10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 11, 1994 Loretta Swit plays the role of Shirley Valentine - a housewife in the middle of a mid-life crisis. Mi-lie crisis, ece a By DARCY LOCKMAN "Gone to Greece, back in two weeks," reads the note Shirley Valentine leaves on the kitchen table for her husband. Realizing she has become invisible to the people in her life, Shirley has to leave to regain sight of herself. So goes the story of Willy Russell's Tony- nominated play "Shirley Valentine." Loretta Swit comes to the Michigan Theater tonight in this one- woman show about a housewife in mid-life crisis. Swit will quickly tell you, though, that "mid- life crisis" describes Shirley's situation inaccu- rately. "That's an oversimplification of what's going on there," she said on the phone from her Califor- nia home. "It's about her courage. She has the courage to break out of her mundane life. I think the play is also about her husband who has the same (lifestyle), but not the same courage." Firstand foremost, Swit admires her character's bravery. "She has this insight, this ingenious way of spotting the truth. She's very brave, and is willing to strike out to get herself back into gear. She has let labels - the labels of mother, of wife - take over her persona , but then she goes out and gets that persona back at the sacrifice of nothing." Unlike Valentine, Swit has never been one to let labels infuse her life. Once a wife and never a mother, Swit has always been an actress. She knew early that professional acting was her goal, and achieved it long before her role as Hot Lips RESD Houlihan on "M*A*S*H" catapulted her to fame in the '70s. "Hot Lips was an interesting character," she said. "I have to like a character to do her, and I liked Hot Lips better as I developed her. She was underwritten at first. "I don't find myself looking back (on the series). I look forward to see where I'm going. People who look back have the tendency to trip," said Swit, sounding like a fortune cookie - wise, speaking a universal truth. Her throaty voice re- flects wisdom: the wisdom of experience. Loretta Swit has been around and does not hesitate to share her knowledge. What she does refuse to reveal is information about her personal life. She will say only that she "grew up in the East," that she lives somewhere in California, that she "does not discuss anything as private as age." Just back from performing "Love Letters" in the Cayman Islands, Swit has been playing Valen- tine intermittently for over three years. Between "Shirley Valentine" performances, she works in television (TV movies as well as a recent episode of "Murder She Wrote"), film and other theater ventures. Preferring theater because of its "instant gratification," Swit has done over 200 perfor- mances of "Valentine." Still, Swit does not get bored. "The audiences and the places keep changing. I keep finding different things in the character," she said. Neither does she find that a one-woman show is difficult to sustain. "It's great. I don't feel I'm iidShirley alone on that stage. The minute I see the audience I'm not alone. The structure of the show allows me to share a lot more than other plays. "Shirley is my favorite character because she's who I'm doing now. My favorite role is always the one I'm playing at any given moment. It's not as fickle as it sounds; it's my work." When not performing, Swit works as an ani- mal advocate. She recently completed a wildlife series for the Discovery Channel and was named Woman of the Year by the Animal Protection Institute of America. But don't call her an animal rights activist. "I think those words have come to be misun- derstood," she said, "I admire passion but you don't accomplish things by throwing ink at women in fur coats. I don't believe it helps to free lab animals. That's not what I do. I give time to fundraising to help preserve wildlife." For the rest of this year, Swit will be playing the role of Shirley Valentine. She has "lots of long range plans," but prefers to stay centered in the present. "I have to focus on one performance at a time. I don't like to live in the future, to focus on tomorrow. I live in the here and now." Tonight, the "here" is Ann Arbor; the "now" is Shirley Valentine. And Swit as Shirley goes off again to Greece to regain her elusive persona. SH RLEY VALENTINE will be performed tonight at 8 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. Tickets are $23.50 and $29.50. For more information call 668-8397. Flutes just a portion of. a Galway performance By KEREN SCHWEITZER James Galway was the first flutist I ever heard. I was given one of his albums, "Annie's Song" shortly after beginning the flute, and I listened to it for hours. Later that same year, I saw Galway in concert, and was amazed when for an encore, he pulled out two pennywhistles and played theib simultaneously. Even as a beginning flutist, I was mesmerized by his glorious sound, astounding technique and amicable stage presence, but I was not the only one. James Galway is perhaps one of the most likable and most popular soloists on the concert hall stage. His universal appeal as an entertainer and hiS consummate artistry has earned him a reputation as one of the world's greatest flutists. Born in Belfast, Ireland, Galway began his musical studies on the' pennywhistle. He soon advanced to the flute, and at the age of 12, he won three prizes at a local flute competition. He enjoyed a successful orchestral career that culminated in his appointment as Principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic. In 1975, he left the Philharmonic to begin his solo career. Perhaps the most attractive attribute of James Galway is his personality: He is charming, warm and approachable, not to mention his wonderful Irish accent. About his decision to embark on a solo career he said, "I never thought about it ... you can't just decide to become a soloist, you have