me miiirguri Lvcy - gnawr .anary r, xIrv -z 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 FRESHPERSONS AND SOPHOMORES SCHOOL CAN'T TEACH YOU EVERYTHING. "THE MICHIGAN DAILY OFFERS A RELAXED BUT PROFESSIONAL WORK ENVIRONMENT. THE ONLY LIMIT IS YOURSELF." CRAIG COLLISTER, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE (ECONOMICS & POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR) GAIN VALUABLE BUSINESS EXPERIENCE AND BUILD UP YOUR RESUME AS YOU SELL ADVERTISING TO LOCAL AND REGIONAL BUSINESSES. 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