The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, July 16, 1985 - Page 9
Tale of murder builds taut suspense

By Chris Lauer
ANN ARBOR Civic Theatre's
production of Agatha Christie's
Ten Little Indians, with several fine
performances and tight directing,
managed, amazingly, to develop

enough suspense to give the ol' gut a
good workout. Amazingly, because all
the while the ol' brain was rolling in
its fluid with irritation at the
numerous technical flaws.
The plot is a classic of the murder
mystery gerre: Ten people are in-
vited to an island only to discover that

The last fox-trot
pepper shakers, or butterflies, or
By___r ______r _____ floundering around in frothing
waters, Nereids of Thetis, wives of
T HE RECORD spins fast as a Poseidon-
dervish. So fast,.in fact, that the I've never recovered from those
label is difficult to discern. A haze of films. The music of the 1930s haunts
surface noise leaps into the air as the me every day, and, mingled with
needle is placed in the first groove. Shirley Temple film clips, runs con-
Some find the hissing unpleasant. stantly through my skull. It's those
Seasoned listeners, however, orchestras! No-name fellows doinga
welcome the sound as a promise of pit-orchestra tuxedo job on mew
vintage music from decades past. syrupy masterpieces of popular
Through the scratchy mist comes romantic fluff.
an intro that smacks of vaudeville, Americans have a bad attitude
and there emerges a lively fox trot, about history. A common phrase,
muted trumpets bleating and oily employed when something has
ceased to exist or to be of any impor-
tance, is "That's history." History,
to the galvanized supermen of the
1980s, is synonymous with obsolescen-
ce. Last week I was at WCBN, airing
vintage Victor 78s for an hour. A
wise guy telephoned in. "I'm calling
just to make sure you're still awake
playing this stuff," said the caller
"When can I get a request in?"
woodwinds moaning for all they're I bit my thumb and explained the
worth. There's even a sugary violin, situation. Specialty broadcast until
A male tenor begins to sing, his sap- the top of the hour. Rare records
py vibrato protrudes, a cruller in the from long ago. This is history. Sorry
bakery display. It's Charles "Bud- you can't handle it. He smirked the
dy" Rogers, once billed as testosterone smirk of the North
America's Boyfriend. Married, for a American Male and said, "If I want
while, to America's Sweetheart, to hear Popeye music, I can turn on
Mary Pickford. "Buddy's" career the TV" and hung up before I could
was based on the cinema. This reply.
recording was a freak promotional He gave himself away, for this
manifestation. Its title is enigmatic was a dated estimate. Cartoons have
as well as charmingly stupid: "I'd long since ceased to sound so quaint.
Like To Be A Bee In Your Boudoir." One Saturday morning I braced
He explains that, as a bee, he'd myself, took my kitten named Dick
waste no time in flirting with into my arms and flicked on the
flowers, I'd spend all my hours in television. I thought I'd get a dose of
lingerie. - " -what kids are programmed with
This is a disarming approach to nowadays. The image leapt into
the fleshy realities of being human. focus; a little boy sat at a computer
The fact that this creature was a console, moving his hands as fast as
pretty-boy sex-symbol some 55 possible. "I can't punch the button-
years ago has provided me with s fast enough!" he cried. I switched
enough unanswered questions to last the set off, chilly with terror. By
me a lifetime. What makes an idol of some twist of fate I was lucky
the silver screen into "America's enough to have caught Fred Astaire,
Boyfriend"? Even more perplexing: Abbot and Costello, Paul Robeson
why? Can anyone explain the and Mighty Mouse while young and
sexuality of 1929? Of 1933? impressionable. Mighty Mouse was
A film-fleeced line of chorus girls the best, with those operatic scores.
buck dance across the back of your Mickey Mouse, before Annette
eyes. Smiling, they sing the words in Funicello, when he danced and
unison, too quick o be understood, moved to happy idiotic fox trots, all
Busby Berkei the guy who the world was safe and easy. Rinky
choreographed the 1930s, taught my Dink dance orchestras, with
young brain to spin the happy vortex primitive Mother Goose motifs. Bet-
of the hundred-women-in-the-movie- ty Boop, Aphrodite.
set mystique. I saw these old films All of this is obsolete. I sit in the
usually on an overworked television broadcasting booth, watching the 78
screen in the early 1960s, and for the rpm disc spin and crackle. I'm en-
life of me I couldn't figure it out. joying a thoroughly archaic notion.
I knew that a woman was like Lucille Waring's Pennsylvanians are
Ball or one of those poor creatures singing "I Never Seen A Straight
endlessly pursued by Harpo Marx. Banana." Cueing up the next 78. 1
But this was something entirely remove my shoes and execute a fast
unexplainable. A hundred women buck-and-wing. Teddy grew up in
perched on some massive ornate America, and boy oh boy is he proud
movie set, dressed like salt-and- of his country..

