Friday, April 18, 1980
Sleeper film breaks ahead despite budget
7
University Daily Kansan
"Breaking Away" a film directed by David Brodsky and Christopher Demis Quaid, Jackie Earl Haley and Daniel Stern. Showing at the Bridges Theater on Friday and Saturday, 3:00, 7:00 and 9:00.
By MIKE GEBERT Contributing Reviewer
"Breaking Away" did not win Best Picture at the Oscars. That it was nominated at all is a minor miracle.
The victim of one of the least enthusiastic advertising campaigns in recent history, it was seen by Twentieth Century Fox as just another teen-aeger/summer fun picture.
As a result it was given a rather lackluster release, which had a beneficial side-effect: the big cities had seen it and loved it and told people in the smaller towns about it. But the time it had been in the smaller towns, the town that it made up for the colorless publicity.
Almost a year later, I have yet to meet anyone who did not thoroughly enjoy the film.
"Breaking Away" is set in Middle America—Bloomington, Ind., to be exact.
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN the arts
Four post-high school youths, (Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quail, Jackie Earle Haley and Daniel Stern) are, as one of them puts it, "wasting the rest of their lives together." They are painfully aware that they are swimming at a stone quarry can't last, that they will soon suffer any of three horrible fails, college or work marriage.
They are all bright youths, deserving of the contempt with which police and others regard them. They might go to college except for one thing; Bloomington is the home of Indiana University, and there is an important barrier between the college students and the 'cutters' (townpeople, so-called because of the numerous stone quarries).
His parents are played by Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie. Initially, their characters overdrawn and Dooley
One of the four, Dennis Christopher, does have something to be going for him. If a man is supposed to be a great Cinzano, the team sponsored by the Italian orange-drink firm, and reputedly the best
seems to be playing Archer Bunker. But as the film progresses, we begin to understand that Dooley is true concerned about his son's future. He was clearly how clear, now by the "cutters" had built the buildings of the college, they felt unwelcome inside them. It ranks as one of the finest scenes in a movie this year, equalling any other film star in "The Cutter" and leaving "All That Jazz" in the dust.
Contrasted with this is the uplift battle Christopher faces in a bicycle relay race sponsored by the college. It is a part that he doesn't want to do, but it's too much better than anything in that field.
Of the four, only Christopher is a good mother. Others are merely competent. Definitely take them on "the towies" and prove that they aren't different after all.
The film is obviously a labor of love.
You'll love it too. Breathen, there any movie goer who can't love that rare film which contains neither shark nor spaceyism? The way "Away" is about people, and that is enough.
Gammons offers opulence to Lawrence's older crowd
OK professors, this one's for you.
By JON BLONGEWICZ
This one is Gammons, 1601 W. 23rd, an nightclub in the Southern Hills Shopping Center catering to a predominantly older crowd, and a crowded, according to manager Mike Kirak.
"We don't want to alienate students, but we are gearing for the professional and business market," Kirsch said.
Gammons screens its memberships for age carefully and 95 percent of the $25 per year memberships have been filled by attorneys, attorneys, and doctors, Kriach said.
"There are many places for students," he said. "Adults don't really have a place."
Kirsch said Gammons is the place for people who want to dress up, look nice and have a good time.
And in Gammons, they have that place
Mellow is the word for Gammoons, with its rich tones of blue and maroon. A deep carpet spreads from panelled wall to paneled
wall adding to what Kirsch called Gammons' theme of "visual comfort."
The highlight and namesake of Gammons,
accented by soft, warm lighting, are eight in-aid backgammon tables and nine Pente tables.
Pente, according to Kirsch, is a derivation of the world's oldest board game. It is a simplification of the Chinese game called Go.
"In layman's term it is a glorified version of tic-tac-toe," Kirsch said. "It gets into your blood and you don't want to leave."
Concentration on the games should not be a problem, according to Kirsch, because Gammons' music volume is just below conversational level.
"We want people to enjoy each other's company without the slaughter of heavy
"Under no circumstances are we a disco," Kirsch said. Gammons does play recorded music, but it covers the spectrum from progressive country to big band, rock and pop to rock. Kirsch is looking to get some live entertainment, a soft-rock lounge group.
music," said Kirsch, who managed the Pogo's game in Wichita.
Gammons also features a multi-media slide show above the dance floor, which Kirsch said was to draw the attention away from her work so they don't feel as if they are "on display."
Gammons' three bars have a computerized drink system, something many growlers are lacking. This speed up efficiency, according to Kirsch. This could be necessary because Gammons' equipment is not on the run.
Kirsch said Gammons tested many drink recipes and now uses pre-measured ingredients in their standard, specific standard. The computerized system alone cost more than other bars spend on ingredients.
The decor of Gammons took over three months to construct, but the concept of the club had been in the works for about a year, and he saw how it is the only thing open in Southern Hills.
"It is going to take a while for people to get used to us," he said.
PIPPIN
By TOM TEDESCHI Staff Reporter
Residents of Hashinger residence hall will present the first of three performances of "Pippin," one of the longest-playings on a daylight, tonight in the HASHINGER theater.
The doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the performance will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the door and a $1 donation is requested of non-residents.
Set in eighth-century France during the reign of Chlamagne, the play is a musical describing the efforts of Pippin, the King's son-in-law, to be completely 'filled in' life.
In the play, Pippin's life is acted out for him by a troupe of medieval magicians who relate his possible encounters with sex. war.
revolution and in the end, domesticity, in his search for fulfillment.
