University Daily Kansan / Friday, October 14, 1988
Arts & Entertainment
11
'Marriage' about bonding, growth
RhJ Carvalho/KANSAn
Dixie, right, played by Jan Chapman, offers Annie, played by Pamela Mann, a drink to calm her nerves.
By Deb Gruver
By Deb Graver Kansan staff writer
They say they like it that no star dominates the play, which is about the preparations for a wedding that never happens.
The five women in "Taken in the Fire" are young men they have been growing closer on that stage in the Inge Theater, work with them to take their roles in the ensemble play.
"I think it is fun working in an
expensive piece; I wish Cyrilus
Exequential knew more about
Andrea. "We all need to be here
every night, but we all had something
to say."
The weight of the five roles, all women, is evenly distributed in the play. The characters — Andrea, Annie, Dixie, Aunt Helen and Ruth — gain momentum by playing off of one different feeling about the play.
"It is about the secrets everybody, has in their own lives and their own lives," he said. Lawrence graduate student, who plays Aunt Helen, "I think it is about relationships between women and the values that different generations share."
All of the actors agreed that women in the audience might understand the play better than men would.
"Whenever you get a group of women together, they are going to help you get the freshman, who plays Annie. "Someone is going to talk too much, and I just want to be there."
The beans are spilled in "Taken ... Marriage" when it is discovered that Annie's sister, Andrea, has slept with Annie's fiance.
Mann said she thought women in the audience would be forced to think about what they would do if their sisters slept with their fiances.
"If you had a sister and saw this play, it would make you think about what you would do to her if she did that." "So feeling is carried to an extreme."
Mann also thinks the play is about growing up.
Her character, as the little sister about to be married, goes through a transformation because Dixie's character, played by Jan Chapman.
forces her to lose her navie image
Chapman, Lawrence senere, said
her character is the catalyst of the
play.
"All the other characters are fam-
ly and have learned to deal with
an outsider and have a license to talk
about things that aren't talked
"In the long run, we will all be closer," Beier said. "But it is going to take awhile."
Beier said she thinks women who have been in long-term relationships will enjoy the show the most.
The actors said they hoped the audience would know the play was not down on marriage and men, but that it was a serious topic that went on between women.
"Because marriage isn't about sex and romance," Beier said. "It is about all the other stuff."
"Taken in Marriage" opened yesterday and runs through Oct. 15.
Play has one-liners but weak conflicts
By Jay A. Cohen Kansan staff writer
A punchline deserving a better play was far too little far too late to be "Saved In Marriage," which began on Wednesday night at the IG Theatre.
Thomas Babe's play concerning five women waiting for a wedding in which they are supposed to number of one-liners, some of which are amusing, but it would take a superlative production to work its deficiencies in plot and theme.
The play offers a bride of indeterminate age, her off-timed older sister, their mother, an acerbic aunt and a somewhat amusing character sooner or later tells her sad story, which the others mock. With reason. There is some talk about loyalty at the end, one could generously say that there was a woman who wants the younger to get married. But there were certainly no dramatic conflicts, no opposing forces and none of the underlying reasons about but not produced onstage.
While the cast improved after a jitterty start and brought off occasional exchanges of repartee, performances provided neither the emotional subtlety to make the numerous soliloquy moving more intimate and style to transform the play into a harsh comedy of manners.
There were bright spots. Janet Lee Chapman is Dixie, a small orphan girl of orphan origins, brought bursts of life to the stage and succeeded in the difficult task of plausibly portraying humanity's energy than talent. Chapman was also able bring a touch of humanity to an outwardly abrasive self.
Kaye Miller, as the bride-to-be's Aunt Helen, exhibited excellent
timing with her allotted wisercreaks and delivered her speeches with an effective directness appropriate for her character. The play's lack of plot is the most important performance of dramatic power.
an impromptu bit of deliberate
amateur dancing brightened the
second act, even though it seemed
to exist solely for that purpose.
Brenda Holland's choreography and Chapman's organization, role as a performer, and both plausible and entertaining, as was Cynthia Evans (Aurelia) solo.
In taking on a play in which nearly all the action has already taken place off stage, Dana Kane set herself a difficult task. Unfortunate for her, the difficulty is infinity for corners. All too often characters gathered in huddles in one corner or another, leaving at least half the audience watching. The lack of commitment standing so close needed to be assured. Although in real life it may be that people having conversations do so in close proximity, it makes them feel uncomfortable. Starvair was used a couple of times with good effect. It could have been used more often. The movement that there was, with the help of Dixie's team and Dixie's actions, was often forced, more mechanical than purposeful.
Michele Katz' costumes efficiently delineated the characters.
Nancy Sier's spare set adorned with a large wooden cake and the cream of marshmallow, plausibly recreated an anonymous church basement, complete with deft touches such as children's pictures on the wall and misspeared
Jay A Cohen is an Alta Vista senior major in journalism. He has an extensive background in interviewing and writing, and is an award-winning playwright.
The Engineering Student Council invites you to visit The 69th Annual Engineering Exposition
This year's design competition theme will be: Beyond Technology
Friday, October 14 - 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 15- 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Learned Hall / University of Kansas
Free Admission
Author Signing
KU Geography Professor James R. Shortridge will be on hand to meet you and autograph copies of his new book, Kaw Valley Landscapes
"Written with enthusiasm and affection for this corner of Kansas, Kaw Valley Landscapes makes you long to hop in the family car and veer sharply off the beaten path."A peach of a book! James Fisher, The Kansas City Times
KAW VALLEY LANDSCAPES
JAMES R. SHORTRIDGE
A Traveler's Guide to Northeastern Kansas
"A defly written account of the cultural and natural features in eastern Kansas."
-Rex Buchman,
coauthor of
Roadside Kansas:
A Traveler's Guide to
It's Geography and
Landmarks
Kaw Valley Landscapes available now at the Oread Bookshop for $7.95
Saturday, October 15 11a.m. to 12 noon
In the KU Bookstore Level 2, Kansas Union
Before the Homecoming Game