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Show 4s Deep Blue Cleansin by Rick Mortcnscn photo by Kyle Green "How 'bout a pretzeK" John Patrick Shaney's play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea begins with a request for pretzels, but ends with a request for healing. Danny and Roberta meet in an empty bar, abuse each other, then share pretzels and beer. Wearing depravity and loneliness on their sleeves, both take turns reaching out and trying to scare each other away. In a series of emotionally-charge- d and sometimes abusive each down break other's defenses, exorcise exchanges, they each other's demons and begin new lives together. What begins as a study in depravity turns out as a triumph of compassion and hope. Danny and Roberta become more human and courageous as layers of their defenses are stripped away. Their brand of compassion is a relentless refusal to leave each other alone. They endure each other because they see the fear and need behind the abuse. In the Lab Theatre's production, these parts were honestly played by Johnny Kwon and Heather Howe. Both actors kept the characters dynamic and thought-provokin- g with a good feel for the pacing of the play. The main action was never compromised by affectation or Howe resisted cheap tricks in her portrayal of a lonely woman. Alternating between compassion and fear, Howe expertly gave away just enough of her masked motivations to build toward an ultimate resolution. Her best scene (as well as the playwright's) was the ending, when Roberta panics and tries to get rid of Danny. Her fear of comes out in frenetic bursts of intimacy, at first abuse. As Danny purges her final demon (with a good spanking), Howe's relief is real and cleansing. Kwon also showed great discipline and common sense in his portrayal of Danny. His performance stayed true to the script in his throughout and he resisted posturing and over-actin- g anti-socirole. His transformation from sociopath to savior was believable and gradual as he gave in to Roberta. Dwight Bacqie's staging worked well in the "theatre in the round" setting. It was apparent he and his actors had great communication and a clear group vision. While Danny and the Deep Blue Sea may be a bitter pill to swallow, it provides deep cleansing and has the potential to heal. Perhaps when society overcomes its fear of intimacy, God will send us another Moliere to cheer us all up. jr self-indulgen- ce. well-conceale- al d, Dusting Off Chiistensen by M.P. Ludlow eeing the Ballet Department's 1 presentation of Wiilam F. along this complicated course. The most outstanding pact of the Ballet Department's Coppelia is breathtakingsoaring through difficult choreography with effortlessness Linton. As Swanhilda, she is that puts professionals to shame. Yet Linton is beyond just a technical dancer. She has good phrasing in her movement, a sensitivity for musk and an engaging method of dancing, which transports the audience into her world. Another major highlight of the evening was the Utah Chamber high school reunion. Many audience members were vocal about their memories of performing in Orchestra, conducted by David Van Alstyne. The Utah Chamber Orchestra played the score well and tremendously enhanced die Coppelia many years ago. One woman in particular waited in anticipation to see "her" part, probably hoping to see production. The corps danren portrayed doQs, and Bag bearers in a something of herself in the young e. woman dancing She smiled frequently, and said, It's just like I remembered.' Just like Ballet West might have appeared in its early years, the company of Coppelia hopes to provide a v3-lage- on-stag- well-construct- by Chad her friends tiptoe into the house to confront her. Coppilia continues Christensen's Coppelia is like taking a step back in time. Christensen's 1939 choreography has been meticulously restaged by U. Ballet Professor Bene Arnold, and tremendous efforts have been made to make the ballet appear as it did when it was last performed by BaDet West in 1980. With all its reverence to tradition, the evening delivers an odd sort of nostalgia what you might expect from attending another generation's good show. Nostalgia aside, one can see Coppelia is a let. Leo Delibes' score is photo upia Grceileif rs, concentrated effort, forming an abundance of straight lines and diagonals. Many soloists Uce Naomi Kakuk, Shawns Sennett, and Lisa looked good. Everyone moved from bal- step to step without many errors. The dancers looked polished and almost professkmaL Despite all the energy and talent, light-hearte- d, emotional, and exciting; in a series of variations moving that keep the dancers from resorting to static mime. the ballet lacked The libretto (based on a story by Coppilia was likespontaneity. a zombie E.T.A. Hoffmann) has attracted ballet the corps and soloists some of ballet's most eminent danced their steps proficiently, but choreographers. Coppilia has been without feeling the music or the staged by Marius Petipa, Enrico story they were conveying. : Cecchetti, George Balanchine, and Franz (Troy Edward Bowles) more recently, Houston Ballet's Ben danced with high leaps and techni-- Stevenson (whose version was precal bravado, but not much else." sented by Ballet West last season). When he acts, it's a dear break in The story takes place in the vilexpression from his dancing. This lage square of a "small Galician made Coppilia's story tiresome, Town" where Dr. Coppelius (Joe which also interrupted the dancing. Dewey) has built his master u l Because of this dancing and act--' e mechanical doll ing rift, the audience no longer piece a named Coppelia. The villagers watched for emotion or expression, - life-lik- betrothed to Swanhilda (Carina Linton), but falls in love with the doll. He sneaks into Dr. Coppelius' house to meet the mysterious young girl, while Swanhilda and Frankrmtrm-meets-Pmnoch- io Swaruulda ends up changing places with the dot, making Dr. Coppeius that he is actuaDy bringing htsdoltoGfe. The second act can be one of the greatest moments in ballet because it is both funny and You see a lonely befievc heart-wrenchin- g. man believe his dream of having a daughter is finally futSkd, fuDy aware of the crud joke Swanhilda b playing on him. Unfortunately, fade of this great-neis Ctexed through Joe Dewey's Dr. Coppefius. Dewey seemed to be half ditz and half wizard and he expressed fade feeing for Coppeia. ss Dewey appeared mostly annoyed with his creation, and Machen danced variations with there is no sf nsr of guardianship enthusiasm and rrrhnical elan. in his performance. One wonders For the most part, the dancing why the doU has been brought to that assume she is Dr. Coppelius' elusive daughter, which causes problem. Franz (Troy Edward Bowles) is Kingsbury Hall sounded like a football field after a touchdown. However, there wasn't much else to grasp. The second act is the most theatrical part of the ballet. The Hjrct-t- o turns into a kind of fairy tale. After a series of mistaken identities, ; but waited for "tricks." Linton life at alL Instead of making Dr. Coppelius real, Dewey sports goofy stances. His caricature seemed a device for silliness. This hollow characteristic is also reflected in the production values. The costumes were unimaginative prasant outfits in dull pastel colors, and Robert OHeara's set looked like a flat cartoon, which didn't reflect the romantic music or-- era' that CoppiUa was written in. The set looked like it belonged to a '40s Swedish musical instead of a nine-teen- th , century baSet. Despite Ms faSngs, CoppiS skillfully combined the Utah Ballet Company, the Character Ensemble and the Utah Chamber Orchestra into a seamless whole. CappGk also offered a chance for U. dancers to work with American dance pioneer dosed the baSet with an astound-- :, ing combination of fouettes with . W2araF.Chrbirn.en. double pirouettes, fc"fhtng with Most of aS, oCered the four revolutions a quadruple ' udknce an OppiSm to catch opportunity ', pirouette. some spwUnsar dancing v..'' packaged in a nostalgic replica ; After Linton successfully commht they pleted her difficult combination. have seen before, ; f |