The Michigan Daily-Friday, December 1, 1978-Page 7
ts.
4-
Walken into
Ann Arbor's Oldest And
Finest Natural Foods
Restaurant
a ine
BY JOSHUA PECK
I often hear my film-crazed
colleagues at The Daily prattling on
about the superiority of the cinema as
an art, as compared to theater, the
watching of which they find synony-
mous with (in the words of film critic
Pauline Kael) "sensory deprivation."
It therefore gladdens my heart when
a performer comes along who, with vir-
tually every word of his performance ,
flaunts and remonstrates the
uniqueness and superiority of the stage
experience. Such a performer is
Christopher Walken, currently blessing
the Ann Arbor stage as Richard II.
There is an intimacy, an immediacy
to Walken's portrayal which has not
been, and never could be duplicated on
screen. Perhaps it is that the audience's
sympathy and sentiment are to Walken
merely additional organs of expression,
ones inherently unavailable to a screen
actor.
DIRECTOR Richard Burgwin boun-
ces back from his last moribund effort,
the Great White Hope, with a fast-paced
occasionally innovative staging of this
poetically-laced history. There was an
interesting design idea explored in the
Richard II
By William Shakespeare
Professional Theatre Program
Guest Artist Series
Po wer Ce uer
Richard Ii............... Christopher Walken
John of Gaunt ................H. D. Cameron
Henry Bolingbroke..............David Manis
Edward Rutland ...:.........Gregory Conley
Thomas Mowbray........... Loren Dale Bass
Duchess of Glouchester........... Betty Reid
Green...................Gerard E. Biernat
Bagot...................Paul R. McMillan
Bushy ....................... Mattem Casey
York ..... ................... Leo Me Namara
Earlof Northumberland.... ....J. G. Danek
Isabella of France..........Janna Morrison
Bishop of Carlisle............... Edgar Willis
Richard Burgwin, director; Steven L.
Gilliam wceneri; Zelma H. Weisfeld,
"'e R. Craig Wolf,irghting;
Randy Neighbarger,mnusicud rmcror-
ichard'
ters, conveying an interesting blendeof
fear and fury as their gages fly to the
floor.
Design has a lot to do with the success
of this Richard, and plays a hand in
many of its major gaffes as well. There
are flashes of light (some intentional),
which add some Aeeded spectacle at
some points, but distract at others.
ZELMA WEiSFELD'S costumes are
fabulous for the most part, but a few of
them, including one of Richard's, are
fringed with pendulous protuberances
that are just plain ugly. However, the
black versus red motif in the first and
third scenes sleekly complements the
quarrel between Bolingbroke and
Mowbray.
The women of the play are played
down by the text, a predicament only
partially remedied by Burgwin's direc-
tion. Candice Cain comes off the best,
vigorously conniving in one scene to
save the head of her stepson from the
wrath of the newly-crowned Henry.
Believably enough, she succeeds.
Janna Morrison's portrayal of
Richard's queen is a bit rougher. She
sounds discomfited by the
Shakespearean verse, and seems along
the way to be wishing that she could
phrase her- sentiments in the modern
vernacular. But with poetry of
Richard's magnificence, there should
be no strain.
RICHARD II is the best Shakespeare
the University has seen in at least four
years. As for Walken's passionate
characterization, there really is no way
to convey the richness of its many
levels short of witnessing it. Do.
Tonite Only!
Cinema II presents:
jRi*$*biber
"MAGNIFICENT! 'EFFI BRIEST' IS
FASSBNDERS MASTERPIECE! As fine
a film as we have seen in a long time.
One stands amazed by the fanatic talent
of Fassbinder's faithful acting troupe,
the moving elegance of the photography,
the beauty of the art direction."
-Penelope Gian, The New Yorker
This German equivalent of Madame
Bovry stars Hanna Schygulla as Effi,
a vivacious mixture of anticonformity
and mediocrity. Married when very
young to a much older Prussian
diplomat, she drifts into a brief pas-
sionless affair with a local woman-
izer.'lhe full effects are only felt six
years later in a chilling manifestation
of the Prussian code. The film gives
a unique double perspective on the
rise of 19th century fascism and the
oppression of women. German with
subtitles.
Angell Hall Aud. 'A'
7 & 9:30
$1.50
SAT: THE TURNING POINT
SUN: DeSica's 2 WOMEN
I
I
I
I
I
I
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314 E.Liberty
Ann Arbor
662-2019
C
wU E E E E E E E UE U E E E E E U I
The Ann Arbor Film Cooperative
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1
presents at MLB 3
Pictured in "Richard II," being presented by the Professional Theatre Pro-
gram's Guest Artist Series, are Janna Morrison and guest artist Christopher
Walken. The play runs through December 3 at Power Center.
