JAT Entertainment

'High School High'

'The Dining Room'
And 'Taming of the Shrew'

T

he Dining Room by A.R. Gur-
ney is a wistful comedy look-
ing back on a great moment
in family history, when the
dining room was the center of
well-mannered living, the symbol
of politeness. It is a place, and a
• time, 1930, when "crack" went
with "wise" and the difference be-
tween "Can I?" and "May I?" was
worth mentioning at breakfast.
The play recreates vignettes, in
the '30s and also in the present,
in a spacious dining room inhab-
ited by solid furniture. As scene
flows from one time and one situ-
ation into another, reminiscence
becomes nostalgia. As one char-
acter says, "No one eats in dining
rooms anymore. They eat in
kitchens." Soon, he says, 'They'll
be eating in bathrooms."

ria, slightly dotty or a hare's nor new (designed by Tracey Nor-
breath away from brainless; if her ton), the casting of a woman as
growing technique takes her one Petruchio's servant and an un-
step further into irony, there are fortunate emphasis on some of or
starring roles galore ahead for her Willie's sillier plot machinations
suggest a struggle between his
in the theater.
While The Dining Room plays goals and Shakespeare's.
Shrew is the story of a man,
in rep, through Nov. 23, it is joined
by a reworking of Shakespeare's Petruchio, who marries a strong-
The Taming of the Shrew, now willed obstinate woman, Kathe-
rina, and brings her to heel. That
called A Taming of the Shrew.
Revisionism in theater, the re- it can be funny at a time when is-
sues of men's dominance
working of a classic or famous
over women and
play to reveal a director's (in
T EATER
women's increasing self-
this case, Blair Anderson's)
actualization and power
view or to uncover themes
which, in another time or place, are coin of the realm, is a tribute
were latent, is established the- to the Bard's wit. (Then again,
some may no longer find it amus-
atrical practice.
What Anderson hoped to ing.)
Despite able performances by
achieve I cannot tell. His Shrew
seems a muddle. Odd and unat- Bret Tuomi as the man who
tractive costumes neither antique comes "t0 wive it wealthily in Pad-
ua" and Wendy Gough, his un-
fortunate bride, so much of the wit
and poetry seems like witless par-
ody. Can anyone in their right
mind close a tableau vivant of
Shrew set to the Carpenters'
"We've Only Just Begun"?
There are some adroit perfor-
mances but nowhere the serene
understanding and recreation of
Pertruchio (Bret
Shakespeare as in last season's
Tuomi) and
Pericles, which found a modern
Katherina
(Wendy Gough)
sensibility in a lesser play. Better
battle for control
to have called this Back to the
in a
Drawing Board.

Shakespearean
play with a '90s
twist, A Taming
of the Shrew.

Six actors inhabit all of the 50-
some characters and are directed
by David J. Magidson, dean of
Wayne State's College of Fine,
Performing and Communication
Arts. He shows an effortlessly
seeming grasp of movement, like
an opera singer's legato, linking
one note to another with no
breaks.
Some good performances give
the work added stature, telling us
about the artifice of memory
while, at the same time, exposing
the writer's craft. The talented
crew impersonate young children,
old men, middle-aged spouses, ser-
vants, students and real estate
agents. Among the most ad-
mirable were Greg Trzaskoma,
Bret Tuomi, and Antoinette Do-
herty. Doherty has a special grasp
of characters who are near hyste-

Running in repertory at the
Hilberry:
The Dining Room:

A Taming of
the Shrew:

® (.1')

Michael
Margolin

Two girls
(Judith
Annozine and
Mary Vinette)
take their first
sip of alcohol
in a scene
from A.R.
Gurney's The
Dining Room.

Tia Carrere and Jon Lovitz star in TriStar Pictures' urban street comedy, High
School High.

Rated PG-13

e measuring stick of a good
comedy is usually not how
many scenes garner laughs
but rather which scenes will
be recalled with a laugh in the
days following the viewing of the
movie.
For Blazing Saddles, it is the
campfire scene. For Tommy Boy,
it is the deer in the car
scene. For High School
M o
High, it will be the strip
bar scene.
The latest offering from the
makers of the Naked Gun movies
opens in the conservative world
of Wellington School, a place
where the receptionist answers
the phone, "Wellington School.
Are you white? I'll put you
through." There Richard Clark
(Jon Lovitz), a patsy to his head-
master father, Thaddeus Clark
(John Neville), receives word that
he has been named the new his-
tory teacher at Marion Barry
High School.
With his rosy view of life tint-
ed a shade too deep, Mr. Clark
arrives in a smoke-filled war
zone, thumping his hands to the
1973 Carpenters' tune 'Top of the
World." From there, he enlists
the help of administrative assis-
tant Victoria Chapell (Tia Car-
rere) to have the thugs drop their
guns, shake hands and pass an

academic test, all while battling
the dour Principal Doyle (Louise
Fletcher).
This film parodies such school-
and youth-related flicks as Dan-
gerous Minds, Rebel Without a
Cause and Deer Hunter. Al-
though some of the jokes fall flat,
most, especially the background
sight gags, hit their in-
tended marks.
IES
Lovitz, probably best-
known for his roles as the
Liar and Master Thespian dur-
ing his five-year stint on "Satur-
day Night Live," displays his
comic talents in his portrayal of
the affable Mr. Clark. Carrere,
playing the female lead Victoria
Chappell, is a bit stiff and almost
painful to watch, but the sup-
porting cast, including Mekhi
Phifer, Natalie Gregson Wagner
and Louise Fletcher, worked well
in making the comedic elements
CT)
fit.
CS)
In all, the movie will probably
not be remembered at Oscar
time, but it will bring up laughs (NI
a few days after leaving the the-
ater as scenes are recalled. While
not a four-bagel movie, it is en-
tertaining, and that is what mat-
ters most.

(!) 1/2

--- Jill Davidson Sklar