not onlyFare they trapped on the
island for the weekend but one among
them is a killer. The only thing the
guests have in common is that the
past of each guest is marred by
responsibility for someone's
premature death. One by one they are
murdered, those remaining all the
more suspicious of each other. The
cleverness of the plot is that the
means of the murders are delineated
by the rhyme "Ten Little Indians"; it
goes without saying that there are ten
little Indian figures on the man-
tlepiece which disappear as the mur-
ders occur.
Murder and theatre are serious
business. Both take nerves of high-
carbon steel and careful attention to
detail if it's to be a professional job.
While still able to provide enter-
taining chills 'n' thrills, numerous
small flaws, mostly technical, cut the
legs off of Ten Little Indians, snuffing
potential brilliance.
Most importantly, the stage wasn't
big enough. Even when you can see
the characters, it's usually just from
the shoulders up. There's no excuse
for this-Ann Arbor Civic's fine group
of actors deserves to be shown off in
full head-to-foot detail of expression.
Also, why work so hard to create sue-
a beautiful set if it can't be seen?
The sound effects were too

timid-suspense by its very nature sound like he has an iron lung
demands imposing sound effects. Of anyway.
the sound effects noticeable enough to Peter Bauland as Justice Lawrence
remember, the loud ticking of the Wargrave, with his seemingly natural
clock was merely a curiousity for the stage presence and flawless delivery,
first scene and I don't remember it af- was the gem of the cast. Bauland
ter that, and the thunderstorm com- maintained his character impeccably
posed of innocuous pitter-patters and throughout, even when his character
flashes of lightning was really tame. was taking little or no part in the
What happened to the spine-tingling dialogue. Bauland looked like an old
thunderbolt that always comes at a pro.
tense moment? Only the loud crack of Susan Moreth as Vera Claybourne
the revolver and a couple of good was lively and expressive enough to
screams were enough to elicit any capture the audience's attention,
gut-fenzy response. which is exactly what her role calls
Beyond sins of omission was just for. Moreth's portrayal of the ar-
plain poor execution of technical chetypal screamer embodied
details. At the play's conclusion when vulnerability for the audience to iden-
the rhyme is read by someone at the tify with, producing some wrenching
back of the theatre instead of being moments of suspense, and making the
played as a recording is anticlimactic ironic plot twists all the most en-
enough, but the fact that the person joyable.
reading the rhyme on opening night Thom Johnson as leading man-type
messed up and broke character Captain Philip Lombard demon-
pushed bathos to new irritating strated aptitude for generating
proportions. A work of suspense in paranoia. His moments of ex-
which the last impression left with the pressively executed vehement ac-
audience is not played to its full eerie cusation were just what the
potential is inexcusable. playwright ordered. At times, though,
Curiously, another disembodied Johnson's accent seemed a little too
voice in the play was used as a recor- forced, and he too self-conscious.
ding. It probably wasn't necessary to Ten Little Indians plays July 18-20
call in such a practiced voice as "Fat" and 25-27 at the Ann Arbor Civic
Bob Taylor's (WJR) to play The Theatre (338 S. Main). Shows begin at
Voice since the recording made him 8p.m.

