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* 1 THE GAMECOCK __ E ntertainment June 27, 1984 - Page o I ffll m H S sMBBa ^Bflutt} A Musical Archeology B Thomas Dolby's "The Flat Earth" displays B JBHm- ^^SBjSES the solo unconventionable but en H KREj^^gnQBS^ jfHH 'Rrpmlins' Fantasy release captivate: By Allison Stein i ^so nameci because of its m< "Gremlins" is a horribly funny movie. Rockwell-esque town into a v Co-star Hoyt Axton called it "E.T. with teeth." Director The film definitely carries Joe Dante called it "a cross between 'It's a Wonderful Life' with the charm "E.T.," the I and 'The Birds.'" Whatever it is, "Gremlins" is a rollicking of "Jaws," and a box office two hours of fun, fear and farce. two weekends of release. It all starts when Dad (Axton) picks up a Christmas pet for Directed by Dante, the filr his son Billy (Zach Galligan) in Chinatown. The pet is a It's set in a small, neighborly Mogwai, a strange little singing fuzzball with sad puppy dog no less!) and has its quot eyes that comes vvitn tne lonwing instructions ireaa: aire war- oongatory town scrooge an nings): keep it away from water, keep it out of the light and charm. Dante uses a lot of tl never, repeat never, feed it after midnight. toon child" segment of "Tw Of course, the Mogwai (hence dubbed "Gizmo") gets wet, While Gizmo has endeared and pops off more little fuzzballs. These new little cuties are a the other little monsters are a conniving bunch who arrange a post-midnight snack and torment the town scrooge, I mutate into horrible little gremlins, lead by the demonic Stripe everything of "Snow White" 'Amadeus' works well at L By David DeWitt "Amadeus" offers a challenge to actors, "Amadeus," the season opener of USC's and Bob Hungerford and Richard Jennings "summer R<?nprtorv reason, does not slio out take to their iobs with gusto. of mind when out of sight. The company's Jennings, especially, takes the bull by the production is a funny, moving and ultimately horns in his portrayal of the composer challenging evening of quality theater. Mozart. With high-pitched voice and obnoxDirector Thomas Cooke ("Henry IV, Part ious sexuality, the director of IJSC's acting 1") does the 1984 company proud by fusing program presents the audience with Mozart, outstanding acting with capable artistic and the excess junkie. His broad comedy, his extechnical .direction to provide a suitable tremes of intensity and constant physicality opening for a professional season. etch out a man with such a connection with The play revolves around Antonio Salieri,, his unconscious genius that he has little conwho describes the show ds "The Death of ' ception of the world's realities and morals. Mozart, or Did I do It?" As composer for Although his voice and laugh are irritating in the 18th-centurv Austrian court, Salieri was moments, Jennings . has made a strong, the rage of the music world, and thought definite choice in his portrayal of Mozart, himself quite artistically and morally capable And it works beautifully. until confronted with the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whom he described as a THE SHOW, however, depends most on "cniv^iino r*hi!H " the performance of Salieri, and Bob Hunger Salieri's conflicts exist on many levels ? ford does not disappoint his audience, artistic, moral and,spiritual ? and thus the Hungerford is riding on the crest of a year of play is appealing at these levels, too. The . exhaustive and powerful performances result is a play ripe with outstanding (Teach in "American Buffalo;" Falstaff in moments, always full but never too "Henry IV, Part I"), and he continues his revealing. streak in this show." \ British musicii innnwatiwp sm By Kelley Lannigan This man has more facets than the Hope Diamond: boy genius, world 'raveler, humanists, computer whiz, micro-pt cssor poet, zany social commentator and video _ I. A ,1.1 A A ? * _. 1 A 1 1 1 _ A. 1 superneru. /\uu 10 ims icnginy uicoiaue me latest and most romantic Dolby attribute ? sonic archaeologist. At least that's the rumor currently traveling along the music grapevine. It seems even the most critical of critics confess a little awe when confronted with the Dolby enigma. It's a bit difficult to critique an artist who cannot be categorized; not by the established criteria, anyway. If you don't recognize Thomas Dolby by name, then no doubt you recall his smash single "She Blinded Me With Science," which sent more than a few seismic tremors through the American airways. "Science" was the commercial success from "The Golden Age of Wireless," the LP that gained r> 1U i; Uic ''pAmmifnr 1 ctotnc L/wiU)' 1110 vwiii^uiwi ?v viiuti u\j y Jiuiu.1. The particular evolution of Dolby's unique .abilities is erratic. His father was an. archaeologist and he grew up traveling, mostly around the Mediterranean, in France, Italy and Greece. His earliest recollections of music are playing along with records by the ' ' ' iirinn t li m ramiltr c ili/nrti/n rn frvr vJI I ?114 1/ ? , U31II5 L I I I aillll^ jll VLI \> dl V IUI percussion. Dolby's literal musical training was haphazard and usually