THE MICHIGAN DAILY P F
Arts & Entertcjinrr ent Friday, December 10t, 176 Page five
t
SHOW BLENDS FEMINISM AND ART
i . . f. a:n
Christian sings subtly By ANDREW ZERMAN
AS The Man of Mode reach-'
By ELAINE FLETCHER lurking in my nightmares that mock our sadly, dramatically. But they embraced es its denouement, the
SLTFIOUGH SINGER Meg Christian revolution/ . . . with ancient loneliness, while saying their goodbyes to each high-strung Lady Woodville dis-
has been criticized for putting les- with ancient pain, the old scars, the old other. Christian breaks out in a rampage covers that the respectable en-
bian/feminist politics before art, her scars ache again./" sang Christian in a of joyous melody to describe the ecstasy teman she has been entertain-
concert in East Quad's auditorium Wed- tune with a slow, medieval melody, of this moment. But immediately another i maise andrprothat e ori
nesday night demonstrated that she has whose words attempt to explain "how transition occurs as Christian describes man r an rppent wo
indeed achieved a striking blend of the women are destructive to themselves." how she froze up-the guitar strikes one I Lady Woodville has been,
two. Happiness cannot remain undisturbed, sounding chord-and backed away from clumsily whirling around the
*Many adjectives could be used to de- and homosexual, like heterosexual love Rosalynn in the realization that "touch- stage like a lop-sided. top, stops
iscribe her. She is bth humorous and is not without its problems which make ing blows your cover, because you only dead in her tracks upon hear-
provocative, passionate and energetic. con inued change necessary for survival. touch your loser. Rosalynn looks at her acte nest he dean
That she is committed to her cause as In this light' Christian introduced one knowingly and "everything we'd shared asolter nearest her and does an
well as her performance only further, song by saying that she had written it was lost forever."n''.o na tykeca te."f
dThat take was the single fun-
And as the war protest music of the perform certain of her older works: As a performer she possesses a mas- niest bit is this very funny
Andasth wa potstmusc f heieror crtan f eroldr ors: tery of difficult harmonies and tones on~ show and it epitomized what
early sixties underwent a continuous "Love is lost, friends die, songs I have her classicutaroni t a h w mod ot toi ht
evouton nt amor prsnal mrewrite mut ieandwattilIle r classical guitar, along with a rich ws oeotnta not, right
evolution into a more personal, more written must lie and wait, till I learn vocal range. But Christian did more on target in the production, the
introspective. more subtle form of ex- how to sing them again . . . yes we know than entertain or even inspire. Her effort second in the University Show-.
pression, so Christian's music seems to that change must come, deep running to unite the audience through singa- case drama series,
be in a constant process of renewal. water needs new ways to run." longs, through her fine' sense of humorl end rto, sowe
There were the expected songs about THE HIGH POINT of the concert, how- demanded and brought forth a response' nly a second or two, showed
the joys of love - women with women - ever, came during its second half in a a'nerous potf thaconc e, us that behind all the fans and
and songs about dealing with the male piece which recounted Christian's ex- at numerous ponin the concert, from handkerchiefs in this stylized
world (the oppressed vs. the oppressor). perience with her first black friend, nearly everyone in the auditorium. And comedy were real people The
BUT CIHRISTIAN does not stop there. Rocalynn, at a college in the South. The it is this response, this sense of active quietly hysterical expression on
p ynn, par' icipation of women with women that r her face cut right through the
Her music provokes an examination of range of emo'ion in Christian's voice, hristian's biggest stic h airs and eccentricities of Res-
the more complex conflicts which occur melody and guitar, used to describe the toration England and tapped,
between women,. their own selves and two friends' last encounter is nothing ment -- the antithesis of closet lesbian- gut emotion.
other women. short of remarkable. ism, of male dominated and therefore
"I am caught unawares by ghosts "We had never touched . . ." she sang isolated womanhood. - .aIN OTHER WORDS, flesh-
and- blood characters weren't
.. ,. . :. .: .. ,..:ti."....,.........................................:........"......+r"..S . r".' .t~.:vw::v". v 5 C
__________________r___r........._________________ ________ _.:...........__.sacrificesacrificed todstyleandr
the most part, was true to the
B whole production. Yes, there
was some overly broad, stagey
Br w aet~ Diverseprdcto. e, hr
rwi vcomedy, but far less than there
might have been-far less than
>
F
FF
L
M
of-Mi
in last year's nightmarish
Mandragola, for example. No
one, not even Glen Pruett, who
came dangerously close to irri-
tating self-parody, lost control
or forgot that all theatre, how.
ever stylized, has a base in
reality.
