ARTS The Michigan Daily sonday, March 8,1993 Page 5 MTVmetNSa Search in 'hpact' by Jody Frank Itwas Star Search night atMendelssohn Theatre this weekend, complete with showy dancers, a stand-up comic and live music - the only thing missing was Ed McMahon. On the whole, the performance of the Impact Dance Theatre was lively, and with the exception of a few slips, the talent was there. The problems arose due to overambitious choreography which, with the exception of "Rhap- sody" and "Black Magic Woman," was geared more toward the flashy moves of MTV videos, only without the necessary synchrosity. C RBeginning gently with a dim blue twilight andmusic like raindrops, danc- Impact Dance Theatre ers came out in pairs to gracefully Mendelssohn Theatre extend a leg in the center of a V of other March 5, 1993 dancers on the floor. This quiet begin- ning of Val Boreland's dance "Chil- dren" jumped quickly into a funky piece complete with a turning blue siren. In this energetic, yet sloppily organized dance, the casual costumes --jean shorts, white t-shirts and tennies - created a fun contrast with the subdued opening. In the second dance, choreographed by Rebecca DeFay, Jill Higgins, Lisa Renna, and Elaine Wang, a rap singer, Justin Lancer or "Unjust" brought the performance even closer to Star Search. The rap drew attention from the dancers, cheapening the dancers' performances. "Journey Through Hell," another ofBoreland's pieces, had a good beginning, as the dancer's costumes effectively created eerie silhouettes. Unfortunately, Boreland got carried away on a tacky theme of a dancer in white, taunted by demon dancers in black only to be eventually turned bad by an evil goddess in red. There were moments of good movement, but it was mostly melodramatic and too overtly thematic -a little subtlety would have been nice. Lisa Stacilauskas, on the other hand, took the tired theme of two girls competing for one boy, and made it a classy piece that, though hardly profound, worked due to itsappropriate theatricality. Set toajazzy Gershwin tune, this bold dance (including ballet, tap and jazz) was the only one performed in full lighting, having no need for shadows to hide in. Anotherexcellentpiece was "Black Magic Woman," by guest choreographer Lisa Clinton. A Spanish tone made the dance exotic and fun to watch. The supporting dancers performed well; however, a few of them were dancing on pointe, which jarred the congruity of the piece as a whole, seemingly presentonly to show off their own talent. I left the performance with "the Monster Mash" in my head from the bizarre finale, choreographed by Jill Higgins, set to none other than "A Monster Medley." A Halloween piece, this dance began in a cloud of smoke with three trick-or-treaters: a skeleton, mouse and zombie. The other dancers wore all black with ballet skirts, some gray, others, black, playing evil Halloween spirits that pulled the others off-stage. In the end, they all came back dressed as zombies as they did what? Why, the Monster Mash, of course. The dancing, however, was lost in the stage effects. More disturbingly, the night was pervaded by a sexist theme, evinced by the style of dancing and the comedian's jokes. Each time he came onstage betweenI the dances, Joel Zimmer made a comment on the nakedness of the changing dancers in the wings. The dancers, too, allowed their bodies to come before the dancing, wrapping themselves in exploitative costumes and playing up sexual movements. In a dance group of mostly women, it would have been nice to see them giving themselves some respect. I The theme of guilt underlined the Performance Network production of "The Professor Has a Warcry." Powerful performances drive this 'Warcry' by Karen Lee In the dim of the lights, an Indian man entered beating a drum, followed by another Indian, who was whipping himself. Stopping in the middleof the playing area, the Whipper (Steve Godfrey), to the rhythm of the Drummer (0. Andrew Schreiber), The Professor Has A Warcry Performance Network March 4, 1993 danced a strange jig around the whip. Then the two left the same way that they came in. This episode served to underline the guilt that was at the center of "The Professor Has A Warcry," a play by Partap Sharma that is being performed at the Performance Network. In exploring the effects of the 1947 Indian Partition and the riots that resulted on modern India's identity, the production focuses on the conflict between Professor Gopal Das (Peter Knox) and Virendra (Troy D. Sill). Das, who during the riots had promised his dying cousin that he would take care of his wife, aban- doned the woman at a railway station. Now, after twenty years of waiting in that station, she dies, torcing Das to come to terms with his guilt for not having kept his promise. Virendra, the woman's son, attempts to find his own identity by piecing together his parents' history and is sure that Das is his father. Das claims that he isn't, and therein lies the central conflict. The play was performed against a plain black background, with only three platforms of varying heights available for the actors' use. Director Sree Nallamothu kept the production simple, and there were no distractions from the simple power of the script and of the performances. Sill showed con- vincing fervor as Virendra, ably portraying the con- flict within himself between hate for Das, and the need for validation and love. Annette Powers, in the role of Sally Gunther, Virendra's British-descended lover, who tried to help resolve the clash between the two men, did the best she could with a severely underwritten role. Sally was drawn as the typical British outsider who simply did not understand Indian culture or history, and thus made things worse for everybody involved. The character came off as one-dimensional and stupid. While these actors were good, however, thenight belonged to Knox and dancer Sejal Shah. Knox gave the role of Das a quiet dignity and grace, making the guilt palpable and bringing the audience into his ordeal. Watching him read sections from his diary about the anarchy of the Partition riots was devastat- ing; the audience watched him relive the agonies all over again. Shah was wonderful as well, especially since hers was a non-speaking role. Playing a character known only as the Demon, Shah, through a complex combination of Western mimetic movement and classical Indian dance, appeared as the demon of the characters' respective memories. Her hand gestures and facial expressions were very specific and quite vivid; there was no question as to whatshe was doing there. In her first time out as a director, Nallamothu created a powerful and affecting piece of theater. She had a lot of help from Sharma's script, which provided her with the harrowing images of riot and rape that she needed to work with. But it was Nallamothu who elicited the performances that drove those images home to the audience. 