The Michigan Daily-Sunday, March 18, 1979-Page 7
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Loft's latest: Almost Fantastick
r~. t-,
WINNERS and HIGHLIGHTS
OF FESTIVAL_
Shows at 7, 9 & 11 pm
in both Old Arch. Aud. and
Angell Hall, Aud. A.
Tickets: $2.00
By RICH LORANGER
THE FANTASTICKS has come to be
America's longest running play, and it
is easy to see why. Though the charac-
ters themselves are modern, the
musical's themes and staging make it
quite timeless. It sings of young love
and not so young parents, of misunder-
standings and seeing the world. The
Fantasticks is an intimate and unusual
play, most suitably produced in the
Canterbury Loft.
The story concerns two young (and if
not star-crossed then at least parent-
crossed) lovers, Matt and Louisa. They
are next-door neighbors, but alas! their
fathers are feuding and to separate
them have built a large wall, over
which they constantly meet. With a
twist in this age-old plot, the fathers are
secretly not feuding and would like to
see the lovers married, thinking that
whatever parents say no to children
will want. To reunite the families, the
dads hire a bandit, El Gallo (who also
narrates) to abduct or "rape" Louisa,
allowing Matt to rescue her. This
works, and the scene ends happily.
Act II, however, goes beyond the
happy ending. With the wall torn down,
the families begin to bicker and the
children have doubts. They need yet to
see the world. Here El Gallo and his two
accomplices, Henry and Mortimer, en-
ter to help Matt and Louisa toward this
end and eventually to resolve the play.
The Fantasticks
hy Tom; Jones and
Harvey Schmidt
(aerIh r/ ( pI m.
M'arch 1517, 8 p.m.
eyRQER Ns
Eli Gallo ...
Li s ......a
MVatt. .. . .
Mimle... ..
I tuchlteet.
Beillmer)....
i eor v Alb ert s
N ort irner...
Christopher Flynn
.........Angela Jones
.David Torrent mne
Lannie Steele
...Robert Wilcox
.eonard Hottum
.David P. Curtis
..........Joni Meyer
David Y. Curtis, drur: Brad Butler
& ,Martha Pierce,/ ,C (harles
Ltovd, piuuw.
Roger returns from spring break
W ELL, WHILE the lucky few were off chasing their emphemeral
$200 suntans on the crowded sands of Florida, I was joining
the many having a nice, relaxing spring break in the pleasant Detroit
suburbs. This is, after all, what spring break if for: sleep, some
studying, quiet evenings at home with the family, and plenty of time to
plan how you can scrounge up $200 by next March so you can have a
real vacation.
Of course, vacations are not all fun and games, and one overcast
afternoon last week I scoured the city of Detroit for graffiti to report in
this illustrious publication. Although there is certainly a lot of it, it is
unfortunately all the same: "BK Action," "$coni," and myriad
misspellings of "Errol Flynn" pretty much takes care of it. So Ann
Arbor retains the pride of place in the statewide graffiti contest, and
my return here filled me with the same delight that is felt by every
real student.
AND NOW FOR PART TWO of the Graduate Library review. The
first thing that one notices upon approaching the Grad these days is
Crazy Mary. As a recent addition to the Diag entertainment schedule,
she and Dr. Diag now provide the U with the capability for around-the-
clock eccentric behavior. Unlike the good doctor, however, Crazy
Mary actually accosts people and is something of an embarrassment.
Call me a sexist if you will, but I have been brought up to believe that
being looney is a man's job, and I look forward to the resumption of
Dr. Diag's unchallenged rule.
Once inside the building, one is confronted with a selection of over
500 carrels from which to choose, and like the proverbial children in
the candy store, graffiti connoisseurs find themselves hard put to
decide where to start. My advice: be systematic. Although it is tem-
pting to run to the nearest carrel, bang on the door, shout "Excuse me,
please!" and begin reading, I. have found that this approach will
sometimes lead to tension, as some hotheaded students are unwilling
to forgive even the briefest interruptions. Instead, one should s lec a
quiet time, say, eight in the morning, and proceed in a calm and or-
derly manner to absorb the words of wisdom left by our predecessors.
