The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 17, 1995, Page 3, Image 3
[PEOPLE PLAC
Kathryn Leahey, Mack Amlck and M
classic satirical comedy 'The Learm
'Learned Ladies
Moliere into thi
Obsession with high fashion, flaunting
education and self-delusion are
themes in 'The Learned Ladies," Moliere's
17th century satirical comedy about
women seeking intellectual pursuits.
The play, which will be presented today
through Feb. 25 at Longstreet Theatre,
is directed by Steve Hart, an associate
USC professor and dramaturge
for the department of theatre, speech
and dance.
The cast, which was chosen through
auditions, isn't made up entirely of USC
students.
1 was impressed by the fact that they
were an attractive group of people," Hart
said. "They had energy, and they were
creative."
Another outstanding feature of the
play is its costumes, which have brilliant
colors and and plastic textures.
The costumes make a comment on contemporary
fashion.
"You'd just have to see them," Hart
said. "They are very attractive, and they
communicate the humor of the play."
The set also has a modern flare. It
features two televisions, one with videotaped
fish and another with videotaped
fire.
No matter how impressive the sets
and costumes are, the one thing that
has to be perfect when performing "The
Learned Ladies" is timing.
"You have to stick with the rhythm
and get the timing right," Hart said.
"Pauses can't be used because they will
throw off the rhythm."
Although the play was written in the
17th centuiy, it can still be enjoyed and
appreciated by modern audiences, said
USC student Nate Whitworth, who plays
Clitandre.
"It's not period specific," Whitworth
said. "It applies to any situation. Ifs universal."
For this reason, Hart picked an updated
translation that he thought was
funny, but he cut a few lines that weren't
EXPh
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s' brings
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the learned ladies'
where Longstreet Theatre
when Tonight-Feb. 25, 8 p.m.
Sunday at 3 p.m.
No show Monday
how much $10 adults, $8 facul
tVjStaftSestudente
quite as hilarious.
"Ifs written in elaborate language,
but ifs accessible," Hart said. "After all,
a joke's a joke."
Hart believes even Moliere would enjoy
this adaptation of the play.
"I think he'd think it was funny," Hart
said. "It communicates something about I
the strength of the human heart. He .
would have cared very much about that" '
"The Learned Ladies" may be a com- I
edy, but it also makes a serious state
ment on the women's movement of its
time.
"Women are people who have their |
own ideas and should be able to pursue _
things just like men," Hart said. "Women
are the intellectual equals of men."
USC student Amy Dietz, who plays
Henriette, doesn't think the play is 100
percent pro-woman.
"I think it makes fun of women who |
try to be equal," Dietz said.
"The Learned Ladies" has many
morals, including the importance of fam- I
iiy and the danger of taking things to ex
tremes.
"It deals with balance," Whitworth i
said. "You can't go too far to either end |
of the spectrum."
USC student Robert Shull, who plays
the Footman, said the play is funny, col- |
orful and fast-paced.
"You could come and watch it several
times and get something different out I
of it each time," Shull said.
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UGHTSCAMEHAREACTION
STEPHEN BROWN Staff Writer
In the Mouth of Madness
jfk(oiA of four stars)
Director John Carpenter brought
subtlety to horror films in his breakthrough
hit "Halloween." The camera
became the eye of the stalker, and
viewers breathlessly anticipated when
and where he would strike next.
Carpenter's latest effort, a psychological
thriller called "In the Mouth
of Madness," possesses no such subtlety.
From the blaring metal music
in the opening credits to slimy rubber
puppets that jump out from looming
shadows, Carpenter overcompensates
as he struggles to catch up
with the horror revolution he started
20 years ago.
The relentless director undermines
the twisted vision and complex storyline
of his fascinating phantasmagoria
by injecting "Madness" with
mainstream horror devices and by
presenting escalating implausibilities
of staggering proportions.
Sutter Cane, a novelist modeled
on Stephen King, has disappeared
after writing a book that literally drives
people mad. Sam Neill ("Jurassic
Park") stars as John Trent, the
hard-boiled chain-smoking investigator
who looks into the case. Julie
Carmen ("Fright Night 2") is Linda
Styles, the suspicious editor who accompanies
him on the search.
