The Michigan Daily -Wednesday, July 24, 1985 - Page 11
Evening of Pinter sketches lies in wait
meaning with the same basic plot shall, who is directing Trouble in the sophisticated comedy, but it is also a audience; he is known for his silence
By Noelle Brower construction: one or more characters Works, one of the four sketches. "It drama - it's ironic, the dark humor, on such matters, thus angering and
find themselves in a room or some was a huge production; we spent especially in the enjoyment the perplexing many people. "He says he
T HE PLAYS of Harold Pinter lie enclosed area; unexpectedly months on it. This show we've gotten characters feel in being cruel - a doesn't know what his plays are
in wait for an audience much in someone, an intruder, comes into this together in just four or five weeks. study of people." about," says Cares, "so don't ask
the way a hunter's ne is ever poised area, and disturbs their accustomed "[We were] looking for a play that me."
for its prey; this deception is manifest balance of life. This is a form in which was very workable, [with] minimal Pinter is tricky also in his lack of The cast includes Ben Sherker,
in theway his plays clothe themselves Pinter seems very comfortable. use of sets, as minimal as possible. exposition. He does not present Charles Cares, and Anne Morton.
within the framework of realistic In The Collection, the characters This is a very dry show - very characters who throw up ex- Performances are July 25-28 at the
domestic dramas when in fact they take turns playing both the intruder English. In some ways it's a planations of themselves to the PerformanceNetworkat8p.m.
inhabit the world of the absurd. But it and the victim; the play seems to be
is in this subtle illusion that the one of a cuckolded husband harassing "
strength of Pinter lies, for when the his rival. But in the end, the question
realization that what one is watching of the wife's fidelity loses importance
isn't a just depiction of what is really to the growing power struggle among
occuring, the most innocent, the men, which eventually erodes into (Continued from Pages )
unassuming remarks and actions subtle games of manipulation for at- All of which make the film's fumble,
carry the weight of covert threats of tention and control. and it's a big one, that much harder to
malice. "A lot of people say Piner is all deal with. When the Thunder Road
"In one respect I know why people style without substance," says Cares. finally hits the cosmic trail, and the
stay away from Pinter," says Will "The man has got style, but his plays boys come face-to-face with the ex-
Cares, the director of The Eclectic are very full in a similar way that braterrestrials who have been
Theatre Company's centerpiece, The Shakespeare is [full]. We find new- beaming them their inspirational
Collection. "He's a very difficult things in him at every rehearsal. Like dreams, Explorers lurches into
playwright to interpret. However, Shakespeare, you can be flexible and smart-ass camp. The aliens, big green
with sensitivity to his aim, in the play with him." and polka-dotted insectoids, that look
production of the play, one can get An Evening of Pinter: The Collec- like a weird mutant formulated by
quite close to what he was after, tion and four revue sketches is the Chuck Jones and Glen Larson, turn
emotionally. All of his plays are third production of The Eclectic b sy
vicious, but I don't think he's a Theater Company, founded in 1984 by o be just interstellar te o -a
pessimist, he's just attempting things Will Cares, Grace Marshall, and pers looking for someone else to pae
the way Orwell did in 1984. Neil Alting - all '82 graduates of with. They've been sitting out in space
"It's classic Pinter. He is talking Community High School. Cares foryears, watching our stray
about a whole lot of different things; stresses the importance of ensemble television signals, and seem in-
caaleobseknonantintu a
one of the things he likes to do is use production in which everyone rotates weird hodgepodge of recited dialogue
dialogue to cover the action. It can be positions from directing to acting in from old movies, commercials, and
symbolic - revealing an action that the group. "There are no staff titles," game shows.
is below, between the lines." he says. Their first production was e is not without its warped
Certainly Pintner's adaptation of last year's The Lion in Winter and The scene is otthot aped
words and their intuitive meaning to most recently they co-produced A makeup effects are amazing, but the
the subtextual content is at once the Midsummer Night's Dream. scene belongs in another film
most revered and most criticized "When we first started the com- altogether; the crass schti k takes the
aspect of his writing. Over and over pany, Pinter came up very early in film's fragile fairy tale dreaminess
Pinter juxtaposes this hidden our discussions," says Grace Mar- and crumbles it to pieces. Ben looks
all around him, and comments disap-
pointedly to himself, "This isn't what
I thought it would be..." and he's Paramount lets the imagination fly as alien "beauty" Neek listens to a
A rt a ir a n x ie ties echoing the audiences disenchan- sax solo aboard a spaceship.
tment too. comparison can stick to the film, or if you. His comic indulgence will spoil
Whether Dante swaps his tone SO he's just being deliberately obnoxious the film for more than a few people,
(Continued from Page9) rudely because he wants to inject one doesn't matter. Explorer s turns ran- which might by why the film has
bold splash of his old, tacky style - cid sour fast, and never recovers failed to find much of an audience.
