Spencer's play debut gives an oft-told story
It's not a new story.
A Southern gentleman is called
back to his family home to arrange
the sale of the aging house of his
Mississippi youth. Over the course of
a weekend of conflict and catharsis,
he must not only resolve his relation
ships with the four significant women
in his life but also confront his own
demons in a final attempt to put his
prast to rest.
So begins "For Lease or Sale," this
season's latest offering by PlayMak
ers Repertory Company (PRC). But
the play does more than regurgitate
the standard tale of the Southern
family haunted by an outdated
tradition as sweetly cloying and as
inescapable as the scent of jasmine
oh a hot Mississippi night. Instead,
playwright Elizabeth Spencer takes
IVirtuoso g
Livine Co
A friend of mine has a theory about
the rock music industry: Although it
was black blues and R&B musicians
who invented rock 'n' roll, it took
someone like Elvis Presley to pop
ularize it for mainstream white
America. Likewise, rap had been
blasting out of boom boxes for quite
a while before the Beastie Boys turned
away from punk and introduced their
whitened rap to the Top 40 world.
But then my friend started talking
about how his own band fit into the
scheme of things and I got sort of
lost in the analogy. But the point is
that black artists have not gotten their
fair share, or due credit, in that giant
apple pie of American life: the
corporate rock world.
Of course, when bands like Poison
or Bon Jovi tear up the pop charts
to the delight of thousands of middle
class youths sporting their black
leather jackets earned by tending the
neatly manicured lawns of suburbia
U.S.A., this whole, self-perpetuating
music industry becomes even more,
well, ridiculous.
Suffice it to say that when a band
the likes of Living Colour, whose
members happen to be black, not
only get signed to a major record label
like Epic but also in a relatively short
amount of time garner a great deal
of critical acclaim and attention, then
yes, Virgina, whoever you are, there
is justice in the world.
Living Colour's debut album Vivid
is good but pales in comparison to
its live show, as it readily demon
strated to a jam-packed Memorial
Hall last Friday. But before I go into
what a great show it was, I'd like to
say a few words about something dear
to any spectator's heart, or at least
to those who like to breathe without
sucking in their neighbor's neck hair,
and that is . . . crowd control.
Yes, yes, I'm complaining. But
normally the pit in front of the stage
is reserved mainly for those in the
press. This rule is not just a perk for
having to sit in front of a computer
screen for two hours after a show
trying to think of something to say,
but helps said reviewer not only
decide how the band sounded, but
see what else is going on during a
show. I mean, really, have you ever
heard someone say, I heard a great
concert"?
But not only was the pit full of
people, the aisle between it and the
front row of seats was full of people
trying to get to the green grass of the
other side. And all that managed to
accomplish was that half of the crowd
was located in a tiny, narrow part
of the auditorium. Unless you enjoy
claustrophobically communal expe
riences with gyrating groupies, it just
doesn't add up.
Physical comfort aside, the show
was great (read: the show sounded
great). The band played every song
from Vivid, starting off with "Middle
Man." One of the differences between
the recorded and the live Living
Colour is its tendency to guitar-jam
on stage. Between the first song and
the second, "Desperate People," lead
guitarist Vernon Reid took over the
show with a pretty incredible guitar
solo, combining the band's hard rock
with a spirit of funk and jazz
improvisation.
The entire band is very talented
lead vocalist Corey Glover was an
experienced ' teen actor and played
Francis in Oliver Stone's "Platoon;"
NOW IN-HOUSE SLIDE PROCESSING WITH
STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT
SLIDE PROCESSING QUICK AS A
FLASH AT
Cara Bonnett
Theater
the story and runs with it.
Spencer is probably best known as
an author and short-story writer, for
books like the critically acclaimed
"Jack of Diamonds." "For Lease or
Sale," which opened Saturday night,
marks her debut into the realm of
playwrighting.
And an auspicious debut it is.
The play focuses on the Glenns,
once a prestigious family of the old
South but now victims of suburban
progress and genteel poverty. Mrs.
Glenn, the beloved family matriarch,
is played by Joan Potter, veteran
uitar jams
our's sold
o
Vernon Reid shone in Living
Julie Olson
Concert
drummer William Calhoun is a
graduate of Boston's Berklee School
of Music and winner of the school's
"Buddy Rich Award" as a percussion
ist; and bassist Muzz Skillings is an
experienced musician and graduate of
the City College of New York.
But Reid easily stole the show with
his guitar virtuosity. Comparisons to
Hendrix are understandable after
seeing Reid live, because only then
can the sheer passion and intensity
of his playing be witnessed (read:
momentary glimpses through a sway
ing crowd).
