Hub theatregoers will get their first look at the Harvard Dramatic Club's fortieth anniversary spring production tonight, when the curtain rises on "The Survivors" at the Plymouth Theatre at 8:30 o'clock.

Boston critics were permitted to view the controversial play last night, along with 200 disabled veterans, as guests of the HDC, in view of the opening of "High Button Shoes," which will command the reviewers' eyes tonight.

"The Survivors" flopped in New York on its initial run, despite the praise of drama critics Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times and the New Yorker's Woolcott Gibbs. HDC hopes, however, that their version of the play will re-arouse public interest in it, since Lee Strasberg, who directed "Men in White" and "Skipper Next to God" on Broadway has dressed the work up especially for them. Gibbs will attend one of the performances and review the HDC production.

Opening night profits will go to the American Cancer Society, and the HDC announces that ticket sales are good, especially for first night and weekend performances.