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Show Wednesday, June "Daily Utah Chronicle 23, 2004 T T SLAC's 2004 "Saturday s V oyeur edic footin Wi Eryn Green Asst. News Editor A tale is told jiiii ji lii mii wi wi linn J ji m mymi wj m nw nut miiimmwini ill around bottles of IW wi "rn w, t it ' Chardonnay by longtime Salt Lake City theatergoers of a little play that - i could ' v rr - S i Subtle, acute jokes that were prevalent in older "Voyeurs" are few and d far between. In their stead are pop references that don't pack the same punch as their clever play dressup and head to Capitol Hill that anything resembling a resolution begins to take shape. Pussy, Pixie and Trixie trade garter belts for pantsuits and head with a queer eye for the straight Utah State Legislature on the last day of its session. The trio falls headfirst into a circus of propaganda, ineptitude, cowboy '' r . in i , ham-hande- predecessors. The second act of "Saturday's Voyeur" is markedly better than the first, though, with the Goat's strippers attending to a cornucopia of Legisla- Much like the little engine that v.- - . . - .'1 shares a similar fable, this little play started as a fledgling and unsure production that few expected to succeed. As the story goes, the little play-na- med "Saturday's Voyeur," as a wry I allusion to a Mormon film paid no mind to its naysayers. With a determined head full of steam and a subi I scription to The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News, it climbed the representatives and t ..J hill of controversial theater until corporate coercion. it reached the summit and reigned stum"Voyeur" over other local productions as the U bles until intermisking of political comedy. sion, with its first e in I n act taking But, there's another place narrative to which "Saturday's Voy- V within entirely ; eur" bears striking similarities: The the Crazy Goat a Little Boy Who Lost His Way. a Saloon having hard time finding Although "Saturday's Voyeur" be- 8o ,.J its comedic footing. ganand long stood as a beacon of 01 . solid, smart, unpretentious criticism, a. 'h Intelligent jabs at mnnirtw.i it has strayed from this path in recent "We know they're hiding around here somewhere. Hand over the pasties and no one gets hurt."The zoning restrictions Man's henchmen on the offensive in "Saturday's Voyeur." and licensing go years. Although it does less than last largely unnoticed, musical Pixie and Trixie, Darker sets out to eclipsed by gaudy, year's show to congratulate itself, adopt strange business practices and a new bar name as he endures fight the proverbial man (who, in this numbers. 2004's play still fails to be either exAt times, "Voyeur" feels as though the slings and arrows of ridiculous traordinarily funny or uniquely inyear's incarnation, bears a striking four-ma- n it laws a were conceived this year as the to and drunk resemblance street sightful. Baptist midget liquor d Nazi chorus line...really) every step love child of an cable The story follows Daniel Darker, preachers. y forthe it his and local until Darker's But a of the the of of the With isn't way. help package newspaper proprietor mer Dead Goat Saloon, forced to cabaret "performers," Pussy, intrepid bartender gets the giris to ' . w J w ' ' tive hazards. Barbs directed at lawmakers and their 1 ? well-know- h- - .5 ' MTV-equippe- law-saw- outrageously close-minde- d habits do well to strike a resonant chord with average Utahns, who care more about our state's cultural folkways than whether or not pasties will be present on the bosoms of downtown dancers. Overall, 2004's "Saturday's Voyeur" is better than last year's, but not as good as it could have been. There's even a cool OutKast dance number and a Christina Aguilera song thrown in there somewhere which is emblematic of the entire production: confounding and unnecessary but still somehow mildly entertaining. It's also worth realizing that some of the pop jokes don't register with the predominantly older audience attracted to "Voyeur," and that's an oversight. "Voyeur" is still a better production than most Salt Lake independent theater, but