Carpenter's unsure footing is evident
as he loses track of simple psychological
terror, sending the film
warp speed into standard monster
fare domain after the first hour. The
film falters midway into the story
when hopes for mind games are abandoned
and the director unleashes
From if s yet-to-be-built Olymp
collection of bars, Atlanta is more I
hour drive from Columbia. Plus,
tickets there.
How to get there:
HTake Interstate 20 West to >
gusta, follow the signs to Atlanta
you have two options: Take 285 ai
city, which would defeat the pui
^^0 take 1-75 straight into the city and I
there.
You're there, so go to...
Lime r-ive Koints: un, so irs
Five Points in the sense that it i
sands of bars selling beer at $3 to
of course. At Atlanta's Little Five,
sol'dated Princess Pamela's and
ter. There, you can find any colo
vast supply of S&M clothes and
Zsic groups, along with vintage (a
and other assorted treasures.
While in Little Five, go to Abbai
J where all your Birkenstock drea
Across the street is quite possifc
O music store, Wax n' Fax. Anything
tape and CD, you can get here, a
sic paraphernalia. It even puts Pe
^0 Also, go to Criminal Records anc
M| To get to Little Five, take Nori
^00 Avenue.
Ride down Peachtree Street:
a veritable cornucopia of treasure
Mall ? No, it's not like Columb
m\
;ry? 1
unchies? |
the
SCfiFE
An tV*p
V/Il tnw
r of the
Center! I
lans & Cash Cards.
2:30pm M-F
uth'l
is a tongue depressor :
"Body Snatcher"-style creatures to j
bombard the audience.
Neill as Trent characterizes a
pulpy, noirish cynic with a good degree
of complexity. Neill transcends
his role, with his bulging eyes and I
deadly serious face working to ac
centuate the best moments, includ9
4
ing sequences when he is boxed inside
a confessional and when he '
plunges through the life-sized pages ?
of a nightmare-inducing book.
The screenplay by Michael Deluca
("Freddy's Dead") is trite dribble |
with an occasional unexpected ?
epiphany. Trent says, "Every species
can smell its own extinction," and 1
Styles foreshadows, "It would be pretty
lonely to be the only one left." But |
for all the end-of-the-world talk, the |
story fails to deliver images to match |
the gloomy statements.
Carpenter effectively uses light
ing to disorient the viewers and to
shade his characters with sinister J<
shadows. Coupled with the fantas- w
tic set design, which includes a bizarre
Byzantine church in the middle of a
j ii i_i_i._i._--/' J J J CJ
meauuw on me outsiuns 01 an idyllic
village, and the music (which Carpenter
wrote), the film is technically "
proficient. The Kafkaesque world of .1
this naked entree is complete with
pulsating doors, transforming paint- d
ings and a landlady who chops her ^
husband into cole slaw. . ^
The camera tracks across the ac- f?
tors in classic Carpenter medium ^
shots. The effect of allowing objects,
from monsters to bloodied axes, to ^
jump into the foreground is as effec- C]
tive as ever. Complete with super- ^
imposed impressions and near-sub- ^
liminal glimpses of primordial images,
Carpenter has fun with the
ic stadium to its vast A
than worth the three- /\ j I
you can buy lottery 1 I
iillc
\ugusta. From Au- Although most p
Once you get there, Atlanta is home t
nd bypass the whole o , Q>Hara an
pose of the trip, or ^carlett u nara an
figure your way from Braves, America
nightmares and Fre
m/irp tr
not like Columbia's
doesn't have thou- There, under one roof, ar<
r those of legal age, a Neiman Marcus (Needle
go to the now con- Laura Ashley, Limited/Lir
Jinkman's Daugh- ria's Secret, Britches, C<
r of Doc Martens, a Store, among others,
posters of any mu- Across the street, visi
i-k.a. used) clothes Abercrombie and Fitch, Pa
Fifth Avenue, Cole Haan a
Jabba's shoe store, food court. And yes, you ca
ms can come true. Peachtree has its fail
ily the world's best rantSi j e (Lu|u's Bait Shi
g you want on vinyl, Peachtree) and Cafe Tu
long with other mu- among others
ipa Jazz to shame.
