ft--feEltcjkun JDiti
See a free screening of George Lucas' and Steven Spielberg's 1981
"Raiders of the Lost Ark." Harrison Ford stars as Indiana Jones in
this action/adventure favorite. Don't miss out on the breathtaking
stunts, chase scenes and more. The screening begins at 9 tonight at
Hillel. Admission is free.
Wednesday
December 3, 1997
5
Oh Henry!
U Prod to bring Shakespeare'
s play to shockingly contemporary life
By Christopher Tkaczyk
Campus Arts Editor
a world where peace is the object of a moralistic popu-
lation, war serves as the Armageddon to a society of love-
stricken brethren.
The goal of modern society is love,
not war; the '60's had the dream, but PF
not the means. With the oncoming mil-
lennium, the world is stepping into a
community of technology and bril- Thus
liance with the best experience avail-
able. War nowadays doesn't involve Power Center
hand-to-hand combat.
Oeroes and villains fight using cellular phones, laptops,
and the Internet. Even the advanced, state-of-the-art national
security weaponry is controlled using computers.
Henry V, accompanied only by sword, would be lost
among a landscape of computer graphics.
War isn't a movie or a combination of
computer-generated images. War is
real. It is a bloodbath among the pas-
sionate who strive to achieve their
dream. War is death.
"Henry V" one of Shakespeare's war-
tragedies, will be presented this
ekend through University
Productions. The play, directed by
University professor John Neville-
Andrews, will feature an updated set-
ting. Instead of presenting "Henry V" in ,
its traditional Medieval setting (it was
written almost 400 years ago and is
based upon England's bloody invasion
of France in 1415), Neville-Andrews
has decided to transport the tale to a
iristic realm.
It will point towards the future. I
didn't want to make any references to
the Vietnam War or the Persian Gulf. I
wanted it to be representative of a possi-
bility in the future. This could be a
warning'" Neville-Andrews joked.
In his preparation for the challenge of MIchael Rubensto
directing an updated version of a Mcdel Rnbenr
Shakespearean classic, Neville- modemnKing Henry
Andrews realized that there was much more to Hal (Henry
then what Shakespeare had originally created within the
rsd
play.
"In 'Henry V,' Hal is a God-fearing war strategist. But in
'Henry IV Parts I & II' he was a scoundrel and a wastrel.
How could he become this visionary who finds God and
goes to war because of the Church? I
don't believe that people change
E V I E W overnight," he explained.
"I want to give a richer insight into
Henry V Henry's life." In order to shdw Hal's
ay-Saturday at 8 p.m., past, Neville-Andrews has decided to
Sunday at 2 p.m. begin this production of "Henry V"
ickets $7 for students with two scenes from "Henry IV."
They show how Hal behaved within
his youth, his whoring and his drinking and partying with
Falstaff.
"I wanted to show the lust of the common man. The scenes
from Parts I & II of 'Henry IV' give a fuller look at what was
his past, and shows the audience why Falstaff dies with a
broken heart," Neville-Andrews said.
The updated version of "Henry V"
also allows for a larger incorporation of
female actresses onstage. "Shakespeare
didn't create very many good roles for
women. Nowadays, women serve in the
armed forces. With a futuristic setting, I
can cast female soldiers who fight in the
battle against France" Neville-Andrews
offered.
The modernization also allows for an
audience to grasp a sense of what war is
and the devastation it brings.
"Too often I've been bored with some
recent production of 'Henry V,"'
Neville-Andrews revealed.
When you see a war in an ancient set-
ting and all the soldiers are fighting with
swords, you don't get the full drama of
what war is today. With the advanced
state of weaponry at use in recent years,
the physical action is less, but the result
is more destructive.
"I want to give a better understand-
packs heat as a ing of what war means and all the hor-
., ror and devastation that it brings.
When University students see some of
their peers onstage, I hope they can realize the danger and
reality that encompasses a war," Neville-Andrews contin-
Kelly Rector and Michael Rubenstone are a modemday Katherine and Hal in John Neville-Andrews' production of "Henry V."
ued.
