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Four actors take a chilling drama to
By JENN MCKEE I've hated it, I've resented it, it's shortly following the arrest of this
Women of the Ann Arbor area are kept me lying awake at night listen- man, the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre is
breathing a little easier as a result of ing to every little noise. I've been presenting "Extremities," which deals
the capture and arrest of a man al- victimized, as we all have, even with a woman meting out justice to
leged to be the Ann Arbor rapist. though we have been fortunate her attacker.
Many of us have been reduced to enough to get through this espe- Written by William Mastrosimone
childlike paranoia, dashing from our cially frightening and dangerous in the late '70s, and later turned into a
cars to our apartments so as to avoid the time physically unscathed. movie starring Farrah Fawcett, the play
monster that may lurk in our dark path. It is a striking coincidence that was inspired by a real rape victim who
encountered Mastosimone, a total
*":. stranger, and told him her whole story.
{ .. She told him how she was brutally
raped by a very young man. She told
" . . .Mastrosimone how therapist had been
brought to trial and was acquitted,
and then came up behind her and said,
S"If you think that time was bad, wait
for the next time."
She moved to avert him; she could
S4 .never again sleep with the lights off.
This event ruined her whole life. And,
she told Mastrosimone, if she was given
five minutes alone in a room with her
attacker, she would get her justice.
*v vIn "Extremities," Mastrosimone
1 grants Marjorie, the main character,
- k that opportunity for retribution.
The play begins with an attempted
rape in the first scene. Marjorie is able
to overcome her assailant, however,
. y and ties him up, placing him in the
fireplace. Originally, she intends to
get help, but the attacker starts calling
her by name as he has been stalking
her, telling her the police would have
{C ti t he +.L4 to let him go - that they'd miranda
him, and then he'd come back to get
her. In this nightmarish moment,
Margery feels trapped despite the
bonds on her attacker.
Things get more complicated as her
housemates come home. She admits
that a rape didn't actually occur, and
since they didn't witness the violence,
the one that appears vicitmized to them
is the rapist; he looks beaten up while
she has no bruises. For this reason, they
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's "Extremities" is a challenging but affecting play. almost tend to side with the rapist. It is
the extreme
here thatconflicts arise. The housemates
try to save her from stooping to the level
of this man and killing him.
"It's not a very comforting - or
pleasant play," admitted director
Jimmy Dee Arnold. "It's a fine piece
of work, however - a real actors'
play. Each part is something you can
really sink your teeth into."
Arnold is no stranger to the play, as
he played the part of the rapist while a
student at St. ClairCommunity College
in Port Huron. "When you're asked to
portray a rapist," he explained, "you
don't know what to draw on - what
this guy's like. It was hard for both Scott
Grant (who portrays the rapist in
AACT's production) and myself to fig-
ure out where this guy was coming
from. The text tells you he's a liar, so
you don't know whether what he's say-
ing is true or not."
Arnold is very confident about the
production and its players. "It shows
four of the greatest actors I've ever seen
assembled on a stage," said Arnold.
"They made wonderful choices in es-
tablishing their characters. Most of the
work I did was selecting the right cast
and crew. Beyond that, there was little
direction - Ijust kind of let them go."
The crux of the work is, of course,
Marjorie and the changes she experi-
ences. "Marjorie has to find that part of
her that's so brutal that we lash out, we
tear, we strike out in anger - and she
can't find that in herself; she's not so-
cialized that way," concluded Arnold.
Though it may not be the easiest
thing to watch, "Extremities" seems a
worthy attempt to provide a tribute to
all the victims that never get those
five minutes.
EXTREMITIES runs through Feb. 11
at the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre (2275
Platt Rd). Performances are Thurs-
days, Fridays and Saturdays at 8p.m.
Tickets are $8. Call 971-AA CT.
THE FAMILY THAT PLAYS TOGETHER
.'....................... . .'...... . .
Known as "The Royal Family of Guitar" to many, the Romeros have traveled
far and wide on tour. They've been invited to perform at the White House
twice, and have appeared with many of the major symphony orchestras,
including Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Boston.The pieces that
the Romeros play are widely varied. From music written by composers such
as Joaquin Rodrigo, Morton Gould and Father Francisco de Madina to
flamenco improvisations, the list goes on. What makes the Romeros
different is the degree of skill that they bring to the music - the audience
is captivated by their playing, as demonstrated by last season's sold out
"Guitar Summit" concert. The Romeros will be playing tonight at 8 p.m. at
Rackham Auditorium. Please call 764-2538 for more information.
