I UTbe £IIEIIIIJUU d4 Get a little 'Closer' "Closer Than Ever," a collection of songs by Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire (the acclaimed duo behind Broadway's "Big") will be presented by a group of musical theater students at the U-club in the Michigan Union on Saturday and Sunday at 9 p.m. This collaborative work offers an unusual opportunity to experience great musical theater. Tickets are a steal at a mere $3. Buy them at the door. Friday February 23, 1996 New work explores social issues Paul Molnar, Heather Dilly and Joshua Parrott make an endearing love triangle in "The Male Animal." well-bred'Male Animl TV veteran Hal Cooper directs James Thurber's classic comedy By Jessica Chaffin For the Daily Fiercely protective, foolishly insensitive, utterly absurd: fese are the mechanisms of "The Male Animal"- accord- g to James Thurber, at least. The department of theater and drama's production of Thurber's 1940 REVIEW The Male Animal Where: Lydia Mendelssohn Theater When: Tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. ckets: $16, $12, $6 students. all 764-0450. comedy about the unbridgeable gap between the male and the female of our fine species and the complica- tions that result opened at the L y d i a M en d ei s s o h n Theater last night. The production finds us nestled in Patricia and uber-jock Wally Meyers. Hal Cooper's production manages to find the happy bal- ance between humor and gravity which the material de- mands. A somewhat slow beginning gains momentum quickly, resulting in the extremely entertaining and enjoy- able second and third acts. This is due in great part to the strong performances given by each of the principal actors. Paul C. Molnar's Tommy Turner is an adorably disheveled mix ofendearing insecurity and intellectual integrity. Joshua Parrott contrasts well with a vibrant performance as the oafish yet adorable all-American hero. leather Dilly as Ellen vacillates convincingly between the two. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the production is its comedy. Although there are resonances of the sitcom humor which is Cooper's forte, his direction is not heavy-handed, and the actors manage to come off as convincing characters, not caricatures. The drunken scene between Tommy and Michael Barnes (Pat Moltane), in which we learn just how similar the behavior of "the male animal" is throughout the animal kingdom, is hilariously memorable for both its humor and its truth. The same can be said for the numerous scenes in which we see the disintegration and reconciliation of Tommy and Ellen. University Prof. John Neville-Andrews provides a wel- come splash of color as the British Dean Damon, a non- confrontational English professor who abstains from politi- cal discourse on the grounds that he "hasn't taught anything beyond the beginning of the 17th century." This production entertains, all the while cleverly provoking a critical intellectual reaction from the audience. If nothing else, it convinces us that we can never hope to understand the behavior of "The Male Animal," only marvel at it. By Greg Parker Daily Arts Writer Once again demonstrating a penchant for finding unique contemporary art, last Friday marked the opening of the Alexa Lee Gallery's NEXT exhibition. Consisting of a selection of social com- mentary artwork from five young art- ists, the Ann Arbor gallery says that the artists "are dedicated to illuminating a vision of the world often hidden by our limited sight and prejudice." Ranging from gender issues to cri- tiques of capitalism, the art is diverse - and provocative. Laurie Halbritter's gingerbread men and women with vari- ous "ambiguous appendages" seem to stress the abstraction of gender. Ironi- cally inspired by a 1940s cookie cutter, Halbritter describes the simple, mono- chromatic images as "dumb, yet so- phisticated." Halbritter's images are perhaps blunt to an extreme degree - the viewer really is not left with any- thing to work with when evaluating the gingerbread pieces. The work of Detroit's Scott Stephanoff, however, demands inter- pretation. Walking into the gallery, Stephanoff's "NIKE" is impossible to ignore. Quite simply, it is an industrial vision of the classic Nike. The Nike's rib cage is meticulously constructed from arched metal and various nuts, bolts and washers. Its wings are formed with metal strips, attached with fasten- ers similar to the rib cage. The metallic construction of the Nike reminds one of armor in apost-modernsindustrial sense. Stephanoff stated that he hoped to ex- hibit the timelessness ofthe classic with the immediacy of modern technology. While the Nike looks very heavy, it is by no means frightening - it is elegant and beautiful. Stephanoff's other piece, "The Keep," is another testament to technol- ogy. At first, the castle-like work sim- ply looks like a medieval lamp. Upon closer inspection, peering into the top of the "castle" exposes a small televi- sion monitor. The monitor displays Japanese animation with the theme of a technologically controlled world, but Stephanoff stresses that he believes there is no true battle with technology. Origi- nally modeled with Lego, "The Keep" is constructed with aluminum in a style similar to his "N IKE." Ann Arborite Stephanie Sailor con- tinues her tradition of gender issues with her contribution to NEXT. Along with a selection from "MILK-What a surprise!" is a piece that was inspired from the controversy that surrounded Eric's Trip Purple Blue I Sub Pop On their third album for Sub Pop, Eric's Trip opt for a harsher, more discordant sound. Where "Love Tara" and "Forever Again" emphasized the group's dreamy lo-fi leanings, "Purple Blue" punks out their basic formula of loud guitars and boy-girl harmo- nies. With their beautiful pop side submerged, Eric's Trip is amore chal- lenging listen. The opening track "In- troduction Into the ... " is a medley of NEXT Where: Alex a Lee Gallery When: Until March 16. