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'Street' survives

Dennis Quaid stars in the Southern thriller, "Flesh and Bone."
*Souffien 'Flshan
Bone entertains
By JOHANNA FLIES
OK, so it is a bit predictable. And yes, there is not a really deep, meaningful
message. And it is a little hard at first to accept Meg Ryan as a tough Texas
honey. But who cares? No one expecting a cinematic coup d'etat would go see
"Flesh and Bone" anyway. The title alone should scare those people away.
Instead, this flick should attractpeople
itching for a somber Southern story
Flesh and Bone about love, sex, fear and EVIL.
Written and directed by Steve Kloves; The opening scene is of a farm-
with Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and house in 1963 as a young boy is taken
James Caan. in for the night by a nice fanning
family. Too bad for them, the lad is
being used by his father to break into houses by unlocking the door while the
pople sleep. When this family disturbs the robbery, the boy's father, played
,y James Caan, kills them.
Cutto the present. The young boy, Arlis Sweeney, has grown up to be a very
trim and tan Dennis Quaid, who makes his living selling and stocking vending
machines in the West Texan plains. He moves from town to town, with a
different lover in each one, living in seedy motels and obviously trying to
escape the guilt of his past. Arlis hooks up with Kay Davies (Meg Ryan), who
is escaping her own problem, namely her abusive gambling husband. After
they have given each other a number of significant glances and have wrinkled
a few sheets and everyone knows that they really do like each other, who
should show up to throw a spoke in the wheel of love but good old Pappy
*himself, Roy Sweeney.
James Caan is sufficiently repulsive as evil incarnate and should stick to
playing similar roles since he always ends up being an asshole no matter what
bie tries. It is Quaid's strong performance, however, that makes the dynamics
of the relationship come alive. The small shifts in his expression, his stance,
the way he shies away from Caan while at the same time revealing aggression
and hatred, work perfectly to convince the audience of Arlis' torment. Quaid's
See BONE, Page 8

By MELISSA ROSE BERNARDO
You've got to give credit where
credit is due. Throughout their re-
hearsals for "42nd Street" (right up
until production week, in fact), MUS-
KET lost their on-stage pianist, Dor-
42nd Street
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
November 4, 1993
othy Brock, Pat Denning and Billy
Lawlor - four major parts. And they
still managed to put on a distinctive
production of the song-and-dance
extravaganza called "42nd Street."
Traditionally, female talent is one
thing MUSKET neverlacks. That tra-
dition held true with the stunning per-
formances of Heather Dilly as the
aging star Dorothy Brock and Tamlyn
Shusterman as the chorus-girl-turned-
star Peggy Sawyer.
Shusterman's Peggy had a style
that immediately separated her from
the other chorus girls - stars in her
eyes, rosy cheeks and a smile that
could stop traffic. And she wasn't a
bad little hoofer! Okay, she was an
amazing hoofer; feet like that should
be insured.
The female chorus worked quite
well together, especially in "Go into
your Dance" and "Shuffle off to Buf-
falo." Adding comic relief was Kara

Pawlowski as the brassy character
actor/stage mother Maggie.
Which brings us to the subject of
men (in this production, that is). Where
were they? Other than the excellent
portrayal of hard-nosed producer
Julian Marsh by Ryan Bailer, and
Robb McKindles' satisfactory por-
trayal of Billy (McKindles did only
have a couple days to rehearse his
role), there were about two in the
ensemble.
The number "Dames," was cut
from the show -possibly because of
its dated representation of women
("Dames are temporary flames to you
/ Dames, you don't recall their names,
do you?"), but more likely because of
the lack of available men.
As is par for MUSKET, Ted
Layher and Marc Sakey's sets were
flimsy; Becky Jardon costumed
Dilly's Dorothy Brock quite elegantly,
but the rest of the cast (mainly the
ensemble) had cheap and sometimes
just plain hideous costumes - espe-
cially in the "42nd Street Ballet."
The show as a whole could have
benefited from more direction. With
the exception of Bailer's Julian Marsh,
none of the characters showed much
depth. But some may argue, who needs
depth when you've got such dazzling
dancing? The cast handled extremely
well the demands of Gower
Champion's original Broadway cho-
reography and Val Boreland's MUS-

Heather Dilly and Josh Funk were last second changes on "42nd Street."

KET choreography. The "Audition"
was especially impressive, led by Jill
Higgins as the Dance Captain.
Despite its flaws, considering the
circumstances under which it was
produced, MUSKET's efforts pro-

duced a fine show. The message of
the show still rang true - "42nd
Street" will always be synonymous
with "musical comedy, two of the
most glorious words in the English
language."

Women's Glee Club concert dazzles and delights

By CAROLYN QUINT
The variety of selections presented in the
Women's Glee Club Fall Concert highlighted the
performers' astounding vocal abilities and musi-
cal appreciation. Wonderfully directed by Jonathan
Women's Glee Club
Rackham Auditorium
November 6, 1993
Hirsh and Theo Morrison, the 73-member club
successfully performed as a whole while main-
taining their individuality.
The audience was immediately captivated by
the performance of three German part-songs. High-
lighted by soloist Shani Horn, the perfection with
which Franz Schubert's "Ellens zweiter Gesang"

(Ellen's Song II) was performed diminished the
language barrier and established a relaxed yet
stimulating atmosphere that remained throughout
the show. The ease with which these difficult
pieces were performed showcased the incredible
range of the women's vocal talents and the work
put into the concert.
A selection of pieces from Clifton J.Noble, Jr.
followed an awkward and confused transition as
flute and cello musicians joined the women on
stage. However, the prolonged pause and mur-
murs from the audience were quickly forgotten as
the powerful works were performed. The lively
combination of musicians and singers highlighted
the connected poetic and musical imagery pre-
sented in the pieces.
Inspiring renditions of the familiar songs
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "I'm Goin' Up

A Yonder" powerfully filled the auditorium to
conclude the first half of the concert. Following
the intermission, the Harmonettes recommenced
the show. The Harmonettes' humorous choreog-
raphy and provocative rendition of "Stray Cat
Strut" was deservedly rewarded with exuberant
laughter and applause from the audience.
As with many events on campus, the concert
ended with energetic renditions of Michigan songs.
The entire crowd participation inevitably occurred
during "Hail to the Victors." The traditional pride
connected with these songs combined with the
pride of both the singers and their audience over
the incredible performance which had just con-
cluded. The members of the Women's Glee Club
met the challenge of a program filled with a
variety of difficult pieces and did so with the style
and enthusiasm of professionals.

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