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Michael oore & 'U'
AcclaImed fimmaker Michael Moore will make a special visit to Ann
Arbor today to sign copies of his new book, "Downsize This!" Moore is
the director of the hit documentary "Roger & Me," about Flint, Mich.,
and he also developed the television program "TV Nation." The book
signing will take place at 7 o'cock tonight at the Michigan Theater.
A
Monday
September 9, 1996
8A
'ER' docs leave 'NYPD'
blue at 50th E nmmys
Tupac Shakur shot for
second time in two years
By Joshua Rich
Daily Arts Editor
What began as some sort of tribute to the 50-year
history of television wound up being another mori-
bund, banal and predictable program that supposedly
showcases the best in TV
The "best?" Why, then, were outstanding shows like
"Seinfeld" and "The Larry Sanders Show" once again
snuffed out of top prize contention by such inferior
ratings winners like "Frasier" or the mindless and
abysmal "3rd Rock From the Sun?"
Somehow, amidst all the greed and lust that drives
the Hollywood of today, the Oscars, Tonys and even
last week's MTV Video Music Awards are able to
weed out the diamonds from the coal, the flowers from
the weeds. Not so for the Emmys.
So it should be no surprise that the very special
show to honor 50 years of the Academy of Television
Arts and Sciences (those who hand down the golden
statuettes from on high) quickly turned into a jam-
packed and tiresome display of mediocrity.
Host Paul Reiser of NBC's "Mad About You" did not
do much to help the proceedings, spewing forth inane
quips for the little time that he spoke on stage, and
yielding to the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Candice Bergen
and Mario Thomas for much of the rest of the program
(why not throw in a little TV aristocracy to douse the
flanes in which your host is shamelessly burning?).
Other awkward moments arose when Milton Berle
arrived on stage to smile and crack a joke - not to
present or accept an award - or when Oprah present-
ed L.A. Dodgers' player Brett Butler who recently
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Rapper Tupac
Shakur and a record company executive
were shot in a car as they rode down the
city's busy casino Strip, and Shakur was
in critical condition yesterday.
It was the sec-
ond shooting in
two years for
Shakur, who has
a history of vio-
lence and trouble
with the law.
Police didn't
know yet if
Shakur and
Death Row
Records Chair-
man Marion };
"Suge" Knight
were deliberately v
targeted or if the {
shooting was ran-
dom, said Metro
Police spokes-
man Greg
McCurdy.
"It's very
unclear because Rap artist Tupac St
of some of his condition after bean
past problems,
some may think someone may have sin-
gled him out," McCurdy said.
Police had made no arrests Sunday.
.Shakur, who starred opposite Janet
Jackson in the movie "Poetic Justice,"
has been working on another film,
"Gridlock." His latest album, "All Eyez
On Me," has sold at least 5 million
copies.
Shakur and Knight were traveling in
a convoy of about
'10 cars late
Saturday, appai
ently headed to a
nightclub, aftetl
watching the
Mike Tyson-
Bruce Seldon
heavyweight title
fight, police said.
Police said
Knight was dri-
ving and no one
k ~else was in the
t. car with them.
A car with furW
people inside
pulled alongside
at an intersection
and one person
opened fire,xid-
dling the pas$n-
akur is In critical ger side ,f
shot yesterday. Knight's car ,With
bullets, police
said.
The 25-year-old Shakur, in the-pas.
senger seat, was shot several times im
the chest and was in critical condition
See TUPAC, Page 10A
ha
overcame cancer to return to the game. I suppose this
means Butler is going to star opposite his namesake in
"Grace Under Fire" next season.
It certainly was nice to see old TV favorites like
Carroll O'Connor, Tim Conway and Carol Burnett
march on stage. It was embarrassing to see just how
poor the current television stars have gotten when
compared to these legendary predecessors.
And while "ER," which has become like a
Hollywood minor league ball club that features down-
trodden movie stars and hot hot newcomers, may have
swept up the first of many best drama awards it will
receive, "NYPD Blue" will always be No. 1 in my
mind.
311 energizes sold-;
out State Theatre
Comedies highlight
lighter side of Stratford.
By Karl Jones
Daily Arts Writer
First rule of life: Know when to make
an entrance. Second rule of life: Do not
attempt to show up fashionably late to
what you think is a 7:30 p.m. concert,
only to find out it started at 6:30 p.m.,
and you just missed the two opening
'bands. Especially if those two bands are
the Urge and
Shootyz Groove.
Especially if R
State Theater I
security guards
force your friend
to run his chain
wallet all the way
back to the car,
nearly causing you to miss the main act.
Oh yeah - and especially if you are
supposed to review the show.
On that note, the Urge and Shootyz
Groove were, uh, reported to have
rocked out pretty hard at 311's State
Theater show Friday night. But we're not
a forum for gossip, so we'll leave that
part of the evening to the imagination.
311, however, was one giant, flaming
ball of punk/reggae energy. The band,
which was playing to a crowd of about
20 at the Shelter just a few years ago,
managed to sell out the State Theater
this time. And for good reason.
