A TS Can I Have your Autograph? U Professor Teshome Wagaw will be signing copies of her new book "For Our Soul: Ethiopian Jews in Israel," which looks at the sole Black Jewish community in Israel. Yet another free event at Borders Book Shop * at 7:30 tonight. Give it an Evil Eye Organized in conjunction with the theme semester "The Theory and Practice of Evil," offered by the Religion Department, the North Campus Commons Atrium display the art exhibit, "Perceptions of Evil." The exhibit examines subjects of oppression in the 20th century. It'll be there until Friday, so catch it while you can. Asian American Art Show And speaking of art, the 1994 Asian American Art show is currently being featured in the Michigan Union Art Lounge. Works of over 20 student artists are displayed --paintings, drawings, ceramics, prints and sculptures - celebrating the artistic strengths, talents and passions of Asian Ameri- cans. It runs through January 28. Play about King sends' a soulful message By JESSIE HALLADAY All over campus people gathered to remember Martin Luther King Jr. There were speeches and discussions on every aspects of a multicultural society. No small part of the days events were the artistic celebrations of King's birthday. Jonathan Beck Reed and Courtenay Collins were two of the only bright spots in the Birmingham Theatre'sp Little amusement in 'I By MELISSA ROSE BERNARDO Sometimes you see a play or a movie, and it's really stupid, but it's the best thing you could possibly see at that moment. And two days later you could see that same play, and it's the stupidest Little Me Birmingham Theatre January 8, 1994 thing you ever saw. The Birmingham Theatre's production of "Little Me" is a perfect example of this polarity. The show, currently at the Birming- ham through January 30, waffled between stu- pidly enjoyable and stupidly inane, and ended not with a bang but with a whimper. "Little Me" itself is not a particularly strong show. Based on the novel by Patrick Dennis (of "Auntie Mame" fame, which in itself should be a sign of bad things to come), the show tells the life story of Belle Poitrine, a woman from Venezuela, Illinois, who dedicates her life to the acquisition of "wealth, culture and social position." Using Belle as a would-be author for a frame of refer- ence, the play is a series of flashbacks, acted out by 11 actors playing some 39 characters. The big hitch of the show is (are you ready for this?): Belle is played by a man in drag - here the famous Charles Busch, who received top billing. (In the original incarnation, incidentally, the role of Belle was not played by a man in drag.) Neil Simon provided the book, with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and music by Cy Coleman. There are a few memorable songs - "The Other Side of the Tracks," "Deep Down Inside," "Real Live Girl" and the title song. But the show seems to be a melange of more famous musicals - "Sweet Charity," "Chicago," "Gypsy," "Mack and Mabel" to name a few. Simon does provide some snappy dialogue, usually well-delivered by the actors. The most enjoyable aspect of this production was watching the actors play so many different characters. In fact, the funniest moment of the evening was when Jonathan Beck Reed, who was running on and off playing two men in one scene, came on stage as Noble, still wearing Val du Val's mustache. Courtenay Collins gestured to him (in character) and he took the mustache and placed it on the hand of the General (to make a hand puppet). But Collins was laughing so hard she couldn't talk! So of course the audience broke out laughing. With mock accusation, Reed turned to the audience and chastised us, "Oh stop! You try to keep one on!" Waiting for Collins to stop laughing, he tried to elicit his cue from her - "Three words! Sounds like --"It's a sad comment when the funniest moment is when the actors break character. The biggest disappointment was the perfor- mance of Busch, succesful playwright ("Psycho Beach Party," "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom") and novelist ("Whores of Lost Atlantis"), billed as the star. Busch was costumed beautifully, and he has better legs than most of the women in the show, but he was eclipsed by virtually every other performer in the show. In duets with the younger Belle (Courtenay Collins), Busch never shone. Instead of a seeing a glamorous diva, we saw what was left over - an aging, soon to be washed-up drag star. Jonathan Beck Reed, who played all the men who had influences on Belle's life, was