PAWriter Who Likes to Slam
Guild House presents acclaimed poet. Today's featured heavy-
weight is Saladin Ahmed, a performer and poet who wowed audi-
ences earlier this year as he took home the gold in the Detroit
Slam. While there will be no contenders tonight, Ahmed will ask
others to help celebrate the form as he reads from a collection of
his work. Guild House, 802 Monroe. Free admission. 995-1956.
LT
Tomorrow in Daily Arts:
I Come back to Daily Arts for Breaking Records, the weekly
feature of the Michigan Daily that reviews the music indus-
try's new releases. Tomorrow it features a review of Seal's
new CD.
Monday
November 23, 1998 5A
'History' heals wounds of hatred
By Bryan Lark
Daily Arts Writer
The saying goes that comedy equals tragedy
plus time.
Someday, then, we'll all look back and laugh
at "American History X," for its detailing of a
*ntemporary culture of hate - white
supremacist groups.
But for now, this "History" remains a tragic
lesson of frightening
intensity, a visual marvel
sometimes plagued by
heavy-handed melodrama
American but always driven by the
History X blistering performance of
Edward Norton.
Norton stars as Derek
Vinyard, perhaps the most
At Showcase eloquent neo-Nazi ever,
who has risen to power in
the underground of Los
Angeles through his bril-
liant mind and unsettling-
ly seductive way with
words.
The film catches up with Derek and his fam-
ily on the day he is being released from prison
and concentrates on Derek's brother Danny
dward Furlong), a teenager who has so come
to idolize his incarcerated brother and copy his
hateful behavior that Danny hands in a book
report on "Mein Kampf."
Danny's idolization of Derek allows the film
one compelling technical device, the use of
flashbacks to tell the pre-prison story of Derek,
all his crimes, speeches and hurled epithets, in
stylish black-and-white, idealized vignettes
that paint Derek as a
hero because he's being
seen through Danny's
eyes.
The full color por-
tion of the film traces
the present-day strug-
gle for a now-rehabili-
tated Derek to save his
brother from the hate
that once consumed
him and to come to
terms with the past that
is indelibly (and literal-
ly) tattooed on his chest°
and arms.
If that synopsis f
sounds a little too
melodramatic to be
true, it often is - the
dialogue is frequently Beverly D'Angelo raise
contrived and Derek's saving of Danny is
somehow too quick and pretty to be believable.
But the film is jolted into greatness by those
flashback sequences, both the idealized scenes
that make Norton's Derek so valiant and artic-
ulate that the audience can almost rationalize
his hate and the unflinching prison sequences
that, told from Derek's perspective, are not
glossed over or
enhanced in any way.
It is in those black-
and-white flashbacks
that Norton's brilliance
is most evident, tracing a
deeply flawed young
man from the tragedy of
his father's death to his
ultimate downfall, all
while remaining a
charismatic ball of
hatred and violence.
Furlong, as the
impressionable Danny, is
similarly solid, as are
Beverly D'Angelo as the
Vinyard's ill mother,
Doris, struggling to keep
Courtesy of New Line Cinema her family together,
neo-Nazis. Avery Brooks as
Courtesy of New Line Cinema
Ed Norton consoles and guides Ed Furlong in "American History X."
Danny's principal and Derek's mentor, and
Stacy Keach, disturbing as the mellow leader of
the white power movement.
But all pale in comparison to Norton and the
direction of Tony Kaye, which for all its com-
pelling visuals could have injected a stronger
climax would be infinitely more gut-wrenching
- the film's power seems to be visual and
intellectual, instead of eliciting a purely emo-
tional response.
But as it stands, "American History X" is a
powerful chapter in contemporary history that,
with Edward Norton's astonishing performance
on board, goes a long way towards healing the
wounds of hate.
Ms"
story.
With a better, less conventional
impact of Norton's performance and
plot, the
the tragic
Classic '50s 'Grease'
bops and barns along
'Wedding' celebrates in bloody style
By Lauren Rice
Daily Arts Writer
The cast of "Grease" came togeth-
er this weekend to sing, dance and
rock 'n' roll. Audiences in the Power
Center had the opportunity to enjoy
the talent of their fellow classmates
and friends in an atmosphere quite
different from the usual academic
setting.
Produced by UAC's musical the-
ater group MUSKET, this version
teems with student influence. It
should come as no surprise then,
how closely this version mirrored
teenagers in the '90s in favor of the
squeaky clean image that has
become the very definition of the
'50s. The students of Rydell High
may have been dressed like teen
angels, but their dialogue proved
otherwise. The performers were all
quite liberal with the sarcasm and
they cursed generously. Their wise-
cracks could easily have been mis-
taken as those of the kids that live
Grease
Power Center
Nov. 21, 1998
down the
hall. This all
makes for a
comical and
entertaining
show.
Sandy and
Danny,
played by
Tiffany
Helland and
Ryan Boda,
respectively,
both lived up
to the expec-
tations of
initially, Sandy is in no way a com-
plete sucker for his player antics. It is
this casual milieu that allows the two
to eventually come together.
If the unfolding love story is not
enough for some, then the character
of Rizzo should do the trick. A
scene-stealer every time she set foot
on the stage, Becky Bahling, filled
Rizzo's tight Capri pants and the
high-heeled shoes as the Pink
Ladies' dominating leader. Her quips
drew constant laughter, especially
when she shoots down the guys'
admiration for greased lightning
with the remark, "Yeah, it's as cool
as a Good Humor truck." Cynical
and prickly, Rizzo is the stereotype
of the high school girl who believes
that sex is the only way to prove her-
self. She succeeds in conveying the
immense hurt that her lifestyle
incurs by trying so desperately to
cover it up with her sharp tongue.
