Allen Stevenson School - Unicorn Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 89 text:

sta 5 .. , O'Henry, was a mirthful story set in Tennessee of the 188O's. A couple wishes a divorce, but finds life is even worse when separated. After numerous ex- changes of a S5 bill fthe divorce and marriage feej, the couple remarry and live happily ever after fdon't they alllj. Timi loukowsky portrayed the tobacco chewing hillbilly who wants to dump his dumpy wife QDanny Szorj. john Schubert played the justice of the peace, a hard-of-hearing rustic. One of the best jokes centered around confusion over the word plaintiff rnis-read by the myopic justice as plainstiff. The second play, The Reigate Squires, was a typi- cal Sherlock Holmes mystery which isn't really a mystery. Naturally Holmes is the only one who can figure out the murder, as the rest of the cast hadn't a clue. Peter Livingston tripped over his English accent, supported by Freddy Vogelstein, Robert Margolis, Mark Tiedemann, Bodey Brookins, jimmy Krissel fthe inspector - hahlj, and Mario Muller. The third was entitled A Madison Square Arabian Night, also by O'Henry. This was about a famous painter who, when he painted, would by' strange reasons, capture a person's true character and iden- tity. This power eventually led to fortune as Bodey Brookins starred in the role of a millionaire seeking advice from painter jeremy Ben-Ami. s 85 00 0

Page 88 text:

DRAMATICS D RAMATICS had another banner year at Allen- Stevenson, growing popular with an increasing number of boys. The year was highlighted by three excellent productions, the extension of the Back- stage Club, and, of course, the individual class plays. Mr. Gauger's annual Gilbert 84 Sullivan lMikado this yearl, Mr. Landis' ninth grade plays, and a fall play from Mr. Schroeter were the major productions. Although many boys were in all three plays, the productions appeared relatively close in time, Mr. Schroeter's Life 84 Times of Sneaky Fitch premiered in December, Mr. Landis' four one-acters in Febru- ary, and the Mikado in March. ln 1976 the first ninth grade feature was frought with many production problems, as the actors were overloaded with work and had too little time to rehearse. This year Mr. Landis' boys were completely excused from mandatory field, and thus had more time to work on their acting. As it turned out, the production was most successful, both performances played to half-full houses as parents and friends were in short supply ltypical Allen-Stevenson sup- portl. Fortunately Sneaky Fitch and the Mikado en- joyed much better turn-outs. First on the list came a new dimension in dramat- ics: a Middle School production of 5th 84 6th gra- ders, led by Mr. Schroeter. His band of determined actors stunned the audience with a magnificent performance as Peter Judson starred in the role of drunkard Sneaky Fitch. Whenever challenged to a fight he would back out - but only at the last possible moment. Through some mysterious way, Sneaky became the town sheriff, only soon to be killed by his arch-rival tChris Russelll. A sad end to a promising law enforcement career! On February 16th came Mr. Landis' four one- acters, featuring members of the ninth grade ex- clusively. The first play, The Whirligig of Life, by 1 . 'lf 1:1 5 W, .1 .Q' A 84 -

Page 90 text:

The last play was the hit of the evening: Chekov's The Shoemaker and the Devil, a Faustian story set in Russia of the 19th Century with a twist of Sholem Alechim. Danny Szor was magnificent in the role of the shoemaker, who trades his soul to the Devil lBen-Amij in order to become instantly wealthy. As things evolve, the shoemaker prefers his poorer life because his low-level manners and habits do not fit in expensive neighborhoods. He decides to be hap- py and poor rather than unhappy and rich, thus he returns to his nagging wife lMuIlerl and returns to drinking copious quantities of vodka. Szor's Russian accent ftainted with Yiddishj, was marvelous, cap- turing the audience. He was supported by jimmy Krissel fhis rival shoemakerj, Mark Tiedemann and Freddy Vogelstein fbutler 84 maidl, Timi laukowsky la Cossackj and Mario Muller this wifej. On March 15th came the long-awaited Mikado, presented by Maestro C-auger, hordes of upper schoolers, along with well-wishing mothers who fondly sewed costumes and made up boys to look like various stages of japanese sterotypes. Instead of the usual 50-person chorus, only true enthusiasts turned out, and the result was perhaps the best chorus G 84 S has seen here in a long time. For the occasion, a professional lighting crew headed by A- S alumnus Charley Bullock Q'72l, with help from Ralph Whitmore and Craig Boyce, arranged a myriad of floods, spots, gels, blinky-winkies, etc. to make outstanding stage effects. Also featured was a stunning backdrop painted by art teacher Ms. Kopple fwith help from Mr. Kerseyl. lt was a bright- ly-colored japanese scene with the ever-present Mt. Fuji in the background. .N A i . i X 1. 5 inf 1 1 .s .. i't.3' ' f r - K . X52 fi X f X x. S' J' E: R .1 .. ' k ff I .