ARTS The Michigan Daily Sunday, March 11, 1984 Page 5 'Miss Julie' falls from grace By Julie Edelson IF THERE are any major strengths in The Michigan Ensemble Theatre's production of Miss Julie, they are due to the fine cast of supporting characters. Miss Julie, by August Strinberg, details the story of the daughter of a count who, during the midsummer night, offers herself to her father's valet. In a situation which depicts a master/servant role rever- sal, she finds herself losing social eminence, and is faced with a tragic struggle. The character of Miss Julie is a difficult role for an actress. She must fluctuate between emotions of coyness, flirtation, vehement anger, snobbishness, and ultimately, desperation. Marie Chambers, as Julie, has an easier time con- veying some of these emotions than others. At the beginning of the play, when she must be manipulative and flirtatious, her acting is quite skillful-she resembles a child let loose in a candy store, and her naive innocence is believable. She is able to interact well with Erik Fredricksen, who plays Jean, her father's valet, so that she appears as the true im- mature aristocrat. But Chambers is unable to play the darker side of Julie's character: The abused, vulnerable girl who is taken advantage of, the woman trapped by a man who has manipulated her, the quiet Julie. When she says to Jean, "It must be terrible to be so poor," no one really believes that she is sympathetic. And when, dressed only in torn underclothes, she is ut- terly humiliated at being used by Jean, her words, "God, my wretched life," sound like a whimper, and there is no real feeling behind what she says. Con- sequently, instead of pitying her as we should, we grow antagonistic towards this pathetic creature, and we begin to feel that she deserves her punish- ment. Erik Fredriksen as Jean, on the other hand, is dynamic. His deep voice and excellent stage presen- ce make him the perfect villain. He is in tune with every mannerism so that he can subtley convey the impression of acquiring aristocratic knowledge: Smelling the wine, and smoking a cigar, for instance. He is able to successfully convey the image of the suave lover, and then immediately switch to the evil, cocky servant. Consequently, he makes it impossible for us to simultaneously pity and hate him. Also to be commended is Mary Jeffries who plays Kristin, the servant supposedly engaged to Jean. She managed to'subtley show how she cared for Jean without making it look obvious to the audience, and she had a natural ease when she executed stage ac- tions with the various props. Director Christopher Markle effectively staged the piece as noted in the beginning of the play. Voices came over a loudspeaker, reading excerpts that foreshadowed the ensuing events: "A life filled with grief," "She's rich but discontent," etc. This was a successful way to set the mood of the piece. Markel was also able to use the intimate "theater in the round" to his advantage so that the entire audience could witness all of the play's action. In addition, he included music and dancing of the era, which made the play appear more authentic. This play was an excellent choice for the MET because of the multitude of themes it illustrates on social classes, and the male/female, parent/child relationships. Unfortunately, it is a difficult vehicle for the main character to convey these concepts. Marie Chambers (Julie) and Erik Fredrickson (Jean) face the various emotional upheavals caused by a mingling of the classes in Strindberg's 'Miss Julie.' Video invasion Records Van Halen - '1984' (Warner Bros.) Most folks consider Van Halen a disease which tends to strike teenybop- pers and metalheads, but which, like your criminal record, disappears generally around the time of your 18th birthday. Symptoms include lack of desire for quality lyrics, strong at- tachment to volume and distortion, and accordingly, a tendency to disturb the neighbors. The metalhead variation of the disease additionally features some kind of substance abuse, a bad case of immaturity and a Van Halen T-shirt or belt-buckle. Simply tragic. Well, I'm not usually one to go public with my problems, but I think that I may have developed a Van Halen tumor; it's called 1984. Allow me to rationalize. Of course, the lyrics on the new album, as on all previous albums, do fall short of poetry. Some of the various topics discussed throughout the album are girls in cars, strains in relationships, a fictitious R&B singer named TopJimmy who is the latest rage, bondage, sex, sex and sex. The words are not moronic (especially by today's standards) and are sometimes witty, but certainly no; new ground is covered. Leave the lyrics to the birds though; because what is important here is the medium - not the message. 1984 is a success basically because it is an energetic, rowdy set of tunes com- plete with catchy hooks, acrobatic musicianship and some conviction. It is a pleasure to listen to (especially very loud) if only because it doesn't bore you to tears like so much of the pop drivel, sliding out of your radio. Although one of rock's more ob- noxious characters, David Lee Roth Jack plays the role NEW YORK (AP) - Actbr Jack Nicholson says his reputation as a womanizer and a cocaine user is "good r for business," and so he has decided to "put up with being falsely described." "I can't go around saying I'm not a womanizer, because that's silly," Nicholson said in an interview. "First of all, it's good for business if people think I'm a womanizer." Concerning drugs, Nicholson, 46, ad- mits to using marijuana, but "I've never told anyone that I actually do cocaine. I've never said that to anyone." "As a