NEWS
2A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2005
GET READY FOR THE BEAKEND
BY MARK VIERTHALER
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Tonight, the curtain will rise on Ben Elton's acerbic comedy, "Popcorn." The University of Kansas drama department will begin a two-weekend run of the R-rated show today through Sunday.
"The people who chose this play found it to be very insightful," said Ron Willis, a former theater professor and guest director of "Popcorn."
The plot orbits around a Hollywood director who has been made famous by his wanton depictions of violence. Through a fluke, one of his films is nominated for an Academy Award. Even more surprisingly he ends up bringing the award home.
"When he comes home there are two psychopathic killers in his house," Willis said. "They want to be excused from their crimes by claiming that it was the violence in his films that brainwashed them."
The director, his daughter, his wife, his mistress and his producer are all taken hostage until he announces that it was his fault for the heinous crimes.
Popcorn is a good example of a theater that is accessible to a younger audience, says Willis.
"The play taps a condition," he said. "The world of politics and American society has become so polarized that it is all black and white. There's no middle area anymore. It's either, and a lot of it results in finger pointing when something horrible happens."
One frequent scapegoat is Hollywood and it's depictions of violence, Willis said. He said a point the play made was that there was no true black and white in the real world.
"Does Hollywood cause violence?" Willis asked. "Are they responsible? It's a degree, it's not yes or no."
"It's not a stodgy, stuffy play," he said. "It's definitely something that a high school, college age level would appreciate."
The frank addressing of such controversial issues resonate with a younger crowd, Willis said.
The play also takes a stab at cross-media performances, integrating the films of the main character with the live action on stage. The play opens with film projections of grisly murder scenes taken from the director's movies.
"When you talk about reasons to put on a show, (the department) serves those who they regard as their most important clients," he said. "The college student."
Willis said that the play was funny, relevant, modern and sure to appeal to the younger generation.
So, if you're looking for an off-the-beaten-comedy comedy full of sex, drugs and violence, take some time out of your schedule and come to the Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall this weekend at 7:30 p.m. Sunday's show starts at 2:30 p.m.
A warning to the slight of heart: The play challenges a conservative mind set and is not for little children.
Reinventing the wheel
John Walker/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
John Delgado and his dog, Sarah, waik past a door covered with an eclectic display of hubcaps at A-1 Hubcaps as they head home from the grocery store. Wednesday in Fresno, Calif.
ENTERTAINMENT
Musicians plan strike
Holiday show could be affected
BY VERENA DOBNIK
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The Radio City Rockettes might be high-kicking this holiday season to Christmas tunes controlled by a computer.
With musicians planning to strike, the possibility of canned music looms over Radio City Music Hall's famed "Christmas Spectacular," set to open Nov. 3 for 10 weeks.
The labor cliffhanger is not likely to end until opening day, when spectators from around the world hope to start lining up for a show that carries ticket prices of up to $250.
The orchestra's five-year contract expired in May, and meetings since then have failed to produce an agreement with Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians on salary and overtime issues.
Although the show could still go on with replacement musicians or electronically synthesized music, other unionized Radio City employees could refuse to cross the picket line, threatening to shut down a show that has entertained children and adults for seven decades.
On Wednesday, hundreds of
musicians and supporters staged a boisterous, music-filled protest on Sixth Avenue behind police barricades, in front of the hall.
"Don't let Cablevision $teal Christmas," read the words on red and green T-shirts worn by the protesters. Cablevision owns Madison Square Garden, the Knicks, the Rangers and the Radio City Entertainment company that owns the show. An inflated cougar with bared teeth faced the protesters — a counter-reference to the blown-up rat that often accompanies New York union protests.
Radio City Entertainment released a statement saying it "has offered our musicians an extremely fair contract proposal. ... The contract includes increases in salary and benefits and fully protects the existing overtime system. They have rejected that proposal and walked away from the table."
Should a strike occur, Radio City is "reaching out to orchestra musicians all over the world," according to company spokeswoman Michael Cordova. The company reportedly approached out-of-work New Orleans musicians who were recently in New York playing a Hurricane Katrina fund-raiser. But they declined because of the labor dispute.
"This is about union-busting by a corporate giant digging into the pockets of the musicians," said trombonist Mark Johansen, one of the union's negotiators.
