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-entertainment 'Cyrano'm By John Vaughan Usually an audience will excuse opening night mistakes and will give a stage production plagued by jitters the benefit of the doubt. Workshop Theatre's season-opening performance of "Cyrano de Bergerac," however, was so riddled with error Wednesday that doubts gnawed at this reviewer long after the closing curtain. Edmond Rostand's famous drama is certainly the most ambitious project undertaken by any Columbia amateur theater in recent memory, and one ought to admire the Workshop people for even trying it. In the same breath, one cannot compliment director Jim Quick for attaining his goal of a "stage epic in the tradition of 4Ben Hur.' " "PVR ANA" ha* ? Korirlful f\( it/wl nor m. a?i ( ^ v/ * tMtJ M IM?l?VUUA VI gWU pVl ~~ formances, some exciting sword fights and dazzling costumes. But Wednesday's production was racked with erratic pacing, excessive clumsiness and the ultimate gaffe-Cyrano's disfigured nose, the focus of his personal agony, fell off after the first act! For those unfamiliar with the verse drama, it features Cyrano (Peter Holland), A1 t r* a>U/v an uu^uciu auu luinaiuit uciu wiiu is su embarrassed by his ridiculously large nose that he can only express his love for the beautiful Roxane through the handsome, young Christian. Christian himself is tongue-tied in Roxane's presence without Cyrano's poetry. To have the prominent proboscis (and mustache) disappear from his face set the audience murmuring when Holland appeared with only his natural features in the second act. Yet tne only reason to dwell on this error is to punctuate praise for Holland. Many actors would have been ruined after a first act such as Holland experienced: his entrance was awkward, his sword fell from his side no less than a half-dozen times in the first scene, and of course, the poorlyconstructed, Silly Putty-like nose became unglued backstage after the first act. WHEN HE appeared for the second act, however, Holland made no attempt to *'cover" the loss. He held his head up and .^Jfi -HPPJffi' - ' yyy-. a ^E5 EmAj HI Brian James, Stiu Bator, Nick Turner and Da Lords comb By Marc Fink de 9 The vitality and enthusiasm of the fai Lords of the New Church, combined fr< with the strength of their material and ah their individual musical skills, he produced the best rock, concert in un Columbia this year. cu The Lords appeared in Strider's about jpidnight Saturday, clad in 1 black leather, rousing the 200-plus hij crowd with an frtmr of stirring rock. mi n l- * ?- o*:-- r>_A ? ? nocR-nui puiiK., oiiv uaior, ieau cn< singer, informed the fans at the wil beginning of the gig. Yo "Old people will blow us to hell," lea Bator said. da; The quartet, all experienced rock jj musicians, performed throbbing the versions of the 10 songs from their Clc t ; isses by 11 did not try to shade with his hands or hat the untimely amputation-and the best part was, he didn't need to shield. The actor delivered an impressive, multifaceted performance as the hero, displaying the wonderful depth of the beloved tragic hero. Holland has one of the most expressive faces seen on any Columbia stage for some time. His passionate yet sad eyes and quirky, endearing smile were noticed from the outset; soon after the initial shock of the missing nose, the audience was not allowed to give it another thought. Holland's rather small real-life nose grew tremendously, as did the depth of his entire performance. Simply, the actor was fascinating to watch. Other problems were not overcome. Many actors, especially Holland, were bothered by their swords clattering to the stage, usuallv before a disDlav of swashbuckling grace. The large cast was necessary for crowd scenes, but the supporting group was often boring and predictable as it filled up the stage. THE SHOW is also remarkable for Michael Taylor's uninspired lighting, A nighttime skirmish is the sole exception to Taylor's general style, or more accurately, lack thereof. The famous scene where Cyrano cues Christian under Roxane's balcony at night is unexplainably bright, and the audience must wonder why Roxane cannot see de Bergerac from the window. The costuming is colorful and satisfying to me last cnaracter,inougn, ana visual effect is rare in a small theater such as Workshop. Along the same lines, the fight scenes were generally good, with the level of excitement overpowering the level of clumsiness. Especially effective were the scenes where Cyrano dispatches a rival while reciting a sonnet, and where he singlehandedly defeats 100 men. Among the players, Holland is joined by George Naylor and Bill Mould, who gave fine performances as De Guiche and Ragueneau. NAYLOR IS slick and consistent in his portrayal of the repugnant De Guiche, and the actor makes the difficult personality alteration (when De Guiche's basic pride is - , V - - *- _ . . Bfek i wt" Jam ,& i/6 Tregunna are The Lords of the New Church m Bmau ***. iinfc A Ml* ^ iiits sirenyir but released on the I.U.S. label. is the < rhe album, named for the band, is other i r superior to the latest releases The >m The Clash and Chelsea, groups Saturc >o emerging from the mad, frantic thesizt yday of punk in 1977. The LP is of seeme usual quality for a debut recording. raw, c tting most existent bands to shreds. The them 4 ['he Lords of the New Church play old su 'h-energy, politically oriented style i isic. The lyrics are tongue-in- "truth