ARTS The Michigan Daily Monday, October 21, 1991 Page 5 Unfunny Money is counterfeit comedy with mixed messages Malcolm Tulip's training at Paris' Ccole Jacques Lecoq shines through all aspects of his performance. In the above photo, for instance, Tulip, as Sganarelle, shoves a beret into his mouth. A meeting of the Dons; Mould and MIchael croon; Honey, we've got Company for Dinner Other People's Money dir. Norman Jewison by Marie Jacobson E very now and then that special film comes along that probes be- neath the surface, challenges our values and examines the human ex- perience. Other People's Money is not that film. The talent is there - Academy-Award winner Gregory Peck, director Norman Jewison (Moonstruck), the irascible Danny DeVito and the sultry Penelope Ann Miller - but even these formidable actors can't salvage this off-Broadway adaptation. Originality is not a factor. Once again, it's Wall Street versus Main Street, rich versus poor and, of, course, boy versus girl. These time-, wearied scenarios have provided the; backdrop for some respectable mo- vies (see anything by Capra), but when Money tries to incorporate all of them into a poignant socio-I economic commentary thinly dis-1 guised as a romantic comedy, the film stretches in too many direc- tions, tearing all hope of packing a punch with any real muscle. As "Larry the Liquidator," De- Vito echoes his role as raunchy Lou- ie DePalma from Taxi. This time around, DeVito is an overbearing corporate raider who sets his sights on a small town's sole factory. But there's something different about this plant: it doesn't lie down and play dead when Larry announces his big, bad capitalist intentions. This company has Andrew Jorgenson (Peck) at its helm, and he cares about his thousands of employees. So let the games begin. Larry has his entourage of corporate attorneys in his towering New York City in- vestment firm, and "Jorgy" has the hearts of The People and a surprise for the lowballing Larry: Kate (Miller), a young, hardened lawyer whose beauty and brains completely captivate Larry. The spoils of victory soon be- come all too clear: if Larry succeeds in his takeover attempt, he loses Kate. If he withdraws his bid, he still has no guarantee that Kate will fall for him, and he forfeits an op- portunity to profit from "other people's money" - the very best kind of profit there is. And that, to the capitalist kingpin, is a fate far worse than death. Who wins? Everybody, in true Disney-esque fashion. And the trip to the ending is just about as emo- tionally and intellectually stimu- lating as the "It's A Small World" cruise itself. Jewison's film seeks to denounce the avarice of the '80s and applaud working-class America, but he instead settles for a compromise that is neither satisfying nor whol- ly feasible. He does not stage a bat- tle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Instead, he pits cor- porate raider against senior manage- ment in a struggle between the very rich and the rich, and then has the audacity to pass it off as a mini- drama along the lines of Ivan Bo- esky-meets-Horatio Alger. Frankly, the film just isn't funny. The sexual tension between DeVito and Miller plays surpri- singly well, but the laughs it soli- cits are short-lived and contrived. We are never truly convinced that Miller's Kate is the indomitable foe she's purported to be, while De- Vito's Larry is hardly a stretch, and a tired-looking Peck conjures up an uncharacteristically mediocre per- formance. But give them some cre- dit: Money is a frustrating ex- perience. The film is a perfect exam- ple of an old adage: if you have something to say, say it. If you don't, hold your tongue and let someone else speak. OTHER PEOPLE'S playing at Showcase wood. MONEY is and Briar- Don Don or The First Burning .'The Performance Network October 19, 1991 Carol Brangstrom, if you're out there reading, we just want you to know that you were missed at the the- ater last Saturday night. Malcolm Tulip, the main man behind the Prospero Theatre Company's new work, Don Don or The First Burning, roamed into the audience before the show, ticket reserve sheet in hand. He asked for you, Carol. He checked the restrooms and the park- ing lot, and you just weren't there. Tulip might have been legitimately concerned, but he was more intent on placing Don Don outside the realm of your average three act play by successfully combining music, dance, murals, Commedia dell'Arte and Brechtian techniques. What we're saying, Carol, is that you missed one of the most original pieces of theater to be seen in Ann Arbor this fall. Tulip - writer, director, producer and performer -has synthesized the stories of Moliere's Don Juan, Cervantes' Don Quixote, and La Susanna, an actual his- torical figure from the Spanish Inquisition. The result is Don Don or The First Burning, a story about revenge that actually has very little to do with Don Juan, Don Quixote or the Spanish Inquisition. Instead, the cha- racters of the play are the servants of the two Dons: Sganarelle (Tulip) and Sancho Panza (Jonathon Smeenge). The Inquisition comes into play with the introduction of Susanna (Lisa Dixon), a woman whose mother's love affair inadvertently led to the exposure of her grandfather's plan to resist the Inquisition, re- sulting in his burning at the stake. That's how we get The First Burning part of the title. Sound confusing? Have no fear. Tulip and the en- semble are way ahead of you. In place of an intermis- sion, they explain the show to the audience with a Brecht-like commentary. This unconventional approach is continued in the de- piction of Susanna's story, told in an isolated segment that, stylistically, is a clean break from the bawdy the- atrics of the primary plot. The "Dance of Death," cho- reographed by Whitley Setrakian, while a fine modern dance piece, seemed somewhat formal and out of place ini a show full of earthy and easy physicality. But the fantastic music of Frank Pahl served this scene es- pecially well by matching its dreamlike quality. Pahl and his band deserve enormous praise for their unique brand of new age-ish music/sound effects that run so successfully throughout the show. Tulip's training as a mime at Paris' Ecole Jacques Lecoq is joyfully evident in the rambunctious staging of his scenes with Smeenge. As Sganarelle and Sancho, the actors