tuesday, October 16, 1979
page 8
daily nebraskan
'Storyteller' Chapin weaves old with new album cuts
By Betsie Ammons
An enthusiastic Lincoln audience
Sunday was introduced to some new
friends and reacquainted with some old
ones through the story -telling songs of
singer Harry Chapin and his band .
Dressed in a loose white shirt and casual
tan slacks, Chapin enchanted the small, but
dedicated, crowd of 2,100 for close to
three hours, mingling old favorites with
cuts from a new double album released last
week.
Chapin, dubbed by some as the "master
storyteller," has the ability to make
audiences feel as if they, know the
characters he sings about.
That probably is because everyone
knows at least one person like the losers in
life and love of whom Chapin sings.
Chapin started the concert with material
from his new album, Legends of the Lost
and Found, after promising the crowd he
would play all the bid songs because "I
spent too many years playing for audiences
who didn't want to hear a damn thing."
CHAPIN AND THE BAND kept a
running repartee through the concert,
begun by his telling the crowd it was "nice
to have an audience you'd like to know
anyway." Chapin took a lot of
good-natured ribbing from both the band
and the crowd, a tradition at all Chapin
concerts.
The new material finds Chapin with
more involved musical arrangements and
vocals. The individual talents of lead
guitarist Doug Walker, guitarist-vocalist
John Wallace, cellist Kim Scholes,
drummer Howie Fields and Harry's brother
Steve, pianist and group arranger, were
highlighted more than in past concerts,
But, as usual, the audience came to hear
the bid Chapin standards, from 'Taxi," to
"Cats in the Cradle" to "Mr. Tanner," and
on and on. v
The old songs took on new shape,
however, with different instrumental and
The old songs took on new shapes
however, with different instrumentals and
tighter rhythms. Chapin told the crowd the
band rerecorded some of the early hits on
the double album because he feels they do
them better now than in the beginning.
And he is right.
In the song explanations which have
become a Chapin trademark,-he told the
crowd of some of his upcoming 'projects.
, "Pretzel Man", which breaks out of the
old routine Chapin harmonies with a clever
melody and instrumentation, will be
featured in a songbook illustrated with
paintings by Chapin 's grandfather.
ANOTHER NEW SONG, "Old Folkie",
is a moving tribute to folksinger Pete
Seeger, a near-legend at the age of: 60.
Tributes, philosophy, commentary -all
are inherent to Chapin 's music and may
explain his popularity. He is a man of
strong convictions, and is anything but shy
about letting people know what he thinks,
Anybne who attends a Chapin concert is
subject to his political views,-and Sunday
night proved no exception. He spoke of his
pet project "World Hunger Year", to which
he gives the profits from over 50 percent of
his concerts,
He also urged the crowd to take part in
political activity, saying the long-range
problems of the world arc not up to
political leaders but rather in the hands of
the common people.
Although he did not favor any specific
candidate, he said the 1980 election was
important because it marks the end of the
70s, or the "me decade", and a new
political beginning. ' t
He also commented on the nations
education system in two songs "So Many
Colors" and "Little Girls."
Chapin includes Lincoln in most of his
tours and it is apparent that he appreciates
the audience as much as the people enjoy
him. '
Durine the encore, he thanked the
crowd through song, saying that, without
.i L k rmthino Although that
inCIH, lie wuwiu iv .......0. "...
sounds like slick, insincere showmanship,
Chapin's low key delivery and rapport with
the crowd leaves one feeling as though he
means it. - .
One last surprise for Chapin fans-he
introduced the lyrics to a sequel to "Taxi",
the song which propelled him from
pbscurity to popularity. Speaking rather
than singing he told the audience it would
be featured on an upcoming studio album.
Well, Harry, we're looking forward to it.
. , 1
?' I)
A- s
Photo by M. Billingsley
The master storyteller, Harry Chapin performed for a small but enthusiastic crowd in
Lincoln's Pershing Auditorium Sunday night.
A uditions dropped in Magic Theatre's no-star system
By Michael Wiest .
Those familiar with Hermann Hesses novel
Steppenwolf will remember Pablo's Magic Theatre, the
elusive,' bizarre, frightening and beautiful labyrinth of
experience which leads Harry Haller to a truer
understanding of life and the many facets of his
personality Perhaps the main difference in purpose and
function between this fictional theatrer and its real-life,
namesake, The Omaha Magic Theatre, is accessibility,
Described in one of its bi-annual newsletters as a
"collection of actors and directors, writers, visual artists, ;
filmakers and technicians all dedicated to the process of
theatre," the Magic Theatre offers the artist a unique
opportunity to train and develop in the company of a
nationally known theatre group, without the competitive
barrier of an audition,
' "There is no star system," said Jo Ann Schmidman,,
director, actress and dancer with the company.
