ARTS W he Michigan Daily Sunday, December 6, 1981 Page 7 Best of Broadway not so good ! y Gail Negbaur 1 0 ITS CREDIT, Mornings at Seven - captures the essence of what it must have been like to live in a small mid-western town in 1922. Unfor- tWnately, except for a few glimpses of good acting, The Best of Broadway's production is not a "best" at all. The playwright Paul Osborn began writing when he was at the University in 1925. He has said the characters in Mornings at Seven are based on people he. knew in Kalamazoo. But the per- sonalities are so typical it is not very in teresting to watch what happens in their lives. The play centers on the mundane an- tics of four elderly sisters, their three husbands, one sister's son and his girlfriend. The only major action in the first act is that the son, Homer, a forty- year old bachelor, brings his girlfriend of 2 years home for the first time. During the rest of the act, and most of the play, Osborn simply lets the audience look in on the sisters' gossip and rivalries. The play and the acting improve after the first intermission, basically because sonething dramatic finally happens. Two of the husbands leave their wives for a whole day, to find out the meaning of the profound question "Where am I." Then sisten Cora decides to get a new house for her husband and herself to get away from her live-in sister. Everyone gets excited and at one point literally run around the stage after each other. Mornings has its moments, but for the most part it is just an extremely long play. The cast is mediocre at its best. The only two who are able to take their characters away from being stereotypes are Paul Collins as Homer and Kathryn Eames as sister Esther. Eames portrays Esther as the wise sister who still listens to all of her family's chattering earnestly. She goes as far as defending them to her husband by saying, "I have a good time with my sisters, I don't care how ignorant they are." The truth is out; here is Osborn's message to the audience. We are meant to have a good time and enjoy watching the craziness of the sisters. With a bet- ter group of actors it is possible that this message could come through. Mornings at Seven will continue with both a matinee and an evening perfor- mance on Sunday, at the Power Center. WHEN THE LADY NEEDS MORE THAN JUST DECORATION TV Dinner' is the tubes By James Clinton T HE WHOLE Art Theatre's produc- tion of TV Dinner, currently ap- pearing at the Canterbury Loft, preten- ds to examine the effect television has on our lives. Actually, this three-part drama by Werner Krieglstein is a naive portrait of the media. The first act is the worst of the three, which is saying a great deal since the entire play is an unmitigated disaster. We are implored by the author, in a preface, to view it in the context of a painting, a mere excuse for the fact that there is no dialogue, no dramatic tension and acting more closely associated with an elementary school class in improvisation. The second act focuses on a man in a room about to eat dinner alone. On 'Succeed' second glance, one notices that he's in the company of his television set. A lengthy discourse follows, where he eschews the television for it's inability to maintain a relationship with the viewer. The personalization of the elec- tric box is the belabored metaphor here. It is taken to imponderable and embarrassing lengths, in the effort to show how frequently the TV takes on the form of a living entity and exceeds it's position as mere diversion. The final piece is about a woman who watches cartoons and munches cereal, while soldiers come into her living room and murder a small boy. Needless to say, she is so engrossed in Bugs Bun- ny she doesn't even glance up from the idiot box to observe the violence en- folding around her. Enough said? 0. K. We watch too much television. This is hardly a new complaint, and has successful been satirized more effectively many times before. One of the glaring deficiencies in this play is its in- congrously heavy-handed approach to the subject. One presumes this route is taken to remind us of the imminent peril of taking the tube too seriously (which, ironically, is what this play does). Symbolism is reduced to the most puerile length, replete with a cradle on the sparce stage and an inex- plicable cross mounted at the back. In all fairness, the entire mess is vir- tually without a redeeming feature. It would seem appropriate as one of Dan Ackroyd's Bad Theatre Productions or a National Lampoon parody. The Rolex