Tradition has it that each year the fellows at the Pud come together in inebriated and androgynous, bliss to put on a little waudeville faindy disguised as a saga of frustrated love. The usual pastiche of parody, hairy calves, sagging falsies, and the remnants of 116 other Pudding shows is made tolerable by loud music, exuberant dancing, a date, and lots to drink.
Each-year the CRIMSON archly reviews the show, reporting that it's not too bad if you happen to like that sort of thing, and most people in the community dismiss it is good, crude, clubbie fun. In No Hard Feelings to be sure, the usual crudities are there; the Director David Thimar is once again No less important to the success of No Hard Feelingsare the talents of song-writers Irwin Carson and Mike Tschudin and lyricist Timothy Mayer. Most numbers have a pleasing if eclectic sound and all are literate and clever. A trio of songs in the first act-"Lingua Academia," "You Made My Conscience Expand," and the title song--are exceptional. And the rousing preintermission finale, "Forbidden Frug," rocks the club house as that other House must have been shaken by the antics of America's favorite teen-ager. Less impressive is the book, by Todd Cobey and Dan Shulman. The basic, plotline--two professional agitators come to Unsaturated Poly to help students find something to protest-had numerous potentialities which were not exploited. Too often Messrs, Cobey and Shulman rely on the drab staples of these shows-the puns and parodies of TV commercials-instead of on less puerile language. But most of the lines are adequate transitions between the songs and dances. And besides, the two shysters, Hammond Deggs (Dean Stolber) and Hammond Swiss (James McBaine), can pawn anything off-even on the audience. Along with the mammoth Dean Unciate (Harry Q. Lapham), these two infuse the show with a relaxed lightness and gaiety which infiltrates almost the whole cast. Their duets are simply fine pieces of stage business. No Hard Feelings is a rarity in Cambridge, a revue with music, lyrics and book by undergraduates. One needn't be drunk, a Harvard alum, or a member of the A.D. to like it.
Read more in News
Crimson Crews Win 5 of 6 Races As heavies Score 2 1/2 Length Win