's 'Patience' is scandalous to boot By DAVID SHEPARDSON "It was funny, if not a bit scandalous," said two elder patrons following Friday evening's perfor- mance of "Patience." Surely, Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre December 3, 1993 study of aestheticism turned up eyebrows more than a century ago, but for University viewers of this generation, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening - with little scandal to boot. The story of "Patience," or "Bunthorne's Bride" as it is also known, takes place outside the castle Bunthome in the England during the late 19th century. The 20 young maidens - who really number about 15 to 16 in the play - are formally engaged to a regiment of Dragoon Guards, the "B" basketball team of the British Military with- out much height or quickness on the boards. The Dragoons, are strong overall, providing much to the impressive ensemble songs. Colonel Calverly (Kevin Casey) seemed to grow into his role as the evening progressed. The Duke of Dunstable (Scott Piper) sang a trifle operatic, which at times detracted from the performance. Reginald Bunthorne, a modern day Dionysus played admirably by David Zinn had a nagging resemblance to Seinfeld's Kramer which was nettlesome at times. Bunthome's character was adored by the 20 love-sick maidens. As a group, the maidens sang remarkably well. Bunthorne, prefers the milkmaid, Patience, played by Tricia Klapthor. Klapthor, who richly played the role at times appeared a bit distracted. The audience did not get a sense of who the character is. Patience, scorning Bunthorne's love and all men's love was finally convinced by Lady Angela (Liza Wirtz) that she did indeed love at one time, Baby Archibald Grovesnor. The next scene takes a leap of faith to accept that seconds after Angela departs stage right an older Grovesnor, (Eric Gibson) replete with "puffy shirt and tights," spies the fair Patience. Gibson provided many of the laughs in the play through wonderful facial expressions. The relationship between Bunthorne and Grovesnor was especially charming. It is irksome, however, that Gibson used a British accent at the end of the play to illustrate his transformation from perfection to commonplace. What makes the character work is the simple fact that he is not perfect, but rather that his belief in his own perfection exudes from hj Patience interrupts a "ra ' Bunthorne is having for himself to declare t she will marry Bunthorne. Despite this act, the audience never got the sense that Patience really loves anyone: Bunthorne or Grovesnor. The maidens incensed, they once again requite the love of the Dragoons, but only until Grovesnor wanders by. Once again, captivated by aesthetics - the love of all things beautiful - they transfer their affections to Grovesnor. At this point, the Dragoons take drastic mea- sures to win the hearts of the fair maidens. They dress in wigs and costumes, adopting the "poetic mannerisms" of Bunthorne. The scene dragged far too long, and the poses of the Dragoons were stilted and modern. All this time, Lady Jane, played by the self- deprecating and obsequious Linda Nadeau, has held out hope that Bunthorne would come to his "senses" and marry her. Bunthorne, to allay his worries about Patience's love, forces Grovesnor to become a commoner. When cricket-playing Grovesnor re-enters, the maidens are now similarly dressed. Patience then decides she can marry Grovesnor, because he is no longer perfect. In the end, the play focuses on the search for love, especially for those who are not searching. The conversion of Patience, who previously thought of the insanity, irrationality and irregular- ity of love, uncovers the theme: love exists, but hey, be patient. This rendition of "Sleeping Beauty" is different, but still very cool. *New twist on a classic Beauty' By ROBIN BARRY Although it bears the classic fairy tale's name of "Sleeping Beauty," this odernized version, written and directed by Kerry Graves, is without question an original production. The play begins with the cast gracefully reciting the well-known story of Sleeping Beauty. But then someone thinks to question its validity. They start to wonder if that's the way the story really went, with the prince saving the day. The cast ends by deciding to update - * the fairy tale and have the princess Sleeping Beauty save the prince. That's where all the action starts. Ann Arbor Civic Theater Although the big gimmick of the December 3, 1993 play is the role reversal of the prince . and princess it has some other more subtle modernizations, which are easily appreciated - for example, the princess' combat boots and backwards baseball hat that so elegantly compli- ment her dress and symbolized her independence and strength. Also, the language of the play is very modern and hilarious, constantly reminding the audience that this. is an original production. One thing that is interesting about this production is that it's difficult to distinguish who the lead is supposed to be. Graves took special care to give every character its turn in the spotlight. She gives everyone a chance to develop a character which adds greater dimensions to the story. Of course, without a question, Bubbles, "The Itty Bitty Fief Fairy," (Genise rothers) steals the show. This is a great character. First thing that strikes you about this Fairy is her get-up. Sporting a pink tu-tu, boots with neon colored shoelaces, a camouflaged back-pack with pink fairy wings attached to it, and a trendy stocking-hat, this little fairy is quite a sight to behold. As she so charmingly puts it in the country number she whips up, "I'm so good at being bad." Bubbles is the evil fairy, the one that's not invited to the prince's christening and casts the curse on the baby. She's hilarious. This character really hams up to the audience, creating a sing-along out of her country song, she tells the audience, "Tami Wynette wishes she were me!" rothers boldly brings this nasty little sprite to life. She really rules the stage. The entire ensemble does a great job. The play is very theatrical, and definitely one of a kind. The modern humor keeps the adults laughing while the kids can relish in the fairy