Page 10-Tuesday, June 12,.1979-The Michigan Daily Society mounts uneven eneft By NINA SHISHKOFF chestra. It was the orchestra's best ef- A benefit for Lydia Mendelssohn fort in years, if not in its entire history. Theater can be a bonus for audiences, The musicians are usually cursed with even if the chosen entertainment is less an anemic string section, defying the substantial than usual. June 8 and 9, the liveliest efforts of the conductor to ex- University of Michigan Gilbert and tract a sharp and clear sound. This Sullivan Society presented Trial by time, however, the combination of good Jury and selections from other G&S playing and Mark Brandfonbrener's operettas. brisk direction turned the overture into The resulting potpourri was nice a concert piece that held its own splen- music hall material, but failed to didly. measure up to the usual tightly con- THE SAME could be said of the four structed Gilbert and Sullivan evening. songs ,from Iolanthe, Utopia Limited, The opening selection was the over- Ruddigore, and Patience. Removed ture from The Mikado, played with ex- from context and costume, they still traordinary vigor by the G & S or- possessed great charm, particularly the lesser known ones. "If Saphir I Choose to Marry", is sung by three men and two women, groupedhas two couples and a leftover man, who sings that if the other matches take place, and he is left alone, at least he'll have Trial by Jury w. S. Gilbert, ArthurSullivan Lydia Mendelssohn Theater June 0,9 Judge... .....Beverley Pooley Angelina.. . . ..Kathy Simpson Edwin................................ DavidParks Foreman of the jury ................. Mark Kramer Usher........Tom Pehet Bailiff....................Doug Foreman Counselftor the defense .. ..Lee Vahsing KathyPlatzmandramaticdirector; Mark Brandfonbrener, Musicdirector their heartfelt sympathy. After a neatly choreographed shuffling of partners, a new man is left alone to sing the second verse - along similar lines. In "A Tenor All Singers Above," Ernest Brandon decries the violence done his voice when the love he vocalizes is genuine. All the selections were well sung, choreographed along classic G&S lines, and served to whet the appetite for the main course. Unfortunately, Trial By Jury is un- mistakably a one act trifle. It was Gilbert and Sullivan's first collaboration, and shows few marks of their later wit and originality. It con- cerns the plight of Edwin, the unhappy defendant, who is taken to court on a charge of breach of promise. It wasn't his fault, he explains, he just happened to fall in love with another girl. Unfor- tunately for Edwin, the Jury tends to side with the beautiful plaintiff, Angelina, dressed demurely in a white wedding gown and veil. The tunes are for the most part super- ficial, and the lyrics only nibbling satire. The chorus, consisting of jurors on one side, bridesmaids and town- speople on the other, sang loudly and indistinctly. The best moment came in "All Hail, Great Judge," announcing the judge's entrance in such Messiah- like splendor that a few confused jurors look heavenward for his arrival. KATHY PLATZMAN, the director, set a lightning pace, playing things broadly, with lots of props and sight- gags to keep the eyes busy. In other Gilbert and Sullivan works it would have been too much; here, it AETS strengthened the less-than-adequate characterizations. Because the roles were slight, and because this is the team's only work without dialogue, there was no opportunity for cast to shine. Usually captivating performers, like Beverley Pooley and Kathy Sim- pson, could only sing their best and keep moving along. The production's main merit is that it supported a worthy cause. The splendid opening selections represent the Gilbert and Sullivan Society at its best and most entertaining. Perhaps it would have made sense to reverse the order, and present Trial By Jury first, to warm up the audience for the fine ex- cerpts to follow. 'No Place' at Eastern By BILLIE SCOTT No Place to Be Somebody is a play that examines the despair and degradation suffered by many blacks and whites in America. It includes symbols of the racism, materialism, sensualism, and extreme individualism that threaten the life blood of the American people. Playwright Charles Godone therefore used extremely stereotypical characters to dress his story. The large E.M.U. ensemble was well selected by director Marvin Sims. For the most part, No Place is coherent, fast paced and humorous. There are periods, however, when dialogue is inaudible or unintelligible. Some actors occasionally lack physical intensity and noticeable reaction to dialogue and immediate surroundings. The director ought to have elicited stronger charac- terizations from his actors. This would have served to make the dialogue and action more cohesive. Gabe Gabriel, the unemployed actor- writer, is adequately played by Daniel Hand. Gabe is the pivotal character in that he is the "author" of the play. As he says in the opening monologue, "This is my play, I'm making it up in my head as I go along." Johnny Williams is the one character he cannot control. Robert Byrd III is the tragic protagonist Johnny. His performance is also fair, but both these actors and the play would benefit if they produced stronger images; images that showed Gabe in command and images of John- ny as the warrior-victim-martyr that Gordone wrote into the script of this powerful play. As it was, the conflict between the two was not sufficiently exposed to warrant Gabe's killing Johnny in the final act. Cora Beasley (Vickie Frederick) and Shanty Mulligan (Dale Foren) are the very picture of a mismatched in- terracial couple. Both suffer from misunderstandings of themselves and where they come from. Frederick is convincing as Cora, the practical nurse seeking status and security from a white man, and Dale deftly portrays Shanty, the daydreaming mop slinger with delusions of being a great jaz- zman, and ashamed of his forced ser- vility. Chris McMullen is the ill-fated Dee Jacobson, Johnny's white woman of the streets. Carmelita Jackson is Evia Ames, her black roommate and partner in the life. Both roles are played very well. Stanford Robinson delightfully characterized Sweets, the aged and consumptive black gangster who was Johnny's father surrogate and mentor incrime. Others who stand out in the large cast are Herman Spearman (Machine Hog), James McGough (Judge Bolton) and Robert Hood, in two small parts. Sharon Dear (Harlem Dancer) is an excellent dancer. Her dance between the opening ,-monologue and the first act makes for an innovative addition to the production. However, during Gabe's third monologue, "There's more to being black than meets the eye," the dancing only serves to distract. Another distraction is costume designer Katherine Holkeboer's errant eye. Johnny and Gabe spend the first half of the play in inappropriately casual attire. Still and all, E.M.U.'s No Place to Be Somebody is an effective treatment of Charles Gordone's theatrical lament.