workman, I'm known as a model of professionalism," he said. "I have to put up with being falsely described because it's unhip to bridle at it. Besides, just like womanizing, I'm not sure it ain't good for business," he said in the interview in the March 29 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. Nicholson received an Oscar as best supporting actor in Terms of Endear- ment. 2INDIVIDUAL THEATRES 5W. A~e of Ube ty 701.4700 $2.00 SHOWS BEFORE 6:00 P.M. [DAILY100PMSHWMO.HRJRI 1 0 P M S H W M O .T R RAC A D E M Y A W A R D N O M . INCL BEST PICTURE SHII EY DEBRA JACK MacLAINE WINGER NICHOLSON knows how to scream and howl and has a sense of humorto boot. In fact, it is the humor/lightheartedness that makes the album work. This isn't just another heavymetal hardass trip. Often overlooked, Alex Van Halen keeps thihgs smoothly steaming on drums and yet shifts tempos and styles often enought to provide a rock steady and interesting rhythm. Even better, Alex proves that it doesn't have to be disco to dance. Ultimately though, 1984 is a guitar album, a damn good guitar album. Like or dislike the group Van Halen and all that they represent, it's hard not to be impressed by Eddie Van Halen. As Frank Zappa has noted, Eddie Van Halen sort of reinvented the guitar. And while there are plenty of axemen who have perfected some of Eddie's tricks and inventions and possess similar speed, Van Halen is far more stylistic and capable. One minute he sounds like Jeff Beck ("Drop Dead Legs"), the next he is casually throwing little John McLaughlin-like fills in ("Girl Gone Bad"); but most often he sounds just like Eddie Van Halen, which is plenty. In addition, Eddie turns in some fairly interesting keyboard work. Although Eddie was trained as a classical pianist as a child, he is not as technically proficient as Geoff Downes or Tony Banks. Nonetheless, Van Halen's keyboard playing is as har- monically rich as and a lot less dull than the pretentious art rock garbage that Asia and Genesis put out. So there you have it. 1984 is not exac- tly an intellectual or religious ex- perience, but it is a whole lotta rowdy rock 'n' roll with a dash of virtuosity And, sadly, that is quickly becoming a rare species. - Don Pappas By Bob King M TV isn't the only culprit. Cable television as a whole is guilty of nurturing cinema's most potent rival. Ann Arbor itself has even recognized their influence, opening its doors to their utilitarian artistry. Videos are coming, and they're only a month away. February was the month of the Super 8 Filmfest while March boasted the 16mm Festival, but April will no longer be just a boring drag into summer. From this year on, April will be the month of the National Student Video Festival. But just what is this nuvo affair? Inside sources have disclosed that at the heart of the NSVF (its synonym) is a Cannes-like contest that will award several thousand dollars in prize money ($1500 for 1st place alone) to the win- ners in one "open" category. More im- portantly, Daily reporters have un- covered indisputable evidence that organizers have limited entries to graduate and undergraduate students, *making the NSVF the first and only student video festival in the United States. Preliminary indicators are pointing wildly at success. Postal workers con- firm that with a week remaining before the entry deadline, over 50 videos from 18 states have been received. And who is responsible for this cut- ting-edge creation? Apparently Ann Arbor's own Alec Friedman, program manager. and executive producer at the University's Media Resource Cen- ter. In fact, covert investigations have uncovered data proving conclusively without a doubt that Friedman not only graduated from the University in Communications, but won a Hopwood and Berenston Television award in the process. Dedicated efforts by this man and his associates have put together not only an attractive program but a list of spon- sors (including Sony, CBS-Fox, Allied Video, and Osgood Computing) that reads like a Rockefeller portfolio - all aimed at making this festival a thrashing success. Winning entries will be broadcast on the USA cable network's "Nightline" entertainment magazine, as well as on the national Campus Cable Network. Ann Arborites, however, should not waste their liquid assets on expensive television units and cable hookups: The entire repetoire will be shown (thanks to a generous Donation of outrageously expensive prdjection equipment by General Electric) at the Michigan Theater April 13-15. No more milk and cookies, Mom. Ann Arbor is going to videos. Wan Halen overcome their teenage groupy rock styles and produce top-notch pop on their latest release '1984.' RPC approves two projects (Continued from Page 1) Birdsall has denied that the projects have any direct link to anti-submarine warfare. Last month, PSN members attem- pted to blockade Birdsall's North Cam- pus laboratory. The sit-in failed because University security officials learned in advance of the group's plans. Prof. Edith Gomberg, chairman of RPC, said the committee examined the issue carefully before voting on the projects. University vice president for resear- ch Alfred Sussman must now review the project before granting final ap- proval. The Quest Continues! She called him the Count. He knew her only as "Cat." What happened between them on the road to Ann Arbor should have been a love story. Except for Barrington. Nicholson .. likes women and drugs? RABBINICAL. SCHIOOL-(,RAlI U*-\ F 'WFOOL-SiUMINARYC(OLI~Lh:E2)j1l"I 'A Il 'I )IV-C AN] OR' Y C C- Representative, on campus March 14, 1-5 Hillel, 1429 Hill Street, 663-3336 PM. JEWISH STUDIES AT ANY LEVEL IN JERUSALEM-IN NEW YORK 1: t'S ,^ C