The next song was Living Colour's
version of Talking Heads' "Memories
Can't Wait" and then the rap rock
"Funny Vibe" about racism. "Broken
Hearts," "I Want to Know" and a
harder version of "Glamour Boys" all
followed. The refrain of "Glamour
Boys" is, incidentally, "I ain't no
glamour boy I'm fierce," even
though I could have sworn they were
saying "I'm fish." (And that just didn't
make any sense at all.)
The group demonstrated its social
concern next with "Open Letter (to
a Landlord)," a song about the
housing problems in its hometown,
New York. Next the band played one
of the songs produced by Mick Jagger
on Vivid, "Which Way to America,"
and finally its big radio hit "Cult of
Personality."
An encore set is always a given,
and after playing a thrashed-up
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Broadway and off-Broadway actress,
while PRC guest artist Terrence Caza
plays her son Edward.
Spencer's script is striking in its
immediacy and humor. From Mrs.
Glenn's outspoken (but always
charming) observations to Edward's
biting sarcasm, the loaded dialogue
provides a uniquely endearing look
at a family that is at once odd but
also strangely familiar.
The characters are people we
know, whether we are from Missis
sippi or not, and we hear their story
more in the words they don't say than
the ones they do. As Mrs. Glenn tells
her granddaughter, the most impor
tant part of growing up is learning
"how never to say exactly what you
mean. It's part of having to be a lady."
Edward is a man caught at the
highlight
- out show
DTH David Surowiecki
Colour's Friday night concert
version of the Clash's "Should I Stay
or Should I Go" that . would have
made those original radio-bashers
proud, Living Colour performed the
remaining song on its debut album,
"What's Your Favorite Colour?"
All things considered, a fabulous
show. Opened by a great hard
rocking set by locals Mary on the
Dash, Living Colour showed it isnt
just a token black group in a pre
dominantly white industry but a good
rock group, period. As Reid is quoted
in the group's press release, "Living
Colour is not just about being black
and playing music that's indistingui
shable from that of any white band.
It's about bringing our own ethnic
values to the music."
,1
iff
Hamburger, BBQ, French Fries, and more every night.
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crossroads between present and Dast.
Still haunted by his ex-wife Aline
(Susanna Rinehart), he must recon
cile his feelings about her with his
new fascination for Claire Young
blood (Lisa Benedict). Although his
motivation is not always clear or
understandable, Edward remains
somehow sympathetic, the classic
Southern gentleman whose options
are often limited to the two options
facing every Southern gentleman:
getting drunk or going fishing.
Lynn Passarella, as Edward's niece
Patsy, is -convincing as a wilting
young Southern girl, waiting to be
rescued from the dying family man
sion by a (gasp!) man.
Don't appease hunger with nicotine
By JACKI GREENBERG
Staff Writer
Despite the well-known
hazards of smoking,
many people continue
lighting up cigarettes to cut down
on eating. A recent study found
that almost one-third of smokers
at Memphis State University
smoke to avoid gaining weight.
"There is no way under the sun
that smoking can be a healthy
way to lose or maintain weight,"
said Dr. William Heizer, medical
director of Carolina Fitness.
"While being overweight is a risk,
it is relatively minimal compared
with smoking."
Nicotine in cigarette tobacco
supresses the appetite and
increases the rate at which the
body burns calories. So the stra
tegy of smoking instead of snack
ing may help shed pounds. And
many people do find it easier to
maintain a certain weight when
they smoke and tend to gain
weight when they quit, Heizer
said.
The DTH Campus Calendar is a daily
listing of University-related activities
sponsored by academic departments,
student services and student organizations
officially recognized by the Division of
Student Affairs. To appear in Campus
Calendar, announcements must be submit
ted on the Campus ' Calendar form by
NOON one business day before the
announcement is to run. Saturday and
Sunday events are printed in Friday's
calendar and must be submitted on the
Wednesday before the announcement is
to run. Forms and a drop box are located
outside the DTH office, 104 Union. Items
of Interest lists ongoing events from the
same campus organizations and follows the
same deadline schedule as Campus
Calendar. Please use the same form.
Monday
10 a.m. Delta Phi Epsilon
Sorority will be hold
ing informal rush until 2
p.m. in 212 Union.
3 p.m. Office of Interna
tional Programs will
hold an informational
. meeting for Fall '89
It brings out
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in all of u&
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The Daily Tar
But the highlight of the show,
without a doubt, is Potter's gracefully
aging Southern matron. Threatened
with losing all she has ever known,
Mrs. Glenn still somehow maintains
the ladylike composure upon which
she prides herself, even as she
attempts to sustain the fragile web
of memory and tradition that binds
her family together. (
The elaborate set, from the well
worn railings on the house's wide
staircase to the ancient Victrola in trie
sitting room, is especially helpful in
developing the old Mississippi house
as an ever-present and wonderfully
vital character in the play.
There are, of course, moments
"Across the board consider
ing males and females in all socio
economic groups people will
gain about seven pounds when
they quit smoking," Heizer said.