Live A id an overdue TV Woodstock
(ContinuedfromPage8) pelin. Robert Plant can't hit those passable, even with the able help of
stars for a surprisingly strong version high notes like he used to, and the Ron Wood and Keith Richards. Dylan
of "Do They Know It's Christmas." sound is as dinosaur as it comes, but it also made the confusing suggestion
Most Outrageously Indulgent Self- was a real thrill to see these guys do that some of the profitsngoused to pay
Promotion - A dark horse nabs this what no one ever thought they would off farm mortgages. While the plight
award! MTV. With all of the do, and do it respectably. f farm es i an prt
egomaniac artists at this show it is The Brazen Onission Award f American farmers is an important
unbelievable that no one was par- - MTV for ignoring a chance to show as starving children, especially when
ticularly indulgent, with the exception Teddy Pendergrass and Ashford and some farmers are paid by the gover-
of U2. But U2's activities pale by Simpson live when the three did nment not to grow food. Dylan's
comparison to MTV's continual cut- "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's guitar strings also snapped, resulting
aways to, of all people, the MTV VJ's Hand," easily the most moving per- in Wood giving his guitar to Dylan,
during the closing six hours of the formance of the entire show. Pen- and grabbing an out-of-tune guitar
production. I DON'T give a DAMN dergrass managed to generate frombbackstage.
whether Alan Hunter knows the lyrics astonishing power from his Most Disorganized Moment - The
to "Let it Be." I don't CARE how wheelchair, and ought to consider American finale, which meandered
much these sunshiney video pals are touringa"We
enjoying themselves. Let me see the The "End-Around" Award -- Are he orl 'sI hnstly think t
PERFORMERS, dammit. Honestly. Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Neil Young, was thrown together as a desperate
Unbelievable, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young response to the British finale, but it
The "New-Coke" Award for Insen- for managing to get three separate paled by comparison.
sitivity to Consumers - The Power sets for what was, at one time, one Even so, in the final analysis, Live
Station, for appearing without lead act. Each set was swell, though, and I Aid proved worthy of Joan Baez's
vocalist Robert Palmer. His substitutes don't think anybody's too angry. label, " or ynaon's Wood-
changes the chemistry of the band The "Blackhead" award - Duran stock." Live Aid camera within ten
completely, not that Duranettes care. Duran and Madonna tie for this one. I stock. of beid cmet en
Worst Other Beatle Cover - guess blondes don't really have more schedule, and ran without a hitch.
"Revolution" by the Thompson Twins fun. More importantly, Live Aid was not a
featuring Madonna. Changing one Best Choreography - Hall, Oates, simple gathering of talent; it was an
lyric to Well, you know...we all Kendricks, and Ruffin for their half- effort for a cause, a plea for effort and
want to feed the world equates the way-stab at Temptations moves assistance to end hunger.
fans of this event with the cheesy during a fantastic Motown-revival
rebels that John Lennon was railing set.C
against when he wrote the song. The Most Vocally improved - Mick ontributions can still be sent to
Twins demonstrated a complete lack Jagger who found his falsetto, which Live Aid Charitable Organization,
of understanding for the song, the was notably absent on the Stones' last P.O. Box 7800, San Francisco,
event, and sounded like hell on top of tour, for "Miss You." CA., 94120.
it all. Best Duet - Mick Jagger and Tina
The "Lazarus" Award - To Eric Turner for a steamy medley of "State
Clapton, who sounded as great as he of Shock" and "It's Only Rock and IT'S GREAT HAIRSTYLES
ever has on this, his umpteenth return Roll." This was a barn burner, com- BY LICENSED
from mediocrity. plete with pelvic thrusts, tearaway BARBER STYLISTS -
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Phil Collins, for his astonishing bi- vocals, and a high-camp feel. Michael new creations at reasonable prices
continental performances on piano Jackson's original vocals will never DASCOASTYLISTS
and drums. Five sets in all. He was seem fiery again.
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The Comeback Award -Led Zep- Nicholson introduced him was only