THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Arts & Enterta inm ent Friday, January 28, 1977 Page Five

°

DISMAL WORLD PORTRAYED:

'Red Ryder'

:

Acute

By LEE DONALDSON boy, has just completed his seems slightly arbitrary. I
OPENING NIGHT of When graveyard shift and is being re- found myself frantically scan-
You Comin' Back, Red placed by a waitress named An- ning the set for something the
Ryder, could have easily turned gel. They talk, perhaps too long characters can bash his head
intoan eenin ofterrorizing and pointlessly. Gradually, a in with.
an unwitting audience into afew people meander in for Stephen's futile attacks on
hysterical frenzy. But it didn't. breakfast. Teddy don't seem quite enough
And we have an acute script, a Finally Teddy, a wayside release of the high level anxi-
superior cast and perceptive hitchhiker, arrives with his ety that has been created. His
audience to thank. girlfriend. Chaos begins to take power seems too easily relin-
The play takes place in an hold. Teddy has a gun, a car quished to him by the other
all-night diner in New Mexico. full of dope, and a penchant characters. He, in fact, doesn't
Stephen Ayder (Red), a bus- for sardonic quips. He involves reveal quite enough about the
the patrons in a swirl of com- characters to warrant their tac-
pelling fantasy games. Every- it immobilitv.
one becomes hypnotized and Other problems are that the
ooedient. central situation of Red Ryder
TEDDY reveals himself to has both film and stage ante-
be much more than his cowboy cedents. Teddy is perhaps too
affectations tell. He is the vil- profound; even for a "disaffect-
S sp o o lain "that holds society up for ed youth." And the play's com-
ransom". In these alarming mo- ic relief is often too intermit-
ments of utter truth, he ex- tent and misplaced.
By CHRIS DYHDALO poses the people in his captive DESPITE pitfalls, though, ev-
QPOFFORD, the Ann Arbor audience for what they really eryone gains awareness when
Civic Theater's revival of a are. He is the, alien who comes Teddy leaves that roadside din-
ten-vear-old play, displays sa. and goes, changing everything er; including the audience. The
gacious country humor and he leaves behind. ending, which could easily have
Thornton Wilder-type antics. The entire cast was memor- been a letdown, is q suggestion
Snofford, a Connecticut chick- able. Glenn Allen Pruet as Ted- of a dismal and severed world.
en farmer, has served the up- dy was vibrant and involved. At Yes, the American myth" is
per-class commuters for years first too swift and zealous in his gone. And Red Ryder symbo-
by selling his delicious chick- delivery, he gradually gave the lizes a complacent, yet frustrat-
ens. After his granddaughter's character special life. Loose ed society, waiting for another
boyfriend is recalled by his and offensive, he became the Red Ryder to come back.
snooty mother and sent to Ox- play's central theme. Angel,
ford, Soofford decides to join portrayed by Kathryn Long,
the "in" crowd to discover what ,vas nerfect as the dumpy din-
ti secie thecommter irder delight. Jim Martin gavea
meit be. convincing performance as thee
What he encoluters is a lech- digh ethen.
erous celebrity poet, an unfaith- Audience reactions onenin-
furl wife and neighborly back- night were predictabe. WomenYor
~~aasned and men stiffened in Yu
stabbing. As the chicken farm- th seats.There seeed t be
er-wit and social butterfly, John a willingness to laugh until the "
Cfntrne~c nronnnc Qnwhcc ti~. 1 --±1 0 .4.wi . . . +

Cinema Weekend
Friday - Gimme Shelter (Aud. A Angell, 7 & 9); The
Reivers (Aud. 4 MLB, 7 only); King of Hearts (Aud. 4
MIB, 9 only); Lady Sings the Blues (Old Arch. Aud.,
7 & 9:30); The Longest Yard (Nat. Sci. Aud., 7:30, 9:45).
Saturday - Holiday (Aud. 4 MLB, 7 & 10:30); I Mar-
ried A Witch (Aud. 4 MLB, 8:45); A Streetcar Named De-
sire (Aud. A Angell, 7 & 9); Magical Mystery Tour (Aud.
3 MLB, 7); Casino Royale (Aud, 3 MLB, 9); Three Days
of the Condor (Old Arch. Aud., 7 & 9:05); Sleuth (Nat.
Sci. Aud., 7 & 9:30).
Sunday - Phantom India (parts 5-7; Aud. 4 MLB, 7,
8, 9); Experimental films (Aud. A Angell, 7 & 9);. Smile
(Old Arch. Aud., 7 & 9:05).
All Weekend - Black Emanuelle: Campus Theatre
(668-6098); A -Star is Born, The Seven Percent Solution,
The Pink Panther Strikes Again: The Movies, Briarwood
(769-8783); King Kong: Michigan (668-8480); Rocky: Fifth
Forum (761-9700); The Enforcer: State (662-5296); The
Silver Streak: Fox Village (769-1300).
aHEALTH AND HEALING ENERGY
FRIDAY EVENINGS at Canterbury
" RIDOLOGY"
PAMELA PLUMMER
FRIDAY, JANUARY 28
8:00 HERB TEA; 8:30 DISCUSSION
CANTERBURY HOUSE
218 N. DIVISION STREET
corner of Catherine and Division

