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Show THEATER 34 RICHARD III The University Theater's annual Shakespearean play was "Richard III." The custom of presenting one of Shakespeare's play each year, alternating comedy and tragedy, was started by C. Lowell Lees, who directed this production. King Richard III was a villainous king who plotted to take the throne from his brother and murdered to do so. The play takes up the story during the War of the Roses in the fourteenth century. Richard, then Duke of Gloucester, was the brother of King Edward IV. In his plottings he betrayed another brother, George; watched the king die, and then had his children declared illegitimate; and finally killed the two children, nephews, who were heirs to the throne. Having acquired the throne, he tried for treason the very men who helped him gain it. But sentiment turned against him; finally he was attacked by dissenting nobles and lost his life to Henry Tudor. This dramatic story was portrayed on the Kingsbury Hall stage on a spacious set that could be used variably for inside or courtyard scenes. A special musical score was written for the play by Jay Welch. The part of Richard afforded actor-playwright-director Robert Hyde Wilson a wide range of emotion. The character arouses sympathy, love, and admiration at times, as well as dislike and distrust of his wickedness. Despite its complicated plot, the play offered theater-goers an opportunity for dramatic fare that was spell-binding. Richard pacifies Queen Elizabeth after killing her husband. The cast assembles in the courtyard as Richard's nephews are taken to the tower for 'security/ |