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The Wellesley Junior Show

The Playgoer

After much time and effort, the Junior Class at Wellesley has produced a musical extravaganza, "That's the Spirit." It has a cast of 170 girls, and in the course of one and one half hours, they are dragged through three of the most confusing acts within recent memory.

The authors of this opus had great trouble with the censors. This is unfortunate in two respects: the show is now very clean and also almost incoherent to the average viewer.

Briefly, it tells of three dead people whose souls are given three days to decide where they would like to go, Valhalla, Erehwon, or Xanadu, all substitutes for censored sections of the Afterworld. There are two subplots: a search for the Ring of Nibelung and a fix of the Hoop Race in Valhalla, not to mention a takeof on the Cocktail Party and what seemed to be an allusion to F. Scott Fitxgerald. Let it suffice to say it was confusing.

The music, written by Robilee McCallister, was generally good, excellent in spots, uninspired in others. But Miss McCallister and her director were unable to find enough voices to fill the many roles. The three leads were almost uniformly poor. Only three of the 14 songs in the show were delivered by competent performers. One of these, a behind the curtain solo by Nancy Millman, was too short; another, a comedy number by Kitty Hart, made no special vocal demands.

It was the third which was outstanding. Not only was Mary Clay's rendition of "Lost in Eternity" very well done, but it was backed by a pleasant, if irrelevant, ballet sequence by Lucette Brown.

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The show had its bright spots. Nancy Miller, the director, handled the enormous cast well, kept it active and maintained the pace. She deserves much of the credit for its rosy hue. The sets too, were outstanding. Working on a budget of less than $25, Elisabeth Glaize showed imagination and resourcefulness, turning in one of the more finished ends of the production.

For the many Harvard men who will be dragged to this affair tonight and tomorrow night, it is a pleasure to report that the many production numbers are well handled. The cast has spirit and exuberance and, after the show it gave several cheers: "1-9-5-3, Wellesley. 1-9-5-3, Wellesley. . ."

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