Mimist to perfo
Claude Kipnis of the Mime 'heatre poses for a mug shot. He
be giving a show on Monday, January 31, at 8 p.m. in the Po
Mu1ti-atoinal so

r ,
e and his fellow pantomimists will

By ELAINE GUREGIAN
WEDNESDAY night the Mul-
ti-Ethnic Alliance of Ann Ar-
bor, known in the community
primarily for its annual snon-
sorship of the September Eth-
nic Festival, presented a con-
cert entitled Songs From Many
Lands, featuring soprano Alina
Brychova accompanied by pi-
anist Stefan Ehrenkreuz.
The songs performed, divided
into categories of Songs of Love
and Lullabies, were. quite ap-
propriate to the intent of the
program. In the universal ap-
peal of their subject matter they
suggested the fraternal attitude
that the Alliance seeks to pro-
mote, particularly through its
public school lectures.
Although Brychova stressed'
the fact. that she had chosen
lesser known songs in order to
better keep the audience's (and
critics') attention, her repetiti-
ous interpretations of the songs
reduced the effectiveness of this
action. Regardless of the song's
origin, Brychova rendered it in
an Italian operatic style; a hab-
it most noticeable ,Vhen she
made a crescendo. Brychova
seemed to interpret forte mark-
ings as signals to let loose in
full dramatic force with a vigor
especially inappropriate= to the
lullabies. She also lost control
when singing in the high side
of her range, producing a rather
strident tone.
IN THE LOVE SONG "Wasn't
I Blooming" by Tchaikowsky,
however, Brychova overcame
these tendencies, displaying her
potential for an appreciably
gentler style of singing. In this
piece she tapered the melodic
lines, releasing, them more
gracefully than in the other
TONIGHT at
SECOND CHANCE
"GAMES"
Further Info: 994-5350
516 E. LIBERTY
University sbowcast
Production
"WHEN YOU COMIN'
BACK, RED RYDER?"
an adult drama
by
MARK MEDOFF
JANUARY 26-29
ARENA THEATRE
(located in Frieze Bldg.)
$2.00 general admission
PTP Box Office
764-0450

pieces, in which the abrupt cc
offs detracted from the othe
wise flowing melodies.
Singing music representati
of a variety of countries (t
on this program; eleven in Br
chova's repertoire) requiresr
underst-ding of the perforr
ance practices of each are
Brychova's rendition of two A
erican songs reflected t
vagueness of her conception
the styles peculiar to this cou
try. The lullaby "Baby bab'
had the harmonic structure
a spiritual and fairly begg
to be "bent" but Brychova sar
it in a deliberate metered sty]
producing a pale version of
song with great emotional p
tential.
WALDORF
An Artistic
Child D
A LE
Ronal
Head of the Tec
Emerson College
SUNDAY, JAN.
THE MICHIGAN RO
The public is invited
Sponsored by the Anhropoe
Christopher Nursery, and th
Great Lakes Area.

iwer Center-courtesy of PTP. 3terens prances across the
_stage with considerable energy.
THROUGHOUT the play, Spof-
ford cajoles the audience with
i gf st fun a running commentary on the
rest of the characters. Here the
well-written script manages to
ut- Brychova's "Listen to the define the characters better
er- Mockingbird" was more succes- than the players themselves,
ful, possibly because she had a whose impact is negligible.
ve legitimate reason for altering Worthy of mention is the rol-
en the tempo. Her sensitivity to the licking, insatiable poet, played
ry- said reflectiveness of the words, by Bev Pooley. He happily in-1
an inspiring an unusually slow tem- dulges his senses until he is
m- po, indicated a concern for the run out of town by his hostess'
a.i relationship between words and husband. Another unusual char-
m- music which was lacking in acter is the stubbord, hilarious
he some of the rest of the per- Mrs, Punck, who in her own
of formance. mysterious manner tries to se-
n- It must be noted, however, duce the reluctant Spofford. The
y" that the intent of the concert result is a chase scene between
of was not to display Brychova's the old couple which represents
ed virtuosity but rather to present a "mating ritual," as Spofford
ng multi-cultural songs for the au- calls it. .
le, dience to enjoy. Considering this Regardless of Spofford's care-
a 'intent and the enthusiastic re- ful wit, his tale seems to go
io- sponse of the audience, the con- on and on and on. Slow pacing
cert was a success. and abrupt transitions between
scenes are major distractions in
this production.
The message of the play-
EDUCATION wright rings loud and clear -
the class war continues. Spof-
A-1ppr~oc To ford, in fact, decides to write
evelopment a book about it.
Spofford will be at the Lydia
CTURE BY Mendelssohn Theater through
d Jorman Sunday.
ocher Training Course
e, Forest Row, England
. 30, 1977, at 3 p.m.
OM, the Michigan League and Disc0
No admission charge NNAR cE
sophical Student Association, the
e Rudolf Steiner Institute of the _

