Eliot gets murdered in the cathedral By ANNE SHARP most part, static and immobile. They T. S. Eliot's play. Murder in the did a good reading of the lines (the Cathedral has to be one of the most chorus of women was especially well- talky, boring, anhedonic plays it has orchestrated and expressive), but ever been my misfortune to witness. It never really bothered much to get into is not fully obvious to me why it is now their characters. This de-emphasis of being resurrected. Perhaps it is characterization, in the end, was what because some influential patron of the ruined whatever dramatic interest the St. Mary Chapel Players is a big Eliot play might have held for the audience. fan, or-because the play is set at Christmas time (only 17 more days, kiddies!) Also, Eliot wrote it originally; for production in Canterbury Cathedral, and performing a play that takes place at a cathedral using a real liturgical setup would save the com- pany a few hundred dollars in set pieces. Perhaps it is unfair of me to expect BECKET HIMSELF was just an ac- Murder to provide the sort of enter- tor tossing off lines, and one didn't care tainment given by an ordinary drama. one way or the other about his impen- It is, in the final analysis, a series of ding martyrdom at the hands of his declamations, merely a group of actors assassins. From the way his dialogue reciting poetry. Nothing much happens continually foreshadowed the event, he in it in the way of plot. Becket, Arch- sounded as if he were eager to get mur- bishop of Canterbury in the year 1170, dered so he could collapse onto the floor has somehow angered King Henry so in a comfy position and play dead after badly that he would have Becket killed. standing up and declaiming for two Becket, a few churchmen and village hours, women, and his assassins stand about Joshua Peck might have made a and talk about the upcoming event and stronger Becket if he had acted the role some other pseudo-religious rather than declaimed it. There is an in- metaphorical crap for about two acts. terminable passage in which Peck con- Then, the assassins stab Becket, talk verses with four disembodied voices, about it some more, and that's it. There all his own, pre-recorded and played is nothing much in the way of over the P.A. The recorded voices movement or character development, sounded very interesting, full of inflec- just words, words, words, and not tion and liquid, rolling "R's," but it was terribly thrilling or important words at very hard to make sense out of them that. Not unless, of course, the spec- through the audio distortion. In fact, the tator is an Eliot fan, and finds that poet whole production would have gone bet- thrilling and important in all his ter if it had not relied merely on the im- manifestations (I never did). This par- perfect acoustics of the chapel. Many of ticular production of Murder keeps in- the lines were unintelligible to my ears, tact Eliot's one-dimensional approach and this, in a play where nothing mat- to his drama; the actors were, for the ters but words, is quite unfortunate. The Michigan Daily-Saturday, December 8, 1979-Page 5 RECORD S Emmylou Harris Light of the Stable Warner Brothers K56757 By ERIC ZORN Coming under the heading of things that were bound to happen sooner or later is the Country and Western Christmas album. A dubious concep- tion, to say the least, and probably unredeemable except for the momentous presence of Emmylou Harris, America's premier . country-pop vocalist. Christmas! Do Country and Western fans really have a mid-winter holiday where they give each other gifts, say, boots and flowered shirts? It develops that they do. And what better a com- mercial venture than recording an album designed for Tex, who loves the season but cannot abide old Perry Como and Mel Torme and their citified holiday carols?. Ah! A Christmas album with "Away In A Manger" and "Silent Night,"but with Emmylou Harris, of all people, at whose hands a song cannot fail. With how much am- bivalence can such a project be greeted? WELL, WITH as much as the album itself was designed and recorded. It ain't no Christmas record like's ever been heard before, that's for sure, with trendy arrangements of the old standar- ds and the slidin' steel guitar wreaking mayhem at every opportunity. The country feel is unavoidable-hell, that's Emmylou's banner to carry-but it fails, in spite of itself, to obscure the brilliance of the talent behind the recording. Sing the "Railroadin' with Jesus" songs as she might, Emmylou is overpowering; Her voice is soaring and clear, simply wonderful in a way that only Linda Ronstadt can match. For all that, the album is grossly over-instrumented and sounds prac- tically blasphemous upon occasion due to its slickness. The excesses of Country music-the surface lyrics and em- phasis on the twang in everything from voice to bass-cause it to sounds silly to devotees of pop and rock