The Michigan Daily-Sunday, February 4, 1979-Page 5

Song et
By PETER MANIS
If you are a theater-goer with
stringent dramatic values that require
such elements as plot, character
development and thematic unity, it is
recommended that you remain at home
this weekend and pore over your dog-
eared collection of G. B. Shaw. If,
however, you have an interest in
musical theater or popular song-
writing, then it is strongly suggested
that you take a look at Side By Side By
Side By Side By Sondhein
Power Center
February 2-4, 1979
Cast:
Hermione Gingold
Barbara Heuman
Jack Blackton
,Stephanie Cotsirilos
Ned Sherrin, direnur; Florence Kotz,
cra'qu ne ; Jay Moore, scev: Ken Billington.
tipMink,; Paul Gemignani, ,nsica/ ,Iire . or
Sondheim.
Side by Side By Sondheim consists of
a collection of songs by Broadway com-
poser/lyricist Stephen Sondheim
(major credits: lyrics for West Side
Story and Gypsy; music and lyrics for
Company, Follies, A Little Night Music
- containing "Send In The Clowns" -
and Pacific Overtures.
The show differs from the usual
evening in the theater in that the
audience's focus rests not on the per-
formers, but on the material being per-
formed. The emphasis lies chiefly on.
the lyrics, an area in which Mr. Son-
dheim is without peer, Cole Porter
aficionados notwithstanding. The show
has been scaled down accordingly: the
cast consists of three singers and a
narrator, two pianos constitute the or-
chestra, four chairs serve as the set,
aftd the entire production is suitably
miked.
WHAT SETS Sondheim's work above;
that of his colleagues is his ability to
fuse labyrinthian internal rhyme

71st

: A side of Sondheim

schemes with emotional and/or in-
tellectual content. Cole Porter was a
master of the internal rhyme, but the
majority of his work consisted of either
list songs such as "You're The Top" or
"Brush Up Your Shakespeare," or
simple - or, technically speaking,
complex - love songs. Sondheim is
equally adept at both of these forms
(although he has written surprisingly
few of the latter), but is perhaps best
known for his songs of social commen-
tary (represented here by "The Little
Things You Do Together" and
"Another Hundred People") and, most
of all, songs that are firmly embedded
in the character singing them, such as
"Could I Leave You?" "You Must Meet
My Wife" and the song/scene "Bar-
celona". Rather than settling for mere
intricacy of rhyme, Sondheim packs his
lyrics with concise, finely-drawn
images that elicit precisely the desired
response from the listener. His major
shortcoming is that he occasionally
becomes so wrapped up in his rhyme
schemes that his lyrics appear facile
almost to the point of glibness.
Given this unorthodox center of at-
tention, the cast is placed in the awk-
ward position of serving as tour
guides0: theynmust providehthe proper
emotional context for each song, but
must then step back and allow the
audience to sample for themselves. Any
over-acting, or more specifically, over-
externalization of emotion is fatal, sin-
ce it almost invariably gets in the way
of the lyric rhythms that constitute so
large a part of Sondheim's work. On the
other hand, failure to provide the
necessary emotional backing renders
the material toothless; the songs then
become mere collections of rhymes,
clever but uncompelling. In order to
achieve these ends, it is helpful, if not
necessary, for each performer to
establish a clearly defined personality,
to which minor adjustments can then be
made according to the needs of each
song. These basic personas transform
the evening from mere singers singing
a collection of clever songs into

believable people articulating their
thoughts and emotions.
For the most part, the cast carries
out its duties reasonably well. There
were several pitfalls, however.
Baritone Jack Blackton, soprano Bar-
bara Heuman and alto Stephanie Cot-
sirilos all possess fine voices; the latter
two, however, were often guilty of the
kind of over-acting mentioned earlier.
In addition, what little dancing the
show calls for was often sloppily per-
formed.
OVERALL, BLACKTON was easily
the most effective performer. He suc-
ceeded in creating a relaxed, easy-
going persona that meshed well with
the style of the songs. Blackton found
all the emotional'facets required by the
material within this persona; there was
a minimum of distracting character ad-
justment from song to song. Unfor-
tunately, this cannot be said for either
Cosirilos or Heuman, particularly the
latter. Both tried to retain their own
identities as performers, then assume
entirely new characters according to
the demands of each song. The end
result had a decidedly forced quality; it
was difficult for the audience to accept

