The Michigan Daily-Saturday, March 18, 1978-Page 5 'West Side Story' 1* - 1: By JOSHUA PECK W ELL, A flawless production would have been too much to ask for. But overlooking a few major goofs and a gaggle of minor distractions and detractions, Musket's current West Side Story makes for a sometimes exhilarating, enchanting evening of theater. Jon Zimmerman and Patricia Preston play Tony and Maria, (nee Romeo and Juliet). They are both suc- cessful in some respects, and painful failures in others. West Side Story PMer C:enter Book by Arthur Laurents Music by Leonard Bernstain Tony.................. .....Jon Zimmerman Maria........................Patricia Preston Bernardo.............. .........Andrew Swee Anita ..........................Ellen Sandweiss Riff .............................. Greg Conley Krupke ................ ......... David Crites Shrank ....................... Robert Frankel Glad Hand........ .......Douglas Foreman Doc .......... ... .......... Michael Greene Chino..................Jose Luis Urla, Jr. Action....... ............Scott Lazarus Anybodys .. ................. Nancy Kling Robert Alexander, idirecor; Peter Kentes, i'horegArphfr; Leif Bjaland, tnguxid diretor; Ben- jamin Whitely, racal director; David Boyer, xe. te~liner; Timothy Hunter, fighuing drcsigner; Kathleen D. Schaadt, cofnune designer. Zimmerman. sings magnificently throughout the show. In "Maria," he reaches for the originally-written high notes, which no other Tony I've seen has attained. (Bernstein wrote a lower register alternative for those not up to the soaring falsetto task.) UNFORTUNATELY, Zimmerman's soaring vocal achievements make his inadequate acting glare all the brighter. He does not, by a long shot, ruin the show; he merely lacks the ear- thiness and vibrancy to convince us that we are watching a "star-crossed lover," tragedy bound. As Maria, Preston suffers from no such contrast in abilities. As an actress, singer and dancer she is a cut above fair, though just about all of her moments with Zimmerman are awk- ward, i.e., unloving. The instants that will stand out in my mind are those when she is alone in a spotlight, as in her beautifully done solo in "Tonight." r Of the production staff, choreographer Peter Kentes deserves the most credit. He took a cast selected predominately with vocal director Whitely's needs in mind, and turned them into quite a cohesive, tight dance troupe. The-Jets, especially, look as if all they've been doing these past mon- ths is rehearsing their choreographic feats. But that is obviously not the case. THE PAINSTAKINGLY trained Jets are responsible for both of the produc- tion's best songs: "Cool" and "Gee, Of- ficer Krupke." In the former, the ives up clashing rhythms and dissonant theme bolster a tension of tangible dimension. The latter proved to be the audience's favorite, in taking a broad sarcastic slap at the Establishment, with vulgarisms thrown in for topping. The depressing elements of the cast were surprisingly numerous. David Pevsner whined his way through the part of Baby John, an insecure Jet. Director Alexander should have choked a little of the "cuteness" out of Nancy Kling's Anybodys. David Crites was lackluster as Krupke, and Robert Frankel as Shrank a tad worse. And if Douglas Foreman (Glad Hand) is once more cast as an unfunny, sniveling idiot, I will take up axe murder as an1 avocation. THE SHARKS ARE led dynamically by Andrew Swee as Bernardo and Ellen Sandweiss as Anita. Swee especially exhibits mastery over his character down to the macho Latin swagger in his walk. His dance steps, too, were exper- tly maneuvered. Sandweiss, though a bit Hebraic at times, captained the female Puerto Rican contingent with style. She was particularly peppery in the caustically comic "America, with the help of an admirable job by the other Shark women. An awkward bit of blocking sent Swee flailing into the orchestra pit during the climactic knife fight, but he recovered gracefully. There were other problems to its a 5 { R Y 9 name, Tony and Maria (Jon Zimmerman and Patricia Preston) in a romantic money from Musket's production of "West Side Story." with the use of the stage, such as an arrangement which gave me the distin- ct feeling that Maria's bedroom was in the middle of Ninth Avenue. I also won- der if Tony and Maria objected to the interruption of their embrace by over- eager stagehands. GREG CONNELLY as Riff was steady and quite effective when called to violence. I wonder, though, if the very skillful Scott (Action) Lazarus would not have been the right man for that role. West Side Story has a reputation among some as the greatest stage musical ever written. Musket's stimulating and provocative rendition does the notion proud. Daily Photo by BRAD BENJAMIN Sharks Nibbles and Consuelo (Dick Hayden and Jane Kinset) dance up a storm in Musket's production of "West Side Story." New Sweet misdirected By TIM YAGLE T HE HARD rocking British quartet known as Sweet isn't quite as hard rocking as they used to be. They've some relaxing music about California nights and everything that can happen out there in crazyland. A song that really isn't much of anything, "Silver- bird," follows. It has a lackadaisical folk-pop melody, and really is not worth listening to. "Dream On" (not to be confused with the Aerosmith hit) follows with a nice and relaxing piano and violin duet. THE NEXT TUNE, "Love Is Like Oxygen," (catchy title) almost returns, in spots, to Sweet's hard rocking style, ("Ballroom Blitz," "Set Me Free," and most of the cuts from their previous album Off The Record). "Love" com- pares getting love to getting oxygen: Love is, like oxyg'en You get too much, you get too high Not enough andyou 're gonna die Loveistlike oxvgen You get too much, you get too high Not enough and you're gonna die Lu ii-'ger; you hughi. The guitar and piano midsection gets somewhat dull, and the end drags a bit, too. The flip side is not much different. "Strong Love" is a decent attempt to catch on to the Saturday Night Fever craze, but it won't have you dancing in the aisles. The inevitable song about a lost 1 ve and the poor guy who wants his sweetheart back, "Lettres D'Amour," is sure to soften your heart with its mushy melody. I'LL NEVER understand the title of the next number, but it will make you think. "Air On A' Tape Loop" has a good, flowing rhythm but oddly enough, the sparse lyrics (spoken intermitten- tly) are the first four letters of the Greek alphabet. "Air" gets a little sleepy in the middle, but synthesizers and "synthesized voices" of bassist Steve Priest and guitarist Andy Scott spice it up a little at the end. A bizarre tune indeed. What is even more strange about Level Headed is its cover. It has the same concept as Off The Record, but there I eventually figured out what that design represented. This one will take me awhile longer. Level Headed is a change for Sweet. I hope they don't adapt this new easier rock style permanently because it sim- ply is not them. They were and are much better as a hard rocking band. MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE COLLEGIUM MARC STUDENT HOUSING FALL AND WINTER 1978-79 Would you like to live in an elegant neo-Tudor mansion (East Quad)? Dining hall, library, cultural events, interesting associates, old-world ambience. The Medieval and Renaissance Collegium is now accepting reservations for student accommodations in the MARC Residence House. effective September 1978. If you ore a MARC concentrator or if you are interested in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, you are eligible to live in the MARC House. For information or to reserve a room for the fall, see the director, Russell Fraser (2619 Haven. 764-4140): or phone the MARC office 763-2066), or stop by the office (M-F 9:00.12:00 and 1:00-4:00, N-11, Law Quad) with your name and address. Act now on your reservation. Only a limited number of places are available. Redeamus ad antra. THE OFFICE OF MAJOR EVENTS presents JCKSON BROWN SPECIAL GUEST STAR KARLA BONOFF .r WED., APRIL 12, 8 PM, CRISLER ARENA Reserved seats $8 and $7 Tickets go on Sale Sun., March 19, 10 am at Crisler Arena After March 19, tickets available at Mich. Union Box Office, M-F, 11:30-5:30 (763-2071). Sorry, no personal checks. Lelel Headed Sweet CapitolSTAG 1744 taken an about face in their philosophy toward music. Their latest album, Level Headed, could be a transition LP for them - an attempt to figure out where they are going. Or they could already have decided that this is what they are going to do. I hope not. "California Nights" opens this mostly folksy and easy rock LP with THE L------NG AND THE SH --RT OF IT THE LONG: If you are between 17 * and 32 years old and would like to experience Israel for 6 months, a semester or year, we've got the programs! Learn Hebrew, volunteer in a development town, dig into a kibbutz, live the land and the people in these historic times. Most programs cost little more than airfare alone. Room and board are included. Col- lege credits are available where applicable. * and a high school graduate THE SHORT: If you are in high school, college, or older you should spend this summer in Israel. There are dozens of programs to choose from-many of- fering college credits. Be an archaeologist, work on a kibbutz, learn Hebrew, dance, tour, discover your Jewish+ roots. All programs offer rare challenges and in-depth Israeli experiences. So whether you're interested in the long or the short of it call today or write for the free descriptive booklet. American Zionist Youth Foundation Israel Program Center 515 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022 (212) 751-6070 Name - Address City State. Zi p Age _ Telephone-_ __ I.