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Since its opening in 1938, Thornton Wilder's classic has been performed more than once a day, on the average, somewhere on the globe. Professional productions of the play pop up from time to time, and there are two filmed versions regularly shown on late-night television. But Our Town is primarily a grassroots, proletarian, work of art-which may be why highbrow academes, as a rule, don't like it very much. It is most often seen in high school auditoriums-that-have-seen- better-days, in the round in city and suburban parks, and in small amateur and semi-professional enterprises throughout the land. With as muchexposure as its been given, it's a wonder that director Kathryn Long and her 15 troupers have managed to find anything° new to do with the half-century-old Wilder script. But there is indeed something fresh and unique about the Black Sheep Reper- tory Theater's current rendition of the play, and the differences start with an element that has little to do with the performance itself. As the audience saunters toward the seats it is treated to the strains of Aaron Copland's Ap- palachian Spring, music whose theme, melody, and effect breed an ap- preciation of all that's noble and decent Still stuck in the ruts By TIMOTHY YAGLE When the Fab Four disbanded in 1970, few people could guess each band member's ultimate destiny. History has revealed that Paul McCartney was the only Beatle to really remain suc- cessful on his own. When professed alcoholic Grace Slick left the Jefferson Starship last year, who would have guessed that the band, now with a new, more seasoned drum- mer and a male lead vocalist who soun- ds hauntingly like Grace, would fare as well as it has? AEROSMITH REACHED its pin- nacle of success in 1975 with the release of Toys in the Attic. Two of the band members, lead sjnger Steven Tyler and lead guitarist Joe Perry were the primary impetus in propelling "the Bad Boys from Boston" to international stardom. While Perry has said he left the band to play his own material, he is making few inroads on his new band's debut ef- fort Let The Music Do The Talking. The band was not supposed to be a per- manent departure from Aerosmith. Perry just wanted to take a short detour off of the main Aerosmith highway, then continue with the 10-year-old quin- tet after the solo album was completed. But then the friction surfaced. Much of the album, especially the title cut, is up- tempo, hard driving rock and roll. But, like Perry explained, there are a few changes. Comparing the last LP Perry did with Aerosmith, Night In the Ruts, and his new album, there are several high- powered and fluent songs that are in- terchangeable. They include the title cut, "Shooting Star," and "Life At A Glance", all flavored with that spicy Aerosmith rawness. BUT PERRY adds a funkier taste to a few of the new tunes, including "Discount Dogs" and "Rockin' Train", while the "The Mist Is Rising" fits into neither category. It just bounces along lazily, sounding a bit like someone playing a 45 rpm record on 33. More importantly, though, songs such as "Shooting Star" and "Conflict of Interest," represent how much fric- tion had developed between Perry and Aerosmith. "Shooting Star" portends how he would shoot away from the.band and becomea star on his own. "Conflict of Interest" articulates how Perry's and Aerosmith's directions differed as well as how uncaring and impersonal the harried music business has become. The other essential difference on this Aerosmith-like LP. and the real thing is the absence of Steven Tyler's shrieking voice. Perry's vocals are more bland and monotonous, which now clues you into why Perry did not do more singing on Aerosmith's albums. Instead, the relatively unknown Ralph Mormon takes over many of the lead vocal parts. While his range is semi-impressive, his voice sounds a bit too strained -- a quality reminiscent of the old =Deep Purple front man David Coverdale. In any event, Perry's first solo effort isn't all bad. The mix of steaming rockers and funky stuff is slightly refreshing. But this band must become tighter and the guitars could be mixed a little better. Perry is an honest rock and roller and Let The Music Do The Talking pretty much allows Perry to show us where he is headed and the musical variety he couldn't tackle during his tenure with Aerosmith. But the question of whether he can get this band off the ground and maintain a reasonably high altitude still exists. The LP seems to be doing well on the charts, probably due only to Joe Perry's name. By sticking fairly closely to his proven formula of suc- cess, Perry should be around for longer than some critics think. about the American character-fine preparation for the drama to follow. THEN THERE is the beautiful job done by Long, who, if not the most am- bitious product of the University theatre department, has exhibited an astonishing degree of consistency. The most gifted cast members of Long's Hay Fever (Michigan Summer Rep, 1979) here appear in even better form. Long seems to understand that a play so likely to have been seen before by its audience relies on understatement if its going to have its way with its audience. At the same time, such a familiar show will have to