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Spelman Spotlight November 15, 1979 Page 11
flCHORufiK Show Dancers Have Personal Lives
the peculiar psychology of the ■ 1975 at Joseph Papp’s Newman
professional dancer.
“A Chorus Line,” returning to
Atlanta on the stage of the
Fabulous Fox Theatre for a
limited engagement from
Tuesday, November 6 through
Sunday, November 25, 1979. A
prize-winning musical based on
an idea by its choreographer-
director, Michael Bennett.
A Broadway veteran, Bennett
has dealt with dancers most of his
life. He conceived of the essen
tially plotless situation of “A
Chorus Line” as a device on
which to string songs, dances,
and vignettes about “what it’s
really like” to be a dancer.
The show follows the general
outline of an audition call, as the
chorus aspirants appear before a
director, demonstrate their
abilities, and tell something about
themselves. There is a peripheral
story about the director himself
Spelman College is pleased to
welcome back to the Spelman
Family Mrs. Carolyn Irvin-Harris.
Mrs. Irvin-Harris graduated
magna cum laude, a voice major,
from Spelman in 1975. She
received her M.M. in vocal per
formance with distinction from
Indiana University, whose School
of Music is ranked #1 in the
nation. She is now teaching voice
at Spelman in place of Laura
English Robinson who is on leave
and who was also Mrs. Irvin-
Harris’ instructor while an un
dergraduate.
Mrs. Irvin-Harris has spent the
four years since her graduation at
Indiana University. She studied
there under the famed Illene
Farrow. She was a voice coach
and instructor for the Indiana
University (I.U.) Soul Revue —
Black Music: Culture and Per
formance. In this capacity, she
designed a program for teaching
students how to handle their
voices more professionally. Also
while at I.U., Mrs. Irvin-Harris
performed as Clara in Gershwin’s
“Porgy and Bess” in the first non
professional fullscale (3 hour)
production of the opera in 1976.
In 1977 she helped form the
I.U. Road Company and played
Bess in the same opera. In fact,
she has just recently returned
from an engagement with the
Terre Haute Symphony during
which she played Bess in the con
cert (1 Vi hour) version. She has
also been a featured jazz vocalist
Plates
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For more information
on plate collecting, write
and his involvement with one of
the applicants, a former lover.
J ames Kirkwood and Nicholas
Dante, who wrote the book,
allow each dancer to reveal more
about him or herself than they
would at a real audition. Thus we
are taken beyond the audition in
to interior monologues, and
reality is stretched as we hear
revelations about the myriad
reasons people want to dan
ce—or want to stop dancing.
“A Chorus Line” says that dan
cers have personal lives, too.
Something about each of the lives
gathered on stage is revealed
during the two hours and fifteen
minutes (there is no intermission)
the show runs. When the last note
the show runs. When the last note
of the finale dies away we are
very much aware of the concerns
and commitments that make up
with George Ross and Dave
Baker.
Since returning to Spelman,
Mrs. Irvin-Harris says that she
has not found the same overall
vitality in the students that was
here in the past, but adds that
students are “still doing things.”
She has found her voice students
to be cooperative, enthusiastic
and willing to work.
In addition to teaching her
students, Mrs. Irvin-Harris feels
that her responsibilities as a
Black opera singer include
helping Blacks realize the con
tribution that Black music has
made to opera. To show the
parallel between the develop
ment of operatic repertoire and
its embellishment of melody and
the same style of improvisational
melody of its predecessor, Black
music, Mrs. Irvin-Harris sang an
operatic aria from “Norma” by
Bellini. Immediately following,
she sang a spiritual, “Sweet L’il
Jesus Boy.” This demonstration
took place at a symposium en
titled, “Do Blacks Belong in
Opera?”
The answer is yes, Blacks do
belong in opera. According to
Mrs. Irvin-Harris, “We started it
and we might as well finish it.”
This statement easily brings to
mind such notables as Leontyne
Price and Paul Robeson.
The Spelman Community will
have the opportunity to hear Mrs.
Irvin-Harris, a lyric soprano, sing
at her faculty, recital. It will be
given on February 3, 1980.
It is a single minded life, with
little awareness of the outside
world, and one that is, of
necessity, self-oriented and
highly motivated. As such, it
holds a fascination for those whos
perceive their own lives as mun
dane. Michael Bennett’s notion
of turning a flashlight on the
psyche of the Broadway “Gypsy”
has proven to be a canny One.
Marvin Hamlisch’s score, with
lyrics by Edward Kleban. is of
more than casual interest.
Beyond its hit, “What I Did For
Love,” the score contains quite a
few sections that stand on their
own, musically and theatrically.
“One” and “Everything At The
Ballet,” with its poignant
psychological insight, are
probably the best known.
“A Chorus Line” began live in
take a turkey
QUALITIES
Little Known Facts
Mozart died at the age of
35, but during his short life,
he wrote 1,000 operas,
operettas, symphonies, vio
lin sonatas, divertimenti,
serenades, motets, concertos
for piano and many other
“The Morehouse-
Spelman Players
will present
“CABARET”
Monday, December 10
-Sunday, December 16
See you there!”
Theatre, part of his New York
Shakespeare Festival complex. It
got strong reviews, caught the
public fancy, and soon moved to
Broadway, where it is still run
ning.
A company opened in London
in J uly 1976 and now continues to
trive with a British cast. Another
is based in Australia, while the
renowned international company
is the one Miami audiences will
see.
Profits from this on-going gold
mine form a major source of fun
ds for Papp’s other ventures,
which include his support of new
playwrights (Ntozake Shange’s
“For Colored Girls...” and Miguel
Pinero’s “Short Eyes” both had
their first popular exposure
through Shakespeare Festival).
“A Chorus Line” has won a
shelf-full of awards, including a
instruments, plus chamber
music, masses and litanies.
He wrote one opera in 18
days.
* * *
No matter what your
musical preference is, from
classical to pop, it will
sound its best when the
heart of your music system
is a top quality stereo re
ceiver like the new Realistic
STA 2200 digital receiver
from Radio Shack.
Pulitzer, nine Tony’s, and both
New York and Los Angeles
Drama Critic’s prizes.
Review
By Adele S. Newson
The Spelman-Morehouse
players gave an enterprising per
formance of Lillian Heilman’s
play “The Children’s Hour,” Oc
tober 22-27 at the John D.
Rockefeller, Jr. Fine Arts
Theater on the campus of
Spelman College.
Though the central theme of
the play (the effects of lies) was
sometimes obscure the cast did
manage to successfully keep the
audience spellbound. According
to Dr. Frederick D. Hall Jr.,
director of the play, “I have to
give the credit to the actors for
the strength of the play.”
Tama Lee (Karen Wright),
Rolonda Watts (Martha Dobie )
and Renatta Cobbs (Mary
Tilford) gave extraordinary per
formances. They were
remarkably strong in their
dramatizations and amazingly
convincing. They moved the
audience by displaying varying
energies on stage. As Timothy
Boddie, junior at Morehouse
College said, “The play is ex
cellent, the actors are good and
Rolonda Watts is superb!”
V * ' •
The play "Macbeth" was not
printed in Shakespeare's life
time.
* * *
The shortest opera ever
written, The Deliverance of
Thesus by Darius Milhaud,
lasts only seven minutes, 27
seconds.
for your free copy of A
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"All would be well if
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German Proverb
Spelmanite Saprano Returns
By Jocelyn Bonner
OUT TO ])/A/A/EH