. ......... .. .. .. 7r k .. .'. k , t 4 ' ' nb:, 'm 6 & Viv'comealive on Ste Performance Network presentation resurrects poet's troubled life By JOSHUA RICH Best known for his collection of poetry, "Old Possum's Book of Prac- tical Cats," upon which the Broadway musical "Cats" is based, T.S. Eliot was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. Hidden, however, from the Tom & Viv Performance Network September 23, 1994 props and set design, and a lovely ren- dition of this painful story. This show presents drama at its highest level. Tom Eliot meets Vivienne Haigh- Wood when he attends Oxford in 1906. While he is an American Harvard gradu- ate with no future plans, she is an outlandish girl from a wealthy English family that doesn't appreciate her. Af- ter quickly eloping, the two begin to drift apart. Tom is troubled by Viv's strange behavior, and they cease to communicate as he becomes closer to her family than she ever was. The play moves through the years with great speed. As Tom's career takes off, his estranged wife becomes jeal- ous. Once his biggest fan and assistant, Viv embarrasses him in public by yell- ing slurs during his speeches or harass- ing his colleagues. It was during this period that Eliot wrote some of his most powerful work, including his wartime masterpiece "The Wasteland." This starkportraitof the lostgeneration of Europeans following World War I bares a striking resemblance to this pathetic man and his difficult mar- riage. The story's main failure is not in- corporating how acutely Eliot's mar- riage problems affected his writing. Surely such a talented poet would in- corporate his living woes into his work. This omission is the only major fault of the playwright, Hastings, who does a strong job focusing on Viv's illness as opposed to her husband's fame. Though simple, the design of this production is strong. Consisting of black and white curtains in the background and two sofas and a table on stage, the set is a bit too bare, but nevertheless practical. Added musical interludes of Glenn Gould piano pieces and Kiri Te Kanawa arias provide a nice supple- ment to the overall feel of the produc- tion. In a play that depends so much on its actors' dramatic abilities, all of the performances are engaging. John Grant Stokes plays the awkward Eliot with tremendous restraint. He appropriately appears confused and heart-broken, and believably repulsed at the sight of his insane wife. Viv is aptly portrayed by Wayne State University graduate Roxanne Wellington who appears, in the beginning, to beoveracting as Eliot's untamed wife. But she is strong at the end, lending a subtle look into Viv's depression as she is institutionalized and forgotten by her family. The finest performance of the show, however, is that of Robert Grossman who plays Viv's eccentric, yet caring brother Maurice. Like the audience, he watches his sister deteriorate over time. He is excited when she frolics about as an energetic young woman, and then saddened as she becomes a disturbed adult. Upon visiting his sister at the end of the play, Maurice breaks down in tears when he realizes what a difficult life Viv has had. It is a fitting finale to a play that carefully depicts the emotions and intricacies of a tragic modern ro- mance. TOM & VIV is playing through October 2 at Performance Network (408 W. Washington). Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and students, with pay-what-you-can Thursday. Call 663-0681. public eye was his troubling marriage that was as tumultuous as it was enig- matic. While Eliot wrote poetic mas- terpieces, his dark relationship with his disturbed wife was kept secret. Thus the tragic story of a man struggling for success as his wife begs for attention from her family and friends. Trittico Theater Company's pro- duction of Michael Hastings' "Tom & Viv" is a fine show that offers its audi- ence solid acting performances, simple John Grant Stokes and Roxanne Wellington's acting sparkles in "Tom & Viv" I Could the r By MATT CARLSON It's been said before, so many times before, but Saturday Night is dead. A television program has never been more closely scrutinized than Saturday Night Live, yet for all of the negative com- ments the show has garnered, it has always shown amazing resiliency. * No longer. In 1974, the experts said a live comedy sketch show would never sur- vive-yet survive it did. SNL turns 20 this year. In 1979, the departure of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi to Holly- wood stardom would no doubt ruin its greatness - yet Bill Murray led the other ragtag SNL veterans in one final glorious season. In 1980, a horribly unfunny new cast and Charles Rocket's eloquent pronunciation of "fuck" on the Weekend Update would no doubt get the show cancelled - yet SNL barely survived with Joe Piscopo and that Murphy kid showing promise. Then, over the course of ten years, SNL slowly rebuilt its shattered repu- Jeru The Damaja The Sun Rises in the East Payday Records You've heard him rapping on Gang Starr's albums. You heard his single "Come Clean" and knew you had to have the album. But now that you actu- ally have the album, can you condone what Jeru says? * Often times albums that have songs about "the Devil" (a derogatory term for whites), diatribes against "bitches" and homophobic lines are not easy to digest. But Jeru is not about wholesale negativity, he is speaking from the heart and a close listen reveals Jeru's true intent. The song "You Can't Stop the Prophet" is indicative of Jeru's sym- *bolic language. Jeru battles the min- ions of ignorance - hatred, envy and jealousy - ultimately winning the battle. Even though the antagonists