music: many of the melodies in Country are on a par with the finest one can name, and the lyrics are often no more foolish than N M leaders. BUT, THEN, this sort of excess is what defines country music and gives it the lustre that it has for'those who love it. Take the cut "Silent Night," on Light of the Stable. Of all the enchanting Christmas carols, this may be the most etherially beautiful, and when Em- mylou starts it off, accompanied by a bit of acoustic guitar, the promise is fulfilled. The first verse is simple, like the song itself. The second introduces the electric bass and the annoying fid- dle of Ricky Skaggs (that man coaxes the most frightful melancholy out of his instrument!) next comes the harmony vocals and the autoharp, and the entire ensemble is soon going at it. What are Neil Young and Linda Ron- stadt doing here? Along with Dolly Par- ton (the most vile incarnation of excess in country music ever to breathe), the group of them sings "Light of the Stable," the title cut and the most tedious song of the album,though for- tunately rather short. OVERALL, IT depends on how much excess a listener is willing to wade through to enjoy Emmylou and her generally appropriate and tasteful backup vocalists. This album is an un- comfortable manifestation of exactly what is ill about country music these days, and that is that is perverts itself unintentionally, taking what ought to be simple, hard, and clear, and adding to it the same sorts of glosses that work for pop and rock. More energetic, fuller music needs the bigger sound, but, for the living love of God, Christmas Carols do not! Here is Emmylou Harris, one of the finest voices recording today in any area, for whatever reasons still cutting these slick, commercial country albums instead of making an effort either to go back or forward and- so something with more integrity. She loves it, though. She thinks she's going to bring country music as she knows it to the people, but this is not at all the right idea. Take a look at Harris's last album, Blue Kentucky Girl, which sold well only to country music fans. Emmylou, the recidivist, went from earlier experiments with the Beatles back to Willie Nelson, and dressed herself like a tasteless wrangler for the album jacket. This is only bringing country music to country music fans, who, for the life of them, do not deserve the likes of Emmylou. St. Mary Chapel Players Dec. 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15 8:00 pm 331 Thompson Ann Arbor 663-0558_ CINEMA I PRESENTS . 1181 An Ella of a night If any performer deserves an enduring reputation, it's Ella Fitzgerald. Perhaps the only performer to "crossover" suc- cessfully from jazz to pop, then back again, Fitzgerald has been literally belting it out since 1935, in a voice still strong yet precise. Ella's remarkable consistency makes her upcoming Ann Arbor ap- pearance a must-see for both old hands and new listeners. There are still a lot of tickets left for the show, this Sunday, December 9 at 8 p.m. In recent years, Ella has concentrated on this small group con- text with eminently satisfying results. The repertoire ranges from standards from her days with Count Basie to modern love songs by the likes of the Beatles, embracing every pop style in between. The highlight of any Fitzgerald performance is her vocal improvisatory ability, resoundingly exemplified inter "scat singing." If you don't know what scatting is, or just generally assume that a performer older than your parents can't be exciting, don't miss Ella Fitz- gerald. You'll be amazed. I I DAYSOF HEAVEN (TERRENCE MALICK, 1978) Terrence Malick's second directorial effort is a lyrical film that takes us back to the still mythical era of -pre W.W. I American innocence. The story is told by a young Chicago girl (LINDA MANZ) as she, her brother (RICHARD GERE) and his girlfriend (BROOKE ADAMS) travel to the fields of Texas to become migrant workers. When the wealthy landowner falls in love with Adams, the resulting triangle leads to tragic consequences. As in BADLANDS, the camera's exploration of the intricate beauty of nature plays an integral role. An exquisite and remarkable film, Lith Academy Award-winning cinematography. ANGELL HALL $1.50 7:00 & 9:00 Tomorrow: BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S SABRINA 'rI . We know about Do a Tree a Favor: Recyle Your Daily We know about all the other games. BOWLING at the UNION. Reduced Rates to6p.m.Mon.-Sat. S THEMOTION PICTURE r"' ANNIARBOR THE $ .50 5th Avenue at Liberty St. 761-9700 BARGAIN Formerly Fifth Forum Theater JOHN D NATIONAL LAMP@@NS SAT. SUN'"' 3 3:50 600, 8:00 1000 Aq Sat. Sun Adults $1.50 til 4:15 (orH@U+ /. capacity) Mon, Tues 6:00, 8:00, 10:00, Mon, Tues Adults $1.50 til 6:30 (or capacity) THE MIGHTY TITAN OF TERROR SA T and in his MOST INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE! SUN at WE 12:30 and r Ir AL EW! ON 2:00 rfjfLNEVER BEFO