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2 Monday, April 22,1996 Ramblers, ‘Kudzu’ Cartoonist Make Musical BY MELISSA MILIOS ASSISTANT ARTS & DIVERSIONS EDITOR Two gems of southern culture, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Doug Marlette and National Public Radio favorites the Red Clay Ramblers, have teamed up to bring an innovative blend of music, drama and a comic strip to the UNC stage. “Kudzu,” a full-length musical based on Marlette’s acclaimed comic strip, was adapted for stage by Marlette and the Red Clay Ramblers' Jack Herrick and Bland Simpson and will run April 25-28 in Swain Hall. Today from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the studio hall of Swain Hall, Marlette and Simpson will lead a discussion on bringing the strip to the stage. Lab! Theatre Ends Fourth Set With Musical Bang Engaging and energetic, “The Fantasticks” closes the Lab! Theatre’s fourth set with a musical bang. The first musical staged by UNC’s experimental “black box” theater in at least seven years, “The Fantasticks,” written by Tom Jones and Harvey LILY THAYER Theater Review The Fantasticks" Schmidt and directed by senior Sean Wil liams, makes creative use of the small stage space it has to work with. The result is a successful union of fine acting and able singing—a dynamic theatrical experience that is also satisfying musically. Super Haircut NOW ONLY $6.95 w/coupon Exp. s/i/96 f jp iB The Most Intensive Course R>r The MCAT Columbia Review. 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COLLEGE JEWELRY = UUI Special Payment Plans Available Local Office (919) 968-7894 •'Americas college ring™ Drawing his in spiration from char acters from his early days in small south ern towns, Greens boro-bom Marlette said Wednesday in a phone interview that he had been considering adapt ing “Kudzu” for the stage since the strip’s conception almost 15 years ago, around the time the Kudzu A New Musical Swain Half Studio 6, Thurs., April 25, 8 p.m.; Sat, April 27, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., April 28, 3 and 7 p.m. Tickets sls for adults, $7 for students staged comic strip “Annie" was gaining critical acclaim. “I always knew the strip had lots of The small venue, three-piece orchestra and tight cast lend to the accessibility of “The Fantasticks, ” a show that by its lightly satirical tone is already an audience pleaser. In fact, Williams, a veteran of musical theater both on campus and off, has made the actual dimensions of the Lab! even smaller than usual, to match those of the Sullivan Theater in New York where “The Fantasticics” has been running continu ously since 1960. The low-key, high-profile trio of James Amlerandlan Williams on acoustic guitar and Sharon Miller on piano provide ap pealingly rough accompaniment to songs ranging from the reflective “Follow” to the mucurs HOURS: M-F 10am -Bpm Sat. 9am - 6pm Sun. 12pm - spm 141 Rams Plaza 967*0226 (located off of 15-501-On the Bus Route) 1-800-300-PREP theatrical possibilities,’’ he said. “It’s very rich in character, so I thought it would translate well to stage. The theater is really like a big comic strip, if you think about it. ” Both Marlette’s strip and the produc tion take humorous looks at the changing social climate of the South, the evolution of the region from the “Confederacy” to the “New South.” “It’s a coming-of-age story —a love story where Bypass is actually a town representative ofthe entire South’s coming of age,” Marlette said of the play, which is set in the comic strip’s fictional southern town of Bypass. Collaborating with the Ramblers has created the perfect chemistry to bring the characters off the page, Marlette said: “The rambunctious and very funny “Rape.” Meanwhile, the cast of eight players is effective in their common mission to enter tain and enliven the audience. Particularly entertaining is Williams himself as the Narrator of the story —a takeoff on “Romeo and Juliet” based on Edmund Rostand’s early “Les Ro manesques” doubling as the contrived and conniving professional abductor El Gallo. With his characteristic wide eyes and mock-theatrical movement, Williams is hysterical, alternately odious and en dearing. Strong-voiced and dynamic, his energy drives the show. Coming from a strong musical background as well, Will ROMANO’S PIZZA KTTCHF.IM Fast, Free Delivery >■■loll & 929-5005 Dinner! Fettuccine Alfredo h plaJn Alfredo $6.25 2. Grilled Chicken Alfredo $7.75 DISHES 3. Breaded Chicken A1fred0........„...56.50 4. Broccoli Alfredo $6.50 (Alfredo dishes are 3. Sliced Tbmato Alfredo $6.50 Romano and Parmesan Cheese 6 ' B ’ ack OUve Alfredo $6.50 mixed with l and Vegetable Alfredo $6.50 cream and poured over 9 . Pepperonl pasta noodles to create 10 . B eef Alfredo.. $6.50 a mouthwatering 11. Meatball Alfredo $6.50 Italian dish, with your choice 12. Honey Baked Ham Alfredo $6.50 of a main topping.) 13. Veal Cutlet Alfredo.— $7.75 14. Cheddar A1fred0......™. ™.....56.50 Heading home? 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Simpson, who is also a UNC creative writing instructor, agreed, saying the tran sition from comic strip to musical was an easy one. “None of it is unrelated—inthe conceptualizing or the writing or the per formance ofthepiece,” Simpson said. “You can’t be there without conviction and en ergy. “Bland was actually the pioneer ofwhat is now called ‘musician’s theater, ’ ” Marlette said. “What it does is bring the orchestra out of the pit, brings them on stage and makes them into actual characters in the performance. iams’ wife Tamara Davis plays the Girl, Louisa, as a winsome and willful creature who would be a terror if she weren’t so lovely. Davis’ voice is clear and strong occasionally to the point of overwhelming other singers—and she pro vides an amus ing counterpoint to the happily-ever-after heroine. As the Boy, Matt, who lives