Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

'Cat on H< By HENRY GREEN Gamecock Staff Writer Halleluiah! Thp TTSP1 n*?rmrt ment of Theatre and Speech has redeemed itself. After an entirely forgettable production of Moliere's "The Imaginary Invalid," University Theatre has done an about-face and given a performance of Tennessee Williams' classic "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" ? a performance which should not easily be forgotten; it was simply excellent. The acting was sizzling, the costumes and the set made for a good atmosphere, and there were few, if any, flaws to be noticed in the whole production. Ilt has been said this Tennessee Williams play is something like a "Gone With the Wind" there are few people who don't have some K notion of what the story is all I] about. Set on a plantation in the Mississippi delta, in the steamy, m subtropical "deep" South, during I I the 1950s, the story deals with the I sixty-fifth birthday of Big Daddy, V the awesome owner of twenty-eight thousand acres of the most fertile land "this side of the Valley Nile." On this occasion the closest relatives of Big Daddy (played magnificently by Jim E. Quick) are gathered together under one roof. The fact that Big Daddy has hppn ill latplv unH mccihlu Vi?ac MVVII ??? tuvvij ui*u jyv/uui WIJ IIUU cancer affects each of the relatives differently. FOR EXAMPLE, Big Daddy's I favorite son, the alcoholic Brick (Harry Stockton), feels anguished by the news. A former football star and sports announcer, Brick has begun drinking to escape from all the lies ? the "mendacity" ? IJoltn Travolta and Karen G "Saturday Night Fever/' A nui Oscar nomination for best actor >t Tin Roof offers sup wue maggie iAnita Ashley), meanwhile, is childless. Brick cannot bring himself to have sex with his wife, even though she is extremely sexy. Gooper (Stanley Ashley), Brick's younger brother, and his wife Mae (Ann McDaniel) are part and parcel of the mendacity which has driven Brick to drink. The two cannot wait for Big Daddy to die so fttc&i />on niui iiivj k-uii gci men iicinud un ilia property, but in the meantime they literally fall all over themselves fawning on the old man with the hope that he will leave his ten million dollars and his thousands of fertile acres to them in his will, if he should decide to make out one. BUI mmMzmv THERE IS ALSO THE PROBLEM of Brick's shadowy homosexuality. Why doesn't Brick lust after his wife and desire to have sex with her? Then Maggie could bear the grandchild which Big Daddy, who, like Brick, is weary of the hypocrisy around him, wants so badly. Is Brick really homosexual, or is there orney disco to the beat of diber one soundtrack and an couldn't save a poor script. "> >erb acting another reason for his not sleeping with Maggie? Stuck right in the middle of this Southern soap opera setting is the iai, Deicning, Dig-bosomed Big Mama (Drucilla Brookshire), Big Daddy's wife. She is the mostupset of all by the prospect of Big Daddy's death, and by the bickering over his will. How all these characters interact, and how they allow their passions to smoulder and then boil over, is a delight to watch. It P3nnot hp ctroccoH onmioh fKof l->? V/Vft vuuvw vnvugu 11IQV II1C acting is, at least for the main characters, excellent. All the characters bear the burden of a thick Southern accent well, making that accent seem natural rather than forced and faked, as one might have feared. THE HAVING AND RANTING, the salty language and sexual references, both of which would make a sailor cover his ears and blush, cast doubts on the notion of sweet gentility found in the Hollywood magnolia-andhoneysuckle scenario of the South. Indeed, these Southern aristocrats, with their hot passions, act much like the poor whites of "Tobacco Rjad" and "God's Little Acre." However the characters act, the point is that the actors who played them played them well in Tuesday night's performance. University Theatre should receive acclaim for this Droduction. a gold star for a presentation which captures attention throughout. The play continues tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. in Longstreet Theatre. A Sunday performance is also scheduled for 3 p.m. Bad Movie t By BILL DOUGLAS Gamecock Staff Writer The Motion Picture Academy Awai are soon to be handed out on television of viewers. The night of the Acaden honor excellence in the film industr) superior acting. But what about the fi mentioned or even nominated? They recognition too. So to correct this great injustice dustry here is a list of some of the w< past year: THE BAI) NEWS BEARS ir TRAINING ? This film was a sever the