uly 8, 1991 the Other Press The Phantom Picks Your Pocket While You Watch the Lightshow Wow, I finally saw the hantom of the Opera. My life been completed. I can die appy now. e Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lioyd Webber starring Patti Cohenour and eff Hyslop directed by Harold Prince Queen Elizabeth Theatre lay 27 to October 23 Surely you know all about he Phantom. He’s here in ancouver and world hunger as been eradicated. Happy ittle children are dancing in the Btreet and all f right in the orld. What can really be said About the Phantom? Well... if vou like Andrew Lloyd Webber en you will like this. But if you Hon’t generally like Webber Hon’t bother. The Phantom of the Opera is pical Webber -lots of style but ittle substance. It’s kind of like atching TV or a big budget Ovie. It does indeed have a lot of ash and style. It really looks pood. The technical production s amazing. The sets can only be alled lavish and the overall effect is stunning. The story is your basic beauty and the beast... sort of. ou’ve got your beautiful (and alented) young woman and the ideous (on the outside) man ho loves her. However this beauty, Christine Daae, (Patti ohenour or June Crowley depending on when you go) is in love with Raoul (David Rodgers) as well as very attracted to the Phantom (eff Hyslop). Also the Phantom, nlike most “beasts”, is not quite sympathetic. He is a Robin the Hood Strikes Again ...continued from page 6 Df herself but after she meets Robin e falls to pieces. Nottingham (Alan Rickman) orces Marian to marry him. He is in le process of consummating his iage (raping Marian) when Robin leaps in to save the day. This scene is truly tastelessasitissupposed fo be funny. Not only does he save ian’ life he saves her virtue. The best things about the film bre Rickman and Freemon (and a Ragin’ Record Reviews Rather Righteous & Rockin, Ralph ...continued from page 5 he second is Talkin’ Blues, a ive album interspersed with nterview from a 1973 tour of America, the first for the ailers. A funny thing about hat tour was that they were ppening up for Sly Stone, the problem was the Wailers blew btone off the stage with their ynamic shows, thus they were Humped. Left with nowhere to ro, they began to play live, ywhere. Talkin’ Blues is a result of ose days and was originally ecorded for radio broadcast. Bob Marley’s' music rranscends cultural backrounds. e is as popular in San Francisco ss he is in Senegal. He is viewed with reverence a cultural hero and a symbol bf the Rastafarian religion, of hich he was a major proponent. genius who is hideously deformed but twisted inside. So far so good. Incredibly good effects, gorgeous costumes and an ok story. The voice of Whew! Not that Phantom photograph with them in the boat.... Hyslop is excellent. I was awonderful jobas did the rest or impressed by the strength of it: The matinee I saw featured June Crowley as Christine Phantom of the Opera is when instead of Patti Cohenour. (Christine is in virtually every It’s really pre-chewed and easily little cameo by someone Scottish who once played Robin Hood). Rickman over acts to the point of absurdity. Christian Slater does a pretty good job as Wil Scarlet -Slater knows how to do an accent unlike the star. Buried somewhere in this film isa story about greed. Warner Bros. is planning Robin Hood cereal, toys and all that stuff. Wasn’t there something in there some The rich musical legacy of Bob Marley has not gone unwasted. His equally talented progeny, all twelve are musicians carrying on the tradition. As long as there are people who listen to music, there will always be Bob Marley. May his music always live. Firehouse Not Bad Firehouse is a band of 4men with a basically good album. There music is vivacious with a solid drum beat and great guitar work. Firehouse reviewed by Alexandra Cordeiro However some of there lyrics.... well , I really just don’t like them. Rock On the Radio is your typical turn it on to overload, I’m gonna blow my speakers up tonight. song. scene and is an exhausting role. digestible. Sort of like Spam. As Because the show runssix nights long as you don’t think, you will a week with two matinees it is enjoy it. necessary for actresses to Somethings in the plot are alternate the part.) Crowley did never adequate explored. What is the hold the Phantom has over Christine? Your too busy taking in this huge spectacle to really care. There is virtually no sub-text. There is the growth of the character of Christine (who is one of the few characters who actually is a little more than two dimensional). Christine goes from mailable to semi- mailable. She stands up for herself finally A voice of intelligence has punctured a hole into the nearly impervious recepticle of vomitous waste that makes up most of what is called music these days. That voice belongs to Joe Jackson. Joe Jackson Wednesday, July 31 Orpheum previewed by Haroon A Khan His newest album, Laughter and Lust is a fine one, on par with ’89’s Blaze of Glory. The first single, The Obvious Song filled with his own angst filled lyrics to the catchy refrain: “You don’t have to be a hippie to believe in love, thats obvious.” Speaking of singles, the track hit single is simply hillarious: who need’s the whole album, just give me the hit single, which pretty much sums up the top 40 music scene. The rest of the album is up to snuff with all of Jackson’s other albums like Night and Day and Look Sharp. It’s a great album to check out. Now that you’ve heard about the album, guess what? He’s coming to town and he’s playing at the Orpheum on July 31 at the Orpheum with special guest Jill Sobule. Its destined to be an excellent show and after his last sold-out show at the Orpheum, too cliche. cast. The main problem with The you actually pay attention to it. where about robbing from the rich and giving to the poor? DiVinyls Coming I touch myself...indeed! The diVinyls, the name conjures up one image... well...one song, the ode to masturbation. And they’re coming... to Vancouver that is. July 14th at 86th St. Music Hall. Check it out. - HAK Lyrically, almost half of the songs are worth listening to. Basically it needs to be polished. However by the sounds of their other songs, they’re only going to get better. The band already has one top 40 single, Don't treat Me Bad”. What I also liked was Seasons of Change, an instrumental piece. Overall the album is really good. Danceable andlistenable. Godfathers Not Ready The Godfathers are trying to gain more of a classic rock audience on top of the college crowd. Only one problem — the singer can’t sing. Godfathers Unreal World Epic Records reviewd by Tim Crumley hiSSse ea MANIFE BEL Ss (4 / fd ij Me fé 4 “ih We Td Le haa The album is okay. They are known for their hard edged guitar, and it’s all there. Cool. in the end. It is an improvement over the typical “Oh no save me” heroine we see far too often, but not enough of one. Again the huge spectacle of this production takes away from this. The intimacy of theatre is lost in a sea of candles and costumes. “ou might as weu watch it on TV. If you have actually read all this and still want to know “is it good?” Yes it is. Very good, amazing even. “Is it worth $80?” Hell no! Jackson To Grace Coliseum which tore the house down, it would be more than a little advisable to rush out for tickets. Estefan Survives Car Crash, Comes To Vancouver Not many people thought that Gloria Estefan could return to the stage after she suffered a broken back in a bus crash that left her nearly unable to walk. But now she’s back with a new album, Into the Light, on Epic Records. And has launched an Into the light tour to support the album which is coming to Vancouver at the Pacific Coliseum on August 4th. Gloria Estefan August 4th Pacific Coliseum previewed by Haroon A Khan Thealbum’s title referring to her walking back into the light of performing after the nearly crippling accident. Of course the concert won’t bea show consisting of numbers like: “Ow, I broke my back, but now its healed, I can walk, gosh! wow! isn’t life wonderful...” type deals...Well...it might have a few of them but, the show will have Estefan doling out the hits from her early Miami Sound Machine days like the Conga, Anything for You and more. CONSUMED WEDNESDAY Wy 31 THE COMMODORE doors 8pm « show 10PM +; 16s available at Track and Zulu and all max=iJasremy, charge by phone 280-4444 outlets or A Perryscope Production