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 668-8800. the "MILK" exhibit. Reminiscent of elementary school punishment, the piece consists of "I will not make any more art that includes penises" written in pink crayon at least 15 times on the paper. One cannot help but grin after seeing this purposely less-than-subtle work. Sailor also presents "Family Por- trait," a sequence of a reproduced fam- ily photograph. Under the matted se- quence is a list of persons in the photo- graph, which incidentally is Sailor's family. The women's names in the list, however, are crossed out and replaced with their "married" names. These crossed off maiden names juxtaposed with the sequence of photos above quite convincingly convey the feeling of loss. On a serious yet lighthearted note, Sailor's "Girls" and "Boys" are framed and matted with color-copied images of genderized dolls and action figures. Along with the highly masculine re- productions of Skeletor and other "boy" action figures are pink and frilly "girl" dolls. The color copier did a startling job of reproducing the plastic dolls, and Sailor states that she works with copiers on a regular basis because of low cost and versatility. Detroit's Greg Simons seeks to merge sculpture with painting with his work. All of Simons' pieces are thick, substan- tive and made of wood. They protrude from the wall and imply texture-espe- cially in "Ruined," with its wax inlayed in varnished plywood. Simons' use of texture is also evident in "I scream, you scream, we all scream, we all scream," which consists of a block of red, white and blue stripes with a chunk of Nea- politan-esque ice cream inset. Simons indicated that the Neapolitan ice cream's three flavors represented the utopian visions of capitalism, while the title sig- nifies the sarcastic, critical tone of the work. New Yorker Carter Hodgkin rounds out the quintet. Carter was not present at the opening, and his pieces seem to be impersonal. His "Duckweed Pollen #1- 5" are well constructed, but seem to be rather uninteresting upon first glance. Bruno L. David, Corporate Art Advisor for the gallery, noted that Hodgkin's elegant depiction of the duckweed pol- len were supposed to contrast with the problems caused by the pollen. This having been said, the pieces make more sense and are more congruent to NEXT. Overall, the Alexa Lee Gallery has amassed a diverse and extraordinary group of young contemporary artists. While social commentary is a central theme of NEXT, the pieces still main- tain high artistic standards without fail- ing to make a social statement. The different artists compliment each other well,and the different medias and themes of each artist maintain a very interesting environment for the viewer. C. .1' i e i the cozily optimistic setting of pep rallies and raccoon fur coats just before America's entrance into World War I. The "big rival" here is the opposing football team, not the Ger- mans, but Thurber's play manages to give equal weight to both the frivolity of the love triangle that is at the center, and to the conflict between the conformist demands of "Ameri- canism," which prevailed at the time and the free intellectual scourse seemingly inherent in American ideals, which nstitute its sub-plot. The age-old theme of the intellectual versus the physical is about as subtle as the marching band as Prof. Tommy Turner and football legend/old flame Joe Ferguson vie for Ellen Turner's affections. This triangle is shadowed-with school newspaper editor Michael Barnes, Ellen's younger sister Will Downing to play Following the recent release of his fifth album, "Moods" which debuted No. 1 on Billboards TOP Contemporary Jazz Abum chart, artist Will Downing will appear tonight at Detroit's Fox Theater. The night promises to be an outstanding one. A decade-long veteran in the music biz, Downing is without peers in his ability to combine various sounds unique to different genres into a single, all- encompassing musical greatness. The vocals he produces will cause your spirit to soar and crash like the tides: *"Moods" is a highly appropriate name for Downing's artistry. Blue Note jazz songstress, Dianne Reeves, will perform as well. Her recent "Quiet After the Storm" proves that she is a powerful singer with full control over the challenging lyrical assemblage of traditional jazz. As if these two black-music legends aren't enough, the Fox Theater will also welcome the beautiful saxophonist Najee, whose most recent LP is a * nicely-done jazzified remake of many of Stevie Wonder's greatest hits. Tonight the old and respected meets the new and beloved in black music. Don't miss it. Fox Theater, 8 p.m. All tickets are $27.50 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster. - Eugene Bowen WALKER VAN DYKE/Daily A woman enjoys the NEXT exhibit. the group's more gentle sounds, which makes the ominous, roaring drone of "Hourly" all the more star- tling. Indeed, most of "Purple Blue" shares that noisy drone and risks be- coming monotonous. The downbeat, hypnotic "Sixteen Hours" and"Alone and Annoyed" are some of the best of the noisy tracks, and unashamedly pop tunes like "Universe," "Light- house" and "Now a Friend" provide welcome variety. The gorgeous bal- lads "One Floor Below" and "Soon, Coming Closer" mix up the loud- and-soft dynamic play that "Purple Blue" could use more of. While still a good album, "Purple Blue" abounds with loud, thrashy num- bers that have all too much in common with one another. Turning the volume up to 11 doesn't mask the fact that the songs are weak. - Heather Phares See RECORDS, Page 10 *r**** ...Classic ****... Excellent ***--'Good **...Fair * ... Poor Zero ... A Bomb U =. Does waiting in line bug you? We have all the services > to get you in and out FASTI " Automated machines that 9i collate and staple " Report bindin while you wait r eprt * Canon Color Cpies in minutes binding / Overheads before class begins,.... /1 color J t . o l rShip UPS with us. U ........... .. ..... .... ...... .. c3Un/ayal A hilarious rivalry both on and off the football field. The M~al Animal by James Thurber and Elliott Nugent Directed by Hal Cooper Mendelssohn Theatre February 22-24 at 8 PM February 25 ,viseky S I Z~\ t-~.-1 ' A , n 219 c e#.#. Qt