ARTS Monday, October 22, 1990 The Michigan Daily Page 5 IN I tAAC4 dp levi The young cast of Sarafina! expresses their pride, hope and dedication, collectively fighting apartheid. Sarafina! echoes with passion by Lauren Turetsky r Often famous pop celebrities, like U2's Bono or Boy George, sing about worthy causes they cannot re- late too. Although they have good intentions, the personal experience of suffering often ignites a more powerful spark of creativity. This creative force, which requires both endurance and courage, explodes in the musical Sarafina!. * Tonight this Grammy award- winning musical will make the Michigan Theater rock, sway and vi- brate with its celebration of freedom. The author of this musical, Mbon- geni Ngema (creator of shows Woza Albert and Asinamali), teamed up with South African jazz trumpet ge- nius Hugh Masekela to create a mu- sical inspired by the perseverance of young South African citizens' fight *for social justice. Ngema recruited the 20-some cast members of this musical, who are between 15-25 years old, from all over South Africa. For most of them, this production marks their first theatrical experience. The musi- cal score, by Ngema and Masekela, consist of a 10-member band playing two dozen electrifying songs in the catchy mbaqanga tradition. This style mixes the ancient sounds of the Zulu culture with the contemporary beats of jazz, rock, gospel and reg- gae. Many Americans were familiar- ized with this unique sound through Paul Simon's last two albums which were recorded with South African musicians. The cast sings mostly in Zulu. The musical's plot is based on the 1976 Education Riots in Soweto, an all-Black township just outside of Johannesburg. The riots started when 200,000 students marched to the outskirts of Soweto to protest the government's Bantu Educational Program, which was designed to teach Black students only the Afrikaans language. A cast member, Thandani Mavimbela, said in a press release that "They want us only to speak Afrikaans, because the whole world is using English as the official language and they do not want us to communicate with the outside world. They want us to be limited within their boundaries." Sarafina! portrays the struggles and persistence of a young girl, Sara- fina, and her classmates at Soweto's Isaacson High School. The scenes depict the students' everyday reali- ties: detentions, adolescent jokes, funerals and confrontations with the police. The attitudes of the young people greatly impressed Ngema who said in a Washington Post arti- cle, "In South Africa, the army and the police are killing us every day, but when you look at the eyes of those children who are carrying stones and going to fight, they are not afraid to die, they are dancing and ducking the bullets in the streets of the townships." The last scene of the musical, which sets the stage ablaze with the colors of traditional African garb, portrays the high school students' end-of-the-year play. This year the play is being performed in honor of the release of African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela. That dream has become a reality, yet the voices of the Sarafina! cast will still raise with the pride and passion that comes from the hope and deter- mination to end apartheid and attain true freedom for all South Africans. SARAFINA! will be performed tonight at the Michigan Theater at 8 p.m.. Tickets are $26.50. ...And we bathe in it Before Pontiac left the stage Wednesday night at Club Heidelberg, they told the crowd something along the lines of "This was originally our gig, but we decided to play first be- cause we didn't want Catharsis to show us up." And when they took the stage, Catharsis did in fact try to show up anyone that ever voiced any doubts about them. "Smoke it!" ordered a zealot in the rear of the room. So Catharsis proceeded in suit, demonstrating their ability to supply on demand. They opened with "Thieves Of Rea- son," which incited a previously lethargic group to let loose, and from then on, there was no stopping us. j thumped the bass and Brad Frank banged his top hat as Cathar- sis strutted old tracks like "Words At the Cafe Technicolor" and unleashed new ones, such as "One Of A Mil- lion." But the evening's highlight evolved in the form of a scorching extended solo on the acoustic guitar by lead vocalist and guitarist Nick Petroff. Between songs, at which point the hoots became their most exuber- ant, Petroff couldn't contain his smile, but then again he had no rea- son to. Catch them up close before they bust loose because Catharsis is most certainly destined to break out of the club circuit soon. -Kim Yaged New Tines inconsistent Set in the 1960s, Judlynne Lily's play New Times, is certainly not a script lacking emotion, action or tension. The characters are in pain and in conflict with the rapid changes of the era. Yet even with a strong script and a well-designed set, the RC Players' production was defi- cient because of a dearth of full, be- lievable characters. The actors were inconsistent - believable at some times, but not others, eroding the effect of the play as a whole. The lead role of Diane Marshall (Sree Nallamothu) was a good example. The character was cer- tainly in a stressful situation as the first Black person with authority at a private all-white women's college. Yet, Nallamothu's representation was remarkably detached. When told that her husband was killed in Viet- nam, she responded with a flat denial that made her feelings seem unreal. While the scenes with her students were very appropriate, Diane was formal all the time instead of only when in an authority position. The acting by Sage, the maid (Lakeisha Harrison), started off, somewhat forced, but as the play went on she seemed more comfort- able with the role. By the time she engaged in her climactic monologue about Whitman, the man who killed her father, her concentration had grown, making this scene the most emotionally stirring of the produc- tion. The set was charmingly authen- tic; the 1967 time frame provided many immediately recognizable ob- jects (lava lamps, psychedelic posters, etc.) that allowed the audi- ence to go back in time without much effort. And the use of "double- staging," having two separate scenes going on at the same time but not interacting, was especially effective. At one point, Molly, a racist spoiled brat, played by Elizabeth Keiser, was being talked about by Sage and Di- ane. As Sage talked about how Molly continually demeaned her, the audience didn't have to just imagine her, they could see her. The contrast between Molly hugging a teddy bear while an emotional thunderstorm - of which she was the focus - oc- cured next door was a wonderfully ironic touch that heightened the pet- tiness of Molly's action. -Mike Kolody Passion lost in the dark It might be hard to find any flaws in this weekend's performance of A Little Night Music. It was a de- lightful surprise to see everything so well polished. The show was ex- tremely well-cast, each actor suiting and performing his or her part per- fectly. But something was missing. This is a show in which the cast waltz one another around and by the end of the show all the partners have changed. The Musical Theatre De- partment's production gave the im- pression that waltzing was the only thing the characters were doing. Since the lyrics and script make it quite clear that Count Malcom (Patrick Beller) is Desiree Armfeldt's (Elizabeth Richmond) current lover and Frederik Egerman (James Roggenbeck) is an old lover, one would think that the performances would have been more sexually charged. Every actor seemed afraid to let this come across onstage, so this reserve must have been a directorial choice. This deficiency was disturb- ing because the sexual tension re- veals the emotional character of the players, showing the opening of each one's eyes to the fantasies that her or she has been living. .eElizabeth Richmond in particular, whose extraordinary acting ability has been showcased many times on this campus before, seemed sup- pressed. It is unfortunate that the in- tense emotional sensuality that she brought to her role as Betty in last year's Basement Arts' production of Cloud Nine was not apparent in her See WEEKEND, page 7 1 I? ": W,;.tIT1LJ1LI~VLII I' tv i1I . I i The Michigan Daily-- this is what college was meant to be!!! THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO BECOMINGA NURSE IN THE ARMY. And they're both repre- sented by the insignia you wear as a member of the Army Nurse Corps. The caduceus on the left means you're part of a health care system in which educational and career advancement are the rule, not the exception. The gold bar on the right means you command respect as an Army officer. If you're earning a BSN, write: Army Nurse Opportunities, P.O. Box 7713, Clifton, NJ 07015. Or call toll free 1-800-USA-ARMY ARMY NURSE CORPS. BE ALLYOU CAN BE.