srFTHE MICHIGAN DAILY
Arts & Entertainm ent Friday, March 5, 1976 Page Five
®
M
'Alice
Underground'
So
what?
By JEFFREY SELBST somewhere), changing sizes as!
and CATHERINE REUTTER you and I change socks, walk-
Sing through doors in tree trunks,
SHE REVEREND Charles L.and mouthing off to everyone in
Dodgson's long-awaited first sight. The other characters
novel was a huge success in its leave her presence. We're only
original release. Taking a closer sorry we didn't think of it first.
look at this silly work, however, .
we have a hard time under- The only truly sympathetic
standing the phenomenon. Al- creature one meets in this sim-
though the Rev.'s opus, Alice's pleminded world is known as
Adventures Underground, is not the Cheshire Cat. The Cat is a
a sermonette, it has little else wisecracker in the style of Os-
to commend it. car -L e v a n t, a n d blithely
The tale has no merit. It is (though, we admit, facetiously)
longwinded, exceedingly point tells Alice exactly what he
less, and scarcely more interest- thinks of her.
ing than the story of a poor Another episode concerns a
beknighted rich girl kidnapedtanter(ede Dongern
by subversives. Also scarcely tea party. (Here D o d g s o n
more believable. Besides, Alice, shamelessly borrows from Ame-
the "heroine" of the novel is not rican history.) His attempt to
rich, nor is she a patsy. emulate a "comedy of man-
--ners" falls severely short; the
the characters a r e playing work of this type. A frustrated "Her Majesty's Possible Embar-
cards, who play croquet with cleric with a taste for mathe-| rassments." As to the some-
pink flamingos (a cheap attempt matics and nude little girls, he what-outdated classification of
to cash in on the popularity of spent his days droning in the the documents, former prime
a classic film). Like the author classroom to just-post-pubescent minister Disareli was contacted,
himself, these misguided pawns young men who were rather but had "no comment at this
pay scant attention to either more interested in what they time."
the rules of the game or any thought he must be doing at It is rumored that at some
governing body such as night. time or other this flatulent bore
the aforementioned loudmouthed fe was known to be under will be coming out with a se-
Queen. surveillance by the British Sec- quel. We anxiously await it. But
ret Service. When we looked up don't go by our tastes; we also
IT IS NO WONDER that C. L. his file, it was marked CONFI- wanted to see a sequel to Valley
Dodgson would come up with a DENTIAL and listed as one of= of the Dolls.
'1
s
i
She is, however, a mindless '-,author
sirnp who has trouble remem-{author is reduced to making
bering her age; she wonders silly riddles, which, he admits
aloud about the feeding habits in one of his more candid mo-
of certain flying rodents, and ments, have no answers. In this
she ponders geographical ques-j insipid display, he neglects to
tions. We wonder about her. Ipoint out that the answer holds
no interest to the reader.
Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau, world-renowned mime artist, will be appearin
March 6, 1976, at 3 and 8 pm.
ntheF
Luring, acts to
ANOTHER equally idiotic, oh-
ng at Power Center Saturday, so - whimiscal character might
well be termed a "dumb bun-
nv." Festooned with the ques-
tionably - imaginative moniker
+ , "White Rabbit," this proto-Fas-
- cist hare exhibits dictatorial be-
havior toward his servants, and!
fawns typically over his super-;
iors. He is a pinnacle of near-:
sighted, bewhiskered boredom,
and smacks of Truman Capote
lia trix, in animal drag. The White'
Rabbit out-Heeps Uriah Heep.
As for some of the other char-
acters, Freud would have had
IT IS OUR opinion that the
result of the Potsdam Confer-
ence would have turned out
exactly the same had the an-:
swer existed. The United Na-
tions would still have been cre-
ated, and V-E Day would not
have occurred a moment later.
If "Why is a raven like a writ-
ing desk?" is an example of
subtle wit, give me dirty lim-
ericks.
Rudeness is a strong element
of Dodgson's so-called humor as
well. The source of this is ob-
vious-after reading the galleys
aloud to friends, he must have
been the subject of some fairly
rude noises. Among these we
i n c l u d e "Tschhhhhhh!!" and
"Pweccccch!" This is by no
means a definitive list.
Consider the March Hare.
Please. Just sit there, close your
eyes, and think about the March
Hare. Dizzy yet?
