Cinderella dances into audience’s heart
Music highlights
Playhouse show
'theater.
By Jill O’Brien
Senior Reporter _
Rodgers and Hammcrstcin’s magi
cal, musical fairy talc, “Cinderella,”
Saturday came to life on stage at the
Lincoln Community Playhouse, 2500
S. 56th St.
“Cinderella” was no small under
taking for cast or crew, considering
the variety of songs and dances per
formed throughout the two acts.
The strong-voiced herald, played
by Monte Michclscn, belted out the
opening song, “The Prinee Is Giving
a Ball.” Other familiar songs included
“Ten Minutes Ago,”“Impossible”and
“Do I Love You Because You’ re Bcau
tiful?”—the romantic ballad sung by
the dashing prince (Anthony Ballard)
and his bashful bride-to-be Cinderella
(Shannon Marple).
Marplc’s tender performance of
the angelic Cinderella was as daz
zling as a glass slipper as she danced
on an impressive storybook stage and
sang her way into the hearts of the
audience and the arms of the prince.
The only flaw appeared when
Marplc’s sweet singing was drowned
out occasionally by the orchestration.
Of course, one can ’ t have a Rodgers
and Hammcrslcin musical without an
orchestra, and “Cinderella” was
backed by the Lincoln Musicians’
Association conducted by Vincent
Learned.
Aside from playing too loudly at
times, the orchestra should be com
mended for providing live music for
the cast.
One more regret that a nitpicking,
hopeless romantic might have is that
the kisses exchanged between the
prince and Cinderella weren’t long
enough.
“Cinderella” has every reason to
succeed.
Guest director Rhonda Lake re
cently came to Li ncoln after spending
10 years in New York City. Her di
recting credits include “Into the
Woods,” “A Chorus Line,” “Big
Time” and “Nunsense,” plus numer
ous acting roles on soaps, films and
commercials.
Responsible for all those graceful
moves on stage is choreographer
Stephanie Chase, a Radio City Music
Hall Rockettc.
Also, set designer Julie Burney
definitely should be applauded for her
stage creations.
Once, as the prince sang to the
audience, Cinderella danced with the
moves of a prima ballerina behind a
hazy transparent blue curtain in the
background.
Peg Shcldrick played the role of
the queen, and Daniel Rcinchr played
the portly and sometimes cynical king,
exhibiting royal arrogance and hu
mor.
But it was Sandy Fisher’s portrayal
of the fairy godmother, who livened
up the show with her spontaneous
humor laugh.
Sitting at the kitchen table, she told
Cinderclla,“I’m your fairy godmother.
Don’t ask me how I got into it. I’ve
been one all my life . . .”
More words of wisdom followed.
After changing Cinderella’s rags to a
royal white gown, Fisher Ricked her
fairy wand and chuckled, “No one
will recognize you for what you arc—
people seldom do.”
The gaudy, zany stepsisters de
lighted thcaudiencccvcry time Portia
(Krislipher Filarski) opened her shrill i
mouth or Joy (Sarah Gibson) was
plagued by hercrcaking knee. Gibson
and Filarski convincingly played the
insensitive nags, next to Sidney
Johnson Way land’s wicked portrayal
of Cinderella’s stepmother.
The biggest surprise of the perfor
mance came after the prince and the
palace herald had exhausted their
search for the woman who could wear
the glass slipper. Well, not quite ex
hausted — die two actors leaped off
stage and into a startled audience
where the prince tried the slipper on
several other candidates, including a
reluctant male.
“Cinderella” will continue to play
happily ever after until the final cur
tain call Dee. 20.
For more ticket information and
performance times, cal I the playhouse
box office at 489-9608.
2 Below revels in unique, fun style
4JNL graduates hope
sjpieir funky mix leads
to another release
fo^MlvTEW-l
By Shannon Uehling
Senior Editor
It’s been described as funky random what
not with a hint of jazz, whatever that is.
Other terms might include eclectic, flexible,
intoxicating and provocative, but the music of
local two-person band 2 Below never will be
called dull or inelastic.
“Let’s just call it country,” guitarist Kevin
Kiclian joked.
