CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK The Aichigan Daily-Wednesday, July 25, 1979-Page 7 Musk young] might I In The Eyerly Kurtzr specim SaturdL opened musica Some ideas for 'In The Dark' By JOSHUA PECK with as guidelines in their final revision distinguishing it because of all the sing a song of scheming, ket's bragging that it may have of In The Dark, which will be staged graininess of the sound system. Happen," and then fail t Leonard Bernsteins in its ranks (with a slightly higher budget) in the In The Dark really has no insurmoun- carrying out any part of th have been a mite premature, but Power Center in mid-November. table difficulties, but those that look some 36 hours of stage time. e Dark's three authors, Scott In The Dark's plot concerns three grimmest all have to do with the plot. Still, both of these prol , William Holab, and Andrew heirs to the million dollar legacy of one Claire, the character who takes part in easily be amended over th nan, certainly do have a Karl Fielding, a quirky, peculiar old the love song halfway through the show, months with the addition of a en of promise. On Friday, codger-whose deathbed scene drolly' leaves the house in a huff' shortly little stage business. In T ay, and Sunday last, Musket starts the evening off. In his will, thereafter. The gentleman 'who so essence, its plot, musical c l the triumvirate's original Fielding insists that his three relatives recently had been singing his heart out its language, are already 1 in the Pendleton Room in a sort must search out the bequeathment, to her apparently forgets about her years after its inception) in which is hidden in a wallet somewhere altogether, involved as he is in finding While I am hesitant to jun in Fielding's old Vermont mansion. the money. clusions, I think Ann Arbor Complicating matters further is the Continuity, or lack of it, presents a for a superb entertainm Dresence in the mansion of five mem- nrnhla nwn te n thprtur hnre T-.:, k- "Accidents to put off eir plot for blems can e next four scene or a The Dark's ontent, and (these two fine shape. mp to con- may be in ent come of out-of-town tryout. The set and lighting were obviously and amusingly makeshift, and it really didr.'t matter. The purpose of the presentation was not to display perfection of design or playcrafting, but rather, to work toward that goal. Members of the audience were beseeched by producer Gary Rubin to offer their suggestions to the playwrights at evening's end, both on questionnaires provided for that purpose, and in person. Lyricist Kurtzman was seen democratically jotting down an adolescent's suggestion that the title of one of the songs be changed, and all manner of other notes were passed on to the craftsmen during the 45 minutes following the performance. -Perhaps most useful were the remarks of Music School professor and nationally known performer Bill Bolcom, offered in a playwright's huddle in the League's second floor lobby. THE AUTHOR'S intent is to assem- ble the many hundreds of notes, requests, gibes, etc. they receive, to weigh them, and touse those they agree bers of Fielding's immediate family - dead ones. The ghosts are a pleasant dotty bunch, and their songs contain some of the show's cleverest lyrics, as well as some of Holab's and Eyerly's richest tunes and harmonies. The show's songs, as of this hearing, are its strongest element. "So Rare," a love ballad between one of the heirs and his lady friend,atonce refreshingly mad - the lyrics compare romance to the delight of having "a ladybug on my toe" - and deeply touching. The words of all the songs, in fact, are carefully designed to exploit and amplify their singers' characters. In this case, the lovers are both shy and seem to be somewhat inexperienced in matters of love, a condition that is beautifully ex- pressed by the awkwardly silly imagery they employ in the song. ONE WEAK NUMBER is "Ghostly Memories," both because of its intrin: sic mediocrity, and because it is heard over the amplification system, with virtually no action simultaneously oc- curring on stage. This first difficulty is really a shame, because Joel Dulyea, who recorded the song for the summer production, has a magnificent voice, although there's no way of WEDNESDAY IS "BARGAIN DAY" $1.50 UNTIL 5:30 SAT, SUN, WED 1:30-3:30-5:30-7:30-9:30 DTTE &. Leonhardt stylishly handles harpsichord By GERARD PAPE Gustav Leonhardt's concert Monday evening in Rackham consisted of works by Balbastre, Scarlatti, and Bach. What was pleasantly unique about the concert was hearing the works perfor- med on the 17th century's authentic keyboard instrument, the harpsichord. Unfortunately, some of the reasons that the harpsichord lost favor to the piano with 19th century audiences became obvious, especially during the first three pieces by Claude Balbastre. While Leonhardt's playing was delicate and very precise, there was a problem with the pieces. The works were so un- derstated that they had an overall static effect. The harpsichord's major fault as an instrument, that it lacks' dynamic range, was evident in the pieces' lack of dramatic contest. Some contrast in tempi helped create a little variety, but, unfortunately, not enough to maintain interest. An exception to the rule was the rhythmically vital final Balbastre piece, which contrasted significantly with the previous pieces. The eight Scarlatti sonatas seemed to be more interesting works in general. The contrast between the very fast and very slow sections, between the sadder, more lyrical works and the sprightly, happier ones was involving. Har- monically, the Scarlatti works provided more umnneeted hnrda turns tha tuoso speed and were of such polyphonic complexity as to seem to require at- least four hands to execute. Leonhar- dt's playing was up to the challenge. It was intense, rich, and structurally distinct. The sound he produced ranged from multi-hand separateness to the sound of a torrent of blending guitar strums. THE PROGRAM concluded with Leonhardt's transcription of Bach's Suite No. 6 for Cello. Leonhardt's tran- scription made the work sound very natural for harpsichord. The suite's in- dividual movements made for much variety as did the various Scarlatti sonatas. Rhythmically precise, stately movements contrasted with more sensitive, delicate understated ones. Leonhardt's execution of the Sarabande movement was especially noteworthy for its deeply felt but muted sorrow. Once again, as with the Scarlatti works, we had the feeling that this work of Bach's could better survive the limitations of the harpsichord as an instrument. The overall impression that Leonhardt's concert left one with was that, even if one's harpsichord playing is quite good, one had better have in- teresting pieces to match. When Leonhardt had fine works to execute, he did so-spectacularly; when he had The FIRST Certified Crazv Person's Comedy PETER ALAN FALK ARKIN (UPPER LEVEL) SHOWS DAILY AT 1:15-3:40-7:20-9:50 SHC )AILY AT -7:15-9:45 SHOWS DAILY Al 1 :00-3:30-7:00-9:- "'ALLEN' a re a e SHOWS DAILY AT 1:00-3:30-7:00-9:35 ONE / WEEK ONLY! Ends July f~ 26th