ARTS

The Michigan Daily Tuesday, March 3, 1987 Page 5
'Godot' It was well worth the wait
Schreiber surrealist painting. The action of, Especially notable was the hat-
By Lauren the plays was quite dramatic due to switching routine.
the many levels and interesting Matthew Conlan as Pozzo had
Of course it was a while ago - corners in the set and in the way the the terrifying stage presence
before that Fort Lauderdale suntan actors moved in this space. necessary for his character. His
or whatever- but if you delayed Especially incredible was the way booming voice dominated the large
midterm cramming for a bit, prior the characters Pozzo and Lucky theatre, and the sight and sound of
to spring break, maybe you appeared and disappeared from the his cracking whip demanded
managed to get over to the Power "horizon." attention. His performance was
Center to see Waiting for Godot. If "The light gleams and instant, impressive and commanded respect.
you didn't, I'm really sorry. then it's night once more." This
Project Theatre's presentation of cue in the script was picked up by Juxtaposed against Conlan's
Samuel Beckett's modern classic Robert Heller and incorporated in powerful performace was Barry L.
was a true example of an ensemble his lighting design. The changes in Goldman as Lucky, Pozzo's
performance. Under the direction of lighting throughout the play were servant. Obviously well-trained i
John Russell Brown, every aspect subtle, yet added much to the mood. mime and movement, he displayed
Jrdunbelievable stamina. The pain
* of the production worked to create a There are no "leads" in Godot - expressed by his continuous
complete expenence. each character is vital. What was panting and limping was tangible
Traditionally, a set is intended to most wonderful about the acting the to the audience. Goldman evoked
provide the "setting" for the action was the way each of the four actors sympathy, yet never so much as to
of a play. The set for Godot, worked together to create a0l become insipid
designed by Pamela Howard, did far ensemble. Yet each individual
more than this. Rather than simply performance was in itself John Russell Brown's drection
complement the actors, it actually outstanding was smooth and exciting. The long
added new levels to their periods of interchange between
performance. The performances of Marin Vladimir and Estragon were made
In the script, Beckett writes, "A LaPlatney and William Carden as interesting as they used the set to
country road. A tree." With this Vladimir and Estragon never lagged. full advantage.
sparse description, Howard created a Onstage nearly the entire time, they Even now, in the midst of my
world. Her road curved, rose up, and developed a strong rapport with the spring vacation, Waiting for Godot
then sank into the horizon. Garbage audience. Consistently amusing, makes its strong impression. A
Martin LaPlatney, as Vladimir, and William Carden, as Estragon, exchange profundities in Project was strewn about the stage. And the tfeir clown-like antics were cleverly production that complete, that
Theater's "Waiting for Godot." tree looked like somehting from a staged and effectively executed. perfected is not so easily forgotten.
Elm 3': A dream o a nightmare come true

}

I

By John Shea
Idiotic scripts and naked,
decapitated teenagers rolling around
on the floor are bad enough as
separate entities, but when the two
are combined it's particularly
painful. Unhappily, such marriages
do exist, and are appropriately called
Phorror films.
The producers of these movies
seem to live by the philosphy that
'bad is good.' Throw in enough
bad acting, bad writing and bad
special effects and the kids will go
ape over it. Sometimes this
philosphy works, but on the whole,
bad is bad; anyone who saw last
month's Return to Horror High
can confirm this.
I really don't like horror movies,
even the one that are well done. I
saw Halloween many years ago in
a theatre and vowed afterwards never
to see another movie like that
again. I broke that vow last
weekend when I saw Wes Craven's
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3:
Dream Warriors. And the most sur -

prising thing happened; I enjoyed
it.
Maybe I enjoyed it because Wes
Craven doesn't believe 'bad is
good.' His films-which include
The Last House on the Left and
The Hills Have Eyes- are

The Elm Street series is centered
around Freddy Krueger (Robert Eng -
lund), a child-murderer who was
burned at the stake by a vigilante
group and now survives in spirit.
He revenges himself by tormenting
the children of those who killed

,.
Wes Craven doesn't believe 'bad is good.' His
films...are horror on a higher level.

hospital, with six other teenagers
also haunted in their dreams. Dr.
Neil Goldman (Craig Wasson), who
heads the group therapy, believes
the problem is psychological.
Nancy Thompson (Heather Lan -
gerkamp) knows better. She has
fought Freddy before, being the
lone survivor of the first Elm Street
"suicides." She tries to convince the
other doctors that the monstrous
presence in the kids' dreams is real,
but wouldn't-you-know-it, the
doctors just won't listen. Only
when two more kids die does Neil
listen to Nancy. Neil learns from a
mysterious nun that the only way
to destroy Freddy's spirit is to bury
his remains in hallowed ground,
while Nancy rallies the surviving
members of the group to get
together and fight Freddy in their
dreams.
The story, about young children
being tormented, is an old and tired
one. But I was left in total
admiration for how director Chuck
Russell and screenwriters Craven
and Bruce Wagner told the story,
continually switching from dreams

