Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 10, 1988
0
Jackson's
Gents tackles
urban issues
BY JENIFER BERMAN
GROWING up is hard to do. Change hurts.
Save the cliche - time does not heal all
wounds if you are afraid to confront it. This is
'the theme of Richard Wesley's tragedy, The
Mighty Gents, being performed this week by
the University Players. The Mighty Gents is
the story of the former members of a Newark,
New Jersey, youth gang who, as they approach
the age of 30, realize that they have lost con-
trol of their lives and their futures and can no
longer live in the light of their youth. This
realization, compounded by the overwhelming
poverty of their urban setting, forces them to
violently attempt to regain control.
Charles Jackson is the director of this explo-
ration of Black urban life and youth. "It ex-
plores what happens to young men who blindly
live for fleeting, instant conquest, unaware that
time and life will soon catch up to them - and
pass them by,"says Jackson. Through the gang
members' ambitious search to achieve produc-
tive lives, Jackson realistically and powerfully
captures the search for a place in society.
The central tragedy of The Mighty Gents
comes from the gang members' blind obedience
to false rules -the rules through which only
the strong will exist and oppression of the weak
is justified. Jackson shows how they are vic-
tims- through oppressing others, they become
oppressed.
In this truly powerful and moving drama, this
message reaches a number of levels. The audi-
ence is forced to consider issues surrounding ur-
ban life, oppression, growth, and change. As
Jackson explores the lives of the Mighty Gents,
we explore ourselves.
All in all The Mighty Gents should be a top-
rate production. It is a collaboration of a num-
ber of well-respected and talented persons, be-
ginning with the playwright. Wesley is best
known for his screenplays, Uptown Saturday
Night and Let's Do It Again .
Director Jackson, head of the Black Theatre
Studies Program at the University, is a member
of the American Theatre Association, the Na-
tional Association of Black Journalists, and the
Black Theatre Network. He recently played the
role of Malcolm X in The Meeting at the Na-
tional Black Arts Festival in Atlanta and di-
rected the Ann Arbor production of The Meeting
while playing the role of Malcolm X. He will
also be performing in Bopha! at the Attic The-
atre in Detroit in January.
The professionalism of this production carries
over to the costume and set design. Costume
designer Candice Donnelly designed the cos-
tumes for the 1987 Tony-Award winning
Broadway production, Fences. Set design is by
Peter Gurski who coordinated sets for several
films: The Rosary Murders, Moontrap, and
Collision Course. Lighting is by Dana White
who designed the lighting for this year's Uni-
versity production, A Chorus Line., and an
original score has been composed by School of
Music graduate student Stephen Michael
Newby.
The acting of the University Players should lend
an intimacy to this top-rate production. Hope-
fully, as Jackson says, we will look at the ur-
ban youth problem in a different light, and then
maybe ourselves as well.
THE MIGHTY GENTS will be performed at
the Trueblood Theatre in the Frieze Building
November 10-12 and 17-19 at 8 p.m. with
Sunday matinee performances on November 13
and 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7 and can be pur-
chased at the Michigan League.
a
Rita (Jillvonia Flowers) and Frankie (Rick Titworth) share a
tender moment in the University Players' production of The
Mighty Gents.
a
~~~~- -- - - --
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CALL For A Free Brochure s
ANYTIME (800) 346-6401
Hill Street Players
Present
JULES FEIFFER
Directed by Carolyn E. Caldwell
Performances At Performance Network,
408 W. Washington
November 10, 8:00 pm, November 12, 8:00 & Midnight
November 13, 2:00 pm
Tickets are available at Hillel, and can be purchased at the door:
$6.00, $5.00 for students
Juice
concentrates on
tunes"
BY D. MARA LOWENSTEIN
ROCK 'n' roll has digressed into a
pitiful market where image and tal-
ent are comparable commodities. Via
MTV, a flashy video automatically
makes a "good" tune. True rock fans
are hard pressed to find worthy music
in a market where hair extensions
make millions. There's a solution,
however to this visual-placing-audio
garbage; its name is Juice, one of
DR.
