ARTS
Friday, November 22, 1985

The Michigan Daily

Page 7

Sloppy 'Stick

By Seth Flicker
INCOHERENCE reigns as Ozzie
and Harriet face world realities in
the Performance Network's
massacred version of Sticks and
Bones. With a misleading inter-
pretation of the play, the Network put
on a truly disappointing production.
The sitcom-style family steps out
of television and into the real world.
Ozzie gets a call from the army
relating news that his son, David, is
returning home from Vietnam. Ozzie,
Harriet, and their other son Ricky,
are forced to take on reality when
David comes back with physical as
well as mental scars from the war.
The family not only goes into shock
when they find out that David is blind
but their newly discovered racism is
brought out when they hear of
David's involvement with a Viet-
namese woman.
Ozzie, played by Edwin Cable, is a
befuddled, senile man incapcilated in
a world of fantasy. His performance
is far from satisfactory. Not only does
he garble his words to the point of in-
coherence but he also juxtaposes his
mannerisms which adds to the
viewers' agitation.
Harriet, Ozzie's wife, is played
by Ed Cable's wife, Jan. Her part
calls for a confused yet strong woman
fixed on trying to get her family back-

to the way it once was. Jan Cable
transfixes her character into a
flustered mess of a housewife ob-
sessed rather than obliged to help her
family. She not only performed her
character to the pinnacle of ineptness
but also enhanced spasmodic
idiosyncrasies.
The viewer does not realize the true
extent of the unprofessionalism of the
play until Ricky, played by Gregory.
Radcliff, speaks. He overen-
thusiatically executes his lines to the
point of nausea. Each time he enters
the room he chimes out, "Hi Mom ! Hi
Dad!" After convincing the audience
not to take him seriously, he then tries
to persuade the viewer to accept his
state of morbitity at the end of the
play by keeping a straight face. For
the viewer, this is an impossiblity, as
Radcliff's acting is too unsettled and
his character ill-defined.
David, played by Mark Willett, is
the best of the ensemble though that's
not saying much. He's stiff and
plastic. Willet brings out more of the
wickedness in David than the bitter-
ness. This seemingly small misinter-
pretation changes the whole effect of
David's part. He changes a poignant
character into a satirical farce,
mocking theswar.
The main problem with the overall
acting is theatrical masturbation.
Each actor performed the part for
themselves, not taking heed of the
other actors on stage, letting in-
coherence and confusion take over.

snorineffective
Another problem faced by the ac- writer in his rendition: instead of
tors is sudden changes of emotion bringing out a sensitive and poignant
without transition. They switched view of how the Vietnam war effects
gears without using any clutch. society, he mocks the war altogether.
The play is no doubt a tricky as well for this, the production truly failed.
as fragile to put on. One false inter-
pretation of the play's bitter but sen- In the next two weekends that Sticks
sitive portrayJ of a situation changes and Bones will be running do not be
the whole effect. The director insults tempted to see it even if your
not only the audience but also the masochistic tendencies tell you so.

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Circle Confusion bring their darker brand of minimalist rock to. the Half-
way Inn in East Quad Friday night.
Halfway weekend chaos

By Hobey Echlin
and Rob Michaels
HE HALFWAY INN is again
the scene for an unusually
diverse lineup of local acts.
Friday night lends itself to the
unclassified depths of obscure and
darker side of rock 'n' dirty roll.
Punk may be dead, but it's rigor-
mortised corpse provides the step-
ping stone for these four acts.
Crate, a solo performance by ex-
Tool and Die member Phil Seiden,
will kick off the evening in a highly
experimental approach to dirge
that calls on an unlikely hybrid of
technological mastery and a raw
sense of rhythm.
Perhaps his last performance
before heading out into a real
world, Phil's performance
~promises to be a spectacle of in-
novative wierdity tinged with
musician's mastery.g
Spahn Ranch, featuring Bob and
Co. from Grief Factory, follow
with and R&B-based approach to
insanity. This marks Spahn Ran-
chsdebut, so no one quiteknows
what to expect; but rest assured
Bob'll be in top form and the
sound'll be somewhere between a
deeply depressed Echo and a cold
steel shower stall.
Next in line, Ann Arbor's Circle
Confusion will make their first real
appearance. The trio offers a
sometimes haunting, sometimes
coldly technical, sometimes
chaotic, generally minimalist
sound that draws more or less on
the likes of the Swans, Pee Wee
Herman, Steven Wright, Jesus and
Mary Chain, God, and, of course,
"The Boss.
Rounding (sort of) out the chaos
is the assault of Slaughterhouse.
Blending cacophony and serious
emotional problems, the Detroit-
based maniacs produce a "sound"
that crosses all the warmth of a
dead puppy and the unbridled
power of Jimi Hendrix having a
bad acid experience, while leadin

