Tuesday, February 20, 1973
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
THE-MICHIGANIDAILY-Page Three
Marceau's mime creates
language of the heart'
By DONALD SOSIN
Marcel Marceau, mime; P-
wer Center, Sat. and Sun., Feb.
17 and 18. Choice Series of Uni-
versity Musical Society.
Nine style pantomimes and
five Bip pantomimes. Presenta-
tion of cards by Pierre Verry.
Have a flair for
artistic writing?
If you are interest-
poetry, and music,
drama, dance, film,
orwritng0 feature
-'stories a b out the
arts: contact Art
E di t or, c/o The
Michigan Daily.
Although billed as an entirely
new program. four of the four-
teen pantomimes presented this
past weekend by Marcel. Mar-
ceau were repeats of last sea-
son's show. This was hardly a
letdown, for each, opportunity to
see one of these studies offers
new insights, as there is so much
more in them than mere enter-
tainment value.
Marceau is total artist, one of
the few for whom -I have only
enormous respect. In most of
his work there is no visible hint
of technique, but what effort it
must take to capture the mo-
tion of a match flame, and to
incorporate it and a thousand
other bits of detail into a seam-
less portrait, such as The Small
Cafe, one of the new works on
the program. Here Marceau out-
lined the multifaceted activity in
such an establishment: the char-
acters at the bar, the fussy
customer who sends his dinner
back, the cook, the billiard and
checkers players, and the waiter,
wide-eyed and innocent, who ties
all this together as he threads
his way around the room (one
has long since forgotten that it
is a bare stage).
The hour draws late, the cafe
closes, the chairs are put up, the
floor swept, the last dawdlers
given impatient looks at the man-
ager has to painstakingly reopen
the door for them.
As transcendent as Marceau's
technique is, he can point it out
for virtuoso effect, as in The
Mask Maker, where alternately
laughing and crying "masks"
are thrown on his face, at first
slowly and carefully; as the pace
increases, the technique is tos-
sed aside and his two hands seem
to magic the masks into exist-
ence with dizzying speed. The
range of moods that Marceau
can evoke is seen here, as the
laughing face becomes stuck,
and betrays his heaving sobs.
The audience, laughing uproar-
Fij*1
OPENS TONIGHT
v-
COLOR
GP
Screen
ploy THE FIRESIGN THEATRE
by
starring Country Joe and the Fish, The James Gang,
New York Rock Ensemble, Elvin Jones (formerly
of the John Coltraine quartet), Doug Kershew and
White Lightnin'.
Plus SALVADOR DALI'S
"Un Chien Andlou"-an avante-garde excursion
into a land of surrealism and mind twisting pipe
dreams. (16 min.)
TUESDAY & THURSDAY-7:30 & 9:30
Modern Languages Auditorium III
(E. Washington at Thayer)
$1.25
NEW WORLD FILM CO-OP
iously only a moment ago, is now
dead silent, as the mask is pain-
fully pried off, leaving the cold,
passionless visage of the mask-
maker beneath.
Abstract images have a place
on the program, too. The Dream
takes place in a mysterious blue
light; various impressionistic se-
quences dissolve into each other,
and the character is perhaps on
a tightrope, but one seen through
a watery lens. He awakes with
a start, and then the dream be-
gins anew. The lady beside me
whispers to her husband that she
frankly didn't understand what it
is supposed to be, but Marceau
says it is not supposed to be any-
thing in particular. The feeling
is closer to dance, but the move-
ments are stylized, unique to
mime.
Backstage Sunday. I asked
Marcel Marceau to describe
some of his longer mimodamas,
and he immediately waved the
question aside, saying, "It is not
something one can talk about.
How can I explain this in words?
You must see it to understand
it." Pantomime, as Marceau
says, is the "language of t h e
heart" and words can too easily
get in the way and obscure the
direct emotional impact that the
art carries.
