Arts & Entertainment
Guitarist pleased with Dokken overhaul
By Michael Deeds
Senior Editor
At 25, Swedish guitarist John
Norum has already rocketed to suc
cess. A former member of Europe
(the guys who sang “The Final Count
down”), he has moved on to solo
work and recently became a member
of Don Dokken, a band that will per
form tonight at Omaha’s Ranch Bowl,
1606 S. 72nd St.
Most rockers remember Don
Dokken as the lead singer of Dokken,
a melodic metal band that kicked out
hit after hit with the help of guitar
wizard George Lynch. However,
Dokken and Lynch split in a bitter
feud. Because of legal ramifications,
Dokken was forced to change the
band’s name to his own. Lynch formed
Lynch Mob.
Now, Norum backs up Dokken,
combining vocal harmonies to front
Don Dokken, which is rising with a
new album, “Up from the Ashes.”
Things arc looking a lot better for
both artists, Norum said in a phone
interview that dragged him outof bed
at 2 p.m.
“It’s going good,” he said. “It’s »
going slow, though. It’s not like the \
old Dokkcn. !t’s like starting over,
especially for Don.”
Norum said he and Dokkcn both
treasure the new band simply because
everyone is mature. Silly arguments
between Lynch and Dokkcn arc leg
endary. And members of Norum’s
band, Europe, had their own prob
lems.
“We were like 15 years old when A
we first started playing,” he said. “You
change a lot as a person over that :
much time. We just didn’t know each If
other anymore. I was really unhappy
with that band the last two years. %
Mainly, (I stayed) for the money.” “
After Norum quit Europe and agreed
to cut four solo albums with CBS
Records, Dokkcn got in touch with
him in Sweden. The two got together,
wrote a little, and decided things
clicked.
Dokkcn drafted another Swede,
drummer Mikkey Dee (King Dia
mond), German bassist Peter Baltes
(Accept) and guitarist Billy White, a
Texas unknown who has turned into a
real fret sizzler.
See DOKKEN on 10
Courtesy of Geffen
John Norum, Mikkey Bee, Dan Dokken, Billy White and Peter Baites
Chucky earns a laugh in Child s Flay 2
By John Payne
Senior Reporter
Straight from the boys department
of Psychopaths “R” Us, Chucky’s back,
this time in “Child’s Play 2.” The
demonic doll who made life hell for
his little playmate, Andy (Vincent
Alexander), is up to his old tricks.
“Child’s Play 2" picks up pretty
much where its predecessor left off,
with the soul of dead serial killer
Chucky still possessing a “Good Guy”
doll. Of course, Chucky was burned
to a crisp at the end of the first flick.
But the toy company that manufac
tured the doll reconstructs it in an
effort to find out what sort of defect
could have caused a children’s toy to
embark on a killing spree.
Try as he might, little Andy can’t
convince people that the spirit of the
murderer is trapped inside the doll.
They find out soon enough, though,
because Chucky is on a mission. He
has only a few days to locate the boy
and take over his body. If he can’t,
he’ll be trapped in the body of the doll
forever. And let’s face it, it’s tough to
be a respectable mass-murderer when
you’re only 26 inches tail. Other se
rial killers mock you, you lose all
self-esteem; it just doesn’t work out.
“Child’s Play 2" is probably about
as frightening as it could have been,
moyip !
considering its premise. After all, this
is a doll, for crying out loud. Even
Chucky’s rather evil-looking scowl
loses its chilling effect when the camera
pulls back to show the little guy wield
ing a knife or dangling from the neck
of his next victim. It’s more comical
than terrifying.
Then again, a sense of humor sure
helped audiences get through the first
“Child’s Play,” and it’ll make this
one a little more watchaWe too. There
is something extremely funny, in a
twisted kind of way, about watching a
baby-faced doll spewing out vulgari
ties and killing helpless housewives.
But the humorous value of “Child’s
Play 2" is enough to make it mediocre
at best. Most of the scares are pretty
cheap, especially the way the
filmmakers love to have Chucky spring
out from the shadows again and again.
The ending is a blatant terminator
rehash, culminating in a big show
down at the “Good Guy” doll factory..
The place looks like 95 percent of the
villain hangouts from the old “Bat
man” TV series. Rest assured that
signs reading “Danger: Toxic Waste!”
or “Overflow Reicase Valve” will
come into play.
Don’t count on Chucky for any
serious chills. But for some nice shock
humor, he’s not playing around.