Schmidman said that instead there is a six-month
apprenticeship in which the developing actor may have
daily contact with production and theater workshops.
After six months, the actor may contribute whatever is
possible, Anyone who puts in the time "and effort will
have a hand in production, regardless of appearance, style
or physical handicaps.
Running Gag, written by Schmidman, will be
performed by the Magic Theatre at the 1980 Winter
Olympics at Lake Placid, The Magic Theatre was one of
five performing arts groups invited to perform at the
Olympics,
SCHMIDMAN IS well known for her series of warm-up
exercises designed to prepare the actor both mentally and
physically for performance, developed while she toured
with the world famous Open Theatre,
A speedy trip ends in a huge loss
By Cindy Coglianese
There are problems with taking one tank tours if you
have a lead foot.
This reporter can speak accurately and knowledgeably
from experience. She is going to lose her driver's license.
gdGgdg tera
It all began in 1976 with a speeding ticket and it was to
become a way of life.
Last Tuesday night, unattentively speeding eastward on
UJS. 6, 1 noted a State Patrol car pass me and then make a
sudden U-turn from the westward lane. I knew right away
he was not going to stop me for a chat; this guy meant
business.
Sure enough, those red lights pierced the quiet country
dark. I pulled off the toad in Mom's yellow Volkswagen
and he pulled up behind me.
"You know why I am stopping you?" the officer of
the law asked.
"No, why?" I asked with complete sincerity, hoping
that it might not be because I was speeding. Like maybe
he's going to tell me that my right tail light is out or
something. .
But no. ,
"CAN I SEE your driver's license please?" he asked.
"I clocked you at 74 m.pJi. in a 55 m.p.h. zone," he
said, looking at my driver's license. "Again, Cynthia."
I thought he looked familiar. Yes, we had met earlier
sometime in July. I began to remember the sordid details
of our last encounter.
That time he caught me going westward near Waverly
- on Interstate 80. That time I was clipping along at 74
m.pJi. And that time I was in Mom's yellow Bug again
and the ordeal cost me $45. .
But this time, boy, no mercy for me.
"Why don't you come back to my car," the officer in
vited. - I could think of about a million reasons not to go back
to his car, but this guy.was clearly in no mood for jokes
tonight.
- Continued on Page 9
According to Schmidman, the Magic Theatre is in need
of donations to meet expenses for the upcoming
performance at the Olympics. Purchases to be made
include materials for soft sculpture props, described by
Schmidman as "beautiful as well as portable," light
equipment, and set pieces to rebuild their portable
platform. All donations are tax deductible.
The theatre, located at 1417 Farnam St., and now in
its 10th year of production, is a non-profit, educational
foundation supported by grants and private donations.
All productions are musicals. Often a play begins simply
with an idea or topic, and then script and production are
developed simultaneously. This is the case with the
Theater's newest production , Goona Goona.
The theme of Goona Goona is families in conflict. In
way of research, members of the company attended -family
abuse workshops.
"This is a timely topic," Schmidman said, adding that
conflict within families leads to a perhaps less recognized,
more subtle form of abuse and manipulation, often
manifesting itself in psychological forms as well as
physical.
Judging from a few minutes rehearsal of this play,
scheduled to premier November 2 at the Magic Theatre,
the subject of abuse within the family will receive an
outlandish, comic, and thought-provoking -reatmenHn
the absurdist style characteristic of the avant garde Magic
Theatre. . -
RECENT PRODUCTIONS have dealt with equaU)
pertinent topics, ranging from the inhumanity of the
prison system in Babes in the Dighouse to the implications
of the current jogging mania in Running Gag. Raucous
humor and zany musical numbers arc always earmarks of
the theatre's plays, despite the gravity of their subjects.
Most of the plays, are written by Megan Terry,
playwright in residence at the Magic Theatre. Terry has a
long and impressive list of credentials, including a 1978
Guggenheim Fellowship, a 1970 Obie Award for best play
and more than 45 plays in print. She is a founding mem
ber of the New York Theatre Strategy and the Women's
Theatre Council. Currently, Terry is adjunct Professor of
nS5a Srn5nUNOkd.hM been spared by critics to
O'Neill, O Casey, D.H. Lawrence and Lbrca.
One of her plays produced at the Magic Theatre.
iTZ,",(;rfCW5'hasbccn tomore
than 200 theatre groups across the country, and is being
produced in the Scandinavian countries Ind Poland ai
well. The play deals with nature of our lancuace asking
alk?q"h ;rD WC.,a,k.,ike WC nk,o?S like wf
talk? It explores sexism in our speech, yet goes on to
ttlMf0"1 n P0SSibilitieS f