By JAMES VALK Matrix. The combination of live response was overwhelming,
performers and feature films with all four performances sold
FOR ANYONE who believes makes the theater a unique en- out. "They (Proctor and Berg-
that vaudeville is a mere tity in Ann Arbor. man) had as much fun as the!
reminder of days gone by, For the performers, the lure audience, doing an extra 45 m-
Gene Hyman will set the record certainly isn't the financial re- utes. The shows ran an hour
straight. Largely owing to his wards, because the theater can- late, and nobody complained."
efforts, new talent is given the not as yet afford to pay the en-
opportunity to perform before tertainers. The contract consists YET IN BETWEEN the big
a live audience. of an obligation to perform for and little names, the theater1
two 25-minute shows in return finds some excellent acts. Den-:
Beinn in January th,
Matrix Theatre has offered an ,for free movie passes, and free: ny Loomis, a magician who dis-
array of acts, mostly amateur, refreshments. played his talents before a pack-
from folk singers to THATISTHed house one Saturday after-*
rangingTHAT IS THE REAL purpose noon last month, has been a
jugglers. of the Matrix. "The crowds are frequent visitor. With ushers
No one is discouraged from great," Hyman stated. "The donning the traditional clown-
taking their crack at the audi- intimate theater setting gives white face, the show extendedl
ence. Auditions are held fre- us just the right size audience beyond the actual contours of
quently at the theater, and Hy- - the entire thing stays per- the stage.
man supervises, offering sug- sonal." Total involvement is what
gestions. "We had a nine-year The live performances how- makes the Matrix unique.
old kid in here who could tap ever, are not limited to lesser- "That's what's so great about1
dance," he said, "but he need- knowns. Last January, Hymanit all," said Hyman. "Anyone
ed to organize his act. I'm hop- personally negotiated with Proce can stand up and tell a joke,
ing he'll be back." tor and Bergman, late of Fire- sing, dance, anything. You'd be
HYMAN HIMSELF' is no rook- side Theater, arranging a two- surprised at how good they real-
ie. Starting at WBCN, he has night stop at the Matrix. The ly are." And he's right.
also booked gigs for Luther Al-
n-the Friends Roadshow.
a field day. Several of them are
clearly recognizable in his an-
alyses of disturbed personali-
ties.
The castrating female is rep-
resented in a nasty little char-
acter known as the "Queen of
Hearts." (It is apparent here
how cute Dodgson thinks him-
self - can there be anything,
more ironic than her name?)'
Her best qualities appear to be
close-mindedness and a remark-
able terseness. Her only mem- Dodgson is fond of games,
orable line consists of shouting and takes great pains to share
"Off with their heads!" at fre- this propensity. A number of
quent intervals. In her mono-I
mania, she resembles a cross1 Ohio State's Pete Johnson led
between Phyllis . Schlafly and the Big Ten in scoring last sea-
Curtis LeMay. son with 16 touchdowns.
f
"BLAZING SADDLES"starCingCLEAVONLTTLE GENE WILDER SUIMPICKENS DAVID HUDDLESTON CLAUDE ENNIS STARRETT A
Also aring MEL BROOKS HARVEY KORMAN and MADEUNE KAHN -screenplay MEL BROOKS, NORMAN STENBERG. ANDREW
BERGMAN. RICHARD PRYOR. ALAN iGER'Story by ANDREW BERGMAN Produced by MICHAEL HERIZBERG -rreeed MEL BROOKS
PANAVISIONTECHMCOLOR' [1 1Frcm Warner Bros OA Warner Communications Company
THE PLOT itself is childish
and redundant. This silly twit,
Alice, falls into a hole (veryE
significant) and has all kinds of
adventures. They include nearly:
drowning in a pool of her own:
tears (there's a lesson there'
As of Jan. 1, 1973, there were
1.922,128 telephones in New
York City.
Hialeah race track in Florida
has a 44-day meeting which
runs through March 5.
N UW
I-
ADJACENT TO J.C. PENNEY 0769-87800 1-94 & S.STATE, ANN ARBOR
SHOWTIMES:
10:10
12:15
2:15
4:15
7:30
9:30
i
o
.1 mmomowr I
and attracted top talent to the,
now-defunct Primo Showbar. Hisj
own act, "Geno the Fire-Eating
Clown," has taken him to such!
places as Montego Bay Hotel1
in Jamaica, where he swallow-
ed flames on the patio last
New Year's Eve. "They paid
my way there and back, and'
footed the bill for almost every-
thing. I didn't make much mon-
ey but I didn't lose any."
