The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 1, 1985-- Page 7

'BDway': It's

lonely at

By Kathleen Haviland
In order to be successful in show
business a person must have un-
failing ambition. Yet while success
may be sweet, you have to pay for it
with lonliness and isolation. This was
the point which Emily Frankel made
poignantly clear in her three one-act
plays entitled Bdway Arts.
In the first of three one-act plays 29
More Shopping Days till Xmas, the
price is paid by Eddie, played by Jeff
Schneiter. Aspiring to get his big break,
Eddie plays a horrible trick on his
loving, innocent wife Betty (Margaret
Smith) just to get a shot of inspriation
before a major audition. He abuses the
limits of love at the mere chance of fur-
thering his career, and in the process
alienates himself from the one person
who has unquestioningly stood by him.
In the second play When Stabbed
Through the Hearts, Say 'Ouch!', the
price is more indirectly paid by Gisella
(Marcia McGuigan), a middle-aged
woman at a turning point in a very suc-
cessful career. They hackneyed truism
that life is lonely at the top becomes
painfully real for Gisella as her belief in
some important friendships gets
destroyed.
The third play Man in the Nut Moon
presents us with a character who pays
the greatest price. Jim, played by
Stephen Smith, is so isolated and
removed from his feelings that he
doesn't recognize that his marriage is

falling apart.
29 More Days was the funniest and
fastest moving of the three plays.
However, many of the jokes ended up
flying past me as I struggled to hear
the next line. This play could have been
more effective if the pace was a bit
slower - it's hard to let yourself laugh
when you're scared that you'll miss the
next line if you do.
As the second play unfolded, the
lighthearted feeling I had from 29 More
Days began to dissolve. When Stabbed
Thru the Heart, Say 'Ouch!' presents
Gisella, a successful middle-aged dan-
cer who is offered a chance to direct.
When Gisella's "friend" Ann Berge
(Maggie Lally) appears for a visit (and
for a favor), Gisella learns some
shocking truths about some people
whom she cared for very deeply.
Although she's visibly hurt, Gisella
reacts with professional poise
throughout Ann's barrage of insults and
cruel revelations. It was Gisella's
strength and sophistication that made
her one of the more admirable charac-
ters.
Gisella, as characterized by
McGuigan, was poised and
sophisticated, completely graceful yet
at the same time very tough. Lally's
portrayal of Ann was excellent, the best
part being her boisterous energy-as
the scene progressed, her verve only
made her character's shallowness and
insensitivity more repulsive.
Man in the Nut Moon was the most
disturbing of the three plays. A starkly
realistic play, it offered almost no
comic relief.

Jim, played by Stephen Smith, is a
'once-waser', a former chorus boy tur-
ned janitor of a rehearsal studio who
withdraws into a world of T.V.,
peanuts, and beer.
Through numerous dream-like
monologues recalling the disintegration
of his relationship with his wife Fran-
coise (Gai Crawford), Smith gives a
haunting portrayal of the isolated Jim.
Even though he is creating his own
nightmare, you can't help but feel sorry
for the man becuase he is trying so
desperately to stay safe and content.
Crawford poignantly evolves through
her role as Francoise. Sad, passive, and
unsure of herself in the beginning, she
is forced to see Jim for what he truly is
and forces herself to pull away from

the top
him and devote her energy to
rebuilding her own life.
The deterioration of Jim and Fran-
coise's relationship was a fitting way to
end the series of plays because it
showed howclosely tied ambitionand
happiness are in the world of show
business. Having lost his ambition, Jim
ended up losing both the desire for a
career and for the effort needed to save
his marriage.
Bdway Arts will be showing at the
Trueblood tonight and Saturday night
at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
I enjoyed Bdway Arts: Frankel wove
a very subtle theme through three
seemingly unrelated plays to produce a
startling tapestry. I think that everyone
could benefit by experiencing the ar-
twork for themselves.

Summer Study Abroad
ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS
COURSES IN EUROPE
" Locations: Paris, France and Bolzano, Italy
" Credit: Earn up to 15 qhs graduate credit, up
to 8 qhs undergraduate credit
" All courses AACSB accredited, all conducted
in English
Inquiries: Dean Timothy Perkins
College of Arts and Sciences
403 ME, Northeastern University,
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 437-3980
STEREO
TYPE.

UNCOMMON WOMEN
AND OTHER
Presented by
A nn A rbor Civic Theatre
main street stage
338 South Main Street


Heavy metal hits Detroit

(Continued from Page 6)
Sister, then they reunited to help form
W.A.S.P. Drummer Tony Richards was
the next one to join the fold. His life
story was not much different from the
others in the band: he was thrown out of
school a dozen different times, one time
for getting caught in a closet with a
young female teacher. The last mem-
ber was found in, of all places, Hustler
magazine. Posing in the Beaver Hunt
section, Chris Holmes identified him-
self as a guitarist. Contact was made
and, as they say, the rest is history.
In 1983, W.A.S.P. signed on with
Capitol and recorded their first single,
"Animal (---- Like a Beast)." Never
released by the label, because of its
content, it was later released on an in-
dependent label where it hit number
one on the British Heavy Metal Charts.
In 1984 W.A.S.P. released their first
album, simply titled W.A.S.P.,
featuring the kind of music that makes
Heavy Metal so great, straight-
forward, no holds barred, kick-ass
jams. The album is packed with quality
selections, the most notable being the
hit single and video "L.O.V.E.
Machine"; also the crunching anthem,
"School Daze," a down with school jam
that, if not taken too seriously, can be a
perfect study break, and a pair of fiery
rockers, "Hellion" and "On Your

Knees." If the album is any indication,
the show will be a knockout.
For some of the best band of the night
may be Metallica. Metallica is con-
sidered by most metalheads to be the
reigning kings of metal and one good
listen to their albums, whether it be
Kill'em All or their recent release Ride
the Lightening, backs up that assertion.
Metallica music can best be described
by listening to a Grand Prix race car,
loud and clean. Metallica is made up of
Kirk Hammett, lead guitar; Cliff Bur-
ton, bass cuitar; Lars Ulrich, drums;
and James Hetfield, rhythm guitar and
lead vocals. Each one makes a
significant contribution to the band. If
their album's any indication, one
should expect a loud showing.
Rounding out the line-up is Armored
Saint, coming off their first full length
LP, March of the Saint, they'll be
making their second Detroit area ap-
pearance within the last 6 months.
Their hard rockin' version of metal
compliments the loud metal of
Metallica and the ranting metal of
W.A.S.P.
For ticket information call the Royal
Oak Music Theatre's box office at 546-
7610 or stop by the Michigan Union
Ticket Office. See you at the show. That
is, if you dare!

WCBN

exceeds the

stereo-

type of a one-style/one-for-
mat radio station. All styles
of music sound good in stereo.

Feb. 1

7, 8, 14, 15, 16

for more information call 662-9405

WCRA/

913

FM




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F I' L M S E R I E S

ROMANCING
THE STONE:
F ilmed in remote, exotic loca-
tions throughout Mexico, this
fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek
cliffhanger provides perfect
escapist entertainment. Starring
Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner,
Danny DeVito and Mary Ellen Trainor.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis. A
smash hit adventure!!

,

MEDIATRICS
Saturday, February 2, 1985
MLB #4 7:30 & 9:30 PM

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