0 Page 8 -The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, April 13, 1988 Sa ferstein' s Oh, Ramona!' Oh, wow! By Linda Gardner A sporadically confusing but enthusiastic OhRamona! played to a sellout crowd at the Perfor- mance Network last weekend. This was a play for the audience and to the audience, from the moment the actors took the stage. No matter how much the characters spoke to the spectators and involved them in the production, surreality (and often just plain weirdness) kept the line between actors and audience intact. Outrageousness and extremities ruled the visual impact of the play. Not that it was overdone - the play struck a perfect balance be- tween the "normality" of sane real- ity and the chaos of near-insanity. To some, the overlapping speeches and the shrieking voices of "the girls" made comprehension difficult at times; others encountered diffi- culty in seeing from the side bleachers. But nobody could complain about the attention given to the au- dience which was enhanced by bright costumes and equally color- ful acting. All in fun, one "girl" wrote a male patron's phone num- ber on her hand at the beginning of the show, and periodically made him the target of winks and smiles. Ramona ran into the audience to give away her soap bubbles early in the show and the spectator obliged by blowing bubbles for the entire length of the play. Who's the real actor here? Johanna Boorman excelled as Ramona, coming from behind the bleachers to instantly draw the audience in with convincing story- telling. She laughed and settled down to talk, and the audience laughed, and settled in to listen. "There's a pole here!" she began, referring to the trademark center- stage pole of the Performance Net- work, and continued with a solil- oquy that seemed impromptu but held onto Naomi Saferstein's care- fully written ideas. Elderly Henry Horwitz (WCBN's Professor arwulf arwulf) and teenager Luthor Hanks (Mike Rubin) played the perfect antitheti- cal rivals for Ramona's attention. Henry's mismatched argyle socks and Luthor's multicolored basket- ball only served as background in- formation to support the believable acting. The script seemed a bit un- natural as Luthor reminisced about being a kingfisher, but the communication between the two was genuine. Always maintaining his cool, Luthor exclaimed "Dude...!"(his trademark), and Henry answered "Dude ...?" mock- ingly, but never lost his dignity even when he hopped around crying "Boop Boop Boop!" Once again, the only complaint was that many of their important lines in later scenes were incomprehensible dur- ing the confusing proliferation of voices and actions. Even as Ramona's monologues gained their effectiveness from con- tact with an audience, the emotional scenes seemed to lose some inten- sity for the same reason. Perhaps the hilarious bird suit that Henry donned at the end made it difficult for the action to be taken seriously. The flip-flop scenes between Ra- mona and Henry and Ramona and Luthor made up for any misunder- standings though; twice near the end a sentimental moment lurched without warning into a new chaotic mess, and the well-rehearsed tension stretched from wall to wall. The fi- nal indifference of Henry, continu- ing to adjust his Halloween cos- tume, and Luthor, rapping with his whole body at the front of the stage, was chilling as the "girls" literally took Ramona over, smear- ing her face with make-up and brandishing a ceramic cake. These were amateur actors? A major source of the reigning confusion was the trio of "girls" (or "women," as they prefer to be called). The "bachelorettes" consistently demanded attention - if not from the flirting and pouting that accompanied their every move, then from the makeup and extrava- gant neon costumes (by Demetrius). With wigs that stood a foot high and skin-tight pants, the "girls" milked every move for maximum effect. The audience seemed a bit con- fused when the lights blacked out, but who wouldn't be confused from the abundant action and noise? Soap bubbles floated from the bleachers nonetheless. Editor's note: The Sunday eve- ning performance of OH, RA- MONA! was reviewed. 0 0 Doily Photo by ROBIN LOZNAK Elderly Henry Horwitz (WCBN's Professor arwulf arwulf) fights for Ramona's attention in 'Oh, Ramona!' 0 Bears Continued from Page 5 itless energy, The Bears roared bril- liantly through their originals, as well as guitar-madman covers of "Purple Haze" and King Crimson's "Elephant Talk." Throughout their slapstick intros, Belew, Fetters and Nyswonger took to growling, "Arrr ... we're the Bears!" while clawing at the air - to the delight of the crowd. Tonight, you can see for yourself that these are pretty wild guys for' a group with a boring name. THE BEARS will perform tonight at the Nectarine Ballroom. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $1250. Holocaust Commemoration Day BERNARD, MEDNICKI Thursday, April 14 4:00pm at Hillel, 339 E. Liberty A Belgian Jew, Mednicki will discuss his adventures posing as a Catholic while working with the French Resistance during World War 11. PASS IT AROUND I WORK ON YOUR RESUME THIS FAL. Do you lie awake at night wondering what that recruiter is going to do with your resume when you're ready for a full-time job after graduation? Your resume that doesn't show any "relevant work experience"? At BNR, the research and development subsidiary of Northern Telecom, we have excellent co-op jobs for fall semester we want to fill NOW, where you'll apply the skills you already have and learn things you won't get in school. You'll get a breather from all-nighters and pressure exams, and be chal- lenged by something other than the next quiz. And when you graduate with maybe a year's worth of relevant, valuable work experience, your resume will go right to the top of the recruiters' pile. And you might get some sleep for a change. We have positions available in the following majors and areas: 0 6 The University0f Michigan iceof Financial Aid 2011 Student Activities Building FALL & WINTER 1988-89 APPLICATION DEADLINE FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1988 To ensure priority consideration for financial aid* for the coming school year, continuing students must submit complete application materials by the priority deadline. A complete application consists of a 1988-89 Office of Financial Aid application form, the Family Financial Statement report (from ACT), student and parental copies of the 1987 Federal income tax returns, and other documents if requested. The Office of Financial Aid must have a complete application by: FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1988 *University Grant, Michigan Opportunity Grant, Supplemental Grant, Work Study Programs, Perkins Loan (formerly NDSL), and Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL). OFFICE HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 8:15-11:45 and 1:00-4:00 Thurs. 10:00-11:45 and 1:00-4:00 QUESTIONS? Call Us! 763-6600 * Computer Science, Computer Engineering * Computer/Electrical Engineering " Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Math (grad or undergrad) " Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Math (grad or undergrad) " Engineering Physics " Electrical Engineering (graduate level) " Computer Science Software Development Silicon Design- LSI Engineering Network Analysis or Planning Market Analysis Digital Hardware Hardware Development Information Center ri SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS - CHECK OUT OUR FRESH SPRING MERCHANDISE! 20-50% off all merchandise *ofer good April 18-29th, excludes Balfourjewelry, customized paddles and mugs. A 4 f. Contact your co-op office today, or send your resume to: BNR