ARTS 'U' gets serious with 'Andromache' by Laura Alantas Perhaps the best kept secret among the University's Department of Theatre and Drama is Director John Russell Brown's version of "Andromache." This original show, an adaptation of Racine's telling of the Greek tragedy, will only promise to challenge the audience to explore the attitudes of the society in which we live. One of the few elements that Brown has revealed about the show is the complex storyline. The play begins at the conclusion of the Trojan War. After killing Hector and defeating the Trojan army, the Greeks prepare to divide the spoils of the battle: the women. Achilles' son Pyrrhus (Chris Stapleton) is madly in love with and wants to marry Hector's widow, Andromache (CeCe Grinwald). Pyrrhus, however, is betrothed to Hermione (Christy Wright). Orestes, the former lover of Hermione, arrives and relays the order from the commanding generals that Pyrrhus must kill Andromache's son Astyanax and, therefore, end Hector's lineage. If he killsAstyanax, however, Pyrrhus will never win the love of Andromache and he will then be obliged to many Hermione. This marriage, however, would destroy Orestes' chance with Hermione. The original text by Racine was written in the strict, traditional form of French seventeenth cen- tury drama.With alexandrinerhythm scheme (twelve syllables to a line) and rhyming couplets, Brown disliked the translations that he found. "The transla- tions that attempted to keep the rhythm and rhyme schemes were empty and clumsy," said Brown. The play had struck a chord with Brown, how- ever, and he did not want to abandon the show merely because of these awkward texts. Undaunted, Brown decided to translate theplayhimself. "I woke up at six a.m. every morning and would work on a hundred lines before leaving for classes," Brown said. "Doing the translation provided an extraordi- nary adventure and instant immersion." Brown's version preserves the essence of Racine's text with- out the confining literary devices of set rhythm and rhyme schemes. Brownremainedpersistentbecauseofthestrength of the story and its relevance to today's world. "I like to do a play where students can draw on their own experiences. I like actors to act out of imagination and experience," stated Brown. "These characters are young people who have inherited a world of violence. This is aplay that exposes theeffectson the second generation's politics and personal relation- 'These characters are young people who have inherited a world of violence. This is a play that exposes the effects on the second generation's politics and personal relationships while living in a time of violence.' -Director John Russell Brown ships while living in a time of violence." This violent society affects the characters in very real, highly profound ways. According to Grinwald, "the characters are very emotional. They show every feeling that they have. This story is about war and what people do in these intense times and how it changes lives and kills and ends lives." To emphasize the relevance of these themes in today's world, Brown has developed a frame play called "Andromache Project.""The frame play pre- sents the issues of 'Andromache' in a way that is alive for the audience," revealed Brown. Performed immediately before and after the core play whicU' tells the story ofAndromache, "Andromache Project"' is a creation that this entirely separate cast haS designed among themselves. Said Brown, "I wanted to work with students on the same material that is treated in 'Andromache,' but withouta text. I feel that it's valuable for students to use theater to present what they think. They have invented the words. I have invented nothing. I'm proud that they have made their own mark." When asked to further elaborate on the show, Brown declined, saying that he had already revealed more than he had wanted to. Even Grinwald admit- ted that, "I can't tell you beans about theframe play," because she had never seen it herself. This con-. spiracyofsilencestemsfromBrown'sdesiretohave his audience enter the theater without expectation, without prejudice. As Grinwald explained, "experi- mental theater is a wonderful tool to open people up to ideas and to learn more about themselves. It's anF experiment. It's not there to please you." But as for, the audience's potential reaction to it, Grinwald remarked, 'That's the glory of it, nobody knows." ANDROMACHE will be performed at the Trueblood Theater. Previews will be March 30 & 31 at 8pm. Tickets are $5, $3 for students with ID. Performances will be April 1-3 and 8-10 at 8pm f and April 4 and11 at 2pm. Tickets are $10, $6for students. Tickets may be purchased at the League Ticket Office. For more info call 764-0450. The U production of "Andromache" promises to be like no other. Great White survives in psycho city by Kristen Knudsen For all those who thought "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" was Great White's brightest moment, their recently-re- leased sixth album, "Psycho City," will be a rude awakening. "Psycho City" is not just a group of songs like earlier works; it's an album, a smooth combi- nation of rock and blues on which all parts equal the whole. The sound and mood are varied, but an overall sense of bitterness pervades on songs like "Step on You," "Love is a Lie" and "Big Goodbye" which expound upon life's woes and frustrations. Prompting suchan attitude was mas- sive, internal upheaval within the band -bassist Tony Montana left before the recording of the album, and is yet to be replaced; a trusted business partner packed his bags; guitaristMark Kendall and singer Jack Russell faced the task of overcoming severe chemical depen- dence; and other problems such as di- vorce plagued the normal songwriting process.Addtothatless-than-spectacu- lar sales of their fifth album "Hooked" in 1991, and a series of death threats along the way. It was a low point in the lives of Great White, and they did what any tired,iife-threatened guys in aband might do. They got the hell out of town. Holed up in a ranch house some- where deep within California, Jack Russell, MarkKendall, drummerAudie Desbrow and keyboardist / guitarist / co-producer Michael Lardie could fi- pally get some peace. Lardie explained thatrecording "PsychoCity"in themore relaxed environment was the perfect (though temporary) cure for Great White's ills. "Itwas greatforeverybody's