are iew season mean the death of SNL? tation with brilliant new cast members -Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Dennis Miller, Jan Hooks, Dana Carvey, Mike Myers -as well as promising writers. No season was ever going to be as funny or fresh as the original cast's five seasons, but SNL began to show a steady and relatively high level of hu- mor. By 1991, Saturday Night had reached apeak. Millerhad taken Week- end Update and molded it into the most cynical, focused and direct SNL news- cast ever. "Wayne's World" was be- ginning to take hold of the American consciousness. And, developed char- acters like Hans and Franz, the Church Lady and the Grumpy Old Man deliv- ered consistent and loud laughs. They had even started to plan for the future by featuring young, often hilarious per- formers like Chris Farley, David Spade and Adam Sandler. So, SNL had nowhere to go but up, right? Sheaw, and monkeys might fly out of my butt. As expected, most of the 1986 cast members had left by last season, leav- ing only Kevin Nealon and Phil Hartman to blaze the trail with the young'uns in tow. But something un- foreseen happened. The consistency that had been a trademark of the previ- ous seven years had been lost. Sure, there were moments of ge- nius - like Farley's Matt Foley, the bumbling motivational speaker who livesin avan down by theriver; Spade's sarcastic whine in his "Hollywood Minute"; or Sandler's musical esca- pades as Opera Man. But overall, the laughless sketches outweighed the re- motely humorous ones. But, oh, the promise of a new sea- son. And, oh, the heart-piercing disap- pointment of lackluster performances and stale concepts. The one highlight of Saturday Night's season premiere, also, unfortu- nately, illustrated how sorely missed Phil Hartman's departure will be. The opening sketch detailed auditions among cast members for the now-va- cant role of President Clinton. Farley did his bumbling routine, Spade did his 1-800-COLLECT bit, Sandler played a song. But only Tim Meadows, the only Black man on the cast, gave an accu- rately funny impersonation of the Presi- dent. He quit after a few lines, saying "I'm not going to get this part, am I?" Unfortunately, he won't. Meadows as Clinton might bring some new chuck- les to the tried and true SNL presiden- tial impersonation sketches. New cast members aren't really very shocking. Rumors flew over the summerthat at least some ofthe Kids in the Hall may be appearing on SNL this year. Oh, what a glorious day that would be. Unfortunately, they were only ru- mors. Congratulations should be given to Lorne Michaels for getting Janeane Garofalo of "Reality Bites" and "Larry Sanders" fame. SNL has been missing See SNL, Page 8 Ahoy maties! After surviving the wreck of "Cabin Boy," Chris Elliott has now joined the crew of SNL - yet another sinking ship in his illustrious career. r'WMW -- --- Wi" LIZ- I .. ..3 A's I & & rl .,07A 0% - --"ki a faithless woman and what could be interpreted as the white powers sys- tem, Jeru is rapping about what he knows and ultimately delivers a posi- tive, if somewhat cryptic message. "Ain't the Devil Happy" is another song which could justifiably be criti- cized, but in this song, "The Devil" is more of a symbol for an oppressive order, not necessarily a white oppres- sive order. Regardless of race issues, Jeru stresses that his listeners should strive to do their best in the face of any adversity. Aside from all political correctness objections, Jeru's album is nothing short of slamming. DJ Premier lays down the fattest beats in the business and may possibly be the true star of the album. "Brooklyn Took It" may finally answer the question of which borough is the borough. Unquestionably there are some ob- jectionable aspects to this album. Of- ten though, these objectionable aspects create paradoxes which strengthen the album. These paradoxes force the lis- tener to think for themselves; which ultimately is Jeru's message. - Ben Ewy Black Train Jack You're Not Alone Roadrunner Records The metal-edged Black Train Jack has been recording for a few years now, but their latest release "You're Not Alone" is their best album to date, and could be the shot in the arm the band needs to break into the mainstream. Black Train Jack's potent blend of melodic and upbeat punk metal comes across fresh and exciting. Songs like "Handouts" and "Alright Then" groove with flying guitars and pounding drums. One of the best tracks on the album is "The Struggle," which rocks with a fun feel and a bluesy harmonica solo. As on the rest of the album, singer (yes, he really does sing!) Rob wails, trade- marking the Black Train Jack sound. Steve Miller's "The Joker" is also taken to a new level. With slamming energy, the band does the song justice, and then some. The pushing rhythm and intense energy makes the original version sound weak in comparison. If the music isn't enough to con- vince you, the band's latest music video casts the scabby bike messenger Puck from MTV's "Real World" as, what else, a scabby bike messenger. What a good reason to like a band! "You're Not Alone" is a refreshing and basically great album, and one of the best hard rock albums released in the past year. Black Train Jack has the talent and also the energy many hard rock bands today lack. Hopefully they'll be able to do something with it. -Brian A. Gnatt See RECORDS, Page 8 Take this quiz: When is the next special occasion with your certain someone? I ,J li :: a) The V-M vs. Penn State football game b) The next episode of 90210 c) Sweetest Day If you answered: (a), then ask Gary Moeller to marry you. 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