AEr THE MICHIGAN DAILY
s n tertain m en Friday, March 26, 1976 Page Five
Trojan Womentlose
battle at Trueblood
cinemQ
weekend
I Wll, I Will...
for now
The Movies, Briarwood
Using every cliche in
{ book, typecasted actors
him in much the same way as
in MASH and The Long Good-
bye.
The success of I Will, I Will
the ...For Now is due to morej
than an exaggerated rendition
andLL.
The powerful concentration on
environment upstages the char-
acters, and virtually obscures
the plot. The vast sweeps of
s c e n i c countryside almost
achieve a picture-postcard ef-
'4I
* ~PRESENTS
WEATHER
*IN CONCERT
with SPECIAL GUEST STAR
DAVE LI EBMAN
*and LOOKOUT FARM
*
* Hiall Aud itorium- p,.
e TICKETS are $5.00, $4.50, and $3.50
*MICHIGAN UNION BOX OFFICE
also available at Discount Records) "
*
By JEFFREY SELBST
The University Theatre Productions had the
audacity to present their version of Euripides'
The Trojan Women at Trueblood Theatre last
night. Not that this displays a mean kind of
courage, mind you, for I think this play would
cripple even the best company. A good pro-
duction of this creaker would be terrible, and
this was not a good production.
The actors are not entirely to blame. Diane
Tasca, as Hecuba, Queen of the Trojans, was
quite admirable. She had to cope with a re-
lentlessly dull direction, a fairly pompous
Concept, and an incredibly overwritten script.
But the rest of the company suffered from
Classic Syndrome, fairly common to the per-
formers of Greek or Roman plays. It consists
of a certain self-conscious appreciation of the
"classic" nature of their material coupled
with a lack of restraint in acting technique.
Everyone was trying to play Hamlet, or Oedi-
pus at least.
Surprisingly, the worst performance of the
night was turned in by Jill Lindsey, who man-
aged to oake her three-minute cameo appear-
ance as Pallas Athena seem endless. Possessed
of a commanding stature and an awesome
projectory ability, Lindsey prefers to turn
these talents to evil uses.
Menelaus was portrayed by A. Kim Shreve.
The Grecian prince's role was done in most
interesting fashion. One wonders if perhaps
Shreve will soon take on more demanding
roles. ie may, for example, do imitations of
doors. Perhaps an impression of a wall. Per-
chance an impersonation of a sizable boulder.
Talthybius' portrayal was a lesser atrocity.
He suffered not from pomposity, merely an
inability to act, whereas the tendency of the
chorus members was to overact. Sigh. Isn't
there something written about having your
cake and eating it too? Well, the audience
didn't even get to lick the bowl.
Enough about that. The costumes were ex-
cellent. Martin Pakledinaz did a fine job in
evokipg the emotion and period of the post-
Trojan War era in that respect. Similarly the
ruins of Troy were well brought to mind by
Eileen Wilkinson's sets.
The play was directed by Judith W. B. Wil-
liams. She is obviously unaware of the late
great Dorothy Parker's warning that "sedulous
agony is as bad as sedulous sunshine." A play
on such a powerful subject as the devastating
aftermath of war, and one presented without
an intermission (a true act of cruelty), must
be marked by climaxes and nadirs of emotion.
The audience must be given time to absorb.
Horror is useless without some comparative
joy to set it up against. But faced with one
hour and forty-five minutes of pure agony,
an audience can and will become numbed, so
thoroughly that by the end, when one must
feel the pity and shame for these women, one
feels only an irritated boredom.
And this is not fair. Not to the subject, nor
to the International Women's Year, to which
this play is dedicated. These sufferings are
universal, not mere extensions of the plight
of woman. And that's as may be. Nonetheless,
this play does a disservice to the emotions
depicted therein.
It is also difficult (and this may be either
the fault of Euripides or the translation) to
become seriously involved with characters who
speak solely in aphorisms. Hecuba doesn't
declaim against her plight without she says
a few words gratis on the state of pain in
general, or the nature of suffering. But Job
said it better, in a slightly surreal (and thus
more effective) context, and so the words
had more weight.
Perhaps this play ought to have been done
in surreal fashion. It might be that the sub-
ject needs such treatment to make the obser-
vations clearer. In other words, general state-
ments about the state of human nature and
pain might do better when their iterator is
in a less involved state of mind. Removing
the veil of clouded emotion, the statements
would have sharper effect.