inthe house on the other side of a great wall erected by her father and his mother and with whom the Girl has of course fallen in love, Brandon Cuicchi is goofy and awk ward —just as he should be. “TheFantasticks”goesupintheLab! in Graham Memorial basement today at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Tuesday at 5 p.m. Bad Acoustics Tarnish Good Acting in ‘Chess’ A slowly building momentum carried the Pauper Players’ production of “Chess” to dramatic heights Thursday, as the 26- member cast of the musical took a look at love, politics and the game of chess during the Cold War. Directed by Nigel Williams, a junior from Great Britain, the cast of “Chess” proved the game was, in fact, stronger than its players. Despite a degree of awkward- ness early in the first act, the cast was eventually swept into the script’s power- | MELISSA MILIOS | Theater Review "Chess" ful current, toward a compelling, heart wrenching conclusion. Set during the 1986 and 1987 interna tional chess tournaments, the musical uses the board game as both a backdrop and a metaphor for East versus West, for war versus peace, for love versus politics. The players’ conflicting motivations serve the same ends; but, as the characters lament, there really are no happy endings. As American Freddie Trumper, fresh man Mark Kaley was a vision of celebrity arrogance, his strut and large movements barely concealing an insecurity and depth eventually revealed in a touching solo num ber. Kaley’s matter-of-fact and, at appro priate times, harsh singing voice added character to his role, taking Freddie from caricature to human-being status. Junior Tally Sessions gave a subtle per formance as Soviet Anatoly Sergievsky, making the character at once likable, empathetic and enigmatic. Just as Kaley’s voice fit his character perfectly, so did Sessions ’; he sang with a clarity and sincer ity, a richness and formality, that gave the perfect voice to a troubled Anatoly. Perhaps the most heartfelt performance, Campus Calendar MONDAY CAROLINA TAR HEEL VOICES AUDI TIONS will be held today through April 24. Sign up at the Union desk. Call Brian Kahn at 968-6025 for more details. 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. “KUDZU” DISCUSSION m the Studio Hall ofSwainHall. Authors DougMarlette, Bland Simpson and Jack Herrick and director Marcia Milgrom Dodge and the Red Clay Ramblers will lead an informal discussion about this new Southern musical based on Marlette’s award-winning comic strip. 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. HAZING AWARENESS WORKSHOP in 209 Manning Hall. Stop in for Attention UNC Students Faculty & Staff Come Help Us Celebrate the 1996 Week of the Young Child! "Early Years are Learning Years - Moke Them Count! ” Visit our information table in front of the Student Union Monday. April 22 - Wednesday, April 24 • 11 am-2pm Child Care Information • Volunteer & Advocacy Opportunities Campus Resources for Parents & Children • Summer Sitter Registration _ jgonsored ty: UNC Sn/tenti far Children, the Chancefcr’s Child Care tavnory Committee, & the Enplqee Services Depatmait I % lii# sf* Open 7 Days A Week! j ?*** 942-7177 JL&ute Nails • Tanning • Waxing • Massages j "min nr chino" *9. 3 ™ iles from campus, 15-501 S. & L _ SF2FSL Level_Road a>.Star i Poin i t_ _ _ yMitctitty Aut&CxXU. ,. octet 's.-hnHiiitiiinri Downtown Chapel Hill n A 106 W. Franklin St. (Nextto Her Not Here) 9 ff 942-PUMP I I IQI- // 1) North Durham yOOUI<T }// Jj Northgate Mall (NextloGrouseD PUdlO Igjjp' 286-7868 1 V^ (Tlfp Daily (Tar Hppl however, was senior Melissa Levine’s por trayal of Florence Vassy. As the pivotal character in the show and the romantic interest of both men, Levine’s Florence displayed strength and vitality, offering no apologies for her emotions, but rather find ing her home in them. Despite the quality dramatic perfor mances, much of what makes “Chess” a stage favorite —namely, the music—was tragically lost in the rafters of Old Playmakers Theater, as the cast struggled to gracefully overpower the stifling acous tics of the theater. The phenomenal combi nation of the music of ABBA-ites Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and the lyr ics of Tim Rice, the “Chess” score is rich both in sound and style, but much of the performance’s impact was lost to muffled lines or overamplified instruments. Particularly disappointing was the lack of volume on Kate Martineau’s solo as The Arbiter; her full, obviously beautiful voice was barely audible over the synthesized rhythms of a full-cast dance number. The cast as a whole, however, worked symbiotically on the larger numbers, most notably during the scenes where the com pany portrayed journalists hounding the chess players about both their professional and personal lives. Members of the com pany also gave memorable, slapstick per formances as bureaucrats during Anatoly’s defection and as drunken members of the Soviet chess machine. As Pauper Players’ final production of the 1995-96 season, “Chess” delivered quality theatrical and musical entertainment. The company will be holding interviews for next season's administration staff to day through April 24 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sign-up sheets are available at the Union desk. more information. 6 p.m. UNC LORELEIS AUDITIONS in the Union. 7:30 p.m. STUDENT AMBASSADOR PRO GRAM GENERAL-INTEREST MEETING in Union 206. The SAP seeks to match up students to serve as liaisons from UNC-CH to the people ofthe state, and members of N.C. Legislature. Sponsored by UNC student government. “RHYTHM ALIVE: A JOURNEY INTO THE SPIRITOFPERCUSSION”presentedbytheUNC Marchmg Percussion Ensemble in 107 Hill Hall. Admission is free, and there will be audience partici pation.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 22, 1996, edition 1
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