“Child’s Play 2" is playing at the
Plaza 4, 201 N. 12th St.
Lincoln’s own ‘Love Connection’
to make its debut this weekend
by jonn Payne
Senior Reporter
Chuck Woolery would be proud.
“The Lincoln Love Link,” Lin
coln’s version of TV’s “Love
Connection,” makes its debut Sat
urday night at the Park Recreation
Center, 2602 Park Blvd. Although
this dating game won’t be telecast,
it will be very similar to its Holly
wood counterpart. Instead, the
“Love Link” will be presented to a
live audience only.
Two Lincoln men, Cam McAl
lister and Chris Styskal, got the
idea from the TV show.
“There are 35,000 singles in
Lancaster County,” said McAllis
ter. “There is a definite need for
something like this, something
exciting and a little different from
the singles bar scene.”
For SI5, contestants can either
“choose or be chosen,” as McAllis
ter puts it. Those who participate
arc videotaped answering questions
pertaining to romance. The tapes
are then viewed by someone of the
opposite sex, who must choose from
three of these prospects.
In addition to the tapes, partici
pants must fill out questionnaires
to determine which couples would
be most compatible. A date is then
set up and and both parties appear
before an audience to talk about it.
The dates for this “Love Link”
show have already taken place.
Of the 10 couples who have
gone out, five will will be ran
domly chosen to talk about their
dales. One couple will be featured
*
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for sure — a 74-ycar-old man who
recently made a “Love Link” with
a 75-ycar-old woman.
“We believe die idea will work
well,” McAllister said. “At first we
were worried about people not
coming back for the show if their
date didn’t work out. That’s why
we offer the prizes as incentive.”
Prizes include a trip for two to
Las Vegas, according to McAllis
ter, who says that it took a certain
amount of research to organize the
event.
“We talked with a gentleman
who runs a dating service here in
Lincoln,” he said. “He gave us
See LOVE on 10
Flashy Shanghai acrobats
deliver lively performance
By Julie Naughton
Senior Reporter
The Wednesday evening perform
ance of the Shanghai Acrobats and
Imperial Warriors of the Peking Opera
(acrobatic/martial arts branch) was a
variety show that got better with each
act.
With elegant agility and powerful
grace — as well as flashy showman
ship not often seen this side of Las
Vegas — the company set the Lied
Center for Performing Arts on fire
with 13 short acts, including two
excerpts from the Chinese opera
“Havoc in Heaven.”
The well-paced, lively perform
ance made for an enjoyable evening
which combined theater, acrobatics
and dance. The troupe members,
ranging in age from 15 to 30, exe
cuted moves that often made the
audience gasp.
One of the most awe-inspiring acts
was “Pagoda of Bowls,” featuring
Zhang Jia-Chcng and Ni Jing. The
woman balanced five bowls on her
head and proceeded to perform a variety
of contortions and acrobatics that would
be hard to perform, sans the porcelain
bowls.
The Barrel Plunge contortionist,
Yu Wen-Tong, lived up to her name,
as she squeezed herself into a scries
of barrels that got narrower and nar
rower.
In a refreshing change of pace, the
man did the work in the highly amus
ing “Kitchen Calisthenics.” Charis
matic performers Pan Lian-Hua and
Xing Wci-Lian never took themselves
too seriously, which made them a
great deal of fun to watch. While Pan
was balancing eggs on a pole (and
later, twirling plates) Xing stood by,
goading him and laughing.
Emerald-green, royal blue and
scarlet com prised the costumes of the
performers in the operatic scenes.
These scenes were dominated by the
Imperial Warriors of the Peking Opera,
and they were every inch the proud
warriors as they acted and danced the
opera scenes. The brilliant costumes,
some in styles thousands of years old,
held the audience’s interest as surely
as the graceful moves by the perform
ers.
Overall, however, the opera inter
ludes played second fiddle to the
shorter, acrobatic-based acts.
The incredible grace and agility
can, in part, be attributed to the spe
cific, early training that both the
Shanghai acrobats and Peking Opera
acrobats receive. Members start train
ing as early as eight. The first two
years arc spent in basic training, learn
ing the rudimentary aspects of acro
batics. The next three years are spent
training for a specific act.
A job inaChincse acrobatic troupe
is a lifetime one. When a member
becomes too old to perform, he or she
is given another job in the theater.
Past performers now design costumes,
train young acrobats and administer
troupe affairs for their companies.