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EVENTS Theater: "The Colored Musei Trustus Theatre, through Jub Box Office: 254-9731 R&B: Robert Newton and i n i n t l * i tv i i tusrete, / p.m. July 11, miay J Wednesday, July 7,1999 By Emily Streyer Features Editor Perhaps we've all spent a lonel; evening at home after a breakup, lis tening to the radio. Not all of us, how ever, have watched five singing dancing guys, all named M ^ M o e . I 1 ?. > come out I M ' VJ VL shop The- ? atre's production of the 1992 Tony-nominate< musical "Five Guys Named Moe" open; Friday. Left by his woman, blue fron his own company and drunk from thi liquid in his small black flask, the lone ly Nomax listens to the Louis Jordai tunes of the late 1940s and early 1950s But before he can feel too sorry for him self, the Moes appear, to educate hin in the ways of personal relationships As they help the astonished Nomax se< the light, Big Moe, Little Moe, No Moe Four-Eyed Moe and Eat Moe weave to gether the revue of composer Louis Jor dan's songs. Known as the King of thi Jukebox, Jordan's styles ranged fron jazz to blues to big band to swing to ca lypso, and influenced early rock V rol performers such as Ray Charles, B.B King, James Brown and Chucl Beny, according to producer Kathleei Newman. T1"Li iTIBMU*! HM I I Ma&itg&?BXfE?Kr T i jaSh U/l am," 7 17. Lu3ark this theater's makm ing good steps in mn1n/1ir?rf mrAwrAnn iiiiiuuiiig cv ci y unc in the commu PJf r director Tom . Wm h I Beard said, J VJ J?* ? noting the per- J m/ formance at ^ IL* M ? Workshop A ftp J Theatre last fall of the V . | S Harlem ReJ j naissance-set musical "Ain't Misbehavin'," in which several "Five Guys Named Moe" cast members also ap_ peared. The cast, as varied as the music, y ranges in age, height and experience, and it departs from the usu al ensemble of six African, American males. Beard and I director and I choreograph- I er Cindy Hp ^ ^ Flach cast a I woman as Big Moe and a * J Caucasian as ^ , r Nomax. R&. J The -4 i change isn't a big deal for s 1 s those involved. Flach had * . a originally intended to cast ifl b five men as the Moes, but, i- after auditioning 11 actors a for Big Moe alone, could not I fill the role. She thought of I - Valdina Hall, with whom she | a had worked in several shows, i. and knew Hall could do it. b "Big Moe has feminine characteristics," !, she said, noting that the character is - the most nurturing of the Moes, pro- ^ A tecting Nomax when ^M MM the others pick on MM MM i him for his clueless- M MM I ness. . # If I | 1 Hall has been M W M 1. acting in Columbia t for nine years, havi ing appeared in "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Little Shop of Horrors" and "The Best Little Whorehouse f "^5^ v^dSi^l SF ii r^i^.-w^i- j *& 11 * ^ff^TTvTyi ...^F . ...i IE "' wff'HBWH Etc. The Gamecock in Texas." She moved to the area from New York four years before that. She doesn't make her living from acting, however: "Oh God no -1 act up. 1 Fiue I'm a nurse by profession; I act up on the side," Hall said. She didn't think twice about stepping into a male role, f "I was a tomboy all my life, so Fm used i to it." i r Wf. i Jason Shuffler, a student at the Col- 1 lege of Charleston studying musical 1 theater and arts management, had no reservations about c taking the role of i Nomax, which was s intended for an 1 m African-American, i other than "to try 1 and do it justice. ( He's wanted to do 1 the show ever s since seeing a pro- 1 duction in Washington, D.C. When he j found out Flach, with whom he'd ( worked before, 1 was directing it, I he said, "I begged Uai? 4-/-V n 1 /lrt rt/-% *MI4 I ?nurau pivui>t pui : I a white guy in it I ... Luckily it I worked out. It's a I tough show to get I down. It looks I simple, but it's reI ally hard. [But] | it's a. lot of fun." - SI 1 as No Moe. Henderson has been seen A |v1 rav ^ j| pE 2 K^9 HT > . tL W Jl* TJllM ^ stages in "Romeo Sinatra," "Love's Fire" and "The Oresteia." First-time performer Wayne I Davidson, Four-Eyed Moe, is I an active-duty warrant officer I at Fort Jackson. Tm also a budding professional speaker," he Bj said. "I'm looking to make a transition; in order to be a better public speaker, you need to be a performer." ! Bobby Craft, who has appeared in over 50 shows on Co1 u m b i a . stages, plays M m M Little Moe. B B M K w e s Blair, Eat \K i. iviue, ItXtJIll" y graduated from Heathwood Hall and leads to Duke University in the fall. Several of the actors remarked up)n the dancing requirements of the show. The actors move constantly, singing and dancing, an aerobic feat Henderson calls "brain-crossing," notng that singing is done with the left irain while the right brain oversees lancing. Blair mentioned that he A lad done theater before but this show was significant for him Decause of the dancing. "PeoDie don't know me as a lancer ... It's amazing to I De in a cast of so many I talented people," he said. HK^ hTs The second act has I rvtArn nf o vniniA fonl flion Liiuic; ui a. luvut iuui man w&m' the first. It's set at the I Funky Butt Club, where the Moes have a performance date. The numbers I in both acts, including "I I Like 'Em Fat Like That," I "Safe, Sane and Single," I "Push Ka Pi Shi Pa" and "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Clockwise Chickens," engage the au- Bobby Cra dience with call-and-re- yaldina H sponse, direct address nenflWon and other participation. All photos of Workshc TE OF THE DAY News, gossip and opinions for film junkies ittp://www.darkhorizons .com/ Page 7 Anyone with pulse wil find him s e 1 ^ you're not careful, you migh find yourself onstage - the performer start a conga line near the end of th< first act and request a few volunteer during the show. The performers are supported by * five-member band of sax, keyboard trumpet, bass and drums, a mix mir rored in the glittery, cartoonish Moes decorating the set. "Five Guys Named Moe" runs at f p.m. July 9-10, 11-18 and 20-21 foi lined about 90 minutes. The July 18 shov begins at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 fo ? adults and $13 for students, militar and senior citizens. Group rates an available for 15 or more people. Fo: more information, call 799-4876. W% from center: Terrance Henderson an ft, cast of "Five Guys Named Moe' all and Jason Shuffler, the Moe; and Craft. iy Emily Streyer except top right courtes >p Theatre.