ARTS The Michigan DaIy Wednesday, February 1199 P' Love Labors Lost on 'Playground' by Jon Altshul Trapped in a chaotic maze of jungle gyms, spell- ing books and cooties, Eddie Sugarman and Bruce Kiesling's original musical "King of the Playground" springs to life. "It is a story of love labors lost and found in the fifth grade," Kiesling explained. The two School of Music undergraduates have composed an upbeat musical which charts the day in the life of nine ten-year olds from morning until night. Sugarman, who is also directing, elaborated, "[the play] is really a love triangle- each character is desperately trying to discover the love they feel for one another." Sugarman andKiesling began tossing around the idea of writing a script this past summer when Sugarman set some poetry to Kiesling's music. From this experiment, the song "Check This Box" originated- the number around which the entire musical is based. The book and score were com- pleted by early fall, with rehearsals beginning the first week of January. REC]RIQ Neneh Cherry the forties. Homebrew The show begins with all nine characters waking up and eventually arriving at school. Yet their class- room is already stigmatized by sexual politics: Wil- liam (Jeffrey Shubart) likes Jennifer (Colleen O'Shaughnessey), Jennifer hates William, Yvonne (Miriam Shor) likes William, but William, in keep- ing with the triangle motif, hates Yvonne. As Shubart explained, "[the story] is about the learning process involved in becoming adults," and added that the initial failures of their tumultuous romances "fore- shadow a future of [sexual] misunderstandings." A complication to this triangle, however, is pre- sented with the introduction of Richard (Marc Kessler), the amicable new kid, who immediately befriends the entire lot. Yet he is not without his own ambiguities, and the cast's coming-to-grips with his nuances establishes the show's ultimate climax. "[In this regard] it is like a Greek tragedy," Sugarman conceded, "Richard's fall makes possible the resolution." The ensemble is rounded out by Terri (Ally Steinberg), the omniscient whiz-kid, who acts- much like a Shakespearean clown- as a subtle foil for the impassioned crushes thatabound. John Halmi, Ashley Leadbetter, Ronit Mitzner and Eric Millegan comprise the chorus, an integral and oft-used facet to the production, which, according toLeadbetter, "pro- vides a framework which adds to the [show's] real- ism." Mitzneradded, "It'sbeen really fascinating watch- ing two people put together an original show. [The experience] has greatly broadened my own under- standing of what it means to stage a 'production'." Millegan summarized the project by stating, "Once every ten years a truly spectacular show comes along. This is that show." "KING OF THE PLAYGROUND" is playing February 12, 13 and 14 at 8p.m. and at 2 p.m. on the 13th only in the Arena Theater (basement of the Frieze Building). Admission is free but reservations are highly recommended. For more information call 764-2864. -Aaron Hamburger Emilio Estevez, Paula Abdul's husband, asserts his manhood. Tis 'Weaon isfires by Sarah Weidman National Lampoon is not known for serious dramas, but it usually manages to be comical. The latest parody from Lampoon is "Loaded Weapon I," starring EmilioEstevez. The writers compromise wit for standard slapstick, and the film elicits more eye-rolling than laughter. The plot (hazy, if any) is this: somehow, Wilderness Cookie Girls have found a way to turn cocaine into cookies. This formula ends up in the wrong hands, leading to a few deaths. As the title indicates, the mystery turns in to "Lethal Weapon" mimicry involving two cops, Jack Colt (Estevez) and Wes Luger (Samuel L. Jackson), and ending in a big shoot-out. The plot isn't relevant here, because the writers (Don Holly and Gene Quintano) overload this piece with more puns and cliches than story. They intend to be clever, but just fail. Their script is merely a parade for National Lampoon's celebAties who shamelessly spew Loaded Weapon I outlines. Included in this list are Loade W(~4on ICharlie Sheen (a valet in his Directed by Gene Quintano; written by brother's movie -any hidden Don Holly and Gene Quintano; with Samuel L. Jackson and Emilio Estevez. meaning there, Emilio?), Denis Leary, F. Murray Abraham, Bruce Willis, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Allyce Beasley, Corey Feldman, Phil Hartman and Ken you-haven't-had-a-job Ober. Whoopi Goldberg has a big role as Billie York, the woman who receives the microfilm, but she was smart and agreed to a contract that would prevent her name from being included in credits or even mentioned in relation with the movie. Shameless or not, two highlights to the cast were those virile CHiPsboys -ErikEstradaandLarry Wilcox, in uniform and all. "Loaded Weapon" is a spoof, and it spoofs more than "Lethal." Other movies receiving honors are "Wayne's World," "Basic Instinct" and "The Silence of the Lambs," but you've seen that in the commercials. The "The Silence of the Lambs" scene is one of the few humorous ones in the movie. Hannibal Leacher, from behind prison bars, says, "Quid Pro Quo." Colt responds, "What's that mean?" Leacher retorts, "It means I'm pretentious." And of course the "gratuitous beaver shot" with Kathy Ireland is publicized to draw audiences (and it does). One plus in favor of "Loaded" is its ability for self-mockery. Jon Lovitz as Becker is a psychotic federal informant laundering (in a laundry machine - this is the alleged humor) money for the bad guy, General Mortars (William Shatner). Becker pops onto the screen at various points throughout the movie, but one amusing moment stands out in my mind. Becker leans into Colt's ear and says, "Did you see 'Hot Shots'? Not that I'm trying to draw any parallels or anything, but there was 'Hot Shots' and now you're