i Acappela Books. And don't m,ss
h Avenue to Euclid The Varsity, off the G?
it. This place is home to tb
There, you will find late milk over ice), Frostet
s. Start with Lenox Forget eating at any reaso
iana Centre at all. lanta, because anyone wh<
THEY J
$50 DISCOUNT
pONAU. M/?
WE SI
| "l60
THE ONLY ALTERNA
MBWagJWanEiaUHMU ffjiiyi I w hlilif "T III "II
l*M. jMM&F " '' "1 & W'^
?ff, jrtfSffn f f% ^IJrtpC % I
>hn Trent (Sam Nelll), a private inve
orld of novelist Sutter Cane In 'In tl
isuals but sometimes forgets his by
haracters along the way. m
For example, Carmen's intrigu- . te
ig heroine turns out to be an arbi- w:
-ary plot device present to be placed sti
1 melodramatic peril. She sprouts te
emon legs and walks on all fours as
art of the apocalyptic festivities, "ft
ftladness brings up perplexing wi
hemes about the fine line between gl
id and fiction. The notion that Cane A1
i a deadly prophet of the printed page to
j underscored by the fact that his ex
ooks have outsold the Bible and that ar
razed fans are becoming hysterical it
i a frenzy to get a hold of his new ill
ook. . tai
The demented author, as played dii
anta'll
eople seem to think ?j
:o the ultrafictional
d Tiara, the part-time
n ID, spring break
:aknik, there really is |."f. jgt
>the city. t
3 three floors complete with
ss Markup), Mac/s, Rich's,
nited Express, Gap, Victoartier,
J. Crew and Disney
it Phipps Plaza and go to
irisian, Lord and Taylor, Sax \zMMadslmm
ind a Johnny Rockets in the
n have breakfast at Tiffany's, the Varsity is mt
' share of bars and restau- quires reservatic
ack, The Desert Place (off For good cor
Tu Tango (off Peachtree), ade Music Pari
from Toad the W<
It also offers a re
Finally, for the
roigia Tech/14th Street ex- Cafe because i
le naked dog, P.C. (choco- Brothers memorc
J Oranges and cholesterol, tory from guitar <
nably nice restaurant in At- Eric Clapton.
3 lives there will tell you that - Stephanii
SELLBC
^. ^<3 / "
ELL RIRI
lfmii*
ygtii/ui
9 Blossom St 254-5330
TIVE TO BOOKSTORE E
wKr '
iMKr - Qncc
New Line Cinema
stlgator, enters the surreal
te Mouth of Madness.'
Jurgen Pruchnow ("The Boat"), is
ore of a plot device than a characr.
Each time he appears, a gust of
ind accompanies, suggesting he is
arring in an infomercial for Hie Sutr
Cane Library.
Carpenter orchestrates the whole
ladness" with the subtlety of a Broaday
production number, spewing
louls and pyrotechnics recklessly,
though he makes a valiant attempt
recapture the psychological terror
pected from him, Carpenter loses
tistic control of the production, lets
spiral away from him and, by the
-conceived ending, he leaves a bad
ste lingering in the mouth of the auence.
1
RYAN SIMS THE GAMECOCK
ich better than any restaurant that re>ns.
rcerts, you can go to The Masquer(on
North Avenue, where everyone
et Sprocket to Superchunk has played,
ive-type deal Friday nights,
i tourist in you, go to The Hard Rock
t has a choice collection of Allman
abilia, and it even has a little bit of hisgod
(and the most perfect musician)
e Sonnenfeid, Asst. Features Editor
>OKS
ii fpHLtifMkiHM ii
^P|lfcUR V BNifcN I Pi
L L> LOCATED
jCswieog
*I1iI:::Blossom !
^jg|ff STREET: