Curtain Rises Today On Reading of Hamlet

A group of actors recruited mainly from Professor Francis O. Matthiessen's English 24a class will try to alleviate reading period blues this afternoon with a radio-type production of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" at no cost to the flattened wallets of the spectators. Curtain time is 1:30 o'clock.

Sanders Theatre is the scene of the performance, which will be complete with costumes and background music. The cast is under the direction of William A. West '49 and Miss Georgina Johnston, of the Yale School of Drama and assistant curator of the Theatre Collection at Widener Library.

Miss Anna Price, Radcliffe '47, will be in charge of costumes. She has announced that the melancholy Dane will be garbed in a maroon dinner jacket for the reading.

Claudius, more formal than the protagonist, will be attired in tails, Polonius will appear in a casual hunting garb, and Osric in a dashing sartorial display fitting his nature. The actresses will wear evening gowns.

The leading players will be West as Hamlet, Miss Jane Philbin, Radcliffe '46 as Ophelia, Miss Prince as the Queen, Miss Georgina Johnston as the Player-Queen, Edward Franklin '47 as Laertes, John Simon '46 as Polonius, and Edward Benedict '46 as Horatio.