doin' this." I wonder what Martin thinks about his sons' successes in really stupid movies. If you liked the Griswald family vacation stories or any of the "Naked Gun" type movies, then don't see "Loaded Weapon." There is hardly any subtle humor and it's entirely in-your-face jokes that don't work most of the time and just embarrass the actors. Granted, most everyone will find parts of this movie humorous, but on the whole, it's just dumb. Virgin Neneh Cherry has often said that she isn't much of a singer or rapper. Some may disagree with heron this, butthere's no denying that the way she blends her melodic voice with her hard-edged rap style has produced two of the best al- bums of recent years: first "Raw Like Sushi," and now "Homebrew." That's not to say that these two works are carbon copies of each other. Where "Raw Like Sushi" has more of an ener- getic dance beat, "Homebrew" has a slower, more dolorous tone. The narra- tor of "Homebrew" seems like a hard- ened young unwed mother trying to overcome the difficulties of urban life. But Cherry isn't asking for gratuitous pity. In songs like, "Ain't Gone Under Yet," Cherry sings, "the choice is mine / with my ordinary joy and pain inside/ I try to get by / and I ain't gone under yet." Another difference between the two albums is that in "Raw Like Sushi," the play between Cherry's rapping and sing- ing seemed to be a juxtaposition. In "Homebrew," Cherry blends the two together bewitchingly, especially in songs like "Money Love." Much attention, and radio play, has been accorded to "Trout," Cherry's duet with Michael Stipe, but the other duet on "Homebrew," "Sassy," with Guru from Gangstarr, is equally engaging (and way less preachy). The song, with the banter between the two singers, is similar to the verbal sparring between Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in those great old screwball comedies in Little Charlie & The Nightcats Night Vision Alligator Like it or not, Little Charlie & the Nightcats have, in asense, broughtblues into the 90s. Their blues is the blues of the white, middle-class suburbs. The music is clean and rehearsed rehashed Chicago Blues, with expertly executed B.B. and Freddy King guitar licks and Little Walter-inspired harmonica. Rick Estrin perfectly enunciates every word he sings in his tales of dealing with alimony, boozing a bit too much, one- night stands with cute little girls, and a host of other suburban troubles. Estrin writes entirely in specifics, making it difficult for a listener to relate to unless he is also a white, suburban, forty-ish male. Still, "Night Visions" sounds like a rollicking good time. Just like a beer commercial. - Tom Erlewine Utah Saints Utah Saints London "YOU WANTED THE BESTAND YOU'VE GOT THE... UTAH SAINTS!!!" Ok, that's not exactly how the song goes, but it's a lot more accu- rate. The Utah Saints, best known for their brilliant club hit, "Something Good," which workedadance-club beat around a sample from Kate-Bush's "Cloudbusting,"have released theirfirst full length album, something that, to be bluntdance club oriented groups should not do. The best cuts are the already- released songs "Something good," and theEurythmics-sampled"WhatCanYou Do For Me?" The rest of the album consists of a few more dance-oriented numbers, and some ambient (andquickly forgettable) songs. Their newest sam- pling collaboration endeavor is from the Simple Minds song, "New Gold Dream," which, apart from the change in samples, is almost identical to "What Can You Do For Me?" The only other dance-oriented song of note is "Kinetic Synthetic," which sounds promising, but sounds remarkably similar to Meat BeatManifesto's "HelterSkelter." Even the more interesting-sounding ambient songs such as "Soulution" suffer from hyperactive but annoying samples that just sound like a bunch of squeaks. This album's best new cut is "I Want You," which rumbles along with some Slayer- sampled heavy metal guitar, and makes for a trippy-rockin' five minutes. Of course, this song will be the new single. So buy the sinigles and leave this album on the shelf. -Andy Dolan Attention Poetry Fans If gripping real life calamities trans- formed into eloquent figurative poetry turns you on, don't miss Andrew Hudgins reading from his poetry, Thursday,February 11,1993,6:00p.m. at Rackham. Hudgins is the author of "The Never-Ending," "After the Lost War"and "Saints and Strangers." If his poetic readings are anything like his vividly dramatic poems, then fans of poetry will most definitely want to attend. La, La, Lira Singers A rare (and free) treat Friday night: the Lira Singers, America's foremost ensemble specializing in Polish folk music, will perform at Rackham. The singers will perform all your favorite dances, such as the polonaisewhich later inspired classical masters like Chopin. Artistic director Lucyna Migala will provide commentary. The concert begins at 8p.m. and admission is, again, free; call 747-2237. .. __ . - MULTI COLOR SPECIALISTS . ARTIST ON STAFF " RUSH ORDERS - NEAR U OF M CAMPUS . 1217 PROSPECT, ANN ARBOR 665-17 - - in7 71 OFF with this ad. NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LOADED WEAPON I is playing at Showcase. _ _ .. i L- 3 _ 1 - _ ___ . .READ THE DAILY CLASSIFIEDS COPIES. RESUMES U 24# stock, 8.5x11 co0 Qq A WIL.D CHIL.D PRESENTS ATTME GEC -HETR Feb. 12 Film From 1 : and tr; s, American Pictures American Pictures is a professional audio/video slide show depicting racism and poverty in America. This show is presented by Jacob Holdt, who travelled across the country on only $40, living with many poverty-stricken families. The result of his experiences was a multi-media presentation and a call for all people to accept responsibility for "the other half" of American society. Following the program, Mr. Holdt will conduct an in-depth discussion of the themes of his work.