VINCENT
HARDING
60's student activist/theologian
"Black Youth Activism
in the 80's"
THURS. NOV 10 8PM
HALE AUD.
BUSINESS SCHOOL
Ann Arbor's most talented bands.
"We're trying to make rock and
roll that has sensibility, music that
isn't push-button music"... "We're
getting the soul back into rock and
roll"... "we've got a lot of love for
the music." These words describe the
essence of the band, formed a year
ago, styling themselves as "Folks
playin' music for folks." Sitting in
on one of their practice sessions, I
couldn't help but notice their
wholesomeness, perhaps more ex-
plicitly, their "down-to-earthness";
their sound is somewhere between
Cream, Creedence Clearwater Re-
vival, and the Yardbirds. Sick of the
"no-talent-needed" images that rock
bands have, Juice is hoping that
people tired of flashy visual images
will realize the virtuosity and sensi-
tivity of the band's music and
appreciate it.
They are individually talented
musicians: Charlie Dentel (lead vo-
cals/guitar), Alex Johnson (back-
ground vocals/guitar), Ben Wilson
(keyboard), Hyatt Yu (bass), and
Ahvram Novetsky (drums). Most of
the songwriting is done by Dentel
with some additional songs by
Johnson, Wilson, and Yu. The band
members' individual influences are
evident in their playing: Dentel -
Pete Townsend, Johnson - Eric
Clapton, Wilson - Sly and The
Family Stone, Yu - Phil Lesh, and
Novetsky - Keith Moon.
Sitting in Dentel's converted
garage/studio and listening to the
band rehearse, I found the mood they
created "electric." Dentel steps up to
the microphone, then back again to
allow the other band members a
chance to shine. Dentel's voice is
infinitely expressive; he uses it as a
musical instrument, changing oc-
taves as often as he changes chords.
Johnson stands beside him, provid-
ing background vocals with an in-
credible head of swinging hair. Hid-
den behind his keyboard, Wilson
peers out between his curls and nods
to Yu, whose sitting next to him on
a stool. Yu seems to provide ji
backdrop for the band, moving only
his hands and neck and evoking im-
ages of dimly lit bars where "dirty"
blues are played. Finally, Novet-
sky's honest rock 'n' roll provides
the heartbeat of the band.
The beauty of this band is that
while they are working together to
provide a synthesized sound, they
also respect each other's musical
abilities and give each room to solo.
My attention was constantly being
drawn to one of the musicians,
someone always seems to be in the
spotlight.
Juice is on to something. Realiz-
ing that there is a problem with rop1
music today, they're working on tOP
solution. If you're interested in rock
'n' roll that deals with more thei
apolitical issues and insulting sexq4l
images, Juice is the band. Juice fills
.the void.
JUICE will rock the Blind P,;
tonight at 10 p.m. Cover is $3.
I
LOOK YOUR BEST!!
If your hair isn't becom-
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DASCOL A STYLISTS
SPONSORS: UCAR,
Baker-Mandela Center
Guild House, OMA, CAAS
Opposite .acobson's
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Maple Village
761-273
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University of Michigan
WOMEN'S GLEE CLUB
FALL CONCERT
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11
* 7:00 PM *
RACKHAM AUDITORIUM
General Admission $5.00 Students $3.00
Rent a Car
from Econo-Car
Art
Continued from Page 7
twice before they put the brush to the
painting."
Thoburn brought all of these
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works over from East Germany two
years ago when she established her-
self as a United States citizen. She
deserves much thanks, for it's un-
likely that these works would be seen,
if not for Thoburn's interest and"
commitment to expose the talents qf
her friends and other artisans back'n
East Germany.
Elisabeth Thoburn will examine
the exhibit in her lecture, "The S-
cial and Political Context of East
German Art". The lecture will de
held on the fourth floor of the Rac-
ham Amphitheater from 7:30
8:30 p.m. A reception will follow.
"Art from East Germany" runs fram
now until November 22.The exhibit
is being held on the Third Floor of
the Rackham Galleries. The Galleris
are located at 915 E. Washington $t.
and will be open Monday-Fridy
from 8a.m.- 8p.m.
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