2 Below, made up of K icl ian and keyboardist
Scott Rchling, played Thursday night at the
Edge, 227 N. 9th St. }
The band has been a reality for less than two
years, but the duo already has released two
private-label albums—“The Next Door Zone”
in 1991 and “They Dance Alone” this year.
Kiclian said he met Rchling a couple years
ago while working at the “Coffee House East,”
or as it’s more commonly known, Paragon
Music.
They have since formed an eccentric friend
ship and successful musical relationship. Their
playful banter is entertaining even when they
arc not making music.
But when it comes lime to play, Kiclian and
Rchling arc able to pick up each other’s cues as
well as any band of veteran musicians.
That’s not to say 2 Below makes no mis
takes, but Rchling and Kiclian said they knew
how to keep the audience from hearing their
slip-ups.
“We’re the best cover-up band in Lincoln,”
Kiclian said.
Rehling said it’s just a matter of “evil-eye
contact.”
Kiclian and Rchling, both graduates of the
University of Ncbraska-Lincoln’s College of
Business Administration, share in the song
writing, and their repertoire is all original.
Their playlist is a mix of reggae, jazz, blues
and pop.
When asked where the inspiration for their
songs came from, Rchling answered that it
stemmed from personal experiences and “pres
sure not to have real’ jobs.”
Last winter, the two musicians lived in
Phoenix, where Kiclian went to school and
Rehling “hung out by the pool.” While they
were in Phoenix, they recorded “They Dance
Alone.”
Scott Rehling performs on keyboards and sings while Kevin Kielian plays
guitar during a performance earlier this month at Rockin’ Robin.
“Wc want to be in the South every winter,”
Rchling said.
This year will be no different. Kiclian said
he plans to move to Austin, Texas, in January.
Coupled with Kiclian's move to Texas, the
two musicians said they hope to achieve several
goals they have set for themselves. One of those
is to be accepted into the “South by Southwest”
music festival in Austin.
Another goal is to record another album .
“We’re definitely going to pul something
out on 8-track,” Kiclian joked.
But in the meantime, 2 Below is looking
casually for a new manager and performing
about three or four times a month.
Like a number of other bands, 2 Below
sometimes uses the talents of guest musicians
who sit in on their performances.
For example, they were playing at Omaha’s
Howard Street Tavern one night when a musi
cian, Tony Seville, approached them and said,
“I play saxophone — can I sit in with you?”
Rchling told him to come back the next
night, which he did. Seville has played with 2
Below a couple times since then.
Although the future of 2 Below is somewhat
hazy, Rchling and Kiclian said they plan to
continue making their own brand of mixed
genre music. r1
“There’s no need to rush now,” Kiclian said.
“We have a lot of development to do.”
Seasoned author
gives Sci-fi fans
thrilling view of
environmentalism
“The Venom Trees of Sunga”
L. Sprague de Camp
Del Rey Books
By Sam S. Kepfield
Staff Reporter
One of science fiction’s great joys
is finding a new title by one of the old
pros, picking it up and discovering it
to be as current, entertaining and last
ing as one of the author’s older works.
Such is the case with “The Venom
Trees of Sunga.”
L. Sprague dc Camp has been
around since the dawn of the Golden
Age in 1939. In those 50-plus years,
he has written nearly 1 (X) books (“Lest
Darkness Fall” is one of his more
noted works,) and countless short sto
ries.
dc Lamp also is one oi inc lew
science fiction writers to do a passing
job at non-fiction as well (Isaac
Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert
Heinlein — the “big three” of science
fiction for decades were others).
“The Venom Trees of Sunga” ought
to warm the heart of anyone.
Kirk Salazar, son of an academic
legend, journeys to the island of Sunga *
on the planet Kukulcan. His mission:
examine the famed nanshin trees,
which exude an acid-like venom, and
how certain animals avoid gelling
harmed by it.
No thesis is ever this simple,
though.
Salazar runs into George Cantcm ir,
Tcrran corporate representative, who
is in charge of clear-cutting the venom
trees to make way for human habita
tion of the planet, which has been
allowed by the ruler of the native
sentient race called the “kooks.”
The move for habitation is led by
the Rev. George Dumfries, a funda
mentalist preacher spearheading the
settlement to case Earth’s overpopu
lation
See TREES on 15
