daily nebraskan
monday, march 17, 19HO
page 12
& m
'Mad Love' unoriginal, but good Chauncey s lood:
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By Casey McCabc
For the past few years, Linda Ronstadt has been inch
ing closer to having her artistic license revoked.
Never mind the beautiful face and outstanding voice.
There is something irritating about this woman's rise to
superstar status.
I suppose it stems from Ronstadt and her guidance
counselorproducer Peter Ashcr granting themselves the
creative leeway to pick and choose from the libraries of
many talented composers to pave the way for Linda's
fame and fortune.
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You can't go wrong when covering the best material
from such artists as Buddy Holly, Warren Zcvon, Karla
Bonoff, Neil Young, Anna McGarrigle. Elvis Costcllo and
a multitude of lesser knowns. While Ronstadt must be
complimented for her taste (she obviously knows what
she's doing), it has become increasingly disheartening that
the catchy melodies and insightful lyrics 6f others are
being hung like gold medals around Ronstadt's neck.
Media-inspired titles
Her sensual and highly adaptable vocals deserve credit,
but they've also caught her among the media-inspired
titles as the current first lady of rock, pop and country
music. Her quest for the right image became so strained
by her last album, living In The U.S.A., that she threaten
ed to alienate all factions. The title track was full of
enough misguided emotion to make Chuck Berry roll over
in his jail cell.
Just when it seemed right to drive the nails through the
popular myth of the lovely Miss Ronstadt, she comes out
with her best collection since Heart Like A Wheel. Mad
Love leaves room for all the above complaints, but no
amount of critical cynicism can cover the fact that most
of the songs work exceedingly well.
High energy rock
Ronstadt had been claiming for many months that she
was readying herself for a high-energy rock album, a
moderate risk considering the sizable middle of the road
and country pop following she and Ashcr had worked at
capturing.
Except for a few questionable moments, Mad Love is
the grittier rock Ronstadt had promised. Though it often
leans toward New Wave, the careful and slick production
work appears aimed at quelling any tears among fans that
the woman of their musical dreams is about to start hang
ing around Patti Smith or beginning to question authority.
Continued on Page 13
By Lylc George
I have been frequently confronted with the question,
"What is Chauncey's Place like?" Never have I been able
to give a more satisfactory answer than, "I don't know. I
hear it's a barbecue place."
As I approached Chauncey's Place at 1008 "P", I be
came somewhat apprehensive. My first impression, just
judging from the outside appearance, was that maybe I
should review some other place. It looked like a small
mobile home sized box tacked onto the adjacent building.
I walked past Chauncey's, stared through the windows
and asked myself, "Am I sure I want to go in?" A few
favorable comments, along with the realization that my
job as a rcstaunnt reviewer was to be a guinea pig,
is what got me through the door.
UNL Theater students,
assembled in a collage, pre
pare for the play 3x1x3.
Director Dale Wilson is in
the center.
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Photo by Colin Hackley
Chauncey's is a takeout establishment. There is no
room inside for tables. The 10 by 12 foot waiting area has
two wooden benches, two wicker chairs and a child-size
blue plastic swivel chair.
Chauncey's menu is simple. There are five basic
dinners and six sandwiches. The dinners are beef or pork
ribs, barbecued chicken, fried chicken and the freak
combo which is a combination of barbecued beef and
chicken.
The dinners range in price from $325 to $425. If you
are really hungry, you can order a full slab of ribs instead
of half and spend up to $725.
All the dinners include cole slaw, barbecued baked
beans and Texas fries. You also get a choice of three
sauces that start at mild for the meek and work their way
up through the heat spectrum to hot for those who want
to know they are eating something, to extra hot for those
who are either fortitudinous or foolish.
The sandwich selection includes barbecued beef, pork,
chicken or hamburger. Chauncey's also has an old
fashioned hamburger, that comes with everything and a
hot ham and cheese sandwich.
