Abbey Lincoln appears tonight at the Michigan Theater. Gaining
popularity, the genre of jazz singing has been strengthened by
such talented individuals as Lincoln. 8 p.m. $20-$32.
Utat Iwkt
Daily Arts returns from the weekend with reviews of films,
including "Deep End of the Ocean."
Friday
March 12, 1999
4d
5
Miller returns
to Mendelssohn
'Stray Dogs' let
loose in Basement
By Jenni Glenn
Arts Writer
tudent-run theater company
Rude Mechanicals pays tribute to
the beginning of Arthur Miller's
dramatic legacy with their produc-
tion of his breakthrough play "All
My Sons" this weekend.
The first-ever performance of a
Miller play happened exactly 61
years ago this weekend at the
M ndelssohn, the same theater
e the Rude Mechanicals is pre-
senting "All My Sons." Students
performed "The Great
Disobedience" on March 12-13,
1938. "This is where it all started,"
:irector Adam Weiner said.
Now Rude Mechanicals will per-
form their own
production in
honor of one of
the University's
All My most famous
* Sons alumni. Miller
Mendelssohn is "probably the
Theater most amazing
Tonight and person to come
Tomorrow at 8. out of any
drama arena
here," producer
and LSA sopho-
more Heidi
Powers said. "In
my opinion,
e s the best American playwright."
In spite of this reputation, "All
dy Sons" remains one of Miller's
esser known works. Weiner chose
t partially for this "hidden gem"
uality.
"Everybody's read 'Death of a
alesman.' Everybody's read 'The
rucible,'" Weiner said. "It's one I
think people haven't seen. "
Although very dramatic and
emotional like many of Miller's
dramas, compared to his other
works, "All My Sons" contains a
couple of anomalies. As his first
major work, the story takes place in
one day on one set. "It's very con-
tinuous, almost in real time,"
Weiner said. "That's a very unique
quality."
The play explores the life of the
Keller family who lost a son during
World War II. His parents, the
remaining son, also a veteran, and
his girlfriend must cope with the
aftermath of this tragedy.
"All My Sons" reflects increased
interest in WWII following film
portrayals in "The Thin Red Line"
By Jeff Druchniak
Daily Arts Writer
One of the most interesting pro-
jects of the Basement Arts season is
"Stray Dogs," playing this weekend
at the Arena Stage. For a change,
it's an original play being produced
in the basement of the Frieze
Building. To shake matters up just a
trifle more, the playwright himself
is directing.
Paul Wilborn is the name of the
man of the hour: He's the one wear-
ing two hats. His play has already
been produced twice in the Tampa
Bay area, where Wilborn calls
home: After being featured in a new
play festival in 1997, it garnered
such a buzz that it was given its own
run.
Which leaves the question of why
Wilborn left the Sunshine State, and
Allyson Bakaltis and Jef Cozza portray husband and wife in "Alt My Sons."
and "Saving Private Ryan." "This is
what happens when Matt Damon
comes home," Weiner said, joking-
ly referring to the title character in
"Saving Private Ryan," who lost
three brothers in combat.
One theme of the drama looks at
the economic profiteering that goes
on in wartime. "All My Sons"
shows the cost of these activities
on lives. "A lot of the show deals
with the delusion of WWII being
'The Good War,' Weiner said.
With this drama, Miller also
examines the nature of loyalty, both
to the nation and to the family.
Deceptions test the Keller family's
faithfulness. "The Keller family is
harboring a very dark secret that
would destroy them and everyone
around them if it ever got out,"
Powers said.
Casting this family, one potential
problem, proved to be easily
solved. "I was really worried about
finding mature students to play the
mother and the father," Weiner
said. "Fortunately, I found two
actors who are wonderful at show-
ing that quality."
Jef Cozza and Allyson Bakaitis
fill these roles as the heads of the
Keller household. Weiner made it a
priority to convey the dynamics of
real family relationships. The
closeness of the cast helped form a
true family spirit in the show.
"They play family members and I
want them to feel like family mem-
bers," Weiner said.
The cast worked to communicate
the characters' feelings to the audi-
ence. Without a high emotional
level, this production of "All My
Sons" would lack one of the hall-
marks of Miller's dramas.
"I hope we move the audience,"
Powers said. "It moves me."
Tickets for "All My Sons " are $6
for students, and can be purchased
at the Michigan Union Ticket
Office, or at the door prior to per-
formances. Call 764-TKTS for
more information.
Stray
Dogs
Arena Theater
Tonight and
Tomorrow at 7
how he wound
up remounting
his play in the
Ann Arbor win-
ter with a most-
ly student cast
tonight and
to morrow
evening. No,
he's not hiding
out from the
law. The truth
is, his playwrit-
ing career is
only a part-time
gig.
ADRIANA YUG
Gabe Bumstein and Samantha
Raddock kiss.
A columnist for the St. Petersburg
Times, Wilborn is one of the most
successful and honored journalists
in Florida, and is spending the
school year on this campus as a
Michigan Journalism Fellow.
"Journalism has been very, very
good to me," Wilborn said. Not only
has his day job brought him numer-
ous awards, it's provided the back-
ground for his play.
