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Show Page A8 Thursday, November 19, 1981 The Newspaper Playwright shows his Vietnam in comedy PINION PINE 190ION CEDAR Cut, Split and Delivered order any length 654-1808 549-393? The experiences of Vietnam Viet-nam drove some veterans to suicide or mental trauma. But for actor-playwright and Vietnam vet Al Brown, it resulted in a play about the war that he calls "95 percent laughs." It's called "Back to Back". In it, he told The Newspaper, he wanted to bring out the humanity of the war, and protest the cliched notion that Vietnam turned its soldiers into doped-up psychos. He said he felt bitter, in retrospect, about' the men who lost their lives for no reason. "The play is dedicated to a sergeant I knew who was blown to bits," he said. After he came home, Brown said, he went "over the hill" mentally. "I could imagine myself holding a razor blade to Lyndon Johnson's throat and saying 'Stop the war'." But out of the 13-month tour of duty he served in Vietnam, in 1966-67, he figured maybe five or six hours were spent fighting. SKI INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAM For Good Skiers who want to become Instructors, and for Good Skiers who want to become Great Skiers ! Conducted by Duane Vigos and the Supervisory Staff at the Park City Ski School. The Instructor Training Course is both for future Instructors and for better-than-average skiers who want the most exciting learning experience available anywhere. The Course includes four Seminars to be held at the Holiday Inn in Park City the first to be held on November 24th. And it also includes six On-the-Hill Training Sessions. Six Park City Lift Passes are included in the price. For Information Call 1-649-81 11 Or Write: P.O. Box 39 Park City, UT 84060 sw school The rest of the time, he said, "we did a lot of dumb things. We'd be walking along and fall into a hole." "Back to Back" will be presented by the Salt Lake Acting Company at the Egyptian Theatre on Thursday Thurs-day Nov. 19 and Saturday Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. The performance per-formance is also sponsored by the Utah Arts Council and the Utah Rural Arts Consortium. Consor-tium. Brown said he wrote the play as a reaction to the popular image of the Vietnam Viet-nam vet. "A show like 'Hawaii Five-O' protrayed the vet as somebody on drugs who shot babies all the time," he said. "They never told about how we fed the Vietnamese and took care of them." After seeing "The Deer Hunter," Brown started star-ted scribbling on a pad and the play was born. The two characters spend the entire play in a foxhole. Hughes (played by Chuck LaFon) is the company goof-off. goof-off. He's so irresponsible that his squad buddies take turns looking after him. "He's always talking about Burt Lancaster movies or his girlfriend Charlene anything except the war," said Brown. His buddy, Verville (Tom Green), is a straight-arrow who talks about "doing our duty" whatever that is. Both parts are based on men Brown knew. "Verville was killed," he said. In Vietnam, Brown remembered, the weapons got better protection than the men. Sandbags surrounded surroun-ded the artillery, while the solders were positioned in front of the guns with barbed wire around them. Coke cans with rocks in them were hung on the wire as an early warning of intruders, and they are often used in the play, Brown said. Details aside, this could be a foxhole from any war. "World War II vets have told me, 'I knew guys like that,'" Brown said.) The language, is, naturally, pretty raw. "Men alone with guns take out their aggression in words," he noted. T But realism has been thrown away for one detail. In the play, the men hold , sticks instead of guns. Brown started doing this after af-ter an actor in one production produc-tion compared the men, Hughes and Verville, to a pair of little kids. A more important reason, though, is that Brown hates guns. He's a native Philadel-phian Philadel-phian who enlisted in the Marines eleven days after he graduated from high school. "I could identify with the last scent in 'Coming Home' where those kids are listening to the military recruiter," he said. "I was sucked in just like they were." He served near the demilitarized demili-tarized Zone. "In the Army, the tour was 12 months. Marines are dumber, so we served 13 months." The soldiers lived from one extreme to another. "One minute we were shooting gooks. If one ran away and didn't stop after you yelled 'Halt' in Vietnamese Viet-namese three times, you could plug 'em," he said. "But another time, I saw a guy run into a burning village, at risk of his own life, and carry out an old mama-san and papa-san." A gunshot wound in the leg put Brown out of action. He rejoined civilian life in 1968 and soon became part of the peace movement. "The hair grew long," he said. "I burned bur-ned my discharge papers in the back yard." And he went to Washington for the Moratorium