Ak
'Quiet' in Ann Arbor
The classic film "All Quiet on the Western Front" will run tomor-
row at the Nat Sci. The film is based on the novel by erich Maria
Remarque, and was the winner of the coveted Best Picture Oscar.
It details the lives of German soldiers rom their school years to
their lives as men in the army. Admission is $4 and $5 for two
people. The screenings are at 7 and 9 p.m.
ft~r £ rI yv&i
I.T
Arts:
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* Yes, he was at Eastern Michigan this past week, but he's
playing Detroit again, this time at the State Theater. So
check out a review of the Lenny Kravitz concert Monday in
Daily Arts.
St. Petersburg
harmonizes A2
By Leah Zaiger
For the DAy
ifailing from half-way around the
world, the sound of harmony will
chime throughout Hill Auditorium
tomorrow, when Ann Arbor is hon-
ored, with not only the presence, but
also performance of the enchanting
St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Orchestra. Russia's olist symphony.
orchestra will be conducted by Yuri
Temirkanov, starring violin soloist
Gidon Kremer in an evening of
Shostakovich, Liadov and Prokofiev.
Originating in 1882 as the
"Imperial Music Choir," the orches-
tra initially played for the Imperial
Court only. But in 1917, the group
was declared a state orchestra and
gave its first public concert in Soviet
1980. Temirkanov has become one
of the most widely acclaimed
Russian conductors, leading him to
his current role as music director
and conductor of the St. Petersburg,
Philharmonic,
During the summer of 1989,
Temirkanov worked with the Boston
Symphony Orchestra, the Los
Angeles Philharmonic, the New:
York Philharmonic and the
Philadelphia Orchestra. More
recently, he was proclaimed Music
Director of the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra for the 1999-2000 season.
Although symphonies have
remained the focus of his work in
more recent years, he continues to
be called upon for opera engage-
ments. He led the production of
"Eugene Onegin" with the San
Francisco Opera during the 1997-98
season.
Tomorrow, Gidon Kremer, one of
the most celebrated violinists in the.
world, will be performing as a
soloist with the St. Petersburg
Philharmonic. He is a master of
Russia. In 1946,-
St. Petersburg
Philharmonic
Orchestra
Hill Auditorium
Tomorrow at 8 p.m.
the orchestra
opened its
Western tour,
marking the
first of such
'Pigeons'
begins
Oscar race
By Chris Cousino
Daily Arts Writer
The image of small town America is now a far cry
from the picturesque fairy tale paintings of Norman
Rockwell. Through many great films ranging from
David Lynch's surreal opus "Blue Velvet" to the
Coen's pasty white "Fargo" to the Billy Bob
Thornton surprise "Slingblade," Hollywood contin-
ues to portray the dark seeds
that grow beneath these towns
of warm, homey quaintness,
where there isn't much to do -
Clay well, except maybe kill people.
Pigeons This precise, absurd killing
pops up often as the currents of
murder, deception and deci-
At Briarwood sions gone wrong stab through
and Showcase the heart of the darkly
grotesque comedic film "Clay
Pigeons."
Through a tumultuous series
of unfortunate events, "Clay
Pigeons" is a tale of a podunk
Western town filled with a host
of quirky characters and one very bad guy, all of
whom are connected with a down-on-his-luck
mishap, Clay Bidwell.
Clay's troubles begin with an affair he is having
with his best friend's wife. Problems get worse when
he befriends a stalwart drifter named Lester Long, a
man who seems to make waves wherever he goes.
When dead bodies start turning up in the town that's
still showing the film "The Unforgiven," the FBI
arrives and looks to a suspicious Clay for answers.
This leads him through a slippery trail of poor choic-
es that alter his life completely.
Joaquin Phoenix plays Clay, a sad fellow who
can't seem to make a good decision. With his dark
eyes and bony, skeletal face, Phoenix fits in well as
the quiet, frustrated, small-town humdrum Clay.
Phoenix is vibrant when Clay's frustration culmi-
nates and he flashes out in raging anger, especially at
the licentious Amanda, the aforementioned best
friend's wife.
This more-despicable-than-Melrose Amanda,
played by the sultry Georgina Cates, is a sweaty, sexy
slut who literally spews smoke as she argues with
Clay, shaking as she puffs on cigarettes in between
fiery screams. Cates' snaps of quick, nasty remarks
well accompany her swerving hair, dark eyeshadow
and unbuttoned blouses. Amanda wants nothing
from Clay but some nasty lovin', and she'll stop at
nothing to get it.
To lend poor Clay a hand is Lester Long, cowboy
Courtesy of Gramneicy Pictures
Lester Long (Vince Vaughn) and Clay (Joaquin Phoenix) discuss their latest findIngs In the David Dobk n dark-
comedy "Clay Pigeons."
nature
given
Soviet;
to be
by a
orches-
receiving unending
reviews. It has been
highly praised in mor
tries throughout E
America and the FarI
In 1991, after L
renamed St. Petersbu
tra's title followed sui
Leading the Philha
row will be Yuri
Temirkanov made
appearance with th
Philharmonic as the fi
ductor to visit the U.S
re-establishment
Soviet/American Cult
Agreement as he c
Philadelphia Orchestr
tra. many works and has taken center
Since then, stage with many of the most cele-
the St. brated symphonies in both Europe
Petersburg and theU.S.
Philharmonic Kremer's 25-year career begin-
has performed- ning at age four. He has covered a
in countless wide array of works from standard
cities around classical violin pieces, to pieces by
the globe, more modern composers, including
outstanding Henze, Berg and Stockhausen.
recognized and Kremer is the founder of a music
e than 25 coun- festival in the Austrian village of
urope, North Lockenhaus.
East. One of the most acclaimed
eningrad was orchestras of all times, the St.
rg, the orches- Petersburg Philharmonic will per-
t. form only Russian works, thus mak-
rmonic tomor- ing it simple for one to enjoy the har-
Temirkanov. monic tones of Russian musical her-
a landmark itage in the intimate surroundings of
ie New York Ann Arbor's own Hill Auditorium.
rst Soviet con- Tickets to the performance cost
. following the $20-$55, and can be obtained
of the from the UMS Box Office at 764-
ural Exchange 2538. For more information, visit
onducted the the UMS Website at
a from 1975 to www.ums.org.
hat and threads in all. After a vicious fight with
Amanda in the town bar, Clay and Lester start talk-
ing, and form a friendship that is far from Hallmark
innuendoes. Lester tells Clay, "Lester Long never
forgets a friend." Well, Clay will sure never forget
Lester Long. Nor will you either.
Vince Vaughn is Lester, a drifter with a dark past
who talks in a fervent Joe Buck drawl. Lester,
though, may be a much scarier slice of America than
that midnight cowboy ever saw.
Vaughn is an absolute triumph as Lester, or as he
prefers to be called, "Lester the molester." Bringing
charm, pizzazz and a horrible creepiness to the part,
Vaughn steals the show. Whether it's his wonderful
swarthy grin and goofy laugh or the poignant deliv-
ery of the line "Good ole fishin buddy," Vaughn
clearly enjoys himself, making us laugh and squirm
at the same time.
A great scene comes early in Lester and Clay's
friendship when they go fishing and find a dead body
floating in the lake. Vaughn shows his knack for
delivering dialogue in a hip, ultimately real fashion as
he utters, "Man overboard ... Alarm." Clay believes
the body is that of a girl because it has long hair, but
Lester keenly observes, "It could be a rock star."
While Vaughn brings the wonderful charm seen in
"Swingers'" he expands his talents by successfully
creating the horrible monster that Lester Long really
is. Lester is truly creepy and evil, a reality which
Clay learns way too late. Vaughn brings an unpre-
dictable violence to the scenes that reveal the misad-
ventures and nature of Lester. We can only anticipate
Vaughn's performance as one young psycho Norman
Bates while we blaspheme him for doing it.
Searching for the psycho that's leaving the bodies
for Lester and Clay to find is FBI agent Dale Shelby,
played by Janeane Garofalo. The role of a FBI a=-
is a stretch for Garofalo, but it works due to all t
rest of the oddballs in this town.
Using her usual fantastic, deadpan deliveries,
Garofalo is humorous as she asks the town sheriff,
"Your deputy's name is Barney? That's great."
