Nebraskan
Monday, January 17,1994
ArtscoEntertainment
Page
5
‘Man of La Mancha’
like a Broadway show
LIED
CENTER
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
In the gallows of the human spirit,
theater poet Miguel Dc Cervantes was
thrust to face a court of fellow prison
ers.
What transpired was a tale of how
self-confidence and courage to be
1 ie ve in oneself can fulfill the “Impos
sible Dream.”
Last weekend’s Lied Center per
formance of the classic musical “Man
of La Mancha” was equal to the cali
ber of many of today’s Broadway
performances.
With actor Ron Brown as
Cervantes/Don Quixote and actress
Susan Nock as Aldonza the kitchen
wench, “Man of La Mancha” was as
touching as it was comical.
Cervantes, a prisoner of the Span
ish Inquisition, and his sidekick,
Sancho, are thrown into a jail to await
trial. While there, Cervantes creates
this wild tale of a disillusioned old
man pretending he’s a regal knight
named Don Quixote.
Quixote meets Aldonza and takes
her for his “Dulcinea,” or fair virgin
lady. In failing to convince Quixote
that she is not his Dulcinea, Aldonza
finally sees herself as he sees her.
With this renewed faith in herself,
Aldonza helps Quixote fulfill his
dream.
Cervantes and the other prisoners
act out this tale of Quixote and his
ambiguous quest. In the end, Cervantes
realizes he is much like Quixote with
his undaunted courage to face the
Spanish soldiers.
With the use of physical comedy
and snapping dialogue, the play moved
at a quick tempo, holding the interest
of the audience throughout.
Brown was incredibly strong in his
wacky portrayal of Quixote as he
went of! to battle an evil monster,
which in reality was a large windmill.
He also eliminated any confusion by
easing the transitions between
Cervantes and Quixote.
Nock may be in the running for the
U.S. Olympic gymnastics team after
her portrayal of the hard-hearted
Aldonza, a sexual playtoy who was
literally thrown, tossed, punched and
swung by the Muleteers, a gang of
male tyrants.
Nock showed equal strength with
the abrasive and angry vocal force
common to Aldonza*s temperament.
The surging baritone voice of
Courtesy of the Lied Center/Gerry Goodstein
Aldonza, played by Susan Nock, is heckled by the Muleteers in “Man of La Mancha,”
which was performed at the Lied Center last weekend.
Brown resonated throughout the stage
with the powerful and uplifting theme
“To Dream the Impossible Dream.”
He had all the power and patriotism of
someone singing “The Star-Spangled
Banner” on Independence Day.
The foreboding and dismal gal
lows were highlighted by an ominous
fog and a levitating staircase signal
ing the arrival of the soldiers. The
crimson lighting during the abduction
and rape of Aldonza added to the
horror.
“Man of La Mancha,” a love story
and a comic tale combined, showed
how people could overcome despair
once they realized that no dream was
impossible.
Courtesy of Wigwam Entertainment
The danceable group Monkey Meet will play at the Zoo Bar
Monday and Tuesday night. Prom left: Chris White, Ted
Grimes, Renard Luke, Arthur Thompson and Steve Biondo.
Monkey Meet is freed from a dream
and captured by fans at the Zoo Bar
Concert
preview
K4>
By Joel Strauch
Senior Reporter
The “upwardly global funk-a-go-go”
sound of Monkey Meet is returning to the
Zoo Bar this Monday and Tuesday.
This Los Angeles band has performed
more than 500 concerts in the United States,
Canada and Europe in the last two years. The
band has released the compact disc “Mon
key Meet/Live” on its own Jungle Jive label.
Larry Boehmer, owner of the Zoo Bar,
136 N. 14th St., said, “They are a very
interesting group. They’re different, but
they’re very danceable.
“They’ve played here five or six times in
the past and they always draw a good crowd,”
Boehmer said. “We usually get a solid
showing of at least 100.”
The band was created five years ago from
a vivid dream in the mind of lead vocalist
and saxophonist Renard Luke. Luke dreamed
the band was jammin’ with Charles Darwin
and a bunch of monkeys on a remote island.
Darwin told Luke that he would let them off
the island on one condition: that they carry
on the name “Monkey Meet” forever.
The other members of the band include
jazz/metal guitarist Ted Grimes, percus
sionist Stevie B., Oklahoma-raised drum
mer and lead vocalist Arthur Thompson and
bassist Chris “King” White.
The band sings about a variety of socially
conscious topics, ranging from homelessness
and hunger to unity and the environment.
The blend of music they play is hard to
describe, Boehmer said.
“It’s kind of a mixture of R & B, funk and
jazz. They’re the only band like that,” he
said.
“They’re a lot different from most groups
we get here, but they are very professional
and have really good showmanship,”
Boehmer said.
Aftershock owner peeved
by negative image of club
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
Three security agents met two young men at
the door of the Aftershock Saturday night. One
of the men was told to remove his Orlando
Magic cap. He wouldn’t, so he was told to
leave.
Aftershock security agent Aundree Smith
said aside from a few minor arguments at the
door to the club, violence has not been a
problem since the club opened last October.
Neon signs, black lighting and booming
techno-pop music flooded Lincoln’s only youth
dance club, located on 13th and P streets.
It was the first weekend the club was in
operation since the city council debated the
issue of youth dance clubs. The council passed
an amendment Jan. 10 changing the city ordi
nance imposing age limitations on dance club
patrons.
The original ordinance, passed in 1965,
prohibited dance club patrons between the ages
of 14 and 18 from mixing with those 19 and
above. The amendment changed the law to
limit only those 14 to 17 from dancing with
those 18 and older.
Although the amendment to the ordinance
was minor, Don “Doc” Sanders, owner of Tone
Def Productions and operator of the After
shock, said it wasn’t the main issue. He said he
was angered by the negative feedback youth
dance clubs received from some city council
members and Lincoln Police Department offic
ers.
Sanders said he didn’t know why the police
decided to suddenly enforce this ordinance on
the Aftershock. Sanders was initially ticketed
for not obtaining the correct permit to operate
the club.
“Historically, we never had any problems.
We’ve never had any fights,” Sanders said.
“This is here for people who want to have a
good time.”
Sanders said he thought his supervised non
alcoholic dance club was providing a safer
gathering place for youth than fraternity parties
or unsupervised house parties.
City council member Cindy Johnson said
although she wasn’t opposed to the operation of
the Aftershock, without the ordinance there
was a “tremendous problem with older people
preying on younger people.”
Sanders said concern about mixing the two
age groups was unjustified because of the nat
ural separation already present.
“The college students actually like the sep
aration because they don’t like to associate with
these younger high school students,” he said.
-«
People have to stop being
afraid of youth and realize
that people under 25 are
people with the same ambi
tions and goals as every
one else.
— Sanders
Aftershock owner
--- 91 -
Area high school counselors and 90 percent
of the parents Sanders has encountered support
his club because they understand this soc ial iza
tion of teenagers, he said.
“A mom said to me instead of having her
daughter sneak into a frat party, she’d rather
have her here.”
Sanders said it cost more to rent or attend a
movie than go to his club. Admission to the
Aftershock is $3 before 10 p.m. and $4 after.
Captain Jim Peschong said he didn’t think
the ordinance was going to affect how the
Aftershock would operate.
“The only concern is whether this is creating
an environment where people prey on young
kids and introduce narcotics,” Peschong said.
Sanders said this theory and the fear that his
club would incite gang violence were false.
“This whole gang thing is as farfetched as
you can get,” he said. “If gangs want to get into
a place, they’ll get in. It’s just like a shopping
mall on Saturday.”
“Trying to say a business will exemplify a
problem is unfair to that business,” Sanders
said.
Stacey Stanner, a University of Nebraska
Lincoln sophomore elementary education ma
jor, said the club was abetter form of socializa
tion than movies.
“I love it. It’s fun,” she said. “They have
good security, and it’s close to campus.”
A misinterpretation and misunderstanding
of today’s youth led to the breakdown of com
munication between the generations, Sanders
said. He said this might be a reason people
generally looked down upon establishments
like his. He said the generation gap led people
to believe all youth were overzealous.
“People have to stop being afraid of youth
and real lze that people under 25 are people with
the same goals and ambitions as everyone
else."