ARTS I the Michigan Daily Thursday, November 9, 1989 Page 7 Chill out Long Time Since Yesterday an intense drama BY KENNETH CHOW JOSH MOORE/Dal In the bawdy Casina, Athenian Senator Lysidamus (Stephan Vernier) and his slave Olympio (John Marshall) plot a solution to Lysidamus' pressing problem: how to eat your slave and have her too. autus Casina: RC Players' W HAT do you get if you put five gut-spilling women in a house for an entire day? Well, aside from a whole heap of guts, you also get a remarkable drama, Long Time Since Yesterday. Written by P.J. Gibson, the play portrays five Black middle- aged upper-middle class women who are brought together after more than ten years by the death of their good friend, Janine. In the course of the story, each of these college buddies tells of her childhood struggles, so- cial problems, and personal crises while the reason for Janine's suicide slowly unravels. Long Time Since Yesterday "gives Black women a voice," said director Charles Jackson. "Unlike most social dramas, this one isn't about racism or sexism. It examines the personal experiences of not just Black women but Black women who are professionals and prosperous." The play itself is very intense. It has the potential to put the audience through a variety of moods - weep- ing tragedies, gleeful memories, gasping surprises. The presentation of the story takes on a train of thought approach, in which individ- ual scenes that take place in the past Fanshen Cox, Robin Murphy, Torya Beard and Angela Peaks star in Long Time Since Yesterday, a play about a get-together of college pals after the suicide of a friend. Ann Arbor just breeds this kind of story, doesn't it? rambunctio0us BY MIKE KUNIAVSKY 4 0NE wouldn't think that the Romans had a Tsense of humor we could appreciate. Wasn't it their Empire, after all, that loved seeing Christians being eaten by lions? That's not really my cup of tea." This was my attitude upon entering the RC Play- ers' production of Plautus' Casina. I left feeling quite differently. This is a comedy that's not only funny, but fresh and entertaining after 2,200 years in the can. (What else do you know that stays fresh that long?) : Casina, a critique of Roman society, takes place in Athens, on the street in front of the houses of two well-to-do senators, Lysidamus and Alcesimus. The play concerns the trials and tribulations of Lysi- damus as he tries to get laid by one of his slaves, Casina. There is a slight hitch in this as Lysidamus is already married to - and nagged by - Cleostrata. Thus he must fin'd a way to both bed Casina and stay fresh-smelling. Lysidamus' method of choice, devised with the help of his favorite slave, Olympio, is a cunning marriage with Casina for the servant and a honey- moon with Casina for the master. But Olympio is not just in this for the entertainment: he has a grudge going with Cleostrata's favorite, Chalinus. Now if this isn't enough, the next-door neighbors (Alcesimus and Myrrhina) get roped into the act. It -ends up looking like post-stone age pre-Dallas R- rated Flintstones. And it's funny. Plautus and direc- tor Kevin Saari didn't intend for the play to have many deep resonances with the nihilistic plight of Roman romp those caught in the postmodern condition; they're just ripping on their sex-starved, male-dominated so- cieties. Now here is where the prospective audience should be warned. The play is done in the classical style, and this means that all of the performers wear masks and togas. This also means that the play is presented in its bawdy, raunchy entirety with all of those great explicit jokes the Romans were famous for. Overall, the performances fit the material well: it's not very serious and neither are the actors. Stephan Vernier's Lysidamus is boisterous, if a bit too Pythonesque. John Marshall's Olympio is more than amusing even though he sometimes seems like Paul Puma from those '50s Warner Brothers car- toons. The rest of the cast fares well in their roles with some effective moments .from Miriam Ger- show's Cleostrata and David Levine's Chalinus. Saari's direction emphasizes the comedic aspects and really puts forward the excellent translation of the script. The costumes and the music, although created as authentically as possible, don't add that much be- cause in the end it's the script that makes this story. In any case, when you get down to it none of this really matters: it's a funny show that just happens to be older then Western Civilization. You'll it leave smiling, having satisfied whatever's left of good old Plaut. CASINA plays tonight at 8 p.m. in the East Quad Auditorium. It also plays tomorrow and Saturday at 8 p.m.and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5, $4 for students. are skillfully intertwined with the main storyline. It is through these flashbacks that the deceased character is developed and the cause of her death revealed. The production of LTSY is put together by the University Players, a group of students in the Department of Theatre and Drama, with the help of director Charles Jackson, a faculty member of the school, and a design staff made up of several master de- signing students. The set designer, Kevin Myhre, created a noteworthy stage set, comparable to some of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. Long Time Since Yesterday, a powerfully introspective drama of five women should, according to Jackson, "stimulate fruitful, positive discussions about critical issues fac- ing women and other segments of society who historically have been See LONG, page 8 --, CLASSIFIED ADS! Call 764-0557 magine. Imagine a state law that forces pregnant teenagers to tell their parents if they want an abortion, even in families plagued by physical violence and sexual abuse. Imagine a state law that drives pregnant teenagers away from safe, confidential medical care. Imagine a state law that makes abortion impossible for many pregnant girls and forces them into teenage motherhood. Imagine a state law that devastates the future of young women by stunting their education and career opportunities. wp gmg "There's always a Iot going on here." Name: Laura Bernard Status: Junior Major: Economics Position at the Daily. Assistant Classified Manager "It's a great experience to be working at a place that's completely student-run, where students manage everything that's going on. There aren't many jobs you can get during school where you actually have management responsibilities." Real people preparing for great careers, working for The Michigan Daily. For more information, stop by the Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard Street. 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