Another hilarious part involves Garofalo, marijuana,
a vibrating bed and the spaghetti scene in "Alien."
Ridley Scott, director of the original "Alien," is
part of the producing team that made "Clay
Pigeons." Hiring first-time director David Dob i
proves to be a great choice, for Dobkin weaves
tale with a variety of interesting cinema tricks.
"Clay Pigeons" contains many obscure shots, not
to mention an important reliance on sound, which are
both used to jolt the audience and provide a darker
weirdness to the story. When Clay goes to the
morgue, the audience is left with a memorable feel-
ing of nausea due to the use of slow motion photog-
raphy, another element used throughout the film,
A shot of rolling clouds works as a signal for key
moments in Clay's life as he lets his life roll away
with the poor decisions he makes.
People must learn from their decisions because
expecting different results from similar actions is
pure insanity. "Clay Pigeons" eventually forces Clay
to come face to face with the choices he makes
regarding Amanda, Lester Long, the FBI and him-
self. It is, in a sense, a life-affirming comedy in its
own dark, offbeat manner, showing us how things
can happen if we let them.
Through its multitude ofcharacters, flat, dry desert
land and bloody corpses, "Clay Pigeons" flies hig
the starting gun of the 1998 Oscar race goes off.
U U
New faces spotlight the 'Evening of Scenes'
Ocr. 8- 10, 15 - 1 7AT 8P M . OCT. 1 1 & 8 AT 2 PM T RU E BLOOD TH EAT RE
JOIN US FOR A POST SHOW DiscUSSioN WITH BECKETT SCHOLAR
ENOCH BRATER ON OCTOBER 9, 1998
GENERAL ADMISSION $14.e STUDENTS $7 WITH ID AT THE LEAGUE TICKET OFFICE
CH ARG E IT! 734.764.0450
UM SCHOOL OF MUSIC DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DRAMA
By Jenni Glenn
Daily Arts Writer
The Residential College theatre group RC Players
will present several small productions in this week-
end's "Evening of Scenes." Students act in and direct
the four scenes. One of the pieces was written by a
student.
The first "Evening of Scenes" took place at the
beginning of the past school year, in part to show stu-
dents that anyone could participate in RC Players. The
group had been "in a rut'" RC Players board secretary
and director Sarah Smith said. The board wanted to
see more people involved this year, so it continued the
concept.
"The reason we started doing the 'Evening of
Scenes' was to let people get involved on a smaller
scale," RC Players board president and director
Becky Katzman said. Since the performances are
only one act, more people are able to participate, even
Evening of
Auditoriurn
Tonight and
tomorrow at 8 p.m.
is put together. "At least for me,
the emphasis is more on the
learning and the process than the
production," Katzman said.
The shorter scenes also allow
people with less experience in
drama to try something new.
"I've been wanting to direct
something for a while, but I
haven't," Smith said. She said
she wanted to gain experience
from the "Evening of Scenes."
Scenes include "Shoebox,"
the scene Katzman is directing.
Third-year LSA student
Laurence Lowe wrote this piece
with busy schedules, she said.
With this format, students can focus on how a show
entries.
Another highlight is directed by LSA senior Jenny
Curren. "For colored girls who have considered sui-
cide when the rainbow is enuf" is about issues f
African American women. The three women cha
ters in the show, who are identified by the color of
their clothing only, each tell their own story about dat-
ing the same man.
Although the four plays are very different;- the
directors work together to make the show run smooth-
ly. "There's a lot of collaboration,' said Sven
Soderberg, head of publicity for RC Players.
RC Players plans to add a second "Evening of
Scenes" at the beginning of second semester. Katzman
said the group will accept proposals for scenesod
plays at the end of this semester for that show.
This semester's "Evening of Scenes" has already
brought new faces to RC Players. "It's serving the pur-
pose of getting new people involved," Smith said,
about a couple fighting over the boyfriend's diary
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11 .LW
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TI
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At Con-Way
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our continued
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PALESTINE UNDER
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*Monday, October 12, 1998
7:30 p.m., Angell Hall, Auditorium "D"
Film Open- ike Discussion
TONIGHT!
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