The Michigan Daily--Saturday, June 5, 1982-Page 9 Ann Arbor looks like hell By Chris Case S ANN ARBOR hell? Probably not. But for a rising theater production company that deserves attention it may not exactly be heaven either. No Exit is The Stage Company's last Ann Arbor production as a resident company before moving to Chicago. Jean-Paul Sartre's play is a tightly- woven portrayal of human existence that transcends existentialist dogma to show men and women in a raw and courageous light. Hell, in the play, is disconcertingly similar to life on earth. Each of the three main characters in Hell must con- tend with his or her own guilt over their lives' misdeeds. But guilt is a nasty thing to brood upon and all of the characters are com- pelled to approach each other in an ef- fort to alleviate or at least mitigate their misgivings about themselves. The play is driven primarily by the outstanding performance of Laura Magnus as Inez. All of the performan- ces in this production are good, but Magnus' has the special bite that makes you smile with pleasure at the damnedest things. Inez describes herself as a "damned bitch," but her character, through Magnus, goes way beyond bitchiness into the realms of icy, sexy cruelty. Magnus is outrageously relaxed, posied, and honest. Her eyes sparkle with cool delight in the weaknesses and tribulations of the other characters. Her speech is natural and her delivery controlled but almost never affected. The other performances in this production may be somewhat eclipsed by Inez's magnetic appear. This is perhaps unfair. Garcin and Estelle, the, two main characters in the play beside Inez, are difficult parts, yet both are handled well. Garcin is played by James Danek, the Director and co-founder of The Stage Company. His performance is, on the whole, a successful one. His is essentially the lead, the part most responsible for holding the play together, and since the performance works he must be given due credit. The inhabitants of hell from Sartre's 'No Exit.' Left to right, Laura Magnus, James Danek, Will Cares and Wendy Liscow. Danek makes Garcin a likeable and sympathetic man. Sartre may have been ahead of his time in his sensitivity to men whose over-riding concerns about what other men think of them tend to relegate other concerns - love, for instance - to secondary importan- ce. Danek's performance waxes and wanes. He mispronounces his own name (Waiter! Waiter!), an error which is grossly incongruous with the overall quality of the performance and also of relatively little importance. He is at times alive, vital, thoughtful, and very real; at other times he can be distant or histrionic. But again, there are problems inherent in this part. It's hard to say, "Bring on the instruments of torture, the rack, the red-hot pinchers! Anything is better than this torture of the mind" and get away with it. But that is Sartre's fault, not Danek's. There are also some problems in the scenes between Garcin and Estelle, who is played by Wendy Liscow. Their moments of mutual lust are awkward and hesitant, and while a certain stilted discomfort is written into these scenes (the prospect of sex between oneself and another while a contemptuous third watches is comforting and genuinely exciting only to a select few) one can't help sensing that the actors are holding something back. Liscow, however, gives the character of Estelle a nice touch of neurotic desperation. She succumbs at first to a bit too much hand-wringing, and, like Danek, occasionally affects a vaguely European accent that they'd both do well to avoid, but in time she brings out the insecurities of her character with genuine refinement. Will Cares plays the Valet. He is respectfully haughty and keeps a won- derfully straight face which has just the right trace of diabolism. The real magic, however, is between Magnus' Inez and each of the others. She brings out the best in all of them. Estelle's fearful lasciviousness is thinly and beautifully controled as she looks into the eyes of Inez, who at once lures and unnerves her. Garcin becomes a puppet, a vulnerable and sincere penitent, in her hands. A note on the Loft: Because the audience is seated all around the stage, you will miss certain facial expressions and movements at certain times. This can be frustrating, yet the fact of the knowledge that you may be missing something testifies to the general calibre of this production. Read the play (if you haven't already), then see it and watch the surprises before the show wraps up on the thirteenth. The laughter of the characters at the end is genuine enough to be infectuous. It's a very good performance. Revenge sets 'Conan's' pace (Continuedfrom Page9) pillaged; the boy is taken prisoner, and kept for years as a captive. During that time, he grows immensely strong, his desire for vengence takes shape, and when released, he sets out in search of revenge and gratification. Of course, Conan has to battle the fecund forces of evil in order to accom- plish anything. The movie is very suc- cessful in establishing loathsome villians and evil institutions of great depth. Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), a high priest of the evil serpent- god Set, commands a cult of initiates and disciples whom he has manipulated into docile readiness to sacrifice their lives in his name. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor- bodybuilder, is the perfect Conan. He generates a raw physicality which powers the film, and his athletic skill raises it a cut above the usual action picture.Schwarzenegger comes off as powerful and instinctual. He is 'I felt that he (Conan) should return to the concept of being a pure, undiluted legend. ' -John Milius director minions of good and evil. Fantasy in general is enjoyed because such clean divisions of sympathy are possible. It is interesting that this movie, although it has obvious villains and heroes, also identifies strong links bet- sometimes capable of a levity which adds badly needed leaven to the grim sword swinging. Sandahl Bergman, as the female thief Valeria, is the best performer here, combining intelligence and warmth with eye-catching grace and power in the fighting sequences. The chemistry between Conan and Valeria, who stalk Thulsa Doom along with a third thief, Subotai (Gerry Lopez), is a humanizing element in a film that ranks with The Long Riders or Rollerball for sheer violence. Perhaps the bond of love is stronger than the riddle of steel. The other facets of the production contribute successfully to Conan the Barbarian's rough-hewn grandeur. Ron Cobb's production design, particularly the temple and fortress of Thulsa Doom, is detailed and convincing, and greatly encourages audience in- volvement in the fantastic scenario. The location shooting in Spain (where director Milius also filmed his rugged adventure The Wind and the Lion provides imposing visual backdrops for the action; Basil Poledouris' musical score is grand and muscular. Conan the Barbarian works because of these technical successes and because it provides a direct and satisfying opposition between the ween humans of good or evil inclination alike. Survival and the cultivation of personal power are goals thatall creatures in the pre-civilized world pursue. In the final confrontation between Thulsa Doom and Conan on the Moun- tain of Power, illuminated during the night scene by the candles of the cultists, Doom claims that he is Conan's father. His pillage of the Hyborean village, and Conan's sub- sequent desire for revenge, Doom argues, gave Conan the incentive to become such a magnificent warrior. In the moment when Conan hesitates, realizing some truth in this, the movie has driven home a point: great in- dividuals, good, evil, or in between, partly derive their power from common wellsrpings of egoism and self- preservation. Conan the character is such an individual; Conan the Bar- barian is an original and riveting film.