ferocity caught us by surprise
toward Act. Two. And the Are-
na Theater is ideal for thrust-
ing action unescapably at you.-
RED RYDER'S major weak-
ness, however, is that the ten-
sion level is brought up so high
that one begins to wonder what
holds the diner patrons in their
suspended positions. Teddy's
mesmeric power over them,i

)uoscriprion
Today
764-0558

ANN A0IP0 ILM C-CE0
TONIGHT in AUD. 4 of the
MODERN LANGUAGES BUILDING
THE REIVERS
(Mark Rydell, 1969) 7:00 ONLY
Steve McQueen proves himself to be a comedy actor of rare gift
and timing -in this rallicking adaptation of William Faulkiner's
Pulitzer Prize Winning Novei. Two rapseallions and a 12-year-old
boy steal their family's 1905 Winston Flyer and make a spirited
pilgrimage from rural Mississippi to the bright lights and lines
of Memphis. If you've only seen McQueen in BULLITT-like roles,
you'll. be amazed at the warmth and range of his performance
in THE REIVERS. "A wonderful movie! A magical mystery tour!"
-Newsweek. "One of the Year's most pleasant movie experiences!"
-Time. Steve McQueen, Rupert Crosse, Sharon Farrell, Will Geer.
KING OF HEARTS
9:00 ONLY
Ve Broca's Crowning Touch
ALAN
BATES.
COLOR y DELUXE TECHNISCOPE DS1f b.tod by
ADMISSION-$1.25 SINGLE FEATURE
$2.00 DOUBLE FEATURE
"
SATURDAY, Jan. 29 in MLB 3-
BEATLEMANIA at 7 only
featuring "Magical Mystery Tour
"CASINO ROYALE" at 9 only
IN MLB 4--
"HOLIDAY" at 7 and 10:30
"I MARRIED A WITCH" at 8:45
eS
SUNDAY, Jan. 30 in MLB-
Louis Malle's "PHANTOM INDIA"
Parts 5, 6 and 7

s

----

IT 1


FRI.-SAT.
BEAR RECORD'S
HEDY WE

f ,
$3.00 4
ST
ssessing one of the most
namic and exciting sing-
styles on the folk scene
d a y, Hedy West's ap-

I

a

pearance at the Ark is a
must to attend. She is an
excellent b a n j o player,
guitarist and songwriter.
(her most famous song was "500 Miles")

V)-
zz
Q
%''7SEARCH'7
We'd Like To Discover You!
Z Tech Interviews 1:00, Auditions 2:00
U2 SOUTH BEND AREA-WED.,FEB. 9c
SHERATON MOTOR INN c
423 N. MICHIGAN ST. - SOUTH BEND
BATTLE CREEK AREA - THURS., FEB. 10
HOLIDAY INN
5050OBECKLEY/l.94-BATTLE CREEK -
ANN ARBOR AREA-FRI., FLB. 11A
0 BRIARWOOD HILTON m
S. STATE ST./-94.- ANN ARBOR
z
DETROIT AREA-- SAT., FEB. 12
TROY HILTON INN m
15 MILE ROAD/1-75 - TROY
ALSO AT CEDAR POINT m
SAT., FEB. 5, SUN., FEB. 13
FOR OTHER AUDITION SITES
AND FURTHER INFORMATION
w CONTACT
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEPT. 0
CEDAR POINT, INC.

O*
DIANA ROSS in 1972
LADY SINGS THE BLUES
The acclaimed film version of the Billie Holiday legend star-
ring Motown's best female singer in her best performance.
The agony of a woman who climbed from a brothel to star-
dom but-was defeated by blind prejudice. Also starring Billy
Dee Williams and Richard Pryor.
Sat.: THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR
CINEMA GUILD TONIGHT AT OLD ARCH. AUD.
7:00 & 9:00 Admission $1.25
MAYSLES BROS.'s 1970
THE ROLLING STONES
GI1MME SHELTER
IN
What might have been just another documentary rock tour

SUN.-the original
STUCK
1421 HILL

blue grass opera,
IN DETROIT
$2.00
8:30 761-1451



THE ROCKETS
APPEARING JAN. 26, 28, 29
AT

THE ROADHOUSE