Hide Article Text (OCR)
Asolo Does Well With Political FarceVaV,•V.lt; .♦ A ‘lt;-v «*■» -y*r.“Win With Wheelet,” aworld premiere and the Asolo Theater Company's final production of the 1976 repertory season, opened over the weekend at the R i n g 1 i n g Museum’s court playhouse.This new comedy, written by Lee Kalcheim, Is a political farce focusing on the scene behind the candidate: The personalitites, problems and activities of the campaign staff.The action takes place In a hotel room where the campaign manager, aides and writers are assembled for the final election-day push. The temporary headquarters is chaotic with papers and files scattered among leftover trays from the kitchen;' phones ring constantly, TVs blare and interruptions are endless. “Wheeler” is new to the )X)litical arena and his campaign reflects the hand-to-mouth maneuverings of a neophyte.As Sam Duffy. the campaign manager, David S. Howard gives a fine performance. He is all things to all players — taskmaster, manipulator of the non-ex-istant treasury and smoother of ruffled feelings, including those of the candidate’s wife, feistily played by Barbara Reid. Howard projects virtuoso personality shadings along with an aura of complete confidence. Given the most fully d e v e 1 o ped character in the script, Howard plays Duffy inside and outBradford Wallace, who also directed this production, is excellent a s CongressmanJack Davis, dimensionalizing his portrayal into credible, if unsavory, substance. And Miss Reid, playing the candidate’s frustrated wife, makes the most of her appearances threatening to blow the race sky high.Other cast members, Steven Ryan, Kelty Fitzpatrick, Donna Pelc, Stephen Van Benschoten and Isa Thomas do more than well with theDENVER (UPI) - Officialsare considering using trainedfalcons to attack the city’s pesky pigeons. There are plenty of pigeons, but are there enough falcons?Past attempts to control Denver’s 500,000 p i g e o n s f carriers of disease as well as the bane to statues, have proved futile, according to Dr. J. Douglas McCluskie, director of environmental health services for Denver.“People are seeking relief and we have no magic answer at all,” he said.One solution may be to raise prairie or peregrine falcons to seek only pigeonmaterial the author has given them. Each has been given a share of snappy line gags and quips but they are largely props to the play, prototypes of the kinds of staffers who people a political effort.Completing the performers’ roster are Nora Chester, memorable in a cameo as the hotel maid, and Peter Ivanov and Clark Neiderjotfh of the Asolo’s M.F.A. Company.meat.According to McCluskie, 50 pairs of falcons would consume about 36,500 of the offending birds per year.The proposal came from Reinhold Dembinski, a veteran falconer who emigrated from East Germany 10 years ago. He said the only waste would be the feathers and shoulder girdle, which falcons do not fancy, but the birds don’t dump the waste in one place.He said an additional benefit would be to foster the population of peregrine falcons, which are on the endangered species list. Instead of eating DDT-laced prey inLee Kalcheim has been involved in politics and his playreflects his experience. He is a clever writer and entertains the audience with a series of well designed jokes and situations. He presents a synopsis of an American activity underscored with the pragmatic point of view that “winning is everything. But, like candidate Wbeeler (who never appears) the substance is missing to make the point important.Scenery for “Win With Wheeler” was designed by Bennett Averyt and Catherine King did the costumes. The play is scheduled for 13 additional performances during the remainder of the repertory season.the country, the falcons couldsurvive on pigeons and solveDenver's problem at the sametime, Dembinski said.* However. McCluskie said the city has doubts about using falcons as hit-birds to control the pigeon population He said the proposal has been discussed, but the falcons’ taste for pigeons seems insufficient to make a difference.“It sounds like they (falcons) can be trained to dive-bomb and pick on the birds,” he said. “It makes sense, but I can't see enough of them (to make a difference ). ”, Rnlkliv Ir Flnrle AI 5iluim*i Siimmpr
Newspaper Details
Sarasota Herald Tribune
Sarasota, Florida, US
Mon, Aug 02, 1976
Page 22
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 29 Feb 2020
Other Publications Near Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota Herald Daily Tribune
Sarasota Herald Sunday Tribune
Sarasota Herald
Sarasota Journal
Sarasota News
