March 12, 1994 Other Press ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Earnest a Blissfully Wilde Night at the Theatre By Jason Kurylo What can you say about Oscar Wilde? I spent a blissful night in the con- fines of North Vancouver's Presentation House Theatre last Saturday. It was the closing night of The Importance of Being Ear- nest. The third installment of the West Coast Masterclass Showcase series, Ear- nest delivered. I must admit, before this show, I had not been familiar with Wilde's play, which many regard to be one of the funniest works in the English language repertoire. This is one short- fall I should have dealt with years ago. Being Oscar Wilde, it is a period piece. Set in late 19 century England, Earnest deals with two men who have taken to false identities to escape their boring lives. Their lies, of course, catch up with them, and the results are hilari- ous. Luckily, the Masterclass troupe was well up to the challenge. Shawn Mcdonald, recognized by many Vancouverites as “that TheatreSports guy,” led the way with a nearly flawless comic turn as John Worthing, J.P. (a.k.a. Earnest). Recently, Mcdonald was hon- oured with a Jessie nomination for his work in Paradise and the Wasteland. He showed why here. Along with the Improv credits, Mr. Mcdonald will be seen later this month at theArts ClubTheatre in his ownWorld’s Greatest Guy, co-written with Gary Jones. ’ Alan Campbell turned in a good per- formance as Algernon Moncrieff, and complimented Mcdonald quite nicely. A recent import from the Toronto theatre scene, Campbell brought the Bunburying Algy a wonderful mix of pomposity and foolishness. Silver Brobst, now off to the El Paso Theatre Festival in Texas, provided an exquisite love interest for Worthing, in the Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax. A huge crowd favourite was Allan Morgan, who played Ms. Fairfax’ mother, Lady Bracknell. He was recently seen in Toronto, Mississippi at U.B.C., and is quoted by Brobst as being the “tallest mother she’s ever had.” A-personal fave was Katey Wright as Cecily Cardew, Worthing’s seventeen year-old ward. Ms. Wright conveyed the endless energy and hopeless romanti- cism of a teenage girl perfectly. Her zestful performance was a delight to watch. Rounding out a superb cast was Merrilyn Gann, as the hapless Miss Prism, David B. Thomson, as the won- derfully nervous Dr. Chasuble, and Linda Quibell, who played three minor roles in Gribsby, Lane, and Merriman. Watch for Gann at Bard on the Beach this summer, and Quibell in her one-woman show, Salman Rushdie and Me. The cast was pulled together by a two-time Jessie nominee, Martin Millerchip. His direction was sublime, making the most of simple set design and the actors’ talents. All in all, I'd say the group did right _ by Mr. Wilde. There were only two or three moments when the actors’ accents missed the mark. Considering the piece, though, they more than made up for it through the sheer energy of their per- formance. Rumours have it that this production may be remounted later in the year. If this comes to pass, I highly recommend going. CONCERT REVIEW Alannah emer ny Alannah Myles February 12, 1994 es What does southern blues, the color black, and skimpy leather vests have in common? Alannah Myles came to Van- couver for the first time in two years to play the Commodore Ballroom on Fri- day, February 11 and Saturday. On entering the Commodore, I walked across a completely empty dance floor as the Midnight Jessabelles, a local Vancouver band, played there stuff. Not bad, not different, not exciting, DEFFINATELY not the right environ- ment. The second band (“playing to stall Alannah” seemed to be the attitude to- wards both the opening acts) was the Young Saints originally from Newfound- land. These guys play some fairly hip funk rock and roll. The Saints didn’t come off as a unique band in any sense, but they are all talented musicians. There generally commercial repititious chorus lines did spark some dance in quite a few people; the dance floor did finally fill. They ended their set with an “eroti- cally funky” jam session that was highly _ technical and very cool. Finally Alannah marched onto the stage, topped of with what looked like a police cap. She brought the house to their feet when she cried “I’m gonna get on my rocking horse... anyone want to ride with me?” The way she was dressed, one could feel the collective enlargement of hormones in the air. Her looks asside, Alannah and the gang played a fabulous show, covering all the singles off of both her albums. She screamed. kicked her feet, and gener- ally made the place feel like a bar in At- lanta. A point of note: watching the fa- cial expressions of her band members is highly entertaining...especially when her guitarist breaks a string These guy have played these songs so many times on her seemingly unending world tour that minor obsticalls like a broken string seem like an interisting input to the stage show. Alannah Myles - the traveling southern bar seen. Entertaining show, great music - 7 of 10 rating on the Scotster Scale. Not Richard, But Dick Edited by Tara Meiklejohn THE DEAD MILKMEN w/ guests Possum Dixon @ The Town Pump Saturday, Feb.26 Doors at 8pm Show at 10:30pm Philadelphia’s Dead Milkmen have over the course of seven albums, established themselves as America’s brattiest of not most astute cultural observers. Their winning formula of obnoxiously funny lyrics over an anything and everything musical stew has earned them a devoted college following. Indeed, it’s hard to find anyone who didn’t have songs like Bitchin’? Camero, Beach Party Vietnam or You’ll Dance to Anything on some mixed party tape, somewhere. . The latest Dead Milkmen album, the Hollywood release Not Richard, But Dick introduced new ideas, but fortunately keeps the goofy quotient at a high level. Always a great live act, the Milkmen will pump the dance floor in a continuous maelstrom of motion. Timbre is proud to introduce Possum Dixon to the Vancouver audience. This much talked-about new group will release their debut album this spring. Tickets are available at Track, Scratch, Zulu, and Highlife Records and all Ticketmaster outlets. Charge by phone 280- 4444. See you there!!! - Gust 00 evergoue loro, 1 heafefeen te thinle that the felots stag did an excellant rab tn frroviding us with quality foicr this issue, The jabs at Glen on poage | were strictly tue fan. Good work, prerfde!! 