Arts ©Entertainment
Tuesday, September 12, 1995 Page 9
K
( '
I
Doug Kouma
_
Coolness
a ‘skate’
of mind
I was cool once.
Out there on the open road, the
wind in my hair, going where the day
took me...
... no skate key dangling ‘round
. this neck.
Yup. In 1984, there wasn’t much
cooler on my block than roller skating
(‘cept the new kids next door).
I had on my brand spankin’ new
shoe skates, fresh out of the J.C.
Penney’s catalog. After what seemed
like weeks, they had finally arrived,
and I couldn’t help but feel that I had
arrived, too. Finally, I would be able
to skate with the best of ‘em. No more
of those clamp-on, metal slippers of
death for me. Iron maidens, as it were.
As I stepped off the porch and
glided down the driveway onto the
sidewalk, I couldn’t help but notice
how quietly the red rubber wheels
glided over the pavement. I couldn’t
help but notice now snug and secure
the shoes felt around my feet.
I couldn’t help but notice how I
1» didn ’ t crash and get a nosebleed going
over every other crack in the side
walk.
I skated faster and faster, laughing
in the face of danger. Stones, twigs
and small animals were crushed under
*' my power. I couldn’t be derailed. My
new skates had a secret weapon, some
thingmy old metal skates could never
offer.
Stoppers.
I sped down the block, hoping the
neighbor kids were peering out their
windows, watching the blur of blue
and red I had surely become. No longer
could they scoff. No longer could they
look askance. Ha! Who among them
would dare call me “that metal skate
boy” now!
The flower bed at the far end of our
cul-de-sac was in sight. Surely, this
was the fastest any kid on my block
had ever skated. The passing air roared
in my ears. My “Go for the Gold, L.A.
’ 84" T-shirt pressed tightly to my chest
in the gale. The cars on the nearby
highway seemed to crawl in compari
son.
My legs burned, my lips chapped.
Still, I yearned for more speed. I gave
one final push, all that I could muster.
Then, exhausted and hurting, crouched
downwith hands resting on my knees,
I coasted toward my final destination.
Judging the distance carefully, I waited
until the last possible moment.
And I applied the stoppers.
Long story short — whoever de
cided that suddenly pressing a little
rubber doughnut hole to the pavement
was a good way to stop a speeding
child wasn’t experiencing one of his
or her brighter moments.
Not that they didn’t work. I stopped
all right, albeit not quite as suavely as
I would have liked.
In retrospect, “that metal skate boy”
has a nice ring. More than “Scabby
Doo,” anyway.
Dong Koanu is a senior news-editorial
major aad the Daily Nebraskan arts & en
tertainment editor.
Send your “Deja Vu” to the Daily
Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400
R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448 or e
mail dn@unltnfo.unl.edu.
Courtesy of Savoy Pictures
Anthropologist Lillian Sloan (Barbara Hershey), and bounty hunter Lewis Gates (Tom Berenger), discovers place lost in time
deep in the Montana wilderness in “Last of the Dogmen.”
‘Dogmen’ fetching tale of lost tribe
By Cliff A. Hicks
Film Critic
Hope that “Last of the Dogmen” is not first
time director Tab Murphy’s last effort, for it truly
is a captivating film.
With a complex story line, “Last of the
Movie
Review
Dogmen is a tale of a group
of Native Americans living in
the wilderness undiscovered,
a rugged cowboy story and a
story of the struggle to come
to peace with one’s self.
All of these aspects com
bine into a dramatic film that
should earn several Oscar
nominations, as well as audi
ences’ approval.
Tom Berenger (“Maior
League, Platoon ) plays Lewis Gates, a bounty
hunter who is drunk as much as he is sober, and
still blames himself for the death of his wife.
Gates is hired to find three escaped convicts
by the town sheriff—his father-in-law—played
convincingly by Kurtwood Smith (“Boxing Hel- ,
cna”). SheriffDeegan has not forgiven Gates for
the loss of his daughter.
When Gates finally catches up with the con
victs, all he finds are some shreds of cloth, a spent
shotgun shell and an arrow, all of which are
coated in blood.