The charming and energetic
cast clearly understood what
the playwright (George Ether-
ege) and the director (John
Reed) were up to (a crucial un-
derstanding, not always achiev-
ed.) Because the cast was sod
confident and relaxed in its
strange clothing, movement
and language (how crisply the
actors dealt with Etherege's
prose), one could easily over-
look the flaws scattered
through the performances,
flaws inevitable when young
American actors attack as for-
eign a genre as Restoration
Comedy.
John Wojda had the presence
and upperclass aura needed for
Dorimant but he might have
worked with a lighter, suaver
touch and °a bit more charm.
Denise Cole, who reminds me
more and more of Ethel Mer-
man each time I see her, con-
tinues to improve her sure
comic timing and command of
the stage, though I'm still
bothered by her tendency to
whine lines. Linda Whan dis-
played properly crafty bitchi-
ness, fetchingly tempered by
loveliness.
ode:
I ALSO admired Da
ton's diabolically funn
expressions, Judith C
cockney spunk (though
some diction problem
Leo McNamara's ,habit
ing contact with the gr
ly occasionally as hef
around the stage, thus
the posture of the cor
ing female character, th
mentioned Lady Woodv
Steven Stubblefield's
consisted of furniture
cleverly and economica
en. The screens unfor
created a proscenium
in the Arena Theatret
the plurality of thea
(including me) witht
concertingN sense that
an inferior view. Al
screens were so sim
stark that they sugges
Restoration but Purita
land.
The men's costume
first-rate. In designing
men's, however, M. E.
Funny
pa Bar- decision to match chataeterA
y facial through dress led to a same-
Ottmar's ness of color in many scenes,
she had possibly inappropriate for the
as) and time. (And should a young,
of mak- witty coquette really wear the
ound on- same material as her prudish
fluttered mother?)
echoing
respond- REED'S knowledge of Res-
he afore- toration style, his instinct for
ille. comedy and his attention to de-
scenery tail brought polish and elan to
pieces, the production. The play suf-
pechos, fered a dull lull midway into
tunately the second act, a sort of sev-
feeling enth - inning slump, but that
that left may have been only the per-
audience formance I saw and is, anyway,
the dis- easily remediable.
we had The size and shape of the
so, the stage presented blocking prob-
ple and, lems. Characters overhearing
sted not one another were sometimes
an Eng- confusingly close.
The Man of Mode is running
s were through Saturday. Get there
the wo- early, grab a seat facing the
Rose's back of the stage and enjoy.
b
Ay MICHAEL BECKMAN
V E ARRIVAL of Jackson
. owne's latest album, The
Pretender, (Asylum) was antici-
pted with great expectations.
His previous work, Late for the
Sky was a superb effort, per-
haps the finest poetic statement
ever to come out of rock mu-
sic Thus, any critical review
of The Pretender necessarily
has to be looked at on a cor-
pative level with its monu-
mental predecessor. Which is
too bad for, taken on its own
merits, The Pretender is a solid
album, with a lot to offer.
For one, The Pretender is
much more musically diverse
than any previou's work by
Browne. On Late For The Sky,
the music was largely subservi-
ent to the lyrics. On a majority
of the songs, the piano was the
only innovative instrument used.
The drumming was very stand-
ard, purely used to keep rhy-
thm, as were the guitars and
bags. And except for a few good
string arrangements, that was
al there was to the music.
On The Pretender, Browne's
sense 'of melody has improved
noticeably. In many of the songs,
the music emerges as a sepa-
rate entity, emanating a poet-
ry of its own that complements
the lyrics to give a strong total
effect. The first song on the
album, "The Fuse," opens with
a .ymbal that can only be de-
scribed as haunting. One can
hear the fuse being lit, then
slowly moving along its path
towards the inevitable explo-
sion. This inevitability is en-
hanced musically by the build-
ing tension provided by Craig
Doerge's magnificent piano and
David Lindley's slide guitar.
And when the explosion occurs,
it is the piano again along with
the drums that give a sense of
continuation, a feeling that the
euphoria reached in the climax
isn't permanent, but rather the
continuation of the eternal fuse.
" LINA PALOMA" is musi.
cally the boldest experiment on
the album. The song has a
definite Mexican flavor, de-
rived from a superb job of
harp-playing by Arthur Gerst,
and backed up by excellent vio-
lin and vijuella sections. It is
only Broiwne's voice that de-
tracts from the musical beauty
of the song. Somehow, his low
twangy voice doesn't mesh with
the Latin beaty created by the
harp. And at two points in the
song he tries to reach a high
nte, he falls short. It doesn't
sound awful, rather it sounds
funny.
fBut no matter how much
Jackson Browne has improved
musically, his success lies in
his almost incomparable lyric
poetry. And while the total al-
GELEBMKTE!
