page 8
Wednesday, december 6, 1978
daily nebraskan
arts & entertainment
Comedy collapses through weak humor, worn out plot
By R. A. Weigel
What makes a celebrity? Someone with
a well-known face or accomplishments,
probably. Then Bob Denver, starring in the
play The Button at the Lincoln Commun
ity Playhouse could be considered a
celebrity. But are all celebrity shows of a
professional caliber? Not all of them.
theatre review
The Button is a badly written play by
Ben Starr containing too many old tele
vision situation comedy plots. It concerns
a middle-aged man (Bob Denver) who has
lost his wife through divorce and has fin
ally reached the limit of his endurance by
the payment of incredibly high alimony.
He decides to kill himself, but not until
he kills the divorce lawyer who made it all
possible.
In the office of this lawyer, his secretary
(Dreama Peery, Denver's wife) is discussing
with her boss (Don O'Neill) how he should
get rid of his wife to continue their relat
ionship. Denver enters and makes his
threats to the lawyer creating the comic
situation.
Denver won't find his revenge fulfilling
unless his ex-wife can hear the gun shots
over the phone. This is the secretary's job.
Through waiting and attempts to get help
they eventually get the additional company
of the lawyers' wife (Shelly Lahman) who
doesn't want anything to happen to her
husband because it would spoil her polit
ical career.
Because of the tense situation each per
son present finds out things about each
other that causes them to go to the limit,
and the little man inside (that's how they
say it in the show) pushes the button that
enables one to do anything that they want,
including killing someone.
If this sounds like a good vehicle for
comedy, it is. But it's still weak in con
ception and lines such as "She doesn't
need a telephone -she's already a ding-a-ling."
or "She hasn't cried like that
since they passed medicare," speak for
themselves.
Denver as the actor and as the director,
tries to put the laughs into the show. Every
time he shoots the gun some plaster falls
from the ceiling or a spitoon explodes or
something else where the actors can do a
double take. There is the traditional black
out where the gun gets passed from person
to person in the dark.
There are the common sexual implica
tions, such as threatening to shoot the law
yer in places other than the head. Then
with make believe telephones, green light
ing for the little man inside', ridiculous
monologues, and constantly changing sides
of defense, one has the show in a nutshell.
Denver looks the same as one would im
agine him to look but maybe a little older.
His hair is still in his eyes which might be
all right for television but it is not so good
on the stage. If he used his eyes to convey
emotions, it was missed. He was fast paced
and perhaps too loud for the stage at the
playhouse. Vocal variety was non-existant
and all facts considered, he is probably a
better television actor.
Dreama Peery as the secretary was very
sexy and had the most energy of all the
performers on the stage. It's obvious that
she's done the show many times and her
actions are clean and often humorous, but
not hilarious.
As the lawyer, Don O'Neill was convinc
ing and looked good in the role. He had
trouble with his lines and also could not
quite keep up with the pace set by the two
pros.
Lucille Morgan as the wife was a bit
wooden in her interpretation. She has nice
moments when she had the comic lines,
but reactions were not as well defined.
When one has had as much experience
as Denver and his wife obviously had, it's
hard not to be disappointed by their per
formance. It's surprising that of all the
plays that Denver and his wife, Dreama,
could have done together, they would pick
this one. The Lincoln Community Play
house, and the community itself deserve
better.
1 q
Photo by Bob Pearson
Neither Bob Denver or his wife, Dreama Peery, could raise the caliber of the low-quality comedy, The Button.
J azz singer's staccato, lingering notes captivate emotions
By Mary Jane Winquest
Emotion wells up from within 48-year-old
jazz singer Betty Carter every time she
scats and pours forth love ballads. Almost
always grinning a wide, toothy smile, she
gave the 350 concert goers at Kimball Re
cital Hall Monday night the harshest and
most staccato treatment of notes they've
experienced in a long time.
concert review
She raises her shoulders, lurches forward
and arches her back with exacting move
ment every scat session, producing a pleth
ora of Ba Do Da Do's and Bebops. (Scat is
a type of jazz singing in which meaningless
syllables are improvised or repeated.)
Calling New York her home base,
darter, with the John Hicks Trio, is on a
short tour coming from the University of
Massachusetts on their way to Northwest
ern University. Hicks has played with
Carter four years now, but she has been
performing more than thirty.
"Before you kids were bom I recorded
an album with Ray Charles," Carter
announced. She promptly delved into a
moody piece from the album, using the
deepest and richness of her voice.
Accompanying this deepness, oddly
enough, is an airy quality in her voice.