The arrow eventually leads him to Lillian
Sloan, played by Barbara Hershey (“Beaches”),
an anthropologist who focuses on Native Ameri
can culture. The arrow markings belong to a
group known as the Dogmen, a division of the
Cheyenne, who have been gone for years.
Gates convinces Sloan to go searching with
him for this mythical group. That’s where the
story gets good—they actually find a group of
Dogmen.
The up-and-coming leader of the Dogmen,
Yellow Wolf, played by Steve Reevis, does not
initially like the intruders. Reevis, who has very
little dialogue since none of the Dogmen speak
any English, is intimidating by his very presence
alone.
Both Berenger and Hershey captivate with
magnificent performances. Berenger is flawless
in his depiction of a rugged mountain cowboy,
noon shadow and all, with that faint touch of
hangover always lingering. His gruff tone, his
£ m
f *
Film: “Last of the Dogmen”
Stars: Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey,
Kurtwood Smith, Steve Reevis
Director: Tab Murphy
Rating: PG
Grade: A
Five Words: Oscar-contending drama of
hope
walk and his appearance all scream trailblazer.
Hershey seems slightly out of place in the
wilderness, as her character should. Her dream
comes true and the audience can see the stars in
her eyes.
The other character who is much in need of
mention isZip, Gates’ dog. It may sound silly, but
Zip is what a sidekick should be—friendly and
„ See DOGMEN on 10
Playhouse successful again with ‘Annie’ 7
By John Fulwider
Theater Critic
Everyone’s favorite perky red
head returns in “Annie Warbucks,”
the delightful musical sequel to the
Broadway and film hit, “Annie.”
“Annie Warbucks” is set in mid
1930s New
York, picking up
where “Annie”
phan.isnow hap
pily living with
her adoptive bil
lionaire father,
OliverWaibucks
(RexHolsapple).
But trouble always seems to fol
low Annie around. It’s not long be
fore trouble shows up in the form of
Commissioner Doyle (Myrna
Robbins),seems the Department
of Child does not allow
single people to adopt children.
This presents a problem for the
happily single (and old) Oliver
Warbucks. Commissioner Doyle
gives him 60 days to find a wife, and
if he doesn’t, Annie must return to
the orphanage.
As Warbucks searches for the
perfect wife, Annie does her best to
fix him up with his secretary, Grace
Farrell (Shari Yanak).
But Warbucks is interested in
Doyle’s assistant, Mrs. Kelly
(Kristipher Filarski). And there’s
more to the widowed Mrs. Kelly
than meets the eye.
White gives a flawless perfor
mance as Annie. Her singing out
shines the entire cast, and her facial
expressions and acting perfectly
match the film image of her charac
ter.
Robbins is perfect as the frumpy
Commissioner Doyle. She’sgrumpy,
rude and loud — just like you’d
expect a New York City official to
be.
Yanak, as the elegant and re
doubtable Grace Farrell, nearly
steals the show. Her stage presence
is quite strong; even when she says
nothing, she draws attention. Farrell
is one of the underdogs in the story,
so it’s easy to root for her.
The play was thoroughly enter
taining. Unfortunately,it was marred
somewhat by a number of technical
problems that detracted from what
could have been a nearly flawless
performance.
The biggest problem was with
the sound system. Nearly every char
acter used wireless lapel micro
phones, which were poorly placed.
Every time the actors turned their
heads away from the microphones,
their voices were drowned out by
the orchestra. And the presence of
only two small speakers to cover the
entire playhouse contributed to the
problem.
There were .high points in the
Play: Annie Warbucks
Company: Lincoln
Community Playhouse -
Director: Donald-Brian
Johnson
Grade: B
Five Words: Everyone’s
favorite orphan’s
continuing adventures
technical production, however. Most
impressive was a shadow screen
during a scene in Commissioner
Doyle’s office. While Mrs. Kelly
sangabouther life in HeU’sKitchen,
the shadows of other actors were
projected onto a screen, illustrating
See ANNIE on 10