Fans were crowd-surfing during the
silence between songs. When 311
played "Who's Got the Herb?" a guy
toward the front held up his bowl and
yelled, "I got it, man! I got it!" Girls
were screaming, people were grooving
- 311 had broken through.
The only 311 material to get consis-
tent radio play is from their most recent
album, "311." But the boys from
Nebraska kicked off the show with
"Homebrew" - one of the more mellow
tunes from their second album "Grass-
EVIEW
311
State Theatre
Sept. 6, 1996
from all three of
roots."
From there, the
band jumped
around, mixing up
styles and textures
with their always-
difficult - to -
pigeonhole sound,
and playing tunes
their albums. "Nix
By J. David Berry
For the Daily
The following are brief reviews of
some of the comedies showing at the
Stratford Festival in Ontario.
THE MUSIC MAN
Meredith Wilson's classic musical,
"The Music Man" has been one of the
standards since its arrival on the
Broadway scene in 1957. Since then,
songs like "Ya _____
Got Trouble;'
"Seventy-Six KI
Trombones "and Th
"Goodnight, My
Someone" have V
been on the lips Runnin
and tongues of
most Americans at one point or anoth-
er. This production, directed by Brian
Macdonald, hits the majority of the
marks, but in the end, it is Meredith
Wilson's craftsmanship that really saves
the show.
The majority of the problem with this
production comes from the two leads,
Dirk Lumbard as traveling con artist
Harold Hill, and June Crowley as the
always-proper librarian, Marion Paroo.
Neither of these actors do a bad job,
and at times, they were actually quite
good. However, for this production to
truly click, it would have required two
outstanding actors that produce two
immovable fronts. The fun then comes
from watching which one of these pow-
erhouses caves in first.
Unfortunately, that kind of stage
presence is rare, and generally found
only in seasoned stage actors. The ease
that comes from that kind of conTi-
dence wasn't there, and that made a
great deal of the confrontation appear
forced and uncomfortable. Lumbarrd
seemed to have trouble keeping up with
"Ya Got Trouble," so from the very start
there was disappointment. Crowley has
a lovely singing voice, but her prudi
morality Ma -
peared forced:
E V I E W What saves
e Stratford this production is
Festival a terrific ed' e&-
now through Nov. 3. ble, led by the
Call 1-800-567-1600 comic gem
Karen K. Edisi
as Mrs. Shinn, wife of the mayor and
'.E
he
ng r
c
Hex'" "Hydroponic" and "Freak Out"
(from 1993's "Music") highlighted the
exchange between booming lead singer
Nicholas Hexum and higher-pitched
master of turntables S.A. Martinez.
Different band members stepped for-
ward at different moments during the
show, however. Recent songs like
"Down" and "Jackolantern's Weather"
rely heavily on the guitar work of
Timothy J. Mahoney, and Chad Sexton
blew the crowd away with a massive
drum solo during the middle of the set.
311 left the stage with the resounding
battle cry "fuck the bullshit, it's time to
throw down!" (from "Fat Chance" -
arguably the most hard-core song on
"Music.") The show could have actual-
311 performed for a sold-out State Theatre crowd Friday night.
ly ended there, but as fans probably
already knew, band member P-Nut had
not yet had a chance to "beat that
thang." (He's the bassist, all right?)
P-Nut took his turn in the spotlight
when 311 returned to the stage to encore
with "Feels So Good." It was an intense
ending to another incredible show by the
boys from Omaha. And after P-Nut "beat
it;" 311 beat it, as well, leaving crowd-
surfing victims to crawl out to their cars,
sweaty, happy and in intense pain. Third
rule of life: When you have whiplash ...
it's time to go.
I I
self-appointed cultural leader of thg
town of River City, Iowa. Edissi's tim-
ing is marvelous, and she truly embl-
ies the absurdity of this woman.,She
was a joy. Also notable is Jaqueljie
Blais as Mrs. Paroo, the fiery Irish
mother of Marion. Blais played. .the
martyred mother beautifully, aptly
manipulating the relationship between
her "old maid" daughter and the
charming Harold Hill.
Director Macdonald punched up the
big numbers with clever choreograph
and the ensemble, as citizens of River
City, kicked up their heels and sang
their lungs out.,.
In the end, Wilson's story tugs the
heartstrings in just the right direction,
and once Hill and Marion fall in love,
Lumbard and Crowley play love inter-
ests better than adversaries. The second
half moves along and before you know
it, you're clapping along with.A e
finale. So, despite a disappointing fire
half, the entire cast, under the.,a1le
direction of Macdonald, takes the wings
of Meredith Wilson's classic and rios
it fly..
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
It is always difficult to mount a pro-
duction of "Merchant of Venice" in
today's politically correct world, due to
the very sensitive nature of the issues
at the crux of the play. Anti-Semitisnv
was not thought to be a major problem
in the days of Shakespeare, and tbpp-
fore, what was written to be a conmedy
often takes on a darker tone in tod4y's
See STRATFORD, Page SA
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