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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1991)
Arts & Entertainment Courtesy of Paramount Picture* Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino star in “Frankie & Johnny,” a love story from director Gary Marshall. Kiley Timperley/DN The Flying Karamazov Brothers juggled and joked to the delight of the crowd at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Saturday night. Troupe invigorates Lied crowd Karamazov Brothers juggle, joke By Bryan Peterson Senior Editor What began as a much-too-serious crowd at the Lied Center Friday night could not long contain its mirth as the Flying Karamazov Brothers presented their “Theater of the Air/' a show combining juggling, theater, music and humor. The two-hour performance never slowed as members of the troupe worked together and individually to present a steady stream of entertain ment. Led by the outbursts of more chil dren than the Lied Center has likely ever seen, a house full of somber, three-piece-suit types soon became a roaring, raucous crowd. Even as they juggled, the Flying Karamazov Brothers demonstrated skills in many areas, supplementing juggling with song and dance and more. They juggled while leaning, while jumping up and down, and while keeping up a constant barrage of jokes and puns, both planned and impro vised (and both good and bad). Improvisation was taken to its fullest in a portion of the show known as “The Gamble,” in which Ivan Kar amazov is given three tries to juggle any three objects brought by mem bers of the audience, provided they weigh between an ounce and 10 pounds and are no bigger than a bread box. If successful, Ivan would be greeted with a standing ovation; if not, he would receive a pic in t^p face. And pie it was, as the objects chosen for Ivan to juggle by the audience included a weighted shoebox, a plas tic mannequin head and a strip of flypaper. It was the flypaper that got him. However, Ivan’s pied face was soon saved as the troupe returned to us routine and dazzled the audience by juggling all manner of objects. The Brothers even made music as they juggled, wearing adhesive drum pads which sent radio signals to an amplifier through a computer. This portion of the show, too, was taken to an extreme, as the Brothers performed Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy’1 and beat themselves over their heads while wearing helmets with the elec tronic drum pads. Technology was left behind as one troupe member explained the simi larities between music and juggling, and the importance of rhythm to both. He then spoke of “The Gamble” as an exercise in emptying the mind, lied this into Zen philosophy and performed a karate kata or form. The kata chosen, Bassai Dai, is one not easily learned and not gener ally taught until after a couple years’ See FLYING on 10 Pfeiffer gives emotional performance Film tracks pleasant romance “Frankie & Johnny” By Anne Steyer Staff Reporter Being alone is not the same thing as being lonely, but in the Paramount release “Frankie & Johnny,” (Cooper) the title characters are both. Director Garry Marshall (“Pretty Woman”) brings to the screen an adaptation of Terrence McNally’s award-winning play, “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” Michelle Pfeiffer (“The Fabulous Baker Boys”) is Frankie, a waitress in a New York City diner and A1 Pacino (“The Godfather”) plays Johnny, a short-order cook at the same cafe. They meet there and Johnny’s relentless pursuit of Frankie begins. The film concentrates on their courtship, although it takes the entire first half of the movie before Frankie agrees to go out with Johnny. The pursuit is made more compelling by Frankie’s refusals, which grab the audi ence’s interest in her. Marshall addresses this interest by allowing the characters to unfold separately, each in their own environments, as well as at The Apollo Cafe. This allows the audience to con nect with each character, before cheering for them as a couple. Frankie lives alone in an extremely small studio apartment, where a fold-out ironing board serves as the only counter space. Through her window, Frankie can see the lives of the neigh bors, and through her reactions, we learn more of her. Johnny’s personality is more directly re vealed, through his interactions with other characters — primarily women. He doesn’t like being alone and thinks he has found a kindred spirit in Frankie. Their personalities clash and grow to com plement each other. Johnny is overbearing and aggressive, Frankie scared and withdrawn. Pacino is great as usual but the picture belongs to Pfeiffer. She gives her most emo tionally charged performance to date. Tears aren’t needed to express Frankie’s emptiness. The loneliness and pain arc conveyed through Pfeiffer’s eyes. The supporting cast is very good, providing much of the humor of the film. The story is well-written and thedialogucsnappy. Marshall handles his characters very well, as he has in past films likc“Prctty Woman”and “Beaches.” The only real flaw is the film’s length. “Frankie & Johnny” drags in a few places and its resolution, conversely, is abrupt. “Frankie & Johnny” isn ’l gourmet fare, but it is never the less a love story that hits the spot. Courtesy of Manedi Anders Artists Management From left, Luba Edlina, Yuri Turovsky and Rostislav Dubinsky make up the Borodin Trio. Bleak memories inspire music of Russian trio By Andrea Christensen Staff Reporter__ After years of being able to express theiropinions only through their music, the members of the Borodin Trio now have the oppor tunity to express themselves through their words. Not to say they aren’t commu nicating through music, loo. At the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery on Saturday night, the trio highlighted the language of music. “Here people come to a concert to enjoy music,” said Rostilav Dubinsky, violinist for the trio. “In the Soviet Union people come to learn something, to get a message. “Since no one could speak freely with words, they used a more subtle form of communication, the lan guage of music. This created a special relationship which is not possible in a normal democratic society.” Dubinsky performs in the trio with his wife, pianist Luba Edlina, and cellist Yul i Turovsky. All three arc Russian emigres. Each artist in the Borodin en semble has grim memories of life in the Soviet Union. Dubinsky recalled that in the years prior to See TRIO on 10 —