tale. It's a lot of fun for everyone. PIunpkins deliver the 'rawk' By MATT CARLSON Amidst the dehumanizing steel girders and concrete blocks of the Michigan State Fair Coliseum, Smashing Pumpkins "rawked" out for thousands of screaming fans last Fri- day. The Pumpkins came to "rawk" the walls down and came close to accomplishing that feat in their set of songs from their smash hit "Siamese Dream" and older favorites from their debut, "Gish." ILI NVIr4GR1 RGYIGii Smashing Pumpkins State Fair Coliseum December 3, 1993 We're talking "rawk" here - not just plain old rock fare. The Pump- kins are raw energy and pure spirit in the form of four "rawkers" from the Windy City. And even though the act of "rawking" out can be extremely difficult in a poor concert venue like the Coliseum, the Pumpkins roared with "Rawk-God" thunder. The evening began with an excel- lent set of songs from Britain's Swervedriver, whose sound of noisy, feedback-drenched, guitar jams seemed more suited to the poor acous- tics of the Coliseum. Not that the Pumpkins set was poor. But when the MARY K!tUFAflt~O~y Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins commanded the stage during the band's performance on Friday night. sound bounces off all of the metal and cement, the more subtle aspects are extremely difficult to grasp. And that's what makes the Smash- ing Pumpkins so "rawkin" - one minute they'll be smashing their gui- tars into a sonic fury, and the next they'll create intricate melodies. Still, poor sound aside, their set was in- triguing and magnificent. In fact, their "rawk" was simply smashing. Lead Pumpkin Billy Corgan ap- peared on stage, uttered "You ready to rawk," and the band broke into their ferocious "Geek USA." Two songs later, the crowd screamed with reckless abandon when they heard the opening guitar notes from the MTV, 89-X saturated "Today." Many who attended the show claim that "Today" was the best song of the evening. , Those zany moshers in the mosh- pit were in full-swing at this concert. Kicking and swinging (even during the band's more ambient numbers like "Hummer" and "Soma"), many moshers seemed to attend the show just so they could get smashed be- tween hundreds of others at the front, of the arena. When will people learn that when there is no room to move, it's pretty dumb to wedge yourself in even tighter. Some people just don't know how to "rawk." Take for instance the morons throwing anything and everything on stage at the Smashing Pumpkins. Maybe they just took the band's name too literally, but most likely they were just idiots who wanted to brag to their buddies that they whacked a "rawk" star in the head. This became unbearable for the band toward the end of their encore, and, rather than storming off the stage (as Kurt Cobain of Nirvana did last month), Corgan handled the overly testosterized thugs admirably by pointing them out and giving them a serious tongue lashing before jam- ming on the final song of the evening - the epic "Silverfuck." Overall, the evening with the Smashing Pumpkins was fantastic despite the poor venue and moronic moshers. This band is well worth the hype. "Rawk" on Billy and crew. Choral Union's 'Messiah' takes creative turn by CAROLYN QUINT Handel's beloved "Messiah" was performed with emotions powerful enough to leave even the Grinch filled Handel's Messiah Hill Auditorium December 4, 1993 with the spirit of Christmas. The per- formance was truly fitting for the University Choral Union's 115th an- nual production of Handel's grand oratorio. Thomas Sheets made his "Mes- siah" debut as the new University Choral Union Music Director. He is the 10th conductor to hold this posi- tion since the choir's founding in 1879. With featured soloists soprano Ruth Golden, mezzo-soprano Wendy Hillhouse, tenor Robert Tate and bass Louis Lebherz, Handel's illustration of the foundations of Christianity came creatively to life. Containing no dramatic action, the oratorio consists of a series of musical numbers that parallel the prophecy of Christ's com- ing, His birth, life, death and resur- rection. The Ann Arbor Symphony Or- chestra musicians were joined by Cherry Rhodes on the organ and Ladd Thomas on the harpsichord. Together, they produced music that matched the ability of the vocalists to express the emotional "Messiah" verses. The performance was marked by a remarkable variety of mood and tech- nique. The chorus sang "And the glory of the Lord" in a dance-like, triple time. Similarly, Hillhouse's rendition of "0 thou that tellest good tidings" filled the auditorium with its light melody and feelings of optimism and cheer. However, the force and strength with which Lebherz performed "Why do the nations so furiously rage to- gether" caused the audience to in- stantly widen their eyes and sit up straight in their chairs. It was the unexpected resounding exclamations throughout the entire performance that held on tightly to the listener's atten- tion and continuously challenged and changed their emotions. Unsurprisingly, the highlight of the evening occurred with the joining of both the performers and the audi- ence in'singing "Hallelujah" to con- clude the second of three parts that make up the oratorio. The audience was already anticipating and ex- tremely willing to stand up and join in on the excitement that filled the air during "Hallelujah." At this time, the division ofthechorus into twogroups, each singing different themes, show- cased Sheets's creativity and the in- credible talent he conducts. A little over three hours of pure entertainment came to a very fitting and glorious end with the combined efforts of all the vocalists and musi- cians. "Amen" released the audience into a round of exuberant applause and left them mentally prepared and optimistic toward the upcoming chal- lenges and demands of the holiday season. . A N NAitb' oit :!2, 5th AVE. AT LIBERTY 761-9700 MY LIFE (PG-13) - Fri, Mon, Wed, Thurs: 4:45, 7:15,9:35 ° Sat, Sun, Tues: 12:15, 2:30, 4:45, 7:15, 9:35 ' ...REMAINS OF THE DAY (PG) - Fri, Mon, Wed, Thurs: 4:00, 7:00, 9:50 Sat, Sun, Tues: 1:00, 400, 700, 9:50 BARGAIN MATINEES $3.50 BEFORE 6 PM STUDENTS WITH ID $4.00 EVENINGS _ A/Innriv Qrnolok /tom Ewcr . Ij~ I