Manhattan College - Manhattanite Yearbook (Riverdale, NY)

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MANHATTAN PLAYERS THE house lights dim . . . the curtains silently part . . . and the audience settles back for an evening ' s entertainment as an- other Manhattan College Players ' production has Its opening night. This scene has been repeated many times during the past eleven years through the efforts of the society carry- ing the banner of Manhattan in the theatrical parade. hi 1936 two campus groups with things thespian on their minds combined to form the Manhattan College Players under the tutelage of Professor Donald J. Carty, Head of the Department of Speech. Creating a knowledge of and love for the best in drama, were the aims of the group as stated formally in their constitution. Those aims .;re closely followed by the fledi Hng orga. ' .ation and their work was recognized shor y in collegiate circles. For in 19.t9 The )nsignor ' s Hour was pre- sented for the benefit of the Catholic The- atre Conference and was awarded first prize in competition with other metropolitan col- leges. Suddenly the fledgling was full grown. The following year a serious and unusual drama, Thornton Wilder ' s Our Town, was presented with Frank Campanella handling the difficult role of down-stage narrator. The play was an immediate success and its run was extended by an additional four perform- ances. Knickerbocker Holiday, a musical comedy, and a melodrama, The Night of January 16th, were staged during the next two years and each well earned the term hit. Early in 1942 a break was called while the members of the society donned costume and grease paint for roles in the most realistic of 196

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T ,«. York Athletic Club on Sunday, March 30, over a dozen new members were welcomed into the frat. The acceptance of these new brothers marked the culmination of a five- week hazing period during which the pledgees were put through many an uncom- fortable ordeal before being deemed worthy of being accepted as brothers in Beta Sigma. hi the tryout for roles in Robert Sher- wood ' s The Queen ' s Husband, held in Smith Auditorium on Sunday, March 16, and Wednesday, March 19, Albert J. Coak- ley. Junior Artsman, was chosen for the leading role. It was decided that the play would be presented from May 1-1 to May 17, and the cast buckled down to eight weeks of hard work with practices scheduled for every Sunday afternoon, and on ' X ' ednesday and Friday evenings. month. Father Paul Heon, missionary priest of the White Fathers of Africa, tra e an in- formative talk on the work of the White Fathers among the people of Africa. On the following Friday the Rev. ' Vincent C. Donovan, O.P., spoke on the work of the St. Paul ' s Guild, whose purpose it is to aid those who have been converted to the Church and who have thus been cut off from their former acquaintances or their former em- ployment. Paul G. Nicholson, president of the Man- hattan Council of Debate and a Junior in the School of Engineering, reached the finals in the Hearst Oratory Contest for the New York area. Orator Nicholson brought Man- hattan ' s banner home in a tie for third in the finals. March slipped slyly from the scene and The religious activities program continued to be a most important and interesting part of the scheduled curriculum. During the before anyone knew it were all tightmg down the homestretch with only a short eight weeks to go. 195

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dramas, war. Here too, they received rave notices. The Fall of 1945 found the Players ac- tive again when casting was started on the Pulitzer Prize play, You Can ' t Take It With You. Letters were sent to friends and to various women ' s colleges who had provided talent in the past for female roles. Over hfty girls appeared in answer to these let- ters to try out for seven roles. After many readings Director Carty finally chose Kay McLoughlin, Carolyn Crawford, and Phyllis Slattery of Mt. St. Vincent as well as Mrs. Betty JVIigdal (wife of a former Manhattan football star), Phyllis Atkinson, Frances Graff, and Mary Jane Wilson. Frank Cam- panella. Player alumnus, was called in to handle the important part of Kolenkhox ' , an affected Russian, but with this one exxeption all the male rcjles were filled by students at Manhattan. 197