Wendy Godfrey, Overland Park freshman, in the robe that launched Ben Venue on his way to the NCAA championship in 1973 Tony award for best actor, plays the Leading Player, a narrator of sorts. James Okon, Pomona sophomore, plays Pippin, Okon's former senior, plays his father, Charlaine.
Although on Broadway Pippin was directed and choreographed by Fob Fosey. Hashinger's production will feature original choreography by Terry Matties, director of The Hashinger's program coordinator, as well as soft shoe choreography by Olson.
--summer after getting a small grant from the Kansas Arts Commission.
First presented on Broadway in 1972,
"Pippin" has been playing there for eight years—nearly 2,000 shows.
'Foxes' trapping Inge audience
Playbill
By TIM DOOLITTLE Contributing Reviewer
One way, I think, of judging a theatre production—and there are many—is to ask yourself if you are eager to go back to your seat when the intermission is over.
In the case of "The Little Foxes," a play by Lillian Hellman, I waited anxiously during both intermissions for the drama to resume.
"The Little Foxes," running through April 2010 for the show, exemplifies the playful use of a good theatre script, the set, costumes, and acting are catered to the audience. Sandy Kelley's playful glove effect
Helmann's play, considered an American classic, satirizes the growth of gay men in the South and pride and tradition in the South at the turn of the century, Oscar and Benjamin David (David Carey and Dael Waxman) have become investors in a cotton mill, and with their sister Regina (Rhonda Blair) form a partnership which eventually becomes a successful company. The guys are good guys and bad guys, and Helmann's tightly constructed three-act scripts for a gradually building connoisseur and virtue that brings you back for more.
The set design by Larry Springer and the costumes by Ellen Wright are perfect. If all of the color suddenly drained out of the theatre the scene would look like an old photograph of a living room with a fireplace, a table and a window of a starway leading into the living room played a considerable part in creating the overall effect.
The acting in "The Little Foxes" is strong and amazingly consistent. it is among the best work done at the University of Kansas this year. Blair and Campbell, their motivations are deceptive, clearly, distinguishing between phony sincerity and greed. All of the actors deserve to be commended for work that enhances, rather than interferes with, the character's actions; execution of the lines reflected the strained emotions that build over the first three acts and eventually burst out. Their use of a Southern dialect is mainly successful, and the help of diction coach Paul N. Campbell
Randy Adams has done an admirable directing job in creating a feeling of tenacity and urgency, as well as timing in the slow scenes works them to their fullest. He sometimes focuses on the humor of the script to increase the satire of his character, thereby relieving the audience from the tension.
Adams' use of the set, especially the dramatic scene, gives characters and the tension that seems always about to overwhelm them. He has controls and his plays are play and dynamic.
The Inge has done it again. The overall effect was great: I was eager to get 'ack inside where I knew something was happening. And since "The Little Foxes" happened, and the William Ingle Theatre this year, I will be excited about taking a seat next fall.
Your chances of getting tickets for this one are good if you put your name on the wait list an hour before curtain.
By TERESA RIORDAN Staff Reporter
The few people who have heard of turn-of-the-century rogue and former KU student Frank Harris probably associate his name with hard-core pornography.
Paul Stephen Lum has tried to change that image in his play about Harris' life called "Fresh, Flash and Frank Harris," an opera by contemporary Theatre will perform next week.
Harris' pornographic reputation comes from his autobiography "My Life and Loves," which Harris wrote in his book when he was desperate for money.
The book is quite lurid, but readers only read the sexual exploits and ignored the social comments that Harris was making. The book's female/female relationships, according to Liam.
"Actually, there was a lot more to Harris than pornography." Lim said. "He was quite brilliant and a great literary figure."
Lim, who has his master's in English from KU, has had three other plays produced in Lawrence including "Wooman," and "Conspirations," which on this theatrical College Theater in 1978 and in the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Lim completed the Harris play last
The play spans Harris' arrival in Lawrence in 1785 to near the end of his life in 1913. It is presented as a series of scenes from the memory of an aristocrat Harris.
Several scenes of the play are set in Lawrence, including one in the train depot, one in the old Free Congregational Church and two friends sitting on top of old Fear Hall.
Harris, who stayed in Lawrence three years after he retired. The house, worked as a butcher in what is now the Lawrence Opera House, and then attended KU Law School, earning $100,000 a year.
Harris, who started his career in 1984, coached the England Lawrence, became editor of the England Saturday Review at 27, where he was interviewed by George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde.
Three characters portray Harris at different stages in his life in the play. He plays the young Harris; Charles Whitman, a lawrence attorney plays, plays Harris in middle age; and Ambrose Sarick, a lawyer plays, plays Harris in old age. The production will run Anil 23-27
The production will run April 23-27 at the Lawrence Arts Center.
For moments too good to miss
keep plenty of
KODAK Film on hand for
most special times.
Capacitor
KODAK Color Film. Stork
KODAK 110 Film
KODAK 35mm Film
KODAK Instant Color Film
DOWNTOWN 1107 Mass
ZERCHER PHOTO
Hillcrest 919 Iowa
It's Time
For Action!
Spring's the time to get up and get going in action-wear by Doggon'ts.
Soft, stretchy, sky-blue terry warm-ups trimmed in colorful braid.
Pants $24
Top $15
Two additional styles available)
the VILLAGE SET
922 Massachusetts
Open Thursdays 'til 9:00
And if courtesy, convenience and attractive, spacious surroundings are what you prefer in your shopping experience . . .
Consider our extensive wine selection
Eagan Retail Liquor A New Concept That's Long Overdue
Southwest Plaza Shopping Center Next to Safeway 23rd & Iowa Street
842-6089
9:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.