self-taught. No one instrument ever seemed to stick in his gut. What he did develop was a talent for listening. Listen he did ? to anything and everything. Along came Punk and New Wave and in their wake Dolby discovered his mouthpiece: the synthesizer. FROM AROUND 1978-81, Dolby amassed an impressive musical resume, but still lacked a definite personal direction. His session and tour experience involved work with the Camera Club, Lene Lovich, Foreigner and Joan Armatrading. By the time "Golden s with original ihaiuH thp\; turn lh/> Nlnrman Hantp'c nni var zone on Christmas Eve. critters went b the mark of Steven Spielberg, establishment Humor of "194," and the terror moon. draw of $34.8 million in its first The perforr good, despite n has an almost surreal quality. hates Christm midwestern town (at Christmas, very funny, it a of eccentric neighbors, the One young nv d a lot of Hollywooji backlot alternated bet le skill he displayed in his "car- seat pleading iiight Zone ? The Movie." As Dad sa> itself into the hearts of millions, strange noises s tunny as they are deadly. They can't be sure t hijack a snow plow and attack action toys h< ' (the Disney version). Present dre ongstreet, has - J>'^k # V "v Thomas Cooke directs 'Amadeus' Hungerford finds humor and humanity in Salieri while befriending the audience, but is spellbinding in the play's most significant monologues, powerful with the contradiction of character. His concentration and focus are an excellent lesson for any aspiring aclor. an excavates I I " ina, lyrics Age Of Wireless?" was released in the U.S., along with the popular video of "She Blinded Me With Science," Dolby had gamed a reputation for being a computer genius. Paradoxically, the motivation behind his second L P, "The Mat Earth," leans toward the undowing of the "synth/wunderkind" sterotype. Aware that his technical virtuosity may be usurping the creative process, Dolby sought consciously to reinstate in his music a human touch, but still using the synthesi/er as a vehicle. When you listen to songs like "The Mat F.arth," "Mulu The Rain Forest," and "1 Scare Myself," believing that these little gems are the by-product of Dolby's customamalgamated Fairlight CM I, Simmons nnr: i lA/ion ii'o. ui unn <11 iu i i j^tv// jov/ *>a>t lt.;iij|nuvi n difficult, it's also extremely inspiring. Maybe those machines have souls after all. If you haven't put two and two together I yet, we'll spell it out for you: there is more going on here than first meets the ear. T here are familiarities. Portions of "Mulu The Rain Forest"bui id to Pink Moydian crescendos while "The Flat Earth" is a pulsing vocal imploration set against a subliminal background chorus; a real primal rhapsody. There arc suprises too, like the flute and trombone sequences that highlight the ja//inflected vocals on "I Scare Myself." SO WHAT'S all this sonic archaeologist business? Dolby h imse11 explains: . . what I'm doing is like archaeology. Computer sampling ks certainly that way ? it's piecing fragments together. Finding things. Finding things like lyrics and chords. melodies and beats. 1 ne pieces ot tonality called a song, which is in turn a piece of a greater tonality called music." With "The Flat Earth" we find Thomas Dolby excavating in a post-electronic landscape. Who knows what the "Dr. Leaky" of microcircuitry will dig up next? lity, creativity iwer to "what would happen it the nasty little >ar hopping?" makes a trip to any local drinking look tame, even on a bad night during a full nances are farily clean and the f ilm is technically Phobe Gates' morbid monologue on why she as. The film is a veyr strong PG, and, while it is can also be quite terrifying for younger children, ember of the audience accompanied by a parent ween laughing hysterically and hiding under the to go home. rs at the end of the film, you can't be sure the i under your bed are made by gremlins, but you hey aren't, either. One thing for sure,Gi '.nVms ive already infested the local toy shops, ams, and Merry Christmas! few flaws His performance is hampered, however, I * I .. m m A < w I 11 k * A ??-* r? /I i r ' ' oy ine arena Magmg. a piay, mnautus just doesn't work well in the round. Salieri does not control the audience's perspective as he would on a proscenium stage. This is a particular problem when dealing with the pagentry of the court and Salieri's soliloquies. It is to director Cooke's credit that the show works as well as it does. He is aided in this success by a supporting cast that does a wonderful job at fleshing out the play. As Mozart's wife, Lisa Norman is connected with her character and consistent in her performance. Gary Heilsberg and Jim Blanton provide detailed and humorous characterizations as members of the court, and as the Emperor, Ron Bladel has an excellent touch with a comic line. "Amadeus" is the finest production by USC's Summer Repertory company this reviewer has seen since 1980. It will return July 14 when the company begins its rolling repertory. For more information and reservations, call 777-2551 or 777-2552. Tickets are available at Longstreet Theater.