"Stray Dogs" focuses on five col-
orful characters inspired by real
people Wilborn got to know and
wrote about for the newspaper. In
mostly monologue format, using
real-life words, his characters
courtesU a ~me' Art"
Paul Wilbom advertises 'Stray Dogs.'
reveal to mainstream audiences
aspects of their life on the urban
American streets. Their stories are
designed to be both comic and trag-
ic, disturbing and poetic.
Even more interesting is the way
Wilborn takes an unflattering look
at his own profession in the play.
The premise behind these charac-
ters' abilities to tell their stories is a
break-in at the local newspaper.
The culprit is the character Street
Poet (portrayed by Music junior
Aral Gribble), who doubles as nar-
rator, and liberates his own and oth-
ers' lives from the clutches of an.
unseen journalist who has detached-
ly bled them of their intimate
secrets for his livelihood.
Except for Ann Arbor-area resi-
dent Leo McNamara, the cast is
composed of students, including
Music sophomores James
Frounfelter and Tony von Halle and
Music junior Patti Lavery.
"Stray Dogs" shows at 7 p.m.
tonight and tomorrow, with a spe-
cial performance tonight at 11.
Admission is free, but arrive early
to ensure a seat. For more info,
call (734) 764-6800.
Corruptor' brings Diggler to Chinatown
y Erin Podolsky
aily Arts Writer
One of the most comforting things in
he world is an explosion. Not just your
arden variety, peas and carrots explo-
ion, but the kind that blows out win-
,and sends bodies flying 50 feet in
iAir while bright orange flames lick
t their feet. And there is absolutely
othing more comforting than when
hat down home feeling explosion
omes ten seconds into the action flick
ou hope will contain lots of bullets
nd lots of bodies.
So it's with
pleasure that
"The Corruptor,'
the latest kick-
The ass-take-names-
rruptor rest - uneasy
movie starring
. Hong Kong sen-
an Showcase sation Chow Yun-
Fat, offers all
these things and
more. Also star-
ring Mark "kara-
tay" Wahlberg,
"The Corruptor"
isn't quite up to
'An Woo caliber, but director James
oley ("Fear") does a better than pass-
ble job at bringing home this shoot-
m-up
Wahlberg and Yun-Fat play New York
ity cops Daniel Wallace and Nick
hen, who are assigned to Chinatown;
he former is the new guy assigned to
he task force, while the latter is the
rizzled, experienced hometown boy
vho resents the appearance of a white
of bullets), is where all of the fun
resides.
There are all the usual cliches and
stereotypes to suffer through as
Wallace and Chen come to trust each
other. They're both on the take from the
local Chinese crime boss but still retain
their independence and are pleased that
they can share their bribery secrets -
after all, it's ever so nice to know that
everyone is for sale.
Yun-Fat adds to his extensive action
repertoire and erases all memory of
"The Replacement Killers" with. his
second State-side effort. He sports
improved English skills, an endless
array of guns and that ubiquitous tooth-
pick that we all know and love so well.
We can all look forward to seeing him
in action thrillers for years to come -
and who knows, maybe we'll get lucky
and he'll re-team with Woo. Wahlberg,
meanwhile, takes a break from his busy
porn star career to kick some serious
booty in a film that is far better script-
ed than "The Big Hit," his last appear-
ance in theaters. He plays the straight
golden boy with more than one secret
to Yun-Fat's hard career man and their
relationship, even if it ultimately falls
prey to the genre's predilection for vio-
lence, keeps the movie afloat.
In this season of heartwarming fam-
ily dramas and screwball-with-a-twist
comedies (and, of course, in this season
of last year's leftovers), "The
Corruptor'is a respite from the cloying
and the peace-loving with its satisfying
bang-bang philosophy. Watch Yun-Fat
bring it home Hong Kong style, sit
back, relax and enjoy the violence.
Michigan Premiere
Cuestin de Fe (A Question of Faith)
Bolivia, 1995, comedy. In Spanish with English subtitles
Saturda~y, March 15,
Michigan Theater, 7 pm
Award-winning Bolivian film-maker Marcos Loayza will be on
handi for a cquestion & answer ession after the screening.
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Mark Wahlberg and Chow Yun-Fat cut up the streets In "The Corruptor."
face in his office. A huge gang war is
brewing in Chinatown as a young punk
and his Fukienese Dragons launch a
takeover of the territory. Somehow,
immigrant Chinese girls forced into
prostitution are also brought into the
mix, because where there's the smoke
of immorality there's bound to be fire.
Women are generally treated as second-
class citizens in the movie, present only
for pity or pleasure, although it's a bit of
a nice reprieve to watch an action movie
without a romantic subplot.
"The Corruptor" provides a confla-
gration of corruption worthy of almost
any mob movie. Luckily, when the
somewhat tricky plot heads into the
land of the boring, there's always a
rainstorm of bullets and flames to even
things out. Lackeys are paid off by one
group and then by another, selling their
allegiance as if it were wares from a
street vendor. When a Dragon is told to
"avenge your brother, kill that cop,"
you know he's not long for this world.
And that, in a nutshell (and in a torrent
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