Lady-Date says her style is as precious as her time. Distinct and indestructible, this self-winding feminine wristwatch is pressure- proof down to 165 feet. J 1 ROLEX THIS PRICE IS WORTH A CLOSE EXAMINATION. , , _,k, ab J, sophomore showcase All by itself, $49 is a By Gail Negbaur FTER TWENTY-FIVE years of sophomore shows, one has rarely' seen a UAC musical with good singing, a well-rehearsed cast, and a male chorus that can dance well. Under the direction of Michael Kaufman, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is delightful entertainment. How to Succeed . . . is a satirical comedy that looks at what goes on behind the doors of a large corporation. The show teaches us that anyone with aimbition can make it to the top of the American business world. Pierrepont Finch (Greg Watt) sees that there is more to life than washing, windows, so by carefully following his 9%booklet on success, he enters the World Wide Wicket Company. Although he Smust start in the mail room, with a little ingenuity and cunning, Finch soon rises to the position of vice-president. Along the way the boss' nephew Frump tries to stop him, Rosemary the secretary tries to marry him and the boss' girlfriend tries to seduce him. Even- tually Finch makes it through, and ANN A RBOR proves that there is still hope for the ambitious and lucky in the world of high finance. Greg Watt's superb voice, Michael Kaufman's directing, and the choreography by Kaufman and Ruth Klotzer combine to make this produc- tion a success. But without the talent of Gayle Cohen (Rosemary), Todd Hooley (Frump), and the supporting cast, the show would not be nearly as polished and enjoyable as it is. The technical demands of the script prove, however, to be difficult to han- dle. In the first act alone there are fif- teen scenes and almost all require some scenery changes. Although Jon Davis' three level set works well in many of the scenes, the actors must often carry tables, chairs, and other props on stage This leads to some confusion and long pauses between scenes. Todd Hooley makes Budd Frump. the coniving, wicked nephew of the boss so perfectly pathetic that one cannot help feeling sorry for Frump by the end. Charles Nelson Reilly, who played this role in the original production in 1961, could not have done it better. great price for pair of glasses. a complete With Nu- I Vision behind it, it's even better, because NuVision Y i ,. P $a50 WED. SAT. SUN. $1.50 TII16 p.m. (Except "REDS") 112I INDIVIUUAL 5th Ave. at liberty gives you so much more than just a pair of glasses. Examine these facts, and you'll see what we mean: At NuVision, when we say "complete," we mean your choice of single vision, bifocal or trifocal clear glass lenses, prepared for you in NuVision's own precision laboratory under strict quality controls. As for the frames - we offer a wide, select group of fashion frames, with styles for every member of the family. NuVision care and service have been outstanding for a long time, which is why so many thousands of people come to us for their glasses and contact lenses. They know that wherever they have their eyes examined, their prescription belongs to them to have filled wherever they think best. And they think NuVision is best. They know that if they need their eyes examined, NuVision's Doctors of Optometry are qualified and thorough. The examinations they conduct with NuVision's modern equip- ment don't begin and end with an eye chart. They include screening for glaucoma. At NuVision, we are dedicated to quality eye care. Whatever you buy from us comes with a money-back guarantee, which is one more reason you can approach our $49 price' NEW KROGER PLAZA 434-0134 ld e. ....... -, _ j ----- - - JA Jmj WARREN BEATTY DIANE KEATON EDWARD HERRMANN JERZY KOSINSKI JACK NICHOLSON PAUL SORVINO MAUREEN STAPLETON """"""""""""""" with confidence. $49 for a complete pair of glasses. There's a lot behind it. Look into it. And that's not all. Right now... $ FOR SOFT CONTACT LENSES COMPLETE. It's for a limited time only, so if you prefer Contact Lenses, don't delay. These are Bausch & Lomb Spherical Soft Contact Lenses, and the $85 price includes quite a package: Eye Examination; Lenses; Introduc- tory Care Kit; 30-Day Trial Wearing Plan; Follow-Up Visits; Money-Back Guarantee, in- cluding Professional Fee. For outstanding eye care..$49 glasses...and $85 contact lenses... BRIARWOOD MALL 769-5777 SAT. SUN.-1:00, 4:55, 8:30 Mon.-8:30 (Adults $2.50-1:00 p.m. show only) (PG) . Wm%.v. --. AAFDVI STRFP TRUST YOUR EYES TO