This speculation is fairly useless. What is
material is the play itself, and if the only be-
lieving is in seeing, I suggest you trot on down
to the Trueblood. But you stand warned.
plots millions of years old, re- 01the past, but the times we fect. And the lush candlelight
sults in terrible movies-right? live in as well. Gould and Kea- interiors are reminiscent of the
Wrong. In the film I Will, I ton try living together under type of rooms one would find in
Will ...For New, Elliot Gould "contract," and using a sex a furniture museum.
and Diane Keaton portray a di- clinic to make their relationship Y e t t h i s overwhelm-
vorcedacouple making onealast smoother, both seemingly un- ing amount of scenic photog-
effort to salvage their relation- realistic alternatives for people raphy is not all in vain, for it
ship. in their late '30s. This mis- somewhat masks the shallow-
Just as Zero Mostel sought to placement is just what director ness of the acting. Ryan O'Neal,
get the worst script, the worst Norman Panama wanted, for as Barry Lyndon, attempts to
director and the worst actors the resolutions made to solve: become emotionally involved.,
for his production of "Spring- the problems of the two dis- But he fails, probably due to
time for Hitler" (in The pro- traught partners are so tragic- boredom with the part. Marisa
timers), itlse(nprTve Po-ally hopeless, that they come Berenson, who plays Lady Lyn-
again that negatives added to- E off'as delightfully hysterical, don, displays about as much
gether clearly make a positive -Mitch Dunitz life as a withered corpse.
result.* * Barry Lyndon approaches,
In both The Producers and I Barry Lyndon epic proportions, by trying to
Will, I Will . . . For Now, the The Movies, Briarwood become an all encompassin g
two directors play on individ- The unconventional Stanley document of a an intricae
ual character nueroses; Gene Kubrick is always ambitiouslyc . Jealously, hate and
Wilder plays a timid accountant filming the unusually difficult envy are just a few of the
in the former, while Diane Kea- story. This time the result is pra ticaly eve thinegrceivable
ton portrays. a sexually inhibit- less than expected. battles and adultery to go-
ed intellectual in the latter. Barry Lyndon is a long, repe- btlsadautr ogV
Gould's portrayal of Lester in :Ititious, grandiose ers ernmental espionage and brib-
I Will, I Will . For NowI of a William Thackeray novel ery is embodied in this film.
more than amply draws from In a little over three hours, a tht is also interesting to note
some ofhis past characteriza- laborious chronicle of onegrst Lord Bullingdon, Barry's
tions. Women are attracted to man's life passes before you rese cynica stepson,
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What's Playing This Cinema Weekend
Friday-King of Hearts (Ann Arbor Film Co-op, Aud 4,{
MLB, 7) Charge of the Light Brigade (Ann Arbor Film
Co-op, Aud 4, MLB, 9) Wizard of Oz (Cinema Guild, Old
} Arch. Aud, 7, 9) The Idiot (Cinema II, Aud. A, Angell, 7,
10) The Three Musketeers (Ann Arbor Film Co-op, MLB,
aud. 3, 7, 9) Waldo Pepper (UAC Mediatrics, Nat. Sci. aud.,
7:30, 9:30)
Saturday-The Bride Wore Black, (Cinema Guild, Old
Arch. aud., 7, 9) Behind the Green Door ,(New World Film
Co-op, MLB aud. 3, 4, 7, 8:30, 10) Waldo Pepper (UACr
Mediatrics, Nat. Sci. Aud., 7:30, 9:30) Lacombe, Lucien
(Cinema II, Angell Aud. A, 7, 9:30) Bob, Carol, Ted, and
Alice (Bursley Hall Enterprises, W. Cafeteria, Bursley, f
8:30)
Sunday - Gertrude (Cinema II, Angell Aud. A, 7, 9)
All Week Long - Gable and Lombard, Fifth Forum
(761-9700); Swept Away, Campus (668-6098); The Devil With-
in Her, State (662-6;64); Play It Again, Sam, Michigan
(665-6290); Taxi Driver; I Will, I Will . . . For Now, One
Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Barry Lyndon, Briarwood
(769-9780); Winterhawk, Fox Village (769-1300),
ft ... ....e...:}.b... :7":''.rp : :tt44.............:s ?}:'. .
U-M Gilbert and Sullivan Society
IS TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR
a strange resemblance to the
star of Kubrick's Clockwork
Orange. The subtle similarities
are that each has fair skin,
reddened lips and a particular-
ly violent, sadistic tempera-!
ment. The viewer is left to de-
cide whether this in intentional
or not.
Barry Lyndon is a different
type of film. Only the deliber-
ate focus on detailed cinema-
tography makes this moviea
rather interesting. If it were
administered in a smaller time
dosage, it could quite possiblyG
become tolerable.
-Debbie Lacusta
Sight Point Institute
'is a summer community of
scholors for outstandinq stu-
dents interested in literature,
gsvcholoav, and ohilosophv.
The instructional system; like
that at Oxford, is based on
intensive tutorials.
Excellent educational oppor-
tunities are provided by a
rural setting on the coast of
Nova Scotia. For information,
write to Sight Paint Institute,
361 60th Street, Oakland,
CA 94618.
CAMPUS INN DINNER THEATER
Regency Ballroom
APRIL 10, 11 15,16,17 22,23,24
Dinner 7:00 p.m. Show 8:00 p.m. Cocktail Show 10:30 p.m.
