CRIMSON PLAYGOER

The bare wooden stage of Sanders Theatre, flanked by plaster replicas of modern statesmen draped in 19th century pseudo-classical togas, was transformed into an imitation of the Athenian theatre last night as the Poet's Theatre staged the "Alcestis" of Euripides. The performance was the world premiere of a new version of the classic by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald and it is too bad that last night it was not possible to get an accurate impression of the quality of their work. This was so mainly because the choruses were sung by female voices, the clarity of the all-important diction being further obscured by the muffling of the words behind a heavy curtain. The action, though a trifle slow, went off with creditable smoothness, and the costumes by Alfonso Ossorio '38 and the lighting by George Wells contributed to the professional atmosphere of the production. All credit should be given to the Poet's Theatre of Harvard for undertaking such a difficult and rewarding task and congratulations offered for the measure of success achieved.