War isn't the only theme of "Henry V" - it also deals
with power and decisions. In a place where the future is on
everyone's mind, "Henry V" offers a tale of leadership and
drive.
University students are constantly struggling against each
other in the grand competition of life. Future Supreme Court
justices, Surgeon Generals and editors-in-chief are gathering
the talent and lessons that are needed in order to succeed.
Hal isn't prepared to take control of a country.
"What do you need to become a leader? Hal is a young
man, probably too young. He is thrust upon this mantle of
responsibility. He has to silence the skeptics and lead a
war. He isn't very much older than students here in Ann
Arbor."
With "Henry V" Neville-Andrews is drawing a modern
figure using a classic story.
Hal's characteristics and endeavors aren't applicable only
to the 1400s. His story goes on each day within the lives of
the ambitious and the responsible.
"With 'Henry V' I'm trying to portray a man through a
journey. I want to give a richer fabric of his life," Neville-
Andrews determined.
Whether viewed as a piece of historical theater or as a
moment of entertainment, "'Henry V" will surely strive to
become a model for those with a dream and the drive.
nl
y V
Angelou's 'Stars' sheds light on 21st century
free ...
Even the Stars Look
Lonesome
Maya Angelou
Random House
"Even the Stars Look Lonesome," a
continuation of the bestselling essay
collection "Wouldn't Take Nothing
For My Journey Now," opens with a
dedication to all children who will
come to maturity in the 21st Century.
Maya Angelou has written this collec-
tion as much for them as she has for
those who have already come to
*turity in the 20th Century, for
those who already possess the deepest
admiration for her. She uses this col-
lection like she has used all of her
other published works; that is, she has
taken her own life in order to gently
tell us how it really is.
The essays in "Even the Stars
Look Lonesome" rarely stretch
longer than four small pages. Some
s eak of her youth, some speak of
present, some speak of celebri-
ties and the people whom Angelou
admires. All of them teach lessons.
The title essay, for example, is about
the reunion with an old acquaintance
and the comparison to the story of
the prodigal son - this acquaintance
left her small Mississippi town,
where she was well-known and
admired for her good looks, and went
to the city to find "the high life."
gelou's experience begins years
later, when they reunite after
Angelou's performance at a Chicago
club. Her acquaintance, upon arriv-
ing in the city, was no longer noticed
or admired as she had been at home,
and had resorted to singles bars and
desperate grabs for attention.
Angelou notes with regret, "Many
believe that they need company at
any cost, and ... it will be obtained
*all costs ... (S)olitude can be a
much-to-be-desired position. Not
only is it acceptable to be alone, at
times it is positively to be wished
for."
She never forces an idea on the read-
er, but suggests it and allows it to be
absorbed in its own time.
The apparent drawback to these
short, suggestive essays is that per-
haps they are truly too short; they
leave the reader with a slightly shal-
low feeling, wanting more of
Angelou's insight. Through that lies
her wisdom; that space allows her
persona to enter her message.
Angelou never overwhelms the read-
er with her words.
In an essay titled "Loving
Learning," Angelou speaks of the
passion in her early marriage and
her enrapture with the
possession of
knowledge. In
her youth, she V
was intro- <
duced to
Vusum si
Linda Make, a -
South American
freedom fighter and
onetime representative of
the Pan African Congress, and was
swept up by his all-encompassing
intelligence and intensity. They mar-
ried within four weeks and divorced
soon after; intellect, Angelou discov-
ered, did not automatically imply
tenderness and romance. She com-
pares it to the African saying, "Be
wary when a naked person offers you
his shirt."
Angelou has written five volumes of
autobiography and many collections of
poetry. She read "On the Pulse of
Morning" at the inauguration of
President Clinton. She is the voice of
this generation.
