Page 27 - Phoenix1998-99

FEATURES Thursday, October I, 199B-Page II Watch out Hollywood! Players give new life to Cyrano with bhi.ck beret and sunglasses) BY JEANNE CHAMBERLIN AND and attempts to smoke her ciga- MARTHA TUDOR BY MOLLIE LAN!) since its premiere in 1897. The ber oftimes an audience will ig- Contributing Writers rettes while the group rides along StaifWriler main focus of the plot is the absurd nore the absurdity of a situation the C & 0 CanaL Although Casey actions taken by many of the char- Once upon a time, there lived a pretends to have little emotion, her Although it is a cliche to say acters. A director could choose to and focus on the inner agony of beautiful young woman named softer side is revealed when she that beauty is only skin deep, the present the play in a comical fash- a character. Cyrano's death this point. scene illustrates Marianne. She and her husband tries to open up to Eric. National Players' production of ion by choosing to highlight the In a long-winded but poetic Zach decided to take a romantic She was the least favorite of the Cyrano de Bergerac infused this absurdity of the plot. speech, he admits to his role in bicycle trip through the scenic characters for most viewers, as expression with fresh life. The In this production, however, the the love affair of Roxana and woods of Maryland. many thought she used people for company brought Edmond play was directed so that the audi- Christian, and his own undying They were accompanied by four her own ends. Rostand's play about a passion- Although of their closest friends, one of We've all heard the complaint, ate lover with a huge nose to ence would focus on the dramatic love for Roxana. information, con- the of the characters, plight thereby serious veying whom was a stranger, another of "Nice guys never get the girt." Eric WMC on September 19. speech itself is laden with hu- whom was having an affair with is the sensitive guy who claims to The show was their first stop The twists and turns Zach, and a third who was only two honestly want a mutually fulfilling on a national tour of the produc- morous one-line jokes. years old. relationship with a woman instead tion. Cyrano, is a classic play of Rostand's plot Yet because of the melodra- As the story unfolds, relation- of just sex. He tags along on the about the eponymous swords- matic tone of the death scene, ship troubles are exposed and fights trip with Casey, intending to "pop man/poet. He falls in love with weave the love- the audience members were con- ensue. Okay, so it's not quite your the question." the beautiful Roxana, but she has struck characters fused, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. typical fairy tale. But it is the Christine won the most votes as eyes only for the handsome, yet Although the characters see premise of the movie Forestfor the favorite character. She came with inarticulate, Christian de into a complicated. the situation as tragic, from a Trees, written and directed by West- her daughter on the trip after dis- Neuvillette. yet comical triangle it is actually perspective ern Maryland's own Jonathan covering her husband's affair (and Cyrano, who lacks the physi- realistic absurd to watch a man quite Slade. promptly transferring all his cal beauty sought by Roxana, of love. whose death is eminent speak On September 19, a group of worldly possessions into a joins with Christian, who lacks students from WMC went to the dumpster). Viewers admired the the words to convey his own love ignoring most of the humor and wit romantic poetry. script of Cyrano The original screening of the independent film character's self-respect and for Roxana. They concoct a plan inherent in Rostand's script. de Bergerac has five acts and which took three years, $26,000, strength, and found her to be the in which Christian will woo The actors could not have had when performed in its entirety and a huge amount of energy on the most real of the characters. Roxana with the love poems, an easy time justifying their absurd can take more than three hours. part of cast and crew to produce, A less-than-central character speeches and letters of Cyrano. actions. Many, however, suc- The National Players' version The twists and turns of ceeded in convincing that there was ran about two and a half hours. Dr Sapora made a cameo appearance as a Rostand's plot weave the love- more to their character than what This production could have struck characters into a compli- he actually did or said. been improved if a more comi- hearing-impaired fisherman. cated, yet comical triangle of Andrew Smith (Cyrano de cal stance had been taken. How- love. Bergerac) captivated the audience ever, it was definitely not a dis- Here, the answers to the ques- with his beautiful love poems and appointment. Before the screening, Slade re- most favored by one viewer (prob- tions "Who loves whom?" and heartfelt emotion. During his The audience vealed his goal in writing the script. ably trying to kiss up to his profes- "For what reason?" are not as scenes all movement and fidgeting but be swept into could not help the absurd He wanted each audience member sor) was Dr. Sapora. The Western simple as any of the characters in the theatre stopped, as everyone to find a character that has a "real Maryland professor was the film's would like. awaited Cyrano's next word. events surrounding a man who sense of humanity" and to keep director of photography and made There have been both serious However, no mutter how great sacrifices his own happiness for each viewer thinking about the film a cameo appearance as a hearing- . and comic renditions of Cyrano