The daily collegian. (University Park, Pa.) 1940-current, April 09, 1984, Image 9

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    16—The Daily Collegian Monday, April 9, 1984
Trackmen blow by competition at Invite
By TODD BENOIT
Collegian Sports Writer
It was the kind of day when you
throw out the record book. Ferocious
and freezing winds buffeted the Me
morial Invitational Track and Field
Meet here Saturday but, in spite of
the weather, the Lions put on a fine
show.
The winds, which cramped run
ner's' legs, threw off jumpers' timing
and sent discuses awry, had barely
an effect on Lion co-captain Todd
Shenk's performance. Shenk cap
tured both the hammer throw and the
discus competition .
"I'm still lifting hard and working
on my technique, it takes a while to
get into form," Shenk said. "From
what I did today I think I'm a little
ahead of schedule."
The meet's highlight was produced
by Lion Rick Kleban in the decathlon.
Kleban, a junior, eclipsed his Penn
State record by rolling up .1' total of 6,-
983 points and, in the process, qual
ified for the IC4A championship.
"I think I did all right considering
the cold," Kleban said. "I found it
hard to run the 400 and the mile
because the cold weather was really
affecting my legs," he explained.
Junior Randy Moore, another Lion
to overcome both the competition and
the weather,' outsprinted teammate
Vance Watson to take the 800-meter
run in 1:57.7.
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"I knew it was going to be incredib
ly windy. I saw Kenny Wynn, the
biggest man in the race, take the lead
so I decided just to hang out," Moore
said. "Everyone was working real
hard so I tried to keep my head and
my shoulders down. When I have a
good race I don't really think, it just
happens."
Head Coach Harry Groves said
even though some of the scheduled
competition didn't show for the non
Trackwomen take Ist at George Mason
By DEBORAH J. STEPHENS
Collegian Sports Writer
The women's track and field team Captured a big win
this past weekend at the George Mason Invitational,
placing first out of 20 teams with 154 points.
Penn State Head Coach Gary Schwartz said those in the
field events and distance runners did well, as did heptath
lete Carla Criste. The shorter distance events; however,
were disappointing, Schwartz said.
"The sprints were hurt by the weather and injuries to
some of our key people," Schwartz said. "We just hope
that ( those events) come along."
The two-day meet started Friday with the 4xBoo-meter
relay team of Heidi Gerken, Paula Renzi, Doreen Startare
and Beth Stever placing second with a time of 9:9.1.
Schwartz said he was pleased with their performance
despite Friday's adverse weather.
In the discus, Blaine Sobansky placed second with a
throw of 146-5, Marilyn Senz was third with a throw of 135-9
and Haidee Ganz placed sixth with a throw of 118-8 feet.
Johanna Humphreys surpassed her competitors in the
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scoring meet due to the weather, the
team still produced top results.
"There were some really good per
formances out there," Groves said.
"With the weather it was difficult for
(Ray) Levirte to keep his step pattern
in the hurdles, but he did a fine job."
Senior Lion Dwight Stephens, com
peting in sweatpants, came from way
back to take teammate John Evans
by a step in the 5,000-meter run in
long jump with a leap of 18-4.
The meet resumed competition on Saturday with the
5,000-meter run. Lady Lions Natelie Updegrove placed
first with a time of 17:14.62 and Anne Shafer was third with
a 17:22.54.
In the 1,500 meter, Startare finished first, Renzi second
and Gerken third with times of 4:37.64,4:39.03 and 4:44.2,
respectively. Stephanie Weeks captured third in the 100-
meter hurdles with a time of 14.76 and Holly Loht placed
first for Penn State in the 3,000-meter run with a time of
10:14.5.
In the field events Saturday, Senz threw 161-10 to
capture first place in the javelin and Melissa Moyer
placed third in that event, throwing her personal best
distance of 139-1 feet.
Humphreys again placed first, this time in the triple
jump, with a jump of 37-5. Jean Mitinger placed second
with a jump of 35-4 1 / 2 and Pam Reynolds put in a 34-2 1 / 2
jump to win fifth place.
Sobansky brought home another Penn State first place
in the shot put, breaking the meet record with a throw of
53-71/2.
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15:28. Stephens pulled abreast of
Evans on the final straightaway and
was able to out lean his teammate at
the tape.
In perhaps the bravest race of the
day, Rich Clelan splashed to a win in
the 3,000-meter steeplechase in
9:54.6. "It was, of course, very cold
today. As soon as you came out of the
water your legs cramped," Clelan
said. "I just didn't have any lift in my
legs to clear the barriers."
Open late ,
Thursdays
Lion John Evans leads the pack in the s,ooo•meter event during Saturday's;
Memorial invitational at the Nittany Lion Track.