Gregory Bull/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A man who did not give his name hands out papers arguing against the musicians at Radio City Music Hall, who are represented by the union Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, while the union members held a rally across the street from the famous music hall in New York Wednesday. The Radio City Rockettes face dancing to Christmas tunes controlled by a computer this holiday season. With human musicians planning to strike, that possible scenario looms over Radio City Music Hall's famed "Christmas Spectacular" that is to open Nov.3 and run for 10 weeks.
"At every negotiating session, we've been met with threats. 'If you don't accept this or that, we'll hire other musicians or use tape. Take it or leave it."
cians' base pay of $133 per show, which is about $40 less than what standard Broadway musicians are paid, Johansen said. At the height of the Christmas season, the musicians must play at least 12 shows a week.
He said Radio City Entertainment is trying to cut the musi-
HALLOWEEN
Haunted houses lure owner back in
BY DAVID TWIDDY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Dwayne Throneberry closed his haunted house, The Main Street Morgue, two falls ago, he swore he'd shaken his last skeleton at his last screaming teenager.
A plan to rebuild downtown Kansas City, including a new corporate headquarters for tax-prep giant H&R Block Inc. and an entertainment district, had claimed the building in which the Morgue had terrorized for decades.
A plan to rebuild downtown Kansas City, including a new corporate headquarters for taxprep giant H&R Block Inc. and an entertainment district, had claimed the building in which the Morgue had terrorized for decades.
Throneberry, who had already laid to rest two other haunted houses nearby, said he'd had it with the headaches endemic in the industry and what he considered a lack of respect for his business by city officials.
But as the autumn chill this year began to creep back into Kansas City, which at one time counted more than a dozen haunted houses. Throneberry found himself in an old, 60,000-square-foot warehouse, assembling vampire forests and plugging in the sound machine again.
"When I saw the inside, I knew I would build a haunted house here," he said, taking a break from nine months of getting The Morgue ready. "I saw the dungeon in the basement. I saw Frankenstein's Laboratory on the fourth floor."
Haunted houses have long been a tradition of Halloween, evolving from Jaycee charity tents and cold bowls of spaghetti "innards" to the sophisticated spook factories of today featuring movie-quality makeup and special effects. Long lines of thrill-seekers now pay up to $20 or $30 apiece for a half-hour or more of controlled fright.
But those in the business say
haunted houses, a growth industry only five years ago, have reached their peak. Urban renewal in many of the nation's bigger cities has cut off operators from cheap locations, safety regulations have driven up the cost of doing business and outfitting the haunted house with the latest animatronic zombies or computer controlled ghouls has become an expensive arms race few can keep up with. Haunts built into existing amusement parks also have put pressure on their unaffiliated brethren.
"So many people who get in the business are artist-types who enjoy scaring people and don't understand that if you don't have the money, you don't get to play anymore," said haunted house designer Leonard Pickel,
who edits the industry magazine Haunted Attractions. "Scaring people is easy. Making money scaring people is a lot harder."
It's difficult to determine how many haunted houses there are now. Excluding Halloween-themed attractions like hayrides, pumpkin patches and corn mazes, Pickel estimated there are between 3,000 and 5,000 haunted houses operating this year.
Larry Kirchner, another haunted house designer/operator and president of the St. Louis-based International Association of Haunted Attractions, guessed lower, saying there are probably around 600 professional events, the remaining being run by charities.
Whatever the number, observers say there are fewer haunts today than there were 10 years ago. Today's haunts, they say, are for the most part economically healthier and better-run.
"The people who are doing it now really want to be in the business," Kirchner said.
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FRIDA
What: "Rock Chalking a Future with Habitat for Humanity"
A live and silent auction. Items include a Golden Tee arcade game, an autographed 2005 KU basketball, an original Disney print, and much more!
Who: Hosted by Panhellenic Association Interfraternity Council and Coca Cola
Where: University of Kansas Memorial Stadium Hill (between the stadium and the Campanile)
When: October 29th, 2005
When: October 29th, 2005
Silent auction begins at 10 a.m. Live auction registration at 10:30
a.m. and live auction at 11 a.m.
Why: Helps fund the fourth "House that Greeks Built" Habitat for Humanity house in Lawrence
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For any questions or more information please contact Erin Cook at (785) 550-3078 or email at ecook@ku.edu.
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