ARTS page 6 Sunday, September 14, 1980 The Michigan Daily Sand astles 'hal-succeeds By ANNE GADON Ann Arbor playwright Carol Duffy is certainly not a feminist, but in Sand Castles, an original work which opened at the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's Main Street stage Friday night, she added her view about the changing nature of relationships from a woman's point of view. Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman and Marilyn French's novel, The Women's Room preceded Ms. Duf- fy into this realm, and the popular suc- cess of those two works have helped develop an audience for similar works on the woman's experience. Duffy's play is more modest than the previously stated works (not to mention the differences in calibre), but nonetheless offers a thoughtful per- spective on an older woman's relation- ship with a younger man. Sand Castles shows that Duffy is quite apt at depicting the feelings of her sex, particularly a midde-aged woman like herself. Duffy's protagonist, Eve Weber, has been married for more than twenty years and finds in the com- panionship of Pud Riley, a 28-year old neighbor at the Weber's cottage in Nor- thern Michigan, an alternative to the "comfortable symbiosis" that she shares with her husband, Howard. BROWNELL VIOLIN REPAIR, VIOLIN-VIOLA-CELLO-BASS VIOL D'GAMBA BOW REHAIR SPECIAL $ 00 $ 3 OFF REGULAR PRICE Same day service available CALL FOR APPOINTMENT: 665-4255 2187 Yorktown (NEAR NORTH CAMPUS) Eve's relationship with Pud is soon ap- parent to her family. She is forced to deal not only with guilt over leaving her husband but also with the fact that her lover is only a few years older than hr son. As Eve Weber, Page Conner, displays a remarkable degree of naturalness that is a rare element in community theatre productions. She is also blessed with realistic and tangible motivations, while the other characters are markedly cliche. Conner is aware of Eve's inner dissension. Eve craves a career and the approval of her family, and Conner clearly displays this dichotomey. When Pud is seducing her, she is obviously attracted to him, but hesitant to plunge into a new relation- ship that will wreck her present stable if unhappy situation with Howard. COMPARED WITH her charac- terization of Eve, Duffy deals with the other roles in a painfully shallow manner. Unlike Conner, the other performers lack the savvy to overcome the script's deficiencies. Pud's seduc- tion of Eve emerges out of nowhere af- ter a half hour chat between them in which they catch up on everything that has happened during the 12 years since they've seen each other. In an attempt at cleverness (no other motivation comes to mind), Duffy 's characters toss strings of cliches and quotes at each other. Howard's suggestion to his wife when he learns of her affairs is, "Go forth my child and multiply." Pud responds to Eve's tremulous request that he make love to her by throwing her down on the bed (conveniently located in the middle of the kitchen) and exclaiming, "Why, you ravenous hussy!" The next moment he pulls away from her, complaining that it's his "time of month." Such remarks, along with a few pitiful attempts at melodrama, with Pud as the heroic knight or the young suitor in pursit of his "fair lady," were so obviously out of sine with the rest of the play that it is a wonder that U-M Dance Department faculty member Christopher Flynn didn't beg the author for a rewrite. The senti- ments of Friday night's audience was cer- tainly clear. They tittered their way through such ridiculous displays of "drama." Luckily, no tomatoes were handy. Thomas Drotar, as Pud, is limited partially by the profound dialogue he is forced to utter such as, "I like listening to you (Eve).' I think you've got your head together," and also by his own lack of spontaneity. Although Drotar is pleasing to the eyes (blond, six-feet- plus, shirt unbuttoned to wherever), af- ter a while one wishes he wasn't quite such an oaf, especially in comparison with Conner's skillful portrayal of Eve. DUFFY HAS laid a somewhat firm foundation for the character of Howard, Eve's husband, played by James Presser. Howard admits to Eve that he's "never been able to feel the depth and emotion that you have," but he still wants to keep their relationship in- tact." Howard's coldness, his conten- tment with their symbiotic relationship has the potential to be chillingly effec- tive, but Presser simply isn't up to it. Weber has a beaten dignity about him. He is willing to accept his fate but he doesn't want others to fall into the same situation. In a tender moment after Howard and Eve have decided to separate, Eve learns through Louie (Eric Sarbach), a neighbor boy that the Webers have befriended, that Howard told him that he shouldn't cover up his feelings, that he should feel free to cry and