TRTS The Michigan Daily Monday, i March 16, 1987 Page 7 Company is good By Lauren Schreiber Daily Photo by SCOTT LITUCHY Good As Bronze A group of male Bronze Elegance models display the latest spring fashions last night at the Michigan Union Ballroom, The 7th Annual fashion show was the creation of the MYSTIC minority council of Alice Lloyd, to celebrate Black History Month. "The show is very professional and we want to shine this year," said Lisa Simmons, Bronze Elegance publicity coordinator. W,.alf Ljfe' not half bad "Brief Encounter," the first sketch of the Comedy Company's Big Show, was so stupid that I started getting that uncomfortable feeling I always get when I think I'm going to have to write a bad review. Not too much later, how - ever, I found myself, if not rolling in the aisles, at least having a pret - ty good time. Of the few sketches that were disappointing, even these were not terrible (except the first, which makes me wonder why it was included at all.) "Church for the Not so Perceptive" was an interesting concept that was overdone - the point would have been better ap - preciated in a shorter skit. The same holds true for "Impressionist De - sign," a clever idea about famous painters as modern interior deco - rators. "Top of the World" was pret - ty weak, but somewhat saved by the actors. Looking now to the bright side (the majority of the skits), Craig Neuman deserves praise for his "Trouble in Paradise." Brady Bunch parodies are dangerous in that they have now reached cliche-status. This one, however, was a riot. Ar - ranged in that familiar box-for - mation, the actors sang the Brady Bunch song (with new lyrics) while looking up, down, and across- just like they do on the real show. Matt Schlein was brilliant in his portrayal of Alice. Also noteworthy was Greg's costume (you know, the plaid pants), Melanie Harrison's portrayal of Marcia ("that's really groovy"), and Katy Wood's lisping Cindy. "Quiet a Relief" was a panto - mime, with Dan Ryan accom - panying on piano. While three men went to the bathroom, Ryan sup - plied the sound effects, including toilet flushing, zippering pants, and sighs of relief. "Meeting of the Minds," a skit about a mindreaders' convention was also funny. In it, a magician's performance, election re - sults, and simple conversation ("I'm very happy to see all of you here tonight." "No you're not...You don't even like Sullivan.") are vic - timized by the mindreaders' abil - ities. The best of all was "Modes of Theatre," a short skit taking place in a coffee shop which was repeated four times througout the show, each time in a new style. Unne - cessary were the explanations preceeding it; it was obvious to the audience that the last three were a play on the first. The second mode was done in the style of Greek tragedy. The observing customers in the restaurant made up a chorus and the others, dressed in togas, included the tragic heros and a wandering soothsayer. The Shake - spearean mode was definitely the funniest sketch in the show. The Greek chorus became the witches of Macbeth. The actors used lines from all the famous Shakespearean tragedies, and of course, they all died in the end. The last mode was done as theatre of the absurd. Overall, the cast was excellent. The group worked well together, creating a tight, ensemble perfor- mance. A few actors, however, de - serve special praise, including Dan Unowsky who had real stage presence and excellent delivery. Melanie Harrison was incredible as the dramatic waitress, Penny, in the "Modes of Theatre." She also brought new meaning into the ste - reotyped flower child of the sixties in the skit, "Neurosis Anony - mous." Craig Neuman must be commended for his talent in face- making. In "Modes of Theatre," he portrayed the geeky cook, Gus. Everytime he looked at the audience he had a new, ridiculous expression which broke up the house. Katy Wood was also wonderful in her Considering A bortion? Free Pregnancy Test Completely Confidential Pregnancy Counseling Center 529 N. Hewitt, Ypsilanti Call: 434-3088 (Any Time) ability to change characters- a nerdy housewife, Cindy Brady, and a sexy woman. Because, however, the others were also so good, I want to mention them too: Eric Champ- nella, Alexa Eldred, Keith Fenton, H. Anthony Lehv, and Matt Schlein. There. Jon Hein and Janet Hofmann did a fine job in directing their actors: pacing was good, blocking was neat, and casting was accurate. There were only a few flaws in the production. The set changes were a little slow. Consisting only of assorted chairs and tables, these could have moved a little faster. (Never leave your audience in the dark too long- they get confused.) The costuming could have been simplified to help speed up the changes. The biggest problem in the show was the ending of the sketches. Not-very-funny one-liners had the unfortunate result of ruining an already funny sketch. The au - dience would be laughing through - out, and then the final joke would leave them in silence, or sometimes groans. Leave well enough alone. I was impressed by the Comedy Company's performance. And I laughed. LA R ^RAPHIC U COPYNG 4 PRINTING E NNDING F0" olphOHraphioo' 1atshops f TheFuture COPIES Open 7 Days GRAND OPENING SPECIAL 663-6816 715 N. UNIVERSITY (2nd Floor) Located at: S. STATE & N. UNIVERSITY By Elizabeth Snyder The lights dimmed and I sat back waiting for the film to begin. Pictures of destruction and people with serious burns