OCR Text |
Show May 8, 1997 YsJay, is "Classy" Night at Mayfest Tuesday o han n a , Workma n by Rick Mortensen Photo should be fun to watch especially if you belong to the Swing Kids or Strictly Ballroom cults; The U. Ballroom dance team recendv took second Dlace in an intercollepiate comoetition at ts University of ge Character Ensemble: 6:15-- 7 p.m. Nevada-La- s Ballroom Uascers: ;:3U-- o p.m. likisttiti, ballroom danct in a fee ts night ma. .."A ever, n passes the cr:tsri;a jiftrert nor hp per-nemb- U t 7-- 8 ;.-., 1 k K m Qm f&dti&UBtls happens to be a dog. you get out your picket signs to protest outside of Salt Lake Acting Company, you should laww that the tide character in SjAw is not an actu al dog, but a woman acting as if she were a dog. fibu should also know that the woman is a dog that Before can speak English and have conversations with humans as well. Sound confusing No, it's just a clever gimmick cooked up by playwright A.R.. Gumey. tells the story of Greg, an affluent New York businessman who is SAiffering from a mid-lif- e u On a whim, Greg takes home a stray dog named Sylvia, much to die dismay of his wife Kate. Sylvia and Kate compete for Greg's attention, until Greg is finally forced to choose between them. crisis. ISO 00 IQB0DO EJ Friday EJ I aft just another play about a married, d man who becomes involved Thursday it -- f v 'nil "n, Scroti & I I CT. Hollywood contemporaries by dog leaps and bounds. Though its script novelty cries out for a children's audience, Syhii actually succeeds at wooing a target audience of intelligent adults (there's a joke in Sfiii only NPR listeners would understand). And Sylvia does this without feeling too manufactured or pretentious. All of these qualities make Sylm the perfect choice for Salt Lake Acting Company. Under the directing helm of Actor r- o rc M is a delight-Anne Cullimore Decker, 5 ful piece of fluff with a surprising bit of substantive meat on its bones. U. ritO 6 ite Rorr.antu 3erIi3Z 'r Brahms" distinctive sr. Tuesday ruc,h: pio Rumor las it, Sound i f - t P li o t o bv self-dou- bt self-parod- le Following her intelligent turn as Hannah in turns out another respectable performance as Kate, the easily upset wife who wants to get ahead in her career now that the children have left home. The trio of Cohen, Hansen and Buckalew also show off their fine singing abilities as they break Arctiiia earlier this season, Joyce Cohen , into Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye1" in Act L The musical moment only enhances the silly nature of die play, adding to the audience's, detght Additional humor is integrated into the produc- tion by Peter Morse with his many portrayals of minor characters, though his turns as Tom and e (T 1 n i A if j Sylvia's owner Greg (pkyed by Geoff Hansen) is equally good, in more human way. of course. and longing for change are key to Greg's Si 'Aw success In the wrong hands, lines like "She has a great ass used to describe a dog would sound offensive and sick, but Hansen is able to infuse the right y to make these amount of humor and cracks funny and real. Hansen's inner-struggbetween Sylvia and Kate is honest, even though the wife vs. pet decision is the stuff of tabloid news. Webber with Gits, so why not Syhvii While Syh'if! shares many similarities with talkingthinking animal films like Look Who's Talkmg Nov and the Homewtvd Bound series, Gumey's play outclasses its lust v " p.m tried-and-tr- middle-age- Xv" y--- i O WMe Syria's use of die "ether woman" plot is nothing new, Cumey makes the play tnteiesting with his unique take of a human pbying the part of a dog. It worked for Andrew Lloyd X 'j er remiete orchestra, under me baton or L'r. Kcpert will Debaut, perform musi rrom the rmdeue and late romantic includiri Rhine journey r from Wagner's "Seifn pen.y Du an J B:ahrr.' ':: (.per:, 1 i ylvia vs '-f p.m. Utah Philharmonia e' w i As yet unnamed African American gospel choir 4:30-5:1- 5 Described as organized folk dancing," character dancing uses ailet-stylmovements to describe a particular country or cul-lrWhile folk dancing is intended for 'folk, character dancing ; performed by ballet dancers in the ballet idiom. Tuesdav after- i.xn. the Character Ensemble will perform works from cours es within the former Soviet Union, such as the Ukraine anJ Moldavia . ' v. X? Vegas. Tuesday, the group will' form 'team formation dancing," which they use in competi- tion. Among their pieces will be a pasa doble (see Strictly Ballroom) and a swing number. lnese ciassy, perrormances begin at 4: o'J p.m. in Plaza Marriott he (outdside on the east side of the Marriott and include: tbrary) o byJ This year, the Associated Students of the University of Utah esignated a special Mayfest committee as well as a special night for hne-argroups iuesday, May 15 It should be very dassy,' commented Fine Arts committee Emily Hughe, 'Come if you're into more than grunge.' non-grun- twitch - B o st I Lesat are mo p m tor t iiUi and Housed ie sraali Lhapei ineatre space. Keven Myhre's unit set for Sylvu works functionand ally, though its miniature skyscraper cut-oublend colors do nor cartoorush together. bright One can see that Myhre has tried hard to create a but his noble whimsical atmosphere for Svh-uts , attempt doesn't quite make it Sylva's many scene changes are helped along by Wilton Koemig's lighting design, though one can still plainly see the apartment furniture in the background when scenes take place outside. These are minor qualms. The eager audience lapped up the entire production, as if it were d dog dish. There's champagne in a little frivolity in theater, nothing wrong with a and as the song in Gypsy goes, "You gotta get a gimmick, if you wanna get applause. Sylvia flays until June 1 5 at Salt Lake Acting silver-plate- Company, located student rush performances. CaS at 16S W. yOO available 355-ART- me North. A half-ho-ur (2787 S half-pric- e before for details. Training Program graduate Jenniffer Buckalew is endearing as Sylvia, the dog with an attitude. Buckalew is adept with all of her doggy mannerisms, sneezing and wagging her hind quarters just as a real mutt would. if We needed Easily offended audiences should also be warned about Buckalew's performance, for she also spouts a series of vulgarities that one would expect from a real dog (especially when a dog is in heat). irvi muvc -- KXX iliMioiilt;, SO rooo Ji From sporting stents to quick road trips and how to find youT way. CftySearch Saturday g(ws you serytfwg you read to know. OOQClCD lost," llm Sunday mizz rtts ct 0 p.m. ACOUSTIC 165 S. Er L-n-xt Prcn in SP-Cat-T www.citysearchslc.com 4 |