<14 The Michigan Doily-Saturday, February 17, 1979-Pog6. 5 PT'S 'INSPECTOR'... Generally respectable By JOSHUA PECK As contemplated writing this review, it ocurred to me to write two separate piec under different headlines-one for he first act, and another for the secld. I cannot remember ever seeing a pbduciton, or for that matter, a per- son with a more advanced case of schzophrenia. S m'e first, and regrettably longer act, The Inspector General Nikolai Gogol Power Center February 14-18 Anton Atonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, .the Maor.................. Philip LeStrange Ivan Aleandrich Khlyestaskov.. Thomas Bloom Anna Andreyena .............. Michele Roberge Maria Antono'na.................... Jessie Hobart James Martir, Director; David Segal, Lighting De- signer; March Froehlic, Costumes; Dick Block, Scenery. while nit without a sprinkling of amusini moments, is a stultifying, wanderng bore. Scarcely anything works: the pacing -is snail-like, featuring pregnant pauses sans fetus. Guest artist Philip LeStrange is com- petent.but nothing more. The act's far- cical rats are so bereft of any honesity humaz motivation as to mask much of their inderlying comic impact. In ;he second act, the director creatd brilliance and mirth. The stage is avash with wit, ranging from deligitful slapstick at the hands of Pat Garer and Thomas Stack, to the sub- tler,more cerebral work of LeStrange and to a lesser degree, Thomas Bloom, in tie role of the bogus inspector. TIE INSPECTOR GENERAL'S plot is scarcely relevant, but concerns a smillish town in Russia during the 183)s, whose mayor receives a missive warning him that a government official wil soon arrive to investigate the town. Convinced by two dodderingly idiotic laidowners, Peter Ivanovich Dobchin- sky and Peter Ivancvich Bobschinsky by name, that a visitor staying at the local inn is the inspector general in the guise of a civilia, the town's smat- tering of corrupt bureaucrats readies itself to receive their distinguished guest. Khlyestakov, tie "inspector,'" is only too happy to accept the offerings of the village elders, Bough it seems to take him rather an ilordinately long time to figure out why.his is happening to him. When he doeshe milks the situation for all it is worth. THE COVEDY scores on many levels. In on respect it is a work 'of social criticin, exposingiin microcosm the length aid breadth of the pervasive corruption tfat seems to have reigned in 19th Centiry Czarist Russia. Gogol rejected the social critics' self- serving interpretation of his work, but that, most likely, was only a bid for survival. le did have other targets in mind, thogh: There is the concept of poshlost banality or self-satisfied mediocri,, that is the focus of much of the Russan satire of the last century. The misrably mediocrity of the low- ranking :ivil servant is deftly 'assailed here, pehaps as well as anywhere. David Manis leads the pack of bureaucrats that scampers to please Khlyestakov. There is less of the comic spark that shone in some of Manis' earlier performances, but he still manages to amuse, especially as he makes his pecuniary approach to the "inspector." TOM STACK plays the stuttering im- becile Plopov, a mouse of a man, with slickness, avoiding the pitfall of shud- dering to the point where we can no longer laugh in sympathy with his fear. The benefits of subtlety unfortunately escaped Jim Pawlak, whose imper- sonation of a stupid, blustering Ger- man, while mostly mute, is overstated. Daniel Ziegler, as always, speaks with an unpleasant, strained quality that kills any pleasure his lines might afford us. His acting style, too, is over- blown, and many of the ponderous pauses that dampen the first act are his. For farcical sensibility, there is no actor on stage to top Pat (Dobchinsky) Garner. Early in the first scene, Bob- chinsky, played by Joe Urla, ploddingly relates the reasoning which leads him to certainty that Khlyestakov is the czar's agent. Curiously, the humor here stems from Garner's antics, as he strains to have his additions to the narrative heard. One hopes that we'll soon see more of this talent in a larger comic role. THOMAS BLOOM'S portrayal of the mock official succeeds in a modest way, yet is less than it could and should be. There ought to be more pleasure in watching the asinine Ivan come into such good fortune than Bloom makes possible with his slightly lackadaisical manner. And yet, Bloom improves with the second curtain, as does everything about the show. His vocal whine, which serves only to annoy us elsewhere, works to his advantage as he wheedles money and favors from the fools who imgine themselves to