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-entertainmen 'Idiot's Dei By John Vaughan Perhaps one would be too harsh in describing "Idiot's Delight" as idiotic ? but it is hardly a delight. Currently playing at Drayton Hall, USC's first mainstage offering of the season is an exceedingly lackluster production, with technical work that attempts to be grand and succeeds only in further diminishing the poorly delineated characters. "Idiot's Delight," a Pulitzer Prize-winner for Robert Sherwood in 1936, is an anti-war commentary that poses some challenges for Arc on/4 T T nvvuio unu UIIQV IUI . UlilUl lUliaiCij', UOV/ S production does not rise to most of these. THE PLAY unfolds at a ski-resort hotel in the Italian Alps near Switzerland and Austria on the eve of World War II. Hotel guests symbolically represent several nations. The guests are eager to leave facist Italy, but are temporarily blocked from obtaining visas. The obvious challenge for the players is the mastery of various accents; herein lies most of the actors' shortcomings. Cast members make valiant efforts at German, French, Italian, Russian and English accents, but no one is particularly convincing. ttven me aciresses portraying six American chorus girls lapse into predictable "dippy Brooklyn blonde-ese." Some of the accent problems are not as bothersome as others, as some players turn in otherwise decent performances. Lucinda Opera troupe Boris Goldovsky, artistic director of the Gold Grand Opera Theatre, will direct the company'; performances of "La Boheme" in the Carolina Coliseum. Writer/humorist By Fletcher Johnson He claims in his tongue-in-cheek biography sheet he was thrown out of a Manhattan advertising agency for "making jokes, saying bad words and being insane." For a guy who was selected Class Comedian at Long Island's Roslyn High School, that's not a bad way to make a living. Chris Miller, humorist, author and screenwriter, regaled a Russell House Ro I IrAAtYl Oll^lOri/)A \A/n/4nnc/4r?it ???UU Uin I /C4I II VM/1 i i (4 UVII^IIV^V, TTUUIlC^Uajr Willi III? imaginative tales. By Miller's own admission, his material was far to the left of the film "Animal House," which he co-wrote. "Only the most liberal of 12-year-olds should attend my lectures," Miller replied when asked if his lectures were suitable for the entire family. W^DNIKSHAV NIf HIT'S faro #>ntit1nH "Chris Miller's Adult Story Hour," ranged from a couple of twisted short stories to reminiscences about the making o! "Animal House," to questions from the audience and a short outtake from "Animal House." Miller, a 1963 Dartmouth College graduate who holds a master's degree from the Amos Tuck School of Business, began his creative writing career after his release t, _ ight' certai Hamrick as the Russian woman, Irene, infuses grace and stvle into her role She is joined, with only slightly less success, by Avon Stephenson as Quillery, a radical French socialist. Stephenson's confidence and intensity are nice to see among the general dullness of the action. Probably the best performance is given by Robert Johnson as Achille Weber, an amoral munitions expert. Johnson's stage presence and voice are quietly powerful, and he rivets the audience as a thunderous whisper among tinny, forced noise. JOHNSON AND Hamrick have the only really good scenes in the show, especially the one where the pair plays alone. Irene confronts Weber with her view of his dirty business in an emotionally-charged monologue. Weber in turn asks her: "Who are the greater criminals ? those who sell the instruments of death or those who buy orirl i to a f hnryi f) V /\i i IrMmir ?o 1 1 141IV* uov tllV/lll . JL uu auuvv lUCl C ID IIU lUgltdl answer to that!" Playwright Sherwood, of course, disagrees with that cop-out, and his drama steadily improves as it gets underway; Sherwood had some important things to say, and he said them well. Director Russell Green, however, does not bring out Sherwood's statements with much sensitivity or style. Green is working with a beautiful, grandiose set, but it merely towers over the small-scale characters ? and this does not seem intentional or "symbolic." .1 ii - n perrorms la d From Staff Reports "La Boheme," a four-act oj English by the Goldovsky Gram tomorrow at the Carolina Colisei The performances open the series. "La Boheme," Giancomo Puc love story set in Paris. BTHE 50-MEMBEK Goldovs derstudies, but alternates sing principal roles. The company chestra. The company is on its 24th na direction of Boris Goldovsky, ? Called opera's most articulat porters, Goldovsky admitted he 24 years old. While studvine at thp Cm ^ 0 Goldovsky was called upon to class. He said he saw a stage w< the addition of appropriate mus Since then, opera has been ( his work with his company, he York's Metropolitan Museum oi PERFORMANCES may be subscriptions to Carolina Conc< Subscrintions arp $15 and ar< B Other series events are the I , Nov. 15; Shi Ki, a Japanese ,VS*Y performing "Shiro," Jan. 26; > Symphony, March 12; and the Theatre, April 1-2. All perform Coliseum. makes his livirn m^m * mjm f V . ~ ? " -- | _ :iW$- ; ' ' I Photo by Mkhael Beikcr Comedic writer Chris Miller relates his zany humor in Russell House Ballrnnm Wednesday. -- I _ niy not ue Captain Locicero (Bryco Taylor, left) meets si: guests of the Hotel Monte Gabriele in "Idiot's I Finally, at the close of the play, the audience is jolted by loud bombing noise. Alter a plodding production with minimal special effects, these bombs are really dropped on an unsuspecting audience ? coming off as a last-ditch effort to wake up dozing viewers. oheme' [Live: ? ? hp , h Devo pera, will be performed in d Opera Theatre tonight and From Staff Ri am. ; 1982-83 Carolina Concerts The first featuring th< cini's most famous work, is a W*N be showr The concei from the Be ky company uses no un- will air at 10 jers of equal stature in the to attend in c "also provides its own or- The even tertainment tional tour, under the artistic United State i native of the Soviet Union. sponsored a e champion by opera sup- Contempora 1 Hncnicnrl Ar\n?*o until tuno HPVH t ^ uv,opio^u a uiiin uu wao v v Mothersbauj rtis Institute in the 1930s, several hit r play for an opera workshop The group v\ )rk could be embellished with group gettin ic. (see related joldovsky's passion. Besides Tickets foi is a frequent lecturer at New for students r Art to $7 and floor of Russ ! attended only with season erts, a series of five events. i still available through the 5rague Symphony Orchestra, By Marc Finh music and dance company 777 /ictor Borge with the Atlanta . : ?!. Alvin Ailey American Dance n n?3' ances will be at the Carolina n Hninn \A/hat h I vj WVBIVii. I i from an ad agency where he created the "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" campaign, among other gems of the advertising industry. His short stories eventually caught the eye of the late Doug Kenney, editor and cofounder of Notional Lampoon. Miller eventually worked his way up to a contributing editor position on the magazine. According to Miller, his position means "they just put my name in a different place on the masthead." Confessing to being a somewhat unfaithful reader of National Lampoon now, Miller said, "The Lampoon is as different now as the 19Rfts are different from th#? ^ whole different world." Shortly before Miller took the stage in Russell House, I asked him about his relationship with Kenney, his editor and a co-writer of the "Animal House" script. "He was one of my best friends. I loved him. He was way too young to die," Miller said. W1IKN ASKKI) by an audience member about Kenney, the 40-year-old Miller said, "Doug Kenney is dead. Went off a mountain in Hawaii a couple of years ago. That's what ? ? i lightful E : -^SsSBSSBBBy- - : :"ilHKojaEHy^^ k American chorus girls who arePhoto by chip lowc" Delight." "Idiot's Delight" plays through Sunday, with performances at 8 p.m. except for a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee. Tickets are $4 for the general public, $3 for USC faculty/staff, senior citizens and military personnel and $2 for students. For more information, call the box office at 777-2551. 3-D concert brings into Township tports live 3-D video event in history, a concert 5 musical groups Devo and Wall of Voodoo, i via satellite tomorrow at The Township. *t. entitled 443-Devo." will hp transmittpH livp verly Hills Theatre in Hollywood. The video p.m. at The Township. "Concertgoers" plan ostume. t is being handled by the Campus EnNetwork (CEN), and 15 colleges across the s have subscribed to the network. The event is it USC by the Carolina Program Union's ry Sounds Committee. he quintet of Alan Meyers, Bob and Mark gh and Bob and Jerry Casale ? has produced ecoramgs ana nas worked in several media. Mil be fronted by Wall of Voodoo, a four-man g attention for the release of its third album review). r the event are $6 for the general public and $4 in advance. At the door, prices will increase .50. Tickets are on sale today ori the second ;ell House. album review )odoo is an experimental pop band from Los t wins a strong reception for its third release, West." See "Voodoo," page nine ie loves most he's doing. John Belushi is similarly occupied." Miller is that kind of guy. Very flip, but there is a lot of age in his eyes. He rambled on Wednesday, answering questions and telling stories. His images painted pictures drawn only from the mind of a gifted individual. "My writing," he said, "has no message at all, other than to have fun. Just have fun, be the best 'you' possible." Miller has achieved the writer's dream: he does what he wants to whomever he pleases and makes fine money doing it. He's made the transition from New York to Los Angeles with relative ease. "L.A. is such a sweet, curvy, warm, sexy place," he said. THE TRANSITION from college fraternity madness to a position of responsibility in the "grown-up" world has been different. "What transition?" Miller asked. "I'm still the same." Wednesday night he wore expensive cordovan leather boots and a leather jacket that was no throwaway, either. But he also wore a pair of straight-legged Levis and a Tshirt. 1 kind of respect him for that.