The Michigan Daily Tuesday, November 15, 1983 Page 5
INDIVIDUAL THEATRES
5th A e at be'y, 7 4700
$1.50 TUESDAY ALL DAY
ENDS SOON!
ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S
REAR WINDOW
'West Side'
By Sarah Elli Siegel
EST SIDE STORY '80s style - it
W made sense. So thought Mary
Kelly, director of Musket's current
production of the show, when she
decided to have the cast dress trashy-
punk and Latin-slick. Kelly was right,
this updated version of Romeo and
Juliet made perfect sense.
Unlike Shakespeare's effort,
however, West Side Story featured a
musical score by Bernstein and Son-
dheim. Its first production was perfor-
med in New York City in 1957. At that
time the players presented a contem-
} porary variation on the theme of
Romeo and Juliet, which involved not
Montagues and Capulets, but rather,
Jets and Sharks. The Jets were
represented by a group of native
Manhattan slum-dwellers while the
Sharks were recent and eager Puerto
Rican immigrants.
The same basic description held true
for the characters in Musket's West
Side Story. Since these performances
were held in 1983, however, the Jets
wore stripes of color on their faces and
in their gelled hair, while "their girls"
wore thigh-length skirts in blues and
grays. Then, in keeping with the styles
of current Latin fashion, the Sharks
wore designer jeans and they and
"theirs" both wore red, black, and
pink.
A great touch beyond the Sharks' and
Jets' attire, though, was the
"Asteroids" video game at the groups'
favorite hangout, Doc's Drugstore. The
only problem with the game, however,
was that the audience tended to be
distracted by it while earringed Diesel
(Alan Elliot) played.
Sharper even than the cast's modern
garb, was Ruth Klotzer's
choreography. During the song
"Somewhere," Klotzer's interpretation
of the Street Scene was beyond dream-
like; for a few seconds as the Jets and
Sharks stood, arms raised, in a unified
shows its gooi
circle, we felt the common bonds bet- formances I relished. Among them was
ween these disparate groups. This junior Sheila Winn's who played Anita.
harmoniously designed dance gave me Winn was nothing short of fantastic in
momentary hope, which alone would many parts of the play. She did more+
have been worth the price of my ticket. than use her obvious singing ability.:
But there was much more, and much Winn was sensible, lustful, com-1
that was lighter. For ekample, the dan- passionate, and responded emotionally
ce at the Gym, which, because of its with equal realism.
musical wildness, I thought of as Unquestionably, the most adorable
sheerly entertaining. Also, the Jets, led performer was Karen Berman as1
by Mike Gruber as Riff, did a hot job Anybody's. When she skipped, com-1
with the "Cool" number. What they plete with bobbing frizzy pony tail, out
lacked in lyric comprehensibility, they of the play's first scene, we all wanted
more than made up for in energy and to follow her.
spirit. Another performance I relished was
Both the Jets and Sharks were im- Mike Gruber's Riff. Like Sheila Winn,
pressive gymnasts as they leapt Gruber was thoroughly believable and I
fearlessly from the set's fire escapes. mourned his murder for the show's
and through the jagged hole in the sake - he was a true leader of this
scenery's metal fence. Every suc- production.
cessful move the cast made, however, P.K. MacGriff, the understudy for the
leant credit to Ruth Klotzer's wealth of part of Maria, had a beautiful singing
choreographical talent. voice and her accent for the show was
Just as great choreography played a convincingly Puerto Rican. MacGriff,
leading role in the outcome of Musket's and Tony, who was played by blue-eyed
West Side Story, so did the show's cast. junior, Gregg Watt, had a good rapport
There were several actors whose per- and sung well together. I enjoyed the
song "One Hand, One Heart" most.
This show has always been a sure bet
for theater companies. Klotzer's
choreography, the modern dress, and
successful execution of the dances by
the cast were the most positively
striking parts of its production.
West Side Story proved to be the
valedictorian of musicals; it never
failed. Musket's production was more
than average.
side
JAMES
STEWART
GRACE
KELLY
TUES., WED.
1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15,
(:PG)I
NON-STOP THRILLS!
Sean Connery in
"NEVER SAY
NEVER AGAIN" (PG)
DOLBY STEREO
TUES., WED.
1:00, 3:30, 7:00, 9:30
Love is a many splendored thing
By Gordon Jay Frost
IF IT WEREN'T FOR the audience's
reaction to Don Juan on Saturday, I
could have filed the program in with
simple scrapbook items from 1983. On
the whole this has not been a
memorable year. But for the viewers
that evening there was a reawakening
of romance. There wasn't a trace of
sentimentality or useless nostalgia; the
whole night reflected a buoyant and
tender exploration of the dream.
