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MICH.ELLANY

FILM



An

April

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Ad re Watts
piwa says 'leave your
watch at home and enjoy the music'

The night I lost all faith in the
human race I was on a train headed
for Philadelphia. I was fresh out of
high school, just a kid who had spent
his entire life in a sleepy rural town
where people left their car motors
running while getting stamps at the
post office, off to visit my girlfriend
at Bryn Mawr College.
Moments before the train departed,
a young man wearing faded jeans and
a frantic expression hopped aboard.
He went around to all the passengers
asking for $10, saying he was in
desperate need to get home and ex-
plaining that the only train that could
take him there was ten dollars more
than he had and five minutes away
from leaving the station. Passenger
after passenger refused him, either
saying "Sorry" in a terse fashion or
giving a quick flick of the right hand
in a upward motion that said, "Screw
off."
You know where this story is
heading, don't you?
The young man came to me. In
fact, he rushed over to me, probably
because I was the only one willing to
make eye contact. We didn't really
need to say anything to each other
because our eyes said it all. His said,
"God, please help me," and mine
said, "How much do you need?"

I reached for my wallet. "I'm
sorry," I said in a soft, apologetic
voice. "I don't have anything under a
$20." I had four of them.
His body sagged with disappoint-
ment. He took a nervous glance at
his watch. "Look," he said, taking a
pen and a scrap of paper from his
pocket. "What if you give me your
address, and I mail you the money
tomorrow when I get home? I
promise, I will."
Snap judgment calls are never fun
to make, yet there I was. Do I trust
this total stranger, or do I wave my
hand in the air and send him on his
way? There was literally less than a
minute before our train was going to
leave.
I will never forget what I told him.
"I'm gonna take a chance and trust
you." I gave him my address first and
my money second.
"Thank you," he said, shaking my
hand as he turned around and darted
off into the night.

JOHN
SHEA

miessage
Many of the passengers laughed at
me for being so naive, but I didn't
care. There is an undeniably warm
and wonderful feeling in helping out
a total stranger in need, and I felt
proud of myself for helping the man.
Every day for weeks after I got
home, I went to my mailbox expect-
ing to find a letter from the stranger
thanking me for the gesture. Every
day it didn't come, I felt increasingly
angry and bitter. Sure, losing the
money was disappointing, but what
really hurt was this total stranger's
taking advantage of my kindness, of
my willingness to believe in him. I
trusted him, I took his word, and he
shafted me in return.
I bring up this story of betrayed
trust because today is April Fool's
Day, a day designed for people to
make their friends look like asses.
You tell them something outrageous
and odds are, if their defenses are
down, they'll believe you - because
they trust you. And after you laugh
and yell "April Fool's," they might
laugh with you, too. It's a harmless
enough ritual.
But why, pray tell, do we set aside
a day on the calender to "celebrate"
the practice of abusing Trust when
there are so many painful instances
See SHEA, Page 9

An

INTERVIEW
Andre Watts made his legendary arrival upon the music world 25
years ago at the age of 16 when Leonard Bernstein asked him to
substitute for the ailing Glenn Gould and play Liszt's E-Flat Concerto
with the New York Philharmonic, His debut made headlines across the
United States. Only 16 days before, Watts had been chosen by Bernstein
from an auditioning group of young pianists to play with the Young
People's Concerts of the Philharmonic. In the intervening years, Watts,
41, has become one of the most well-known American-born pianist to
appear with the prestigious orchestras and conductors of the world.
Watts, who will appear at Hill Auditorium tomorrow night at 8, spoke
recently by phone with Daily Arts Writer Ari Schneider.
Daily: What impact do you think television has had on classical music?
Watts:Television is helpful a little bit. Hopefully, television might
give some people a glimpse at listening to something they have not
heard before, so they might go listen to that piece of music if they know
someone is playing it in their town. But, I'm afraid that those people
who watch television and only see one artist, for example Luciano
Pavoratti, will think he is the only opera singer around and won't go see
an opera unless he is singing; instead of checking out another artist.
D: Since you have been on national television and traveled around the
world, are you conscious of your public image?
W: No, you don't have time to worry about that and play concerts. I
think it is kind of a mistake to get caught up in what the public thinks
or wants. I just go out and play. You can't really tell why some people
like one person's piano playing over another person's.
D: A lot of great pianists, like Vladamir Horowitz, play concerts in
stints. Do you think not worrying about public perception has been an
important part of your long 25 year solo career?
W: I guess so. A lot of luck is involved. Staying healthy. Not to sound
callous, but if you look too much at yourself other than musically, it's
not good. I was just reading a book The Pianist Speaks:Vo.II where the
author interviews this famous pianist who's worried about not being
asked back by a theatre. That's ridiculous! You don't.have time to think
about it. The more you think about it, the less you think about the
music, and probably the less successful you will be. Just think about the
music. The concerts will be more communicative. It's like someone
reading a story. If you just think the reader is talking to the air rather
than to you, the listener probably won't come back. But if the reader is
trying to communicate to you, you will want to repeat the experience.
And that is what a career in music is about.
D: What composer do you like to "communicate" most to an audience?
W: If I had to choose one composer, it would be Schubert.
D: How do you pick pieces for a recital or orchestra concert? Do you
think about the audience you are playing for?
See INTERVIEW, Page 9

