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Abelard & Heloise
intricate masterpiece
Review by Jim Gray
Tragicomedy is a difficult genre to bring
across on the stage. It requires a subtle hand
to smoothly develop the stark contrasts
between , humor and disaster. It requires a
meticulous sense of timing by both director
and actors. But most of all, it requires a
sense of direction-the ability to decide
where the play is going-and the talent to get
it there.
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Cindy Wallis, left, as Heloise . . . praises Dana Mills as
Abelard.
On all these counts, Hc.vc!l Thstr's
production of Abelard and Heloise is a
smashing success. And that's only the
beginning. All phases of director Hal Floyd's
production come together like pieces of an
interlocking puzzle to make it one of the
best things to transpire on a Lincoln stage in
years.
Probably the biggest boon to this success
is the play itself. Basing his play on earlier
books and the letters of Abelard and Heloise
themselves, Ronald Millar sculpted an
intricate, exhaustive, yet unified study of
love and theology.
The play opens on clearly comic notes. In
the first portion of the play, Millar even uses
stereotypic characters, incongruous speeches
and hackneyed, trite situations to firmly
establish a comic tone.
While there are heavily important events
occuring on stage during this part of the
play, they are all treated in a light manner.
In the second act, however, this tone
rapidly changes. Through acts of senseless
violence, displays of hatred and longing and
emotionally disturbing dialogue Millar
suddenly hits the audience in the face with
the idea that the situation is not humorous
at all. All the snickers and giggles of the first
act become black comedy echoes of
perversion. And the audience rightly sinks
into and grips the edges of its seats.
Even the highly philosophical and
mentally straining denouement drives home
its point-that love and religion are
interconnected through complex personal
relationships.
The production takes all this into
account-pacing, staging, lighting, timing all
zero in on and directly hit on the
tragicomedic effect. Even the few slips in
direction-inappropriate laughter casued by
misplayed lines, unmotivated switches in
character, overdone actions (as in the
flogging scene) do not impede the flow of
the play.1 " T3 "
Generally speaking, the cast handles its
audience well. Dana Mills as Abelard and
Cindy Wallis as Heloise bring their usual
professional shine to the play, adding
unparalleled depths to the lovers separated
by the
celibacy.
Steve Sheetz gives excellent support as
the couple's elderly adviser and friend.
Equally excellent are minor characters Jen
Saunders and D. Chetley Kincaid as the
kindly nuns who raise Heloise.
A little more difficult to understand,
however, are the characterizations of Glen
Cox and Donovan Diez, as a zealous student
and a Sancho Panza-ish servant of Abelard.
It is difficult to understand why, in the first
half of the play, the two portray nearly
stereotypic buffoon roles, then without
motivation, switch to human, living
breathing characters. This makes their
portrayals unbelievable if not distracting.
All the lead acting is made infinitely more
effective by the presence of minor characters
in the dress of nuns and monks constantly
peering around corners, reacting to the
onstage dialogue. This symbolic
omnipresence of the Church proves to be art
effectively menacing device.
Rober Mond's extremely versatile setting
makes these characterizations even more
effective. A starkly impressionist maze of
platforms and stairways is topped by gothic
arches. The entire central part of the set
rests on a turntable, which allows it to turn
and appear to be innumerable different sets.
The set, along with Jerry Lewis' explosive
lighting and' Nancy Myers' subtle yet
appropriate costumes all tie together to
enhance the play's cinematic sequence
structure.
Aside from some impossibly hokey tape
recordings, the play was technically
excellent. It is unfortunate, however, that in
designing and staging the front part of the
stage area was allowed to extend too far into
the audience, forcing the first three rows of
the balcony to miss or lean perilously
forward during much of the play's action.
And when a play is a box office smash,
like Abelard and Heloise is bound to be,
those three rows will inevitably be filled.
But take , it from a second-row,
neck-craning balcony dweller. It was worth
every second of it. Abelard and Heloise is a
must for any serious theater goer.
