41 ARTS the Michigan Daily Friday, December 1, 1989 Page 8 The Breadshop:'Tis the season to be melancholy Blowing off the rules Free jazz pair Cherry & Blackwell board Ark BY AMI MEHTA AROUND holiday time, feel- ings of thankfulness, sharing, and goodwill seem to prosper. The world in 1989, as most see it, is in fairly safe and secure times. But quite a different story could have been told 70 years ago. Most people were standing and shivering in food lines at the Sal- vation Army instead of waiting impatiently in long lines at Saks' to celebrate the holiday season. Beginning to feel the effects of the Great Depression in 1929, the society was changing drastically. The Breadshop, presented by Ann Arbor's Brecht Company, depicts the social, economic, and emotional changes that took place in the middle and lower classes of a universal city in the 1930s such as Berlin, Paris, or New York. It's a story of a newspaper boy who trys to help a widow evicted from her home above a bakery because she has no money to pay rent to the landlord/baker who is trying to make his own ends meet. Written but left unfinished by Bertolt Brecht and later com- pleted by his own company, the Berliner Ensemble, The Bread- shop brings out one of Brecht's main themes - human pity and compassion. Translator and director Martin Walsh describes it as a political cartoon that pokes satirical fun at daily politics but that also carries an important significance. It shows the struggle for survival in a period when people scrambled at the sound of nickels and dimes hitting the floor. Presented in a mock epic style, The Breadshop displays a The Breadshop displays a different style of theater - the most important actor is the chorus of unemployed people and the chief musical component is the hymn-singing Salvation Army. different style of theater - the most important actor is the cho- rus of unemployed people and the chief musical component is the hymn-singing Salvation Army. Walsh calls it "a composition with chorus and musical expres- sion to the spoken word." Another distinctive aspect of the show is that it is related to a project for the Residential Col- lege's Art and Politics in the Weimar Republic class (Germany of the '20s and '30s). All the stu- dents in the class are involved in the play, whether it be through acting, costuming, or set design- ing. Walsh praised the students' keen participation and the learn- ing experience they attained by working with the Brecht Com- pany. With simple, low budget scenery and props, the play sets the somber mood for the time pe- riod. Walsh calls The Breadshop an appropriate show for the sea- son because it is about what re- ally matters when all of the glitz, glamor, and commercialism is taken away from the holidays and people are left only to rely upon themselves, their pride, and their optimism. THE BREADSHOP runs tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. and Sun- day at 2 p.m., and it continues the weekend of Dec. 7-9 in the Residential College Auditorium, in East Quad. Tickets are $5-$7. BY KRISTIN PALM IT is both fitting and misleading that Don Cherry's latest release is ti- tled Art Deco. Like much of Cherry's work, the album, like the art genre, is both bold and abstract. Although Art Deco - the only al- bum this year to receive five stars from Downbeat magazine - has been touted as Cherry's "back to ba- sics" LP, the jazz trumpeter remains eclectic in his sound. Where Cherry differs from the 1920s art form is in his approach to arrangement. While art deco is de- fined as geometric, Cherry's sound can hardly be defined at all. It was his collaboration with avant-garde sax man Ornette Coleman in the late 1950s and early '60s that established Cherry as one of the vanguard of the free jazz movement and, still today, it is his adherence to this loosely ar- ranged musical style that distin- guishes him from other musicians whose music has a more definite shape. In Cherry's case, a lack of shape in no way means a lack of direction. Rather, it means atypical harmonics and polyrhythmic beats that create sounds which defy barriers. Perhaps it is Cherry's transcendence of geo- a Jazz trumpeter Don Cherry's lookin' good today, lookin' good in every way. Ornette Coleman's former bandmate blows big sounds with his little tru mpet. graphic boundaries that has main- rope, Morocco, India, Mali, the tained his interest in musical explo- Middle East and Sweden, where he ration. He has studied and taught in owns an art school. such diverse locations as Eastern Eu- See CHERRY, page 10 Comedy Co. monkeys BY AMI MEHTA THEY aren't green alien life forms with antennas sticking out of their heads, but they have come with the power to restore a quality in us that is often lost at this time of year. However, there's a catch. They can only revive it during certain time pe- riods this weekend in a certain place. Who are these intruders that will attempt to lure scholarly University students away from their desks piled with highlighted books and their computer screens filled with soul- stirring words all in preparation for finals that loom ahead? Relax. rA ARBOR Apart, they're everyday people that you've probably walked past once or twice on the Diag before. But to- gether they make up the Comedy Company, and their mission isn't just to make you smile or snicker but to make you laugh until your sides ache. The group consists of "wacky funsters" who will perform original comedy sketches in Bedtime for Big Show, this semester's edition of a bi-annual production put on by Uni- versity students, according to co-di- rector Jeff Peters. "They're a bunch of people who play well off the ball," he said. The cast members range from