fine first Bad News Bears fill Matthau and Tatum O'Neal whicl parent dominated world of Little L< "Breaking Training Training" was than a modern version of the "L relying on the personalities of the than the content of the script. Also Rascals," "Breaking Training" had i figure to match school marm' Miss ( name was William Devane. THE DEEP ? A very expensive ar vnntnrn \i;hinh *i/qo nalmarl r\ff fn stittrkv t viivui v ir iuvii vruo puuiivu U11 IV V/IIItl a whale of an underwater adventu more than a chicken of the sea. Ev Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset (my Wet T-shirt), and veteran actors R< Louis Gossett could not save this fil nominee for the Sominex film of th< THE CHOIRBOYS ? A movie policeman-turned-writer Joseph War New blue grass club By BARKY J. GLENN Entertainment Editor A new organization has just been established on campus for those persons interested in bluegrass and folk music. The USC Bluegrass and Folk Music Society has just received its charter and will hold its first meeting at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 27 in Room 301 of the Russell House. The club's president, David Hudson, said uic vn gam/.aiiwn ir> luuivuig iui anyone interested in bluegrass and folk music, whether they play an instrument or not. "At this first meeting we want to give the Carolina community a chance to see if they want this organization," said Hudson. "We will decide later what other avenues to go into." Hudson, a sophomore in accounting, has been playing banjo for 15 years and gives nothing more humor and high .ittle Rascals," fans he is a capab children rather capable guttermc like the "Little in authoritarian THE OTHER SI "rabtree ... his hard to swallow tl movie just to see a there, to make it id disappointing the Afternoon," na audiences as women interested re was nothing who could control en sex symbols one of the most I choice for Miss history. )bert Shaw and m. Definitely a THE EXORCIS ; Year. all-star dud with j so bad that a we ; so bad that nbaugh wants it V I ^^wants members with each other and maybe set up informal picking sessions." Hudson also expressed hope for setting up small concerts on the Russell House patio and possibly attracting professional musicians sometime in the future. "I don't want to presumptiously promise the Carolina community anything now, but these are some ideas I would like to see materialize," 11..,1 <iir n aaiu I1UU3UU. n mere are interested students who enjoy bluegrass and bluegrass festivals there is a possibility we could have a bluegrass festival here with people like Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley or Doc Watson." Hudson stressed that student interest will determine if the club survives or not. "We want persons who play banjo, fiddlers, doggers or just plain listeners, he said. "If we have | sufficient response we can have j a really good organization, but whether we do or not, I'll continue picking." st cannot be ignored milarity between his book and the cidental. Director Robert Aldrich :rude' a new meaning by adding gar language and just plain bad i. Another loser for actor Louis e who paid to see the film. no star Marilyn Chamber's first quite possibly her last. This flick i goodie in the 1950s or early sixties *nce fiction film fan became i their choice of films. In the era of "Close Encounters" it is hard to originating from someone's armpit. Not really a bad film, because ript displayed a lot of imagination le rough world of ice hockey, but it One of the better pictures with low cursing. Paul Newman shows his le ice skater as well as a more than iuth. DE OF MIDNIGHT ? Somehow its he idea of paying money to go to a i soap opera. All the essentials were a daytime spot on ABC's "Love in ? the handsome pilot, two lovely I in him and the rich and evil man anyone he wished to. The film had i ?* _i? _ i?i ? Lusieiess auornon scenes in movie >T II: TIIE HERETIC ? Another an all-star cast. "The Heretic" was ek after it was released the studio See BAD MOVIES, page 16 | banjo lessons. He hopes through I the new organization to I "acquaint bluegrass musicians s . . . he worst of the year ju known that any si film is purely ac gives the word '< -ds, the Oscars, useless slurs, vul i before millions jokes to the filn ly awards is to Gossett and anyon ' and to reward 1ms that are not KABII) ? Por deserve a little acting role, and i would have been e by the film in- before the scie 3rst films of the sophisticated with "Star Wars" and accept a monster ( J BREAKING e letdown after SLAPSHOT ? m with Walter Nancy Dowd's sci i explored the and insight into tl gague baseball. was a crude film.