Wednesday, June 30, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com AA welcomes 'The Seafarer' The Perf con Imag that has of a wil with liquor' overturn Among someon( up on t drunker What a typi morning Phi is opening Perform est pro drama McPher mance r Nomi Best P1 takes pl in north latest show from Sharky, a struggling alcoholic, has come to look after his older brother ormance Network Richard, who has recently lost his sight in an accident. The brothers quers its demons are joined by their friends Ivan and Nicky, as well as a mysterious third By JOE CADAGIN visitor. DailyArts Writer It turns out that the visitor, who calls himself Mr. Lockhart, is Satan ine a rundown living room himself. When a whiskey-fueled s obviously been the location poker game begins, Sharky learns that d party. The carpet is littered he's not only wagering a pile of Euros, beer cans, but also his eternal soul, which Mr. bottles and fhe Sea iCQ Lockhart has come to collect. ned chairs. At spooky moments throughout the this debris, Every Thursday play, Mr. Lockhart reveals his hell- e lies curled through Sunday ish origin to Sharky as the light dims he floor in a until July18; and wind howls outside the house. n stupor. timesvary It is at these moments that the play- sounds like At Performance wright offers his harshest criticisms cal Sunday Network Theatre of humanity and presents a devil g at Shady Tickets from $25 struggling with his own troubles and actually the worries, much like the humans with scene of "The Seafarer," whom he is playing cards. ance Network Theatre's lat- "I think the character of Lockhart duction. This alcohol-driven is pretty special," said "Seafarer" by Irish playwright Conor director Malcolm Tulip, a School son will run at the Perfor- of Music, Theatre & Dance clinical Network through July 18. assistant professor. "The devil is often nated for a Tony Award for seen in current literature as this evil ay in 2008, "The Seafarer" force, whereas McPherson reminds us ace on a windy Christmas Eve in this play that he actually is a fallen hern Dublin. Lead character angel ... He's not very pleased about having fallen from grace and having been sent down to hell and not being able to get back to heaven." Bringing Tulip's vision of "The Seafarer" to life is a production staff and design team composed mainly of fellow School of MT&D staff mem- bers, including costume designer Christianne Myers, a clinical assis- tant professor in the Dept. of The- atre & Drama. For the Performance Network's production, Myers dressed Mr. Lockhart in a dark three-piece suit with a fiery red pocket square. By costuming the devil in business attire, Myers unintentionally stumbled on a recession-era image of the typical "bad guy." "I didn't do this on purpose, but in hindsight I realized that with our economic climate right now, the bad guys are the guys in suits," Myers said. "All the powerful men wear suits, and there's a lot of negative connotation with that right now, and I think I cashed in on that without even real- izing it." In addition to being haunted by a literal demon, Sharky also wrestles with a metaphorical one - the bottle. In fact, every character in "The Sea- farer," even Mr. Lockhart, finds com- fort in imbibing bottle after bottle of' Irish whiskey. As the liquor continues flowing throughout the show, characters start to open up to each other. Through drunken monologues and arguments, the audience begins to learn the inner workings of these five Irishmen. "As damaging as alcohol may be, there's also a release of defenses," Tulip said. "The social niceties tend to disappear and you actually start to speak your mind. Interestingly enough, this play was written seven years after Conor McPherson gave up drinking." "When they think of 'Irish,' (most Americans) think of green beer on March the 17th," said Tulip, who hopes that the production will expose audience members to a new aspect of Irish culture as well as change stereo- types surrounding alcoholics. "In America, alcoholism is looked at as one of the worst social evils," Tulip said. "Being labeled an alco- holic, and even labeling yourself an alcoholic, can tend to obscure the person." Just as the play's main character is saved from a demon of hell, in "The Seafarer," McPherson shows those struggling with alcoholism can be redeemed from for their own demons. PIXAR From Page 9 They're building another annex for the company, which after 11 smash hits in a row is seeing a level of success unprecedented in the movie business. In 2005 Pixar employed 750 people; now that number is approaching 1,200. If Alba and Weinberg are any indi- cation, Michigan's presence at this entertainment oasis is sure to increase in the coming years. 0)' at MichiganDaily.com Review of "The Seafarer" Pondering the "Eclipse" OST >> Adam Sandler is all "grown up"