragtag with the perCormnnce "Lil 'l'ruvi Iggie WolCington, William Hickey. <'ide auditorium for the performing or brJg:mds. cutthroats and bawds sur~ m't::: this w~k becomes a reality far ata.· !:;ubscquent pJ'oductions in the Mark Lennard, Sid Conr.ld, Anthony rounding him, he enchants them with Zerbe, Ian Wolfe, Jonathan Ktdd, Ed iJl'nmli the dreams of those c:I rly repel'tory Intlude ~ThC:' l\laniage of the tale of the eternal quest of Quixote. 1i'is.;aro," "ThL' napc of Lu<:n'(ia" and Flanders, Laurie Mock and Nancy ]lr~;pr1l1Cnl S with the completion <Inti Marre has brought three key pertor.. f(ll'mni (Ipcning DC the finQl 1\\'0 ,l/j'urantlnl.'l , Jeris. 'fhe si~lIifi('a,nf"c to the cultural "Tners from the tremendously successful -The Devils! will be foHowcd Into the blliltliny,;; or Tbe :-'hlSic Center. New York production of the play to 'faking theil' places Lc!'idc the s. tatcly climate of Los J\ngelp.'i of the com theater by Rolumus Linney's new play pletr-d complex of The" )'lu!':ic Center is appear here-Richard Kiley, who plays on Frederick the Great, -The Sorrows noroth ,· Chandler I'm"ilion in WcHon Cervantes; Joan Diener, the grubby ;(1'(> ohdotl,<=, Wlwt is not cl"dotl~ and Wll.lt of Frederick'; Friedrich Durrcnmatt's Becketis trinity of thcnten: th(~ 7:',0- Aldonza, and Ray Middleton, the scat oval ,Mark Taper Forum and tile may be e\'en mOl'c ' tilt reaching In 6ardonic comedy, -The Marriage oC Mr. ('fkct is the !'ignifi("Hl('C to the Amcr. Innkeeper. Harvey Lembeck is the Mississippi, - and a new play by 2,l00-s.t'ilt Ahmnnson, linked hy Ol San<:ho Panza of this production, whi<:h l'Olonmu.lc that not only j oin ~ theIR il-.1It theater, William Murray commissioned by the Marre is restaging specifically for the CTG. ·Witnesses." slrUt'lul·'I1!~· but symbolizes theil' unity For ::00 ~'l',\1'~, the lhC'alcr in this spacious Ahmanson, ' of p-llrpose, , r:ountry h ~ls been thc errnnt stepchild -Man of La Mancha- win be in the The new theaters will be opened with of the <ll't ~, gi\'Cn the lo\\'est position on Cervantes died in 1616, the year after Ahmanson for most or the summer. a w'cck of dcdi('alary ceremonies anti the cullul':11 totem. disrcgan.lcd, de Urbain Grandier was ordained a Jesuit followed by the first, QTG season in the performances beginning tonight with 3 based and dismi::!':ed. novice in the France of Louis XIII. big theater, Only one play has been Only ill this countr,\' hns the drama And it is Father Grandicr, the hand dennitely selected for next fall-the spccial Inyitational performance of the some, eloquent, erudite, licentious pas. Center Theatre Group's inaugural pl'(l~ been the pro-dnce of the quick·buck American premiere of O'Neill's -More promotc\', the C.:1llotl~ entrepreneur nod tor or Loudun, who is the central figure Stately Mansions,- to be staged by Jose dl1ction of John Whiting's liThe Ded!;;" of 'The Devils.- in the 'Mark Taper Forum, Prior to the the denizens oC "show biz, - which Quinte-ro. pCI'ft11'm.mce, the theater will ue dedi.. 'fenne8scc WiHiams once likened to the The play, which Whitin~ wrought Its plans are lofty-EUlot MarUn ('aled in a ('cremony at , ,,'hie'h eTC practice or religion bcing plo.ccd in the from Aldous Huxleyts famous study, promises a season oC plays with major pn~ ~ iucnt Lew ""'ass~ nmm will pr~sille control oC a hN'd of water buffalos. "The Devils of Loudun,- caused a mUd s:lars staged by the world's most :lIul Go\" HeJgan and Supcl'vl:::or Emc!-It Only ill the la.:;t dccJde h::l.S there Lecn flurry of disapproval here when it was eminent directors, The concentration E, Debs will participate. Olher partil'i any eonccnt".:1ted effm't to develop first announced be:cause it portrays a 'Will be on new works but there is a pantH include CTG add~C'r Hobert institutional theater in the trttuitional libertine priest accused oC being a devil mandate here to serve the community Whitehead, general director Elliot cultural pcrspcctl\'(~ to re£1ect, enhance by a neurotic nun who never met him. both with classical productions and. Martin. artistic director Gordon n ~l and illllminutc AmC'l'icnn liCe, 'Vhy That Grandl.r was openly· and boldly 'Works of intrimtlc value, whether new \'idson, tinilncier Mark Tnpcr, al'Chitcl~t rlfter aoo ,Yenl's this mm'elUcnt has unccUbate. even marrying and father- .. or old. Welton Becket and Ml's, NOl'llwn suddenly CJl1g-ht fh'c <Jeros!'! the land Ing a child, I. history, but that he w... What we have at this moment are the Clwnll!cl', leader oC the cnmpnign thnl Zl nd is rcflccll! ~1 in gm'C'l'nmrntal and d e rob e d, Imprisoned, tortured. Gnd shining newness of buildings, the m.,de the $,13 million ~fu s ic Center ch'le concern i ~ rex-lIler (or (ulure bumed to de.th was ""used neither by untrodden stages, empt7 scala and ('ol'npJcx possible. sociologist'!, Certuinly the dedication to his broken vows nor the false ebarg~ vIrgin walls-and infinIte promise ••• The Ahmilnson will be dcfiientcd dram", oC the no\" Mark TOPN' Forum . ~;"":~J.. .&fiZ " m"'A~~z:.=<,.. ,~ """,~,it\'illia;:s;:;;:,.m:~~r~2.'7:"'''=~ "~cdnesd!lY night in a ceremony prior and Ahmanson here and the fOl'll<lUOn to the opening performance of the of the Center 'l'hcatl'c Group to produce mlt.;;jc~II dt'amJ, -,Man of Ln Mandm,· RigniCicant plays i;; 3 major step ill the THE MUSIC CENTER DEDICATION WEEK Which al~o officially npens the 10G7 Lns movemcnt. Angc1r-~ Cidc Light Opera scaRon. Il is stl"JI1gely ('oincitlentnlthnt both MARK TAPER FORUM-Dedication ceremonies and opening of the Cenler the plays opelling the new the!lter;:: this Pr(>sidillf: will be LACLO pl'esidcnt Th.ealro Group ptodudion of "Tho Devils" tonighll subscription ~ec)on opon. William T, Scsnon Jr. Participants will week would lJe expel'lmental in Corm, Fndoy. include actress Greer Garson, actor rooted in fad ilntl slml'ing, within a Grcg-on' Peck, A!"scmbly Spc.lkcr JC!ise handful of years. the common era or AHMANSON THEATER-.Dedicatton ceremonies Wednosday, Thursday, Fri Unruh; financier HOWJI'tl Ahm;ln~on, the turbulent early lith century in day and Saturday, openlno of tho Los AnoelC'S Civic light Opera S0010n Supervisor Debs, Deck<!l and 'Mrs, western Europe, n period in the \'Ioke with t~o production of -Man of La Monchc~ Wednesday. oC ~rcnt C h <l n dIe r, l!;ach subsequent night Mm'tin Luther that wm; one of DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILlON_Spocio' conco" by tho Lo, Ange' •• Phi!. social upheaval :mll moral rc.examin:l tlll'ough S~turday, pre - pel'formance harmOf'lIc Orchoslra with Zubrn Mehta conducting, leonard Ponnarlo soloist, esl.<lhllshctl ceremonies will be held in the Ah· tlon, in which instilutions a! 3 p.m. today, Opening of the Metropolitan Opera National Company "';'(,I'e lhcm:o;clH's, manson wUh county, city and state or~ t"kinA' stock of mur:b. wJlh "La Traviata" Monday nigh'/ continuing through April 22. fici;lls and ch'ic leadcrs particlpaling:, as they arc lod<lY. In keeping with the dedication week -1ran of L .., 1\1;111('11<1" i~ l1:11'dl'y the AdditJonaJ 8ton~. and ph~toC'r:lpll!t on The 1\lm.ic C~nt('r tire la of the new theaters. a special conccl't or uRunl faro of the Civic J.lght Opera. Coday's West mncaiiae. the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orche· which built its hnmcl1!::c sliccess on ~t\'a conducted by Zubin Mehta. will be .