and it's nothing special here. I
thought Arquette and Ken Sagoes as
the alienated Kincaid were very
good. The rest of the cast was
merely so-so, with Langerkamp
being the weakest in the lead role
(if a tree could walk, it would
surely be Ms. Langerkamp).
What really stands out in Elm
Street 3 and makes it a very good
movie is Englund as Freddy and the
dynamic special effects by Peter
Chesney. Englund is both
terrifying and perversely funny as
Freddy. In one scene, he corners a
previously drugged addicted child
and offers to be her friend-by
transforming his fingers to
hypodermic needles. You'd have to
see it to appreciate it.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 is
one of those rare movies where
there's a victory of style over
substance. I have not seen the first
two installments of the series, and I
suspect it's possible that those who
have may tire of the style; it may
not stack up Elm Streets 1 and 2.
But I enjoyed it, and recommend it
as an excellent midnight movie.

considered classics in the genre'
because they're horror on a higher
level; they're able to frighten and
haunt without relying on excess
graphic violence, the way the
Friday thel3th movies do. Craven
strives for something more that
hack-and-slash. His vision of what
a horror movie should be comes to
life, because he takes his horror,
seriously.

him- he invades their dreams.
Only they're not dreams, but rather
a paranormal warp where dreams
become reality and reality becomes
a nightmare.
The third installment opens with
young Kristen (Patricia Arquette,
Rosanna's sister) slashing her
wrists after being invaded in her
dream by Freddy. She is admitted to
a special ward in the psychiatric

Freddy Krueger is at it again.
to reality and back again. Russell
finds the proper sinister tone and
wisely controls the pace of the
movie; instead saving everything
all the excitement for the end, he is,
to an extent, able to keep us on the
edge of our seats for the last hour.
The acting and the development
of characters is not even secondary
in importance in most horror films,


'Records
Cheepskates
Second and Last
T ryfles
Tryfles
Midnight Records
Two N.Y.C.-based outfits, both
falling under the broad category of
psych-pop, although occupying op -
posite ends of that spectrum of
sound.
The Cheepskates, now defunct,
played eerie revisionist pop. On
record they frequently bear a sonic
resemblance to a psychedelified
dB's, and also display a dB's-esque
knack for pure pop composition.
The Cheeps, however, lack the dB's
skewed wit, pulling fewer musical
and lyrical punches. This reduces
their appeal, confining Second and'
Last to the category of merely
good pop records as opposed to
really great ones.


The unfortunate thing about
Second and Last is that the raw
materials for a great, cohesive
record are so obviously present and
not quite utilized. There are a
number of individually
distinguished tracks, particularily
"Every Man's a King," and the
instrumental "Reel Dreams."
Second and Last indicates that the
Cheepsywere on to something good,
but they may have quit too early to
fully realize their potential.
The Tryfles' debut disc, on the
other hand, indicates that they've
already arrived at their potential in a
big way. Tryfles is a solid two
sides' worth of variations on classic
psych-punk themes, with weird
snippets of commentary sandwiched
in between. It's almost exclusively
original compositions (the
exceptions being the superb "No,"
by the Cheepskates' Shane Faubert,
and the goof standard "What a Way

to Die"), which is a bit unusual in
garage. More unusual still is the
fact that a good number of these
originals, particularily "Lust" and
"Bitter Heart," are serious
contenders for now-and-future
Nuggets status.
Tryfles' appeal lies in the fact
that it approximates the energy of a
live show while sounding sharp
like a studio recording. It looks, on
the basis of the posters and fanzine
covers reproduced on the back cover
of the LP, that these girls and guys
have a rabid following of local
cave-teen types and I can see why.
This band must be an absolute riot
live, if they're half as funny and
energetic as they are on vinyl. One
of '86 garage's gearest moments.
-Julie Jurrjens

76-GUIDE
WINTER WORKSHOP SERIES
r
PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE FOLLOWING PEER-LED WORKSHOPS
THURSDAY NIGHTS, 7 to 9pm
3100 Michigan Union
Feb. 5, The Famil Tre
This informative workshop will help participants
examine their significant family relationships
with parents and siblings.
Feb.12, What's Love Got to do With It?
This workshop will explore our intimate
relationships. We'll talk about dating,
communication ,being sexual and ending
our relationships.
Mar.5. R EL AX!!
During this workshop participants will learn
the basic skills of progressive relaxation
You'll talk about what s causing gou stress
and experience a guided relaxation exercise.
Mar.19,6ET UP STAND UP!
For those who want to learn to take charge of
their lives, this workshop will introduce you
to the ideas of assertiveness training and
through the use of role plays and hand-outs,
you'll gain some important assertion skills.
Apr.2,SUICIDE-A HELPING HAND.
This workshop will explore the difficult topic
of suicide and provide gou with concrete
suggestions on how to help a suicidal friend.
Format will include an informal discussion and
useful handouts to help gou spot the warning
signs.
Apr.16.RELAX!

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747-7769
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