Phone 769-2200 for reservations and information
----------------------------
Family Day
IDINNER SHOW 2:00 Show
TICKETS $12.50 Apr. 10 Q 11 U
I Thursdays $12.00 15 1 1611 1711
SC22 U 23 Q 24 0
Choice of entree
_____Roast Ducklinq a I'Orane __Prime Rib of Beef
____Chicken Cordon BleuI
___COCKTAIL SHOW 16 Q 17 QJ
C TICKETS $3.00 23 U 24 Q
I NAME PHONE
I ADDRESS ZIP
I Mail order with check payable to
The Campus Inn, 615 E. Huron, Ann Arbor 48105
( Tickets available at The Campus Inn;
- -i- -
Join the Daily Business Staff
Ann Arbor Civic's 'Foxes':
Nice, but weakly performed
Directors of the Fall Show
By ANDREW ZERMAN too far. Perhaps opening night ONLY Betsey Wells, as Alex-
jitters caused her to lose con- andra, was truly inadequate.
Lm" A^N HELLMAN'S Little trol but what began as a touch- For one thing, she was obvious-
Foges is classy melodrama. ing, careful performance in the ly too old for seventeen. For an-
There's no mustache - twirling first act got out of hand when other, she didn't seem to be-
vill1jn evicting the poor - but - it came' to Birdie's crucial lieve a word she was saying.
honest seamstress from her scene. And that's what acting's all!
tenement, but it's a melo-dra- Yes, Birdie is an over-wrought about.
ma nonetheless because, let's: nervous wreck but she's not I'm no expert in turn-of-the-
face it, the whole play revolves Gena Rowlands "under the in- century fashion but almost all
around a medicine bottle that fluence," and if she's played of Bettie Seeman's female cos-
just happens to fall on the floor. as too much of a loon, the truth tumes looked peculiar to me.
The greed and vindictiveness of she tells loses credibility. They clashed with each other:
this villain Regina Giddens, is The four other men in the and the set and why was the
never explained sufficiently; cast - Joe Medrano, Theodore ' ingenue put in a black cape on
she makes one remark about Trost, Jr., John Stephens and a spring day, even if it was{
being lonely as a child but that Fred Reilly - were all fine, a rainy one? Did she know in
is hardly enough to satisfy our the finest, I think, being Me- the morning her father would
curiosity as to why this woman drano. be dead by nightfall?
is such a monster.
Like many melodramas,!
though, The Little Foxes can
be gripping on stage. Ann Ar-
bor Civic Theatre's production
of the play, which has two more
(sold-out) performances at Men-!
delssohn Theatre, is a decent,
well-directed, nicely acted ef-
fort. Would that all theatre in
Ann Arbor were as free from3
major flaws and directorial mis-
judgments as is this show.
Under Ted Heusel's direc-
tion the pace was swift, the
tense climaxes were realized
and there was a sense of post-.
bellum South atmosphere. Char-1
acters, with one-and-a-half ex-
ceptions, were well and accur-
ately delineated.
NANCY HEUSEL, as Regina,
commanded the stage with en-r
erby, authority and vibrancy.
That she is an experienced ac-
Trba'saes e rin~i315 S. STA TE 761-7918
tress was clear on Tuesday
night; technically her perform-
aree was solid.
What was missing for me, and
I don't suspect many in the
audience felt the same wa,, was
a more deeply felt performance. UAC/MUSKET preserts
We may not know what made
Regina the way she is but we
should at least see her posses-
sed by certain drives and am- H
bitions that make her ruthless.
A gut-level performance is
needed for this gut-level char-
acter. Nancy Heusel didn't offer
any less than her fellow-actors;D
her role simply demanded
Trove.
The most honest, convincing ( MARCH 25-28
performance was given by Pet-
STAGE DIRECTOR
TECH. DIRECTOR
MUSIC DIRECTOR
COSTUME DESIGNER
Cal IDavid Shough, 769-1868 byApr. Il
d .
"I was swept
away by the
volcanic, slam- bang
. performances of
its two stars."
-Gene Shaiit NBC-TV
Awa*
f
. "2nd Big Week"
SHOWTIMES
1214 s. university Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.:
7:00 and 9:00 p.m.
Sat., Sun., Wed.:
Theatre Phone 68-641 1 :00, 3:00, 5:00, 7 and 9
I
TONIGMH -riday, Mar. 42
SWASHBUCKLING double feature in the MLB
$1.25 single show $2.00 double feature
THE KING OF HEARTS-MLB 4-7 only
THE CHARGE OF THE THE THREE
LIGHT BRIGADE MUSKETEERS
(Tony Richardson, 1968) MLB 4--9 only (Richard Lester, 1974) MLB 3-7 &' 9
uidal British acklumorattack durintsthe Great fun and style in the adventure of
Crimean War, based on news reports, per- Athos. Armis, and Porthos. Lots of swash-
sonal accounts and the Tennyson poem. buckling in a polished production. Oliver
Vanessa Redqrave, David Hemminq, John Reed, Richard Chamberlain,, Raquel Welch,
Gielaud, Trevor Howard, Faye Dunawave.
The Ann Arbor Film Coop Is Taking Applications For New Members.
Inquire at the Ticket Desk.
Nobody
could
dream him up.
His incredible
bank robbery
is all the
more bizarre
...because
it's true.
NOW SHOWING
unrestrained
comedy,
(Dqliing,
s sa .ae I.