Arts ©Entertainment
Parisian theater group will perform tonight
By Paula Lavlgn*
Senior Reporter
“Le th&itre du Grand Si6clc ar
rive k UNL.”
“The theater of the Great Cen
tury arrives at UNL” with the pre
sentation of Moli6re’s 17th-century
comedy “Les Femmes Savantes” at
the Howell Theatre tonight.
Sponsored by the Modern Lan
guages Department at the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, “Les
Femmes Savantes” will be pre
sented entirely in French by
Compaignie Claude Beauclair, a
touring theater group from Paris.
Russell J. Ganim, a UNL asso
ciatc professor of modern lan
guages and literature, said the
comedy was designed to promote
French culture.
“The theater is extremely im
portant to French culture.” he said.
“It's been a social institution since
the early 17th century.”
Theater has reflected France's
intellectual and popular history, he
said.
“It's something the French have
always cultivated and have taken
a lot of pride in.”
Moli6rc is one of France’s most
well-known playwrights. His com
edies reflect France’s history as
well as theater history in general.
“Les Femmes Savantes” tells
the story of a mother who wants to
marry her daughter to a supposed
intellectual and gallant poet. The
daughter already has a suitor. Her
father supports her, but her mother
is outraged.
The mother is a “femme
savante,” or a woman of education
whose cultivation is pretentious.
Ganim said the comedy stemmed
from the exposition of this preten
sion in the intellectual circles of
high French society.
Only selected scenes from the
play will be presented, Ganim said.
He said he expected an audience
of French students, faculty and
general theatergoers.
Ganim will require attendance
from his French poetry and prose
and civilization classes. He said his
students were supposed to see the
importance of the play and its re
lation to French culture.
“This play was written at a time
when French culture was at an in
fluential point in history. It really
speaks to the splendor of French
drama,” he said. “It shows the im
pact French theater had on intel
lectual life in the 17th century.”
The first act will be presented
in 17th-century costume, and the
second act will be in modern dress.
The play will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $4 for students and $ 10
for the general public.
Show: “Lcs Femmes
Savanles"
At: Howell Theater. Temple
Building
Time: 7:30 tonight
Tickets: $10, $4 for students;
available at Howell Theater
box office. All seats
reserved.
Courtaay of Universal Plcturas
Brian Bonbon and Mary Stuart Mastarson star as Rogar and Panny Handarson, who are trying to solve the
u Radiol and Murdars. ”
‘Radioland’ should be taken off the air
By Chad Johnson_
Staff Reporter
Most members of the audience would
prefer a double date with Mickey and
Mallory of “Natural Bom Killers” than sit
through this one again.
This film reminds the viewer of the way
films were made 50 to 60 years ago and why
they are not made that way today Brim
ming with slapstick and wrought with '30s
colloquialisms, the film is a devolutionary
process that makes viewers wish the Marx
Brothers would return from the grave and
put a stop to this madness.
Set in a Chicago radio station in 1939,
“Radioland Murders” is the story of radio
station WBN’s attempt to take to the air
waves and compete as the fourth network.
A series of mysterious occurrences un
fold as several members of the stalT are sys
tematically bumped off and it's up to the
anti-heroic Brian Benbcn to put it all to
gether. Mary Stuart Masterson begins the
night as the owner’s secretary, but she finds
herself running the show alter the director,
station manager and owner all arc elimi
nated.
As Bcnben searches for clues, the radio
show is absolute chaos. The scripts arc be
ing readied on a skit-by-skit basis, and nu
merous technical problems plague the pro
duction — not to mention the occasional
corpse that turns up.
The radio show's writing staff is the one
point of the film that deserves some credit.
The station’s writing team consists of Anne
DcSalvo, Peter MacNicol, Harvey Korman.
Robert Klein and Bobcat Goldthwaite.
Maybe the film’s producers should have
turned over the movie’s script to that group
as well*
A film that could best be described as
“Death on the Nile” if it had been directed
by Blake Edwards, “Radioland Murders”
has numerous continuity flaws and several
points where the dreaded glitch award
should be given.
For example, in the “climactic” chase
scene to the top of the tower, Mary Stuart
Mastcrson’s character tells the investigat
ing police lieutenant (Michael Lerner) that
her husband Roger (Benben) is afraid of
* ’ "its. That is odd, because Roger had no
Sem writing a script while sitting on a
earlier in the film.
Neither director Mel Smith (“The Tall
Guy”) nor cinematographer David Tattcr
sall does anything adventurous. Lighting
and pacing are locked into the 1940s style,
which does nothing for the audience. .
The screenplay is weak and derivative
with no elements of suspense or surprise.
The original story was conceived by George
Movie: "Radioland Murders”
Rating: PG
Stars: Mary Stuart Mastcrson. Brian
Bcnbcn, Ned Beatty, Christopher
Lloyd
Director: Mel Smith
Grade: D
Five Words: Someone murdered
studio's good judgment
Lucas, and it might have been a good idea,
but it was not translated to the screen.
"Radioland Murders” is an exercise in
futility for nearly all concerned. The film is
an endurance test — and not one that most
want to win. The writing is weak, the act
ing is poor, the story is lame, and the tech
nical aspects arc less than polished.
One would expect that a story conceived
by George Lucas would have potential for
greatness. Not necessarily. Remember
"Howard the Duck”?
George, do the public a favor. Do not take
us to 1939 in "Radioland.” Take us back to
a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
People
Will seals image
for animal rights
NEW YORK (AP) — Chrissic
Hynde doesn’t want death to stop her
animal-rights work.
The Pretenders lead singer recently
had her will changed to allow the People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to
“exploit (Hyndc’s) image after her death
in any way PETA sees fit,” People maga
zine reported in its Oct. 31 issue.
In a letter to PETA, Hynde asks the
organization to run an ad after her death
with her photo and the words. “Dead
meat should be buried, not eaten.”
Hynde, 43, wanted to make her
wishes clear after the families of Kurt
Cobain and River Phoenix objected to
PETA using their pictures for an anti
fur campaign.
:: Another TV star
switchs to films
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's going
to take more than a starring role in
“Radioland Murders” to boost Brian
Benben’s confidence.
“Truthfully, in terms of everything
I’ve done, I never expect anything to
lead to anything else. Because, usually,
it hasn't,” Benbcn told the Daily News
of Los Angeles.
In the George Lucas-produced farce
set in 1939, Benbcn plays a radio net
work writer who tries to win back his
estranged wife (played by Mary Stuart
Masterson).
The 38-year-old actor from HBO’s
sitcom “Dream On” is the latest televi
sion actor to make the jump to films.
j
Bush takes shots
at Dana Carvey
NEW YORK (AP) — George Bush
docs a dead-on Dana Carvey.
The former president opened “Sat
urday Night Live” with a few shots at
Carvey’s impersonations of him during
the Bush years in the White House.
“Do I have any hard feelings about
that? Yes I do, and I’ll have my revenge
when the time is right,” Bush joked.
“Not now. Wouldn't be prudent at this
juncture. But revenge will be mine.”
Bush, on tape from his home in
Texas, refused to end his introduction
with the “Live from New York, it's Sat
urday Night" line that opens every show.
“First of all. I'm in Houston,
wouldn't be true. And secondly, just not
something 1 do,” Bush said.