To attempt to recount all the choice samples available would be
impossible; however, here are a few representatives of the three most
popular topics: philosophy (including religion), school, and sex.
PHILOSOPHY: Debates on the relative merits of Judaism and
Christianity abound, often ending with remarks as pointed as "Drop
the Ham on Israel," or "When I wake up, one thing I'm always glad
about is that I'm not a Baptist." Some comments are more intellec-
tual-"Hi, I'm Godot! Where is everybody?"-but the best are the
home-grown philosophical observations of perceptive students, like
"Time.is nature's way of keeping 'everything from happening at on-
ce," or, more obscurely, "Rust never sleeps!" and "Nuclear waste
adds variety to life."
SCHOOL: Apparently, some students take school so seriously as
to feel anxiety and pressure, particularly at finals time. From those
people we have, "Jump now, avoid the rush," and "What are the
chances of the Messiah coming before finals?" Another proposes an
alternative to school: "Join the army! See new places! Meet exotic
people.. . and kill them!" But even while most complain-"I'd rather
have a frontal lobotomy than a course in geology"-some can take it:
"If you can't hack it here, pick up your marbles and go home."
Others have constructively labelled the non-functional knobs on
the radiator to read "View Control," allowing the student to adjust the
picture window to anything from "Tropical Paradise" to "Trapped in
a Submarine."
SEX: Much of the sexual graffiti apparently comes from students
who show the effects of being too long in the library: "My sex life oc-
curs only in quantum units," or, to xresolve a knotty spelling debate,
"Clitoris is a third declension Latin noun: Nominate plural is es."
Still more pathetic is "What could be more exciting than spending
twelve hours studying fluid hydraulics? Sex, you say?" Many students
claim to have engaged in sexual activity of some kind within the well-
pencilled walls of the carrels, but few of these claims are convincing.
Some young men no doubt have, shall we say, first hand evidence.
More interesting still are the reactions to the activity of others.
For example, "Dennis plus Linda" is scrawled in a score of carrels,
drawing responses like "Dennis plus Dennis," "Dennis plus Assorted
Farm Animals," "Dennis Anyone?" and, finally, "Dennis plus Linda:
Let's kill these two." One wonders if this abuse affected their relation-
ship: Any further information about this couple would be much ap-
preciated. Write, cal'l, or spraypaint a message to me on the side of my
apartment building or car.
Finally, on one particularly tasteless and explicit door, someone
has written in disgust, "This Carrel Is Crude!" to which a more
profound and sophisticated associate has added, "As in Truth, my
friend."
I
THE SINGING ranged considerably.
Christopher Flynn (as El Gallo) had the
most outstanding voice of the produc-
tion. His rendition of "Try to Remem-
ber," the play's most well-known and
beautiful song, was quite pleasurable,
almost moving. He didn't miss a beat or
a note (or covered masterfully if he
did).
David Turrentine as Matt gave a
greatly spirited performance, which
coupled rightly with his well-trained
voice. He sang as if he thoroughly en-
joyed it, and tried to communicate this
enjoyment to the audience. There he
faltered very rarely, and even then his
expressions helped retain the emotion..
Unfortunately his lovelorn counter-
part, played by Angela Jones, did not
match in talent. As the only female
voice, her singing range was much too
limited. When she could hit the notes
her vocal quality was exceptional;
otherwise it was the most distracting
part of the play. Still, Angela's final
impression is a good one-her last
number, "They Were You," a duet with
Turrentine, was by far her best.
T HE OTHER singing characters,
Huchlebel (Matt's father) and
Bellomer (Louisa's dad), played by
Robert Wilcox and Leonard Hottum
respectively, were vocally adequate.
As equivalent characters, they seemed
to be competing performance-wise.
