8A -- *he Michigan Daiiy--- Monday, October 30, 2000 ARTS Downey, Jr. shakes up 4th season By Jenny Jeltes Daily Arts Writer Last Monday, "Ally McBeal" fans welcomed the show's fourth season. Those who enjoy watching "Ally" were brought Ally back into her McBeal quirky world of humor, relation- Fox ships and every- Mondays at 9 p.m. d a y complications. The addition of Robert Downey, Jr. to the cast brings a lot of anticipation, for you can already speculate a new love interest in- Ally's life. In the season premiere,.Ally (Calista Flockhart) is invited to move in with her current boyfriend, Bryan. Stunned and flustered, Ally's instinct tells her no. With encouragement and insight from her roommate, Renee (Lisa Nicole Car- son), and her fellow co-workers, Ally realizes that not only is she questioning his invitation, but also the continuance of their relationship altogether. Upon running into Larry (Robert Downey, Jr.) in her former therapist's office, Ally shares her dilemma, mistak- enly believing that Larry is a new thera- pist in town, when he is actually another lawyer. Larry, who is witty, confident and intriguing, sets her straight. The underlying flirtatious attraction between the two is obvious. Although Bryan has all the right qual- ities - sincerity, compassion and trust - and Ally knows this is an opportunity to settle into a stable and "content" situ- ation, she realizes how dreadfully boring he is and decides to break it off. Here ends another relationship, although the aftershocks have deeply affecred Ally as THE POWER OF 'WIT' courtesy of The Fox Network Downey, Jr. to appear in "Ally," court, rehab. she realizes that you just don't find "someone to love" everyday. Finding that her commitment to Bryan really stemmed from her fear of loneliness, viewers are once again sympathetic to Ally and her situation. What makes "Ally McBeal" a success is the realistic and often absurd encoun- ters Ally finds herself in. Ally is who she is, doing the best she can to find happiness and satisfaction. She shows the audience that all those "little things" aren't so trivial after all. Ally is one of those people who has her head in the clouds, but feet on the ground. If one can manage a realistic view of oneself and everyone around him or her, what harm does a little daydreaming do? Ally_'s fantasies are funny, yet very simi- lar to our own. Be it stuck in an embar- rassing situation and wanting to literally shrink to the floor or imagining oneself kicking the crap out of someone out of utter frustration and anger, Ally demon-. strates life's ups and downs. We cannot forget Ally's fellow attor- neys at law. Ally's friend and co-worker, John (Peter MacNicol), still finds the opportunity to make his nose whistle. Despite seemingly strange characteris- tics such as this, he seems just a bit more confident this season. Perhaps this is due to the previous success of over- coming his initial shyness and awkward- ness while dating the beautiful Nelle (Portia de Rossi). Ling (Lucy Liu) is just as cold and guarded as ever, always find- ing the opportunity to throw in her two cents. Richard (Greg Germann) still glo- riously represents a typical image of a male chauvinist pig. You can't help but hook into all of the characters' hilarious experiences, both in and out of the office. The arrival of Robert Downey, Jr. to the cast leaves much to be anticipated. "Ally" still remains an outlet for the thoughts and actions we may hesitate to express. By Rachel Bachrach For the Daily "Time goes so slowly, yet is so scarce," says Vivian Bearing on her death bed, the main protagonist of Mar- garet Edson's Pulitzer Prize winning play, "Wit." This quote is just one of many that sends the audience full of chills during this 90-minute production. Performance Network's interpre- Wit tation of Wit is outstanding and could not have Performance been done with- Network out the brave performance of October 27, 2000 actress Jan Rad- cliff, who plays. Prof. Bearing. Bearing is a, patient with stage four ovari- an cancer and the play spans the time of 12 months while she is in , the hospital. During this time, she ' takes the audience on a journey through her past life; from the time "'' she was five reading her first book to the times in her lectures when sher gave no mercy to her students. Bearing's character is a sardonic and very intelligent academic who teaches 17th Century holy sonnets by John Donne, whose poems are full of co metaphysical references and dry wit. Jan Radcliff as Viviai She is strong-willed, witty (like Donne's sonnets), and compassionless. As she tells the audience her life story - in the hospital bed - her dry sense of humor lets the reality of cancer really show. ier encounters with the Chief of Medical Oncology, Dr. Kelekian, and a clinical fellow, Jason, relay the hard and cold feelings of doctor-patient relationships. Jason, played by Nick Barnes, is only interested in the effects of a new drug on tumors and would rather do research than interact with human beings. Ironically, Jason was a student of Prof. Bearing's and has now become just as coldhearted as she once was to him. Susie, an R.N., is Bearing's main caregiver and, although not the smartest person, is the most compassionate. Both the character of Jason and Susie, played by Kelly Pino, are acted very convincingly and help the main paradox of being smart and insensitive or not so smart yet sympathetic. Of course, Bearing realizes that she once was as cruel as Jason, yet now it is too late. As she comes to terms with her final days, she realizes that "now is the time for simplicity ... for kind- ness," and she is finally at peace with herself. Although this play seems to be about cancer, it is not. It is about find- ing out how to live one's life while one is living and not when it is too late. Wit is beautifully written and also well intertwined with Bearing as a profes- sor of Donne's morbid and complicat- ed sonnets. This shows Bearing's strong will to teach one of the hardest .poets and also her ability to hide behind the wit of Donne and herself. The other characters of the play com- pliment Bearing well by stressing the importance of human love and care for one