But "Geno" has been tempor-
arily sidelined in favor of the
project now underway at the
Younq People's
Matinees Presents:
HARRY NILSSON'S
the
POINT
Animated Fantasy for All Ages
Narrated by Dustin Hoffman I
PLUS LIVE:
GENO THE CLOWN
Saturday, March 6
at 12:30, 2:00 & 3:30
Adults $1.25/Under 16-75c
AT
MATRIX THEATER
{605 E. WILLIAMS
JUST PUBLISHED
"The first comprehensive docu-
mentary on the Nixon Administra-
tion and its relations with the
media. . , A tremendous contri-
bution to the history of the Nixon
period."
Held Over 5th Week
SHOWS TONIGHT AT
7:00 & 9:05. Open 6:45
NOMINATED FOR
4
ACADEMY AWARDS!
Starts Tonight .
SHOWS TONIGHT AT
7:00 & 9:00
OPEN AT 6:45
S HE 'SBACK!!
-THOMAS WlNSHIP,I
Boston
Editor
Globe
Let me,
Emmanuelle,
teach you the
secret joys of love.
Let me take you to a
new world where you
won't be content until
your life is truly alive with
love.Then you will
embrace my philosophy
that nothing is wrong
if it feels good.
In love, it is
better to give
and to receive.
I'm Emmanuelle-
I can show you
how to do both.
No partner in love
should be cheated. Both
should be sensually alive.
Let me show you
that nothing is wrong
if it feels good.
William
E. Porter
Sean cnr~lfaee
flosopfrPinner
" ~ ° - 'ileiahe Who Would Be WOn
MONTESSORI
Teacher Training Program
APPROVED BY THE
AMERICAN MONTESSORI SOCIETY
Sixth AERCO Summer Acacem c
Program for 8 weeks from June 23,
1976 to August 13, 1976 to be
followed by a nine Montin
Experience. Students will be troiined
in the Montessori phiosophy and
teaching method, chld development
and learning materials for pre-school
programs. Now at two locations.
AERCO/Ithaca ProYram conducted on
the campus of Co nell Ur iersity and'
AERCO/Phila. Program conducted on
the Ambler campus of Temple Uni-
versity, where you can spend your
summer in the Bicentennial area.
For information and brochure cal o rwrae
AERCO/ithaca Montessori Teacher
ASSAULT ON THE MEDIA
THE NIXON YEARS
". a landmark book . . . an enviable blend of scholarship and serious journalism
. . ..No other writer has brought together and put in perspective all the facets that
enable us to understand these significant years."
-WILLIAM L. RIVERS
Paul C. Edwards Professor of Communication, Stanford University
In this narrative history, Professor Porter documents the most serious governmental
assault on the news media to occur in modern times.
In the years 1969-74 the news media regained a measure of public confidence through
energetic investigative reporting; but during this same period the media experienced
an alarming erosion of freedoms formerly assumed. For the first time since the Alien
and Sedition Acts, government censorship was upheld in the lower courts. Journalists
were harassed through investigations of their supposed suitability for nonexistent jobs,
and through punitive audits ofhtheir income tax returns. The right to protect confidential
sources was stripped away; hundreds of reporters were brought into court, dozens
cited for contempt, and several jailed.
With the Nixon White House leading the way, the attacks ranged from Spiro Agnew's
notorious verbal assaults to the use of antitrust actions against the television networks.
The full story is set down in Porter's truly important history, which also includes the key
documents of the period-administration speeches, White House memoranda, and court
decisions.
WILLIAM E. PORTER is professor of journalism at the University of Michigan.
A NEW FILM FROM THE
DIRECTOR OF "HARRY & TONTO"
"BREAKAWAY FUNNY, Paul Mazrsky's
film is a comic reminiscence about the
tough lessons and small victories that
mark the end of growing UP"
Starts Tonight !
SHOWS TONIGHT AT
7:00 & 9:00
OPEN AT 6:45
.ay Cocks, Time
PAUL MAZURSKY'S
Kr
sr: :
In love, the age of If more than
F repression is over, anything else,
and the age of . you want love-
expression is here. Then l:.Emmanuelle;
I will teach you to let go. will teach you to love with
My name is Emmanuelle, all the freedom of man .
andlcan set you free. and all theimagnation of.
-a, ~ U