While Hottm could outsing Wilcox,
Huclebel was the fuller character, and
more comic than Bellomer.
Curiously enough, the character
which stood out perhaps the most was
without a singing or speaking part
altogether. This was the omnipresent
white-faced mime, done by Lannie
Steele. While always on stage or just to
the side, the mime was ever the
manipulator behind the character's
lives. He adjusted the props and
sometimes become one; he could
change the weather and the mood. Lan-
nie's part was necessary if not in-
credibly skillful. Even so, he remained
one of the play's odd delights.
Although most of the play is in song, it
did require a certain amount of acting.
El Gallo was by far the most enthusing
character, and his voice commanded at-
tettion and interest. The two lovers,
Matt and Louisa, had mostly rather
simple speaking parts, and I somehow
feel relieved that they never had to ac-
tally say, "I love you." At the end of Act
I, David Turrentine stood up pretty well
in a three-to-one swordfight. Also,
Angela Jones has a really charming
stance, and kept reminding me of Won-
derland's Alice.
THE TWO FATHERS have what
should be their strongest acting scenes
at the very beginning, when they
chastise their children. At that point,
granted, they weren't warmed into
their roles, but they could have at least
looked angry. Otherwise they come off
as a pair of quite opposite, some-what
wacky middle-agers.
The greatest comedy relief really
came from David P. Curtis and Jon
Meyer, as Henry Alberts and sidekick
Mortimer. They are a bumbling old
pair of actors that hitch up with El
Gallo to assist in his capers. Henry,
though, can do nothing but recite con-
fused Shakespeare, and Mortimer's
only specialty is dying (which he
lengthily demonstrates). They trip and
bounce around enough to put just the
right amount of slapstick to the play.
This production of The Fantasticks is
not actually put on by an organized
theatre group. The idea was originated
by director David P. Curtis, and
everything seemed to congeal around
him. Though this is not a particularly
spectacular production, it is enjoyable
and shows the amount of effort put forth
by this group drawn together. It is uplif-
ting and, as with the multi-colored rain,
occasionally quite innovative.
The play itself, though, makes this
worth seeing. TheFantasticks has been
around for some time, but most people I
asked about it have heard of it but
never managed to catch it. Here is your
chance to take in this truly original
play. The Fantasticks is imbedded in
American culture, yet it celebrates
things which are by nature universal.
s I
(1
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TWO STUDENT MEMBERSHIPS OPEN
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" TERM TWO YEARS
PETITIONS AT
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3RD FLOOR MICHIGAN UNION
DEADLINE TO FILE MARCH 22, 1979
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Be corne
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SINGERS AT RACKHAM
*16MM FILM FEST WINNERS
* T HE SHARON HOLLOW
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* A REVIEW OF 'THE DEER-
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ON PARADE
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* WHAT'S NEW ON CABLE TV
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WEDNESDAY IS MONDAY IS
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FOR PRICE OF ONE
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Billy
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LA(' r
WIVER"ITY "fMUSICAL'80CIETY presents
Benny Goodman
alld
I Ii'bA.7rSII" Ny mplIO li y )rchss ra
G ust ax Mcicr. Conduct or
at tlhe
Fifth Annual Benicefit Concert
Wayside Theatre WALT DISNEY'S
3 20 Washtenow Wfedh Avenue Irre UIas"
Phone 434-1782
The 'King of Sw
the University S5
for an evening o,
inusic and Broa
to benefit the &S
Music Scholars)
MON., TUES., THURS. 7 & 9
FRI. 7 & 9:25--SAT. 1.3-5-7-9:25
SUN. & WED. 1-3-5-7-9
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINATIONS
INCLUDING
BEST ACTRESS
BEST SCREENPLAY
BEST SONG
Ellen Alan
Burstyn Aida
w.ing' joins
inphonv
tdway Vhits
chioo/ of
i
'Next "feCIe
D NDF'~A M~e EV IH
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