a eT Ty rere FE eR a RF ee me ee thee 10 Other Press June 8, 1994 Playhouse Struggles Through Another One Kurylo complains about big-time theatre yet again by Jason Kurylo I really tried to enjoy the latest of- fering from the Vancouver Playhouse, The Struggle of the Dogs and the Black. Alas, I can’t really say I did. There are some things that made it bearable. For example, Bill Dow’s por- trayal of a bridge-building foreman, Horn, was good. Despite redundant dialogue, and the unfortunate tendency of the script to avoid character interaction in favour of the ever-popular “Here-let-me-scream- a-ten-minute-monlogue-in-your-ear- then-it’ll-be-your-turn” approach, Dow managed to be somewhat believable. Most things, however, conspired against this translated French play. First and foremost was the irritatingly loud pseudo-African music played during scene changes. Look here! CONTEST! Here's the scoop. We're giving away a whack o' CDs, and a couple of those magical, mystical, yet strangely mythical OP T-Shirts. All you have to do is this. Now don't sweat, pal, because it's really easy, okay? Just write your NAME and your PHONE NUMBER on a sheet of paper and submit it to:CONTEST! at the OP room 1020, Douglas College. (Ask for directions from security, if you have to...) If you don't enter, you don't win. Fair? Even between intimate scenes, the Playhouse speakers exploded with mo- notonous screams and drums. The only decent representation of African music/sound during this night was the 15-minute musical interlude at intermission. As for the rest of the performers, here goes. Leona (Jennifer Clement) provided a few awkward comedic mo- ments, but spent most of the play try- ing to convince everyone she was an African at heart. This, while wearing heels in the tropics. Morris Panych trampled the stage doing a Dennis Hopper impression, in the role of Horn’s first mate, Cal. Nota bad Dennis Hopper impression, mind you, but a Dennis Hopper impression nonetheless. (I can’t even take credit for the comparison. A rather astute obser- vation by a patron seated behind me lik- Cool 'n' stuff Oornooz 4aqnomaZz20nh) MMMM WMachael’s Salon... 644-6th Street New Westminster requests the pleasure of your company. You will receive a 15 % discount on all services (chemical work not included) and retail products. All you need to do is produce a valid student card as ID. If your hair isn't becoming to you, you should be coming to us. For appointment. call Michael's Salon 522- I l 17 or 522-6530 ened the eternally whining Cal to Mr. Hopper.) It seemed the only purpose of Alvin Sanders was to stand tall and proud, and provide a token black character (Alboury). After all, the play was sup- posed to be situated in Africa. The premise of Struggle is this: Cal gets mad, and shoots anAfrican boy. He panics, and disposes of the body. Alboury is the dead boy’s brother, and requests to have the remains for a tribal ceremony. Cal begs for Horn’s help. Horn, though, wants all parties to rot in hell, so that he can make nice with his new ‘mail-order’ bride, Leona. Leona, of course, much prefers the mysterious Alboury to anyone else in the play. The unfortunate thing is that none of the actions, words, or inten- tions of any of the characters seem to have a point. I sincerely hope that I just missed the bus on this one, but I doubt it. A few quotes from other patrons, besides the ‘Hopper’ comment: “Well, it is better than that res- toration comedy they did.” - “Yeah, that was atrocious.” (During intermission) “I hope the second half has a point to it, for God's sake.” “T'm bored. Let's go.” Speaking of which, I’m outta here. I feel a little bad, because this is the third Playhouse re- view I’ve done, and all three have been negative. However, I can’t help what I feel. I give Struggle a 3'4 out of 10. Cal (Morris Panych) and Leona (Jennifer Clement) walk through a supposedly intense scene in Struggle of the Dogs and the Black World's Greatest Play at Granville Island by Jason Kurylo Forget the Vancouver Playhouse. One of the best productions in years to be put on in this burg is from last year’s Fringe. That play is World's Greatest Guy. Brilliantly written by Gary Jones and Shawn Macdonald for the 1993 Van- couver Fringe Festival, Guy is a scream. Both Jones and Macdonald star, with Ellie Harvey and Randy Schooley rounding out the cast. (All those names will sound familiar to TheatreSports fans...) It's educational (learn exactly what a chutey press is...), it’s deep (your brother probably wouldn’t approve of you seeing such a thing...), and, quite frankly, you'll never look at an electric razor the same again. The humour ranges from perfect social satire to downright silliness, but the result is what counts: it’s funny. It’s playing until July 16th, and is a little pricey, but it’s worth it. (Wednesdays at 5 pm is a 2-for-1 show.) Erikson Photo Gaye (Ellie Harvie) offers a few words of wisdom to confused bachelor Cooper (Gary Jones) in World's Greatest Guy, playing at the Arts Club Revue until July 16 Comic Thrills Crowd of Tens Cotter welcomed by Douglas throng... okay, it was more the size of a bridge club by Tim Crumley Simon B. Cotter is a wonderful and funny man. Unfortunately, all but 11 of you missed him. I didn’t. The DCSS went to a great expense to give Douglas stu- dents a peek at Cotter, an up- and-coming Canadian comic with some major attention not only from the CBC (who, with the endorse- ment of Kids in the Hall among others, are starting to look like they actually want good shows), but some big- ger American counterparts. He just finished a college tour of 110 shows, selling out 92 of them. He flew from Toronto just to play Douglas College. To twelve people. Twelve. I’ve seen more people hang- ing out in the washroom af- ter the Cafe serves bean burritos. Part of the problem was a hasty advertising strat- egy (I know a lot of people who didn’t know the show was happening, despite the VCR in the concourse playing Cotter’s routine). Part of the problem was the time. Most people don’t want to see God at the college on a Wednesday at 4:30. At any rate, the hall was.... well, empty. The worst part of it was that people missed out on a funny show. Cotter was delightful, and played to an audience of 12 as easily as he could 200, ora sell-out. He was great. tool: a grac cap. Hey, a comics gotta have a oliaalaniene right? But let’s start out from the very be- ginning The show opened at 4:30, with little fanfare, when the Other Press’ own Jason Kurylo opened the set. He was alright, does a good Connery, does a good Shatner, does a good Nicholson. I shouldn’t say too much more because you might think I've said all that just ‘cause I know him. Bug him in the halls and he may do it for you. Then Cotter opened. Both comics had to get used to playing for an empty house, which was made worse by the (crowd? Can’t call it a crowd) pathetic gathering, who sat all over the huge thea- tre. It was a miracle he even went on. But he was funny. Damn funny. I laughed a lot through his hour and a half set. He’s not a hate comic, like Andrew Dice Clay, so I got into him. His jokes are more about truths, instead of making fun of others. A lot of his material comes from his real life. He’s getting married in July (Congrats, Simon, from all of us here at the OP), and had a hilarious bit’ on his previous marital experience — being an usher. Other funny bits included ariff on the ExxonValdez oil spill and it’s relation to Ikea. I could go on, but it’s all funny. Cotter will be appearing on a special airing nationwide on CBC July 23 at 11:00 (pee-em). He'll also he back next semester with his‘Back on Campus ‘94’ tour, promising to be just as damn good as the first. If I were you (consider yourself lucky), I wouldn't miss those shows.