eek, streaming into short phrases "Qu th music influenced by the New obscui rk Dolls, '60s garage bands and the by B* iding punk bands of the split-skull concei rn nf 'HI * ? yaw M. ? puiIllS >tiv Bator, former lead singer for radio i notorious Dead Boys, who were perfor jveland's answer to the Sex Pistols, lore than a iflj J! I Costumed cast members entertain theatergoei before the opening of 'Cyrano.' unveiled) smooth. His is a studied performance with superb bearing. Mould, the master of USC's South Carolina College, turns in what may be his best performance to date as Cyrano's lovable ally, Ragueneau the confectioner. His delivery of the verse is polished and knowledgeable. It is a stylish delivery, in fact, that sets Mould, Naylor and Holland apart from Melissa Ray Severance and Larry Webster as the two lovers. Severance's Roxane is rather onedimensional, and one wonders what the sensitive Cyrano sees in this physically attractive, but rather stiff character. Webster, too, is physically attractive as the handsome Christian, but he reads his lines dryly, always to the wings, and without any feel for poetic subtlety. Chemistry between the two lovers is nonexistent. H Pamela f Classical m IBBBBbBBBBBBBBb "Chamber Mu /aH USC Music D< To celebrate (jf iJBHM performed by BK^ik pieces either Jm. IWH culture. Il iHHBl jp J : j|ji The fact tha Rifl Hfc ^ JL It was hardly s< p? foundation for H"LEYEND/ splendid sole Christopher B "Bachianas the other han those Clint E performers ; b best of what th Lobos, howe Brazilian fas! Brazilian mus seem^haUiei Ironically,th Frenchman, McGarrity irr || | | arias from Bi 1^ ill lovely but ill-f; f i\ ill ACCOMPAP won her listei jnly American in the Lords. The "L'amour et nembers are British. little number, foursome played so well easily, lay that the horns and syn- "I/amour e *rs, overdubbed on the LP, des remparts d superfluous to the band's strong voice 1 >haroincf cnnnH rattloH tninr<A' 0"'0 ,MVVIVU Lords roared through the an- singer who mi 'New Church" with a nod to the tape commer rf tune "Pipeline," Dick Dale- orchestral acc guitar playing and lyrics like the intensity o can't be found on television." Like the firs estion of Temperature," an was filled wil *e mid-'60s song originally done performance illoon Farm was one of the Conant,accon 'o on/1 f ho olKiinn ? v o uuu aiMuiu o?1AI |?i I vyi/namt d ov . Bator said the song still gets Ernste Gesar play in the Midwest. James Conant had t* ms one of h's best guitar solos viral ailment i Sm "Lords," pay* 11 m^BBamm, jm &&?_ wsb rs on me worksnop iheatre patio BILLY DUBOSE turns in a vibrant supporting performance as Cyrano's friend Le Bret. Dubose never fails to shine with sheer stage presence, although in this play he is occasionally too vibrant. Lovers of the theater probably should see this production for its costuming, the good i ' r ii- * irciiuuuiiiices anu ior me simple reason that "Cyrano" is such an outstanding stage work. But with its length- three and a half hours-and its gnawing ragged edges, I'm afraid this can't be recommended as a Workshop highlight. Director Quick might have succeeded fully with another week or so of rehearsal, and I can only hope that the basic broadness of this show falls together after the first few performances. "Cyrano" will run through Sept. 26. Tickets are $5.50 for adults and $4.50 for senior citizens, military personnel and students. For more information, call the Workshop box office, 799-6551. s concert accents ical Latin music IN usic with a Latin flavor accented Tuesday's sic Concert II," the fourth presentation in the ;partment's September Concerts series. National Hispanic Week, the concert, entirely members of the USC faculty, contained several k<> u:?nnn:? ? ? ? 1 uj iiiojjaiut tuinj/uscib ui concerning L3iin t a guitar was featured in two of the selections jrprising, as that instrument seems to be a Latin music. L," by Isaac Albeniz, illustrated this idea; a > was performed by classical guitarist arg. Brasileiras No. 5" by Heitor Villa Lobos, on d, sounded like background music for one of astwood spaghetti westerns. No fault of the oth Berg and soprano Laury Christie made the ey had. ver, fell short of his goal to simulate Bach in a lion. There is nothing wrong with Bach or ic for guitar and voice, but from this work it rer the twain should meet. IP Hisnanif-tvnp cwWUnn ?no<? u.. - vj |yvz uviVVViVII TT UO W 1 ll^CU Cl Georges Bizet. Mezzo-soprano Evelyn ipressed the audience with renditions of two izet's "Carmen," the famous opera about a ited young woman. JIEI) BY Charles Fugo on piano, McGarrity lers over with the first of the arias, entitled un oiseau rebelle." The aria is a seductive and McGarrity got the entire meaning across t un oiseau rebelle" was followed hv "Pw de Seville," a seguidilla. Again McGarrity's landled the aria with little difficulty, and she ws on a few notes; McGarrity is the kind of ght shatter helpless wine goblets on Memorex cials. Arias from "Carmen" deserve a full :ompaniment instead of just a piano, but with f McGarrity's mezzo-soprano, few noticed, t chamber music concert, Tuesday's program th duets and trios for vocalists. One special that merits nnti*?*? u>qc ? n:-' * ?uo ktj uaiuuuc ivicriara ipanied by pianist Raymond Dudley. Sections were by Johannes Brahms: "Vier ige," ("Four Serious Songs"). Regrettably, le opportunity to perform only three, due to a vhich impaired his voice. Sm "Series," page 12