Because Chauncey's is a takeout place; arrangements
have been made with O.G. Kelly's, The Green Frog
Lounge and Casey's "Other Place" that allow those who
aren't taking their dinners home a place to eat.
Admittedly, there is little romance in eating ribs off of
a Styrofoam tray with plastic silverware, but that happens
to be the only way a takeout place can operate.
My order was for the beef ribs. They were good. Half a
slab was adequate to stop my hunger. The cole slaw was
very good and provided a nice cooling contrast to the
barbecue seasoning.
Hie barbecued baked beans were a surprise to me.
They didn't appear too appealing but they tasted very
good. The seasoning made them tangy, but'they were very
enjoyable. I wished my serving had been bigger.
Talking to Chauncey Blakely, the owner of Chauncey's
Place, it soon becomes evident that Chauncey's Place is his
piece of the American dream. He likes the place because it
is his and because of the customers he meets.
Owning a restaurant of his own has been one of his
dreams. Another is to use his musical talei.t. He eventual
ly hopes to do more with music.
The atmosphere at Chauncey's Place reflects Blakely's
personality. It is unpretentious. The honest straight for
wardness of the place makes you feel at home.
Blakely was quick to point out that the decor was what
made him feel at home. The artifacts and plants on the
walls were there to please him. It wasn't so much a
merchandising area, as it was an extension of his living
room.
Discussion involves audience in creative process
By Debra L. Miller
Audience participation, a concept given much lip ser
vice but often little consideration in theatrical circles, is a
primary aspect of the 3x1x3 project which opened at the
Nebraska Union's Regency Suite Saturday night.
Audience members not only witnessed for the first
time anywhere" three new one-act pieces by playwright
Dale Wilson, but were given the unique opportunity to
discuss them afterward with the author, directors and
cast.
The atmosphere and sense of audience involvement for
the evening were established by Dale Wilson in an intro
ductory speech of explanation and welcome. Then, under
scored by a gentle, haunting melody, Wilson introduced
each play, and reading the vivid descriptions of the sets
and lights, set the mood as the actors emerged one by one
from the shadows to take their places onstage.
This theatrical device produced an extremely effective
anticipation in the audience. Challenged to create with
their imaginations what was not on the stage, audience
members became personally involved in the creative process.
The first play in the trilogy, entitled Surprise Party for
Mrs. Meeker, is an intriguing exploration of guilt and per
sonal responsibility. The first part of the play explores
the relationships and personalities of three people. Hie
sometimes rambling exposition is underlaid with an in
definable tension and suspense which builds to an eerie
and macabre conclusion.
Directed by Steve Houser, the play is ably performed
by James Mellgren, Caron Buinis and Myron Papich.
Boys Life! -Subscribe Today!, the second play, provid
ed a fast-moving, funny and thought-provoking change of
pace. The highly stylized burlesque of family relation
ships, directed by Philip Stone, features energetic per
formances by Stephen Kazakoff, Cary Wayne Noble and
Caron Buinis.
Noble and Buinis play the parents who are little more
than caricatures, blithely mouthing cliches and truisms,
and chillingly unaware of reality and the passing of time.
Rituals of Passing Strangers, the third and most realis
tic in style of the three plays, revealed another facet of
Wilson's versatile talents. Sensitively directed by Cary
Wayne Noble, it is an intimate study of the relationship
between two "strangers," laid against the backdrop of the
pope's visit to New York .
Fine performances were given by James Mellgren as the
tortured, poetic Cyprian and newcomer Kelly Stockwell
as the street-wise hustler.
Following the performance of the three plays a large
percentage of the audience remained for the "round
table" discussion with the playwright, directors and casts.
The informality that was the keynote of the evening facil
itated the comfortable give-and-take conversation between
the audience members and the ensemble.
The revealing discussion period emphasized the most
enjoyable facet of UPC's 3x1x3 project-the very special
feeling of being personally involved in the creation of a
new thing. 3x1x3 will run Saturday and Sunday evening
at 8 pjn. Admission is free.
