The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 13, 1989 -- Page 9
Life
depicts
personal,
emotional
'ties'
BY JOE HELMINSKI
ONE day Ann Arbor playwright
Richard Ritter had a vision: two
human beings tied to chairs, back to
back, struggling against one another
- and themselves - for freedom.
This dark figment grew into his
newest play, A Life of One's Own.
The play's story is simple, but
deeply emotional and symbolic. The
setting is contemporary, in the
basement of a Swiss Baron's castle.
At center stage under spotlight is an
American couple, Leo and Tracy,
tied together as in Ritter's imagina-
tion. The husband and wife thrash
and jerk, attempting to loosen the
ropes binding them, hoping to es-
cape the Baron, who imprisoned
them for trespassing.
Not all of the play's conflict is
physical. Actually, most is con-
tained in dialogue which reveals the
opposed personalities and attitudes of
Leo and Tracy. Leo is a university
professor prone to intellectualizing
his dilemmas ad nauseam. His
spouse is highly volatile and sharp-
tempered. She is determined to find a
way out while Leo seems resigned to
fate, entrapped by his cynical world-
view. This character clash is the
play's main ingredient and its
strongest.
Tracy's efforts finally pay off
when she manages to wriggle and
writhe her way from under the ropes.
She nearly strangles Leo in the pro-
cess, and this action expresses an
important idea in the play: binary
opposition. To Leo, every struggle
in life is due to binary opposition.
The central characters contradict one
another in every way, and Tracy's
first step to freedom comes at her
husband's expense. When one strug-
gles, the other suffers.
Dialogue moves this play more
than most. Since the major players
are tied up for much of the play, ac-
tion is minimal. Tension and
frustration come out verbally. Tracy
complains and screams, badgers Leo,
but still manages to worry for the
both of them. Leo chiefly spouts
philosophy and literature, quoting
snatches of Nietzche and Keats. He
analyzes his situation as a hostage
against an intellectual background,
while Tracy fights the ropes with
believes the only way to freedom is
finding a center within oneself, but
Leo forces her to move from free-
dom, continuing their conflict and
To Leo, every struggle in life is due to binary
opposition. The central characters contradict one anoth-
er in every way, and Tracy's first step to freedom
comes at her husband's expense. When one struggles,
the other suffers.
writing and acting for 13 years. His
plays, he confesses, have a tragic
taste. But he adds that they generally
"end... untragically with a hint of
redemption."
His interest in writing came as a
child, and he is influenced by some
of the 20th century's biggest names
in theater. Playwrights like Samuel
Beckett and Harold Pinter are impor-
tant to him, he says, and their
themes of struggle are clearly re-
flected in this latest offering.
Ritter plays Leo with a detached
arrogance appropriate to the role. His
voice is commanding, yet he uses it
subtly. At times he descends into a
monotone, but overall his perfor-
mance fits his character closely. Kate
Moore is Tracy, and she plays a
wonderful shrew. In more tender
moments, her performance weakens.
But she seemed to grow more com-
fortable on stage with every minute,
and created some fine moments.
Nine-year-old Robyn Siwula plays
Heidi, daughter of the Baron. She
appears briefly, but her character is'
crucial to a lucid plot resolution, and
she helps build to an effective cli-
max.
A Life of One's Own is a strong
offering with a lot to say. Although
its major points might have been
more boldly delineated, and it does
end rather abruptly, its theme is too
fascinating and relevant to resist.
The stark set is a real challenge for
the cast, who must create atmo-
sphere on their own. What intrigues
most is its symbolism and overrid-
ing metaphor for the tedious struggle
of life.
Audiences may not feel any more
personally liberated after seeing A
Life of One's Own, but that's a lot
to ask for. What is inevitable is that
they leave the theater in a thinking
mood, and that is definitely some-
thing.
A LIFE OF ONE'S OWN shows
tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. and
Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Performances
are at Crossroads Theater, 408 W.
Washington. Tickets are $6. Call
663-0681 for reservations.
verve and spirit.
Remaining action is highly sig-
nificant. In one of the more striking
moments, Leo and Tracy drag them-
selves from a puddle of Leo's vomit.