Day protest of October 1969. But even on the college campuses he attended, (Villanova in Pennsylvania, U. of Miami) people were reluctant to talk to him about the war. "If I told a funny story about the service, they'd laugh, and then change the subject," he said. "The guys in the dorms were afraid of me." The theater bug bit him while he was attending Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. "The first play I saw was Samuel Beckett's 'Endgame,' which is a pretty strange introduction to theater," Brown smiled. "I mean people in garbage cans?" For a time in the early 1970s, he was on the road through the western states selling for a company called Mercury Marine. "It was damn lonely, but sometimes you gotta go for the dough," Brown said. In 1975, he settled set-tled down in Salt Lake and became involved in local theater. Since writing "Back to Back" in 1979, he has written seven other plays in an ef-: ef-: fort, he said, to discover if he is a "one-shot wonder." , "I keep trying to get back jB 'Back to Back'," he said. -Tfte other plays Jiave not been.$roauced, Jut the Salt LakeActing Company may stage one of them, a boy-meets-girl comedy called "Half and Half." Brown is also hoping for a role in the company's forthcoming production of "Hedda Gabler." "I miss acting," he said. Brown has exercised his .Vietnam experience, but there is evidence the country , hasn't yet. "Let me give you a statistic about vets. In the years of our Vietnam involvement, in-volvement, 1961-73, we lost from 48,000 to 56,000," he noted. "Since 1973, over Iiilillli 61,000 veterans have died through suicide, battles with police, or car fatalities. Thirty-seven percent of the inmates in-mates in Utah State Prison are Vietnam veterans." And he said he is scared that another Vietnam could Playwright Al Brown happen again soon, with the present mood of the country and the military build-up. "You can't pile up snowballs without starting to throw them eventually." "Back to Back," an acclaimed ac-claimed play by an in teresting writer, will be presented this Thursday and Saturday at the Egyptian. Tickets are $3.50 for Park City Performances members, mem-bers, and $5 for non-members. non-members. For info and reservations, call 649-9371. Audition for KPCW talent show Time to take that old guitar out of the closet and tune up for the first annual "Great KPCWPark City & Summi!U..QlUjiiyatoTiI.enjJ Show. 3 t - I Despite the length of the title, it's really quite simple. On Sunday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. you'll have the opportunity to audition at the Egyptian Theatre for your spot in the limelight and a chance to win one of many prizes on Tuesday, Dec. 8. If your act is chosen as one of the finalists, you will perform per-form on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. before a live audience, and at the same time be broadcast over the radio. The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges who will also be taking into account the amount of applause rated by a decibel meter. Competition will be divided, into two - age - erouos :12 .vanaii OBGerinfanasi adult. Because this will be a live broadcast over KPCW, we've reluctantly had to exclude ex-clude such things as dance and magical acts but you'll have your chance next year when we have our TV station. To keep the competition fair, KPCW's judges also reserve the right to exclude "professional" performers, those making a living from their music. As far as categories for compeition, those will be determined after the auditions on Sunday. We en- courage both individual and group acts, and there will be a piano available at the Egyptian. ,.,,.... -your, act must ,oe- j)roao castable" over the radio and we ask that you keep it under four minutes. This competition is open to all residents of Summit County and is part of the second annual KPCW Winter Marathon fundraising drive which will run from Dec. 8th thru the 10th. Stay tuned to KPCW and the papers to get more details on both the talent show and the marathon. Meanwhile, remember that Sunday, Dec. 6 is your chance chan-ce to audition for the show. rr i i i i i i i -J- m i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -A 1 J 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I l I I I i ' i i i i i i 1 i i i Mountain Sustenance u D O D I N N N K I ADOLPH'S AT THE GOLF COURSE On the golf course, Park City. Exceptional dining with Swiss hospitality. Everything from Escargots Bourguig-nonne, Bourguig-nonne, Raclette Swiss style to veal specialties. Seafood, beef and chef's specials; Roast Rack of Lamb, Steak Diane and Roast Duckling a L'Orange for dinner, flaming desserts and Sunday Brunch year round. Hours: 6-11 nightly, Sunday Brunch 1 1 a.m. 2 p.m. Reservations request id, 649-71 77. EL PAPAGAYO (THE PARROT) Look for the brightly colored parrot at 430 Main St. and try our authentic Mexican Food. Lunch served from 11:30-2:30 and dinner from 5:00-10:00 seven days a week. Call 649-6900 for your Take-Out meal. TEXAS RED'S Park City's authentic pit-cooked barbecue is quickly becoming a favorite with local folks and visitors. Specializing in barbecue pork spare ribs and beef brisket at reasonable prices. Texas Red's is open for lunch and dinner. Take out for sandwiches, dinners or by the pound Children's menu. Open 1 1 :30 a.m. to 1 1 :00 p.m. daily. 