THE MICHIGAN DAILY
rts Ente rta in m en t Saturday, December 6:1975 Page Five
Musket's 'Godspell:Ato
By.ANDREW ZERMAN story theatre, Laugh-In and an couldn't end soon enough for me As for the cast that Alexander
If I get out of hand and write acting workshop. That's hardly and I suspect that the more has gotten together, I have
a little goofy in the next few a revolutionary theatrical con- serious aspects of the musical. nothing but praise. They re-
paragraphs it will be because cept but no matter. The execu- would be hard to take in any hearsed the show for an un-
musicals as dynamic and rous- tion of the concept here is so production. usually long time but there is
img as Musket's Godspell excite rich in inspiration, imagination The energy and focus in this a remarkable sense of spontena-
me deeply and viscerally and and cleverness that the pro- production was clearly on the ity to the production. If you're
I'm likely to throw caution to duction is often truly dazzling. fun stuff-the acting out of the not sure what ensemble work is,
the winds. Bear with me though Everyone involved, and that, parables - and although that this is it. The director, I'm sure,
and know that Godspell explodes of course, includes the set and made for a slump in the second deserves much' of the credit
into Mendelssohn Theatre only lighting designer Bill Arm- act (around "Alas For You"), it here.
twice more- this afternoon and strong, musical director Law- was probably a wise idea on the Never has Milgrom been
this evening-and tickets are go- rence Iser, costume designer whole. served so well by her dancers
ing fast, so hurry. In its best Mandy Mengen and the obso- Stephen Schwartz' score is se s in t y hw IncGus
moments, which comprise al- lutely super cast, seems to have probably the best "rock" score as she is n this showIn Guys
most all of the first act and a understood exactly what the ever written for a musical. !nd Dolls and Damn Yankees
she was straddled with a filat-4
good part of the second, Godspell finished product was supposed There was a time, now fortun- footed chorus but here there is
is a) about the best show I've to be, and what's more, they all ately passed, when rock musi- gracefulness precision and agil-
seen in Ann Arbor this semester knew how to achieve it. Thus, a cals were opening off-Broadway itv. There's a euphoria that
and b) a just plain knockout. show with a definite stylistic once a week. Most of them are breaks out on stage in almost
Godspell is a rock-musical re- thrust, a unified show in which safely in oblivian now and Galtebryk usical ntmger ans
telling of the Gospel According all the pieces fit together for a MacDermot's ordinary music formkes the spine tingle and the
to St. Matthew and was orig- satisfying and polished whole. Hair (that revolutionary musical mart eatpfaste
inally conceived by John- iI'm inclined to say that the Ithat was a complete dead end as hrtbeat faster.
Michael Tebelak. The parables slower sections of the produc- far as the history of musical Milgrom's only lapse of judge-
are acted out by ten players in tion are inferior because of the theatre goes) has found its prop- ment was her use of the old
stylized circus clown costumes material itself. The opening er niche on Muzak and television flourescent - white-gloves-in-the-
and Jesus' life story, after a number, which I'm not quite variety specials. dark trick. Not only has Bob
fashion, is presented. sure I understood, and those But Schwartz understands mu- Fosse already mastered it but
Under the direction of Bob scenes in the second act con- sical theatre and, though he is it was out of place in Godspell.
Alexander and the choreography cern the crucifizion seemed aw- no Stephen Sondheim, his music It looked contrived and stagey
of Marcia Milgrom the show fully trite and pretentious. The has character and his lyrics are in a show that was so natural
comes off as a cross between repeated wails of "God is dead" deft and facile and fresh.
Grea Ganakas who stole Guys
ital triumph
and Dolls and Ernest in LoveI
right out from under everyone's
nose last year, has the lead i ole
of Jesus and, though he has
difficulty (who can blame him?)
with some of the more banal
speeches, his performance had
sincerity and conviction. "All
For the Best" and "Alas For
You" were fine vehicles for
Ganakas' first-rate musical abil-
ities, though the busy staging of
the latter ,.detracted from its
power.
Finally, Godspell had four
special performers whose parts
were no larger and who wore
the same kinds of clothes as the
others but who simply sparkled
more. I don't think I can define
the quality they had that made
me watch them instead of the
others. To say that it's stage
called upon to expire several
times in the course of the show
and made me laugh each time.
Karyn Esken played an endear-
ing drunkard early in the show
and I was hooked from then on.
Steve Moebs was an adorably
:im-witted wide-eyed cherub and
has a lovely voice.
Last, and most, was a rag
doll in pink overalls named
Terry Arment who projected
such joy and ebullience and ec-
stacy that we had no choice but
to be joyous and ecstatic with
him.
