ARTS
The Michigan Daily Saturday, April 9, 1983 Page 5
'Mikado'
By David Kopel
N ANKI-POO, son of Japan's Mikado
(Emperor), is about to be forced
into marriage with an ugly old court
lady named Katisha. Disguised as a
musician, Nanki-Poo flees to the small
town of Titipu. There he falls in love
with beautiful maiden Yum-Yum. Un-
fortunately, Yum-Yum is the ward of
Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner of
Titipu, and Ko-Ko plans to take Yum-
Yum as his bride. Complicating the
situation is a decree from the Mikado
that Ko-Ko must keep up his quota, and
execute someone within the next week.
This is the background for The
Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's
Japanese operetta. Each year the
University of Michigan Gilbert and
Sullivan Society (UMGASS) produces
two Gilbert and Sullivan shows. Their
Mikado could stand improvement in
many ways, but nevertheless achieves
its goal of providing a relaxing evening
of comedy and song. While certain par-
ts of the play, especially in the first act,
were uneven, the audience for the most
part went away happy, for the show's
many virtues overshadowed its few
faults.
The evenin
enough, with t
the orchestra'.
the Queen." B
ded, the orches
the prologue.
The first se'
energy. Nanki
was without ai
The Gentlem
chorus) sang
choreographed
ts were neither
The action p
Titipu's seconi
ficial, enters.
cestry, whichc
first protoplasi
say hello to any
stockbroker. A
bery and hyp
the audience in
Gilbert and
obviously not
dimensional o
must not be p]
but as larger t
and the Mikad
broadly from
rest of the cast
in the second a
Once the cas
to exploit the
tbeanumphant
1g began promisingly audience finds much to laugh at, such
he audience standing for as Pish-Tush's animated eyes, and Ko-
s rendition of "God Save Ko's pursuit of his enlightened self-
ut once the anthem en- interest.
stra moved listlessly into Music is, of course, the heart of an
operetta, and except for a few weak
veral scenes also lacked numbers, The Mikado's music is
-Poo, hero of the story, delightful. Ensemble numbers such as
ny conviction. And while "Mi-Ya Sa-Ma" and "Behold the Lord
nen of Japan (men's High Executioner" find the proper
credibly, their uniform, rousing Gilbert and Sullivan spirit.
1 gestures and movemen- Even better were some of the smaller
precise nor uniform. numbers, such as "Three Little Maids
icks up when Pooh-$ah, From School Are We" and "The Flowers
d highest government of- That Bloom in the Spring."
Proud of his family an- When Ko-Ko tries to extricate himself
can be traced back to the from a death sentence by marrying the
mic globule, he refuses to wretched Katisha, he forces himself to
yone of a lesser rank than sing her a love song - "Willow, Tit-
As the epitomy of snob- Willow." Combined with his sentimen-
ocrisy, Pooh-Bah keeps tal voice, his disgust for Katisha
stitches. creates one of the evening's best
Sullivan characters are moments.
fully-developed three- Number by number, The Mikado im-
ones. Accordingly, they proves. Gilbert and Sullivan would be
layed in a realistic way, happy to see this production that faith-
than life. Only Pooh-Bah fully captures their sense of the
o himself play their roles ridiculous.
the beginning. But the The Mikado continues at the Men-
did loosen up, especially delssohn Theatre, in the Michigan
ct. League today and Sunday at 2:00 and
t pushes itself far enough 8:00. Performances resume next
play's possibilities, the Friday through Sunday evenings, with
a matinee on Sunday too.
Poet to
read at
Union Arts
Pro gram
University Senior Tina Michelle
Datsko -will give a free poetry
reading of her works at noon on
Tuesday, April 12, in the Pendleton
Room of the Michigan Union. DAt-
sko has been the receipient of seven
Hopwood Awards for excellence in
creative writing, as well as two
Cowden Memorial Fellowship
Awards, and the prestigious Bain-
Swiggett Poetry Prize, which Dat-
sko was awarded while still an un-
dergraduate. She was also recently
published in UBI magazine, a
publication from campus group
Crossroads for Tomorrow. The
reading is being presented as part of
the Union Arts Program Series.
-Larry Dean
i
Irish folksinger
cracks The Ark
Records
By Deborah Robinson
A BRIEF lesson in Irish colloquialism
will allow you to discover that
"crack" can mean fun, joking,
storytelling or banter - in other words,
auto-generated entertainment. The
term is often associated with drinking,
music, or wild antics.
Thursday night at the Ark, Dublin
musician Johnny Moynihan and his
hoarde of instruments provided a good
bit of "crack" for the'wee crowd that
turned out, to hear him. It was an in-
timate evening of sharing from a man
whose traditions are his life.
Moynihan is promoted as having been
a "driving force" in the big-time Irish
groups Planxty and DeDanann. He
commented on this by saying that the
lads in the bands usually provided their
own transportation to gigs, and that
he'd only got behind the wheel of a
Planxty van once.
This musician is not flashy. He has an
inner dynamism that comes out in the
clear ringing drone from his quietly
played bouzouki and in subtle
variations in rhythm and ornamen-
tation of jigs and reels.
The concert program was varied, in-
cluding dance tunes, tunes with a lilted
or sung part, ballads and acapella
songs from Ireland. He also performed
original songs and tunes from other
parts of the world. This vast repertoire
was performed on tin whistle, button
accordion, bouzouki, mandolin, tenor
banjo, guitar, and bodhran (an Irish
drum).