express emotion. Duffy has also included a subplot concerning Kurt, the Weber's son, his fiance, Angie (Katayoun Amini). Angie is pregnant and wants to get rid of the baby, while Kurt believes they should get married. The family deals with Angie's proposed abortion as lightly as if they were discussing what color to paint the living room. Although Eve's affair is regarded in a more serious light, like Angie's abortion, it's out in the open. They discuss it around the breakfast table as they would the mor- ning paper. Sand Castles is certainly no mean feat. It won Duffy nention at the Mid- west Playwrights Conference as a semi-finalist, and aspects of the play ;uch as the rich characterization of Eve and Howard Weber, that goes on within are certainly meritous. But Duffy's work also contains an awful lot of drif- twood that needs to be removed before she tries to seek her fortune with it in an irea other than its home town of Anne Arbor. Join the rts page The Daily Arts page needs new contributors. If you have an interest and some knowledge In the performing or static arts as well as an all- encompassing desire to write, this could be the opportunity you've been 'waiting for. What does being an arts staffer entail? That depends on you, your in- terests and writing ability. We need new talent in every sphere, especially fields like classical music where the Daily's coverage has been something less than exhaustive. Joining, the Daily may be your big break as a journalist, or it could become a satisfying outlet for your creative ability while providing a much-needed service to your fellow students. Some people even think it's fun. At any rate, you'll never know until you try, so come over to the Student Publications Building (right around the corner from Student Ac- tivities Building) at 420 Maynard. Our annual arts staff get together is slated for this Sunday, September 14, at 3:00 p.m. If you want to get a head start, assemble a typewritten sample of your writing that somehow reflects your interests and bring it along. If you can't get to the meeting, stop by the aforementioned office and ask for the arts editors. We can't wait to hear from you. *Offer applies to bows now to Oct. 30, 1980 brought in 0 mmow + a te. Ot S. 1980S1 Saso 0 GOLDOVSKY OPERA COMPANY ...... Mon Tues Oct 6,7 Rossini's "Barber of Seville" (in English) BALLET FOLKLORICO MEXICANO .......... Thurs Oct 9 MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH, Ce/ist ...........Sun Oct 12 SMITHSONIAN CHAMBER PLAYERS ........ Tues Oct 14 ANTHONY DI BONAVENTURA, Pianist .. .... Sat Oct 18 TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/ ......Tues Oct 21 Andrew Davis SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/ . Sat Oct 25 Edo de Waart LAR LUBOVITCH DANCE COMPANY..Tues Wed Oct 28,29 ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS ... Mon Nov 3 JULIAN BREAM, Guitarist ................... Mon Nov 10 MURRAY PERAHIA, Pianist ................ Thurs Nov 13 KENNETH GILBERT, Harpsichordist............ Sat Nov 15 MARTITALVELA, Basso ................... . Sun Nov 16 THE FELD BALLET ....................... Mon Tues Wed Nov 17, 18, 19 KALICHSTEIN-LAREDO-ROBINSON TRIO .Thurs Nov 20 CARIBBEAN FESTIVAL OF TRINIDAD ........ Fri Nov 21 LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC/ ............ Sun Nov 23 Carlo Maria Giulini HANDEL'S "MESSIAH"/Donald Bryant, Soli, ...... Fri Sat Sun Choral Union & Orchestra Dec 5, 6, 7 NEW SWINGLE SINGERS Fri Dec 12 RUDOLF SERKIN, Pianist .................... Mon Dec 15 PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE ..........,. Thurs Fri Sat Tchaikorskjs "Nutcracker" Ballet Dec 18, 19, 20 HORACIOGUTIERREZ,Pianist ............... Wed Jan 14 PINCH AS ZUKERMAN, Violinist & Violist ....... Tues Jan 27 MUSIC FROM MARLBORO................. ThursJan 29 OXANA YABLONSKAYA, Pianist ...............Sat Feb 7 FOUNDERS DAY CONCERT/Donald Bryant, Soli,. Sun Feb 15 Festival Chorus & Orchestra GUARNERI STRING QUARTET..............Thurs Feb 19 ROYAL BALLET OF FLANDERS ........ Wed Thurs Mar 4, 5 WALTER BERRY, Baritone ....... ..... ........Sat Mar 7 ALVIN AILEY DANCE THEATRE'.......... Mon Tues Wed Mar 9, 10, 11 NEW YORK CHAMBER SOLOISTS ........... Sun Mar 15 PITFSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/ . . Thurs Mar 19 Andre Previn PRESERVATION HALLJAZZ BAND..........Mon Mar 23 LEIPZIG GEWANDHAUS ORCHESTRA/ ...... Sun Mar 29 Kurt Mazur GUARNERI STRING QUARTET............Mon Apr 20 with Gyorgy Sandor, Pianist. David Shifrin, Clarinetist WESTERN OPERA THEATRE,. .............. Thurs Apr 23 Donizetti' "Elixir of Love"(in English) MAY FESTIVAL ........................ Wed Thurs Fri Sat Philadelphia Orchestral Apr 29, 30, May 1, 2 Eugene Ormandy/Edo de Waart Single tickets from $3-12.50. Brochure with complete information is available upon request.