plunge all the deeper for rich meaning and characterization if it is not to seem like the same old thing. This, too, is achieved by helmswoman and crew alike. Perhaps the most valuable com- modity Long brings to the enterprise is her exquisite sense of timing. Nowhere is a crucial scene here hurried through, yet nowhere is a scene made dull by dragged-out lines. Still, through it all, the actors look as natural as if they were having their thoughts and exr periences for the very first time. Watching the Black Sheep Company glide through Wilder's words carries a sensation of familiarity. Part of the ex- planation for this lies in the playwright's extraordinary reach for the universal. The fact that many onlookers are sitting through the drama for the second or third time certainly plays a part as well. But the principal reason that the players' predicaments are so deliciously easy to identify with is the high level of artistry they bring to the stage. JAMES REYNOLDS is one fourth smile, one fourth melancholy, and half of a question mark as the Stage Manager, whose omniscient narration takes us into each of Grover's Corners' corners. Reynolds is quite effective in creating and preserving the sense of mystery that surrounds his godly character. If at times, he becomes a lit- tle too ponderous, he only serves to set off with contrast the scenes of vivacity and wit that almost invariably follow his little homilies. For a long-time Ann Arbor theatergoer, the performances of Department of Theatre mainstays in Our Town figure in as a breath of especially fresh air. Don Hart, for example, had a hard time with that most basic of thespian vir- tues-believability. His abilities seem to have been expanding over the last year or so, and now Hart cuts a fine and eminently fatherly figure as Dr. Gibbs. Perhaps more than any other charac- ter, Gibbs is the wise, understanding man of vision in Our Town, a sort of worldly shadow to the Stage Manager. In his temperate and compassionate moments with son George (Pat Gar- ner), and especially with his better half (Carol Hart), Mr. Hart's portrayal of the good doctor is as heartwarmingly convincing as any Wilder-weathered audience could hope for. Pat Garner is another University production veteran whose performance is something of a surprise. Thus far, Garner has been cast either as a clown (Dobchinsky in last year's Inspector General) or as a laughing stock (the boxer in People Are Living There). Garner has always done nicely in these roles, and in fact, is unsurpassed among the U's stable of undergraduate actors in the art of pulling a chuckle out of an audience. Butit's a pleasure to see Garner playing the young George here, a part that calls for a hefty measure of gravity, and even, at one point, tears. Still, his best moment is a comic one: His disbelief upon finding that his in- tended is unexpectedly spouting waterworks-produces a phenomenal facial expression that makes for the evening's loudest laughter. Particularly piquant in this feminist age is the lot of Our Town's women. As director Long seems to know quite well, certain restrictions are invisibly im- posed on these- turn-of-the-century matrons, ones which keep them from openly expressing much of what they might be feeling. The actress' tricky task, then, is to keep her character from seeming shallow, and in this respect as well, Badgerow, and par- ticularly her counterpart across the way, Carol Hart, maintain the two levels of superficial grace and hidden turmoil quite winningly. Love certainly must be founded on deeper things than theatrical experien- ces, but the sweetly sentimental treat- ment Black Sheep's Our Town gives to romance seems to have had some im- mediate effect. Jamie Reynolds, who was a bachelor when the show opened, and even through its opening week, finally succumbed to the matrimonial temptation on Sunday last. Wilder's magic can't be certain to have the same effect on all who watch it, but perhaps Ann Arborites might find it worth a try. Ne Ann Arbor Film CoperetWe Presents at Aud. A: $1.50 THRSDAY, MAY 29 MISTER AND MRS. SMITH (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941) 7T& 10:20-AUD. A Hitchcock delivers a change of pace with this entertaining romantic comedy. A young couple discover that their marriage may not be legitimate, and things take off from there. The film has an excellent cast featuring CAROLE LOMBARD and ROBERT MONTGOMERY. (Alfred Hitchcock, 1953) I CONFESS ,8:40-AUD. A An unjustly neglected work by the master Hitchcock. MONTGOMERY CLIFT stars as a dedicated priest caught in a conflict between religious ethics and self- interest. With ANNE BAXTER, KARL MALDEN. Tomorrow: Woody Allen's LOVE AND DEATH and WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILY? at MLB. PRESENTS GUYS AND DOLLS (JOSEPH L MANKIEWICZ, 1955) Faithful screen transcription of the classic Broadway musical. Based on Damon Runyon's world of New York low-lifes, the story features MARION BRANDO (in his only singing/dancing role) as Sky Masterson, gambler, gangster, lady-killer extraordinaire and JEAN SIMMONS as the Salvation Army lass who tries to tame him. With FRANK SINATRA, VIVIAN BLAIN, and STUBBY KAYE. In Cinemascope. (138 mm) MLB 4 7:00 & 9:30 $1.50 Tomorrow: ANNIE HALL 1 NINO F