ARTS The Michigan Daily Saturday, February 11, 1984 Page 5 'Golden Rose's 'Tommy' is a sensory experience By Barb Schiele THE STAGE production of Tommy brought the audience to its feet by the end of the second act Thursday night. Golden Rose's exceptional han- dling of the colorful rock opera en- couraged everyone to join in clapping and singing the familiar Who tunes. Just as it was for the star of the show, Tommy was an experience for all sen- ses. The rock songs let you tap your feet and "feel" the beat throughout the en- tire show; the dancers moved and grooved energetically together, along with a few light explosions, and let viewers "see" the show; The Who's originals let you sing the show. Unfor- tunately the sound system caused a lit- tle disturbance throughout the first act, making it difficult to "hear" the show. To completely understand the story of Tommy, or any rock opera for that matter, you must be able to hear the words of the songs. But during the first act, the voices of the performance were largely inaudible. Because of the inadequate sound system, the story lost a little of its impact for those who were not avid fans and did not know the story by heart. If you were one of those unfamiliar with Tommy's story, his becoming a deaf, mute and blind after witnessing, the death of his father, then the opening scenes might have been con- fusing. Behind a screen, slides of war scenes were juxtaposed to two lovers' passionate shadow scenes, thus displaying Tommy's parents' relation- ship and their association to the war. Unfortunately, there was a lack of em- phasis on how much Tommy idolized his father, therefore it was difficult to understand the justification of Tommy's becoming a blind, deaf mute. Despite the confusion caused by the poor sound system, the rest of the show was entertaining and up-lifting. It was a refreshing change from the average theater production in its informal ap- proach. This informality was exem- plified by the narrator's (William R. Klann) nonchalant strut up to the stage in order to signal the lights and music to begin. Tommy could not have been a suc- cessful production without an outstan- ding Tommy. It's too bad that Scott Maynard had to walk around deaf, dumb and blind in the first act because his performance as the "free" Tommy made the whole show come alive. Maynard's acting talents, combined with his excellent rock 'n roll voice, made all believe in him as a savior and free person. Marcy McGuigan (Tommy's mother) gave an equally amazing singing and acting performance. Her strong voice and concerned-mother image projected the perfect character. Among the top performers of the show was "Acid Queen" (Leslie Lorraine McCurdy), who promised to send Tommy on a "wild trip." Her raspy voice and engaging mysterious laugh conveyed to the audience just the type of trip Tommy was taking. The magic show was a wonderful way to illustrate Tommy's trip. Franz Harary performed a little magic to em- phasize the bizarre effects of LSD. Harary, a professional magician from Odyssey in Illusion, mesmerized the audience slicing one of his assistants in- to three pieces and pulling her apart. It was a spectacular attraction which will stand out in the minds of many when they remember Golden Rose's produc- tion of Tommy. Although Mother questioned, "Do you think its alright to leave the boy with cousin Kevin?", leaving Tommy with Don Grant and his torture toys was a big mistake. Grant added a bit of humor with his masochistic leather and whip, and didn't leave much room to sympathize with Tommy. Don Rice resembled Keith Moon a great deal in his role as the drunken Uncle Ernie. Although the scene was not quite as torturous as the movie ver- sion, Rice did his share to shake up his beloved nephew. A few aspects of the show dared to be a 1970 show set in the '80s. The "wimp" image of the pinball wizard fit this mold. For his brief appearance, Kenny Stein played a typical ex-pinball cham- pion, Eugene Rosenberger III. Stein's The "Tommy" cast invite you to see, hear and feel the experience. performance was good, but the pinball scene lacked the fantastic lights that you expect to see flashing when Tommy discovers his true talent. Special effects, such as Tommy falling through the "mirror," rising smoke, and a pro-juggler on a unicycle, combined 'with the remarkable talents of the cast, made Tommy a success. Go dance with yourself, Billy Daily Classified Bring Results - Phone 764-0557 By George A dams M SO HAPPY I didn't pay to see Billy Idol Thursday I night. Don't get me wrong: I actually like his music, and the band's performance at Hill Auditorium captured the sickeningly sociopathic threads running through songs like "White Wedding" and "RebelYell." I even enjoyed watching Idol sidle along the floor to "Dancing with Myself" while the keyboard player fondled her leather-clad flesh. And the concert was a feast for the eyes. Idol him- self, with his pointed hair, torn shirt, black leather and enough spikes to stock a moat convinced me that Charles Darwin was on the wrong track. The spectators looked almost as good: Swarms of females just this side of puberty, escorted by their impressively convict-like boyfriends, arrived in various so-called "punk" combinations to watch the titanium-throated megastud with seemingly anar- chist leanings. Billy sounded pretty good, too. That is, when he was singing. You see, his songs are trashy enough; that's part of their appeal. But really, Bill, I'm not interested in hearing about your sexual experiences with your lit- tle sister. Neither am I interested in your little sister's adroit at various lurid activities, or in how her genitalia (Bill used another word) compare with others you've encountered. Billy the Idol told us that he and a fellow musician "picked up some women, (past tense of crude word meaning 'to have sexual intercourse') them, and then wrote this song." That one really bowled me over. I was touched