trends
'80s fever Blondie and Boy George are becoming the musicians of choice for
manystudents.
By Cathleen Siechta Kansan staff writer
It never failed
Each song played by deejay Jim White prompted cheers of recognition.
William Alix / KANSAN
Jim White of Lawrence plays a selection of music from the last decade for '80s Night at the Granada Theater. 1020 Massachusetts St. Every Wednesday night, about 200 people visit the theater to relive the '80s.
"Oh my God, I loved this song in high school!" squealed one woman, as the dance floor filled with people eager to dance to the music of Eurhythmics, Culture Club and the Police.
Wednesday night, better known as "80s night" at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St., brings out the high schooler in everyone.
"This is the music that everyone who's in college now grew up on," White said "Everyone says how silly the songs were, but they enjoy them just the same. You can go into anyone's house and find tons of music from the '80s. It's like the classic movies of the '80s, like 'Valley Girl' and 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High.' People still rent those movies and watch them. People still listen to this music."
The 1980s may seem too recent to be viewed in retrospect, but students said those were the years they related to their youth.
Many clubs and bars have "70s nights, which remain popular, but some maintain that the music of the 1970's doesn't represent the "twentysomething" generation.
White said the '80s may represent a more carefree era to college students.
"Once a decade passes, everyone wants it back." White said. "It doesn't matter how bad the decade was or what they went through. Most people who grew up on this music are at a point in their lives when they want to be a kid again."
Some students said they had more simple explanations for listening to music from the '80s.
"The '80s were when we were in high school, when things were easy," said Tony Hubbard, Paola junior. "Listening to the music of the '80s lets you reminisce about your freer, younger days and all the stupid stuff you did then."
Monica Harbit, Kansas City, Mo., senior, tends bar on Wednesday night. Harbit said she liked working on Wednesdays because she preferred the music of '80s to the music of the '90s
"I'm an '80s reject," Harib said. "I love this music, and I forever stuck in the '80s."
But some people don't see the '80s as an era to celebrate.
"Popular culture of the 1980s was a phonetic response to shrinking horizons," said Barry Shank, assistant professor of American studies. "From the hysterical trading of commodities on Wall Street to the development of hip-hop and post-punk music to the soporific tragedy of 'thirtysomething,' American popular culture of the '80s reflected the crisis of identity that comes from having an actor as president."
"This is the music that everyone who's in college now grew up on." Jim White Deejay at the Granada
review
'Intersection' is a wreck; moviegoers, steer clear
"Hey, Matt, when do we get to review our next movie?"
Right now, Sludge, we're on!
"Oh, man, let me get my wits about me.
Cover for me."
I'll see what I can do. The film "Intersection," which Sludge and I had the displeasure of seeing this weekend, begins and ends with a grisly four-car collision. The problem is that everything in-between is equally mangled and unsalvageable.
Richard Gere plays Vincent Eastman, an architect whose life with two women flashes before his eyes after a car wreck. The flashback is a dilemma. How does he choose between his wife, Sally (Sharon Stone), who runs their architectural firm, and the new woman, Olivia (Lolita Davidovitch), a writer for an alternative magazine. Sally is a cold-hearted ice queen, and Olivia is an annoying, spunky fruit loot. Not much of a choice. Add to that the fact that Vincent is a sneaky wow who can't keep his pants on, and "Intersection" doesn't leave anything for the audience to care about. Not a good characteristic in a drama, right Sludge?
"Yup. Sharon Stone was a witch, and Olivia was just too darn peppy, and I didn't give a rat's butt whether Gere lived or died in that car哭."
Exactly. Add to the fun the fact that we had a couple of recent lobotomy patients in our row who laughed like wounded seals throughout the entire film. They obviously didn't realize that "intersection" isn't a comedy and is in no way amusing. Oh, except for Davidovitch's riotous line, which I think was their favorite (judging by the relative volume of their response): "Yes, I'd like some red wine please." This must have been their drink of choice immediately before the movie.
"Those glonkterheads! I was ready to pop both of 'em."
"Someone who laughs at the wrong times in a movie."
What's a glonkterhead, Sludge?
"I'm sure it will. Say, I was just wondering, why did they call the movie "Intersection?" The place where he wrecks isn't an intersection at all, it's not even a three-way stop. It's just a crummy dirt road off a two-lane highway."
Oh. Then that term will probably pop up again.
That's a good question, Sludge. Maybe it's because the three lives are intersecting, you know, metaphorically.
"Yeah, thanks for clearing that up, Francis. What I mean is, if you're going to call it "intersection," then I want concrete, four-way traffic lights, the works. That wasn't an intersection at all."
Good point, Sibb. The film has several other shortcomings, as well. Besides being synthet-
c and talse, at times the film is just plain strange. First of all, the movie is a series of flashbacks so
haphazardly edited together that it makes your head hurt trying to figure out when is what and why.
"I know. There were about twenty too many jumps. He's dead. He's alive. It's today...No! It's five years ago, maybe ten. This is real, no walt, it's a dream, and why are they swimming through coffee?"
Yes, there was that awful, pseudo-symbolic underwater scene where Gere swims after Davidovitch through tar-colored water. Very odd indeed, Sludge.
"We've replaced the water you normally swim through with Folger's Crystals. And speaking of breakfast, what was the deal with pancake man?"
Yes, Sludge, there is some bad writing in the movie. The worst of which happens near the end, when Vincent's problems are apparently miraculously solved by a Shirley Temple look-alike delivering pastries who says to him, "Hey mister, wanna sticky bun?" Then he has an existential conversation with her crusty grandpa:
Ah, yes, Sally's new man is referred to as "The Pancake Man" by Vincent because he's the one who makes her breakfast now.
"It was making me hungry. I wanted to hop over to Village Inn for some flap jacks."
