Arts ©Entertainment
Friday, February 17,1995 Page 9
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Romanian revolt
explored in play
By Paula Lavigne
Theater Critic
“It” is going to happen.
Hidden behind masks of
paranoia and fear, Romania
waits for It. But when It comes,
will they be able to adapt?
It is December 1989, the
revolution and the overthrow
of the dictatorship of Nicolae
Ceausescu.
It is playwright Caryl
Churchill’s “Mad Forest” pre
sented by the University The
atre Thursday night.
“Mad Forest” mixes reality,
symbolism and the supernatu
ral in three parts — before,
during and after the revolu
tion. Between the realism, the
play breaks for testimonial in
terviews conducted by
Churchill while in Romania.
Romania was a history les
son in fiction that built up to
Dec. 21,1989, when chaos took
over. The revolution “of sorts”
changed the face of Romania
forever, but no one knew whose
revolution — or coup — it was
— the people’s or the army’s.
Much of the pre-revolution
“Mad Forest” steps right out of
George Orwell’s “1984.” The
interrogation of a peasant by a
member of the Securitate, the
secret police, shows the intimi
dation and fear wielded like an
iron bar.
The storyline follows mainly
two families, and actors often
play more than one character.
The play is so entrenched in
history and politics, hdwever,
that sometimes the audience can
get lost within a web of words.
Except for a small slump in
the second act, the actor’s per
formances were victorious. Each
one was a ticking time bomb
full of suppressed frustration
toward the government and each
other.
See MAD FOREST on 10
‘Firecracker’ fails
to ignite any sparks.
By John Fulwider
Theater Critic
It’s sad when good perform
ers get saddled with bad mate
rial.
That was the case at
Wednesday’s sneak preview of
“The Miss Firecracker Contest”
at Lincoln Community Play
house. The performers, sets and
lighting design were superior.
But the plot left a lot to be
desired.
The play, written by Beth
Henley and directed by Judith
Hart, explores the attempts of
Camelle (Sara Bucy) to prove to
the world that she is pretty and
talented by winning the Miss
Firecracker contest on the
Fourth of July.
To win, Camelle must over
come her reputation as a “hot
tamale” following her indis
criminate choice of bedmates
and subsequent contraction of a
sexually transmitted disease.
As the play opens, Camelle
is practicing the routine she
hopes will get her first prize:
tap dancing to “The Star
Spangled Banner.” Presumably
this, along with many other
scenes in the play, was sup
posed to be funny. But this scene,
along with many others, simply
wasn’t funny.
The lack of humor in the
play (advertised as “very funny”)
certainly wasn’t the fault of the
actors and actresses. With one
See FIRECRACKER on 10
Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
The Brady Bunch jumps to the big screen this weekend.
Old, new films fill theaters
From Staff Reports
It’s Oscar time, and a busy
weekend for Lincoln movie the
aters. Three new features arrive
today, and a couple of Oscar
nominated films are returning to
the first-run screens.
Leading the pack of new films
is “Just Cause,” starring Sean
Connery and Laurence Fishbume.
A man is forced to give a confes
sion, and a lawyer (Connery)
comes out of his 25-year retire
ment to get him off the hook, but
soon finds himself over his head.
The glut of TV-series movies
continues with a big-screen ver
sion of “The Brady Bunch,” with
“Cheers” alum Shelley Long
heading up the cast as Carol
Brady.
These are the same ’70s-type
Brady characters we watched as
kids, but they are now in a ’90s
world, facing the same problems
— in the same apple-pie way —
they did years ago.
For the kids, “Heavyweights”
is the third and final new film.
This one looks at a camp ofheavy
set kids who have always been
picked on, but now they are going
to fight back.
The Academy Award nomi
nations came out Tuesday, and
some of the more heavily-nomi
nated films are being re-released
to the first-run theaters. Two films
nominated for Best Picture, Best
Director, and Best Supporting Ac
tor have returned; “Quiz Show”
is at the Plaza 4, while “Forrest
Gump” — which received a
whopping 13 nominations —
opens at the Lincoln 3 and the
East Park 3. “Nell,” with Best
Actress nominee Jodie Foster,
lands at the StarShip 9 today.