Music carries a similar impact,
and effective use is made of
it, sometimes simply with the tit-
les, pointedly presented by Mar-
ceau's partner, Pierre Verry;
elsewhere music is used for com-
ic effect, as in Bip Commits Sui-
cide; Bip, Marceau's Everyman
character, who can find himself
in an extraordinary variety of
situations, here decides to end
it all, and winds up a Victrole
for mood music. Twice he picks
up the needle and the music
stops abruptly.
Roughly one-millionth ofehu-
manity sat in the Power Center
this weekend. In his classic
piece, Youth, Maturity, Old Age
and Death, Marceau reaches out
to all the rest, and opens us
to the universality of man; com-
ing to life, aging, becoming. a
grown person, reaching senility,
rising for a last gasp, a flash
of all that he has experienced,
and then, sagging as life is ex-
tinguished. This is a stunning
evocation of man's mortality,
and in these fragile moments,
Marceau's artistry ensures his
immortality.
Turn to page six
for TV listings
W cbn
89.5 fm
9:00 Morning After Show
12:00 Progressive Rock
4:00 Folk
7:00 Sports
8:00 Rythm and Blues
11:00 Progressive Rock
3:00 Signoff
Marcel Marceau
John Denver: Getting high
on the Rocky Mountains
.{
x
F
r'.
Poets-
The Michigan
Daily Arts
Page is now
accepting
poetry for
ti
}
.;
{
publication.
Submit work
to Arts Editor
c/o The Daily._
.w.*. I
By DIANE LEVICK
Associate Arts Editor
Thank God John Denver drop-
ped out of college! That fateful
decision took Denver away from
the study of architecture and
plunged him into the. music
business rat-race. But his Satur-
day nightconcert at Hill Aud.
showed that he has come out of
it untainted and deserves every
bit of his current success-and
more.
H. J. Deutschendorf Jr., alias
John Denver, first made a big
name for himself as the author
of Peter, Paul, and Mary's hit,
"Leaving On a Jet Plane," but
considers his entertainer image
now just as important. "It's one
thing _ tonbe a songwriter," he
says. "When you have a hit
record ("Country Roads"), that
opens up a whole different thing."
When Denver told his sell-out
audience Saturday that he loved
performing "more than anything
else in the world, even more
than the mountains," somehow he
came off as being more sincere
than other artists with their "It's
a pleasure to be here" drivel.
Denver loves what he does, and
the audience loved him for it.
Yet, he says, "I'm very much
aware of where I was a couple
of years ago-and I'll probably
be there again . . . I dropped'
out of college to see how far IV
could go with my music. Annie
Shows at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9:05 p.m.
CICELY
TYSON
NOMINATED AS
BEST ACTRESS
IN
.adnitz / ATTI Productions
"SOUNDER"
A Robert B.Radnitz/Martin Ritt Film
which received
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINATION
as
BEST
PICTURE!
AND NOT LEAST
PAUL WINFIELD
AS "BEST ACTOR"
(his wife) and I will have fun
with this stuff." And what will he
do when it's all over? "I'll go
back to Aspen," he replies. And
he'll probably be damn happy
there, too.
The title song of his latest al-
bum, Rocky Mountain High, be-
gins "He was born in the sum-
mer of his 27th year." It's an
autobiographical work that fairly
well sums up the peaceful state
of mind he has reached since
moving to his Colorado home.
After having lived- in Japan, Ala-
bama, Texas, Florida, and Ari-
zone among other places with his
Air Force family, it seems that
Denver, 28, has finally found a
niche for himself in a mountain
chalet.
Though many of the songs Den-
ver played at Hill sounded auto-
biographical ("F o r B a b y,"
"Good-by Again," "Poems, Pray-
ers, and Promises"), he didn't
isolate himself in self-centered-
ness; rapport with the audience
was obviously important to him,
but that was there from the
start.
Denver didn't have a support-
ing act on before him as many
performers have to warm the
audience up. He didn't need one.
As he made his stage entrance
with Dick Kniss, his bass player,
the audience gave him an in-
credibly cordial welcome. Shouts
of "You're great!" and "Sounds
good!" (to which Denver replied,
"Sure feels good!") peppered the
performance.
Denver's voice live sounds as
full and powerful as it does on
record, which is no mean feat.