the actor, there is a limit to the num- that of his beloved. for more than five minutes after- impaired fisherman. wards. Overall, the people we inter- We asked several of the students viewed enjoyed Forest for the WMC takes Loose Ends to the stage . who saw the film if this held true Trees. It was well made, especially for them, and most found one char- for a first production, and for many Everyone has heard it before. she is adamant about her -future acter with whom they identified or it revealed the difficulty of making Boy meets girl and they can't live objectives which don't include the production and WMC assistant pro- particularly liked. your own movie. without each other. But they also piner-patter of little feet. fessor of theatre. Many of the more sensitive au- It was also impressive that so can't live with each other. "The playwright has said that he The couple still makes . dience members preferred much was done on such a small Now throw in some of the mo- attempts to build a life together, several but feels his plays should be performed Marianne, the peppy but emotion- budget. The actors were not paid, ments and movements of the 1970s each time fails more miserably, and as if the audience is eavesdropping ally unstable wife. Her pregnancy, the laptop was Slade's own, and all and the stage is set for Michael humorously, than before. on a very private moment. It's very revealed later in the movie, moti- the scenery was authentic Mary- Weller's bittersweet, often funny The show, which includes brief difficult for an actor to be that open, vates her to overcome not only her land countryside (although there production of Loose Ends. Students nudity and is recommended for truthful and realistic with a char- claustrophobic fear of tunnels but was one scene in WMC's Little at Western Maryland College will mature audiences only, offers a acter, but T believe this cast is up also her relationship hurdles with Baker Chapel). present the "serious comedy" at 8 vivid look at relationships and in- the challenge," roles van den Berg said. by lead are played The her wayward husband. The script itself received a lot pm in Alumni Hall on October I, dividual personalities of the 70s. sophomore Don Todt and Erika Viewers who did not find her of praise, especially for its witty 2,3and4. "As an acting challenge, the too "fruity" or "whiny" admired her and realistic dialogue. For ex- The story centers around a love actors must be willing to reveal Roskowinski, a junior, $3 Admission is $5 for adults, mixture of vulnerability and tough- ample, in one favorite scene, Zach affair that already has a few kinks, great depths of emotional pain in for students, seniors and WMC ness and liked how she begins as tries to pass off a handful of but really comes apart at the seams one scene, and immediately shift to community members. scared and dependent but realizes condoms as water balloons to bribe when he expresses his fatherly de- sheer bliss in the next," said Eliza- she must take control of her life. two children. sire to carry on the family name and beth van den Berg, director of the Courtesy of Public Information Marianne takes control by con- fronting her husband, Zach. He is on his Innovative show STOMPs into Baltimore more interested in flirting with his mistress Casey or working laptop than communicating with them with their bodies. It contains tract the eye to this. very physical I especially enjoyed the way they his wife. BY NICOLE LEHMANN no hidden meanings, makes no po- and fast-moving piece of team- were able to incorporate humor into One workaholic interviewee SlaifWriler identified with the way that Zach It's got 84 brooms, 50 steel lids, litical statements, but is simply 90 work. Throughout the perfor- the production without speaking. non-tradi- mance, no real musical instruments minutes of decidedly worries about getting everything 450 liters of water and people who tional fun. One performer engaged my done but finally learns how to re- can compose a symphony by bang- When I went to see STOMP were used and no one spoke. friends and I by involving the au- There was no plot, but each per- lax (by literally throwing his com- ing on huge steel containers and perform at the Lyric Opera House former had his own character, dience in a simple clap and re- puter into a river!). swiftly sweeping sand across a in Baltimore, I had no idea what to which was communicated through sponse session throughout the en- To some, he is the most dy- hard, wooden stage. tire performance. namic and developed character. This is all part of STOMP, a expect. In the beginning, every- dance and mime. The music and "It was amazing and exciting!" thing was quiet, except for the faint complemented the choreography He represents a stereotypical male unique combination of music, sound of someone sweeping on and enhanced each other, although exclaimed senior Noemi Gyorvari, but is sensitive at heart, as seen in dance and theater. Created in Brit- stage. Soon, eight performers ap- I found some of the loud noises and I can't disagree. an encounter with the two-year-old. ain in 1991 by Luke Creswell and peared, each sweeping to their own annoying. more If you're interested in knowing out check STOMP, about Casey, Zach's other love inter- Steve McNicholas, STOMP at- rhythm. progressed, As the performance est, shows up for the biking trip tempts to use everyday objects in Each musician, as they are both the rhythms and the use of " in- their web page at www.ustnterest.com/stomp. dressed as a beat-nick (complete non-traditional ways by moving called, had his own method to at- struments" became more complex.