The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 3, 1984 Page: 11 of 48
forty eight pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Choc Bayou provides Plenty of interesting, gripping drama
Plenty
Chocolate Bayou Theater Co.
Through February 11
Chocolate Bayou Theater
Company's Mainstage series was
designed to present plays that have
"wide general appeal." Luckily, its
latest production is not as
mainstream as its last two, Harvey
and 84 Charing Cross Road.
Appearing outside of New York
for only its second time, David
Hare's Plenty is a gripping drama
about how an experience can
influence a person's entire life.
CBTC has executed this
production excellently, both
technically and dramatically.
As the play opens, Susan
Traherne is seen leaving her friend
and an unidentified man, who is
unconscious and bleeding on a
mattress, in a nicely furnished
house in Knightsbridge. It is 1962,
but no other details are revealed. It
takes the rest of the play to figure
out what happened in the first
scene.
In the second scene, which takes
place almost 20 years earlier,
Susan is acting as a courier for the
French resistance in World War II.
She tries to help a young
Englishman who has landed near
the village of St. Benoit and they
talk of their experiences. The
successive scenes show her life as it
develops after the war and her vain
attempts to regain the war's
excitement.
As the center of the play, Pat
Miller gives a very good
performance as the idealistic and
ambitious Susan. Although strong
when she needs to be, she finally
becomes a desperate woman trying
to regain a thrill that happened
long ago. As Raymond Brock, her
husband, Clive Carlin gives a fine
performance, showing his patience
towards Susan and determination
to live a normal life. More
flamboyant is Katherine
Hollowell's Alice. She is
wonderfully quirky as Susan's best
friend, either smoking a hookah,
or painting a naked girl to be a tree.
However, she also reveals a darker,
tenser and disillusioned side later
in the story.
Several of the supporting
players also stand out. Mark Walz
portrays a bureaucrat who is
ruined when he can no longer
believe in the "good faith" of the
British government. Sam Cannon
plays a soothingly kind and
charming personnel director for
the government; he can be harsh
when necessary. As Codename
Lazar, Logan Bazar was exciting
as the young parachutist, but was
totally unconvincing as an older
man.
headlines and pictures were seen
too often, this was an effective
device. The rest of the set consisted
of pieces that were spare but very
nice, especially Brock and Susan's
house in Knightsbridge. Kurt
Grabenstein's sound was varied
and interesting, although
sometimes almost deafening. The
lighting also added to tne
atmosphere.
Overall, this is a very powerful
Annie and Dave offer intelligent pop
Touch
The Eurythmics
RCA
Fans of the Eurythmics will be
glad to know that there is a new
album, meaning that MTV and
commercial radio will give "Sweet
Dreams" a rest. Excuses aside, this
is a worthwhile album. Lennox
and Stewart are putting out
intelligent, interesting pop.
Touch offers a more varied
menu than I expected. "Here
Comes the Rain Again" will
probably be a single. Lennox's
vocals are set against a synthesizer
and string background that
becomes a plus instead of seeming
like an attack of 101 Strings. No
small feat, that.
"Regrets" will be enjoyed by
anyone who picked up on
"Somebody Told Me" on the last
album. Lennox is secure in
asserting that none of the regrets
will be hers. "I'm an electric wire/
And I'm stuck inside your head,"
she says in the chorus. Backed up
by plucked bass and muted brass,
she has a sultry menace that I like.
"Right By Your Side" is a nearly
complete change of mood.
Swirling steel drums, a solid
baritone sax and a bright brassy
chorus give it an "Island pop"
sound. Lennox is sunny and
expansive, more than willing to
seem vulnerable. This song is one
of my guilty pleasures.
The second side opens with "The
First Cut," a more conventional
"synthesizer pop" song. It has a
compelling bass line and bits of
interesting lyric. Though radio in
general will likely not pick up on
this, it deserves a listen.
"Aqua" might be a companion
to "Regrets," written in another
mood but produced by the same
set of circumstances. The first
section is sung, the vocals slow and
half resentful. The center section is
awash in synthesizers, hammered
and scraped strings, and the
occasional burble from Lennox.
Unfortunately, they don't seem to
have known how to end it. The
standard repetition of chorus and a
fade are unsatisfactory. Despite
flaws of construction, this is a good
song.