state of mind, being abletogetup atany time we cared to and start recording, whether that was at noon or 10 o'clock at night. And we were far enough away from any other property that we could be as loud as we wanted to and the only people or things that bitched were the cows." However, in many regards, bad luck was still following Great White. The threatening wacko called to say that the safe-haven ranch was actually his house, and theL.A. Riots had hit full-swing by the time Great White returned to record some overdubs. City-imposed curfews at the time did nothing to boost their morale. "I (was) in my house going this is ridiculous. This really makes me angry that what we're doing is supposed to be creating something that'sgonnabemak- ing people feel good," Lardie described, "And because of what other people are doing, trying to create angst and anar- chy around the corner, it's stopping my ability to do what I want to do." According to Lardie, he and his newly-sober bandmates decided to set this frustration to music, "rather than turnitomenacingmembersofsociety" themselves.Forexample,"PsychoCity" contains the actual death threat(asLardie pointed out, "Whatshe gonnado-go to a lawyer and ask forroyalties?). This lends authenticity to their view of the city, wherepsychos roam free everyday. "Any big city's the psycho city," Lardie stated. "Think about all the vio- lence, all the murder and stuff that goes on in your city from day to day. Obvi- ously, Los Angeles ... We wrote the song three or four months before the riots happened, so it was pretty weird when they did." Although they were upset by all of the low moments, which is apparent on the album, Lardie was determined to carry on and he managed to remain level-headed and logical through it all. 'The analogy that I draw about being in the business, if you are indeed moti- vated by continuing to do it year after year, is of an actor or an actress doing a movie that's a big hit; then she does another one that she's really proud of but it's not quite met with the same aplomb by the fans, and then she does another one three years later that turns out to be a big hit. You know there are ups and downs, and if it's really important to you, you stay with it and just be proud of what you do." Since "Psycho City" is almost plati- num, and Billboard Magazine called it "Great White's best album," these guys have reason to be proud. "It's so funny about every album that you do. I mean it's so clich6 for a band to say 'Oh this is our best album to date,"' Lardie said. "But as far as it being for me personally a really good amalgam of the last three records, I feel like itis the best combina- tion of the styles that we can do, in terms of blues, straight-ahead rock 'n' roll ... Compositionally, I feel very strongly that it's our best to date." Amidst bullshit flying from every direction, Great White has finally been cleansed. Whether you buy it or not, know that these guys paid their dues. Color Us Bluegrass You don'toftengetachance tohear bluegrass music anywhere, so tonight can be yourchance toindulgeasAlison Krauss, singer, songwriter and fiddle prodigy, leads thebluegrassbandUnion Station for a hootin'-tootin' concert. Some think Krauss is the hot test thing to hitcountry music sincekd lang. You decide tonight at the Ark. The concert takes place at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Call 763-TKTS. Choral Heaven If you don't feel like paying to hear some good singing, try Arts Chorale. Paul Rardin, Theo Morrison and Ben- jamin Cohen direct a chorus of non- music majors as they sing sacred vocal music, inculding works by Britten, Holst, Sanders and Gibbons. Arts Cho- rale will begin tonight at 8 p.m. at Hill Auditorium. Call 763-4726. Musical Discussion And in case you don't want to hear any music at all, but just feel like talking aboutit, leading composerT. J. Anderson who's currently in residence attheUniversity will discuss his music tonight at 8 p.m. at Rackham. Call 763-4726. Tears of Joy Everyone's favorite Bergman is back! That's right, "Cries and Whis- pers," one of Bergman's most haunt- ing and strikingly visual dramas about faith andthemeaning of life, is coming and if you've never seen it, you better run. "Cries and Whispers" explores the relationships between a dying woman, her sisters and her servant who cares for her in the last few days of her life. At first, Bergman's visuat assault on the audience with the colot red (red carpets, red wallpaper, red chairs, red wine) can be off-putting, but stick with it. At the end, the Swed- ish master gives an unusual uplifting moment about the glories of simple human interaction. You'd better have a good excuse if you're going to miss this. The film begins tonight at 7 p.m at the Michigan Theater. Call 668 8397. Cry Me a River If you're looking for some good) music to feed into your walkman as you're walking across the Diag, there's, a ton of great new releases, including the soundtrackto"The Crying Game." Whetherornot you think the "Game" is agood film, the soundtrack is genu inely haunting and the songs, includ- ing the title track performed by Boy George, areboppy and listenable.Also of note is "Arrested Devlopment Un- plugged," taken from their brilliant MITV session(ignorethe"remixes"at the end, however. It's just the same songs minus the vocals). It takes their sound to another dimension. The sophmore release from D.C.'s Basehead(akaMichaelIvey)is amust- have as well. Equal parts Velvet Una derground, early Prince, jazz-tinged hip hop and far too many intoxicants rank this up there with Dinosaur Jr's "Where You Been" as one of '93s best. Retro-heads that missed the 70s will also rave over the latest offering from Lenny Kravitz, "Are You Gonna Go My Way." They don't make 'em like this anymore - warm, engaging, full of killer hooks and grooves. The Black Crowes on a serious soul jones, if you will. Happy listening! Great White has a hit with their lastest album, "Psycho City." I Located in the Colonial Lanes Plaza on S. Industrial TRY OUR NEW GARLIC CRUST FAST, FREE DELIVERY P0ZZA New Luxury Student Housing At Affordable Prices .rn wvn r .1pt i lan.." :.::'::. .:.. :.' :.it i;h:.'144'.8""197911:;.. WE OPEN AT 4:00PM MON - THURS THE GUMBY t Order Any 20" Pizza and i GUMBY AID . Get 1 Free 2 Liter Pop tiu._:'s.. ;n X"2:{ .\ir. %i1 k 'va.' . vA'V? . "'";_:.r. :.\±sa,::.{}7 . .i 'h'fi'a.