Get Thee To The DFT
E
Kenneth Branagh, right, stays completely behind
the scenes as writer/director in the black and
white release of A Midwinter's Tale.
veryone's seen a bad pro-
duction of Hamlet. But
Kenneth Branagh's film
version might just top
them all.
Ironic? Branagh, who's known for
his lush, scrupulous interpretations
of the bard's work, tosses artistic rec-
titude out the window in his 1995
directorial endeavor, A Midwinter's
Tale.
The comedy follows struggling ac-
tor Joe Harper's attempt to stage
Shakespeare's greatest play with
only six actors filling the 24 roles.
Using the last of his savings to
bankroll the production,
Joe enlists a crew of
physically, emotionally
and psychologically
wigged-out thespians to
help him salvage his ca-
reer and his faith in
himself.
Branagh, who does
not act in the film (the
first time he has direct-
ed a work and not acted
in it as well), calls A
. Midwinter's Tale "a
comic look at the actor's
eternal despair.",
"The film's central
character is an actor
who loves what he does
but is at a crisis point
about why he does it,"
Branagh says of the
film in press materials,
"and that's a situation
which, in my experi-
ence, is common to
every actor in the
world."
Having invested money and soul,
Joe places himself at the mercy of
his motley cast: His kindhearted
Ophelia is, in reality, a short-sight-
ed clod of an actress; his queen
Gertrude is a high-maintenance
"grande dame" of a fellow, preoccu-
pied with finding his soul mate; a
perpetually drunk actor stumbles
into the roles of both Rosencrantz
and G-uildenstern; and another
makes for a curmudgeon of a Ghost.
Joe's "talented" group has three
weeks to prepare for what looks like
a theatrical tragedy in the making.
A Midwinter's Tale features the
high-haired Joan Collins in the role
of Joe's agent and "Absolutely Fab-
ulous' Jennifer Saunders as a pro-
ducer who rejects his work. Michael
Maloney stars as Joe, with Richard
Briers, Nicholas Farrell, Gerard Ho-
ran, Mark Hadfield, John Sessions
and Julia Sawalha as the misfit per-
formers.
Branagh conceived the film four
years ago and wrote several roles
specifically for the actors he cast,
many of whom he had worked with
previously or studied with at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Their familiarity with one another
proved helpful during the quick
shoot on a relatively modest budget.
Filmed in black and white, A Mid-
winter's Tale finds much of its hu-
mor in exploiting Hamlet's "guys in
tights" qualities, and follows a plot,
the director adds, "that owes much
to the kind of romance and silliness
of the old Mickey Rooney and Judy
Garland movies."
A Hamlet that keeps its audience
grinning? Perhaps it was meant to
be after all.
—Liz Stevens
fir A Midwinter's Tale runs at 7
and 9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday,
March 1--2; and 4 and 7 p.m. Sun
day, March 3, at the Detroit Film
Theatre, 5200 Woodward Ave., be-
hind the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Tickets are $5.50 and available at
the DIA ticket office in person or by
calling (313) 833-2323.
This Week's Best Bets
c, Andrew Lloyd Webber's
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LLJ
86
"The Music of the Night"
stars Colm Wilkinson in a
musical and dance theatrical
extravaganza of Webber's
greatest hits. Fox Theatre.
Tickets are $22.50-$39.50.
(810) 433-1515.
Fri., 8 p.m.
Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.
Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.
Purim pi 1-
Taste of Troy
Throw on that PUriiii
costume` and head to Adat
Shalom for anight ofmusie
& e ntertainment.FOr adults,
18-30, sponsored by Hillel
of Metro Detroit. Tickets are
$5 with two cans of food for
Yad Ezra. (313) 577-3459.
Food specialties from
35 area restaurants,
entertainment and a
silent auction, at the
Troy Marriott. Tickets
are $25 adults/$5
children.
(810) 689-1687.
Sat., 8:30 p.m.
Sun., 1-4 p.m.
Tales from the
South Pacific
The Lyrio Chamber Ensemble
presents the Golden Rain
Percussion Ensemble in a
concert of songs from sou
of the border. Gem Theatre
across the street from the
Fox Theatre. Tickets are
$25/$15. (810) 357-1111.-__
Sun. 11:15 a
Puiim Mania at the JCC
Jewish Parents Institute's
(JPI) celebration includes
entertainment, carnival and
Purimshpiels. (810) 661-7637.
Vaudeville with a Purpose
features crafts & performer O.J.
Anderson. (810) 661-7649.
Both at Maple-Drake JCC.
Sun., 10:30 a.m.
(JPI) and
2 p.m. (Vaudeville)