than the entire Football season is the standing or shuffling in one huge, the scene is strongly reminiscent of completely, even when it tries to flop
Art Fair. It, like everything else, has blundering mass. As night falls, Gremlins, or his "It's a Good Life" styles again and end on a dreamy Still, Explorers is for a short but
gotten too big for this city. drunken teenagers will shout, maybe segment of the Twilight Zone movie - finale right out of Peter Pan - the sweet few moments, memorably en-
They took a biopsy of the City, and, glass will break. The stench of over- or if he's just throwing a wrench into damage has been done. You begin to chanting. Highly recommended, but
judging from the enormous growths cooked swine will hang in clouds over the works to make sure no Spielberg wonder if Dante's not just mocking with noted reservations.
on certain favorite corners downtown, whole city blocks.
what we've got here is a malignant Through this Hieronymus Bosch i s
net of ugly structures popping up right wasteland of retail excesses,"likeabhot P an s d s pp n s w th ne n so s
in the guts of Ann Arbor. That Polyp knife through butter, slices the thin
on Fifth and Liberty, where once wail of Albert Ayler playing the Tne Interlochen National Music Camp's World Youth
stood two houses and a hip bakery, is soprano sax. It's a recording he made By Neil Galanter Symphony Orchestra made a strong impression right at
the biggest shocker this city has had in Scandanavia, backed by some local
since Tower Plaza showed up. cats, including Niels-Henning Orsted- TOSE FEGHALI, the Gold Medalist in this year's Van the beginning of the concert. Conductor Henry Charles
So there's always been something to Pedersen, bassist. The year was 1963. Li Cliburn Piano Competition, failed to meet the audien- Smith led the Orchestra through Von Suppe's Overture,
make some of us furious, and dashing Albert was being recorded in Europe ce's expectations when he performed with the World bringing forth a light and airy feel with plenty of good
around the streets confusing the simply because nobody would go near Youth Symphony Orchestra Sunday night at the Power humor. A harp and cello duet during the first section of the
public is very therapeutic. This year him over here in America. Center. For those audience members who had seen the piece was indicative of the glowing potential that these
I'm wearing what must be my third He's playing "Bye Bye Blackbird," competition's Silver Medalist, Philippe Bianconi, when he young musicians possess. While the orchestra's tonal
television headpiece. After the first, tying it in knots. performed a few weeks ago, the thought that the two quality was not always at the level of most professional
Peter "Madcat" Ruth left a small I can see the crowd parting, one pianists should swap medals was unavoidable. orchestras, the group's performance was strong and
stack of portables on my front step. fellow muttering "What the..." into Feghali, a 24-year-old native of Brazil, made his Ann significant.
I've been gutting and decorating them his beer. This is the approach to Arbor debut with a program consisting of the Overture to The Orchestra's accompaniment on the Beethoven Con-
faithfully. The music I'll blast will be Crowd Control. Say very little. Wear Dichter and Bauer by Franz von Suppe, Brahms' Sym- certo was merely adequate. Smith was a sympathetic
predominately Albert Ayler's. The sunglasses if possible. Frown slightly phony No. 4 in E minor, Opus 98, and Beethoven's Third conductor, and worked to create an ensemble effect bet-
best term I can find for his style would whenever anyone laughs. Be gently Piano Concerto in C Minor. ween his orchestra and the soloist, but at times the Or-
be "Joyous Angst." rude, using your elbow when a While Feghali's performance contained interesting and chestra was simply too loud. It was difficult to hear
Albert was pioneer in the develop- drunkard comes too near. Blast loud substantial ideas, it suffered at times from heavy- Feghali. Feghali does deserve some of the blame,
ment of the mid-to-late twentieth cen- Jazz directly in front of you as you handedness, and a dry quality. Feghali ranged from however, as he often softened his playing, even when the
tury Extroverted Saxophone. His wade through the washed masses. mellow and smooth to brittle and harsh. His score did not call for it. In the first movement, for exam-
roars in the basement of the tenor are Accept sips of wine, unless you think passagework was chiseled and clean, and this made much ple, where the piano plays a continuous string of triplet
often punctuated with spinning gusts it's poisoned. In the evening, remove of his performance attractive, but on the whole limited. note figurations, Feghali's articulation was so slight that
of screech, born of Rhythm & Blues the art object from your head and sit Beethoven requires of performers a fine, driven sense of the Orchestra almost completely overshadowed him.
spasm bands. listening to live music. Party in- depth, which Feghali did not manifest. In the final It was nevertheless inspiring to see the brightly clad
I'll walk down Main Street, past telligently and creatively. The fair is movement of the concerto, Feghali rescued himself young musicians in their red sweaters, playing a full
outdoor beer stands and. tables of t best ,a d ady. excuse, p seiz@ [he sonewhat, playing with a true vibrancy; he exited the symphony program with a guest soloist, The evening was
shoes, beach towels, knots of people streets. stage with a flourish, well-spent, if uneven.