It is with good judgment that
Angelou now writes a collection for
the children of the next century; her
voice has already left an extraordi-
nary impact on the children of this
one.
-Jessica Eaton
Daughter of the Queen
of Sheba
Jacki Lyden
Houghton Mifflin Company
"I am the Queen of Sheba." Just like
that, Jacki Lyden's mother announces to
her daughter that she has plunged into a
world of unreality; one where she will
remain for the next two decades. It is 1966
when Jackie Lyden, only 12 years old, is a
witness to her mother's nervous break-
down. Her mother's feeble mental condi-
tion, later labeled manic depression, caus-
es her to live in a delusional reality of
stark fantasy and exhilarating reverie.
In "Daughter of the Queen
of Sheba," Jackie
Lyden recounts her
mother's countless
struggles and
adventures, and
the indelible
effects they contin-
ue to have on her rela-
tionship with her mother
and her life endeavors.
Dolores, Lyden's mother, finds herself
in a mundane world of housewives and
monotony, one that drives her insane, lit-
erally. Boredom overcomes Dolores and
she cannot bear it any longer. Instead of
accepting life as it is, she reverts into a
world of fantasy, becoming such people
as Marie Antoinette, the daughter of a
Mafia chieftain, and the CEO of a cater-
ing company.
Though Lyden earnestly prays for her
mother's return to reality, a part of her is
enamored by her mother's vividness
and ability to truly live, regardless of
the realm of the world. In her mother,
Lyden perceives a glow that she can not
find elsewhere. Eventually, through two
commitments to an insane asylum and a
lifelong prescription of Lithium,
Dolores burns her toga, and returns to
dry land. Though happy for her moth-
er's return, Lyden misses that glow of
the Queen of Sheba.
Perhaps as an attempt to capture that
glow, Lyden travels around the world.
In contrast to her mother, however, she
does so in a world of stark and exciting
reality. Working as a reporter on the
NPR news team, Lyden travels to the
Persian Gulf. Her journalism brings her
to cities such as Baghdad, Beirut,
Jerusalem and Amman. Lyden never
travels alone, for Sheba is always with
her. Placed in a small frame living
inside Lyden's pocket, Sheba will exist
for eternity.
Through her story "Daughter of the
Queen of Sheba," Lyden reveals the truth
about the restless human spirit trapped in
a dull and routine society; human souls
want to soar like doves. Lyden's beautiful
poetic style enables the reader to truly
feel the impact of her words. Her integra-
tion of letters, diary.entries and intriguing
stories make for an enjoyable read. But it
is at times confusing as a result of her
jumping from character to character, and
minute detail to minute detail.
Though the stories of Delores' luna-
cies and her relatives' reactions are
extremely engaging, the side notes
about Lyden's life are less so. It is obvi-
ous that Lyden is a well-educated
woman. At times it seems as though she
is trying to show off as much of her
knowledge as possible, no matter how
relevant or irrelevant it is.
Overall, this book is enjoyable and
intriguing, evoking a whole spectrum of
emotions. Reading this novel brings one
out of the humdrum of today's society
and into the world of the Queen of
Sheba.
*
4;
I"
Want to talk about.,
Affirmative Action " Domestic violence " Interracial
Relationships " Coming out " Self segregation " Police
harrassment " Sexual harrassment . Sexual assault - Religion
& homosexuality . Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals &
transgendered people teaching children " Minority lounges
. Being asked out to dinner when you can't af ford it " Body
image " Difficulty talking to people who are not like you
" Cultural organizations on campus "Diversity" at U of M
. Being misunderstood by men or women " Having three jobs
Take PsychologylSocloloy 122 Wednesdays 3-5
Intergroup Dialogues are 2-credit classes where you can ask and answer
these and other questions. Coursework includes journals, interactive
exercises, discussion and other forms of learning. Discussion is facilitated
by students. Winter semester dialogues include:
. Panla nf Cnlnr 5 White Pennle 9 Wnmen & Men * Lesbians. Gav Men.