'Tom, How's the peeping?' A 1 Tm Rip le, MatI Vamon star min Anthony NM inghella's "The Talented Mr Riplev." The screenplay wa based ott a niovel ly Patricia Highsmith. At the Michigan Theater att 7300 p.m. michigandaily.com/tarts c ,F., wr,,y . -u-s , ; s ' , { .. , ; s . +,5, ', t . b ' d .x.'i ;K.a WEDNESDAY APRIL 5, 2000 Cabaret struts into Power Center for weekend run. By Nick Falzone lDaily Arts Writer Musical theatre is rarely valued as highly for its ability to teach as it is for its ability to entertain. Many the- atergoers attend Cabaret Power Center Agri! 68 at 8 p.m. April 9 at 2 p.m. musical perfor- mances and leave feeling moved by a show's song and dance compo- nents, but not by its political or societal mes- sages. Linda Goodrich hopes to alter this per- ception of the musical theatre with her rendi- tion of the wond-renowned which runs this grapher of the production as well as a Musical Theatre professor, is well suited for her role as the show's over- seer, having appeared on Broadway in its 1987 revival. There, she por- trayed a Kit Kat girl, a performer in the late 1920s German political club from which the musical receives its name. Eventually, she moved on with the production across the country and throughout Europe. As she shifted locations. Goodrich also shifted positions in the show, acting as an understudy while assis- tant stage managing on the national tour, helping to set and choreograph the show on the other side of the Atlantic. Her incredible knowledge of the show helped her immensely in the creation of her own production of the musical, one that is notably dif- ferent from the version currently on tour throughout the country. "The version on tour now is very decadent from the beginning, very glamorous," Goodrich said. "But it doesn't always confront the audience; it doesn't necessarily make them look inside their hearts. In my version, 1 try to make the audience care more about the people; I try to make them think" about the German political sit- uation, she said. Fortunately for Goodrich, "Cabaret" is almost guaranteed to force the audience to think in this manner; it is one of the most politi- cally based shows ever to come out of the musical theatre genre. Taking place in the heart of Berlin during the shift from the Weimar Republic to the Nazi regime, the musical delves deeply into the political tensions of the time period through two principal love stories. The first main plot line, by far the more famous of the two, focuses on the developing relationship between Clifford Bradshaw, a visiting American novelist, and Sally Bo lets, the young British nightclub (lancer portrayed by Liza Minnelli in the 1972 film version of the musical. As the show progresses, the two expatri- German shiksa landlady Fraulein Schneider falls in love with a Jewish fruit seller, Herr Schultz, she encoun- ters a great deal of opposition from those around her. The two struggle throughout the show to keep their relationship alive despite the constant pressure working to break them apart. The show, rife with political ten' sion in its scenes outside the Kit Kat Club, also shows a lighter side of society inside the cabaret. In its nightclub performances, the musical effectively juxtaposes seriousness with farce, poking fun at politics while recognizing the gravity of the German shift to the Nazi regime. Never losing sight of the political issues that later pushed German into World War II, "Cabaret" offers view of late 1920s Berlin that enter- tains as it educates. And, as Goodrich points out, the show's didactic value is one of the primary reasons it has lasted for such a long time on the musical theatre scene. Courtesy of University Productions Cabaret plays at the Power Center for three nights this weekend. show, "Cabaret," weekend under the auspices of University Productions. Goodrich, the director and choreo- ates move rockily throughout their relantioship while Hitler slowly rises to power outside the cabaret walls. The second story line, more politi= cally based than the first, explores the issue of anti-Semitism. As a FOR LOVE OF THE DVD 'Life' a showing of thee brutal comedies ourtesy 01 emo make If "Dead or Alive 2" was a Pokemon character, it would be named Jigglypunch. That's right, the game that set new standards of lideogame bounciness in the chests of its female sprites has returned :with a sequel further exploring the boundaries of physics models. "DOA2" explores much more area than that, although the above men- tioned attributes have been monopo- lizing most of the attention towards the game. The game resembles a This past summer I went to Yankee Stadium with but one goal in mind. - to see the New York Yankees lose. They were playing the Montreal Expos, so I knew that my work was cut for me, but I figured that my new fitted Expos cap (possibly the only one in the stadium) coupled with some vocal support would be just enough to help spring the upset. It didn't happen. In fact, there wasn't much for Expos fans to cheer about that day as David Cone pitched the 18th perfect game in the history of major league baseball. My heart was broken. And then out of nowhere came "For Love of the Game,' a clas- sic baseball film where the Yankees finally get a taste of their own medicine..,t In the film, Kevin Costner plays Billy Chapel, a life- long pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, who, because of a proposed trade, is Grade: B+ making his last start for the team. For Love of Raising the stakes for Chapel is the fact that the game is on the road and the Game against the division-leading DVD Yankees. As Chapel methodically Universal mows down Yankees, he flashes Reviewed by back to different moments of his Daily Film Editor life, reflecting on his career and the Matthew Barrett rise and fall of his relationship with Jane (Kelly Preston). Lending support to Chapel throughout the entire expe- rience is Gus Sinski (John C. Reilly), a catcher for the T'igers and the man that Chapel demands to have behind the plate in his final performance. Reilly, an underrated actor best known for his roles in films of Paul Thomas Anderson, is so convincing and powerful in the part that it wouldn't be that surprising to see a few Sinski jerseys pop up at Comerica Park over the course of the season. 