first-year studen eran performers who love cally ham it up in front of "If you're not a ham, you'r Comedy Company," said co- Kevin Hughes. After several weeks of r the cast of nine, picked f original 100, is ready to gi ences all they've got wi strong chemistry and their droll entertainment. "If I we I would like to be rooted ri in the Comedy Company," s year student and cast mem Price. And that's just a slic raw, off-the-cuff, comica these actors have. "It's thes cast ever," said co-produc Wood. And just as behind eve man there is an equall woman, the script the actor around ts to vet- is very vital to the success of the to basi- show. "If the writing isn't good, the f people. actors suffer. If the acting isn't good e not for the writers suffer," added Hughes, producer who was head writer for last semester's show. According to ehearsal, Hughes, this show has an equal bal- from the ance of genius in both. ve audi- Each skit, ranging from portray- ith their als of the dreaded blind date, to drink- forte for ing beer, to Bazooka "You burst my re a tree, bubble" Joe, provides a different ight here satirical slant on life. Some of the aid first- humor might be off the beaten track, ber Matt but the waters of the pool of uncon- ce of the formity must be tested sometime. al talent After all, there are two weeks un- strongest til finals to become nocturnal and -er Katy no-dozed but there are only three chances to see Bedtime for Big ry great Show. "Comedy is a beautiful thing y great that few people have. It's like access sifollow See COMPANY, page 10 6 I THEATERS 1 &62.5TH AVE. AT LIBERTY." 761-97001 $2.75 SHOWS BEFORE 6 PM 3ring in this ad for 1 FREE 12 oz drink - expires 12/7/89 TIMELY AS THE NETWORK NEWS In defense of the poor RAUL JULIA he fought with the E only weapon he had... t r yM ER the tiith.truestory of a modern hero Eat With The Best. S ZeC34A WEST Specializing in Sze-Chuan, Hunan, and Mandarin Cuisine Dining - Cocktails ~ Carry -Out Best Chinese Restaurant 21 Best of Ann Arbor, 1988 F, UAC's Comedy Company is obviously cleaning up their act in this skit, just one of many in this weekend's Bedtime for Big Show. Departments, Faculty, Staff and Students of University of Michigan: Information Technology Service Center is your ON CAMPUS authorized computer repair facility a / ./ ftI L61 W. Stadium phone 769-5722 SENIORS MEET W INTERVIEW WITH BM 3M Andersen Consulting Procter W Gamble Harris Bank '& Trust DS General Mills Liberty Mutual 535 W. William St. M-F 8-4:30 763-5897 .._. _ i IB A E Cincin South L rvs T'he T Motor nati Bell Pepsi Food Systems Allstate western Bell Eli Lilly Kemper Group Steel Baxter Healthcare Aetna Life d Casualty 'imken Co. Bristol-Myers Discover Card ola David J. Joseph Co. W. H. Brady United Technologies Corp. . Carrier Corporation And Many Other Outstanding Employers At Careers '901 Careers '90 college recruitment conferences will give you the opportunity to meet and interview with some of the nation's top employers. Over 5.000 seniors have attended past conferences, with 51% receiving second interviews and almost 40% receiving at least one job offer AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THEIR CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION. You can meet and interview with employers who don't recruit at your school, or make an important second impression on those that you do interview with on campus. In either case, just one day at Careers '90 can enhance your choice of career options and significantly increase your chance of getting the job you want, with the employer you want. I I I I I TIEW OF FEELINGI LIKE A 5,lPiIE ? a z Big, beautiful 2 bedroom apartments available now for as little as $550.00/month. This includes heat for the long, icy winter, hot water for cooking and bathing, parking, and laundry facilities. Convenient and secure campus locations. You don't have to be cramped up like a sardine anymore. Call Prime Student Housing today. Prime Student Housing Office located at: On special assignment this week, Daily Staffer discovered a pub in downtown Ann Arbor which features exclusive draft beers and ales from London, England. The Daily has been granted an interview with Betty Heuss, here at Ashley's. DS So tell us, what makes Ashley's uniquely different? BH We've centered our draft beer selection around the true ales and stouts from Great Britain, where they drink primarily drafts instead of bottled or canned beer. DS ...So you're emulating that British tradition... BH Well, we wanted to BH We've added nine new taps to accomodate all of the English draft beers available, including Bass, Watney's, John Courage, Burton Ale, Guinness Stout, and Watney's Cream. DS How did this come about? BR I've spent a lot of time researching English Ales and I work in conjunction with dis- tributors and their importers to obtain Ashley's unsurpassed selection. I'm really proud of the fact that we can provide two of the finest English ales available, Whitbread Ale and Young's Bitter. DS. Sounds exculsive! BH We know of no other pub in thetountry where you can find New Pub opens on South State Street Still famous for exclusive brews, Ashley's adds nine new taps By Daily Staffer Michigan Daily writer ENGINEERING, COMPUTER SCIENCE, MATH, BUSINESS, PHYSICAL & BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND LIBERAL ARTS majors are being recruited. To be considered for a Careers '90 invitation, send an updated resume by December 20, 1989 to Careers '90. PO. Box 1852, New Haven, CT 06508. (Indicate the conference(s) you'd like to attend). Your interests and credentials will be carefully reviewed by our experienced staff and compared to other seniors in your major I I I