"And seven pounds is not much
of a health risk to anybody."
According to Heizer, a person
would have to be 50 percent
above their ideal body weight to
equal the risk of smoking 20
cigarettes a day. "All studies have
shown that in any weight group,
your chance of early death dou
bles if you smoke," he said. The
risk is considerably higher for
very overweight smokers.
"Nicotine is clearly an addicting
drug," Heizer said. "The vast
majority become physically and
psychologically addicted and will
not stop at one or two cigarettes a
day." Very few can lose weight
and quit smoking at the same
time, he said.
According to Judy Hinderliter,
program director and nutritionist
at Carolina Fitness, it should be.
easier to quit smoking than to
Campus Calendar
enrollment at the Lon
don School of Econom
ics in 12 Caldwell.
4 p.m. Career Planning
and Placement
Services will conduct
a resume writing work
shop for internships or
summer jobs in 210
Hanes.
German Depart
ment will sponsor a
lecture on "Gustav
Freytag's Bilder aus
der deutschen Vergan
genheit: The Writing of
Natinal Cultural His
tory and Realism." The
lecture will take place
in Toy Lounge, Dey
Hall.
4:30 p.m. Office of Interna
tional Programs will
hold an informational
meeting about study
abroad in Copenhagen,
Denmark in 12
Caldwell.
5:30 p.m. Sigma Sigma
Sigma will hold infor
. mal rush in 211 Union
until 6:30 p.m.
GAIA, the global
issues committee
of the Campus Y
will show a film on the
Greenhouse Effect in
Frank Porter Graham
Lounge, Union. All are
welcome.
7 p.m. Volunteer Action
Committee (VAC)
will meet in the Cam
pus Y lounge.
Carolina Students'
Credit Union will
hold an informational
session until 9 p.m. to
recruit all those inter
ested in getting
involved in the Union
Auditorium lobby.
Race Relations
Week Committee
will be meeting in the
BCC, Union. Everyone
EAT FREE CLAMS
and EARN $25
We are seeking students and any
University staff to participate in a study of
health effects from consumption of raw
shellfish.
ALL SHELLFISH WILL MEET
ALL FEDERAL AND STATE
DIETARY GUIDELINES. NO
EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS WILL
BE GIVEN.
For Information or to Volunteer
call Mon.-Fri. 966-1761.
0
13
13
London School of Economics
January 30, Mon., 3:00
Room 12, Caldwell Hall
Copenhagen, Denmark
January 30, Mon., 4:30
Room 12, Caldwell Hall
Montpelier, France (Summer)
Jan. 31, Tues., 3:30
301 Dey Hall
Germany
Jan. 31, Tues., 5:00
Room 12, Caldwell Hall
t2
HeelMonday, January 30, 19897 '
new life
when the action falters. Mrs. Glenn's'
two monologues, for instance, seem'
rathe - stilted on stage; perhaps better
suited ror a short story than a play.
In addition, the scenes between'
Edward and his ex-wife are discon
certingly cold. Obviously the relation
ship is over, but Caza and Rinehart
make it hard to believe that there was
ever any spark at all.
But in the end, "For Lease or Sale"
is successful. For just as Edward
Glenn hears his own ghosts silenced
in the play's final scene, so does
Spencer put to rest the often-heard
story of the Southern family, not with
a tired reaffirmation of the past, but
with a promise for the future.
lose weight. "You can quit smok
ing 'cold turkey, but you can't
just quit eating. You have to eat
to live," she said.
A sophomore journalism major
from Raleigh said cigarettes were
more portable and cheaper than
food. "Sometimes 111 smoke a
cigarette instead of eating a Pop
tart," she said. "I dont con
sciously smoke instead of eat
because I know IH eventually eat
something. But sometimes food
isn't around."
Heizer said the key to weight
control is decreasing the amount
of fat intake. "Today, we're at the
point with fat that we were 30
years ago with smoking," he said.
Aside from reducing fat in the
diet, people must exercise,. Hin
derliter said. Smokers often have
difficulty exercising because they
can't get enough oxygen into their
blood cells. "Exercise and smok
ing are not compatible, so hope
fully the healthy one will win
out."
is welcome.
8:30 p.m. Fellowship of
Christian Athletes
will meet in 208-209
Union. Everyone
invited.
Items of Interest
"Godspell" audition informa-.
tion can be picked up at the Union
Desk.
Student Health Service
Mental Health Section is now
forming a group for women inter
ested in understanding the effects
of childhood sexual abuse. Call 96
3658 for further information, n
Union Bowling League will
be holding sign ups until Feb. 5 in
the Union underground. Sign up for
individual or team competition.
Yackety Yack is making
appointments for yearbook por
traits in 213 Union. Contact the
Yack to make an appointment.
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