CELEBRATE!
1977
i
bum doesn't have the sustained
poetic excellence of Late ForI
The Sky - there are no songs
that have the deep emotional
impact of "For a Dancer" or
the title track - there is some
excellent poetry on the album.
Browne has the ability to ex-
'presshis feelings of deepest de-
spair, loneliness and heartbreak
in a way that people can re-
late to. He does not deal in the
candyland realm of love poetry,
he is deep and he is sensitive,
and he lays his soul bare in
his lyrics..
BY FAR THE FINEST song,
on the album is "Here Come
Those Tears Again," which po-
etically is . about as good as;
anything he has ever done. In
the song, Browne is questioning
his ability to cope with his emo-
to make it through
Another night without
missing you ,
Thinking I might just be
strong enough after all
When I hear your footsteps
echoing in the hall.
MOST OF THE other songs
are solidly done. Perhaps the
one thing that will keep The
Pretender a very good album
instead of a superb one, is the
disappointing title cut. It's the
last song on the album, and
should be a powerful poetic
statement, epitomizing the en-
tire album. But it doesn't quite
turn out that way. It's another
metamorphosis song of Browne's
life. It's about a man who
starts his life bending to fit
into his environment, a man
who is stuck in his rautinem idn.
dle class rut, who tries to find
some meaning in his life, but
eventually surrenders to the
system. It's pretty standard;
stuff, and while for most lyri-
cists, it might be considered
good poetry - for someone
with Jackson Browne's depth
of feeling and sensitivity, it,
leaves much to be desired..
___________________________ U
Fall
197
COURSE MART
DEADLINES
Winter
1978
ALL NEW
HARDCOVER .
BOOKS
10% OFF
Many 25% Off
CENTICORE SOOKSHOPS
336 Maynard
1229 S. University
For consideration as 1977-78 offerings, Course
Mari proposals for Fall 1977 AND Winter 1978
must be completed and submitted by the dead-
line: FEBRUARY 2, 1977.
To: COURSE MART COMMITTEE
2501 LS&A Bldg.
764-6464
(info and applications available now)
I
1
_._.
-y-_-- - ----
iii
'
lions, and his ability to make f t_1
rational decisions concerning'
them: University Showcase
Here come those Production
tears again rto n NIELSEN'S
Just when I was
getting over you Sir George Etherege's
IT'S NOT THE MAN i
STOO LATE OF MODEPOINSETTIAS
To get
KODAK Dec. 8-11, 8:00 p.M. We have a wide selection of superior plants. Call for
GREETING CARDS s delivery or stop in and select your own in our 2 2acre
at Arena Theatre'
SUN PHOTO (Frieze Bldg.) greenhouse.
ONE DAYSERVICE $2.00 Adm WE ALSO HAVE:- '
3180 PACKARD PTP Box Office
2 Bks. E. of Platt '764-0450 .Christmas Greensi Floral Arrangements
I f TP ,y Foliage Plants * Cactus * Bromeliads
A WeL i n e o f-CHM.
S* W V10 id e ATiccessories
Aa 1021 Malden Ln. NIELSEN'S 994"6112
CLOSE OUTHOLIDAY HOURS: MON.-FR(. 8:30-5:30
SAT. 8:30-5:00
FANTASTIC SAVINGS SUN 10:00-2:30
FREE PARKING
OPAL, DIAMOND and
COLORED STONE RINGS
StONE RUNIIGiVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DANCE COMPANY
SatuI
with THE UNIVERSITY PHILHARMONIC and
the CONTEMPORARY DIRECTIONS ENSEMBLE
209 S. University Elizobeth Weil Bergman's Gay Delonhe's
663-7151 THE PLANETS LA CREATI
by Gustav Holst - -
DU MONDE
by .Darius
} I
t !
1. ¢
4 t t;
}
f
I
i
I ~The TAS and th'e words "evi'sa"and "Sts-prsst* 51areregistered
trademarks o Levi Strauss Co., San Francisco, CA 6 Levi Strauss & Co. 1975
We also carry Levi straight leg, bell
bottom, and boot cut jeans & a full
line of Levi shirts.
Open Sundays 12-5 until Xmas
BIVOUAC
x 1~1~rAP04 'A~2
I-