'White Men Can't Jump Goes to New England' by Jon Altshul "Amos and Andrew," is the most socially responsible comedy that should never have been made. ILM REVIEW Amos and Andrew Written and directed by E. Max Frye; with Samuel L. Jackson and Nicholas Cage. Subtitled "White Men Can't Jump Goes To New England," and starring Samuel L. Jackson as Wesley Snipes and Nicholas Cage as Woody Harrelson, the film ambitiously confronts racial stereotypes with energy and class. No bull shit. No half-assed moralistic we- can-ive-in-harmonycrap.Justpoignant, well-intentioned comedy. The problem with "Amos and An- drew," then, is that it never really gets uncorked. The film spends no time es- tablishing its characters or environment. Instead, it delves head-firstinto itssome- what ridiculous story line. As a result the ensemble is left with a skunk of a screenplay to work with. Simply put, the film masquerades as a TV movie for too long before it rolls up it sleeves and finally gets funny mid-way through the adventure. Cage and Jackson do what they can with stale roles. The confinements lev- ied upon them by Max Frye's rotten script are so tight that we are almost forced to empathize with their plights. Essentially, rather than let the actors develop their own personas, we are told who these characters are by peripheral cast members - Jackson, the black Ph.D., and Cage, the white petty crook. Though this device works somewhat interestingly in the context of the film as it creates a medium conducive for the perpetuation of racial stereotypes, it ul- timately impedes upon the enjoyability of "Amos and Andrew." The two leads are defined not by themselves, but by others, and that message becomes all too clear all too soon. The story - lest you haven't al- ready gathered from the picture's ad- mittedly catchy trailers - concerns Andrew Sterling's (Jackson) innocent attempt to move into his recently acquisitioned vecation home on a plush New England resort island. Andrew is a wealthy, militant African-American, who is, by his own admission, a "thorn in the side of the white man." While trying to get settled in, two shithead neighbors mistake him foracrook. What else would a Black man be doing in New England? What a friendly world. The police show up, fire some bul- lets, then realize they're shooting at a man in his own house. The audience's patience wanes. Amos O'Dell, a petty Canada-bound five-and-dimer is hired to fake a kidnapping and save the pigs' hides. What follows isn't very interesting, so I'll leave it at that. The bottom line is that this screen- play is too piss-poor for its own good. Spare us next time, E. Max Frye. It's not really funny or engaging or even coher- ent. But it is kind of heart-felt. Cage and Jackson do get allchummy. The catch, however, is that their friend- ship seems to come from nowhere. Es- sentially, the way in which the film deals with racial issues is too contrived. Consider, for example, the title ... Jackson, for his part, appears bored with the story as it drags on. He removes himself from the plot, eitherconsciously or not, with his apathetic mannerism and stale lines. Hence, the bulk of the film rests squarely on Cage's shoulders. But his Amos is no H.I. McDonnough (see "Raising Arizona"). Lacking the naive phlegmatism and surreal aura of his previous depictions of petty thieves, he plays this role straight. Probably a wise decision, but certainly a disap- pointing one. So they bond and then they fight and then some unfounded allegations fly. The moral is something like this: people are measured by their environments, not by themselves. It can be very unsettling to hate this film. Unfortunately, we never have much of a choice. AMOS AND ANDREW is playing at Showcase. - MULTI COLOR SPECIALISTS . ARTIST ON STAFF - RUSH ORDERS . - NEAR U OF M CAMPUS 1.217 PROSPECT, ANN ARBOR 665-1771 0OFF with this ad. Monday Lunch Monday Dinner Special Special Smoked 'hrkey Wings w/ Swiss, Guacamole, $2.00 a Basket on Sourdough w/ Soup only $2.99, Burritos 11 :34-3:O0pm All you can eat " THEENGL% '",.. $3.75 Happy Hour: 338 S. State " 996-9191 3:00-7:OOpm $1.00 off Pints of Beer, Beer of the Month: Well Drinks, Wine Harp Lager --I + o MICHIGAN'S DEAD QUARTERS Equadorian Sweaters 53495 Darts " Rock T-Shirts Lots of Imported Clothing tf .................:.....~ .................:'#~ :: '.. '. eith...? ........................... Why nt theSUMMR 19BFAIR THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR Ticket Lottery Information for Student/Faculty/Staff Basketball Season Ticket Holders 1993 NCAA Regionals & Final Four (Regionals) Location Date Price East Meadowlands Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ March 26 & 28 $58.00 Southeast Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC March 25 & 27 $51.00 Midwest St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO March 25 & 27 $61.00 West Kingdome, Seattle, WA March 26 & 28 $65.00 Final Four Superdome, New Orleans, LA April 3 & 5 $65.00 Applications for Regional tickets will be accepted March 15 - 17. Results posted at M Union Box Office & Athletic Ticket Office Monday, March 22. Applications for Final Four tickets will be accepted March 15 -24. Results posted at M Union Box Office & Athletic Ticket Office Monday, March 29.