The Michigan Daily -Friday, September 17, 1993 - 9 ,ohn MayaII 'Nerd' poses familiar predicament By KIMBERLY GAINES I guess when I heard the name of Larry Shue's play, "The Nerd," I should have known what to expect. When the play began, however, I was still sur- prised to see this outrageous, typical picture of the 1980's nerd image in his character Rick Steadman, played to perfection by Tom Underwood. The lights came up in the living The Nerd Mendelssohn Theatre September 15, 1993 room of Willum Cubbert (Larry Rusinsky) which lookedlikeanyAmeri- can living room with the addition of a drafting board for his architecture work in the corner. Theopening scenedragged and con- tinued to do so through the first half (a very slow 90 minutes), and to be honest I was dreading having to sit through another hour and a half. Although the first act had it's funny lines and mo- ments, the overall feeling was slow. It began on the evening of abirthday party for Willum when they received an unexpected visit from Rick, the man who saved Willum's life in Vietnam. His antics and stupidity offended Willum's business associate Warnock Waldgrave (R.Brian Falkner), caused his girlfriend Tansy McGinnis (Leigh- ann Danner),to leave, annoyed every- one else and humiliated Willum. Although the first act was not con- tinuous laughter, it was highlighted by the performance of Falkner who played a convincing successful, but airheaded, businessman. His wife, Clelia (Margie Cohen) brought alot of laughts with her method of stress reduction, shattering dishes with a spoon. Directed by Charles Jackson, a faculty member in the University's Department of Theatre and Drama, the timing and production of "The Nerd" was effectively done. The second act began six days later with Willum.totally miserable because Rick has moved into his home, fol- lowed him everywhere and driven him and all those around him crazy. Willum tells about Rick coming along on a business trip and when the plane hit a little bit of turbulance, Rick stood up in the aisle and yelled, "Urinate! Urinate or your kidneys will explode!" And the worst part, Willum told his friends, was that some of them actually did! Finally, in desperation Willum takes up his friend, Axel, on his plan to get rid of Rick without hurting his feelings: they decide to give him a bit of culture shock with the Terre Haute way of life. A hilarious scene of outrageous activi- ties designed to make Rick run scream- ing from Indiana only cause him to exclaim "This is the most fun I've had since I've been here!" Axel Hammond (Hal Wolfe) made his Ann Arbor Civic Theatre debut with this performance, and although his lines seemed a bit more like lines than the Although the first act was not continuous laughter, it was highlighted by the performance of Falkner who played a convincing successful, but airheaded businessman. His wife, Clelia (Margie Cohen) brought a lot of laughts with her method of stress reduction, shattering dishes with a spoon. natural personality of his character, as the ultimate cynic he definitely had the funniest lines in the play. Rusinsky, who has won awards from the Ann Arbor News as Best Actor and Best Support- ing Actor, gave the most convincing performance as the lead character who, as his girlfriend said, "lacked gump- tion." The scene ends with a happy Willum and Tansy, a gone-forever (they hope) Rick, and a funny surprise from Axel. Perhaps a bit slow in the beginning, the second act was fast, funny, and I left the performance smiling. "The Nerd," performed by the Ann Arbor Civic Theater, could have picked up the pace. I---------- It's appropriate that John Mayall is closing 1993's Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival - in many ways he is responsible for the contemporary, White blues scene. Mayall formed the first version of the Bluesbreakers in 1963 and over the years the band has featured many of the most influential blues and rock musicians in the past two decades, including John McVie, Peter Green, Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Taylor and, most importantly, Eric Clapton. The 1965 "Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton" album was the first place Clapton's playing came into its own, prompting the famous graffiti, "Clapton is God." The Rolling Stones picked Taylor from the Bluesbreakers to fill Brian Jones vacancy; with Taylor, the Stones recorded their best albums , including "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street." Green and McVie formed Fleetwood Mac after leaving the Bluesbreakers. For these three things alone Mayall would be a major musical force, but the bands Mayall formed after their departures also performed consistently solid blues, shaping the sound of modern blues. In the Eighties his records tended to be somewhat bland but with his fiery new release, "Wake Up Call," on Silvertone Records he sounds better than he has since the Sixties; his new guitarist, Coco Montoya, is particularly impressive. The Bluesbreakers' performance on Sunday at Gallup Park should prove the perfect way to finish the festival. Tickets for all four shows of the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival are available at all TicketMaster outlets; the price of admission for the outdoor shows at Gallup Park are $12.50 in advance, $15 the day of the festival; for students tickets are $10. UM Major Events & Hispanic Heritage Celebration present ~ Pal'Mieri Maestro Latin Music Friday October 1 8pm Power Center, Ann Arbor A five time Grammy Award winner, Eddie Palmieri is a collector of world rhythms traveling the planet for 30 years with his distinct style of Latin music. The musical brew is eclectic, a mixture of Afro-Cuban rhythms, salsa licks, jazz improvisation and classical interjections. 763-TKTS Michigan Union Ticket Office & all Ticketmaster outlets l . Great Performances-Half-Price! A University Musical Society's Off Student Ticket Sale Saturday, September 18 10 A.M.-1 P.M., Hill Auditorium -. --~ -.. .. po- Urban Bush Women, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, or Betty Carter for $8! Feld Ballets/NY for $12.50! Betty Carter Jessye Norman U-M School of Music Faculty Artists Concert Feld Ballets/NY Andre Watts in an Evening of Chamber Music Les Ballets Africains of Guinea St. Petersburg Philharmonic Mariss Jansons, conductor Dmitri Alexeev, pianist Boston Musica Viva Claire Bloom, narrator Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Kurt Masur, conductor Christopher Parkening Thomas Hampson Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers Uptown String Quartet The Stratford Festival's Stratford-on-Ann Arbor The Importance of Being Earnest A Midsummer Night's Dream Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan- Handel's Messiah Canadian Brass Trio Tchaikovsky Borodin String Quartet Shostakovich String Quartet Hungarian State Folk Ensemble Pilar Rioja and Company James Galway, flutist Christopher O'Riley, pianist Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra New York City Opera National Company Puccini's Madama Butterfly Chicago Symphony Orchestra Kenneth Jean, conductor Philip Sabransky, pianist Urban Bush Women Kronos String Quartet Hermeto Pascoal et Grupo Moscow Philharmonic Vassily Sinaisky, conductor Gil Shaham, violinist See the biggest and brightest names in classical and jazz, dance, theatre and opera including Jessye Norman, Betty Carter, Feld Ballets/NY, the Stratford Festival, New York City Opera National Company, and other select performances, for HALF-PRICE- between just $5 and $19! Valid Student I.D. required Limit 2 tickets per event - Kronos String Quartet with Hermeto Pascoal et Grupo for $8.50! *" "******** *** * * * " Jessye Norman, James Galway, or the St. Petersburg Philharmonic for $8! Canadian Brass for U-M School of Music Faculty Artists Concert Guitar Summit Pepe Romero, Leo Kottke, Joe Pass, Paco Pena Murray Perahia, pianist Emerson String Quartet Joshua Bell, violinist Detroit Symphony Orchestra Neeme Jarvi, conductor University Choral Union Thomas Sheets, music director I