any of the assumed characters.
"As the narrator, Hermione Gingold
was something of a curiosity. She came
across as a combination of guest lec-
turer (she used a script throughout the
evening) and Rosanne Rosannadanna,
continually lapsing into tangents and
relating 'numerous anecdotes of no
discernible relevance to the evening's
proceedings. One felt as if her lines
were almost as new.to h r as they were
to us. Gingold avoided this potential
sandtrap, however, by injecting an air
of playfulness into her customary
peremptory grandeur, and was, on the
whole, quite entertaining. (Particularly
delightful was her regal interpretation
of "I Never Do Anything Twice".) Her
performance was even more im-
pressive when one considers how ap-
pallingly unfunny most narrators or
emcees of this type usually are.
,The most puzzling aspect of the
production was the complete lack of en-
semble playing. Each ,scene fell into
one of two categories: the wandering
monologues of Gingold, and the actual
songs. There was virtually no interplay
between Gingold and the singers (with
the exception of a shoddy rendition of
"You Gotta Have A Gimmick", which
degenerated into numerous ad libs bet-
ween the cast members); one felt as if
Gingold had been introduced to the
other performers only a few moments
before the curtain. Even more curious
was the lack of establishment of even
the most rudimentary relationships
between the singers. Such relationships
would have helped immeasurably in
defining a basic persona for each
singer, and would have improved the
overall production considerably.
All this notwithstanding, Side By Side
By Sondheim is heartily recommended.
At its best -Blackton's icy rendition of
"Could I Lea4ve You?" or Cotsirilos'
fine performance of "I'm Still Here"-
the audience is provided with stunning
examples of how extraordinarily
powerful and exhilarating musical
theater can be when handled by a
master.

Viewpoint Lectures Presents
Micael Harringo
Author and Chair of the Democratic
Socialist Organizing Committee
WED., FEB. 7 Tickets $1.00 advance
MLB 3-8:00 p.m. $1 .50 at door

for more information:

763- 1453


"WA N NA GET LUCKY?"
COME JOIN US
IN CONCERT-SATURDAY NIGHT
The Friars 6 The Other Guys
FEB. 10, 8 p.m.-RACKHAM AUD.
Tickets.available at Ticket Central-Michigan Union or from The Friars $2.50.
At the door $3.00

NUniversity of Michigan filumnus

7]


Folk activism rises again

(Continued from Page 1)
At the controversial Big Rock sit-in,
50 NoMads met on the banks of Lake
Michigan and walked toward the
nuclear plant with billboards and signs.
Only 14 -of the protesters managed to
pass by plant security guards at the fir-
st restricted area. However, when the
group marched toward the second
restricted area, police arrested them.
THE PROTESTERS claim they are
not worried about the trespassing
charges and want to use the trial as a
means to express their fears of nuclear
power.
Jim Olson, the NoMads' attorney said
by using the defense of "Freedom of
Speech" and "Self Defense," the
NoMads will be able to put nuclear
energy on trial.
The Arbor Alliance has long been the
most outspoken local group opposed to
the nuclear power.
Other local musicians who appeared
at the benefit concert were David West,
Eric Glatz, Mary Gick, Tom Ayres,
Rose Sinclair and Roma Ziarnko.
1UI
is preserved on
351mm9MOORJA
AVAILABI E AT:
The Michigan Daily
Student Publications Bldq.
420 Maynard Street
AND
Graduate Library
BEST OF BROADWAY
presents
HERMIONE GINGOLD

L ohann 8tauss
-x
x ::-
February 7-10
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THEATRE BOX
OFFICE Mon.-Tues. 11-6; Wed.-Sat. 11-8
Ierde1 ohnheatri

Mi


1~fX1


In Em EXClusive
chigun Performan


Ce

Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
"Banjo" Betsy Beckerman and Rose Sinclair treat the, audience at the
East Quad Auditorium to some old time banjo music. The pairplayed as part
of a benefit concert for the Arbor Alliance, an anti-nuclear power group in
Ann Arbor. A large contingent of musicians, including blues, country, and
rock singers paraded to the stage in the concert which lasted until past mid-
night.

Tickets on sale at the Michigan Union Bo.'
Office 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (M-F). $7.50,
$6.50, $5.50.
Sunday February 11
Hill Aud. 8 PM
{
And on sale at: Schoolkids Records and both Discount
Records. For more information: 763-2071. Eclipse Jazz
operates under the auspices of the Office of Majoi-,.
Events.


"P6fIIWI r'

Need a ride
out of town?

Check the IaiIQ
classifieds under
transportation

I

edipse
JAZZ ARTISTS ON TOUR!
f A
GRIOT GALAXY
SAM SANDERS & VISIONS
THE PARADISE THEATRE ORCHESTRA

Featuring
ALLEN BARNES
MARCUS BELGRAVE
RON ENGLISH
KENNYGRRETT
ED GOOCH
LaMONTE HAMILTON
DOC HOLLADAY
RON JACKSON
LEONARD KING
DON MAYBERRY
0 KEITH VREELAND
t LYMAN WOODARD
0
Tickets Go On Sale Tuesday!
Michigan Union Box Office Mon-
Fri, 11:30-5:30, and Wed. Feb. 7
at Schoolkids' and both Discount

$3.5
4.5
5.5{

IF