to want it. r worked on it gradually with smaller concerts leading to bigger concerts." Despite leaving the Philharmonic, Galway said that he enjoyed playing in, Berlin and did not find the life of an orchestral musician restrictive. "I have' never felt restricted by anyone or anything, I just do my own thing." Galway is constantly aware and communicative with his audience during a concert. "Many soloists don't know what's going to happen as they walk out onstage. I know exactly what's going to happen because I practice it at home. The performance should just be an extension of your playing in the kitchen at home, with no punches pulled." This informal approach helps Galway create a comfortable listening environment. "There should be no formality in music, a musical expression is a musical expression," he said, "Nevertheless, whatever you play, you must always play with the greatest reverence." On playing the flute, Galway said, "When a flutist practices, he or she' must constantly be aware of the instrument and the sound. For instance, he can't be thinking about the chick down the corridor." He continued, "At a master class I taught in Wisconsin, I asked a flutist to play me a folk song, but * she didn't know any. Then I asked her to play the national anthem, but she didn't know that either. I can't help these sort of people until they really know music, she was just a typewriter with a headjoint." Many serious classical music aficionados criticize Galway's informal approach to performances. Bernard Holland, a critic for the New York Timds said of Galway, "With his beautiful sound and blarney like way with a phrase; Mr. Galway is more of an audience milker than a serious musician." Galway has also been criticized for recording albums of popular music and arranging all kinds of music for the flute. Despite this type of criticism, others argue that Galway does indeed take his music seriously, particularly new music. Last year alone, he performed five new flute concertos, one of which was written by the University's own Professor of Composition, William Bolcom. Galway added, "I am not necessarily a champion of new music, Ijust play what I like. Yesterday I got a piece of music, but I think it would have been better in color as wallpaper." While in Ann Arbor this weekend, where Galway will perform works by Doppler, Faure, Widor, Mozart and Saint-Saens in Hill Auditorium, he has been generous enough to teach a flute master class at the School of Music. Hd will not accept money for his services, but the flutists who perform for him will donate $25 to an artists' foundation dedicated to AIDS research. JAMES GAL WAY will peform Sunday at 4 p.m. in Hill Auditorium. Tickets range from $29 to $20. Call 764-2538 for tickets. Carcass Heartwork ..Earache/Columbia If Carcass' only objectives on this record are to be heavy and evil, they have accomplished them. Death metal is a minimalist genre that only seeks to achieve these two criteria in their purest form. Hence, every death metal album winds up sounding basically the same. It is the never ending search for the almighty riff and Carcass has taken a pretty good stab at the eternal struggle. The band was started by bassist / vocalist (the term is used loosely) Jeff Walker while he was attending medi- cal school. He eventually decided that he enjoyed singing about decaying body parts more than physically deal- ing with them. Their first two releases separated them from the death metal pack because of their hardcore influ- ence and their incredibly gory lyrics (a positive attribute in this genre). On "Heartwork," the music is heavier and more refined, more like typical death metal. "Heartwork" is somewhat slower than past releases, but the uninitiated will never know. The vocals are still idiotic and the music is as antisocial as ever. Their awesome riffs are re- ally their only redeeming quality, the best of which show up on "No Love Lost," "Arbeit Macht Fleisch" and "Buried Dreams." As death metal goes, this is a pretty good offering from an established player in the form. There is also a really cool H.R. Giger sculpture on the cover. Are these guys on the cutting edge of evil or what? - Gianluca Montalti Depeche Mode Songs of Faith and Devotion ... Live Sire The big question here is: Why? Why would Depeche Mode release an album which is the EXACTequiva- lent of their last release? The only difference between "Songs of Faith and Devotion" and this "Live" ver- sion is the concert-sound factor. Hmm ... Could it be Depeche Mode trying to capitalize on the immense success of "101"? The problem is, it's still "Songs of Faith and Devotion." Even worse than "Violator," and nowhere near as good Christian slater as "Construction Time Again" or "Music for the Masses," this is Depeche trying to fit in with the 89X crowd. Some of Depeche Mode's appeal remains intact. David Gahan's voice still has that hollow, sexy qual- ity and Martin Gore's lyrics are still mysteriously abstract yetclose enough to earth to be understood. But "Faith and Devotion" lacks the energy and excitement of their previous releases. There is nothing fueling the music - which was the most noticeable problem on their "Faith and Devotion" tour. Gahan is trying to attain Bono's sex appeal, which he has no hope of achieving with that '70s-retro look he donned on the tour. Gore is not getting as creative as he used to with vocals or ballads and, as a result, all the music sounds the same. If you're a die-hard Depeche fan, and you absolutely must relive your concert experience, then buy this one, But the rest of us sit patiently await- ing the old Depeche Mode. - Melissa Rose Bernardo READ "ON CAMPUS" EVERY THURSDAY IN WEEKEND ETC. Patricia arquette 25¢ LASER PRINTS Bra nh a t s oM epmnt. lmi 10 paeWWo 1MW WIS. CuM ~ be w iewMawrdrx o oters. Epres 345h94. kinko's the copy center A humorously biting play about money and morality by George Bernard Shaw I :; ..° s