Playing alternately six and 12-
string guitar, Denver proved his
compositions could easily stand
alone in their own beautiful sim-
plicity, withoutthe additional
orchestration found on his al-
bums. However, he declares
sternly, "I have complete con-
trol over what material I do and
over the mixing. You know, the
art of recording is in the mix-
ing ."
He is no virtuoso on guitar,
but he's quite capable on stage,
and his imaginative arrange-
ments, which alternate in the
same song from pattern-picking
to strumming and various other
combinations, enhance his simple,
appealing melodies.- ,
With straight blond hair fram-
ing a little-boy face, Denver
sings unabashedly sentimental-
but not corny-lyrics, such as
these from his "Sunshine On My
Shoulders":
If I had a day that I could
give to you,
I'd give to you a day just like
today.
If I had a song that I could
sing for you,
I'd sing a song to make you
feel this way.
And by "this way" he means
happy.
ARTS
Daily Photo by KAREN KASMAUSKI
This member of the dissolved
Mitchell Trio, which played Hill
Aud. five years ago, also stresses
environmental themes in his
songs. His involvement with
ABC's TV special, Bighorn, re-
flects his concern with maintain-
ing the Rockies as they are to-
day. In fact, Denver has a couple
more ABC specials scheduled and
a chance to do his own show in
1974.
He has come a long way from
being an opening act for Neil
Diamond because he's definitely
a showman, and there's nothing
wrong with that. Fie on you who
call that "plastic!" Denver does
a well-rounded show, telling an-
cedotes, doing hysterically funny
impressions of himself, and, yes,
even juggling!
I've never seen a standing ova-
tion stand up so fast for an en-
core as I saw Saturday night.
Strangely enough, Denver hadn't
prepared one, so someone yelled
"Start all over again!" and was
greeted by deafening cheers.
"Bring him back again!" is all
I can say.
CULTLURE CAENDAR
UAC-CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL-Discussion - screening
with underground filmmaker Stan VanDerBeek in Aud.
3, MLB at 3; multi-screen image event with VanDerBeek
at 8:30 tonight in Nat. Sci. Aud.
FILM-AA Film Co-op presents Straw Dogs in Aud. A, An-
gell at 7, 9 tonight; Cinema Guild shows Western thrill-
ers of the 30's: Buck Jones in Shadow Ranch; Tom Mix
in Race with Death at 7, 9:05 tonight in Arch. Aud.
MUSIC-The Music School features U Jazz Band at 8 tonight
in Rackham Aud.
.~Walk Together Soulful People
"TAKE 3
Saturday, Feb. 24 ||Bursley Hall
Doors Open 9:30 p.m. Show & Dance
SADVANCE TICKETS ||AT DOOR
$1.75 PER PERSON $2.00 PER PERSON
$3.25 COUPLE $3.50 COUPLE
UAC BLACK AFFAIRS
....... S. r..........:........r.......:. ... ...i. .r.:..^"i...............1.............:,..... . . . . . . . . .
h 1 . ...vv:::'"vc.t.,. .. .~... ...::. ' . r . .v: :...... . ...,r. ... ....
Daily Photo by KAREN KASMAUSKI
John Denver
____________________ 'I
4 BIG REASONS
TO SEE
"End Of he Road"
n 1
The Master's Touch
. . the complete pianist," . . . "King of the Piano," . . . "great master pianist"-a
few of the critics' superlatives used to describe Claudio Arrau's profound musical
artistry. He is renowned in every music capital of the world, and returns to Ann Arbor
for the third time to present the following program: Beethoven's Sonata in E-flat,
Op. 27, No. 1; the Sonata in B minor by Liszt; and Schumann's Carnaval, Op. 9.
Recital in Hill Auditorium, Friday, February 23, at 8:30.
"One of the more chilling episodes among
fictional treatments of a woman's life and
love."
-N.Y. Times
The nd
o rrepnnl y h TERRY SOUTHERN
V179 ' I !FI
BES OFHE ASTk~.
I
'Irrsfvr.--. f
[ V III WJII :RSA
.. . .