hilarious. Granted, most of the characters are really carica- tures, but he gave each one 100 percent concentra- tion and dedication. Collins gave an equally ener- production of "Little Me." Attle Me' getic performance as the young, "well-built" Belle. She deserves special commendation for parading around without pants the whole show; if she wasn't wearing a short, tight shirt, she was just wearing nude tights and high heels (plus different snazzy jackets and such, of course). But she has a nice, clear voice, and a dynamic stage presence. James Morgan designed a very posh set, re- plete with ornate gold and black scroll-like orna- mentation, pink doorways and lots of angels (how trendy), finished off with a lovely chaize-lounge with pearl brocade upholstery. Worth Gardener deserves some commendadation for getting all those characters on and off stage relatively expediently, and for managing the erratic storyline. His style of direc- tion adapts well to Neil Simon shows - every- thing loud, big and downstage center (see Michael Kidd, "The Goodbye Girl"). The final scene at Belle's Southampton estate ("Here's to Us") was a little too overdone; balloons were dropped from the ceiling, lest you forget what fluff youjust saw. Of course, most audience members ate it up - "Look, Gladys! I caught a balloon as a souvenir of our evening!" - but faithful theatergoers were overcome with a short wave of nausea. Depending on how much you're craving mind- less entertainment on a given evening, "Little Me" might be for you. However, if you want angst, spirituality and well, substance, you might be more than a little disappointed. In the end, this critic has little good to say about "Little Me." LITTLE ME plays at the Birmingham Theatre (211 S. Woodward) through January 30. Performances are every day except Monday at 8 p.m., plus Sunday and Wednesday at 2 p.m. There is a special 2 p.m. performance on the 27th at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $19.50 to $37.50. Call 644-3533 for more information. Ain't Got Long to Stay Here Michigan Theater January 17, 1994 While the Winans were at Power Center, the touring production of "Ain't Got Long to Stay Here" visited the Michigan Theater. This produc- tion chronicled the life of Martin Luther King Jr. through song and drama. The cornerstone of the show was definitely the music. Traditional gos- pel songs performed by the six mem- ber ensemble carried the show through. It was knowing that a song had to be coming soon that made the often slow paced dialogue bearable. The ensemble was definitely on fire during the musical numbers, but were, by contrast, lacking in the other as- pects of the performance. Shining vocal performances were given by Jeff Carr, Connye Florance and Jackie Welch. Also helping the vocals along was the choir from the Ann Arbor based New Hope Baptist Church. The presence of the choir added a realistic aspect to the church scenes. Barry Scott, who wrote the play, gave an astounding rendition of King. His voice mirrored that of the historic orator, leaving the audience with the feeling that they had actually wit- nessed King's original speeches. "Ain't Got Long ..." documented all the well known events in King's career, including the Montgomery bus boycott, the bombing of the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta, the "I Have a Dream" speech, his stay in the Bir- mingham, Alabama jail and his assas- sination The set was well designed by * Stephen Schmidt for the versatility the show required. It transformed into a church, the sight of the lunch counter sit-downs and a jail. It was this versa- tility which helped the audience to envision the many settings required to lend credibility to the play. The costumes were simplistic in all black. This facilitated easy charac- ter changes with the addition of a hat or a coat. This, along with accent changes by the performers, allowed for manybcharacters to be played by the same person. However, the show was not one that will go down in the history books as a stellar piece of theater. Often it seemed choppy in its effort to cover many aspects of King's career as a civil rights activist. Scenes jumped from one major event to the next with little or no transition. Also missing from the biography was information on King's personal life. Thus, King was reduced to a man who lived his life for the civil rights cause without taking into consideration the sacri- fices of his family. It isn't hard to make King's words impassioned and stirring, but the play needed a little more original dialogue to make it work. It could not stand on snippets from King's speeches alone. Added dialogue would have helped with the transitions, as well as added more insight to the atmosphere of the time. "Ain't Got Long to Stay Here" tried to recreate the life of a man who is respected by people throughout the world, and while it gave some insight into the life of this great man of his- 0 tory, it couldn't hold a candle to the real thing. 