0 0 . a * ARTS 'The Michigan Daily Wednesday, April 15,1992Page 5 Wig's Bloody Wednesday3' LocalWig subverts and perverts in mysterious ways - by Mark Binelli 4it's gonna be a freakshow," says - "film expansionist" Kendra Wil- liams, referring to SUBVERSION- PER VERSION, a brutal one-night assault on Ann Arbor combining almost every art form imaginable. Sensory overload? You bet. The artists include local hair band Wig, making its first Ann. Arbor appearance in exactly a year; film expansionists Williams and Sarah Peterson, whose surreal montage of film and video images will be projected throughout the show; ."psycho firebreather" / performance artist / Gene Simmons wannabe Carl Fisclaer, who says, "All I do, basi- cally, is get latex-clad - in a homemade costume - and dance around on stage"; and a host of other ... well, freaks who will dance, dis- play their sculptures, and break into the chaos with spoken-word read- ings. Wig - currently comprised of Schurgin on guitar, Fran Falls on bass and Sir John Beatmeister on drums - will undoubtedly be hog- ging the spotlight, though. - "It's like coming 10 times in the course of two hours," Sir John says of the show. "It'll leave the audience, tired and useless." i 0 But where has Wig been for the past year? "We decided to redirect our en- ergies, and for the past year now, we've been trying to get together our political campaign for 1996," quips the wacky Sir John. "We're starting a fringe party, basically ... The Wig Party, not to be mistaken for the Whig Party of Britain, of course." Sir John denies the drug rumors that've been circulating about Pres- ton Cleveland, Wig's former lead singer. "No, Preston has never done a drug in his life, unfortunately," Sir John says. "Part of the reason we kicked him out was' because he didn't do drugs. "The set's gonna be probably niiiety-five percent brand new stuff that we've done over the last year, aside from the political campaign," he continues. "We'll probably have.a little singing here and there ... Pro- bably. It depends on the audience." .In fact, one of the goals of SUB- VERSIONPER VERSION, according to the press release, is "destroying the barriers between stage and audience." But Sir John isn't so sure. "I've never broken down.barriers before, so I really don't know," he admits. "It sounds good, though. People like it when you say that kind of stuff:" The idea for the show was "originally thrown around by Wig," according to Sir John. "But ... we were a bar band, and that kind of environment didn't lend itself to that kind of a presentatioth. "Oltimately, we hope that all*this material we've been working on will find its way to a record," he adds. Any chance for a SUBVERSION- PERVERSION togr? "1 think it'd be great to do a tour, but there are so many practical con- siderations," Sir John says. "I think i " The guys.in Wig. hang out in dorms and shit, spreading their orgasmic, drug-induced gospel. No, no, we're not, trying to break any barriers. Oh Sir John,-put on your-latex outfit and make me tired and'useless. Please. the last time something' like that happened was Andy Warhol's Ex- ploding Plastic Inevitable, which did 'tour, and actually played in Ann Arbor, too ... I love the idea of it. It would be like a circus, a traveling circus." . Or like the flashing TV sets of U2's current ZOO Todr? "U2 wishes they, could' do 'this," Sir John says. "If only their man- ager5 would let 'em ...' SUBVERSIONPERVERSION plays tonight at the Performance Net- -Work. Showtiine is 8 p.m. Tickets are $7. They can be purchased in advance, at Schoolkids and PJ's Used Records. Call 663-0681. Banderas and Assante The Mambo Kings dir. Arne Glimcher J by Marie Jacobson Pay no attention to those lame- looking clips. you. see on prime- time TV - The Mambo Kings, with its soulful story line, remark: able cast and spicy soundtrack, is quite possibly the best film to hit the big screen this spring. Adapted from Oscar Hijuelos' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Sounds of Love, the film is the poignant ac- count of ,two wildly disparate brothers, Cesar and Nestor-Castillo (Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas). United only by a deep- seated love for their music and one another, the brothers leave Cuba to make a name for themselves in mambo-crazed New York. Life in America is hardly easy. The brothers work in a meat-pack- ing factory by day to support their sultry music-making after hours. And landing gigs is no small task, especially when they refuse to pander to the local mafioso. step out Easing the -way, however, are their love interests. Cesar, the rak- ish older brother, falls in love with a beautiful cigarette girl (Cathy Moriarty of Raging Bull fame) while performing at New York's flashiest club, the Palladium. Nestor, the introverted younger brother, finds himself enjoying the quiet company of his new girl- friend, Dolores (Maruschka Det- niiers). Then the brothers get their big break - spotted. by Desi Arnaz '(played by Desi Arnaz Jr., who has absolutely no accent whatsoever - so authentic), the pair are cast as Ricky Ricardo's' singing cousins on the lit I Love Lucy show. Unfortunately, this new-found fame forces the. brothers to con- front the irreconcilable differences in their dreams and desires. The choices that ensue are more heart- wrenching than the songs them- selves. It's hard to determine which actor steals the show in The Mam- bo Kings. With his seductive good looks and fiery charisma, Assante (Q & A) breathes passion into his relationship with his lover, his 0 oey takes steamy steps by Jessie Halladay Hot, snoky rooms, flamboyant musicaL-numbers and flashing lights made up jhe wild -nightclub scene of Chicago in 1939. Joey Evans wants in des- perately. He longs to make it to the top and will use any means necessary to get there, even if it means dropping the woman he loves to shack up with one who can finance.his success. John O'Hara's musical; Pal Joey, chronicles the rise 'and fall of an ambi- tious dancer who selfishly claws ljis way to the top only to be knocked back tov'vn by his unstoppable ego. The story revolves around Joey and all the other regular Joes and Janes he meets along the way. - "It's a show that fascinates people because of its very earthy characters," says director Brent Wagner. "The characters are a little bit tougher and per- haps more realistic than in other musidals." . .* Pal Joey, scored by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, is full of swing- ing 1940s music reminiscent of the classic film musicals your parents made you watch - and you secretly loved. Classic songs such as "Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered" and "I Coupi Write A Book" were products of this show. (Harry' Connick Jr. recently recorded his version of "I Could Write A Book" for the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack). "The score is somrethilg that people have'ilways been attracted to," says Wagner. Rodgers' sentinental music mixed with Hart's street-wise and sometimes cynical lyrics are the perfect combination, according to.Wagner. Much of the production centers around lavish dance numbers. Tim Millet, a member of the Musical Theatre fadulty, did the choreography fou the show. Dance numbers will include a "drehm ballet" during which Joey imagines what it will be like when he makes it big. This musical, which has featured many big names since it premiered in 1940 with.Gene Kelly,. promises 4o provide whimsical fun a a foot-tap- ping good time. Antonio Banderas, Desi Arnez Jr., and Armand Assante do the Mambo. brother and his brother's wife. . Banderas is one of Spain's best-known actors, the star of se. veral of Pedro Almodovar's'films such as Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!. He capably expresses the torment and pain of Nector, who is in- creasingly haunted by homesick- ness and an unrequited love in Ha- vana. While Moriarty does well with the little depth assigned to her character, the performance Det- mers gives as Nestor'.s' Cuban- American wife is truly remarkable. A sensitive, intelligent ingenue, she must overcome the ghost of her husband's ex-lover to deter- mine her own destiny. * *All the actors have their besi. moments when reacting to the film's spectacular soundtrack. Sure, this is the stuff your parents listened to, and you'd probably . - catch your grandpa tapping his foot to the mambo beat.too,. but you can't help reveling in' the filn's soulful sounds yourself- The Mambo Kings marks Arne Glimcher's directorial debut. His' film i's a bittersweet portrait of America in the final throes of in- nocence and of two-brothers who. find themselves rising - and fal- ling - from the top. THE MAMB. KINGS is playing at Showcase. 0* PAL JOEY will be performed at the Pdwer Center tomorrow through Saturday at 8p.m. and April 19 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $1X2 & $9 reserved and $6 for students with i.b, on sale at Mhe League Ticket Office. For more in- formation call 764-0450. V who what where when 1 _ ..... .. .............. " B. B. King is the first guy to ad- mit that he can't play chords. He doesn't even try to. When King slides his fingers ug and down Lucille's neck and body, you realize that it's King's sense of melody, tone and rhythm that has made him the king of the blues. 'Among his many trademark songs, "Everybody Wants to Know Why I Sing The Blues" stands out as the testimony for any bluesman with a long, illustrious career. His fame stretches from those who have been down with him for decades to those who just learned about him through U2, but that has no bearing on his ability to sing the blues. He's been around a long time, and has really paid his dues. He'll play Hill Audit- orium Thursday 'at 8 p.m, with Buddy Guy opening. Tickets are $20 and $17.50. Call 763-TKTS. TOYOTIA ACCEPTS DIPLOMAS. FOR CREDlIT .. ..I A Pack it in for the summer, .5 We'll bring the boxes. . If you're moving home for the summer and plan to scrounge around the grocery stores for boxes, we can help. 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