Overall, this is a fairly strong
album. There is enough pop fare
here to keep happy the folks who
want more sweet dreams. I don't
think that there has been much
change since the second album,
except perhaps to become more
pop-oriented, id rate it at a
2-.
—Jennifer Juday
Pat Miller and Logan Bazar in CBTC's Plenty
'Polished' Code Blue lacks vitality
The show is technically
impressive also. There are four
screens used to flash certain
newspaper headlines and works of
art, as well as scenery for the
various locales. Technical Director
Deborah Jasien travelled to New
play. It asks the question of
whether it is braver to be valiant in
wartime and then pine away for the
past, or to carry on diligently with
a boring life in peacetime. It is up
to the audience to provide an
answer.
True Story
Code Blue
Index Records
Code Blue is new to me. It's not
as if hearing the band's name
preceded hearing its music, either,
although that is often the case. The
eight-song LP True Story simply
appeared one day in the stacks at
KTRU, and I was not struck with
any sense of familiarity; but upon
listening I was not inclined to put it
away and forget about it.
Their sound is unmistakably
rock: no offensive heavy-metal
clamour and no pop music,
nonsense, just straightforward,
guitar-based rock-and-roll. They
obviously have been a club-
oriented band — the instrumenta-
tion is basic and the use of studio
technique sparing — yet this aspect
does not detract from the quality
of the sound. Code Blue is
polished.
The first song on the record,
"Good Times," is undoubtedly the
best. It is intensely energetic, and
its guitar riff is very catchy. At
times I am reminded of Pete
Townshend's style, especially
concerning vocals. The song's
lyrics are direct, yet not too simple.
There is also a superb break in the
middle, after which the bass and
drums make a refreshingly clean
start. The next song, "When She
Comes," is almost as good; it, too,
features crisp guitar work and
hints of Townshend mixed with
slightly more complex lyrics.
The other cuts, unfortunately,
are not quite so appealing. The
band relies too heavily on guitar,
which thus becomes a musical
crutch. In "Letter from
Leavenworth" the vocals are less
imaginative, and this downhill
slide prevents the effect of the
lyrics from being realized. "Is That
So Strange" is basically dull, and
adding a layer of bubbly sythesizer
does not rescue it. "Do You Read
Me" does provide a brief surge of
vitality through some interesting
drum work, but the remaining
songs are all rather sedate and
unexciting; even though some
well-developed studio layering is
present, they are best left for the
background.
True Story is not at all
worthless, but the potential that
Code Blue has to create good,
inspired, energetic rock-and-roll is
not fulfilled often enough to make
the album completely satisfactory.
Those first two songs, however,
may make it worth the money.
—John Knapp
York to train on and pick up the
equipment. Although some of the —Karin Murphy
I PREGNANT? AL TERN A TIVE TO ABOR TION. j
1 THE EDNA GLADNEY HOME, FORT WORTH,TX I
I TELEPHONE TOLL FREE 1-800-772-2740 I
The Dome Theater & Club
2525 Murworth 666-9846
Dance to Calypso, Soca & Reggae
Island Weekend
A Johnny Nash production
Featuring the Yard Band International
Drinks 4 lor 1, 5—8 pm Friday and Saturday
Free Pizza
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
82H no For pizza out it's Pizza Inn!"g
FREE PIZZA.
Buy any pizza and get the next smaller
same style pizza with equal number of
toppings, FREE. Present this coupon
with guest check. Not valid with any
other offer.
Expiration: 3/31/84 RT(F)
Pizza ixui
r
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
$3.00 or $2.00 off.
Get $3.00 off a large or $2.00 off a
medium size pizza, any style and as
many toppings as you want. Present
this coupon with guest check. Not
valid with any other offer.
Expiration: 3/31/84 RT(F)
PLzxaittn , .
i- . ♦ « sm|
hor pizza out it s Pizza Inn. jjj
COMPLETE DETAILS AT THIS PARTICIPATING RESTAURANT
7919 Grccnbriar at OST
795-0382
The Rice Thresher, February 3. 1984, page 11
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Mitchell, Mark M. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 3, 1984, newspaper, February 3, 1984; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245550/m1/11/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.