5TH AVE. ATLFIBERTY .761-9700 THE PIANO (R) - Tues: 12:15,2:30,4:45,7:15, 9:55 Wed, Thurs: 4:45, 9:55 HEAVEN & EARTH (R) - Tues: 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:45 Wed, Thurs: 4:00, 7:00, 9:45 BARGAIN MATINEES $3.50 BEFORE 6 PM STUDENTS WITH ID $4.00 EVENINGS FRE EE 32 oz. DRIK I with purchase of a .arg popcorn (26 value) Present this coupon with purchased ticket thru 2/1/94J L X- ------------------ Various Artists Before Benga vol. 1 & 2 Original Music When the Kenyan government made Swahili the national language in the late 1960s, a strange thing hap- pened in popular music. Instead of converting to Swahili, local musi- cians voiced their regional pride by singing in local languages throughout the '70s. This was Benga. Yet before Benga and before Zairian and Congolese sounds swept through Eastern Africa, Kenyan mu- sicians of the '50s to the '60s crafted some indigenous guitar masterpieces. Volume One, "Kenya Dry," high- lights the many sounds of Kenyan acoustic ("dry") guitar bands. Culled from local recordings and pioneer ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey's field work, these are the most beauti- ful and intimately crafted songs I have ever heard. They range from power- ful local idioms, such as the thumb piano solo, to interpretations of Ameri- can pop, such as the barbershop quar- tet vocals of the Nairobi Shoeshine Boys. Surprisingly, old-time American county licks and icons surface within these strongly Kenyan ballads. The intro melody of the Wayo Trio's tune is lifted from a standard American country lead-in and the Kipsigis song "Chemirocha" is entitled and dedi- cated to Jimmy Rogers, the 1930s US country music star. But what distinguishes volume one is the home-grown guitar virtuosity of these Kenyan song-smiths. Mixing Cuban rhythms with snappy Congo- lese melodies and Swahili vocal duos with ubiquitous Fanta bottle percus- sion, these songs reveal the diversity of local traditions and the force of foreign influences. Volume Two, "The Nairobi Sound," features mid-'60s Kenyan pop. The electrified riffs show the big-city sophistication of these re- cordings. Though they lack the aural impact of volume one's acoustic gui- tars, the softened licks gained wider popularity than their rural counter- parts. Despite the lulling reverb on the Pichen and Tsotsi numbers, the lyrics carry strong political and social messages. And in the midst of these African twists lurk beautifully quirky syncretisms, like Isaya Mwinamo & his Merry Men's version of "La ' For more information and application materials, call us at 764-7521 or visit us at the Pilot Program Office Alice Lloyd Hall 100 South Observatory TODAY!!! Preliminary Deadline is January 20, 1994 Bamba" ("Bamba ya Afrika"). You don't need to be a xenophile to enjoy these two volumes of Kenyan music. Hear the evolution of dandling Kenyan guitars from decades past. - Chris Wyrod Barenaked Ladies Gordon Sire/Reprise You have to love it when musical experiments work. "Gordon" by Barenaked Ladies, has a cute, spunky sound, rich in creativity and texture. They poke fun at all kinds of topics (a la They Might Be Giants) with a light heart and a twangy acoustic guitar that is certain to tickle the fancy. Their clever, mocking themes are presented in a unique musical format rich in vocal harmonies which at times can even resemble the Manhattan Transfer. The guitar is exclusively acoustic, placing the album partially in the folk arena. The bass guitar is very fretless and twangy, neatly ac- centuating the sweet, silly vocals. The percussion department isn't quite as inventive, but its peppy pace estab- lishes a kind of folk-pop fusion, mak- ing them more than just a contempo- " GSTA salary (.40 or .25 fraction) " Tuition waiver . aci.A r Inhal cuiap The Pilot Program in Alice Lloyd Residence Hall is seeking Resident Fellows for 1994-95. Resident Fellows are Resident Advisors and teach first-year courses. They have both aca- demic and residence hall responsibilities in- FOR YOUR EYE EXAMS & EYEGLASSES I I I I I I I