that Idle (soiry) thought enough of me to share the intimacies of the creative process. You see Billy, you're gross.There's nothing wrong with preaching chaos.There's nothing wrong with ex- pressing a violent distaste for contemporary society. And there's nothing Avrong with doing it with color. But when any performer aims simply to disgust an audience, you have to question the sincerity (and talent, but that's obvious) of the artist. Billy Idol tries too hard to nauseate his audience. And as any decent punk knows, there's a big differen- ce between rebellion and name-calling. Shame on you Billy. You painted yourself as a disgusted individual commenting on a world gone berserk, but your aspirations Thursday night were limited to invoking the audience's vomit. I have to hand it to you, though.,It worked. MAKE A PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION TO ISRAEL BE A SUMMER INTERN AMISHAV, ISRAEL MID-JUNE TO MID-AUGUST, 1984 Stipend Plus Expenses Sponsored by Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Hillel-College Age Youth Services for Chicago area up- perclassmen who are fluent in Hebrew and have prior com- munity service and Israel experience. Contact Lew Nemes or Maria Baker at Hillel - CAYS 1 South'Franklin St. CHICAGO, IL 60606 or call (312) 346-6700, Ext. 2506 'Records DeBarge - 'In a special Way' (Motown) The first time I ever heard DeBarge was when they performed on the "Motown 25" anniversary- special. It is especially embarrassing to admit this, because the band members grew up in a house ten minutes away from in Grand Rapids. But they've sin- ce moved to Hollywood and have done very well. On the special, Motown touted the quintet as one of the first of the new breed of Motown superstars. The group's t ird Motown release, "In a Special Way" does much to back up this claim. DeBarge is a multifaceted group, specializing in romantic soulful ballads 1 heavy on keyboards, but this doesn't Correction The number for information about the Hillel-sponsored performance of Hannah Senesh: Portrait of a Warrior Woman is 665-5137. The number was incorrectly listed in yesterday's Weekend Magazine. stop James DeBarge from contributing three songs that challenge the band to perform in a more funk-oriented vein. Janes opens the album growling out the lyrics to his "Be My Lady." James mixes straight-ahead funk with Latin- influenced rhythms. The hot horn sec- tion competes with Michael Bod- dicker's synthesizer and the back-up vocals by the rest of the band are in the crisp upper registers that are at the heart of DeBarge. Eldra DeBarge still manages to out- strip James and all his other siblings, in both writing and vocals. Eldra has a knack for writing a romantic song without becoming smarmy or boring. Vocally he is possessed of a magnificent, soaring upper register. He is remarkably free and unstrained while singing notes that would make even Frankie Valli cringes. It is no coin- cidence that the two hot singles off this album are written and sung by Eldra. "Time Will Reveal" balances Eldra with Bunny, Ranky, Mark, and James' four-part harmony. High schools looking for prom themes will do well to select this song. It is purely and unapologetically first-rate slow-dance material. "Love Me in a Special Way" is probably the only song that will beat "Time Will Reveal" when prom-theme time comes. Maybe it's just the har- monica solo, but this song reminds me of Stevie Wonder's ballads. The next single should be "Queen of My Heart," yet another ballad in which Eldra's pipes are showcased. While he shines as a balladeer, Eldra also demonstrates an almost-equivalent proficiency with pop-funk on "I Give Up on You." The song is a James DeBarge- Bill Preston collaboration. Preston's influence is heard in the keyboards, especially the horn-mimicking syn- thesizer. This song is hot. Guitars in- terlock and interweave with chiming synth. Eldra gets to ad-lib, and the Latin influence is again present in the drumming. Bunny's lone contribution, "A Dream," is a ballad that suffers by comparison to Eldra's work. The writing simply is not as solid. Bunny's vocals, however, are excellent, and one wishes that her talent was not limited to this one cut. My only complaint with In a Special Way is that an album comprised largely of ballads invariably tends to wear on me after three or four of them, no matter how good they are. DeBarge would do well to mix in more upbeat dance-floor material to contrast the ballads with. DeBarge is a refreshing dose of squeaky clean romanticism. They have developed a distinctive sound, yet they are versatile enough to apply that sound to different musical genres. I hope DeBarge is able to maintain and improve upon this level. If they do, they may well deserve the hype that has been lavished upon them. - John Logie MARTY'S ... GOES DUTCH TREAT WITH, THEIR NINTH ANNUAL.. . DUTCH AUCTION FINAL WINTER CLEARANCE Final Day! ________SUITS S ATU R DAY S REGULAR SPORT COATS REGULAR WE PRICE DUT( I '125 $195' $225 $255 $275 $295 $325 'CH TREAT DUTCH TREAT DUTCH TREAT 05 ' 85 '65 7 '1 '1 '1 $20 '2 s1 : Si '7 *4 '2 95 70 45 SATURDY' DUTCH TREAT $ 45. :.90 $135 $150 $170 '195 $220 REGULAR PRICE '125 $155 $175 $195 $210 $225 $350 DUTCH TREAT DUTCH TREAT DUTCH TREAT *95 ':80 ':65 1 1 1 '1 '1 '1 '1 '1 '1 '0 * 8 *7 25 ' O *75 DUTCH TREAT ' 55 ' 75 $115 $125 $145 ;155 $250 l Wed.- 20% Off COAT Thurs.- 30% Off JACKE Fri. - 40% Off LAH Sat. 50% Off LEATH EntireStock ofOutwwearincluding Top Cots TS ETS ERS I SWEATERS Wed.- 20% Off 1 ZOD EANS Thurs.- 30% Off BYFORD Fri.- 40% Off PENDLETON Sat.- 50% Off HIS LADY SHOP FOR WOMEN- Wednesday Thursday U 0 SUIRTS 3/5% OFF DUlOFF FRIDAY ERS SATURDAY 40% rSLArc s 0%p Wed.- Thurs. - Fri.- Sat. 20% Off 30% Off 40% Off 50% Off SPORT SHIRTS Plain & Fancy Knits, Cut bt Sewn, Fancy and Solids ..0 [ From His Lady Shop For Women fWint Wed.- 30% Off BLOUSES Thurs.- 35% Off SHIRTS Fri.- 40% Off SWrATES n - 500/ 8Off I Ii I I