Georgetown University - Ye Domesday Booke Yearbook (Georgetown, DC)

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■RISING OF THE MOON 106

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Mask and JSaubIc ' jf pNOER the able direction of Re -. ■ Leo G. Monaghan, S.J. and Re -. William J. Langman, S.J., the Mask and Barible has completed one of its most acti e seasons in many years. Moreoxer, this particular year has been unique in George- town ' s dramatic history, as witnessing the presentation of our first original musical comedy, Sasha Calls the Kremlin. The Mask and Bauble opened its lQ4b-47 season with the presentation of three one-act plays. Knockout was written especially for the occasion h Father Langman and was warmly receixed. Sharing the same bill were The Rising of the Moon by the Irish play- wright, Lady Gregory, and If Men Played Cards as Women Do by George Kaufman. Mr. Kaufman ' s comedy kept the audience in constant laughter. A tragic note was added on the evening of the final performance, how- e ' er, when one of the principals, a white mouse, met a sudden end when trampled upon by a member of the cast. .A period of frantic activity followed the closing of the one-act plays, since Sasha Calls the Kremlin was scheduled to open ten da s later. It was the period when mem- bers of the cast went around muttering their lines to themselves, when the directors strug- gled desperately to manage countless rehears- als, when costumes had to be fitted and sets constructed — in short, the helter-skelter period that is alternately deplored and enjoyed by all true followers of the stage. The libretto of Sasha was written by Mr. Philip Sharper, S.j., and Father Monaghan, while the music was composed h two gentlemen of George- town, Kevin Kennedy and William Rogers. The sets, entireK- new and completed in the amazingly short period of eight days, were designed and constructed by David Sherwood of the School of Foreign Serxice and Mr. FR. LEO G. MONAGHAN, S.J. Director of Dramatics FR. WILLI.Wl J. L.ANGM.AN. S.J, . ' Xss ' t Director of Dramatics 105

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MEN PLAMil) CARDS AS WOMEN DO Frank Mann, Professor at Georgetown Prep. The small stage at Holy Trinity High School presented a problem, since Sasha called for four different sets and eight scene changes, but Mr. Mann solved the difficulty by engineering specially constructed revolving flats. The plot of Sasha involved a sardonic view of international conferences and of the delegates who attend them, with special at- tention focused on our Russian friends. The Russians provided man - hilarious moments particularly the antics of Sasha Gromolikov whose speech to the American delegation With our hands in your pocket, how can these two great nations fail, brought down the house. Even the lightest of pinks could hardly fail to be rufffed by the play ' s presen- tation of the Gospel according to St. Mar.x. The lilting music of Sasha was greatly applauded and as a more tangible e idence of popularity, whistled and hummed around the campus for many weeks. Particularly memo- rable were It ' s Always Springtime and There ' ll Always Be a Rainbow. .Another entitled Bow Down to Uncle Joe was sung by the Russian delegation to the tun e of The Volga Boatman and included the words, If you want to know how we run the show, we ve got the veto! Meeting with such success in stage endeav- ors, the Mask and Bauble turned its talents to the radio. Station ' WARL, the new station of Arlington, Virginia, was host to members of the society every Saturday, when a series of one-act pla s and variet - shows were pres- ented. .Xgain this year ' s Mask and Bauble had made history, for this was the first time that it had entured regular performances o ' er an outside station. Radio thus represents a new challenge to our campus actors, forcing