be his subor- dinates. Bloom's physical agility is his winning tool in the wooing scene, as he darts lasciviously back and forth bet- ween the mayor's daughter and wife. These two good spots vindicate Bloom, and the audience Wednesday night greeted him with the loudest applause of all at the evening's end. Director James Martin blended many individualistic touches into the .show, and almost all work to the production's advantage. In the scene where each official approaches Kylyestakov in turn (with bribe in hand), Martin has taken care to see that every slammed door and rapidly traversed staircase is motivated, and not left to mere comedic necessity. The staging of the show as a whole is beautifully done, even in the rne, wherein some 25 cast members j'rb the stage. THE SURREALISTIC turn that this Inspector takes at its end comes as a shock, but ends up working in its favor. The mayor speaks of imagining pigs all around him, and the cast erupts into an cacophony of swinish snorting. A soldier enters .to herald the actual in- spector's arrival, and the sound system erupts into Twentieth Century song. These touches, and the sudden acknowledgement of the audience in the play's last minutes, bring the message tellingly home. "What are you laughing at?" yells LeStrange. "You're laughing at yourselves." Martin's only obvious error was in sending Martin Friedman (as the mayor's servant) high above the stage to wave his hands senselessly over the workings of a clock, as if massaging them. Why? ANOTHER, LESS serious failing is the inattention to the peculiarities of the Russian language. The name "Anton" is given its French pronunciation, the paltronymic suffix "ovich" is over- stressed (Russian sound -it as "itch") and Khlyestakov's name is made too much of. It sounds funny to Russian audiences, too, but not that funny. Finally, one wonders why one actor of the entire cast, and a minor one at that, is called upon to produce a Russian ac- cent. Michele Roberge and Jessie Hoba t as the mayor's daughter and wife, create a little comic clamor of their own, by viture of their politely vicious battle for Khlyestakov's attentions. Roberge, while funny at times, tries too hard to amuse us, and thus fails to do so. Hobart is better, hitting home most notably with her petulant shrieks of protest over being belittled by her mother. Hobart's first costume, a misshapen, white dress embroidered in blue and red, was the only gaffe in an otherwise luscious design. If there is one thing we can say for sure of young Maria, it is that she ought to be strikingly attrac- tive, so as to inspire the false inspector to heights of lust. Hobart could hardly appear so, cloaked in a sack. All the more a shame, in view of the fact that the actress herself is possessed of a serenely appealing visage. AS FOR THE Guest Artist, his work flowed like one long crescendo; from mediocre early on to incisively dynamic at the play's finish. The cadenza of the piece (am I pressing the metaphor?) was his virulent assault directly at the audience during the last minutes. As goes LeStrange, so goes the In- spector General. The cumulative effect of the evening, then, relies on the extent to which the audiehce's memory of the adagio first set lingers on through the sterling second. This critic, blessed with poor attention, left with a smile. Watson, today you positively scntillate By KATIE HERZFELD Christopher Watson will have no place to dance in a few months. Jacob- son's is terminating the lease on Dance Space (his studio for the past ten months), and the 29-year-old director of Ann Arbor's Dance Theater II who also teaches dance classes and works in a bookstore will have to relocate. His doesn't seem much like a settled existence, but Watson finally feels content. His struggles all revolve around the dancer's lifestyle into which he has settled after years of avoidance. The first time Watson danced was in a high school production of Camelot. Besides this .show dancing, Watson had little exposureto dance before college. ONCE, HOWEVER, his high school Spanish teacher told the class about An Evening With the Royal Ballet. "This was when Rudolph Numyev and Margot Fontaine were at the height of their popularity," Watson explained, "and dance was suddenly known to a lot of people because these two could be readily identified. "My teacher said it was okay for men to dance. It was very controversial then, and it still is. So I went to see this film." And here his journey to becoming a dancer began. Christopher Watson has a large face, gentle eyes, and long, expressive, strong hands. In the studio above the Roots shoe store on State street, we talked in a