The Michigan Daily
ARTS
Tuesday, November 17, 1981
One-act plays original, exciting
Page 5
Ik-Hwan Bae, Theodore Arm, Ida Kavafian, and Richard Stoltzman form
the chamber music ensemble Tashi.
Tashi playS classics
with style and talent
By Gail Negbaur
The Residential 'College Players'
production of two one-act comedies,
Clyde Evades the Draft and Serve the
Public, is exciting not only because
they are well-written and enjoyable to
watch, but also because they are
original plays. Both are by Jeff Wine, a
University Residential College
graduate. It would seem that in a
University town like Ann Abor there
would be an over abundance, of new
plays-but that is not so: or at least,
they are not widely produced.
There are many stories about the
draft evaders in the '60s, but few have
been written about today's potential
evaders. In Clyde Evades the Draft,
Clyde, the actor, is sure that the next
step after registration will be the rein-
statement of a draft and eventually a
full-scale war.
In order to avoid being "shot defen-
ding some corporation", he decides to
convince his girlfriend's brother Ben, a
psychistrist, that he is insane. Clyde
figures that after being put away for a
month in a home the army would never
have him. So he becomes a dog, an ape,
and a neutron bomb. Ben is easily con-
vinced that Clyde is nuts with "ob-
sessive paranoid tendencies." But
Jane, Clyde's girlfriend, is not happy
about Clyde's game or behavior. She
tries to make him stop-but Clyde
refuses. In the end the joke is on Clyde
himself as he is forcefully taken away
by two orderlies.
The play is successful especially
because Gordon Frost, under the direc-
tion of the playwright Jeff Wine, does
such a good job with Clyde. Unless the
timing is right, even the funniest script
can become dull. Frost has handled this
very well. When the play -opens, he
takes a swig out of a bottle, stands cen-
ter stage, sticks out his tongue and goes
into a series of acting exercises that are
hysterical to watch.
Jane (Mary King) is the straight per-
son for Clyde's jokes. She is angry that
he is being such a fool and does not want
to have anything to do with his plan.
King has a difficult role to play because
the audience's sympathies are im-
mediately with the joker. However, she
does an excellent job. As Clyde's plan
gets more and more absurd, King has
us convinced that he really must be
crazy.
John Pollins has some trouble as the
psychiatrist brother Ben. Although he
looks concerned while witnessing
Clyde's strange behavior, Ben is not a
convincing character. Pollins does not
seem to fully understand his role.
Clyde is an excellent play with a
humorous look at a politically relevant
situation. The play is both well-written
and well-acted.
Serve the Public is not
developed as well as Clyde. In the
program the director Pauling Gagnon
mentions that much of the rehearsal
time was spent without the finished
script. This can be a helpful process to
acquaint the actors with their charac-
ters before they are confined to specific
lines,, but by the time of the final
production, the actors shouldtbe com-
fortable with both their characters and
the lines. Serve the Public did not seem
to be ready for performance.
Philip Tannanboum plays Sam the
restaurant owner, maitre d', waiter,
gypsy, and wine steward all rolled into
one. Sam, with help from his girlfriend
Gayle (Deborah Thompson), is
struggling to keep his small restaurant
in a New England Prep-school town
from collapsing. By becoming all the
different members of the staff that he
cannot afford, he hopes to keep the
restaurant open.
When a rich alumnus Ted (Beek) and
his companion Rose (Amy Lapkin)
come for dinner, the race is on to keep
his costumes straight and the
customers convinced that it is a high
class place. The play ends with Sam
confessing all to the guests.
Tannenbaum moves easily from one
role into the next. In fact, he is most
successful when playing one of the
varioous characters that Sam has in-
vented. The role of Sam himself is not
as well carried out.
Lapkin (Rose) and Beek (Ted) have
some amusing conflicts over their
relationship and his drinking habits.
Deborah Thompson (Gayle) is
especially good when she comes into
the dining room dressed as a spinster
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who is investigating the "black
market" at the boarding school. As
Gayle, which is a less interesting role to
work with, she is too meek to keep the
attention of the audience.
