‘Marvin’s Room’ delights
Play shows hilarious portrait of family
By Bret Schulte
Theater Critic
After receiving attention on both
coasts - first as an off-Broadway
sensation, and then in Hollywood as
a critically acclaimed motion picture
- “Marvin’s Room” has moved to
Lincoln.
Having premiered last Thursday,
the show will run Thursday through
Sunday at the Futz Theatre, 124 S.
Ninth St. •
For those who didn’t make it to
the New York staging, or who missed
the quiet release of the movie,
“Marvin’s Room” is a hilarious and
sad story of two sisters whose sepa
rate and lonely lives converge when
one requires a bone marrow trans
plant.
The play catches up to Bessie,
who has spent the last 20 years of her
life caring for her bedridden father,
Marvin, and an eccentric soap-opera
junkie aunt, Ruth.
Bessie feels sick herself when
she learns that she suffers from
leukemia - the same disease that
killed her mother - and sends for her
younger sister, Lee, whose adoles
cent rebellion began a 20-year
estrangement from the family.
While the frumpish Bessie devot
ed her life to her ailing family, the
light-hearted Lee married a motorcy
cle-riding masochist whose abuse
forced her to leave him, and raise her
two boys on her own.
Now 17, Hank, the older boy, is in
a “loony bin” (as the family calls it to
show they have a sense of humor
about the situation) for burning down
the bouse. This forced Lee and
Charlie, the younger son, to move to
a nearby convent where Charlie lives
in a silent world of paperback novels,
and Lee helps bake Communion
hosts.
Hearing that Bessie needs a
match for a bone marrow transplant,
Lee pulls herself and her sons of their
respective institutions to visit their
long-estranged Florida relatives.
Despite the solemn plot,
“Marvin’s Room” is a play that caus
es embarrassingly loud outbursts of
laughter while conveying the touch
ing re-acquaintance of two opposites
who happen to be sisters.
While the story does not promise
rainbow endings, it is a true and real
istic tale of the importance of family,
and the humor and humanity inher
ent in even the most desperate cir
cumstances.
Plays as poignant as “Marvin’s
Room” offer a veritable buffet for
hungry acting talent, and once again
Lincoln’s underestimated acting
community has brought an incredi
ble and convincing performance to
fellow residents and theater enthusi
asts.
The highlight of this play by far is
the elderly oddball Aunt Ruth - per
fectly cast with Connie Dillow,
Lincoln’s very own Jessica Tandy.
Playing a character who dresses up
as a bridesmaid to celebrate a soap
opera wedding, and whose electrode
implanted brain periodically opens
the garage door, Dillow is a constant
laugh as she executes her character
with comedic brilliance and spright
ly energy.
Hank, the tortured young man
who shirks from any human contact
- physical or emotional L is played
by Adam Michael Carr (with some
help from James Dean). |A striking
stage presence, Carr creates a sullen
character who provides an anchor of
angst in a world of denial, humor and
inconsistency. The young actor pos
sesses enough insight into his char
acter to know when not to look Lee in
the eye, and how to have a tantrum
without acting selfish.
Much of the play’s charm comes
from the unabashedly tacky Lee, an
inspired hair dresser with a
Jazzercise wardrobe and
Bananarama facial. Actress Val
Devoe embraces the role with a gen
erous amount of anger dnd humor
that succeeds in validating Lee as a
misguided - although loving - moth
er trying to maintain a sense of sani
ty
The Futz again has managed to
pull off an amazing production with
the absolute minimum of resources
(at most, a bench and phone table
grace the stage) and simultaneously
maximize the audience’s involve
ment.
The intimacy of the crowded
Futz stage room amplified the power
of one of the decade’s most endear
ing and honest portraits of the
American family. And as long as it
appears in that crowded room,
“Marvin’s Room” may be the biggest
family room in town.
Tickets to the show are $10.65,
with performances running
Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.
and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Call 435
6307 for more information.
- - ■ ■ l===^.i i. -.—
__ _ __ . * . MaryAnn Muggy/DN
MEMBERS OF CAROLYN’S MOTHER brought down the house at The Brass Rail Saturday. From left are Drew Hodgson,
Rhett Lee and Colin T. Burke. Not pictured is Jeff Gust.
Carolyn’s Mother heats up crowd
on chilly night with sizzling show
By MaryAnn Muggy
Music Critic
I don’t know what you were doing
Saturday night, but if you weren’t at The
Brass Rail, you missed out on one
incredible show.
The Denver-based band Carolyn’s
Mother sent an already frenzied crowd
over the boiling point on this cold
September night.