By Andrea Gacki
Biloxi Blues will be but one thing
to the majority of moviegoers: a
Matthew Broderick movie.
Never mind that this film is the
second in a trilogy of largely autobi-
ographical plays by Neil Simon, be-
ginning with Brighton Beach Mem-
oirs (a movie of last summer) and
ending with Broadway Bound.Dis-
regard the fact that the much ac-
claimed Mike Nichols, probably
known to everyone as the director of
The Graduate, is the director of this
film. Although these characteristics
alone should ensure at the very least
a decent movie, the major attraction
of Biloxi Blues is, by consensus,
Matthew Broderick.
Pick of
the Week
The allegiance of many people to
Broderick was cemented when they
saw him in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
That sardonic delivery and pubescent
squeak oddly inspire fierce devotion.
It doesn't really matter that the char-
acters he plays are all pretty much
identical, and few people notice his
uncanny resemblance to Jerry Lewis.
What matters is that he's usually en-
gaging and always entertaining, and
when Broderick is combined with
both Simon and Nichols, the result
should be not just a decent but a
pretty good movie.
Broderick recreates the role which
he originated on Broadway, that of
Eugene Morris Jerome. The year is
1943, and Eugene is going to boot-
camp in Biloxi, Mississippi. He is
surrounded by sweltering heat and
strange G.I.'s with names like
Wykowski and Pinelli - a far cry
from his Jewish Bronx neighbor-
hood. To make matters worse, he
becomes the instrument by which the
demented Sergeant Merwin J.
Toomey (Christopher Walken) in-
stills enmity into the ranks. The
main obstacle to Sgt. Toomey's will
is the peace-loving Arnold Epstein
(Corey Parker), and Eugene finds

himself torn in the war of Epstein
against the platoon.
The propelling force of the movie,
however, is Eugene's wish to lose
his virginity, fall in love, and be-
come a writer. These episodes of
wish fulfillment are Biloxi Blues'
strongest scenes. The movie is at its

most engaging in such incidents as
nervous Eugene telling the prostitute
Rowena that he's from Georgia and
then proceeding to alternate between
a New York and a Southern accent.
Simon's screenplay flourishes when
sarcasm and witty repartee abound,
but the more serious, tense scenes

involving Sgt. Toomey and Epstein
are lacking. The humorous even-
handedness of the film doesn't allow
for proper, illumination of the
important conflict between Toomey
and Epstein, and Blues is weakest in
this respect.
Nevertheless, Simon's humor as

engaging

Broderick

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OFF THE WALL
We are nothing but associated
random molecules striving to reach
equilibrium within the cosmos.

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Celibacy is #1!

work and clean

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(in response)
Celibacy is not hereditary
(in response)
BUT IT IS A WAY OF LIFE
Don't knock masturbation- it's sex
with someone I love

Penelope Ann Miller and Matthew Broderick dance the night away in
'Biloxi Blues.'
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PAGE,8 WEEKEND/APRIL 1, 1988

WEEKEND/APRIL 1, 1988