4
Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 25, 1988
Theory
Continued from Page 7
But Miller did have a recent brush
with songwriting fame; a song he
originally wrote for fellow Cal-
ifornians The Three O'Clock nearly
made it onto Prince's Lovesexy
album, through that band's friend-
ship with His Royal Shortness. But
"I guess," Miller said, "Mr. Prince
didn't like it." F
Still, Miller would rather let "a
t few people who are forced to listen
to us" acquire his taste than try to
acquire theirs. "I have this confidence
that if people ever get accidentally
exposed to it enough, they'll see in
it what I do," he said. In the
meantime, the only thing he says
he'll try to put in his songs is "this
indefinable wonderfulness."
"Indefinable wonderfulness."
"Emotional impact." This might
seem strange jargon for someone
whose day job is programming
computers. But then, Game Theory
draws their strengths from seeming
contradiction. The first lines of the
first song of their first EP are: "I try
not to say I love you/ Just because
it's something so many say." This
could well be the band's motto;
despite (or because of) their unusual
approach, their songs still express
basic feelings - love, despair, pity
- that so many have said. Only
Game Theory says it better.
And for all his complexity,
Miller is satisfied with this simple
goal: "I'd like to think," he says,
"that every now and then I made a
song that made someone cry."
Congratulations, Scott. You
have.
GAME THEORY and opening band
Walk the Dogma will play the Blind
Pig tonight at 10 p.m. Cover is $6.
And, if you're out there, Scott
Miller wants his shirt back.
Royal Drag
If yOu were waiting
until today to buy your
tickets for the concert,
then it's your own
damn fault. Mr.
Rogers Nelson's
scheduled
Wednesday concert
at Crisler arena was
cancelled yesterday
due to lack of ticket
sales. Tickets can be
exchanged at place
of purchase, and
some are still left for
his Oct. 31 show at
Joe Louis Arena in
Detroit.
Island
Continued from Page 7
enjoyable experience if the two sides
were distinguished by more than
appearance.
Still, the film is basically the
story of Pascali, and in this respect
it succeeds. While other parts of the
film are annoyingly blurry, it is
appropriate that Kingsley blurs the
distinction between himself and his
character. And it is his performance
that keeps this Island above water.
PASCALI'S ISLAND is playing at
the Ann Arbor Theater.
Jane: More fun
than the debates
BY JOANNE HIGASHI
A nn Arbor playwright/songwriter Jay Stielstra's political musical
Tittabawassee Jane opened Thursday night for its second run this year,
offering comic relief to Ann Arborites who recently yawned through three
televised "debates."
The setting for this caricature of the political process is Nick's Cafd, a
small-town pub in Middleton, Mich. Attorney and aspiring congressperson
John Goodman (Todd Tesen) returns to his hometown, which is also the.
home of Sow Chemical Company, to drum up support for his nascent
campaign. Goodman is brimming over with good intentions: he wants to
stop injustice and right wrongs. But he has trouble sorting out what's right
and what's wrong.
Goodman's political mentor is Paddy Gladahan (Jonathan Smeenge),an
old hand at politics who wears a red, white, and blue plaid jacket and carries
an American flag in his breast pocket. Paddy's musical advice: "You warna
go to Washington, D.C., get your hand in the till... tell 'em welfare mothers
and Russians are to blame." Paddy's ready to agree with anybody apd
promise anything when contributions are forthcoming. Smeenge came across
as the most professional of the performers in terms of projection and
manages to remain likeable in spite of the sliminess of Paddy's character.;
To get his campaign rolling, Goodman first approaches his old buddy Reg
(Dick Siegel), a bitter, alcoholic Vietnam veteran who says, "I had only one
mind to give for my country." He reviles politicians for sending himto
Vietnam, and Sow Chemical for making the chemical weapons that ruined
his mind and pollute his town. Siegel is convincing in a role that would be
depressing, if it weren't for his non-stop black humor.
The conflict between Goodman and Reg comes to a head in the second act
when Paddy brings Sow Chemical PR man Roger Lackey (Carl Seaver) into
the bar to pander favors. Lackey does such a good job looking down his
nose at the riffraff, I wonder if he'll be invited to party with the cast after the
play.
Goodman's pure and principled ex-lover, union maid Tittabawassee Jane
(Tracy Lee Komarmy), and Lackey's former throwaway girlfriend Maggie I
(Chris McMullen) also happen to be in the bar at the time and join forges
with Reg to confront Lackey with his sins. Both women have strong, rich
singing voices and seem very natural in their roles - it's easy to imagipe
Komarmy, with her lilting voice and clear blue eyes, playing Rebecca of
Sunnybrook Farm in her next role.
The cast, director David Hunsberger, the author, and the band, are mostJy
old friends who were also involved in Stielstra's previous musical, "North
Country Opera." They're obviously involved for the fun of it; many of the
roles were designed around the people who would play them.
All performers were as well-rehearsed as our presidential and vice-
presidential candidates were for their "debates," and delivered much more
realistic performances.
Although it lacks the gloss of a big-time production, Tittabawassee Janet
should please fans of folksy, down-home entertainment. It won't make you
sob or sigh, but it probably will get some chuckles. A memory that reaches
back into the '60s and a strong leftward political leaning will greatly enhance
enjoyment of the show.
TITTABAWASEE JANE will play Thursday through Sunday nights util
Oct. 30 at the Performance Neiwork, 408 W. Washington. Sunday's shw
starts at 6:30 p.m., all others start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8, or $6 for
students, available at the door. Priday and Saturdat shows are selling out fast;
reservations are recommended. Call 663-0681 for reservations or more
information.
GET IT!
The Personal Column
MICHIGAN DAILY CIASWIEW ADS 4
"The most important political trial of the decade."
Wm Kunstler
-I
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PICTURE YOURSELF
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Political repression in the United States:
The Puerto Rico-Hartford 15 case
A lecture by
Elias Castro
Defendant in the
Puerto Rico Hartford 15 case
F'T'U NTV
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October 26
7:30
East Conference Room
Rackham Building
The Puerto Rican Solidarity Organization
PRSO
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