who had lost their hair filtered through ny mind as I recalled the only other film that I had ever seen on radioactive fallout. Dennis O'Rourke's film Half Life is a change, though. Half Life is a locumentary that took place 33 years ago in the Mar - shall Islands. These islands came under American rusteeship after WWI1 and in March of 1954, our government decided to vacate one of the islands, namely Bikini, and drop a hydrogen bomb in order to obtain scientific data concerning the fallout. O'Rourke's film does not deal with Bikini but rather its neighboring Atolls. Despite the fact that these islands were hundreds of'miiles away from Bi- Cini, a wind shift led to disastrous results. Half Life attempts to show that the U.S. had knowledge of the wind change before the bomb exploded and did not * vacate the neighboring islands of Rongelap and Rongerik. The movie is successful only in the sense that it appeals to the emotional side of the viewer. Scenes of children playing intertwined with scenes of a naval captain counting down the seconds causes us to sympathize with the uneducated natives who later claim "we didn't understand what they were doing to us." But O'Rourke drives the stake home with the stories and pictures of the suffering children. Fur- thermore, the inference that the U.S. used these people as guinea pigs is on the tip of everyone's tongues. However, where O'Rourke fails is in his deliverance of concrete evidence. There really is very little of it in the documentary. Instead the viewer is given the opinions of natives and very unprofessional looking Americans. Not once does he mention how many of the inhabitants suffered as a result. What is left as the film draws to a close is an uncertain feeling in the mind of the viewer. Emo- tionally, Half Life has him squirming but rationally, with an argument as strong as O'Rourke's, it leaves something to be desired. "Half Life" is playing at MLB 3 at 7:30 and 9:30. Dancerssh ow Gallery of work Women in Judaism Series Professor Tikva Frymer-Kensky "Women in Jewish Life" The role of women in Jewish communal and ritual affairs By Jose-Arturo Martinez r "Gallery of Dances" was the hmost pleasant surprise of the purrent local dance season. The concert was full of lush, full lancing, creative music and oreography that was very good in 'oth its conception and its cxecution. Marsha Pabalis and Gregory atterson put on the strongest $ ungle performance in the concert. heir Pas de Deux in Bill eYoung's 'Thief of Souls' showed conviction that was impressive to wee. The trust necessary between °, rtners to fully dance a work nanated through in their dance and "they easily stole the show. Linda ;priggs joins Pabalis to dance the second duet which has the ,pearance of a man and woman vorting together though in reality is two women. Used as the I ounter point of a duet of VOTE ean honest and since a responsible and r " a student committe student governmen I3 seemingly two men dancing gives the dance its androgynous edge. The concert began with a vivid splash of scarlet that bursts upon the eyes of the audience. Gay Delanghe's 'Red, Red, Red' began with a giant hand that drops down from the rafters to grasp and then squeeze a giant tube of paint. Dancers appropriately costumed in red then flow onto the stage setting like colors onto a canvas. The dancers then cavort on the stage space with an almost reckless abandon. The climax in the third movement takes a more serious bent as the background noise of shots being fired and shells exploding and visual sound effects gives what is otherwise a seemingly light work it's hard edge. David Gregory's sound track lends a wonderful punch to the dance. Jessica Fogel's work 'People in the Sun' was my favorite work. There is currently no one better at U-M at creating strong visual imagery. Fogel's vision combined with David Borden's music give us an eerie set of still lifes that are drawn from the paintings of American painter Edward Hopper. The single movement that serves as the unifying thread throughout the work is a hopping step that relates back to the artist himself. Thomas Cocco as the 'hopping' artist and Jean McGregor-Wiles as his subject present us with an eerie human rendition of Hopper's works. 'Porcelain Dialogues' is the Murray Louis work set on six students. Danced to a stark black background the white of the dancers costumes was a dazzling contrast. The vocabulary of movement was new for many of the dancers but they carried it off well. The lover's 'spat' carried on between Jennifer Weiser and Thomas Cocco contained a wonderful mime element that was'broadcast to the back rows of the theater and was indicative of the dance. The subjects the dancers discussed can only have been guessed at but they and the audience had a good time 'listening' in. Monday, March 16 7:00 p.m at Hillel (1429 Hill Street) "Women In Jewish Thought" Monday, April 6 663-3336 U l _, I UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES CENTER FOR. ere spokesperson eliable representative hd to better nt '7- I / COMMITTEE CHAIR APPLICATIONS Impact Jazz Dance Soph Show Comedy Company Star bound Tech. Crew I A Major Events presentation Milky Way and Westwood One Radio Network present Tour '87 00 with special guest Georgia Satellites THURSDAY, MARCH 26 p Viewpoint Lectures Special Events ____________________ Ticket Central Michigras Laughtrack Mini-Courses MUSKET Mediatrics Homecoming College Bowl Soundstage 1' . :