U-M Artists and Craftsmen Guild
Christmas
Fair
Art
NO WFEA TURING...
ENCHILADAS
and TOSTADAS
7 DAYS A WEEK
Saturday, December 2
1 Dam-8pm
Sunday, December 3
1 Oam-5pm
U-M Coliseum,
Ann Arbor
Fifth Avenue
At Hill Street
first few scenes wherein the principal
characters were brightly lit with pin-
spots, while minor characters and ex-
tras dressed the rest of the stage in
darkness. But for some reason, the
mode was abandoned soon after. Too
much work, perhaps?
Burgwin blazes another heretofore
untraversed trail by adding an olfac-
tory element to the production. JI the.
second scenie, the nuns walk on with
some oppressively strong incense bur-
ning in the censers hey carry. The
stench wafts out into the house, adding
-the sense of smell to the list of facilities
with which we normally attend to
drama. An accident, I'm afraid.
At times, Walken's abilities so stun
that the rest of the cast seems to be left
behind. There are other performances
that stand out even if all are several
tiers below that of their professional
associate's. -
HISTORY PROFESSOR Leo Mc-
Namara, a mainstay of the Guest Artist
series, is here granted the meaty role of
York, and capitalizes on the casting to
display his considerable talent. Par-
ticularly beset by frustration with his
traitorous son and strident wife, Mc-
Namara makes a convincing
nobleman.
As John of Gaunt, Classics professor
H. D. Cameron fares well too. He
displays the proper degree of asperity
towards Richard without going beyond
the bounds of a subject's rightful
deference. There is a problem, though,
with his "This England" speech. It is
one of the finest snippets of verse in the
show, but is rendered mundane,
without the gravity the words
necessitate.
David Manis escapes the bounds of
comedy for the role of Bolingbroke, the
king's; adversary and eventual suc-
cessor, but he needs some work. Op-
posite Walken's multi-faceted, sar-
castically clever Richard, Manis seems
almost witless. One wonders what
quality of Bolingbroke brings him the
throne. It is certainly ot his charisma.
BUT THEN there is the terrifically
vibrant scene when Richard actually
turns over his crown, and everything
the show has going for it pulls together.
Walken is indecisive yet angry, on the
brink of madness perhaps, while
Bolingbroke impotently waits out
Richard's tirade and can only hope for
the crown to slip 'round his brow. The
contrast is supremely effective, and the
whole scene deliciously political.
Gregory (Aumerle) Conley is another
performer better known for his work in
another genre (his last role was that of
Riff in West Side Story), but he seems
perfectly at home with Shakespearean
dialogue. Conley exhibits surprising in-
tensity and concentration when
challenged by Bolingbrokeis suppor-
THE
FRIENDS OF THE ANN ARBOR PUBLIC LIBRARY
DECEMBER 1, 2 and 4, 1978
Dec. 1: Friday All Hardbacks ..... $1 .00
9 am to 9 pm Paperbacks ........ .50
Dec. 2: Saturday All Hardbacks .... $1 .00
9 am to 6 pm Paperbacks ........ .50
Dec. 4: Monday-9 am to 2 pm: HALF PRICE
2 pm to 6 pm: FINALE: BAG FULL $3-
ANN ARBOR PUBLIC LIBRARY
5th at William
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
(Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, 1975) 7 & 10:20-MLB3
Monty Python's first film was so deliciously silly, even Anita Bryant liked it.
Now the lads of the Circus mess about with King Arthur and the Knights of
the Round Table. Side-splitting visual spoof of chivalry, courtly love, Ingmar
Bergman and the Hollywood epic.
A NEW LEAF
(Elaine May, 1971) 8:40 only-MLB3
WALTER MATTHAU is superb as a disgustingly selfish hedonist who has run
through his fortune by shamelessly wallowing in the finer things. To support
himself in the style to which he is accustomed, he decides to morr and
bump off a rich, nebbishy heiress (an hilariously out-of-it Elaine May)who
has made the study of ferns her life's work. A brilliant cross of the screwball
and black comedy and a super script by May that stands with the best of the
classic Thirties. "Surprise! A sidesplitting comedy that manages to be fun
and intelligent."-THE COMEDY LOON.
Tomorrow: Htchcck's FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT & PSYCHO
" It s Midnght Madness
49
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