They symbolically move from center
stage, also moving away from their
own centers as human beings. Tracy
posing the unanswered question of
what dilemmas the couple will face
in the future. ,
Ritter, who also plays Leo, is
from Detroit, but now lives in Ann
Arbor. He graduated from Wayne
State University, and he has been
'Chapman, McFerrin top
nominees
for
Grammys
BEVERLY HILLS, CA (AP) - Singer-songwriter
Tracy Chapman and vocal gymnast Bobby McFerrin
led the field in nominations for the 31st annual
Grammy awards today, with six for Chapman and five
for McFerrin.
Chapman, whose debut album was a surprise hit in
1988, garnered nominations for best new artist, best
album, best song and best record for "Fast Car," best
female pop performance for the same song, and best
contemporary folk recording for the entire album,
named after herself.
McFerrin, whose "Don't Worry Be Happy" was the
first ever non-instrumental to reach the number one
position on Billboard charts, received nominations for
best song, record, and male pop vocal performance for
"Don't Worry," plus an album nomination for Simple
Pleasures. McFerrin also received best male jazz vocal
performance for the song "Brothers."
George Michael, whose smash album Faith sold
more than 6 million copies and spawned six hits,
received two nominations from the National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Other top nominees were Anita Baker with four and
Sting and Steve Winwood with three each.
Nominated for record of the year were "Don't Worry
Be Happy," "Fast Car," Baker's "Giving You the Best
That I Got," Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror,"
and Winwood's "Roll With It."
Nominated for album of the year were Michael's
Faith, Sting's Nothing Like theSun, Winwood's Roll
With It, McFerrin's Simple Pleasures, and Chapman's
album.
. Nominations for song of the year - a songwriters
award - were for "Be Still My Beating Heart," by
Sting, McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy," Chap-
man's "Fast Car," "Giving You the Best That I Got,"
written by Baker, Skip Scarborough, and Randy
Holland, and "Piano in the Dark," by Brenda Russell,
Jeff Hall, and Scott Cutler. Nominees for best new
artist included dethroned Miss America Vanessa
Williams, Rick Astley, Chapman, Toni Childs, and
the group Take 6.
Despite Michael's powerful sales generated by his
Faith album and single, music insiders' criticism of
pretentiousness and publicity-seeking may have hurt
the English artist.
Others, who like Michael received two
nominations, included Russell, Neil Dorffman, and
songwriter Randy Holland.
Look, you're not going to
read all those textbooks
anyway, are you?
You've just stood in line for two hours to buy $200 worth of paperback books.
"There's no way," you think. "They can't seriously expect me to read all these books.
I'm gonna die. I'm definitely gonna die."
So of course you don't want to read when you don't have to. After all, why would
you want to read the latest in fiction and the newest non-fiction? It's nobody you'd
ever study in class - all these authors are still alive. And you wouldn't have room,
for the complimentary copies.
But if you're really crazed (or just can't pass up the
this one-time opportunity - write for the Daily Arts
department at 763-0379 or stop by the second floor
Building, 420 Maynard.
free books), then don't miss
book section. Call the Arts
of the Student Publications
.
ry
II
Ll
1
sta
wit
a
k)
'1
If you don't recognize the three men in this picture (members of Boston's Dinosaur), don't
worry - neither did this year's Grammy nominations. But they did garner plenty of mentions
among the Daily music staff's best of '88, as did this year's Grammy favorite, Tracy
Chapman. See story in today's Weekend magazine.
us0
WEEKEND
MAGAZINE
Fridays in The Daily
763-0379
CA]PUS
0 Labatts Blue
R 1/2 Barret
elpse presents
FRIDAY, FEB. 10
8:00 PM
POWER CENTER
The E.& J. Gallo Winery offers a Sales Management
career that's perfect for upstarts. You get thorough
training to get you started on the right foot.
Your responsibilities grow as fast as you grow. Fast
enough, in fact, for even the most impatient of up-
starts. Today, stop by the Career
Plannfing & Placement Center i~
-%-ea *
F ;