‘Figaro’ a wonderful marriage
By Jeff Randall
Theater Critic
Thursday night’s premiere of
the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln School of Music’s production
of“The Marriage of Figaro” helped
justify the opera’s 200-plus years
of existence.
The combination of strong act
ing, beautiful singing and jolting
music left the audience at Kimball
Recital Hall so entertained that the
3 1/2-hour opera seemed to pass by
all too quickly. “Figaro” is one of
the best works by one of history’s
greatest composers, Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, and this produc
tion does it justice.
Kenneth Floyd, in the title role
of Figaro, was a constant source of
energy. Every moment he spent
onstage was one worth watching.
Playing opposite Floyd was
Tamara Ensrude as his bride-to
be, Susanna. Ensrude’s voice and
actions instantly demanded atten
tion. Their chemistry was immea
surable; their connection was un
deniable in every moment they
spent together on stage, from the
opening scene until the closing.
Eric Strong’s name seemed very
appropriate in his role of the Count,
a domineering father figure. His
booming voice and large stature fit
his character perfectly in the first
act. Those same traits came to serve
as ironic when he found himself
outwitted and outdone, by those
who he at first controlled.
But despite all of these excel
lent performances, it was Laurie
Lashbrook’s character of the
Countess that stole the show.
Lashbrook did a superb job in re
vealing the gradual transformation
of the Countess from a subservient
housewife to a woman in control ol
her life.
The rest of the cast held its own,
often grabbing the audience’s at
tention away from the principal
characters and earning it.
The UNL Orchestra, under the
direction of Tyler White, provided
beautiful background sounds. But
their aural presence was often of
such strength that it took the spot
light from the visually accessible
performers on the stage.
Stage director William Shomos
has done a terrific job in coordinat
ing the potential chaos of frequently
intricate scenes. The hectic confu
sion in the opera’s wedding day
setting is a difficult thing to con
trol, but Shomos’ direction com
bined with supreme efforts by the
entire cast, maintained the neces
sary focus.
“The Marriage of Figaro” is a
top-shelf production. For opera
novices, it is an excellent opportu
nity to discover the art form. For
those more familiar, it is an oppor
tunity to see a world-class produc
tion with roots that are close to
home. The second and final perfor
mance will be this Sunday at 8 p.m.
in the Kimball Recital Hall. Tick
ets are available at the Lied Box
Office, $12 for adults, and $6 for
students and seniors.
_
Polecat plays tonight
From Staff Reports
Polecat will be bring their
unique personalities and style
of music to the stage tonight at
Knickerbockers, 901 0 St.
Bassist Brendan Blaha de
scribes the band’s music as
somewhere between emotional
melodic punk and rock and roll.
The band is currently divid
ing its time among writing new
material, giving Lincoln shows
and recording songs for various
compilations
They are focusing most of
their attention on their split 7
inch record with Sunbrain, a
band from South Carolina.
But for now, the band is con
tent to play the Lincoln clubs.
Blaha particularly is looking
forward to tonight’s show, be
cause it will be the band’s first
time working with opening act
Puggy
“Jon (Hischke, Puggy bass
ist) and I are good friends,”
Blaha said, “and I have wanted
to play with him for a long
time.”
On Saturday night,
Chicago’s Agatha and St.
Nickelhead will play at
Knickerbockers.
The Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th
St., will feature Gullibanque
tonight and Carolyn Wonder
land & the Imperial Monkeys
Saturday night.
The Sissies will play tonight
at Le Cafe Shakes, 1418 O St.
And tonight at the Hurri
cane, 1118 0 St., the L.A. Ram
blers will play. Rascal Basket,
Wide and Blaster will play at
the club Saturday night. Kiss
cover band Strutter will play
Sunday night at a 19-and-over
show.
Lie Awake will be play in the
Centennial Ballroom at Ne
braska Union Saturday night.
That show will be an all-ages
show, free with a student ID and
$3 without.
