6The Daily Tar HeelFriday, November 16, 1990
AffinrS
Just say yes: Lab's parody of Reagan years makes social statement
By MONDY LAMB
Staff Writer
Larry Kramer's "Just Say No" is a
play that is simultaneously hilarious
and bitter, throwing out punch lines but
making a social commentary on how
poorly the Reagan administration
handled the AIDS epidemic.
Kramer, who declared that "good
taste is not the mark of good theater,"
describes it as "a play about a farce."
Set in the Reagan era (hence the
title), this comedy parodies political
figures from the administration. Subtle
BSM Gospel
By RANDY BASINGER
Arts Coordinator
The Black Student Movement Gos
pel Choir will perform its annual fall
concert, "This Is the Day," in Great Hall
at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18.
"This is the day everyone can come
together to celebrate being on campus
at UNC," said Willie Robinson, BSM
Gospel Choir president. "Together we
can make a difference, but only together.
We are celebrating 1 9 years of existence
and striving for notoriety on campus."
Organized in 1971 by Francine
Randolph Cummings, the BSM Gospel
Choir has enjoyed growing success in
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one-liners contribute to the humor, and
allusions to well-known officials keep
the audience guessing the playwright's
intended targets.
Described by director Martin
Grapengeter as a "political
whorehouse," the play features charac
ters that include an archetypal "political
slut," the Fawn HallDonna Rice figure;
a homosexual who sleeps around to
gain prestige; and a Ron Reagan Jr.
figure whose natural inclination to dance
was discouraged by daddy.
"It is high comedy ."Grapengeter said,
Choir to give
its years on campus.
Emily Watkins, BSM Gospel Choir
secretary, said, "I think the Choir has
been very successful. Weekly we are
invited to events not only on campus,
but across the state."
The musical style of the group is
based on the tradition of African
American ancestors who sang of their
despair and cried out for freedom in
Negro spirituals. The gospel style has
been modernized, but remains a dis
tinctive feature of the African-American
culture. The BSM Gospel Choir
will emphasize the emotional power of
these inherited melodies during the
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"but it's also about the farce that gov
ernment has made about a plague that
has killed millions of victims ... the play
attacks the government, the press and
elected officials."
Grapengeter, who starred in the Lab
Theatre's production of "Burn This,"
has compiled an all-star cast for "Just
Say No."
Timothy Karcher, a senior drama
major from New Jersey who last ap
peared in "'Tis a Pity She's a Whore,"
plays Foppy Schwartz, who in many
ways acts as the voice of the playwright.
fall concert
concert.
In addition to the Choir, the Ebony
Readers will showcase a dramatic in
terpretation of a poem written by former
choir member and former BSM presi
dent Patrick Johnson. The poem was
written especially for performance by
the choir and the Opeyo! Dancers, an
other performing subgroup of the BSM.
The BSM Gospel Choir has received
prestigious honors and progressed a
great deal in the past 19 years. They
have sung on the steps of the U.S. Capitol
Building and in the Pentagon. In 1985
and 1986, the Choir participated in the
McDonald's Gospel Fest Competition,
placing fourth both years. During the
choir's spring 1988 concert, they made
their first recording for a live album.
Even more recently, on Feb. 2, 1990,
the choir was featured as guest per
formers on a program sponsored by
N.C. Central University with the Rev.
Marvin Winan, a member of the
Grammy Award-winning gospel group
theWinans.
The choir has also been active in the
community, raising money for schol
arships and heading up a successful
canned food drive.
"These things show we are a major
part of the University," Watkins said.
"We are proud of that."
Those who savor the emotional ex
perience of a gospel performance won 't
want to miss the BSM Gospel Choir
performance.
The Black Student Movement Gospel
Choir will perform in Great Hall in the
Student Union at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov.
18. Admission is free and the concert is
open to the public.
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The action of the play centers around
Foppy's relationship with the other
characters on stage.
"Foppy is a very sincere hypocrite,"
Karcher said. "He plays along with the
system of the Reagan era politics. He is
friends with the first lady and he runs a
brothel."
Lori Williams, a senior drama major
last seen in the Lab Theatre's
"Endgame," plays Mrs. Potentate, a
character loosely based on Nancy
Reagan. Mrs. Potentate is running the
country but frequently participates in
annina
Lennox for the University, that this re
main confidential information to avoid
unnecessary escalation of a possible
purchase price."
UNC would have trouble paying for
Glen Lennox if the recommendation
were approved, the report said.
"Financing such a purchase might be
difficult, given the University's $4.1
million limitation on borrowing, and
the need to come up with a further $8.4
million as a minimum," the report states.
The recommendation to purchase an
existing complex caused Chapel Hill
Town Council members to question
UNC's concern for the town's well
being. Chapel Hill can't tax any of
UNC's assets, and losing the revenue
from a complex like Glen Lennox could
seriously impact the local economy,
council members said Thursday.
"Any amount of property, large or
small, taken off the tax rolls is signifi
cant for the town," council member
Joyce Brown said.