another. Although there is much medical jar- gon throughout the play, it is needed to convey the authenticity of a hospital of Performance Network setting. If anything, it makes the view- Bearing in "Wit." er a little more knowledgeable at the end of the play. The simple set just enforces the importance of the language being spoken by Bearing and her cast mates. Bearing believed that being intelligent would make life worthwhile, but she realizes in the end that one must have both intelligence and compassion to lead a life of true bliss. Perfornnunce Network s Wit ill be shown through Nov. 19, Thurs-Sat at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.mi. Courtesy ofThne roxNet Fyvush Finkel: Say it five times fast, Kel goes 'Pulici Disco Biscuits: Hard and heavy By Joshua Gross Daily Arts Writer The Disco Biscuits are a mule. Their music is a genetic miscalcula- tion, a freak combination, an amal- gamation of species. Their style is refreshingly unique, a combination of jam-rock and techno blended together like salty and sweet ingre- dients in a recipe for booty-shaking. And although the band shares the mule's hybridity, they certainly lack its sterility. On Saturday night the Disco Bis- cuits performed at the Michigan /-1 19 / ZY74 TOM a JZ Biscuits Michigan Theater Oct. 28, 2000 ork ew7N eff el Theater to an audience eager to have their aural electrons r e a r r a n g e d. Over a short t h r e e - y e a r career, the Disco Biscuits developed a reputation of catering to the tastes of their fans while simultaneously pleasing their own musical tense as if waiting for the results of an unknown medical examination. Surrounded by calm, meandering bass lines and docile guitar licks, many, ensnared by the music, let their guard drop. This temporary relaxation is shat- tered beyond repair by a sudden technological ambush. The dread- locks and Birkenstocks began to fade out while the trancelike throt- tle of a day-glow rave fades in. The bass kicked up and the beat tumbled down. Mechanical screeches and utopian swishes swelled and burst like Digweedian bubbles. Blatantly masochistic in their playing style, the Biscuits nearly sacrificed them- selves onstage while playing such marathon songs (songs that clocked in at anywhete between five and 35 minutes) as "The Unspoken Rhyme" and "Magellan," while dis. playing their ox-like stamina with a nonstop first set: "Jigsaw Earth > Hope, Plan B> Jigsaw Earth> Plan- B, Jam > Helicopters." The band pulls this metamorphosis during every performance, growing wings and flying into uncharted techno territory. This Saturday's show was such a creature, the strange hybrid that is the music of the Disco Bis- cuits, taking off like a spaceship launch and, bringing jaws hurtling towards the floor. We're looking for a qualified student to become Elctronic M did MANdqagr Must have HTML skills and know a thing or two about website design E-mail Isasg.web@umich.edu for more info palettes. Their throng of devotees, growing with every performance, has discovered that listening to the Disco Biscuits jam is like embark- ing on an Amazonian safari without a guide. Saturday's performance was such a safari, as the audience crossed pulsating mountains and slid down vast ambient plains, danc- ing until their hearts burst out of their chests. The show began with a small, excited audience, slightly new school* series By Ryan Blay Daily Arts Writer Funny, I don't remember my high school being so active and full of stereotypical characters. Then again, I'm not from Boston. - For those of you who thought high school was four years of boredom and torture, this show should wake you out of your slacker stupor. For those over-involved, hyperactive students or parents, Fox's newest hit show might teach them to chill out a little. Either way, it's fascinating for a student to watch the opera- tion of a school * from the view- points of the Boston principal, vice Pubic principal, and the teachers - The Fox Network the heart and,. Tonight at 8 p.m. soul of the pub- lic education system. This show is. clearly an, ensemble piece. The most famil- iar face to most viewers of the pilot episode was Zachary Ty Bryart (the eldest son on "Home Improve- ment"). However, the supporting cast,, top to bottom;is excellent. QbYiQ.,y1 this is a TV show and not real life, so the characters are . exaggerated a bit, but it is refreshing; to see multi-dimensional characters This is probably due to the influence". wielded by uber-producer David E,- Kelley ("Ally McBeal," "The Prac-... tice"). Quirky, flawed, human charac- ters are prevalent in his shows and movies. The hard but just Principal Harper (Chi McBride) leads by example, but antics in his school have him on the-' hot-burner with the superintendent. It's admirable how Harper deals wiA everything from irate parents to guns in school to first amendment rights in a single episode. Even more feared is, the vice-principal, Guber (Anthony Heald). He routinely stares down taller students, and enforces the laws pretty teacher Lauren Davis (Jessalyn ,. Gilsig). By the end of episode one, he has a soft side. All the teachers have their obsta- cles to face. Davis is failing the star running back, so the football player's father threatens to sue. Harvey Lip- shultz (Fyvush Finkel, "Picket Fences") has history students threat- ening the historical accuracy -of the textbooks. Harry Senate (Nicky Katt) has to deal with The Dungeon, the top miscreants of the school. How bad is The Dungeon? The last teacher all but threatened suicide. Lawless* ness reigns. So ambitious Senate decides to pack heat. By shooting a few blanks, he shuts them up all right, but oversteps political correctness and nearly loses his job. Oh yes, he also had a brief affair with student Dana Poole. Yes, "Elec- tion" fans, this is going to cost him. Poole is an Alicia Silverstone look-a- like, one of the few students high lighted in the premiere. She not only' slept with Harry Senate, she also refuses to wear a bra to school. In tonight's episode, she has another starring role, as she ignites an all- school female protest against brassieres and the secret of her affair Get on the government today! - R~n~.:...n .c.: o~~eg~a