Even as sexy spies, Fishburne and Barkin make dull 'Company'
By SARAH STEWART
In the opening scene of the new-
est espionage thriller, "Bad Com-
pany," the cold, gray, concrete walls
of the "Tool Shed" are what's memo-
rable. Never mind that within these
Bad Company
* I Directed by
Damian Harris with
Laurence Fishburne
and Ellen Barkin
walls Nelson Crowe (Laurence
Fishburne) is being interviewed by
Vic Grimes (Frank Langella) and
Margaret Wells (Ellen Barkin), the
top man and second woman in the
*prestigious, private espionage insti-
tution called The Grimes Organiza-
tion (AKA: the "Tool Shed"). Never
mind, because in "Bad Company" it's
style that counts.
Although "Bad Company" is full of
surprisingly complex plot twists that
keep it interesting throughout, the
premise and what follows is nothing
extraordinary. A CIA agent presently
out of favor with the agency, Crowe (a
Michigan graduate) is hired by The
Grimes Organization, a company that
rakes in millions using former intelli-
gence agents to do dirty, unscrupulous
bribery and blackmail for its Fortune
500 clients.
Apparently the organization does
what the government can only dream of
doing, which is why it's Crowe's as-
signment to infiltrate the organization,
overthrow its leadership and steer it in
the direction of the CIA's most danger-
ous needs and desires.
With the inclusion of the seductive,
steel-hearted Wells, Crowe's plan is
underway without much ado. They en-
gage in amutual seduction, triggered by
talk of money, power and even murder,
which evolves into an elaborate plan to
oust Grimes and take hold of the "Tool
Shed" and all its profits. Their plan
unfolds amidst unpredictable glitches
and is inevitably cut short by several
unplanned deaths.
If "Bad Company" is accompanied
by a lesson, it's that you can't trust
anybody because everybody, at least in
the highly secluded world of The Grimes
Organization, knows how to double-
cross and nobody, not even the govern-
ment, will think twice about doing it.
If there's a second lesson to be
learned, it's that in this world of de-
ception, appearances count more than
anything. Wells, wearing plunging
necklines, slinky long dresses and an
aggressive pout, clearly knows the
importance appearances play in a job
where its disastrous to reveal what's
brewing underneath the surface.
In some sense, "Bad Company"
itself is just like Wells; it relies on
appearances more than anything else.
The most frequented sets are the "Tool
Shed," marked by the aforementioned
starkness of concrete slabs, and
Crowe's luxurious apartment, char-
acterized by rich, dark hues that
scream out the high cost of immoral-
ity and the blood that pays for it.
Crowe himself is part of the decor,
always seen in a luscious burgundy
robe that reeks of sleaziness and de-
sensitized sexuality.
Unfortunately for Harris, appear-
ances only go so far. Fishburne and
Barkin are competent as well as at-
tractive in their roles, the dialogue
avoids the clichds that too often plague
films of the same genre and the plot
avoids the pitfalls that would make it
completely unbelievable, yet "Bad
Company" is only mediocre - it's
good, but it's not "bad."
BAD COMPANY is playing at
Showcase.
CURTIS
Continued from page 8
find myself sitting and playing the
guitar and that's when ideas pop out."
What springs forth manifests it-
self in tunes about things like her
father's backyard, working for a liv-
ing, relationship problems and joys,
and the flaws of the social system,
complete with insightful lyrics like
"You can always be gone / But you
can't always make the ride go on and
on / You can always drive fast / But
you can't always make the long ride
last."
Most of Curtis' words get very
intimate. She acknowledged, "I have
to be careful because I like to keep it
personal ... because when it is per-
sonal, it's clear to the audience that
I'm emotionally invested in the mate-
rial, and I think that's important. But
it also needs to be universal to some
degree with what people can relate to
through what kinds of things you're
specific about in your songs about
your own life. Sometimes, people
might be thinking too much about
you, and they really should be think-
ing about themselves."
Regardless, Curtis enjoys her work
immensely. "I love having a chance
to work on writing songs, writing and
recording a song, and trying them in
front of an audience."
As for the Folk Festival, Curtis
declared, "I'm glad to be doing it. I
feel like it's an honor for me to do the
Folk Festival. It's always a great fes-
tival, and the folks at the Ark who
sponsor it are people who have brought
so much music to this area and given
so much to the community. I think the
Festival itself is just a function of that
work, and I'm glad to be a part of it."
Even the drummers have to admit
that Ann Arbor is lucky to have her.
See CA TIE CURTISon-stage at the
18th Annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival.
Show starts at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday,
January 28th at Hill Auditorium.
Tickets are $22.50 at Schoolkids
Records and Ticketmaster. Call 763-
TKTS or 645-6666.
II
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