Little Feat keeps true kin' in fine country style
Little Feat's music is so down-to-earth honest that
it gives me a big ear-to-ear grin. There are so many
mediocre records being sold today-to say nothing of
those that are outright bad-that music as
unpretentious and well-turned as Little Feat's is just
waiting to be embraced.
(I watched the Grammy Awards on TV Saturday
night and thought they were a collection of the least
talent possible. Had it not been for Harry Nilsson and
Ringo Starr, the whole thing would have been
ridiculous. As it was, only most of it was ridiculous.
So that's why the touch of bitterness today toward
the quality of pop music.)
Anyway, Little Feat has been laying out fine
sounds for about a year now. Their first album, Little
Feat, was filled with sliding guitar riffs and songs
about driving trucks. It was the kind of record that
sneaks up and grabs you by the ears, then shakes your
head around until your eyes are kind of popped out,
but seeing all the more clearly for it.
Besides that, it had a song, "Willing," that I think
is one of the finest ever written. , t
Their second album last year was Sailin Shoes.
And now their third, called Dixie Chicken.
The main thing that has changed over the three
records is the personnel rather than the sound, and
definitely not the personality of the music. The
original Little Feat was Lowell George, . who writes
most of the songs and plays guitar and sings;
drummer Richard Hayward, and keyboard man Bill
Payne. The original band also included former Mother
Roy Estrada, now of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band.
For Dixie Chicken Paul Barrere has joined up on
guitar and vocals, with Kenny Gradney,replacing
Estrada on bass. Plus Sam Clayton has been added on
congas.
The album opens up with the song "Dixie
Chicken." It's a good country-rocker telling a seamy
"better to have loved and lost than never to have
loved at all" tale. It's followed by 'Two Trains," also
a fancy stepper, with lots of high-hat cymbal and
slide guitars
Also, a whole passle of background vocalists step
onto the track during 'Two Trains." They include
Bonnie Bramlett, Debbie Lindsey, Tret Fure (who,
page 10
incidentally, has her own album out recently,) Gloria
Jones, Stephanie Spurville, Bonnie Raitt and Dan
Hutton.
"Roll 'Urn Easy" is slow and easy, just like the
title. Simply accompanied, the lyrics are about living
in sweet harmony: "I have dined in palacesDrunk
wine with kings and queensBut darling you're the
best thingI have ever seenWon't you roll 'urn easy."
The fourth cut is Allan Toussaint's "On Your Way
Down." It's predominantly a piano-blues number, but
lot of percussion and funky background wailing
turns it into a sort of Dr. JohnGospel sound. Side
One closes with "Kiss It Off," an Indian-flavored song
with lots of sitarish synthesizer and the introduction
of tablas.
To me, none of the songs on the Little Feat
bait becker
helm
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Little Feat
daily nebraskan
albums are bad. For one thing, they've got good
country and trucking spirit.
And for another, they're polite. None of the
instruments or vocals are ever trying to cut in line on
anything else.
I don't know if any of the Little Fest players are
particularly outstanding individual musicians
(although Lowell George, who wrote five of the Dixie
Chicken songs and collaborated on two others,
obviously has something going.) But together they are
a fine band, interested in making music to make you
feel good, which is what music is supposed to be
about anyway.
Side Two u.i with "Fool Yourself," followed
by "Walkin' All Night". The latter tune opens with
crazy little guitar lick and then moves into a sad story
about losing a "South Street Swinger."
"Fat Man In the Bathtub" jumps in with some
drum skitting and features some real fancy-dan guitar
work. "Juliette" is dominated by soft piano and
flute.
The album ends up with "Lafayette Railroad," an
instrumental tune. The drums and congas open the
song up, working as one unit rather than upstaging
one another, as congas are often used. Then a guitar
slides in for a fine, languid solo backed by the piano.
All in all, Dixie Chicken is a good, solid record. It's
not as raunchy as Little Feat and it's slightly slicker
than Sailin' Shoes. Little Feat is not playing soul
music, but they are playing some of the most soulful
country truckingrock around.
monday, march 5, 1973