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Show FnidAy, April 29, 1988 ChRONidc Paqc Scve ACCENT Pioneer Theatre's 'Singin' in the Rain' is well performed HUMEHlAl PICTURES PRESENTS "aqN By Arlene Calkins Chronicle staff writer LOCKWOOD S . NTROOUCING If you want to have a time, listen to beautiful music and watch marvel after technical marvel work its way onstage, then go see Pioneer Theatre Company's it "Singin' in the Rain." If you want to see Gene Kelly, toe-tappi- jdd JhfTii ' ng tor-get- "Singin' in the Rain" is the Broadway musical based on the famous MGM musical. It is said to have the catchiest tunes, the liveliest choreography and the most hilarious jokes of any musical. For the most part, it does. What it doesn't have is a strong leading man. Todd Taylor .plays (I should say "sleeps") the role of Don Lockwood. Lockwood supposedly makes it to the top of the cinematic world by coming up from the bottom with his friend and partner, Cosmo Brown. Lockwood meets his ego's match in the ditzy, blonde star, Lina Lamont. Along the way, Lockwood comes to know and fall in love with Kathy Selden. Together, these characters make the transition from silent films to the "talkies." Taylor's portrayal lacks depth and feeling. While his dancing and singing are adequate, there's no life or sparkle to his character. The famous number where Lockwood sings and dances in the rain left me wonder- ing where Gene Kelly was. Perhaps it's not fair to compare the two, but to whom is it not fair? Martin Moran. Remember this name. I haven't been thrilled by a performer like this since I saw Michael Crawford in "The Phantom of the Opera." I am not alone in my opinion. The audience went wild. He has a great voice and a very nice comic style. His dancing couldn't be better. There was "life" in this boy. Who needs Donald O'Connor? Sally Woodson, as Kathy Selden, did a marvelous job. She has a terrific voice and a range which went from notes in the basement, to those that only dogs can hear. Woodson was alive at all times and carried many a dead scene. Lina Lamont, played by Deborah Carlson, is constant- - I - H Wffi M"' "'WW , s jfr&'t ' 44f s Don Lockwood (Todd Taylor) and Kathy Seldon (Sally Woodson) perform their the simulated rain at Pioneer Memorial Theatre. ly asking the question "What do you think I am, dumb or somethin'?" Dumb she is not. She is clever, malicious, fingerbright and funny, down to her heavily-laquere- d nails. Carlson did her homework well. After an evening d of that grating voice and giggle, I had a great desire to know what her real voice sounded like. Don't look for it. Carlson doesn't break character for one second. She's consistent, and she's great. Kudos to Max Robinson, Richard Mathews, Marsha Miller, Robert Peterson, and Wayne Kennedy. These people did a fine job. Robinson was hilarious as the frustrated director and the villain of the silents. Mathews was a stand-ou- t as the man who introduces the "talkies" to the as the diction coach. It is always a pleasure to and public high-pitche- toe-tappi- y. singing and dancing in ng see these two onstage. This play shows off their versatility at its best. There are 35 people in this show, and half of them are in the chorus. These people were wonderful! With all that heavy you'd expect to hear a lot of huffing and puffing, instead of singing. Not so. That stage came alive with these terrific people. Special mention should be made of Aaron Shubach and Michael L. Burnett, who played the young Don and Cosmo, and were delightful. tap-dancin- g, Guest director and choreographer Darwin Knight did a remarkable job of staging. "The transition from film to the stage is an enormous undertaking," Knight said. New book, record confirm doom of U.S. culture By John Pecorelli Chronicle assistant feature editor Sociologists studying America's cultural decay can add a couple of new reference guides to their research files this month. The new proofs are a book called Actual Facts and the debut record by Kings of the Sun. These two products should solidify mounting evidence that, the Good ol' U.S. of A. ain't long for this world (if our popular culture is any indication). But let's look into this a little more deeply. hisActual Facts is an "amusing" look at hicKansas tory, "hystericalhistorical" stuff that ksauthors Cully Abrell and John Thompson made up between bouts of Okie moonshine and sex with livestock. C'mon, is the "idea" that "Moses may have been an Apache" s'posed to be funny? Or how about the one that states, "Half of Hitler's mustache had to be painted on with shoe polish"? Oh, but the best stuff by far is the press packet I received with my complimentary copy of the book (gee, thanks). One of the questions the packet asks: "Just another book offering useless trivia? Consider the following. . ." at which point a whole slew of useless, untrue trivia from the book is listed. All this can be yours for a mere $6.95. One li'l quip from the book reads, "The older you get the less funny some things may seem." No, its' just that some things just aren't funny to begin with. un-record- ed knee-slappi- n' hackneyed lyrics imaginable. Check out this poetic gem from "Get on Up:" Yeah yeah yeah yeah mummmum-ma- , Ooo yeah yeah yeah my my my, Get on up, get on . up. .etc. 'Course, that's really not so bad compared to the actual lyrical ideas here, stirring concepts like: Serpentine blowin' my mind, Serpentine she wiggle so fine. from Granted, one shouldn't expect Dostoyevski-ism- s most rock bands, but there's gotta be a line somewhere. And I think when King of the Sun start singing about "motorcycle mumma's" and "butchy, bitchy babies" they've indeed crossed that line. In closing, I beg each one of you to scan Actual Facts. Give Kings of the Sun a quick listen. You will inevitably realize, to your horror, that we are doomed. Anyway, enough time and space has been spent on this stinking tripe. Let us now move on to something even worse. The debut record by Kings of the Sun is essentially a rock version of Actual Facts. Required listening for anyone who wants to know exactly what is wrong with the American popular music industry, Kings of the Sun personify the lack of originality, the total predictability and the absolute goddamn exploitive nature of American pop culture. Lemme explain. For starters, RCA's attempting to cash in on two separate markets by having two "metal guys" in the band as well as two "punk guys." The music in the grooves, however, doesn't attempt to capture any of the respectable elements these two schools of rock may offer. Instead, Kings of the Sun aims at a sgrt of marriage between John C. Mellencamp and Bryan Adams, picking through the worst aspects of each performer and cramming it into one very easily disposable package. Song titles like "Hot to Trot" and "Black Leather" abound on this disc, as well as some of the most diched, Two symbols of American cultural decay, the debut album by Kings of the Sun and the book, Actual Facts. When products such as these ooze their way into American society, there is only one course of action left open to us: total, merciless destruction. Mm al patfts sign op Tk-- TIMES TtWT ftMCruAUT HAS U$D --To Tesf P0TAT065. (3GW Aft |