Wine's playwriting talents are
especially evident in Clyde Evades the
Draft, and the potential is there in Ser-
ve the Public as well. Hopefully he will
continue writing and his work will ap-
pear again in Ann Arbor.
v Both plays will be at East Quad at 8
p.m. next Friday and Saturday night.
ROBERT DE NIRO
1:45 ROBERT DUVALL
4:00 TPY
7:00 ' Tues.
UNITED ARTISTSL
By Jane Carl
It is easy to see why Tashi is a very
successful chamber ensemble. First,
they have a broad repertoire ranging
from the classics to contemporary.
Second, they are all extremely talen-
ted, experienced musicians who
possess an ecormous amount of
technique and musicality as displayed
in their November 15th recital in
Rackham Auditorium.
The program opened with Mozart's
"Divertimento for String Trio in E-flat
major, K. 563," featuring violinist Ida
Kavafian, violist Ik-Hwan Bae, and
cellist Fred Sherry. In some ways a
typical late Mozartian piece, it was
presented with both the graceful charm
and dramatic energy charactistic of
Mozart's works
Ida Kavafian is a very skilled
violinist. Her masterful precision in-
fused the work with a delightful variety
of emotions. At- times violist Ik-Hwan
seemed subdued and tentative; his
playing was dominated by the other
forces in the group all too often. Cellist
Fred Sherry is an extremely sensitive
musician. His simple, -striking outline
of chords in the "Adagio" movement,
coupled with reiterated eighth notes in
the violin and viola, was very
satisfying. Although this trio is a par-
ticularly long work, six movements in
its entirety, it is well worth listening to.
The second half of the program began
with "Evocation de Slovaquie" by
Karel Husa. A contemporary work for+
clarinet, viola, and cello; it was per-
formed by Richard Stolzman, Ida
Kavafian, and Fred , Sherry.
Reminiscent of Bartok, the piece is full
of extremes of range, moods, and com-
positional techniques.
Stoltzman is not your typical'
clarinetist, and his style of playing is
well suited to this piece. The heavy
vibrato and rather wild virtuosity were
in contrast with moments of total con-
trol and very effective pianissimos.
The program closed with Weber's
"Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in B-
flat major, Op. 34." This is Weber at his
best, full of maudlin sentimentality and
almost comtic drama which Tashi
milked to the utmost. The strings were
joined by violinist Theodore Arm to,
create a quartet with a great sense of
ensemble unity. Interpretively, the
group presented a very interesting ver-
sion of this piece which was highlighted
by excellent dynamic diversity-a
Tashi specialty.
For an encore, Tashi played a con-
temporary quintet by Bill Douglas,
which they recently recorded on RCAA.
Based on a pentatonic scale, the strings
began with a simple chord while the
clarinet improvised exploring the raga:.
Then the group broke out into a be-bop
tune which was interrupted by
something Douglas terms a "Rock
etude," or a sort of spoken scat singing
concerning itself with -complicated
rhythms. Having both an Oriental and a
jazz flavor, the piece was more than
just fun, it was a venture into the ex-
citing and unique world of Tashi.
Tues.
f
1:30
4:15
7:20
r " 9:40
VA
14:151
17:201
-Two hours of
nonstop thrills"
-Gex Reed
RA~~OF THE \A~us.
L O T A R K I a.A.PA A M O U N
PITR
/".
"His tone is of the purest and holds the listener
captivated by its dulcet quality. His intonation is impeccable,
and his technique nothing short of perfection.tt
-The London Times
I
Foreigner concert
brings no surprises
By Mitch Cantor
Daltrey guilty of bad
Macting in Vicar'
Foreigner is your basic FM rock
religion. Four guys (with a little extra
help in the studio) put together the
urgency of teen concerns on vinyl. The
songs are hard-driving, well-produced
and catchy (or repetitive, depending on
how you look at them). There's nothing
wrong with that. As a matter of fact,
Foreigner happens to be quite good at
it.
But at the same time, there isn't
much new to it, either. So it was no sur-
prise when Foreigner's 90-minute con-
cert Saturday night at Crisler Arena
was a combination of the hits ("Cold as
Ice," "Double Vision," "Feels Like the
First Time," etc.), songs from the new
album ("Luanne," "Juke Box Hero,"
"Waiting for a Girl Like You," etc.)
and the constant gyrating that has put
the band at the top of the "cock-rock"
heap.