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junction of college & gainer
National company puts on powerful production of 'Evita'
!Z By HEIDI BEELER
Collegian Staff Writer
t- , Power was definitely the key word
at yesterday's performance of "Evi
,",", ta," sponsored by the Artists Series
in Eisenhower Auditorium. There,
Eva Duarte Perone made her rise to
power over the cheering and roaring
Argentine masses with singing,
dancing, sets and theatricality that
all packed a wallop impressive even
for a national touring company.
I Based on the true life history of the
Argentine actress/co-dictator, the
story takes the classic "poor girl
makes good with rich and famous
man" romance and then shows the
realistic, ugly underside to that sto
ry. When the play opens, a uni
formed official interupts a bawdy
cinema crowd with the announce
ment that Eva (Donna Marie Elio)
has just died. At the mention of their
"savior," the hooting, flirting, noisy
crowd immediately settles into a
following of amazed and devout
mourners.
• From the midst of this mourning
"circus," milling around her coffin,
comes Che (Tim Bowman), a khaki
clad revolutionist who can't believe
his countrymen's blind adoration.
He sarcastically sings "Why all this
:howling, hysterical sorrow?/What
kind of goddess has lived among
Samelson
By SARAMMA METHRATTA
~ Collegian Staff Writer
s,' Peter Samelson brought the chil-
dishly enchanting mystique of mag
ic along with his Theater of Illusion
to Eisenhower Auditorium last Fri
day night.
The performance, entitled
• "Standing Up and Looking Ahead:
•:,," was somewhat autobiographical
:in nature, tracing Samelson's inter
': est in 'magic from childhood to
adulthood. Solo skits depicted Sa
melson ns an insatiably curious
infant intrigued by the manipula
tion of objects and as a child receiv
ing his first magic kit. As time
progressed in the story, a teenaged
Samelson spent endless hours in his
garage perfecting tricks and even
,tually entered the limelight as a
professional magician. Prere
corded background voices, such as
his mother's, ("Peter, what are you
doing in that garage?") guided us
through the various stages, based
loosely on Piaget's levels of cogni
tive development.
Tension mounted in the story line
as Samelson the professional en
countered the tremendous pressur
es familiar to a performer, those of
constant traveling and having to
come up with original, new materi
al. The manifestation of those pres
sures was a, scene in which
Samelson allowed himself to be tied
up in a straight jacket as a tribute
to Houdini but was unable to es
cape. The jacket itself symbolized
"a part of his life when the pressur
es seemed insurmountable, and he
felt trapped."
Samelson remained lying so con
fined onstage during a ten-minute
intermission. After the break, the
story continued while Sameism
struggled with his conflicting
selves. In a climax, he freed him
self of his trappings in less than 30
seconds, an act which represented
"taking control of his own life."
The audience realized they were
in for an experience from the begin
ning of the show, at which time a
huge balloon was slowly inflated
onstage. After the balloon was
filled and audience suspense
aroused, it became apparent that
someone was inside the plastic
sphere trying to get out. Enter Mr.
Samelson. As the background
• 1 ■u • • ,•
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'Danton is .a 'dramatic film • , ~,1,, ,74-- 7 -7 7 -- - -,-. ' --"- - - .l ' r ' • i t, l . I i
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By SHAWN ISRAEL treatment of the subject is highly allegorical. grimaces that reveal stifled confusion and unf- /, I
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Collegian Staff Writer Wajda himself spoke of Danton's character as linching dedication to his cause. The movie 4 ;/ i :0 1
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symbolizing the modern-day West and Robes- becomes, on the strength of these performances, %' • \ VI: \I , ? ,I
One of the more uncomfortably remembered pierre's as Stalinism personified. Being ousted as a battle for principle between two idealists who /•1
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codocils of the French Revolution was the trial the head of the Polish filmmaker's union in 1977, know they can not comprimise. In fact, Wajda 1
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and execution of Georges Danton, one of the and, subsequently, no stranger to betrayal, Waj- seems to suggest, they invariably destroy each
revolution's prime movers in its early stages, for da certainly saw "Danton" as prime material. other. •
1
conspiracy against the Revolutionary Council What "Danton" amounts to is a clash of tem- Most amazing about "Danton" is the sense of . , /, ,—_.
under the direction of Maximillien Robespierre. peraments, acted to thebilt. As the hulking, self- sheer menaces,Wajda infuses into much of the f, I f ---,- ---:---.7.---2 , , •
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"Danton," director Andrezj Wajda's controver- absorbed title figure, Gerard Depardieu ("The action with his harshly lit visual style playing ~ , / =-- , _4 , 111 .__, _1 •
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sial meditation on the subject, is an intriguing bit Return of Martin Guerre") gives a powerhouse against alternately garish and sparse interiors. /'• 1 cza -- ---., -/
of psychological drama that sometimes hurts. performance. His Danton is a hulking bear whose Wajda makes even the walls and tables take on 1
,';'• ' .• ~ ,' • . ••' :f• 1
When "Danton" opened last year , it enraged love for freedom matches his hearty appreciation an oozing creepiness, and probably gives the it ' 1 .1 1 / I ; 1-. .- I.
