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January 17,1974 PHOENIX Pace 7BAAA's Richard ii Theme ReachesInto Today With Stark RelevanceBY CORRINE COLEMANHow seldom, it turns out, do we see or read Shakespeare%u2019s Tragedies of the English Kings. The staples of high school lit remain the big four, %u201cHamlet,%u201d %u201cMacbeth%u201d , %u201cJulius Ceasar,%u201d and %u201cKing Lear%u201d , These too, are the giants most often mounted on Broadway. %u201cRomeo and Juliet%u201d , makes it on the big screen and so does Marlon Brando in %u201cJulius Ceasar%u201d. Hugh Hefner produces a filmed \is always doen somewhere%u2014 everywhere.But even in England it is not always easy to catch the English regal heavies. %u201cAs You Like It%u201d , is more often found as summer fare in Regents Park. %u201cTwelth Night%u201d , was featured three years ago at Stratford-on-the-A von.So, despite the sophistication of last week%u2019s Brooklyn Academy of Music opening night audience at the Royal Shakespeare Company%u2019s production of %u201cKing Richard II%u201d, much of that audience was obviously unfamiliar with the work, and as a matter of fact a large percentage of the viewers, some of whom had celebrated their $150, sponsorship of the event at a prerperform ance buffet and reception, were unable to hold it together for the second act.The clearing of the Opera House orchestra, however, was not the fault of the production, which was directed with stark medievalcurrent shortcuts by John Barton, nor of the key actors%u2014Ian Richardson the sometimes soulful, always marked king and Richard Pasco, the harsh, tortured usurper, Henry Bolingbroke.The brilliant remainder of the cast%u2014English all and here for a three week stay did not falter either. Though the theme of the relativity of power and the frailty of the human condition when the cloak of power is torn away (and beneath the covering cloak as well) is hardly obscure, the richness of the Shakespearian poetry, the implications of the theme which of course reaches into our here and now, plus the look into the specifics of English history, were perhaps too much for some in one fell swoop.The story%u2014which begins in Royal Shakespeare language with the two lead actors (who actually alternate the roles from performance to performance) choosing for the crown, pits cousin against cousin%u2014the King againstniiiiiiiiii%u00bbmiiimHiiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinimiiiiiiBolingbroke. Richard holds the reign and Henry seeks it. Richard, however, plays with power, banishing the seeker, who in turn finds the opening in the King's greedy grasp of his inheritance (toAsst. DA SpeakingThe Kings County Grand Jurors Association will hear Asst. Brooklyn District Attorney Albert D. Koch at its meeting on Jan. 17 at the Supreme Court Building in Cadman Plaza. Honored guests at the session are Police Detectives Robert Hantz and David Greenberg, who earned the nick-names %u201cBatman and Robin%u201d for their police exploits.Founded 1897B r o o k ly nC o n s e r v a to r y o f M u sic5 8 = 7 l h A w e . S r o e f e i v n , N . Y . 1 1 2 1 7M A 2 -3 3 0 0 M A 2 -3 6 6 1RtGiSTER NOvv FOR SPRiNG SEMESTERPhone for Appointment Piano, Voice. All Orchestral Instruments Classical and Jazz Guitar, RecorderBRASS AND INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLES TESTIMONIALS %u2605 CERTIFICATES %u2605 DIPLOMASChildren, Adults, Beginners, AdvancedFREE MUSIC APTITUDE TESTTeachers and Courses Licensed by The New York State Education DepaitmentBAM BuffetCelebratesShakespeareThe social event of theBrooklyn season and perhapsthe theatrical event for theentire city, the coming of theRoyal Shakespeare Company,was celebrated with a GrandeBuffet Jan. 9.Bagpipers played, champagneflowed and pate was plentiful inthe newly renovated BAMLePercq space, which wasdecorated for the night withbanners and tapestries courtesyA & S, the Traveling Banner andTapestry Exhibition of theCommunity Environments, Inc.the Cloisters CommunityWorkshops and theMetropolitan Museum of Art.The vast ballroom %u2014 its wallsstripped to the brick %u2014 wasfilled with Brooklyn's civicleaders, benefactors, membersof the Academy and the variousother borough boards. Presenttoo, were celebrities of stage andscreen and local and nationalpolitical figures. DouglasFairbanks Jr. and Joan Fontaineand Mary Ure were there, alongwith U. S. Senator Jacob Javits,Mayor Abraham Beame andCouncilman Fred Richmond.Mayor Beame, on stage later,and just before the performancenoted that he too was born inLondon, but quickly stopped theparallel with the night'sproduction, acknowledgin anunwillingness to duplicate theplay's windup.A party for the Richard II castafter the show was over,provided more champagne andpate, a toast to HarveyLichtenstein, the BAM Director,and a hail to the members of thecompany. Some of these Britishguests were discovered wondering whether they would beable to get about and investigatethe BAM environs during theirthree-week American stay.What were the realities ofBrooklyn life? they asked, admitting to some disbelief in thedire warnings they receivedagainst wandering the boroughturf. They had indeed admiredthe Brooklyn %u201c Georgeian%u201dhouses seen from the windowsof the %u201ccoach\that deliversthem to and from the Academy.Buoyed by assurances aboutthe civilized nature of locallandmarks %u2014 the Heights, theHills, the Slope, The BrooklynMuseum, the visitors planned totour the intruding turns ofBrooklyn and parts ofManhattan as well.However, much of the Britishtroupe's time will indeed betaken by transport to and fromtheir hotel in Manhattan'sUpper West Side. And thesetrips are unfortunatelynecessary. Where in all theplanning maps is thedesignation for a new Brooklynhotel? And if a Brooklyn hotelproposal exists, when will it getoff the ground7 Where in thearrangem ents for a newBrooklyn are the accommodations suitable for theborough's guests?%u2014 Corrine Colemanluiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiimiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiintiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiimrfight the Irish wars) and catches the holder, already unsure and filled with a knowledge of his destiny. Henry then takes on the mantle%u2014one goes up and the other down (as underlined in the double escalator symbolism of the set) and Henry, guiltily responsible for the death of the ex-King cannot keep down the awareness of his eventual sim ilar fate%u2014his upcoming turn to be down.This Richard II which runs through Jan. 27 is a must. Performances are from Tues. through Sun. Matinees Jan. 20, 24, and 27. The Second Royal Shakespeare production, %u201c Sylvia Plath%u201d , a dramatization of some of the work of the ill-fated American poet,began Tuesday in the BAM LePercq apace%u2014and also runs until Jan. 27. Matinees are Jan. 20 and 27. The Actors Company ofBritain comes into the Academy on Jan. 29 with a production of the %u201cWood Demon,\begins performances of %u201cKnots %u2019%u201938 BERGEN ST. 875-1362Italian Arts Iron WorksDesigners & Manufacturersof beautifully detailed ironwork furniture, bookcases, tables, chairs, shelf units,., much more.a potable feasts e l e c t c o f f e e s t e a s & c o c o a sh a n d -th ro w n p o ts m u g s & b e a n stwo for the pot187 C l i n t o n s t (a tla n tic a v e )Catholic School WeekParents - Place your child in a Catholic School.Registration for Sept. 1974 classes will betaken at the following schools:St.Charles Boromeo23 Sidney PlaceSt.Peter%u2019s StPauI%u2019s397 Hicks Street 209 Warren StreetDuring the week of: January 21-25 9a.m. to 1p.m.*0