The dream is a difficult concept at the
onset of Winter. We switch from London
Fog to Parka, scuttle along and forget
to buy some flowers for the empty vase
at home. Love songs give way to heavy
metal and Christmas tunes. The grind
toward holiday savings takes its
irritating toll. Perhaps if more people
had gone to see Don Juan, this time of
year would seem less devastating to us
all.
Let's think back to the time of the
dreaded Borgia's of Rome: Don Juan
had moved into a lavish apartment,,
he being lately graduated from the
University of Pisa, and was wooing
every woman in the city. His datebook
was filled by the hour. That is until
Lucrezia Borgia, the lovely but
dangerous woman of the royal family,
decided to be the first woman that Don
Juan could not forget.This is the scene
which opens the story of "the world's
Records-
A Certain Ratio-'Need
Someone Tonite / Don't
You Worry 'Bout a Thing'
(Factory Records E.P.)
So this is what happens when anxious
seratchy paranoia hardens to a slick
haeroin groove. ACR., the plaintive Fac-
tery hipsters of a few years back have
elevated themselves into a tight classy
Jazz funk band, along with Level 42 now
simply the best around.
i"Don't you worry 'bout a thing"
croons Donald Johnson in a deep rich
voice over a flawlessly arranged and
produced version of the Stevie Wonder
original. The key word is perfection
down to the last detail-absolute
technical competency. Martin
Moscrop's guitar playing is almost
unrecognizable, now fluidly stringing
from 1926, is straight from the twenties'
conception of that time. Barrymore is a
bit too impetuous and swaggers into
combat. This is attractive, oddly
enough, in a more sophisticated way
than cheap romances. This is straight
from the source. True Grit stole its 10 to
1 gunfight from this film and the
tradition of riding off into the sunset
was carved in stone here. Now, such
stylization smacks of commercialism
and cliche.
The Michigan Theater presented a
terrific blend of stage and orchestra
which gave the old images an air of con-
temporary candor. The theme from
Don Juan and scene from Don Giovanni
were small and delicate. The two voices
were weak for the house, but were
sweet and appropriate to the mood.
Dennis James lent a bit of age with his
full renditions of interlude melodies.
And, despite and often troubled high
brass section, the Ann Arbor Chamber
Orchestra performed well with the
film. Much congratulations to the celli
and double basses. Knocking and sword
contact was dubbed with a wooden
mallet (on:the stag or organ) and
metal tubes of some type.
The final scene of Don Juan riding off
to Spain with his newly rescued future-
wife brought the audience into thun-
derous applause. It seemed as though
they didn't know whether a standing
ovation was appropriate for such an ev
ent. But the final test of the night's suc-,
"3
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Mary Astor
... plays hard to get
greatest lover:" a tale of a man with no
faith in women who takes what he can
from them - until one woman, pious
and reserved, catches his attention and
refuses to give in to his advances.
Respect and faith in women is born.
If this sounds reminiscent of Bar-
bara Cartland, that is because of the
stylization. This Barrymore version,
John Barrymore
... likes that in a woman
cess was of how the au4 ence left;the
theater.,Many couples stood and kissed
- not a peck or a lascivious smooch -
lightly and with sureness. I confess that
I caught myself with them.
As everyone filed out the doors, back
into the cold, they each took a piece of
Spain with them. Each was confident
with their lesson from the greatest lover
in the world.
5..~~~~~o -Mm-- - - - m -
U'
together minor 9th and augmented
chords, where previously holding the
instrument the right way was an
achievement.
The A side of the E.P. Need Someone
Tonite is an original composition
similar in style to much of the last
album, I'd Like to See You Again. Once
again, everything's exactly where it
should be in the mix, anchored firmly
by Jeremy Kerr's snapping electric
bass line and the multiple percussion
tracks.
You can almost see the wide brim-
med hats and lazy smoke circles rising
in some dim after-hours Manhattan
club - wonderful stuff.
Next time you're in the record store
don't bother looking for anything
cooler, sharper, slicker, or hipper than
this - you just won't find it!
-Mike Belford
r3
N
IN CONCERT
MICHIGAN and OHIO STATE
Patrick Gardner, director James Gallagher, Director
MEN'S GLEE CLUBS
8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 19, 1983
HILL AUDITORIUM
TICKETS: $5.00, $4.00, $3.00, students $2.00 available
at Hill Box Office starting Nov. 14-8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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Buckeyes
Breakft
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ISt
ize
yes
or
ery
,er.
It's enough to fry their eyes-a stadium full of ma
and blue! What better way to shake a few Bucke'
out of trees.
WHAT? You don't have a U. of M. scarf, cap, jacket,
pennant? With Ulrich's there eager to fillyour evi
need?
Run right over. Ulrich's can help you be of good che
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