.Arts
Friday, June 12, 1981
The Michigan Daily
Page 9
'Member' is ode to imagination
I
By KEN FELDMAN her brother on his honeymoon, against
"Local theatre" is often a pseudonym the common-sense warnings of her
for amateur night. The standard fare black housekeeper Berenice to stay at
consists of a well-chosen script home.
trivialized by second-rate acting, often The play is in many ways an echo of
requiring apologies for the company's Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"
student or amateur status. But no such but with a different thematic direction.
apologies are needed for the Michigan While both dramas were sensitive
Repertory's production of Member of depictions of the wonder of childhood,
the Wedding. Lee concentrated on the racial
Not only does it boast fairly strong question, while McCullers' script com-
acting, but this production manages to bines racial and social tensions with
sexual awakening in a brilliant ode to
the imagination.
The Member of the Wedding Frankie makes up characters and
By Carson McCullers plays to act out for family and friends.
But she is caught between these
PiwerCenter for thecreations - which she admits are
Performing Arts "childish dreams" - and the harsh
June 10-13, 981 reality that she doesn't fit in the "real"
world. Through Bernice, who is
Berenice Sadie Brown ........... Catrina Ganey realistic but still imaginative, Frankie
Frankie Addams ................ Roya Meghnot learns to fit in. Amazingly, this change
JohnHenrywes...iJonathan Lax is beautifully and subtly portrayed both,
John Hallquist, direction; Jan Chambers, by McCullers and by the Michigan
sets; Sheradi Cannon, costumes; Gail Repertory company.
Gober, lighting; Kathy vancamp,sound. THE ACTING of the three main
characters (there is also Frankie's
young friend John Henry) is sur-
prisingly solid and strong. This is a
capture most of the potential of the vehicle that constitutes a real acting
Carson McCullers script. And that is challenge, especially for Roya Meghnot
saying a great deal, because this is one as Frankie, and while there were brief
of the most well-written plays one is moments of stiffness, she met the
likely to encounter. challenge at almost all points. The
THE PLAY concerns young Frankie overall feel and approach was unspec-
Addams' fear and loneliness in the face tacular - but professional - and direc-
of the ignorance and boredom of her tor Jon Haliquist must take at least par-
small southern town. Superficially, the tial credit for the taut quality of the
plot pits Frankie's desire to accompany acing. Also worth mentioning is the set
The friendship between Frankie (Roya Meghnot) and Berenice (Catrina
Ganey) is an important theme of Carson McCullers' 'The Member of the
Wedding,' being performed by the Professional Theatre Program's summer
repertory company through Sunday.
i
by Jan Chambers; it captured the at-
mospheric summer world of the script
tastefully and effectively.
The company must have realized that
in this instance their real task was to be
restrained and allow the full force of the
award-winning script to come through.
Though the real star of this play is its
author, he couldn't have shone without
the restraint of the actors.
So go see The Member of the Wed-
ding, it's as moving a drama as you are
likely to experience on the local level
and it is of that rare breed of enter-
tainment that makes you think.
Rupert Hine
the music reveal
awareness of other
trends outside of thet
Progressive Rock sor
Even the occas
thesizers and vocals
ten the fans who ha
solution to the Prog
dition. As one doctor
st time that it's bee
Progressive Rock
early 70s. For a wl
really awful - co
coherent, arhythmic
lost it for good. Of
tremely pleased tha
through successfully
cent chance of surviv
good melodies and a
to."
Is a surprising Most of their songs are reminiscent of
current musical either the Yardbirds' style of revised
usual degenerative American R&B or the Hollies' type of
mnolence. rocky pop. There's even a token
ionally icy syn- reference to the Kinks' early style of
shouldn't dishear- gonzo power-chord pop in Nine Nine
d hoped for some Nine's "Don't You Know I Need You."
ressive Rock con- The only think that saves this stuff
put it, "It's the fir- from sounding like a .complete
n fun to be with a regurgitation of the original British in-
victim since the vasion is the 80s sensibility applied to
hile there, it was the music. Even the poppiest tunes
ld, rambling, in- have an extra-nasty edge to them that
. We thought we'd the Hollies would never have dreamed
course, we're ex- of in that pre-punk era.
t this one's pulled But still, except for "Obsessed" -
I give it a 80 per- their latest English single incor-
val - it's got some porating a Link Wray-style guitar,
beat you can bop rushing vocals, and Lene Lovich-style
background chants - all of these songs
-Mark Dighton will leave you thinking about their
original inspirations - the Hollies, the
Yardbirds, Sam the Sham and the
Pharoahs, The Kinks - anybody but
- Nine Nine Nine.
9 _ _ _ _
Rupert Hine - 'Immunity' (A&M -
(AP)-Doctors reported today that
there are some signs that the dreaded
Progressive Rock Syndrome may not
always prove fatal, as had been
previously thought.
Their cause for hope is Rupert Hine's
Immunity. Doctors say that the patient
in question has pulled through this
damaging genre with its beat still in-
tact. In one expert's opinion, the
curiously muffled - but lively - slap-
slap polyrhythms within the body of
this album are far more promising than
the deathly power-chord thump-thump
that has stymied most Progressive
Rock victims.
Though the lyrics of Immunity still
betray some inability to recognize the
waking world (this patient's ramblings
being described by some observers as
"incoherent" or even "irrelevant"),
However, tho fact that they are
capable of covering all of these musical
styles at least adequately (if not with a
great deal of flair), keeps Concrete
from sinking to an ignoble depth. If
Nine Nine Nine settled into any one
style and continued to do it with this lit-
tle panache, their albums could become
intolerable experiences. As it is, the
diversity of Concrete keeps it listenable
and even (at times) enjoyable, but har-
dly memorable.
-Mark Dighton
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Nine Nine Nine - 'Concrete'
(Polydor) - Methinks that Nine Nine
Nine suffer from a severe identity
crisis ... for which they should thank
their lucky stars; it may well be the
only thing that saves Concrete from
total anonymity.
You see, this album contains two
cover versions of old rhythm and blues
classics ("Lil' Red Riding Hood" and
"Fortune Teller") that you've probably
heard before, and a bunch of songs that
sound like something you've heard
before.
BASICALLY, Nine Nine Nine are ar-
dent students of the British invasion.
Reporters that go
where the story is at.
Read the Daily -today!