The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 9, 1996 - 9A 'Burn This' sets hearts ablaze By Christopher Tkaczyk Daily Arts Writer Sheer awe is what most of the audi- ence must have felt after they walked away from taking in director Allison Tkac's ingenious presentation of Landford Wilson's "Burn This." The play was a comedic drama whose main themes covered the process of grieving personal losses as well as the hardships of living as a creative artist. The strongest aspect of the show came from the powerful and moving perfor- mances given by 'R the strong actors, all of whom are School of Music theater students. The beginning of the play ascends to the lofty New York City apartment where Anna (Kelly King Simpson), a choreographer of modern dance, is dealing with the loss of her former friend and roommate, Robby (whose life as a homosexual dancer went unnoticed by his own family). Anna has a rich, would-be fiance named Burton, who is played with human realism by Jonathan Baker. Larry, Anna's other roommate, was played hilariously by musical theater senior Matt Schicker, who provided most of the play's comic lines. A vol- cano of dramatic energy can be found in Alex Alioto, whose character of Pale (older brother of the deceased Robby) was played beyond perfection with fast- paced thinking and spouting of random thoughts and irkings. In a very emotional scene performed brilliantly by Simpson and Alioto, Pale and Anna descend into the binds of love based on depression and confusion. After spending the night together, Pale leaves her, and all is forgotten until he appears at her door on the following New Year's Eve - while Burton and Anna are pursuing a romantic adven- ture themselves. The secret of the one night stand comes out into the open, and Burton becomes enlightened to the sad triangle of love. One special scene, in which Anna details staying the night at Robby's par- EVIEW Burn This Arena Theater Dec.6, 1996 fly collection to the ents house after the funeral, explains how she stayed in a room where a young bug-collecting relative of Robby's had pinned his butter- wall. Although he When he's not accepting Oscars, Anthony Hopkins woos. Talented Anthony Hopkins survives inconsistent 'Picasso' thought the bugs were dead, they only had been anesthetized by the rubbing alcohol, and not completely killed. During the night, Anna woke up to the sound of the walls flapping as the now awake butterflies were trying to escape. Symbolic of the way in which an artist is caught in his personal art, this scene attempts to demonstrate Anna's emo- tional state after going through Robby's death. Each performer provided a different aspect of the show's success. Schicker's best moments came when his sarcasm was voiced after very emotional scenes. His best and most flamboyant scene was one in which Anna learns that Larry had been listening to their entire conversa- tion as he danced around the apartment singing "I'd Rather Be Blue" a la Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl." This situation makes fun of the way in which Pale had sung a line from the song to Anna on their first night together. Baker's interpretation of the intelli- gent and charming Burton proved very admirable, but the one bad choice made within the show unfortunately comes with the arrival of his character. Clad in awfully tacky multicolored bicycle shorts, Burton's entrance seemed more of a clownish introduction, than to the sophisticated writer that he proved to be. The ugly shorts did not seem to be a characteristic choice that Burton would make, and while it didn't add to his char- acterization, it did contradict with the persona that he was trying to establish. Alioto is an acting powerhouse, whose timing was never off during the show. One would assume that an actor would jumble his lines with all that Pale has to say, but Alioto delivered them swiftly and deftly as he attacked all that Pale's mind jumps to. The characterization of Anna did not seem like an easy task to conquer, but Simpson handled the job quite well. While being funny as well as powerful- ly emotional, her Anna proved to be the most endearing character within the play. Her sexy, yet sometimes tearful performance kept the hearts of all these in the audience falling in love with the way in which she captured both Pale's and Burton's hearts. It is not going too far to say that this is one of the best student productions to be presented on campus in quite a long time. Hopefully, audiences will come away from this show understanding the amount of personal experience that artists put into their work. And, likewise, we should appreciate the mountain of talent that the University students who contributed to this show possess. By Prashant Tamaskar Daily Arts Writer The latest from the famed Merchant / Ivory production team, "Surviving Picasso" deals with the tumultuous 10-year elationship between the renowned artist and Francoise Gilot, the only woman to break the emotional stronghold that the legendary figure had on the opposite sex., The film begins just after the German occupation of France during World War II, when an aging Picasso (Anthony Hopkins) meets Francoise (Natascha McElhone), a