fight, plot and argue with hysterical results. Smeenge's Sancho is a lovable, goofy rube who clearly lets us know that he did not intend to get himself involved in the mess that he and Sganarelle have stum- bled upon. Tulip's Sganarelle, meanwhile, is a one-man sym- phony of quick takes, slight-of-hand tricks and en- dearingly loopy stuttering. His flawless comedic tim- ing propels most of the scenes at a breakneck pace. With so much slapstick whirling around her, Dixon has much to overcome as the wronged Susanna. There isn't much humor inherent in a character, who equates herself with "Aldonza DeLorenza, Dulcinea, Therese, Elvira, Delilah (and) Eve," all women who have "had their ability to love abused." Susanna isn't out for laughs, but revenge, and while this motivation is appro- priate to the story, it just isn't funny. As a result, Dixon suffers. Her character is singularly humorless and angry, and with no variation on those themes, any legitimate gripe quickly becomes unsympathetic. And Susanna's irrational desire to have Sganarelle killed to justify her own suffering has the unfortunate effect of invalidating any questions a story like this might raise about the treatment of women by men. This play is the second production of the Prospero Theatre Company, the first being last year's Caliban Motel, which Tulip wrote as well. Don Don or The First Burning will continue at the Performance Net- work, this Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Call 663-0681 for more info. -Theresa McDermit Bob Mould Alvin's October 17, 1991 George Michael The Palace of Auburn Hills October 18, 1991 OK, OK, it seems like Bob Mould and George Mi- chael have nothing in common, and that they shouldn't be compared in a joint concert review. But both mu- sicians were members of successful, important, ex- citing bands in the '80s that broke up, leading them to similarly accomplished solo careers. Mould and Mi- chae are both entertainers, though in different senses of the word, and both evoke a strong reaction in performance. Seeing Mould live is the ultimate purge, both for the audience and, it seems, for him. Mould has aban- Seeing Mould live is the ultimate purge, both for the audience and, it seems, for him... his arresting voice emitted a passion unmatched by most complete bands doned, in concert at least, the power trio format of his solo records, and thereby part of his songs' original ur- gency. But his one-man, mostly acoustic set retained the striking presence of the pieces. Workbook cuts such as "Poison Years" and "Brasilia Crossed with Trenton" were stripped to a 12-string, and Mould's arresting voice, especially his throaty screams, emitted a passion unmatched by most complete bands. Though the set contained few songs from Black Sheets of Rain, Mould's new, as-yet-unrecorded songs gave the audience something to look forward to until the release of his next album (by next August). At times, Mould's execution of these new tunes was less certain than his handling of the older material. His re- working of familiar songs was most obvious in the acoustic part of the show, rather than in the short elec- tric section. Mould's direct, honest style embodies a complex simplicity. He's almost more harsh on just his 12- string or Fender, playing with a kind of dramatic lush- ness that cellos and other stringed instruments provide on vinyl. This sound is provided by a person who is self-confident yet self-conscious. He could have used two to 100 pieces as support to much less effect. This lonely stage presence only added to the stark, raw emo- tions Mould radiated while singing and playing. And the casual atmosphere - some people sat on the edges of the stage, and Mould bantered with the audience about the Thomas hearings and Virgin records - was also a bonus. All in all, less was certainly more. Michael, on the other hand, brought to the Palace a tight, 11-piece band, his large ego, and an excellent, rich voice. If there wasn't a backing tape, and it didn't seem like it, Michael's chords have strength and depth most pop figures can't muster. His 20-song set, however, sounded uneven at best. See GEORGE, Page 7 Tough lawyer Kate (Penelope Ann Miller) intimidates dwarf tycoon Larry (Danny DeVito) in Hollywood's latest cartoon, Other People's Money. The Fatima Mansions Viva Dead Ponies Radioactive/MCA Imagine, for a moment, that The The has changed its name to the Fa- tima Mansions, accommodated its style to sound more like that ultra- hip Manchester scene, and released a new album that combines all of its worst elements with none of its best. Sounds like a feverish night- mare of Matt Johnson, you say? It would be, if Johnson wasn't so snidely cool as to not have to worry about imitators. Fans of Johnson shouldn't worry, either - the Fatima Mansions are only a hollow copy of The The. Comparing the Fatima Mansions to The The is inevitable. Sin- ger/songwriter Cathal Coughlan's lyrics have the same dark political and social criticisms. The overall sound of the two bands is very similar - a mix of deep, resonant keyboards and heavy guitars, backed up with pounding drums or precise drum machine beats. Both bands use distorted vocals on some songs. And the Mansions even have a parental advisory label on the cover, just like The The's Mind Bomb. The only problem with the Mansions is that they simply don't do as well of a job as The The. There are a few songs on the Mansions' new album that do work well, even if they're not original. "Blues for Ceausescu" is a hard- rocking, biting criticism of En- gland's version of democracy, lash- ing out at those who condemn dic- tators like Ceausescu but ignore the hypocrisy of England's monarch. "Chemical Cosh" sounds like a punk song, as does "Angel's De- light" (which uses slow synthe- sizers). "Only Losers Take the Bus" attacks ignorance and those who turn away from social problems. However, even if you're content to hear a The The clone, you'll still be disappointed in the Fatima Man- sions. The band hails from the current and annoying British pop scene (appearing on that com- The band hails from the current and an- noying British pop scene... Accordingly, its sound, especially the drums, is often very shallow 1991 Autumn Las Vegas Night Sa1turdav. Oct. 26th from Fmpm-j r---" 0.. r- ANN ARBORU 1 BIZ ------- i I M ul IQIICT ie nnul onnon4inn I P