440 Main St., 649-9997, 649-6993. THE CLAIMJUMPER Set in the historic Claimjumper Hotel, this first-rate steakhouse serves the famous Baseball Steak as a specialty. special-ty. Old whiskey bottles serve as menus. Open 6-10 p.m., Sunday Thursday; 6-11 p.m., Friday & Saturday. 573 Main Street, 649-8051. CHINA BRIDGE The only gourmet Chinese restaurant in town. Serving 7 days a week. Hours: lunch 1 1 :30 to 3:00 Mon.-Sat., dinner 3:00 to 10:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; Sunday 3:00-10:00 p.m. Take out is available. Specializing in Cantonese and Szechewan dishes. Phone 649-5757, 649-5758. Located In Holiday Village Mall. Closed Mondays. THE EATING ESTABLISHMENT Join us In our patio greenhouse for breakfast or lunch featuring our famous breakfast specials, including "The Miner's Dawn" and Park City's best selection of soups, sandwiches, omelettes as well as our excellent salad bar. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Breakfast served anytime. Visa & Mastercharge accepted. 315 Main Street. 649-8284. CAR 19 A favorite among tourists and locals, the beautifully restored Car 19 offers casual dining at moderate prices. Veal almondlne, shrimp specialities, king crab legs, chicken supreme, steak and prime rib are a few of the entrees offered. of-fered. The nightly Chef's Special is always popular. Come early and relax by the fire in the lounge. Reservations for large parties. Ample parking in Swede Alley. Bank cards accepted. ac-cepted. Mini bottle license. 5:30-10:30, daily. 649-9474, 438 Main Street. -.-r.a. GRUB STEAK Is Park City's largest steakhouse where you can watch your favorite cut broiled on the open grill. The restaurant features steaks, prime rib, and seafood. This area's largest and freshest salad bar boasts over 35 items. Dinner, Sunday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday thru Thursday 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 6 p.m. to 1 1 p.m. Lunch, Monday through Friday 1 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. Located in Prospector Square, Highway 248, 649-8060. THE IRISH CAMEL "Unique" describes this establishment best. A pub. atmosphere with a collection of antiques enhanced with oak, brass and stained glass. Serving authentic Mexican dishes, burgers and salads. And the price is right! You'll also enjoy our frozen strawberry or lime margarita set-ups so don't forget your booze!434 Main St. 649-6645. Mlletl's Park City's only Italian restaurant offers an elegant and intimate atmosphere. The menu features items such as escargot and antipasto for appetizers, while pastas, veal, chicken and beef dominate the entree selection. Moderately priced. 412 Main Street, 649-8211. 6 p.m. to 1 1.00 p.m., 7 nights a week. Mlletl's Social Association, a private club is located upstairs. MCVPC ROYCE'S Located at 1800 Park Avenue in the Yarrow (a Holiday Inn) The atmosphere is casual, but you can count on some of Park City's finest cooking with a fare ranging from American Ameri-can to Continental. Breakfast is served from 7 a.m. 1 1 :30 a.m., lunch from 1 1 :30 a m. - 3:00 p.m. and dinner from 5 p m. -10 p.m. There are daily lunch and dinner specials. Beer and set-ups are available. (There's a liquor store on the premises). We welcome you to join us. 649-8659. THE VICTORIAN AT SHADOW RIDGE Dining in the most elegant atmosphere, menu featuring escargots, Jumbo shrimp cocktails, lemon veal, tournedos Rossini, Shrimp Marseillaise and Souffle glace au Grand Marnier. The most exclusive wine list In town. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. Facilities for private parties and banquets. Reservations suggested. Call 649-5993. CAFE RITZ Authentic German food such as sauerbraten, wiener schnitzel and gulasch, prepared by Wolfgang Sonntag and his staff. Also serving fine German pastries including Black Forest cherry cake, apple strudel and cheesecake with blueberries blue-berries with cappuccino and espresso. Reasonable prices. 402 Main St. Open seven days a week, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Monday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m. 10:30 p.m. 649-5944. COWBOY BAR 268 Main St. Park City'sjnost exciting night spot and restaurant. Liquor Store on premises. Live entertainment and dancing seven nights a week, featuring regularly scheduled concerts by major recording artists. See The Newspaper for current schedule of events. This is where the Old Wesfcomes alive with the best steak and ribs in town. We also have a vegetarian platter. Dinner 5:30 to 9:30, 7 days a week 649-4146. V MC AE PC. |