No studying is more important
than feeling terrific. Take off a
couple of hours today and see
Godspell. No excuses allowed.
You'll feel zippier afterwards.
And maybe a little goofy.
presence is only to give it a I
name without explaining it. . s
Charm? Incandescence? Extra
something? I can list adjectives
but you gotta see them to know
what I mean.
Susan Perkoff more than com- Today & Sun. at 5-
pensated for a weak voice with Doors Open 4
prodigious comic talent. She's
a Burnett-esoue clown wbo was
7-9 Only
:45
Kubrick at work
Lining up a shot on the set, director Stanley Kubrick,
whose last film was 1971's A Clockwork Orange, puts that
mystical touch on his latest Barry Lyndon. The work, which
premieres this week in London and opens in the United
States on Christmas day, promises to be one of the most
provacative films of the year, with early indications by
the few who have seen it "dazzling."
BRIIGE:
Opening lead can
prove beneficial if
played with care
B) MARK FRIEDLANDER-
Records in Review
By DOC KRALIK "Welcome to the Machine" conventional types of music,
Pink Floyd's 1 o n g awaited and "Have a Cigar," two songs Gilmour has emerged as the
album, Wish You Were Here, about the record industry, are dominant force.
seems designed to leave all ex- decidedly lacking in this sensi-I Also worthy of mention is
pectations unfulfilled. tivity. By now most of us are Dick Parry, whose innovative
Long time Pink Floyd fans pretty sick of hearing rock mu- saxophone saves "Shine On"
will be disappointed because the sicians, who rake in their share from the predictability that be-
album represents a stylistic re- of money from the record buy- falls perfectionists like Pink
gression for the group. There is ers, tell us how evil, corrupt Floyd.
very little of Nick Mason's spe- and unscrupulous record execu- No group could fulfill the ex-I
cial effects artistry on this al- tives are. Still, Pink Floyd has'pectations of those who have
bum, and the daring atonality succeeded with trite themes be-waetaios
and downright wierdness of Pink fore (w i t n e s s "Time" and haieanrsine Dfrk Sde o the
Floyd's earlier albums have also "Money") and their refusal to Moon Pink Floyd those abid-
been abandoned. release this album until' they ing nonconformists, made the
The mass audience which Pink were ready indicates they may conscious decision to disappoint
Floyd attracted with Dark Side be as high-minded as they claim the preconceived notions of their
the Moon will be disappointed to be. fans. While Wish You Were Here
because the new album does not More than anything else it is retreats from Floyd's more cou-,
follow the loud fastpaced for- Gilmour's guitar work that dis- rageous compositions, it is nev-
mat which made tie earlier al- Itinguishes this album from the ertheless a smooth and reward-
bum so successfulHr I previous ones. Formerly Gil- ing recording.
Wish You Were Here is aI mour played in the musical sha-
soft, lyrical record. It's tone is of the gu syntesizrs
pace i oae n. dow of the group s synthesizers
pace is slowiand erent. Th and special effects tapes. Now,
Althousgh thnehave always a h gopreun o oeA_..-
SHARE THE -RIDE ' PANAVIStON/ 1
AJ A PARAMOU
WI1TH US THIS/
44
CHRISTMAShows Toda & S
1 :00-2:40-4:20-
7:30-9:15 Open a
AND GET ON
TO A GOOD THNG
un. at
6:00-
at 12:45
JUNT RELEASE
1
V
West
8'6 3
J8
10 9 6
Q 9 7 6
K
A
Q
K
North and 'would have led low to his
J 9 7 jack, cashed the ace dropping
6 4 3 the king, and set up the whole
8 4 diamond suit. But the nine of
5 j diamonds looked to South like
East a singleton or top of a double-
4 5 2' ton, placing East with K 10 x
r 10 9 7 2 (x). Therefore, he covered the
f K 3 nine with dummy's queen and,
t A J 8 4 3 won the king with the ace.
South Trumps were drawn and a
Q 10 4 finesse taken against East's sup-
Q 5 posed ten of diamonds. South
J 7 5 2 winced as West won the trick,
0 but could do nothing as West
West North East! led a club to beat the contract.
2
r
A
K
A
!
t
,
Us means Greyhound, and a lot of your fellow students
who are already on to a good thing. You leave when you
like. Travel comfortably. Arrive refreshed and on time.
You'll save money, too, over the increased air
fares. Share the ride with us on weekends. Holidays.
Anytime. Go Greyhound.
