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Pity the poor drama critic, always the observer once removed, never the player on stage. And imagine the happy wonder of New York Times Critic Clive Barnes upon seeing a colleague not only participating but achieving greatness of sorts in the role. It happened while Barnes was covering Paradise Now, a Living Theater production designed (among other things) to break down the barriers between audience and actors. During the performance, the players strip down to what Barnes describes as "skimpy yet adequate bikini-like covering." Even before they did, the barrier broke. Up stood Fellow Critic Richard Schechner, editor of the Drama Review, champion of audience participation. As Barnes tells it: "Mr. Schechner—to the everlasting glory of his profession—stripped completely, an action I had never previously observed from any of my other colleagues, although Mr. Schechner was, in fairness, wearing a mustache."
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Trouble was piling up in London for Beatle John Lennon and his Japanese girlfriend Yoko Ono. First was their new record album, The Two Virgins, featuring on the cover a rear-view photo of John and Yoko in the nude. Read the proposed ad: "It's just two of God's children singing and looking much as they were when they were born, only a little older." British music magazines refused album ads showing the cover. Then the couple was nabbed and charged with possession of marijuana, which Lennon once described as a "harmless giggle."
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Paris was packed for the premiere of the new Rex Harrison film, A Flea in Her Ear with a lengthy list of notables including Maria Callas, Dewi Sukarno, and, of course, Dick and Liz. An aspiring young French actress like Geneviève Gilles, 20, would ordinarily be lost in that flashy crowd. But Geneviève arrived on the arm of Darryl F. Zanuck, 66, who has promoted the careers of such stars as Bella Darvi, Juliette Greco and Irina Demick. And Zanuck has already made Geneviève something of a star. He directed the 23-minute short, The World of Fashion, that preceded Flea on the program, and Geneviève was the film's only performer. That may not be much of a step up the movie ladder but with Darryl's help, who knows?