taKs piace at tne I UDpII u rary IultIPUrpOS iOom, ine iirary's Page 5
address is 343 S. 5th Avenue. And, as if this heavenly concert could Tuesday,
et better, it's absolutely free-R September 12, 1995
Jeffrey'is out, loud and proud
Off-Broadway play translates well into chatty, fun film
By Melissa Rose Bernardo
Daily Theater Editor
You could say that "Jeffrey" is
something of a Cinderella story. Not
the plot (though it does have its
share of love at first sight, Prince
Charmings and magic moments), but
rather the story behind it.
Once upon a time, in 1993, "Jef-
frey" was a new play scheduled to
run for three weeks at a little the-
ater on 23rd Street in New York.
Almost overnight it became the hot-
test ticket off-Broadway. Greg
Louganis later took over a support-
ing role. It spawned L.A., San Fran-
cisco, and Washington, D.C. com-
panies. But a film version would
brin "Jeffre " to more eo le than
,....
I JeffreY
Written by Paul Rudnick;
directed by Christopher Ashley;
with Steven Weber and Patrick
Stewart
At the Michigan Theater
all these productions, and then
some.
Writer Paul Rudnick is well-
known beyond New York for writ-
ing the screenplay for "Addams
Family Values," and as his alter-
ego, hilarious Premiere magazine
columnist Libby Gelman-Waxner.
The plot of "Jeffrey" is your basic
Hollywood-friendly love story, the
dialogue chatty and quick-witted,
and the theme - ay, there's the rub,
as Shakespeare said.
Jeffrey is a good-looking actor/
cater-waiter who loves sex. "It's
just one of the truly great ideas,"
Jeffrey says. "I mean, just the fact
that our bodies have this built-in
capacity for joy - it just makes me
love God." Jeffrey is also a gay man
living in New York in the age of
AIDS. And day by day he is grow-
ing more and more disillusioned
with the idea of safe sex, so finally
he just gives it up. Of course, just
days after he takes that vow he locks
eyes with Mr. Right. But there's
another hitch: Not only is Jeffrey
celibate, but hunky Steve is HIV-
positive.
Not exactly the makings of a
mainstream motion picture. Add in
Jeffrey's best friends Sterling (an
interior designer) and Darius (an
eternally optimistic "Cats" chorus
boy), and you've alienated most of
Hollywood's "progressive" contin-
gent. But star power - Steven
Weber, Patrick Stewart, Sigourney
Weaver - gave the film the jump-
start it needed, and $1.7 million
later "Jeffrey" is a major motion
picture.
Both Weber and Stewart fit the
Both Weber and
Stewart fit the bill
wonderfully. Few
actors could make
a hot pink beret
work as well as
Stewart does.
bill wonderfully. Weber is an abso-
lute delight as Jeffrey; he turns am-
bivalence into an art form, glossing it
over with sly sex appeal and a dimpled
boy-next-door look. The role of Ster-
ling could have been written for
Stewart: he has style, sophistication,
and a beautiful younger HIV-positive
boyfriend (a charming Brian Batt, in a
role he originated on stage). And few
actors could make a hot pink beret
work as well as Stewart does.The fact
that Weber and Stewart are straight
actors in gay roles is dismissable;
B sP f ) r
Bryan Batt (Darius), Patrick Stewart (Sterling), Steven Weber (Jeffrey) and Michael T. Weiss (Steve) star in "Jeffr.ey"
both are fine performers who know
good roles when they see them.
Michael T. Weiss makes a strong
film debut starring as Jeffrey's love
interest, and watch for numerous
fabulous cameos: Weaver as a new-
age motivational guru, Kathy
Najimy as one of her followers,
Robert Klein as a game show host,
Nathan Lane as a horny gay priest,
Olympia Dukakis as the mother of a
"pre-operative transsexual lesbian
son."
As for the stage-to-screen transi-
tion, "Jeffrey" handles it admira-
bly. Having Rudnick and director
Christopher Ashley on both ends no
doubt helped, as did on-location
shooting. "Jeffrey" just wouldn't
be the same outside of New York
City, and Rudnick and Ashley make
the city look fabulous. (The gay
pride parade even passes by on Fifth
Avenue.) And save the cutting of
two scenes (including Jeffrey's ini-
tiation into the Lower Manhattan
Gentlemen's Masturbation Soci-
ety), the differences between the
play and screenplay are practically
nonexistent.
But "Jeffrey" still plays like, well,
a play. There's a lot of plot packed
into this 90-minute film, so Rudnick
has attempted to ease the scene-to-
scene transition with the addition
of titles: "Jeffrey makes a decision,"
"Jeffrey takes 12 steps," for ex-
ample. A little awkwardness was
inevitable, especially in Jeffrey's
direct address of the camera. But
Rudnick's script is fast and furious,
and the actors take it off into the
sunset.
Thematically, "Jeffrey" is closer
to "When Harry Met Sally" than
"Philadelphia." Socially-conscious
New York theatergoers scoffed at
its romantic comedy aspect, but
mainstream movie audiences have
never seen anything like it. Recog-
nizing this, Rudnick has added a
very cute scene to the film: in the
middle of a gorgeous, romantic,
open-mouthed kiss between Jeffrey
and Steve, it cuts to two boy-girl
couples in a movie audience. The
guys spit out their popcorn with a
disgusted "aw," while the girls
swoon at the sweetness. Whether
"Jeffrey" will play in Podunk re-
mains to be seen; in the meantime,
it's here - out, loud and proud.
May it live happily ever after.