it'd be wise to return to the proven ways of its subtle, socially relevant past. egreenchronicle. utah. edu aged-but-eag- er Me and Calendar down by the schoolyard June 23 The Samples and Brian Vander Ark play Suede tonight. Haven't heard of them? Neither had we. Fact is, Vander Ark used to be the lead singer of the Verve Pipe (if you don't remember the words to "The Freshmen," get your head checked, man) and g The Samples' buzz is so as to beg a Keith Richardscockroach comparison. Ke Siy check them both out-wo- rst comes to worse, you're at Suede. Grab yourself the largest Long Island Iced Tea in Utah for 7 bones and mourn the passing of fashionable plaid shirts. June V look like a younger, ail the time, too. June 26 freaked-ou- t Meg White and The Roots play USANA Friday night. last show at USANA was monumental in terms of energy, style and pure muscian-ship-it- 's almost guaranteed that this one will be no different. And The Roots? Psh. Miss them and you miss the best live hip-ho- p act around. Yes, we said it: BEST LIVE 311 311's P ACT M I ( You've got two real options as far as new or Saturday night movies gender confusion. Make your official $7.50 donation to Michael Moore's campaign by seeing "Fahrenheit 911" or check out the new Wayans brothers comedy,"White Chicks." Don't even bother trying to see either film on Friday (opening day)-crosuck and we've given you better things to do anyway. AROUND. Feel like picking up some high school girls, jocko? AbsolutePunk.net is sponsoring its first tour with headliners Say Anything, Audio Karate and DJ Lars in Salt Lake City. Infectious Seattle rock bordering on is typically an easy call for a mallpunk-em- o Utah Arts Festival: The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players stop by Salt Lake City during the festival. For three days. Seriously. Poor little Michelle Trachtenburg. If i good night. Or a statutory rape charge. June 25 24 I our parents were determined to sing along to absolute strangers' vacation slides, we'd June 27 Most collecting obsessions are just that: obsessions. Unstyled, uninhibited, fodder neurosis. We think there's something more to the whole Vespa thing, though - go find out (for FREE!) on the chat-roo- E R . I E S t M last day of the AmeriVespa convention going down at Sunnyside Park. We suggest getting there at around 11 a.m., because they're riding 55 miles up Mill Creek Canbe a sight to see. yon at 1 p.m. Trust us-i- t'll June 28 The readers of Blueswax Magazine (the largest blues publication around) dubbed Anthony Gomes their "artist of the year." It goes without saying that they might know a thing or two on the subject. If you've never seen a blues show, this will be the one to start with-- go get entranced by Gomes as he exorcises some demons at Club Sound. June 29 Too bad nobody July O 142 ) invented the Presenter's Office Celebrate the thofJULYon FIREWORKS Display! '10 Park the rd Jordan Park 1060 South 900 West 5:00p.m. - IOlOO p.m. U Cowboys. Calendar sposored by Traditional celebration - Snow cones, cotton candy, CAKE WALK, popcorn, fishing pond, hot dogs, watermelon, volleyball, children's games, prize drawings, face painting llljicesky Purey V.Oillft lij VVhiie Guys Ghwat Funk 0.Molhtftess u'll Dedication of Olympic flag poles in Peace Gardens with Olympic arhlctci uiqi Love, South Ausnn Ju'j NeBcovKr.o-.v- first hippie you meet that you're looking fit right for some girl named Mary-yo- in. at Jordan 21 .Jenria Land Ric!;;nona fcria-- 28 However, after the passing of Jerry, The Grateful Dead is. Dead, we mean. No, that's its name. The Dead. If you're worried about making friends at this show, just tell the machine. Tuesday night would reap prime benefits: June 30 If you haven't pawned your mother's TV set yet, you might want to give her another "visit"-Sim- on & Garfunkel play at the Delta Center tonight. They might be old, but they're still Simon and Garfunkel. And, no, they're not dead. RcwKievi Kc;ly For more information visit: thegallivancentcr.com 'ti'"'. f JI U f I h '"I 5 .MM i i is ' ; r www the.pliivanenter com Z Info 601 535 6123 11 ft & ( t v A N I |