The only missing component was
the omission of the spirited "You're
the One that IWant,"a song written
for the movie version, which is so
fundamental in revealing Sandy's
transformation from goody-goody to
rebel. Taking its place is the equally
spirited "All Choked Up." For those
that had the movie ingrained into
memory, its absence was probably
missed. A highlight of the perfor-
mance was "We Go Together," most
likely the most beloved song to
emerge from "Grease," which
exudes all of the excitement and
youthful anticipation that bounces
through the air during those dramat-
ic and yet carefree moments of high
school. A jazzed up version of
"Hopelessly Devoted to You" that
bore a twist of reggae, was a pleasant
surprise amidst bubble gum fan-
tasies of puppy love.
"Grease" not only catered to the
person well-versed in both the songs
and plot, but also to those that are
unfamiliar to the classic. Unlike
other versions, the severity of the
real life situations, such as Rizzo's
suspected pregnancy, was not as dra-
matically propelled as it could have
been. This certainly made for a more
comical, lighthearted experience.
And besides, who could forget
Roger's shining moment as he
mooned the crowd?
By Jenny Curren
Daily Arts Writer
The heat of southern Spain wafted
through the Mendelssohn Theater
this weekend with the department of
theater and drama's production of
Spanish playwright Federico Garcia
Lorca's "Blood Wedding."
The impressive work of set
designer Vincent Mountain greeted
the audience with an authentic
reproduction of a humble, turn-of-
the-century dwelling. Dirt-smudged
walls and a modest kitchen provided
an authentic background for the
realism of the first act.
The strong performance of Music
junior Dara Seitzmann immediately
established the plot in Act I. As a
controlling widow, her macabre
obsession with the death of her hus-
band and eldest son was expertly
executed through impeccable timing
and facial expressions.
The widow's son, a naive youth
Blood
Wedding
Mendelssohn
Theater
Nov. 19, 1998
played by com-
petent Music
sophomore
Daniel Kahn,
yearns to marry
a beautiful and
enigmatic
neighbor, acted
by Music junior
Catherine
Baugh. She
accepts, though
she is afflicted
by an incestuous
love for her
c o u s i n,
portrayal of the bride's father by
Music senior Jason Lindner, the dia-
logue failed to capture the
Andalusian flavor of the characters,
with over-enunciated lines stiffening
the interaction between the actors.
While deliberate enough to illus-
trate Lorca's lyric talent, the lines
lacked the lilting, fluid Andalusian
intonation that characterizes its peo-
ple.
Act II intensified the dark desire
between Leonardo and the bride, as
Leonardo burst into her room on her
wedding day, to confess his continu-
ing love.for her.
Storming about the stage, shame-
fully abandoning his timid wife,
played with graceful subtlety by
Music senior Kimberly Woodman,
the attraction between him and the
bride becomes a powerful entity
apart from the innocent festivities of
the wedding.
The supporting cast did a decent
job of maintaining this separation,
while the bride's concerned maid,
acted by Music junior Krista Braun,
suspected the danger, but couldn't
prevent the two lovers from escap-
ing.
The music and choreography were
pivotal to the wedding scene, por-
traying social customs of the time
and region. The choreography of
Evelyn V6lez-Aguayo, which
reflected a diluted version of
authentic dance, unfortunately lack-
ing the actors' full energy, falling
short of dynamic. An interlude of
finger snapping that closes Act II
was as perplexing as it was awk-
ward.
The music, however, was appro-
priately beautiful, from the soft folk
songs gorgeously sung by
Leonardo's abandoned wife and her
mother (first year Music student
Margaret Smith), to the background
guitar, which segued from tradition-
al in the first act to chaotic and
haunting in the second.
Strange, surfer punk-esque guitar
opened the third act, as the wedding
guests chased down the fleeing
lovers. Completely breaking from
the realism from the earlier scenes
of the production, Act III demon-
strated the creativity of the director,
as well as the set, costume and light-
ing designers.
A knarled forest provided the ter-
rain for a dream-like sequence, fea-
turing a fascinating chorus of
woodsman sporting enormous alien-
like heads, a personified Moon,
(first year Music student Nick
Gabriel clad in iridescent white) and
Courtesy of University Productions
Catherine Baugh and Daniel Kahn act as husband and wife In "Blood Wedding."
an almost demonic Mother out for
revenge.
In what was one of the most bril-
liant scenes of the play, the bride and
Leonardo acted out a tense and erot-
ic communication as their lines were
spoken from thin air, the poetry of
the speech intensifying.
The play reached a tragic climax
when Leonard and the bridegroom
kill each other, and the Moon and
the Mother blazed in a flash of
supernatural light as their revenge
was consummated.
As the play winds to a finale, the
three widows are bonded by the vio-
lent deaths, leaving the audience
with the sense of helplessness
intended by Lorca. Act III innova-
tively rescued what the first two lack
in energy, ultimately making "Blood
Wedding" a successful endeavor.
Leonardo, portrayed by Music
senior Michael Rubenstone in a hot-
blooded display of testosterone.
Aside from Seitzmann's deftly
developed Mother, and a fantastic
their roles. Boda thankfully never
forced the whole macho egotistical
notion into overdrive. Danny is sub-
stantially chauvinistic, but also
yielding to the girl for which he has
fallen. On the other hand, Sandy -
while appearing to be sweet and
demure in her starched dresses -
proves that she can bite back.
The fact that these two characters
are not situated at opposite ends of
the egotistical spectrum aids in cre-
ating an atmosphere of compromise
instead of constant fighting. Danny
attempts to please Sandy by trying
out for the track team despite the
taunting of his buddies. And
although we would like to believe it
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