Kenyon College - Reveille Yearbook (Gambier, OH)

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The Bolton Theater (KKKUIM IKON» UIVI K Mil Hum « H.ivwchmI. |jrr CXonnell. .mil l)jn l m .il the C1.1I.1 (.«.mil C)|u-fiin :» elelK.ition.«hnrisiKijpher iftttnu tn-emjn with IViul Newman. lohn Conwclme. Ijiim'v Michael, who plavitl C C IMc' lather. slut If M proclucer (ilmund I lam al o»k on I ho sol. music rehearsal. Michael ( hrisioter. Susan Sharkev os lumec rew al «mk A GALA GRAND OPENING The whole thing really si iri« l live years ago in New York City, where then college presdient William Caples was having lunch with Kenyon's most famous alumnus, Paul Newman '49. The new theater was still an idea then, and Caples asked Newman it he would act in the tirst play that was produced in the now struc ture, when- ever it was completed. Newsman refused, hut them offered to direct the play instead. As the architec tural plans were being finalized, the next problem became finding a suitable original play. Submissions were solicited from Kenyon alumni, but that outlet proved fruitless. However, the theater's groundbreaking ceremony in the spring of 1977 hap- | c ned to c oinc ide with a visit by Cambier Summer Play- house veteran Mic hael Chrislofer. He had worked al the Playhouse in the mid-sixties with led Wale h ’ »1, pro- ducer of the opening show, and had since gone on to some professional sue e ess in ac ting and writing. (It was during this stay in Cambier that he learned ol his being awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his play The Shadow I ox). Chrislofer was asked to submit a sc ripl, and he e aim up with C.C. Pyh' and the Bunion Derby, a historic ally- based, Ireely-construc led study of a flamboyant entre- preneur that was chosen to be the opening play. funding for the production came from a number ot sources, most significantly a S2(),(XX) grant from the ford foundation. Several unique aspects of the production prompted the grant. It represented a way lor a play- wright to sec and critique his work without investing a great deal of money to mount it professionally. The working relationship between the commercial theater artists who were brought in and the students who staffed the show was also unusual. Professional actors lohn Considine and Susan Sharkey played the leading roles ot C.C. Pyle and (uphemia. but in most ways they were treated no differently than the students who took the other roles. Student assistant |c rry King had a large say in the carrying out ot set designer Hugh tester's ideas, and he drafted and painted the banners that dee - orated the stage and the lobby himsell. It was a unique educational experience lor all concerned — the stu- dents had the c hance to work with distinguished pro- fessionals, and the professionals were impressed with the enthusiasm and talent ot the students. But what the community di large will probably remember most was having Paul Newman in residence tor two months People start'd at tirst. but Newman's refusal to play the celebrity soon led to a casual accept ance and even protectiveness. I he students who worked with him accepted and respected him as a direc tor instead of a star, and the tragic death of New- man's son midway through production only drew the c ompany e loser together. All of the hard work paid oil on opening night, a gala celebration following a $l(X a plate dinner in Peirce and Dempsey. The show, the biggest ever produced at Kenyon, seemed a tilting opening tor one ot the tinesl small-college theater lac ililies in the c ountry. New theater —CC 1«

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a Not all of the interesting visitors on campus first semester were connected with C. C Pyle. Arlo Guthrie (below) attracted a large audience to the fieldhouse for his concert on October 6. Other prominent guests included (opposite page, clockwise from upper left) the critically acclaimed Pat Metheney group, conservative spokesman William F. Buckley (here, laughing with Rick Rosengarten), the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and oceanographer jacques Piccard.