Carolyn’s Mother took the stage
about 11:30 p.m. and quickly proved
why it has a small cult following in
Colorado, Iowa and, now, Nebraska.
About 20 people drove from Omaha
just to see diem.
The sound of Carolyn’s Mother is
hard to describe, but it is something that
you will never forget. It has been called
no heavier than Live and no lighter than
the Cure, but that is only half of it. Each
of the four members is polished and,
together, they create a package that fits
together perfectly. Carolyn’s Mother can
seamlessly switch from hard-driving
rock to softer sounds.
The lead singer, Rhett Lee, com
pletely dominates the crowd with his
stage presence and powerful voice.
Throughout the night Lee often jumped
from the stage and traveled through the
crowd, much to the delight of the
screaming fans. At one point, Lee even
grabbed a ladder, climbed atop and
crooned from his lofty heights. His
voice was strong and clear and barreled
across the crowd even though the batter
ies on his mike were going low.
Guitarist Drew Hodgson’s playing
is a wonderful companion to Lee’s
voice. Hailing from Manchester,
England, Hodgson adds a British twist
to the music and helps make it stand out
from other bands.
Bassist Colin T. Burke and drum
mer Jeff Gust complete the group and
provide a solid backbone for the amaz
ing band.
Together, they are Carolyn’s
Mother, a band quickly on its way to the
top. If the following I mentioned earlier
continues to grow at the rate it has been,
soon everyone will know and never for
get this incredible band.
If you happened to miss the show on
Saturday night, don’t worry. The group
will soon be back. There is rumor of two
shows in October.
Yes, it might be a little chilly to see
live music outside, but I promise you
will be warmed by the drive of that
music.
Guest musician gives
clarinet personal feel
By Liza Holtmeier
Senior Reporter
Denise Schmidt likens the clar
inet to the human voice because of its
versatility.
“The clarinet can ... have so
many different tone colors,” Schmidt
explained. “To me, it is the instru
ment closest to the human voice.”
Using this instrument, she said
she hopes to relate her music to the
audience of Kimball Recital Hall
tonight. Schmidt will perform at 8
p.m. as a guest artist of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln School of
Music.
Diane Cawein, a UNL professor
of clarinet, is sponsoring the perfor
mance. Cawein met Schmidt at
Florida State University, when
Schmidt was one of the top FSU play
ers and Cawein was an underclass
man. Schmidt became a role model
for Cawein, and they kept in close
association after college.
Now, the two have guest-artist
opportunities for each other. In
exchange for Schmidt’s performance
tonight, Cawein will travel to the
Southern Appalachian Clarinet
Retreat in January as a guest of
Schmidt.
Schmidt began playing the clar
inet in seventh grade while growing
up in Brandon, Fla. When it came
r ■
time to go to college, Schmidt chose
FSU as her school and music as her
major. 1 . * *
“There was nothing else I could
do and be happy,” Schmidt said.
The musician went on to finish
her master’s work at the University of
Northern Texas - now called the
University of North Texas. Currently,
she teaches at Mars Hill College, in
North Carolina, and performs with
the Asheville Symphony and the
Missouri Chamber Orchestra.
Cawein said some highlights of
tonight’s performance would include
Leo Weiner’s “Hungarian Dance,”
and work from the opera “La
Traviata,” by Giuseppe Verdi.
Schmidt also will perform works
by A. Goedicki, Donato Lovreglio
and Felix Mendelssohn. Cawein and
pianists Nicole Narboni and Mark
Clinton will accompany Schmidt.
Cawein describes Schmidt’s play
ing as a very personal experience.
“She’s a very musical player, and
she has a lot of ideas within herself
that she brings out with her playing,”
Cawein said. “When you listen to any
musician, you don’t want to come out
saying, ‘What a great clarinet play
er! ’ You want to come out thinking,
‘Oh, what a great musician!”’
from Austin, Texas
The Derailers
Great
Buck Owens style
Country Swt
1 THE MOOSE’S TOOTH SLIDE SHOWS & EVENTS I
outdoor sports & travel Oct 2 Thursday
North Face sponsored slide show V
7:30 pm Lincoln store I
Oct 3 Friday
t North Face sponsored slide show
7:00 pm Omaha store
Oct 4 Saturday
Grand Opening of New Location
10:00 am Omaha store
___ Oct 13 Monday
I 50 Classic Climbs slide show
7:30 pm Omaha store I
| Oct 14 Tuesday
>- 50 Classic Climb slide show I
Bring 1 can of food for entry. _ 7:30 pm Lincoln store |
.. .
3321 Pioooora Bhrd.
488-2101
427 Sooth 13th
|il435-^p4||.
What a ride"1.