a drunk-on-J.D. Philharmonic.
Things'll start happening around
9:30, and you just can't beat four
bands for three bux. Come
celebrate the 22nd anniversary of
J.F.K.'s death the American way.
Lee Harvey would want you to.
Jackie O. would be proud. But read
on
Saturday's lineup offers a few
more faces of the ever-developing
Southeastern MI new music scene.
The show will kick off with Onset,
a new youthful combo peddling an
energetic brand of R&B-influenced
mod-styletrock and roll. They'll be
sure to set the fun lovin' and free-
wheelin' tone that the evening's
jamfest promises.
Next up will be the Mangos, the
Motor City's latest champions of
hard edged and original melodic
R&R. Their big sound is infused
with the band's unpretentious and
uninhibited sense of humor, all of
which has been captured on their
debut EP, Audio Obstacle Course
on Angry Red Records. Their Ann
Arbor debut will no doubt show
patrons a rugcutting good time.
In their annual Halfway perfor-
mance, Detroit's Frames return to
headline Saturday's show.-Thanks
to a recent change in line-up, the
band's high quality, high energy,
sixties-influenced sound is now
subject to innovative and exciting
twists by ex-Phobolex, Western
Arrest bassist John Fulton. For
some advanced preparation, you
might want to check out the
Detroit compilation LP When
Monkey's Were Gods on which the
ever so groovy Frames sound is
featured.
So if the brutality of the previous
night (and the big game) has still
got you paralyzed, be sure to come
on down once again to the Halfway
Inn for an evening of upbeat (and
interesting) musical entertain-
ment.
Showtime is ten-ish, and the
cover is again a paltry three bux.
Come on out and support the finest
in local talent and creativity.

New Philadelphia
Quartet
assisted by:
Richard Woodhams, oboist and
Yoheved Kaplinski, pianist
Program
Mozart: Oboe Quartet, K. 370
Frank Proto: String Quartet No. 1 (1977)
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor
Ticket Prices: $11, 9.50, 8, 5

Sun.Nov.24 4:00 pm Rackham Auditorium

.

DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
CELL BIOLOGY NEUROBIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
DEPARTMENT OF ANATOMY
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
The program offers training in cellular and molecular approaches
to the study of cell structure and function, mechanisms of
embryonic differentiation, and the development and structure of
the nervous system. Support from teaching assistantships and
fellowships is available. For further information and application
forms, write to: Graduate Secretary
Department of Anatomy, S1334
U C San Francisco,
San Francisco, CA. 94143.

Shura Cherkassky
Pianist
Program
Bach-Liszt: Organ Fantasy & Fugue,
G minor
Beethoven: Sonata, Op. 53 (Waldstein)
Chopin: Fantasie, Op. 49
Nocturne Op. 62, #2
Mazurkas, Op. 33, #4, & Op. 63, #3
Grand Polonaise brillante, Op. 22
Ticket Prices: $10, 8.50,7,5

Tues. Nov. 26 8:00 pm Rackham Auditorium
University Musical Society, Burton Tower,
Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Phone (313) 665-3717; (313) 764-2538
Office hours: weekdays 9-4:30 Saturday 9-12.

AT&T LONG DISTANCE PRESENTS
A SPECIAL SCREENING

Two men. Not soldiers. Not heroes. Just dancers.
Willing to risk their lives for freedom- and each other

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GOING PLACES? I

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A TAYLOR HACKFORD FILM
WHITE NIGHTS
COLUMBIA PICTURES PRESENTS A NEW VISIONS PRODUCTION - MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV- GREGORY HINES "WHITE NIGHTS"
STARRING: GERALDINE PAGE- HELEN MIRREN JERZY SKOLIMOWSKI.,3L.U",ISABELLA ROSSELLINI - MUSIC SCORE BY MICHEL COLOMBIER
MUSIC SUPERVISED BY PHIL RAMONE- CHOREOGRAPHY BY TWYLA THARP SCREENPLAY BY JAMES GOLDMAN AND ERIC HUGHES
STORY BY JAMES GOLDMAN - PRODUCED BY TAYLOR HACKFORD AND WILLIAM S. GILMORE DIRECTED BY TAYLOR HACKFORD
rii~ M yVrn13P rENS CAMMVlON). '4 El"E.I.'P 14 I _ , .sa. . .. rw l

"GOING PLACES" is a new Michigan Daily
classified advertising column. Run a
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