universi- ty student who paints in her spare time. After inviting her to his studio to see his work, it isn't long before Francoise moves in with Picasso, whose popular- ity and ego are at an all-time high due flo his crafty resistance to the Nazi R E regime. Slowly, she is exposed to the artist's unique world, full of women 9urv who, although forsaken by Pablo, remain disturbingly devoted. The strong-willed Francoise is deter- mined not to suffer the same fate. But after bearing two of his children, her dependence on him increases until she is nearly in the same situation as the oth- ers. The rest of the movie deals with Francoise's struggle to continue to love the artist - without letting him completely reck her life. Perhaps remaining true to real life, "Surviving Picasso" paints a rather unflattering portrait of one of the true giants of the art world. The artist is presented as a misogynous, game- playing monster, willing to ruin the lives of others for his own personal pleasure. Essentially, all the women that Picasso becomes involved with are enslaved. Initially, he invites them into his life, and then he destroys their ties with the outside world until all they have left is him. Once this has happened, he tosses them aside, changing women about as often as he changes the style f his art. Yet Picasso's former lovers remain hopelessly loyal to him. Although he is extremely demanding of them, and he rarely oflers them any compensation (financially or otherwise) in return, they are willing to do anything for him. Tragically, they live only to serve him. The focus on Picasso's relationships proves to be fascinat- ing, and this is a major strength of the film. But the movie's incomplete presentation of this theme prevents it from really setting itself apart from other biographical works. Unfortunately, director James Ivory never offers us the opportunity to understand Picasso. We never get a real sense of the manipulative artist. The questions concerning why he hates everyone so much and why he has such a strong hold over women are left unanswered. Author Anshaw explores tale between the lines Hopkins' Picasso VIEW iving Picasso At the State Theater has many of the same attributes as Richard Nixon, the last historical fig- ure played by the Academy Award-win- ning actor. His Picasso, however, does not have the complexity of Nixon's character. Moreover, Hopkins takes quite a while to really get into his role. But when he does, he is particularly effective, especially at displaying Picasso's mood swings. Carol Anshaw Seven Moves Houghton-M ifflin If you are looking for a novel that takes you on a literary rollercoaster ride - with a steady building of plot culminat- ing in a rich and penetrating climax - then this is not your book. Anshaw's "Seven Moves" is not a story that is painted out in bold black letters - it is the tale that lies between the lines, the allegory that remains untold in literal terms that makes her work so captivating. Anshaw's stylistic way of making even the most guarded reader fall in love with her often poignant writing is the key to appreciating her work. When you first open the book and let your eyes peruse the beginning pages, you begin to conceptualize what Anshaw is trying to portray in the central characters. Even as you delve into the myriad interconnecting stories, page by page, you already know what the author is going to do with it. The story is gift-wrapped with translucent paper - you know what's See BOOKS, Page 1OA Francoise is a well-developed character, whose resiliency serves as the perfect weapon to combat Picasso's manipula- tive malice. McElhone, despite an occasional poor line read- ing, is able to capture the essence of a woman who is very much in love with Picasso; at the same time, though, she understands that she must keep her distance in order to sur- vive. As one should expect from the heralded Merchant / Ivory team, "Surviving Picasso" is beautifully photographed, with colorful costumes and paintings, and a combination of lush, energetic backdrops with dark, morose sets. Yet in the end, what separates other Merchant / Ivory suc- cesses like "A Room With a View," "Howards End" and "The Remains of the Day" from this latest effort is an overall lack of passion. Unable to completely get at the soul of the main character, "Surviving Picasso" functions more as a well- filmed documentary of the relationship between Picasso and Francoise Gilot, and less as an intense, emotional historical drama. Tomorrow will be the last issue of the Daily for the term. We'll return on Jan. 8, 1997. Sapp .dO Idas. ... AN OPPOR! 'V D-At- CP0"ITE(Ies t t _ 1St An a~ Kbhti-Ethic Il-Lea dership Retreat s O .i ° m° i' J I' i ICHIGA " real music. a e phone: 663.5800 114 suhnversity (above goodtime chareys), A A mo.turs.: 9:00a-10:00p sundays r.&sat.: 9:00a-11:00p 11:00a-8:0op 's~ 7 ~el'Co , aodcie SOby MICHIGAN RECORDS U'. rNhfaedi~n ~our jist cRSVtrfisemnet GlbfT. Xe~*?es 4~~V vs~u~&7 for d e IOIJ featuring: real world' long day and "push" -), Sacred Cow SFeotv*in: Whoever You Are " lotto SO " She5 Withers aSe (bd S' 'FiZ of VQ0 3f t 0.V~IIe to se% ') t~tctaod fu I a herstuf o sl no V ... NN _ .r: ~T~1 l