Combined with this airiness is unmistaka
ble lingering characteristic she attaches
to notes, like one hangs on to a lazy day.
Clinging emotion
As if yawning. Carter clings to notes
while dropping them a half-step. Her hour
long performance Monday was a combina
tion of her techniques, swirling from stacc
ato to lingering notes as she smoothly
flowed from song to song.
She likewise swirled back and forth
from audience to the backup band as she
clicked her fingers and rocked her body in
a captivating combination of movement
and emotion.
"Everything I Have Is Yours," an old
standard, was the evening's most convinc
ingly emotional song. Just like every song,
she sang the lyrics with meaning.
But as is her style, she picked the
rhythm up at the song's conclusion and
gave the notes a thorough workout in the
scat duet she performed with each of the
three Trio members.
Carter is obviously proud of the John
Hick's Trio. They preceded her perform
ance with a solid 30 minutes of crowd
pleasing improvisation, each of the musi
cians getting a chance to solo on their
instrument.
A totally acoustic band, the trio alter
nated, like the singer they preceded, from
soft sounds to a rush of dynamic sounds.
Pianist John Hick's and bassist Cameron
Brown's fingers flew. The crisp perform
ance by drummer Kenny Washington in
cluded a drum solo where his drumsticks
became only a blur.
Carter announced the Trio's members
names no less than three times during her
performance as she graciously recognized
their abilities by stepping back during
instrumental portions of the songs.
Warnings spice evening
Songs like "Most gentlemen don't like
love, they just kick it around," really
spiced up the evening's performance with
lyrics warning women of their man's inten
tions. "Pounce in the clover and when it's
over he'll say 'what's your name,' " was
typical of the song's lyrics.
After the concert. Hicks said the Trio
and Carter still rehearse some together,
but get most of their practice by constant
ly performing.
Their adeptness at taking cues from
each other proves they have spent hours
together on stage. Carter's career is still
predominantly touring and playing clubs.
Hicks said they often perform six
consecutive nights when playing clubs.
Weekend dates and one-night perform
ances, like their stop in Lincoln, are also
the group's forte.
Hicks said they perform year round
with sporadic breaks. January is Carter's
and the Trio's next rest.
Carter has not only performed in prest
igious clubs but her credits include a
European tour and performances at the
Newport Jazz Festival and on NBC's
Saturday Night Live.
Although not widely known. Carter
has been considered one of the best pure
jazz singers.
She appeared on stage Monday wearing
a multi-colored turbin, black skirt and
sparkling gold top. The black singer's
dress was as individualistic as her style.
The audience appreciation was obvious
as the second concert in a series sponsored
by the Lincoln Jazz Society came to a
close with a standing ovation.
Film disguises angry cry behind laughter
Firemans Ball, the Academy Award
nominated Czechoslovakian film will be
shown this Thursday and Friday at the
Sheldon Film Theatre.
entertainment
from start to finish), the people in the aud
ience know that the satirist's angry cry is
meant for them."
Screenings are at 7 and 9 p.m. with a
rnday matinee at 3 pjn.
In this satirical comedy, Milos Forman,
director of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's
Nest, took his cameras into a small Czech
town where the local fire company was
holding its annual ball.
"It isn't photography; it's deep X-ray,"
said film critic A. J. Liehm of Firemans
Ball. "And even while they're laughing
(because the movie is hilariously funny
Two of UNL's School of Music's Jazz
Lab Bands will present a free public con
nOtS cert at 8 pjn. tonight in Kimball Recital
Hall.
Lab Band 1 , directed by graduate assis
tant Tom Larson, will play compositions
by Toshiko Akyoshi written for the
Akyoshi-Lew Tabakin big band, plus
arrangements by Sammy Nestico and
Larson. Featured soloists will be Barry
McVinney, Bob Reigle and Brian Grasmick.
Lab Band 2 will be directed by Beth
Teller, a student from Hastings. The group
will play compositions by Don Menza,
Dee Barton and others. Featured soloists
will be John Kirsch, Frank Reed and Mark
Yargis.
Other events sponsored by the School
of Music this week: Today. Student recitals-Joy
Werner (junior, flute. 3:30 p.m.
Sheldon Gallery Auditorium; Beth Kerl
(senior, voice). Joe Swenson (senior,
trumpet ), 4:30 p.m. Kimball Hall.
Thursday Concert Band (directed by
Jack Snider). 8 p.m. Kimball Hall.
Firday. Student Chamber Music, 8 p.m..
Kimball Hall.
Sunday George Frederick Handel's
Messiah (Harold Evans, conductor). 2 30
p.m.. Kimball Hall.