Page Six ‘ TH E COLLEGE NEWS Wednesday, October 31, 1951 Maxwell Anderson, In Speech At Art Alliance, Refuses To Discuss Play, ““Barefoot In Athens” Continued from Page 3 to evolved a “communist” phil- osophy, advocating the forceful and authoritatian rule of the phil- osopher-king. AT no longer regard Plato with veneration, except as an artist”, stated Mr. Anderson, “and am astonished that the West- ern democracies have read Plato without refuting him”. Mr. Anderson: spoke of his char- acterization of Xantippe, Socrates’ wife. In an epistle found in the works of Xenophon, she appears in a sympathetic light, and the play- wright took his cue from this. “Xantippe was not a shrew”, said Mr. Anderson, “or at least not more than any other woman.” Entering into the question per- iod, Mr. ‘Anderson paralleled the United States and Russia to the Athens and Sparta in the days of Socrates. When asked why the TO TAKE YOU TO FOOTBALL GAMES Martie’s IS TOPS FOR SPORTS WEAR BRYN MAWR people of Athens accused Socrates, Mr. Anderson pointed out that the philosopher was a dividing influ- ence in the already disintegrating Athens. ‘He was an agnostic, and that means he was a dangerous man”. To the question, were the} Athenians wrong in condemning Socrates, Mr. Anderson said yes. “The good life is always lived free- | ly”, he replied, “and it is better to live than to be an egg”. By ham- pering ‘Socrates, the Athenians hampered all worthwhile contribu- Radnor Creates Mythical “Mr. Misery’’, Pem West Emotes in Irish Brogue; Passions, Deaths, and Eccentrics Run Rampant in the Non-Reses’ Comedy Continued from Page 1 sister, Ed Turn, played by Audrey Appel, Marilyn Axnone as Mrs. Brice and Andy Josselyn as the doctor, The whole play was of such calibre as to hold its audi- ence completely under its spell; the last final climax of Lou strug- gling to make Joe pronounce the word “Ma” was. exceptionally good. ' Radnor’s The Dream Mer- chant, adapted by Joanna Semel, tions to society. Following this reasoning, a question was posed, “Are you against the prosecution of Com- munists in this country’? “No”, said Mr. Anderson, “Communism | is not an idea, it is an alien notion ' of our enemy”’. As such, he con- tinued, “It is not a bad thing to get rid of Communists in the gov-| ernment, in business, and in our colleges”’. (Mr. Anderson ended his remarks by expressing the hope that his} ideas | brought forth in the discussion, | play would clarify the outstanding for the positive opin- | ions voiced by a leading American playwright. came third in the program. This ‘fanciful piece told the story of Sylvia, a lonely small-town girl, ‘played by Jan Warren, in a big city, who starts” selling her dreams to a Mr. Revecum. Luck- ily she meets an_ alcoholic old clown, O’Reilly (Rita Baer), sell- ing his dreams for drink. Sylvia’s ‘life turns upside down as a result of this strange transaction and it is only after she has left her | petty friend Estelle (Jane Mor- ris) and lives by herself that she realizes that she is losing her soul. Finally she decides to go home and leaves O’Reilly her last $10 for a drink. Rita Baer and Jan Warren both played their lrather difficult parts with a great deal of ease and good. interpreta- tion. Cynnie Delafield’s. voice as Mr. Revecum’s “nurse”, Miss Mo- zart, was convincingly harsh and; cold. Pem West’s. ‘production of Riders -to the Sea, by E. M. Synga, brought the second - note of tragedy to the evening. It -was .the story of an old: mother, Jan Wilmerding, who, during the course of the play loses the last two of her six sons to death by the sea. She and her two daugh- ters, Julie Williams as. Nora, and Dianne Druding as Cathleen, all handled the Irish dialogue very well. Nancy Houghton played Bartley ,the last son to die; Ellen Kristensen, Eamen; Anne Hay- wood and Diana Whitehill mourn- ers; and Marjory Fair another neighbor. The scenes between the two girls, Nora and Cathleen, were especially well done and were among the best in the play. The last performance was ‘George Bernard Shaw’s Passion, Poison, and Petrification, put on by the Non-Reses. Every mem- ber of the cast contributed to make each minute amusing. Jessica Dragonette- and Ann Nicholson were immeasureably funny play- ing opposite each other as Mag- nesia ‘and Fitz, a couple just re- discovering their love after years of marriage. The Adolphus, Joan Roach, gets poi- third. man, soned by Fitz and spends agon- izing minutes in his: death throes. Phyllis, thé maid who is afraid of men, played by Beth Rudol- phy, Lydia Wachsler, as the irate landlady, Sylvia Shields as the policeman (the uniform was au- thentic!) and Ann McMichael as the vague doctor all added to the hilarity. Finally all were struck dead except the happily reunited couple and their maid who faced the early morning prospect of sweeping away the bodies quite calmly. The Vocational Committee is sponsoring a tea on ‘Thursday, November 1, at 4:30, in the Common Room. : Miss Jenny K. Dunn will discuss the practical value of a college education, choosing a career, and the handling of an interview, and there will be opportunity for student questioning.. Everyone is welcome. CHESTERFIELD -tarcesr sectine cigarerre IN AMERICA’S COLLEGES «