And the crowd loved it. All 13,000 or so
that packed the hall (mhost of them
seemed to be high schoolers out for
their first big concert) were sucked
right into the atmosphere. Most of those
on the main floor were on their feet for
'the whole concert.
Why? I don't know. The performance
of the songs was nothing spectacular.
Lead singer Low Gramm took the same
"me-vs.-you" hard-guy posture on
almost every song. Perhaps many of
the hearts in the audience were
palpitating wildly. Sorry, no arousal
here.
Outside of the music, which was per-
formed much like it is on the records,
and the macho-man antics by each
member of the band, there was little
else to grab any attention. Two small
Venetian blind screens were twice
illuminated with the new album logo.
Big deal.
And yet, the masses rose in ad-
miration. Maybe I'mmissing
something-why is there this reaction?
Kudos to the record industry for spot-
ting this appeal. I sure would have
missed it. I was just sorry I didn't bring
any earplugs.
Before Foreigner blasted on the
scene with its big sound, Billy Squier
ran through a sloppy 50-minute set. His
band simply flailed away, while the
mop-headed rocker danced around the
stage playing Mick-Jagger-in-the-
mirror.
The most scintillating (?) point in his
set was his monster hit, "The Stroke,"
which featured his roadies dancing on
the side of the stage in mock mastur-
bation. If you've never seen Squier
live-well, that's probably all you need
to know.
Uto ThiViolit!
Program
Handel: Sonata in D major
Bach: Partita No. 2
Beethoven: Sonata No. 9 ("Kreutzer")
friday November 20, at 8:30
LQackham-And Iortmm
Tickets at $8.50, $7.00, $5.50
Tickets at Burton Tower, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Weekdays 9-4:30, Sat. 9-12(313) 665-3717
Tickets also available at Rackham Auditorium
12hours before performance time.
i1NIVESITYrWUSICAL 0CIETY
In Its 103rd Year
5"
' I
By Richard Campbell
R OGER DALTREY has trie
to act before, but never in such
bland and indecisive movie as M
Vicar, The film wants to be a cor
pelling social commentary. Instead,
is empty of insight and filled wi
boredom.
John McVicar was a criminal
England who, after taking part
several violent crimes, was sent to
high-security prison. There he helpe
his fellow inmates incite a riot for th
right of prisoners to wear the clothin
of their choice.
RThese scene inside of the prison a
filmed in a shadowless light, serving
eliminte any tension that should be fel
Instead of a frightening and anxiot
setting, the prison appears an inviti
place compared to other prisons depi
ted in movies. Even Prisoner: C
Block H had the intellingence to film
scenes in half-lit corridors, rather tha
the cheery atmosphere of McVicar.
The acting of Daltrey, as well as t
other inmates, is as brilliantly lit as t
lighting. Their characters a
shadowless and their motivations a
only surface emotions. The act
deliver the dialogue in clench-teeth
monotones. After the first couple
scenes what impact this Clint Eastwo
style of acting had, is lost.
The prisoners are seen only from o
viewpoint. They are angry at being
prison, at all the injustices which ha
befallen them. However, a prison ri
over the inmates right to choose wi
they wear is fairly frivolous. Instead
winning over the auidience to the
mate's side, we are left caring litle
the outcome.
The opening of the film tries
Vicar's nagging home life and his
worrisome life as an outlaw. This idea
is almost completely undercut by the
ed bad acting of the principals. Not for one
a second do husband and wife come off as
c- anything remotely resembling a
n- married couple, in any stage of disin-
it tegration.
th John McVicar wrote his biography on
the run and in prison, later getting it
in published. It was hailed for its realistic
in portrayal of life in prison and of the
a criminal class. McVicar fails to bring
ed out this attitude. Quadrophenia an
he earlier Whofilms' production, was a
ng very good film that was able to deliver
strong images of teenagers' alienation
re in England during the early '60s. Mc-
to Vicar fails to make any kind of
t. statement of purpose for its story of
us escape and robbery.
ng At the end of the film there is a title
ic- card explaining that McVicar was a
ell real criminal, who, while in prison,
its
an See McVICAR, Page 6
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