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Show jr " 1 1 1 1 11 "" 11 111 1 1111 jjjjf Friday, April 1,1983 J PageCl s w. , i ., , i 'Jacques BreP returns with energy and skill "At various prized moments, they wielded the irony, anger and romance of the tunes as expertly as a ringmaster with a whip." Barbara Bra mWe-( left) tries to cheer up despondent lover Steve Stanczyk in this very relaxed moment from ''Jacques Brel." by Rick Brough The well-being of Jacques Brel was dramatically in evidence last weekend, as Intermountain Actors Ensemble presented its second version of "Jacaues Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" at the Kimball Art Center. This time around, "Brel" received lively direction from Steve Hunt. The cast of five veteran voices didn't always add up to expectations. They were perhaps greater in their parts than in their whole. But if you didn't already have an affinity for Brel's songs, there were several times when the performers could sell them to you. At various prized moments, they wielded the irony, anger and romance of the tunes as expertly as a ringmaster with a whip. Hunt brought a smooth, circusy choreography to the show, especially in the fast-stepping group numbers that open each act. The performers displayed any number of magical changes. The three men with canes became a firing squad. People turned into puppets. Debby Rapp changed into a cello, "played" by Steve Stanczyk. These numbers were only hampered when it became evident the performers were out of breath. The director himself made a nice, 1 funny appearance as a Chaplinesque janitor who polished one of the Einstein drawings by David Fernandez and "blew its nose." About time the performers in Kimball stopped trying to ignore the artwork hung around ihem. V The strongest TTOcettrthe show (and among the strongest performers) was Barbara Bramble, who made her handling of the songs look easy but emotionally forceful. She can make a phrase hang in the air when it needs to. In an eerily contemplative song about facing death, she sang about going through the fateful "door": "Angel or devil, I don't care; for in front of that door, there is you." Bramble's best moment, as in the first "Brel," is her song-depiction of a carousel going madly out of control. Here, the rendition had an extra, chilling note of insane desperation. In looking back, I can't recall that Steve Stanczyk was given any strong solo moments. But he tended to permeate the show. You can credit, in part, that wonderful striped Paris-boulevard Paris-boulevard shirt he was wearing. But mostly, it's just that, even when other people were singing, you were tempted to watch his reactions. It was a consistently heartfelt, energetic performance. per-formance. He partnered well with Bramble, and also paired off nicely in a few numbers with Curt Graf. Stanczyk used one of his fortes a tone of smoldering anger in a song about bullfighting that soon pointed its indicting finger at other violent spectacles. "Marika" was perhaps the show's best duet, with Graf taking lead vocal and Stanczyk singing faintly beside him as a shadow, or echo. Graf by himself was another of the show's assets. His solo in the second act about a lost love was a melancholy highlight. In his seething treatment of the -sordid "Amsterdam," Graf seemed about to rip apart. He acted more comfortable with the darker tunes, although he didn't fully realize the light-hearted mood of "Jackie." Debby Rapp was exercising her voice very little on the night I saw "Brel," due to a bum throat. However, she still added to the evening with her pantomimed reactions, or in segments where she was a lover or companion reacting to someone else's songs. (I suspect several of the show's solos were enlivened by giving the singer a "foil" to react against.) Jim Donner has shown in the past that he has a good voice, but he didn't sound accustomed yet to handling Brel's limber, ironically shifting passion. pas-sion. In his most memorable moment, he was a peevish corpse singing about the apathetic mourners around him. (One was reading Webster's Dictionary! Diction-ary! ) It was the attention to detail, whether in props of staging, that made "Brel" work. For a song about the affection-starved "Desperate Ones," the entire cast was on stage, each person separate and looking off in a different direction. As the song ended, they began to turn toward each other, but no contact was made. For the finale, "If We Only Had Love," the performers started out in exactly the same positions. This time, the movements of communication were completed, and the five were standing arm in arm, or shoulder to shoulder. The staging would be superficial by itself, but used to complement the song, it was a neatly triumphant way to cap off "Jacques Brel." k Y S I I K A I at Prospector Square 649-8060 Park City's largest full service steakhouse serving the best of steaks, prime rib, seafood, and the famous 35-item Salad Bar. DIHHEH Special Easter Sunday Brunch Sue Haygood is preparing a special feast for Easter Sunday 9:30 - 2:30 Monday-Thursday 5:3010:30, Friday Saturday 5:3011 p.m. Sundays 5 10 p.m. LUNCH Monday - Friday 1 1 :30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. : SUNDAY BUSTS? BRUNCH 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. every Sunday year-round 88U8 STEAK CATERING Hot and Cold Hors d'oeuvres Light Dinner Buffet Platters Complete Dinners Dessert Items Menu & Party Planning WaiterWaitress Service, Pickup at Restaurant, or Delivery-only Service Available Call Sue Haygood at 649-8060 im.'lltlLMft.Ulll.i, i.fc.4fcL.,..i--'ftii.... jJfcii i 1 i A lA M iii A i A nfc niB ilfci Aiilfr' inihi iii ti n ii ii A mil AuJu, |