ard Some people can’t help but live their life in limbo Theatre crew brings light to the darker side of growing old Schreiber itor Jay Sa arts hat happens when life loses its lustre? Where do you find direction when you’ ve been running in circles? How do you cope with looking back and seeing yourself only steps away from the starting line? In John Shanley’s play, Savage In Limbo, the protagonist in the story is trying to find her way off of the treadmill she’s been running on her entire life. Set in Little Italy, New York, the story takes place on a Monday night in a local pub where several people of the same age find themselves to be similar in more ways than they first thought. Denise Savage, a 32-year-old virgin living with her shut-in mother, goes out to have a good time and escape her otherwise boring existence when she runs into Linda, an old classmate from high school who enters the bar in tears. Linda is having a tough time with her lover, Tony Aronica and in an effort to soothe her relationship woes takes comfort at the bar. The bartender, Murk, is a tough guy who likes order and keeps the rules of the bar intact regardless of other peoples’ agendas. His best customer, April, is an alcoholic who drowns her sorrows every night by sitting next to Murk and keeping him company. The cast all did a fantastic job in upholding the atmosphere of depressed Italian Americans who waste their lives being stuck in the same routine day in and day out. Notably, Tirra Dent had a great role as lost and directionally challenged Savage, and serving double duty as the play’s director as well. Her chemistry was accented by Bianca Spagnuolo’s portrayal of Linda, the feisty bitch-who temporarily 8 makes a friend in Savage before turning on her. Linda’s estranged boyfriend Tony was played with spunk by Carlen Escarraga, who had the perfect grease ball attitude filled with plenty of “Who da fuck are yoo!” Supporting roles of Murk and April were great for contrast as played by James Forrester and Emmelia Gordon. Emmelia, a graduate of Langara’s Studio 58, had excellent one liners playing a believable drunk whose second home was on her bar stool. Forrester portrayed a well-mixed bartender, who showed compassion for his number one customer and always made sure there was a drink in her hand. Behind the scenes, Heidi Quicke and Jordan Graham made sure the show went smoothly, never stumbling over lighting and sound cues. On the whole, the play was thoroughly enjoyable. The stage consisted of two tables and a bar, with the audience seated around the stage. In a theater-in- the-round style, the audience got to really connect with what was happening on stage because they felt like they were part of the action. The only downfall of the production was the often unavoidable threat posed by minimalism. Shanley’s writing has actors giving five minute monologues that leave the other players to stand around with little to do, partly due to the setup and lack of more props. However, despite the occasionally one-person show feeling that the crowd may have felt, the characters were well developed and focus never drifted away from the action. Savage In Limbo is a highlight that the Douglas arts community can be proud of this year. The next performances are scheduled for this spring, also featuring another John Shanly play, the /talian American Reconciliation. Catch it, or forever live your life stuck in limbo. By Jay Schreiber, Arts Editor lease tell me that it isn’t true. Tell P= that they’re all kidding and that this is some big practical joke. Conan O’Brien is being kicked off The Tonight Show for perhaps the most ridiculous reasons that anyone could imagine. It all started about two weeks ago, when NBC announced that Leno’s prime time 10 p.m. slot was being canceled due to lack of ratings and for that matter an audience. The following rumors from NBC were that Conan would be pushed back to his original 12:35 time slot, and Leno would take over The Tonight Show again. What bullshit! I find it hard to believe that NBC, a failing television network, really believes that their savior lies within the psyche of Jay Leno and that restoring him to the host of The Tonight Show will really fix anything. By doing that, I think NBC might just find themselves back in the stone age and may fold with no chance of competing with other major networks. The reason is simply because Leno isn’t funny. He used to be a decent host in his younger years, but unlike wine, his age has exposed him for the talentless skunk-haired chin he is. His version of The Tonight Show was never anything to write home about, it contained the same drivel night in and night out and whenever it got stale, NBC would throw a few thousand dollars into a new set for Leno to bomb in. Leno’s side guys were not much help to the show either. Kevin Eubanks always played the character of the pothead band leader and John Melendez was just a stuttering brown nose who hung off of Jay’s every word. Pushover! NBC drops Conan, and with it goes the network’s last great crusader Changes to late night television will inevitably hurt ratings Not to mention Leno’s guests, such as the generic sports icon of the month, or Dana Carvey who whenever he came out had no problem repeating every SNL sketch he was in during the ‘80s. Conan’s shows, on the other hand, were actually entertaining to watch and fun for everyone in the audience. His monologue featured such things as the dancing pants or the “hair shot” and whenever things got dull (which was rare) the band was an easy target to squeeze jokes out of. Conan’s guests were original and made the most of the time on his show, such as Will Ferrell “Leno isn’t funny. He used to be a decent host in his younger years, but unlike wine, his age has exposed him for the talentless skunk-haired chin he is.” who came out once dressed in character as Robert Goulet. Conan also brought back the idea of having a right hand man by sitting with Andy Richter, a funny man who never let a dull moment pass and could be counted on for comic relief. O’Brien’s characters and small skits were ridiculously funny and original —just think of the Masturbating Bear. Leno has been cold for a decade and should consider retiring from television altogether. What NBC is doing to Conan is not fair, nor is it good for late night television. O’Brien told NBC to go fuck themselves and rejected the offer to be pushed back to 12:35. In backlash, the network had no other option than to pay out 32.5 million dollars for Conan’s contract, plus an additional 7.5 million to people who have worked with O’Brien over the years. Conan essentially fought the system and won, but at the cost of keeping decent late night talk shows alive. From now on, my television stays off after 11 p.m. on weeknights, and I strongly suggest that everyone else to do the same in an attempt to preserve what we can of our brain cells.