South
1 #pass 3 4 pass
1 4 pass 1V pass
4 Notrump pass 5 # pass
6 6 All pass
Opening lead: 9 of diamonds
There is only one play in
bridge where a defender does
not get to look at the dummy,
the opening lead. And because
the opening lead is the first card
played to the first trick, it is
also the most important weapon
for the defense. Careful planning
and close attention to inferences
A well thought out opening lead
met with the success it de-
served.
V
West
1J95
J 10 6
K J 9
K4
(
(
North
Q 86
Q732
5
I
4
5
6
AJ 10 6 3
East
A K 10 7 4 3 2
f Q8432
A87
South
i
i
a
i
i
i
are necessary to overcome the - A
blindness with which it is made. VAK984
In most cases a defender canQ * A 10 7
follow a few basic principles so South Wes 9North East
well known that they read as Soth pass 2o4h pass
cliches: fourth from your long- 2 V pass 4 . pass
est and strongest, the top of V All pass
touching honors. Most of the 6Oeila oc
time these precepts, modified by Opening lead: 4 of clubsh
a cursory ear to the bidding,' The opening lead on this hand :
will suffice. But in a few cir- illustrates a far more common
cumstances, an extraordinary strategem. West knew he had a
opening lead is called for. fairly sure trump trick that de-'
of d slead larer would not be counting on.
He also knew that his king of
against the above six spade conI clubs wa~s probably finessable,
tract is quite unusual. Not only buttdeclarer didn't know either
does it rarely pay to lead intoI of these and West could profit
declarer's first suit, but the from his ignorance.
nine from 10 9 x is also a strange The lead of the four of clubs
card to lead. Yet the reasoning bothered South. If it were a
behind it proved sound. singleton, as seemed likely, he
West reasoned that South could not afford to let it ride
would have to find the diamonds around to his queen, lest East
to make his contract. He knew take the king and give his part-
too that decarer was bound to' ner a ruff. But it appeared to
have the bulk of the strength in South that there were no other
the suit. Any diamond honors in losers in the hand (trumps fig-
partner's hand, therefore, would ured to break over 90 per cent
be finessable, and his strange of the time), so he put up the
lead might defect declarer from ace of clubs as a safety play.
the proper play. It turned out not to be much
Declarer viewed the lead dif- of a safety play. After a round
ferently. Without any clues, de- of trumps, declarer got the bad
clarer would have to play East news that in addition to the
for a doubleton king of diamonds now-certain king of clubs loser,
he had to lose a trump trick.
SCIENTIFIC ALIBI Down one on another imagna-
CONVINCED JUDGE tive opening lead!
been provacative composers, the
members of the group have
chosen a more traditional type
of music this time.The chord
progressions are simple and
melodic. The melody lines are
gentle and undisturbing.
The record opens and closes
with a very long work called
"Shine on You Crazy Diamond."
The song is divided into nine
parts, five at the beginning and
four at the end of the album.
It is the group's first extended
piece since the perrenial favo-,
rite "Echoes." At it's worst,
"Shine On" is no more interest-
ing than a movie soundtrack,
smooth background music, buta
not strong enough to stand on its
own merit. Parts I and IX are
good examples of this.
At its best, the song is ex-
emplary of Floyd's new style.
Part IV features lead guitarist
Gilmour in a controlled slide
guitar melody that is reminis-!
cent of Dave Mason's best work,
"Look at You, Look at Me." The
lyrics represent the most sensi-
tive treatment of mental illness:
and creativity that one could
expect from a pop group.
When Aruba was discovered
by Spanish explorere nearly 500
years ago, it was considered
worthless. Today the little
island just offethe coast of
Venezuela is one of the most
popular tourist destinations in
the Caribbean, attracting more
than 100,000 vacationers annu-
ally.
The commonest surname in
the English speaking world is
ISmith.
Jason
Zoe
Premiere Engagement
The University of Michigan
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directed by: JASON ROBARDS,
DECEMBER 6-13, 1975
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2
Hey-
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) -
Paul VanderMaat, in front of
a judge to answer a speeding
ticket, argued that the ionized
air that precedes a thunder-
storm affects a speed radar
unit.
He said that he was charged
with traveling 33 miles an hourI
in a 25-mile-an-hour speed zone,
but that a thunderstorm struck
in the area some 15 minutes
after he was ticketed.
Municipal Judge Raymond E.
Hunter said thatimade sense,
likening it to static on the ra-
dio and saying that static elec-
tricity in the air could bend
the otherwise straight radar;
PAT U XILITS
LARGE SELECTION
OF
HEALTHY PLANTS
3 Terrarium
i
MICHIGAN FOOTBALL FANS!
get out your t-shirts
and heat up your irons-
i
f
because .the Sunday issue
will include our very own
First Ever and Greatest of All
I
0
II
El