small living room. Photographs of children dancing cover one wall, with posters about dance concerts and classes on another. OCCASIONALLY Watson would extend a long leg with an easy, graceful stretch as he talked freely about his life and ideas. "As a youngster, I couldn't consider dance even as a hobby. It was baseball or nothing." Following high school, Watson attended Coe College in Iowa, a school with less than a thousand students. During his junior.year, he studied in London and met three Australian dancers. "They were the first flesh and blood dan- cers I'd ever met. I probably did have stereotypes about dancers before I met thembut these were intelligent, interesting people, and their dancing THE A Play by NikolaiRGogol INSPFCTOR GENERAL TH E A Play by U ,., ' Featuring Philip LeStrange as the Mayor Wed.-Sat.; Feb 14-17,8 PM Sun., Feb 18, 2 PM 'I j- - I' A I. II 'Tickets at the PTP Box Office in the Michigan League 313/764.0450 & through all Hudsons Stores. The University of Michigan Professional Theatre, Program Guest Artist Series 1979 Fbwer Center."Ann Arbor Presented as part of an all campus Russian Arts Festival. ,. -i intrigued me. Because I could relate to them as people, dance became real to me as a way of expression." Watson took his first dance class in London, and although he didn't accept it at the time because he was already 20, an age he thought too old to begin a dance career, he was "very, very interested." HE RECEIVED a bachelor's degree in sociology, and, realizing that he didn't want to pursue this subject any longer, he tried theater the summer following his graduation. After a year with theater work and odd jobs, he thought he wanted to write about the arts and entered the Medill School of Journalism. Halfway through this program, Watson knewhe wanted to be on the inside of dance operations. He works as a community relations director for a Houston dan- ce company, but decided after one year to be a dancer. He returned to Chicago, got a similar position with the Chicago Ballet, and began studying with them and the Chicago See PANCE, Page 8 y2 $ . Andy Warhol's 1966 CHELSEA GIRLS Cinema 11 proudly presents a rare opportunity to view one of the few genuine Warhol films still intact-with an even more rare appearance by one of its stars; and a regular in the early Worhold stable, Ondine. CHELSEA GILRS is' almost 3'/z hours long, and is projected on twin screens; half-hour sections depict "stories" taking place in NYC's famous Chelsea Hotel. (The original program lists room numbers for each section, but all references to rooms were deleted when the management of the Chelsea Hotel threatened a low- suit after the first screening.) As the film moves forward in viewing time, connections between segments are formed; a psychological linearity takes place; reality and play-acting coalesce, CHELSEA GIRLS makes the later Paul Morrisey-Warhol efforts tame in comparison: if you've seen FLESH, TRASH, et al, you really haven't seen Warhol l Featuring Warhol's favorite stars: Nico, Gerard Malanga, "International Velvet," Ingrid Superstar, Mario Montez, and "Pope" Ondine. Ondine will be present to speak on the film and answer questions from the audience. Don't miss this exciting cinematic experience! SUN-MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH TON ITE at Angell Hall Aud. "A" 7:00 ONLY $2.00 The Ann Arr Film Cooperive presents at Schoring Aud.: The Ninth Ann Arbor 8mm Film Festival Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, February 16, 17, and 18 Schorling Auditorium, School of Education 8mm filmmakers from all over the U.S. and Canada will compete for over $1,000 in cash and prizes, given by an awards jury for excellence in the growing field of 8mm film. Friday shows at 7 & 9, and Saturday shows dit 2, 7, & 9 are all different. Winners and highlights will be screened on Sunday at 7 and 9. Admission $ I per show Mediatrics presents: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (Steven Spielberg) First time on campus. A global search for answers to the mysteries of unidentified flying objects which have fueled one of the most intriguing controversies of our time. This magnificent presentation of the concept of extra-terrestrial visitors creates a truly unique experience in motion' picture entertainment. It brings you as close as possible to an event that could be the most momentous of our time-the exoerience of contact with alien beings: With RICHARD DREYFUSS. Friday, Feb. 16 Nat Sci Aud 6:30, 9:00, 11:30 Saturday, Feb. 17 admission $150 (Thursday's film is cancelled) DO IT ANNUALLY BUT DO IT TODAY! BUY A 1979 Michi anensian Yearook 11 A .0. I 6 l_.= 1l IA A'NIH