The grandpa asks, "You lost?"
"She didn't look like she enjoyed it very much, either."
theater
"No," Vincent replies.
"Yeah. Take your $5 and go to Village Inn for a short stack with mulberry syrup."
Like I said, she's branching out, trying new things. Parting remarks, Sludge?
Definitely, Folks, steer clear of this one. (Ooh, sorry about that.)
KU theater graduates perform again under Broadway spotlights
By Kevin Hoffmann Kansan staff writer
Greg Cunneen and Sarah Terrell didn't plan on seeing much of each other after they graduated from the KU department of theater and film in 1990.
Less than five years later, they found themselves touring the country together with a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, "City
of Angels."
Cunneen and Terrell, who both played leading roles in the theater department's production of "Cabaret," are touring with the Troika organization, a touring company performing "City of Angels" across the country.
The two theater alumni
at the University had played a significant role in his successful theater career.
"It was through the theater department at KU that I was able to go on to study in New York," he said. "That in turn led to my career."
The University did more than help to sharpen his acting skills, Cunneen said.
Larry Gelbart, who previously wrote for the television series "M*A*S*H", "wrote the musical, which is described as a witty tribute to Humphrey Bogart-style movies.
have returned to the Lawrence area this week to perform the musical — a 1940s-style show about a mystery writer's struggle to enter the film industry — at the Music Hall in Kansas City, Kan.
After graduation, both actorsingers left Kansas for New York; Cunneen to go to graduate school and Terrell to find work on the stage.
"We sometimes laugh about it," Cunneen said. "How we ended up touring together after spending so much time together on-stage at KU!"
"I've always known that I was going to move to New York and act."
*KU also has a class called 'Auditioning Techniques' that helps with
"I am constantly in contact with people who were at KU the five years I was that are now in New York," Cunneen said. "I'm sure the department at KU played a big part in that."
A native of Leawood, Cunneen sings in a quartet featured in the musical. He said it was a coincidence that he and Terrell, an understudy for two characters, wound up in the same touring company after graduating together.
While in New York, Cunneen was surprised to find many KU alumni working in the theater field.
Cunneen said his theater studies
Sarah Torroll
KUtheater department alum
that part of the career," he said. "I talked with other people who had never heard of anything like that."
Cunneen said his move f r o m Lawrence to New York had not been much of a culture shock.
"I had spent a lot of time in
New York and had a lot of friends there," he said. "It's more of a shock now when I come back."
A Wichita native, Terrell has an apartment in midtown Manhattan. She said she enjoyed working in New York.
"After I finish this tour, I hope I can stay put in New York for a while and stay close to home," she said.
Terrell said she always had planned to be on-stage.
"I started in Wichita's Children Theater," she said. "I've always known that I was going to move to New York and act."
Before getting her break with "City of Angels," Terrell often found herself waiting to find work, a part of her career that was hard to adjust to.
"I would tell people who are just starting out to make sure they had some kind of skill and know what kind of work they wanted to do while waiting for work," she said. "It's a helpless feeling when you're waiting, so you need something to do."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
"City of Angels" will be playing through Sunday at the Music Hall, 13th and Central streets, Kansas City, Kan. Performances through Saturday are at 8 p.m., 2 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday, and a Sunday evening performance at 7 p.m. Tickets may be obtained through Ticketmaster outlets.
JANUARY 27,1994
PAGE 6
Your guide to Entertainment in the Lawrence Area.
calendar
NIGHTLIFE
Benchwarmers Sports Bar and Grill
1601 W. 23rd St.
November, 10 tonight
The Wake, 10 p.m.
tomorrow
The Lonesome Hounddogs, 10 p.m. Feb. 3
The Bottleneck
L. A. Ramblers, 10 p.m. Saturday
737 New Hampshire St.
The Urge, MU330, Citizen King, 10 p.m.
tomorrow
The Thick with Possum Dickson, 10 tonight (18 and over)
Open Mic Night, 10 p.m. Monday
Naked Soul, 10 p.m. Tuesday
Love Squad and Grumpy, 10 p.m. Saturday Poster Children, Zoom, From, 10 p.m. Sunday (18 and over)
"Stop the West Lawrence Parkway" Benefit featuring Ricky Dean Sinatra and Lonesome Hobos. 10 p.m. Wednesday
WTCF Benefit featuring Kill Creek, Flackjaw and Showertrick, 10 p.m. Feb. 3 (18 and over)
The Crossing
12th and Oread streets
The Lonesome Hounddogs, 9:15 p.m. tomorrow
row
Drake Magnet, 9:15 p.m. Saturday Full Moon Cafe
803 Massachusetts St.
Tim Cross Jazz Group, 8:30 tonight
White Trash, 8:30 p.m. tomorrow
Timber Rattlers, 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Michael Paull, 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday
The Jazzhaus
926 1/2 Massachusetts St.
Monkey Meet, 9:45 tonight
Common Ground, 9:45 p.m. tomorrow
Soul Shaker, 9:45 p.m. Saturday
Whitey, 9:45 p.m. Feb. 3
The Grange Theater
1020 Massachusetts St.
"Whack!" 9 tonight
'70s, '80s and Alternative Music, 9 p.m. tomorrow
Scartaglen, 8 p.m. Saturday
Superbowl XXVIII - Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys, 5 p.m. Sunday
Mondo Disco, 9 p.m. Tuesday
"80s Night, 9 p.m. Wednesday
"Whack!" 9 p.m. Feb. 3
Hockenbury's Tavern
1016 Massachusetts St.
Orquesta Flamante, 10:30 tonight
New Riddim, 10:30 p.m. tomorrow
Crap Supper with Sunday Drive, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday
Walking on Einstein, 10:30 p.m. Feb. 3
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