Want to touch the beret?
v aa w iMMY -NV -WW-%4
r
'r'
Lenny Kravitz
Circus
Virgin Records
Before even reading the first paragraph
of this review, it would be fairly easy to
guess what a critic has to say about a new
Lenny Kravitz album. Phrases like "sto-
len Hendrix and Zeppelin" and "full of
arrogance" are sure to be some that pop
into mind.
Things can change.
But pigs can't fly, and Kravitz doesn't
change with his "Circus."
On his fourth and latest album, Lenny
Kravitzrehasheshis rehashed music once
again, releasing another slew of generic
sounding classic rock tunes. "Circus" has
all the typical Kravitz downfalls; the sto-
len riffs and sounds mixed with his lyrics
of God andbeing the chosen one make the
album redundant at times, and frequently
sound more like sampling than new mu-
sic.
Maybe "rock'n'roll is dead"as Kravitz
sings on the album's mediocre opener.
Apparently Kravitz is stuck in some type
of timewarp with Led Zeppelin this time
out, with drums sounding like loops right
off of John Bonham's studio tapes. "Be-
yond the 7th Sky" has the pounding of
Zep's "When the Levee Breaks," while
"The Resurrection" is a total rip-off of
"Kashmir."
Even past the robbery of the Zeppelin
riffsandrhythms,"Tunnel Vision"sounds
amusingly similar to Hendrix's "Cross-
town Traffic," and the country sounding
"Can't Get You Off My Mind" makes
you want to break into the chorus of the
Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses."
Nevertheless, there are some good
tracks in Kravitz's classic rock collec-
tion. "Magdalene" is an upbeat and pleas-
ant track, even with the Zepish acoustic
guitar and drum sounds. "In My Life
Today" is a great Kravitz ballad, with
smooth and rich vocals, making it one of
the album's most solid tracks.
As with "Mama Said" and "Are You
Gonna Go My Way," "Circus"has it high
points and low points, but as usual ends
up being mediocre for the majority of its
duration.
It really is too bad Kravitz's music has
become as predictable as its reviews.
- Brian A. Gnatt
Jon b
Brn afide
Yab Yum/Sony Music
When this Altena, CA native came
out with the single "Someone to Love,"
a duet ballad with Babyface (where the
two of them are basically begging), he
immediately made waves. Another rare-
breed Caucasoid making a positive,
long-lasting contribution to R&B? It
seemed possible. After all, Jon b has
already written and/or produced cuts
for the likes of Toni Braxton and After
7.
But, something went wrong with
"Bonafide." Whatever gift he has for
writing music for other people doesn't
transfer into his own songs. After lis-
tening to the title track, answer me this:
Can a more pathetic bass-line be found
anywhere on this continent? Jon b
doesn't know whether he wants to be a
singer or a rapper. As this cut shows,
he's no rapper. And, as the rest of this
CD shows (with few exceptions), he's
not much of a singer either.
"Simple Melody," a duet with Bootsy
Collins should have been called "Simple-
ton Melody" since it sounds like a first
grader wrote it. Gone is exactly where
"Gone Before Light" should be.
"Bonafide" does sport a few decent
songs, namely "Time After Time" and
"Love Don't Do." "Someone to Hold" is
the only one on this CD with some appeal,
and it's dilapidated violin sounds ruin its
potential smoothness. Maybe on Jon b's
planet, his music is highly regarded, but
on Earth we have this thing called "taste"
which strictly forbids us from acknowl-
edging garbage like his.
- Eugene Bowen
MC Breed
BkBailer
WRAP Records
Producing one CD a year since 1991,
MC Breed hasn't changed much. "Big
Bailer," his fifth release, is not a far
departure from his previous slow, bass-
filled releases. Unfortunately, bass is
about the only constant in Breed's
music. His LP's are unpredictable,
going from good to bad to worse at the
blink of any eye.
Breed has produced singles which
went gold, he's made multiple appear-
ances on Billboard and he can boast
working under a label which for some
strange reason has faith that he'll blow
up in this lifetime. However, Breed is
also well-known for his disappointing
performances which include rapping
about as good as Vanilla Ice on a bad-
hair day and a warped attitude. "Big
Baller" represents an ultimate low for
Breed.
While Flint, MI, Breed's hometown,
isn't exactly a cradle of hip-hop cul-
ture, Breed has managed to produce
some decent stuff in the past. Now is
the time forhim to rethink his art. Until
he is real to himself and his music, his
rapping will never gain the respect that
every now and then it seems to de-
serve.
- Eugene Bowen
It's a band ... It's a plan ... It's Supergrass!
What British band is faster than a speeding Sleeper? Able to leap to the
top of the charts faster than a bounding blur? Younger than the average
age of any member of the Stone Roses? Supergrass, that's who. The
British teenage punk-pop wonders have had a rock-'em, sock-'em time of it
this year, with smash-hit singles over in the UK and offers to sell Calvin
Klein underwear over here. Though lead singer Gaz Coombes (right), may
look like a monkey, he's one chimp that can write a brilliant pop song. And
pop proliferates on Supergrass' debut album "I Should Coco." Along with
singles like "Caught By the Fuzz" and "Alright," album tracks such as
"Lose it" and "Strangeones" make "Coco" a consistent album as well as
an entertaining one. And if that's not enough good news concerning this
hot band, they're appearing at none other than St. Andrew's Hail tonight to
rock your socks off live. Sure to be one of the best concerts this fail, it's
simply a no-miss gig. Tickets are at the screamingly low price of $6, It's
an all-ages show, and doors are a bright and early 7:30 p.m. So all you
poor, young students with early morning classes don't have any excuse to
miss this super group called Supergrass. Go! That's all there is to it.
U U
S1chool
00 0 0 0 0 00 k
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