'he DVD version of "For Love of the Game" comes packed with plenty of extra features that should be of great interest to fans of the film. For starters, there's a documentary on the making of the movie which fea- tures interviews with director Sam Raimi and the By Jenni Glenn Fine & Performing Arts Editor "Family Life: Three Brutal Comedies" will experiment not only with themes but also with the technical aspects of the show when it comes to the Basement Arts stage this weekend. The performance marks the first time that a Basement Arts show will build a complete set and then load it into the Arena Theatre. This type of set building is normally only done in larg- er theaters and is not typically feasible due to the Basement Arts budget of time and money. The production staff of "Family Life" decided to build the elaborate set designed by Tim Reynolds in order to add a new dimension to the Arena Theatre. Some pieces of the finished Kevin Costner plays Billy Chapel in "For Love of the Game." majority of the actors. The lo umentary emphasizes the importance that was placed ot making the base- ball seem realistic and stresses the fact that Kevin Costner threw every single pitch for his character. Several deleted scenes are also included, many of which are just slight variations of scenes in the finished product. And while some of the scenes are entertain- ing on their own, keeping them from the film's final cut makes sense when the already 1 38 minute running time is taken into account. There's also a trivia game on the history of perfect games included, which if you answer correctly sends you to "Slide, Babe, Slide," a short film starring baseball legend Babe Ruth. "For Love of the Game' is a great movie for baseball falls and a dream come true {r Detroit Tigers fans. We can only hope that at some point in this baseball season the film's plot repeats itself when Jeff Weaver, or anoth- er member of the Tigers, pushes back the sun and shuts down the Yankees with nothing short of perfection. F amily Life Arena Theatre Apri 6.7. & Sat 8 $.m. Apri 7at 11 p.m. "Family Life" set will be perma- nently donated to Basement Arts after the show ends, leaving a legacy from this production. "The Basement is going to be used in a way its never been used before," director Marya Keefe said. "We wanted to use the space looks at another dysfunctional family celebrating the mother's birthday. "The plays deal with relationships between parents and children and what happens when that communication fails," Keefe said. Keefe selected the script by play- writing Prof. Wendy Hammond for her senior directing project because of its powerful, universal message. "When I finished reading it (for the first time), I was shaking," she said. "The plays are pertinent to decisions I'm making at this point in my life and decision I see my friends making." The elements of personal truth in the show present a directing cha lenge to Keefe. She said that som times she feels too emotionally involved with the show. "At some point, it's time to just be a director and not be viscerally affected by the piece,"she said. The emotional stories impacted the cast, which is composed of School of Music students Julia Siple, Andrew Bielski and Sandra Abrevaya, in a similar way. Th i actors created acting exercises in order to reach the necessary emo- tional state to bring the "Family Life" personalities to life. "It has to come from (the cast) because the characters are inside those bodies," Keefe said. "People who come to see this show are going to be surprised because they're doing things they've never done before." The actors faced the added chal- lenge of being double cast in th*, production. Each actor portrays two parts, one older and one younger, to show the development of a single personality type over time. "It's not that they're playing the same charac- ters," Keefe said. "They're using the same behavioral patterns that repeat themselves unless the cycle stops." Between the powerful themes, the comic script and the new set, "Famil Life" offers plenty of enticements t its audience. Keefe hopes that those in attendance will recognize elements of their own experiences in the show and have cause to reexamine them. "The way these plays are written, everyone has a sort of personal expe- rience with them, whether it's from theater or not," she said. Grade: + Dead or Alive 2 For Dreamcast Tecmo Reviewed by Daily Arts writer Ted Watts hybrid of two previously r e I e a se d Dreameast fighters, "Virtua Fighter 3" and "Soul Calibur." The complicat- edly rendered backgrounds and excellent character design in a way that people would walk in and say, 'This is different."' The set also reflects a central theme in the three short plays, the contrast between fantasy and the real world. The scene appears normal to the audi- ence at first glance but gradually reveals its hidden incongruous aspects during the course of the action. "There is this very strange line between the absurd and reality in these plays" which the set embodies, Keefe said. The comedic action taking place on the set focuses on the theme of strained familial ties. The first play studies an argument between parents and a child over the topics of love and cockroaches. "Minna and the Space People" the next piece, follows a man trying to convince his sister that she cannot communicate with aliens using her mascara wand. The final story bring "Soul Calibur" to mind, while "DOA2"'s cartoonish character color scheme, hand to hand combat sys- tem and occasionally multileveled combat levels recall "VF3." Which is not to sav that "DOA2" is redundant. The game merges attributes from both games is a very See DEAD, Page 9 Courtesy of Universal John C. Reilly and Kevin Costner play for the Detroit Tigers, a highly underrated team, in "For Love of the Game." i i _ ' a = I 7 m ART-MUS/C - lL ' w ," , 2. 'tC1R, .3 Degrees of Freedom Photos Hotel DeVille Hokusai's Wave SFRAMED PICTURES! ALL SIZES! { rio k. , , d Lgxic rorarrrrr.r..$461 4 Pauis........ ....a.$452 rF t1 BEOND ThE WALL Posters & Frames A - R/il A l r -l .. y i