Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-08-27

will resume next Sunday with . re-
port on Comedies Shakespeare Fes-
tivol at Strotford on-Avon.
lake under the trees-even q
square man-made lake jutting
out into the audience. The mere
thought of being in proximity
to all that ice is a soothing one
after some August days around
these parts. And this ice was
occupied by both spectacle and
talented performers.
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It will not be unkind, either.
to note for the record that sub
seuuent audiences will see things
running more smoothly than
they ran during a few brief mo-
ments here and there last night.
It was a fine show, .aIl right, but
1t was fairly obvious that Teast
and crew were not overly IA
miliar with a slab of hard water
of this particular size and shape.
But if a stagehand can wander
into and out of camera view
during Maurice Evans TV
"Hamlet," one ought to be al
lowed to skate into and out OF
the spotlight during an ice show
without a lot of critical fuss.
For none of the roughness de-
tracted from what really is q
fine, exciting. colorful show. A
number of imaginative people
have had a hand in them since
the first ice show was staged.
They have discovered all sorts
of bright things that can be done
on ice in addition to merely
skating on it.
"Ice Cycles" for instance, fol-
lows the overture with q
diamond Jubilee of Light" de-
dictated to Thomas Edison's in
vention of the incandescent lamp
IS years ago. What If the Is
year-old invention does betray
man (and woman) now and
then, especially when used in a
prop carried by a skater? The
skating in this is a fine demon
stration Of intricate ice choreo-
graphy, gracefully executed. And
the climactic lighting of a MAN.
moth chandelier Ca candelabrum
that would out-dazzle Liberace}
drew a solid gasp Of approval
from last nights onlookers.
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This, as that progressively
hearty man used to say on the
radio showboat, is only the be-
ginning. A great variety of skat-
ing follows, some comic, some
full of airy grace, some down.
right athletic, and all quite
satisfying to watch.
It all leads up, in the first
half of the show, to the big "Ice
Cycles" production number of
the season, Walt Disney's "Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs. /"
In this version it becomes a sort
Of operetta on ice, the skaters
matching movement to off-stage,
amplifled voices.
With Margaret Field in the
Snow White role and with
Disney-styled masks and cos
tunes on the seven dwarfs, this
captures a great deal of the fresh
spirit of the cartoon masters
original version. Miss Field is q
most fetching princess-type and
she dances on ice skates with
near impeccable grace. Jimmy
Lawrence gives her competent
aid and abettance as the prince.
This "Snow White" even has
o witch fully as frightening as
the one Disney dreamed up for
the small fry. She is played with
utmost gust0 by Gayle Winters
Gas the queen) and Patti Hittle
Gas her alter ego). And the
dwarfs are fine.
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The comedians with this "Ice
Cycle" revue seem both more
restrained and more polished
than some endured in the past.
One of them, a skilled skater
named Robert Miller, does hand
somely by an representation of
q bewildered ballerina. He not
only makes it funny the first
time around. but manages to top
himself in several successive en-
cores.
Two other comics in the pro-
duction, Joe Setta and John
Labrecque, lean more toward
rn VAL a