Loyola College - Review Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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LOYOLA Page 15 COLLEGE | REVIEW raAamatics Ir WAS. on the evening of October the twenty-ninth that the Loyola Dramatic Society raised the curtain on its opening presentation of the 1940-41 season. From that evening onward, dramatics enjoyed a lengthy and busy stay at Loyola. It is evident, in reviewing the work of the past year, that great improvement in all phases of our dramatic work, has been accom- plished. However, conscious as we are of the accomplishment, we are not ignorant of the short-comings of our many productions. As we have benefited during the past season from the mistakes of past years, so in the future we will remember the errors as well as the successes of the 1940-41 season which has so lately closed. As we have mentioned, the season oe on October the 29th, when three one-act play were presented. Eugene O'Neill's Where The Cross Is Made . was the opening production. Frank Kaine, as the tragic old sea captain, Bartlett, and Keith Russell as his son, Nat, were the key characters of the play, and on the strength of their performances the story sustained interest throughout. Gerald Kelly in the difficult part of Sue Bartlett and Art Welbourne as Dr. Higgins were efficient in lesser parts. | “Dress Reversal'', the second offering of the evening reminded one of that old standby, ''It'll Be All Right on the Night . This was a play in which performances were of necessity light and playful, and a slight tendency on the part of the par- ticipants to overact did not detract from its success. Dave Asselin, as the worried coach, gave the play a strong characterization. Pete Shaughnessy, and Jack Mc- Eachern, as a butler and a prompter respectively were the comedy headliners. Bob Meagher, Edgar Burns, and James O'Connor, a trio of unladylike ladies, and Harvey Seasons, Rod Dungan and Jack O'Brien as three rather odious gentlemen came through with good performances. The last of the three plays, was The Hiding Place by Clemence Dane. Asa tale of mystery and international intrigue, videl failed to mystify quite as much as it might have, it introduced us to the gallant Captain Dallas, V.C., played by Frank Hamill. Hamill and Mark McKeown as a surprising taxi-driver, carried the main burden of the action. Dave Sutherland and Kev Kierans appeared as desperate foreign ques and Frank Higgins, as the butler Kysh, made ВВ Loyola debut and may well be typed for life. On December the 8th, sodality night, two more one-act plays were produced. “Yes means No, a tale of the big business man's son, enacted by Paul Paré who was forced to answer No to everyone and everything for a period of fifteen min- utes, was the opener. Paré's performance was well done, as were those of Bob Brodrick as his father, and Emmett McKenna as an exasperated industrialist. J. Vanier and Jimmy Fonseca, as secretary and love-interest respectively, performed well. The Case of Johnny Walker! followed as the second offering on Sodality Night. Bob Weldon, as the grafting head of a detective bureau and Bob Joyce, as

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FRESHMAN Seated: J. MacDonell, M. Labelle, D. McDonald, J. Martin, G. Des- jardins, Vice-President, H. Seasons, President, T. Davis, Secretary, F. Higgins, R. Meagher, R. Schultz. 2nd row: C. Melangon, B. Légaré, F. Fonseca, W. Asselin, R. Audet, P. Curran, W. Niesluchowski, G. McGlynn, T. Cavanagh, W. Glatz- mayer, C. Lindsay, A. Sullivan, B. McQuillan, J. Colford, K. Kierans, J. McLaughlin, R. Blanchfield, R. Driscoll, G. Pooler. 3rd row: A. Larrea, E. O'Toole, J. McDougall, G. Byrne, R. Labelle, R. Curran, T. Glatzmayer, L. LaFléche, R. Hayes, D. Firlotte. SOPHOMORE Seated: H. Braceland, G. Massé, J. Warren, Vice-President, R. Brod- rick, President, D. Sutherland, Secretary, W. Weldon, D. Polan. 2nd row: G. Turgeon, F. Monahan, C. Gribbin, G. Beaton, P. Paré, R. Joyce, K. Russell, C. Audet. 3rd row: H. Caplan, P. Carten, E. Saylor, J. Mell, G. Moro, R. Mc- Keogh, K. Mulcair.

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LOYOLA COLLEGE Page 16 REVIEW the well-to-do bloke from the other side as well as Greg. Driscoll as the unjustly accused prisoner gave this play vivid interest, and typed it as one of the best shorter productions of the year. Brother Orchid ', the major production of the year was given оп the evenings of April 22nd, and 23rd. An excellent script, careful direction, pleasing sets, and most of all, fine acting, assured success of the play. And indeed it was successful. The only fault that critics found in the production, was that the religious content of the monastery scenes was slight ly strained and overworked. In noting this we must remember that Brother Orchid” was written from the Catholic viewpoint, and that people of other beliefs are apt to lose something of the significance of these scenes, and hence find them uninteresting. To this reviewer's mind, the most inter- esting moments of the whole play, were those in which Little John Sarto, alias Brother Orchid, was struggling with the new faith that was finding his heart in the monastery of the Florantines. The whole story revolved around the character of Brother Orchid, and as the story was deep and moving so the portrayal of the leading figure, by Frank Hamill was equally so. Playing in a part that stood either to make or to break the whole production, Frank Hamill rendered as sincere and brilliant a performance as we have seen on the Auditorium stage. Dave Asselin as Abbot Jonquil, was excellent in the most exacting role of the evening. He lent to the portrayal the dignity and reserve that was a fitting background to the scenes of monastery life. Bill Shore, as the bar-tender, Fat Dutchy, was as natural as if he had stepped out from an East End Saloon. Brothers Nasturtium, Geranium and Hollyhock, were enacted by Bob Brodrick, Dave Sutherland and Kevin McKenna, and each in his similar yet different part was excellent. Guy Desjardins, as the excitable Dominic Battista of the waving hands, and wild moustache, performed with zest and vigour. Bob Weldon as Freckles, Charles Audet as the Gimp, master racketeer, and Jack McEachern as Solomon the man with indigestion, were all as desperate and cold-blooded as was required. Pete Shaughnessy, in the role of the silent, dead-shot, Dum-dum, was steady throughout and his performance in the final scene, when Dum-dum shoots Little John Sarto, was a highlight of the play. As the final curtain was rung down on Brother Orchid” we all felt that the Dra- matic Society had once again triumphed. Certainly it did not suffer by comparison with the productions of former years, and to those who remember such plays as Yellow Jack and A Tale of Two Cities , this was as great a compliment as could be paid. On May the 7th, the last production of the year, the ‘‘Jest of Hahalaba’’, was staged as Loyola's entry in the Catholic Drama Festival. Robert Joyce, in the leading part, as Sir Arthur Strangeways, as well as Frank Higgins as his butler, were at all times forceful and steady. Luis Larrabure in the more spectacular part of an Alchemist was impressive. The whole punch of the play, however, was contained in Charles Audet's characterization of Hahalaba, the Spirit of Laughter. Painted from head to foot, and shining with an eerie green glow, he gave to his part the necessary mysticism and stateliness. It was with this production, therefore that the Loyola Dramatic Society wrote finis to the 1940-41 season, one in which many notable successes were attained. If the improvement is as great in future years, we need not worry for the success of future endeavours.