Switching instruments came as
naturally to Moynihan as did the
delicate ease with which he played each
one. Ireland has produced a vast num-
ber of musicians; Moynihan is an
example of one of those to whom the
cultural tradition is second nature.
Listening to him play isn't what one
would normally consider exciting, but
the sound of it, without electronic aids
or gimmicky arrangements, inspires
Medical School
Tampico, Mexico
What Makes
G A= A Quality
Medical School?
1. Fine Faculty
2. Good Facilities
3. Quality Student Body
4. Has N.Y. State Educ.?ion Depatment
approval for the purpose of placing 3rd
or 4th yeer medical students in clinical
clerkships in teaching hospitals in N.Y.
State.
Noreste offers a 4-year program, has
small classes, is W.H.O. listed.
Universidad Del Noreste
120 East41 StNY, NY 10017
(212) 544589
683-6560
fascination. His music is what I believe
great music to be: a direct statement of
who the player is. The music speaks for
him.
Most of the material Johnny
Moynihan presented could be heard in
different pubs around Ireland. Old men
singing old songs, young men outdoing
each other by remembering weird
tunes from far-off counties - the
essence of his music comes from these
sources which are so very much alive
today.
This man should be highly credited
for his musical ability, his instrumental
facility, unshaking clear voice, and
trueness to folk culture. His brilliance
shows when he steps beyond these
parameters to other folk traditions, to
social parody and to political commen-
tary.
Not many players have the ability to
cross musical lines and maintain the in-
tegrity of their own style. Moynihan's
versions of "La India Bonita," a
Mexican brass band tune, and "Greasy
Coat," and Appalaichian fiddle tune
were both pleasing to hear. Two
original sngs also stood out, a moving
anti-nuclear song and a country-and-
western parody called "Mama's, Don't
Let Your Babies Turn Into Fleadh
Cowboys," concerning the rowdy par-
tiers who plague Irish folk festivals.
The evening with Johnny Moynihan
passed easily, his songs and tunes
flowed out, filling the room with war-
mth. His remarks on everything from
Irish history to the decor were spon-
taneous and funny. He's full of crack,
that one.
University of Michigan
WOMEN'S GLEE CLUB
CONCERT
Conductor: Rosalie Edwards
April 15 8:00 p.m.
at Rackham Auditorium
Admission Complimentary
Mac McAnally, 'Nothing
but the Truth,'
(Geffen Records)
After two years of dead air, Mac is
back.
Mac McAnally has just released
Nothing but the Truth, his first album in
two years, and it's apparent that the
man has been through some changes.
He got married; he had a daughter;
and his father died. Such things tend to
change one's Weltanschauung. They've
changed McAnally's. His other three
albums tend to be more idealistic,
describing a world that is more black-
and-white. Nothing but the Truth was
written by a man who has seen the real
world and knows about compromise.
McAnally has always been tough to
categorize. He grew up in a small town
in Mississippi which, like a couple of
other small towns I know, didn't know
what to do with'somebody who didn't
want to work in the factory or on the
farm for the rest of his life. He started
out at Muscle Shoals and is still based
there, but his sound isn't really Muscle
Shoals. Vocally, he sounds like James
Taylor, but his lyrics have more of an
edge than is normal for Sweet Baby
James.
I suppose that 10 years ago he would
have been riding the coffee-house cir-
cuit. The music is jazz-influenced
middle-of-the-road, but the lyrics belie
the tune. There is not much airplay for
lines like, Save your heart and let
your body be enough to get the
maximum pleasure from a minimum
love.
Whatever style this is, McAnally
brings it off. The music is varied in
style but not quality. McAnally has
surrounded himself with a crew of highly
competent musicians, including
keyboardist Clayton Ivey, guitarist
Hugh McCracken, and saxophonist
Randall Bramlett. The lyrics usually
cut through, laying open the issue. Oc-
casionally there is some superfluity,
but even Dylan at his peak was guilty of
that.
There is a strand tying 'this album
together. Each song is about either an
obvious trap with a hidden way out or
an obvious way out with a hidden trap,
The former type works better, and most
of the songs fit into it.
McAnally laces most of the album
with humor, though the humor can be
grim. But sometimes he takes the
gloves off.
In "Like Your Mother" he is talking
to his best friend, a small-town girl,
trying to convince her to leave and
telling her what it would be like if she
stayed: You have a single obligation
to meet their expectations and be fat
and always pregnant like your
mother.
And a few lines from "Dark Ages"
should hit home with every recent
graduate: They bought you a brain
and got your diploma framed and
put you on that higher plane that's
taking you into the dark ages.
Mac is indeed back, older and wiser
and with a few new things to say. You
may not always like what he's saying,
but I think it's worth a listen.
- Knute Rife
McAnal/v
... making music again
-
em
mm
MR
1 2 INDIVIDUAL THEATRES
$2.0 aeoibtny 619700
$2.00 Wed"sot"sun Shows Before 6 pm
Is
ENDS SOON!
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINATIONS
MERYL STREEP
SOPHIE'S
CHOICE
Fri Mon - 6:50 9:40
Sat Sun - 1:10 3:55 6:50 9:40
(R)
ENDS SOON!
TOM SELLECK
BESS ARMSTRONG
9:15
10:00
12:15
2:30
5:00
7:00
9:00
MAX
DUGAN
RETURNS
The
Ou siders
1:00
3:00
5:00
7:15
9:30
r r
=-5
!9mmmmm
r
i
i
i
I Mnn thm Fri IMailv nice-mint. Adults 92_tin to mnar-ity