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Nebraskan Arts & Entertainment T
Thursday, June 25,1992
‘M. Butterfly’ flutters
into Nebraska theater
By Stacie Hakel
Staff Reporter
Before planning another average
night-at-the-movies, be sure and check
out “M. Butterfly.”
With its erotic dancing, twisting
plot and unbelievable ending, “M.
Butterfly" makes for an intriguing
play, well worth watching.
Based on a true story, “M. Butter
fly” takes place in China during the
Vietnam War. A married French dip
lomat, Renee Gallimard (David
Landis), has a 25-year love affair with
a Chinese opera star, Song Liling (J.
Ranara).
But Renee’s sweet little Butterfly
isn’t what he thought she was.
Song is giving confidential infor
mation about the war to the Chinese
Communist government.
Renee is blind to Song’s scheme,
as he is too preoccupied with his
promotion to vice counsel and main
taining control over his submissive
Butterfly, Song.
Only until Renee is convicted of
espionage does he discover Song’s
real identity..
This incredible account dealt with
numerous intertwined meanings, with
themes of eastern and western cul
tures, as well as men and women’s
perceptions of each other.
Utilizing parallels to Puccini’s
"Madame Butterfly,” the play deals
with little opera, but fills that gap with
humor.
Author David Henry Hwang has a
history of writing excellent plays —
"The Dance and The Railroad,”
“FOB” and “Family Devotions.”
Again Hwang has overwhelmed
his audience with the Broadway play
“M. Butterfly.”
Not only has “M. Butterfly” won
the Tony Award for best play, but also
won the Outer Critics Circle Award
for Best Broadway Play, the John
Gassner Award for Best American
Play and the Drama Desk for Best
New Play.
Hwang said in an interview with
the New York Daily News that he
chose the “Madame Butterfly” theme
because he thought there were some
parallels and some strong differences
between a Western man and an Orien
tal woman.
“I wanted to set up a structure at the
beginning where the Frenchman iden
tifies himself with Pinkerton, the
American Navy officer who exploits
Butterfly. He even calls the lover
Butterfly,” Hwang said.
Overall, “M. Butterfly” was well
done, thanks to the help of director
Nancy Colto and the help of choreog
rapher Yunyu Wang.
The Nebraska Repertory Theatre
is a Nebraska tradition that stages
brilliant theater productions, and “M.
Butterfly” is no exception. The act
ing, costumes, set and lighting were
alfexquisitely done.
The actors and actresses, profes
sionals and “amateurs” alike, suc
cessfully immersed their viewers into
the Orient.
In its 25th season, The Nebraska
Repertory Theatre has introduced the
play to Lincoln at the Howell Theatre
located at 12th and R Streets.
The play will be shown until July
4.
Leno gets mixed reviews
LOS ANGELES (AP) — To hear
Jay Leno and Helen Gorman Kushnick
tell it, the maiden month of NBC’s
“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"
has gone extremely well.
“Everything’s going good,” Leno
said in a phone interview last week.
“We seem to be getting good re
sponse.”
Kushnick, Leno’s manager for the
last 17 years and now the executive
producer of America’s favorite late
night talkshow, is even more positive.
“It’s going wonderfully well,” she
said.
Neither assessment is completely
Accurate.
Since Leno donned Johnny
Carson’s crown on May 25, life at the
network’s late-night palace has not
been a fairy tale.
Reviews have been mixed. The
dismantling of Carson’s staff and the
assembling of Leno’s has produced
tension at NBC’s Burbank studios.
Replacing the 30-year king of late
night television is no easy feat, but the
first month has been more difficult
than Kushnick and Leno let on.
Both Kushnick and Leno brush
criticism aside.
“That’s OK,” Leno said. “Wel
come to show business.”
Both also say they believe the
show’s foundation is basically fine
and that with a little fine-tuning, pri
marily in paring down the number of
nightly guests, is all that’s slacking.
Leno’s interviewing style is decid
edly different from his predecessor’s.
Gone are the requisite plugs for each
guest’s newest effort. In a recent ap
pearance by “Lethal Weapon 3” star
Danny Glover, the film was not dis
cussed.
Instead, Leno and Glover spent
most of the segment talking about the
black actor’s recent toe surgery and
an experience in Manahttan where
cab drivers refused to stop for him.
“The idea of a famous black person
not being able to get a cab was more
important” than pitching the
actor’sprojects, Leno said.
So far, Leno’s ratings have been
good, and have reflected a younger
audience. In his third week on the job,
Leno’s numbers were 6 percent higher
than Carson’s for the same period last
year.
But from week No. 1 to week No.
3, Leno’s numbers dropped from a 6.6
average rating to a 5.3 — a decline of
about 30 percent. Each ratings point
represents 921,000 households.
^ ^ IMJ*
Batman returns
Caped Crusader breaks records
‘Batman Returns’
By Gerry Beltz
Staff Reporter
When “Batman” came out a
few years ago, one adjective that
was synonymous with the movie
was “dark/’
movi^
Let’s just say that the long
awaited and highly-publicized
“Batman Returns” (Stuart and
Edgewood Theaters) leaves the
original in its shadow for darkness.
Before the credits even start
rolling, the dismal scene for the
movie is set when the audience
views an apparently disfigured
baby hurled into the river, carriage
and all, by his own parents.
However, it is this darkness that
helps the movie shine.
Michael Keaton reprises his role
as the capcd crusader Batman/
Bruce Wayne, a man struggling
between two identities. Also re
turning is MichaelGough as Alfred,
Wayne’s faithful butler and confi
dant.
Danny DeVito comes in as the
Penguin, the baby that was aban
doned by his own parents and has
grown up in the sewers of Gotham
City.
Also starring is Michelle Pfeiffer
as the timid Selina Kyle, Wayne’s
love interest for the movie and one
of Batman’s more formidable en
emies after she becomes
Catwoman.
Another impressive perfor
mance in “Batman Returns” comes
from Christopher Walken (“A View
To A Kill”) as Max Shreck, a ruth
less, manipulative businessman
who will do anything to get his
power plant built.
When Schreck’s secretary*
Kyle, discovers information she
shouldn’t, he attempts to kill her,
but she survives to become
Catwoman, a villainess who is
thirsty for revenge.
The movie doesn ’ l have just the
standard “supervillain-plot-for-de
struction,” but features several
plots around various characters.
One plot spins off of the original
television series when the Penguin
ran for mayor against Batman in
the 1960s.
Tim Burton is again at the main
helm for the second installment of
the Batman movies, and has worked
up a terrific piece of work. His
vision of Gotham City has that mix
of 1930s settings (sets, clothing,
crooks with tommy guns) and mod
em hardware (computers, a “Bat
CD player”).
Keaton plays his role wonder
fully, even though his general stat
ure doesn’t keep with the “tradi
tional” vision of Wayne/Batman
(let’s face it, this man has no chin).
Pfeiffer is excellent as Kyle,
who changes from a shy and timid
secretary to the Catwoman — a
seductress in black tights wielding
a mean whip.
DeVito is terrific as Oswald
“Penguin” Cobblcpot. DeVito re
portedly wore four latex suits for
his role as well as other make-up
and effects for his character (de
signed by Stan Winston).
See ‘BATMAN’ on 8