9 love you guys. Keally, 7 do. Dear rtuastasia: The: for being patient, 7 me going to refly wet tasue Celtic punkers cre- ate unholy union Edited By Tara Meiklejohn THE POGUES w/ special guests The Commodore Ballroom March 24&25 (thursé&fri) With the release of their debut al- bum, Red Roses For Me, The Pogues, al- most single handedly, revived an inter- est in the sound of traditional Celtic music. By creating an unholy union between the irreverent attitude and en- ergy of punk, their infectious sound quickly captivated the world. In doing so, they have spearheaded a move- ment of sorts that is far reaching and can be heard in groups like The Waterboys, The Wonderstuff Vancouvers own Spirit of the West. This movement serves as a testa- ment to the continuing vitality of tradi- tional music forms and their ability to survive in a modern music context. Over their twelve year history, the and REVIEW Fast pickin’ style of tunage DICK DALE & THE DELTONES w/ Surfdusters and the Falcons The Commodore Ballroom Thurs. Feb. 3 reviewed by Markus Waidelich Although Dick Dale has been around for almost thirtyfive years playin’ a mean axe, most people have never heard of the King of Surf Guitar. This man is cred- ited for inventing this bitching’, light- . ening fast pickn’ style of tunage. With this in mind, I headed down to the Commodore on ey spec- tacular Granville Mall. The place was almost completely ‘empty when the first band, the Falcons started their set. What a great band!! They were so in tune with each other that I almost cried. It was mellow surf with a little bit of blues thrown in for good measure. The music picked me up and transported me far away from the Commodore to somewhere in Ari- zona and dropped me into a‘51 Chevy peacefully cruising down the hardpan. After about and hour of aural bliss I found myself back in Vancouver... The Surfdusters were totally differ- ent. They committed sacrelige against surfdome by playing a keyboard, not a Hammond organ, and then had the balls to totally discrace Celtic folk as well, as they blundered through a horrendous tune... well. you get the picture. Some of thier actual surf tunes sounded not too bad. What can I say about Dick Dale That hasn't already been said? The guy just smokes on his gutar. Starting off with Nitro, he churned out song after song, melted pick after pick, told his fans they were now going to be called “Dickheads”, did a drum duet with the drummer, told a drunk man to mellow out and drummed on the bass. Songs like Caravan and Tribal Thunder just seared through the air. No one danced. Every- one just watched the master. What a show...man, what a show!! By Jason Kurylo After months of industry buzz, and weeks of familial pressures, I finally took in The Piano. Not surprisingly, I enjoyed t immensely. With a cast including Harvey Keitel, Holly Hunter, and Sam Neill, the Kiwi production promised to be intense and brilliant. And while it Hidn’t live up to the ‘brilliant’ expecta- ion, The Piano is definitely one of the most impres- sive films of the year. The Piano takes place in 17" Century New Zealand, _ and tells the Sam Neill in The Piano story of a mute mail-order bride wha only speaks through her beloved piano} (Thus the extremely original and in; volved title.) The telling of the tale is slow, at times, and most likely will no! be for the Steven Seagull-action set. It is however, beautiful to watch, and defi nitely worth your hard earned eigh bucks. Seen on a Tuesday, or soon at th¢ $2 theatres, The Piano is a huge bargain Hunter has already won a Golden Globe for her role, and quite possibly deserves an Oscar nod. Keitel, at first, y difficult to take in a role that doesn’t in volve mob-style violence. By the end o the movie, though, he had me conj vinced. Neill, as always, turns in a grea performance as well. My recommenda4 tion is to grab your closest loved one run to the theatre, and be prepared tq hold hands for two hours straight. And very possibly, to feel an uncontrollable urge to buy the soundtrack. Enjoy. Pogues have accomplished much. They have worked with Elvis Costello and Joe Strummer, toured stadiums with U2, and played their own shows to crowds of over 10, 000. In their past visits to Vancouver they have packed the house with a crowd who have come for only one thing; a good time. To the Pogues credit, they have never left an audience without a collective smile on it’s face and for the Pogues, that is the greatest ac- complishment of all. The Pogues eighth release, Waiting for Herb is the first release since the depar- ture of singer Shane McGowan. It is the strength of the songs and the beautiful vocals of Spider Stacey that show the depth of talent in this group, and prove that they are much more than a one man show. Tickets are available at Track, Zulu, Scratch, Highlife Records and all Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone 280-4444.