Chapel Hill Mayor Jonathan Howes
said he had not heard of the recom
mendation that the University purchase
an existing complex, but that he has
urged UNC officials to avoid taking
money away from the town's tax base.
"I've often expressed my concern to
the chancellor about the University
purchasing private properties," Howes
said. "The University has a lot of
property on which it can build housing,
and I hope it would consider using that"
According to the committee's report,
Glen Lennox has 440 units on 68.7
acres and had an appraised value for tax
purposes of $10,619,914 in 1989.
Residents of Odum Village said they
were upset about the proposal and have
met with University administrators to
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illicit sexual liaisons arranged by Foppy.
"Mrs. Potentate is a real bitch,"
Williams said. "She is Nancy Reagan in
a sense. The play is cynical it's my
kind of administration bashing."
Drew Lazarus, last seen in "Rhinoc
eros," portrays a character who paro
dies Ed Koch; Kristine Watt, who last
appeared in "Hogan's Goat," is pro
ducing the play.
Grapengeter said the biggest chal
lenge in directing the play was walking
the fine line between slapstick comedy
express their disapproval.
"I have investigated the UNC Land
Use Plan, met with representatives of
both the Chapel Hill and UNC Planning
Departments, and I have concluded that
no serious consideration has been given
to the needs of student families of Odum
Village," resident Steve Wallace wrote
in a statement.
Wallace, who is chairman of a com
mittee of residents who want to preserve
Odum Village, wrote that the N.C.
Department of Transportation said the
present alignment of Manning Drive
was sufficient for the traffic it served,
and that the planned new buildings were
sited with respect to existing roads.
Destroying Odum Village would do
more harm than good, Wallace said.
"The replacement of Odum Village
would involve a 'shell game' of cash
flow," Wallace wrote. 'These well
constructed, well-planned and low
maintenance buildings have an insured
replacement ... value of $ 1 0.9 million.
... Regardless of where replacement
housing is sited, the quality of life in
Odum Village could not be duplicated."
But Chapel Hill Town Manager Cal
Horton said he understood UNC's need
for the realignment, which officials
estimated would be implemented within
five to 10 years.
"We think the University's new land
use plan and it's proposal for building in
the area make the realignment worth
while," he said.
In an interview, Wallace said resi
dents' rent would increase because
maintenance costs at Glen Lennox, or
any other existing complex, would be
far greater than at Odum Village.
Jonathan Miller, another Odum Vil
lage resident, wrote a letter to the town
council expressing his displeasure with
the realignment plan. He wrote about
Odum Village's affordability, safety
and the sense of community among the
residents as reasons for keeping Odum
Village in its present location.
"The University's debt for Odum
Village is almost completely paid,"
Miller wrote. "It is short-sighted to de
stroy well-made, paid-for buildings."
Boulton, however, said the Univer
sity would not finish paying off the loan
forOdum Village until 2007. UNC pays
on the Village Green.
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and the bitter edge of emotion.
"I'm not trying to change people's
ideas about homosexuality or AIDS,"
he said. "I'm just trying to elicit a re
sponse. I don't care if the audience is
pissed off or disgusted, loves it or is put
off by it, just so long as they think."
"Just Say No" will be performed at 4
pm. and 8 pm. Sunday, Nov. 18 and
Monday, Nov. 19,andat5p.m.Tuesday.
Nov. 20. Lab Theatre performances are
held in the basement of Graliam Me
morial and admission is free.
from page 1
back the loan using rent payments, and
the money for a new facility would
come from bonds and rent money as
well, Boulton said.
N.C. State University moved its
married student housing for similar
reasons, Miller said, adding that the
new housing there is "of poor quality
and has been made so unpalatable that
students now prefer housing elsewhere.
... We should not let the same thing
happen here."
Miller also suggested that at least one
representative from the Odum Village
Board of Aldermen, a residents' coun
cil, should be present at all meetings of
the University's Facilities Management
division that include discussion about
family student housing.
The University is also planning to
build an ambulatory care facility, an
Environmental Protection Agency
building and new hospital facilities near
the proposed South Loop.
According to a report dated Oct. 26
by Vice Chancellor for Business and
FinanceBenTuchi,theadditions would
causemore traffic in the southwest por
tion of campus, necessitating the
changes to Manning Drive.
The University wants to add the
Manning Drive realignment proposal
to the state-funded Thoroughfare Plan.
If the realignment is included in the
state plan, the town council would have
the power to vote down the proposal.
Residents are planning to address the
town council at a public hearing sched
uled for Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in
the Municipal Building.
'This is one of the very few times the
town can actually shape or steer the
University's growth," Wallace said.
Late Thursday afternoon, Odum
Village residents received announce
ments from Boulton and Tuchi about a
question and answer session Sunday
night in the Community Service Day
room at Odum Village from 7-8 p.m.,
Wallace said.
Franzese said the committee's first
choice would have been to keep Odum
Village where it is, but that the situation
left the committee members with no
other choice but to seek replacements.
Julie Ann Malveaux contributed to
this report
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