ARTS
Page 6 Friday, February 10, 1984 The Michigan Daily
S
Hostage can't
capture
au
By Julie Edelson
AS YOU ENTER the theater, you
FRI are greeted by "ladies of the
1:00, 7:15, 9:10 evening" dressed in tight gold pants,
SAT., SUN. leopard-skin skirts, and sheer
1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:10 stockings, who walk through the aisles
seeking customers. A man playing
SHIRLEY DEBRA JACK bagpipes on the edge of the stage sets
MacLAINE WINGER NICHOLSON the mood for the Department of
Theatre and Drama's play, The
Hostage.
he play, directed by Mary Kelly,
takes place in Dublin, Ireland. In a
brothel filled with prostitutes,
FRI. 1:00, 7:00, 9:25 (PG) hjomosexuals, and fanatic Irish
SAT., SUN. 1:00, 3:30, 7:00, 9:25 nationalists, an English soldier is being
held hostage to protest the capture of a
young Irish patriot by the British.
Initially, the play holds the audien-
ce's interest. The diverse group is quite
comical, and the interaction of
prostitutes, homosexuals, an old Irish
soldier who resembles the absent-min-
ded Major on "Soap," a blind piano
player, and a pious missionary woman,
make for an extremely humorous
scene. Also, everyone had quite
skillfully mastered the Irish accent; it
seemed to come naturally.
But the cast tries too long and too
hard for comedy, so that after the first
two scenes one is hopelessly bored by
the repeated entering and exiting of the
prostitutes, and the head of the house
reminiscing about his leg injury during
the war. The entire first act (and most
of the play) consists of little more than
prostitutes physically molesting every
man in sight, and the homosexuals
singing, "We're here because we're
queer." There is virtually no diversity,
and no suspense, so the show appears
one-dimensional, with the cast constan-
tly searching for a few laughs.
The director's use of sight gags like
balloons falling from the ceiling, and
flyers saying, "Free the Belfast Boy,"
are clever, but only a momentary
diversion that partially alleviates the
monotony.
Kelly has attempted to update the
play with references to the 1980s, such
as British tabloids with Prince Charles
and Lady Di, nuclear missiles, and An-
dropov. One character asks the blind
piano player if she can play something
by Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles, and,
at one point, the young convent student
says, "I'm not Victoria Principal or
Brooke Shields!" These trite innuen-
does sound ridiculous in the context of
the play, and do nothing to make it
more relevant to today's audience.
Kelly should not have tampered with
the original script.
The scenes :.played by the young
convent student, Teresa (Terry McCar-
thy), and the British soldier, Leslie
(Atanas Illitch), are the play's best.
McCarthy, a sweet, quiet young girl
falling for her first love, is a refreshing
contrast to the other brash womgn, and
strikingly convincing and lovable. Illit-
ch is believably young, innocent, and
frightened by his predicament. The flir-
tacious interactions that take place
between the two are well executed, and
a pleasure to watch. The audience im-
mediately feels sympathy for the
doomed lovers. McCarthy's speech at
ience
the end of the play is perhaps the most
touching, showing the ultimate futility
of war.
It seems as if Kelly. is afraid to let the
audience feel sorrow, since the play,
even at the most tragic times, is in-
terlaced with so many comic acts. At
the very end, the saddest moment, the
audience is asked to sing an Irish jig
with the cast. This jovial atmosphere
amidst a serious situation appears
hopelessly pathetic, as the cast mem-
bers seek yet another laugh.
Had the director left the original
script intact, and tried for subtler
comedy, the play might have been
more successful. As it stands, The
Hostage merely holds us hostage for
over three hours.
c
AMES STEWART KIM NOVAK
IN
ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S
'VER71 Q'
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6
6
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Members of The Hostage relax with a fittingly Irish beer.
NOW SHOWING!
FRI., MON., TUES., THURS. AT 7:10
SAT., SUN., WED. AT 1:25, 4:00, 7:1l
and 9:25
0Oand 9:25
Competition a success
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By Pamela Starrett
T REAT YOUR sweetheart to two
night of classic performance by
the winners of the 1984 School of Music
Performance Competition winners.
Monday night's concert features
graduate students Stephanie Leon,
Christopher Pulgram, Cynthia Szabo,
Martin Jean, a new work, Momen-
tum by Lubetsky, and the University
Symphony.
On Tuesday night, the University
Philharmonica will accompnay un-
dergraduate students Scott McElroy,
Cynthia Phelps, Laurie Penpraze, Eiko
Matsunaga, Eric Johnson, and Tania
Fleischer. A new work by Glowaty,
called Toulouse - a Symphonic Por-
trait will also be performed on
tuesday.
Stephanie Leon, a second year
masters student from Grosse Pointe
will play Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on
a Theme by Paganini. At age 16 she
performed as a soloist with the Detroit
Symphony, and has made appearances
with the New Marlboro Chamber
Players, and the New Orleans
Philharmonic.
three years ago Leon won the un-
dergraduate division of this com-
petition and performed with thet
Philharmonic under Paul Makanowit
zky. Here at the University she has
studied with Leon Fleisher, Charles
Fisher and Theodore Lettvin.
During the summers Leon has,
worked with Eugene List at the.
Southern Vermont Music Festival, ai.
See COMPETITION, Page 7
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ABOLUTELY FREE\
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