many French leftists, in no small way, for its of women and food, and his love of performance guillotine that eventually does in Danton and 4 . 1 : ' • ,!'
portrayal of Robespierre as a character consid- is easily evident during the trial sequence, occu- his fellow "conspirators" the fullest character-
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erably more complex than a mad butcher. Still, pying the film's final third.• ization of an implement of destruction ever seen ' • 0. )II -li ,
under Wajda's direction, "Danton" is very clear- As Danton's onetime comrade in arms-turned in film: at once sensual and bloodthirsty, even .. !i :, 0 / .
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ly a drama —at times even a horror story avowed mortal enemy, Wojciech formidably wry in its contempt for its victims . - , )/- .1 • ''''
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about the corruption of power and the mechanics. gives Robespierre frightening puritanical devo - "Danton" is showing at 7 and 9 tonight in 112 • i
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of hetrarl. And it's no secret that Wajda's tion and seasons his portrayal with cast-iron Kern. . ii i ,. ' l i . • -
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us?/How will we ever get by without
her?"
Then to blast this fairy tale per
ception of Eva for the audience, he
goes back to her beginnings as a
waitress in a grubby, small-town bar
and follows her life as she sleeps her
way up through the ranks of singer,
actress, radio announcer and, fi
nally, mistress and then wife of
General Juan Peron (John Leslie
Wolf), Argentinia's leading poll
tibian. And when the pair goes on to
win Peron the presidency, rather
than saving the "shirtless" peasants
as ' they promise, they drive the
entire country into bankruptcy with
wild expenses and embezzlement,
smiling and receiving cheers the
whole while.
The winner of seven Tony, Awards
and the New York Drama Critics'
Circle Award for best musical, "Evi
ta" is the most successful of Tim
Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's
modern operas to date and it
wasn't hard to see why. Rice and
Webber would be a sufficiently great
team if they had only put together a
fascinating story, told through a
series of songs that were not only
varied enough to make the two
hours-worth of straight singing in
teresting, but that also simulta
neously expressed the double-level
moods of the characters. (No prob
lem.) And they did accomplish this
thrills Eisenhower
voices then proceeded to relay frag
ments of his life, Samelson com
plied by impersonating himself in a
sequence of life stages and per
forming illusions to illustrate each.
The early illusions were not unusu
al, but consisted of the common
card tricks, ring tricks and one with
silk scarves.
However, the show picked up as
the professional Samelson encour
aged audience participation. For
one.trick, he invited a middle-aged
man onstage for assistance.
Seated, the man watched'Samelson
crumple napkin after napkin and
then tried to guess which hand they
were in. Meanwhile the audience
witnissed Samelson tossing the
balled napkins into a pile directly
behind the baffled man. Of course
the man consistantly guessed the
wrong hand, even when he was
permitted two guesses. Finally he
was instructed to look behind him
and view the pile of dicarded nap
kins, much to the audience's de
light.
Perhaps the best illusion was the
Peter Sameison bedazzled his audience Friday night with a mixture of
magic, drama and humor.
with their variety of songs, ranging
from Peron's ex-mistress (Patricia
Ludd) singing gently and yet with
forced courage "Where Am I Going
To?" to the hopeful peasants singing
the massive chorus of "A New Ar
gentina.
But Rice and Webbei did more
than create a solid musical; they
also told the story using excellent
theatrical devices that were both
more entertaining and more mean
ingful than a straight realistic plot
would have been. For example, as a
general in a chaotic country, Peron
comes to military power completely
by luck, and they show this by hav
ing five generals playing musical
chairs and losing their positions
when they lose their seat. To show
that Eva uses her lovers to get
wealth and fame, they have her go
through all of them in a single song,
"Good Night and Thank You (Who
ever) ;" as she escorts each one out
the• door set in the middle of the
stage, her bathrobes get increasing
ly luxurious.
The acting level matched the qual
ity of the show. It seems that many
of the touring companies get worn
out with their tough travel sched
ules, but if there was one thing this
troupe didn't lack it was energy.
Elio was feisty as the hysterically
ambitious Eva; not only did she
have a ringing voice, but she also did
last, in which Samelson portrayed a
mad scientist at work in his labo
ratory. A UFO (an enormous bal
loon) floated onstage. Samelson
pushed it out toward the audience
and allowed them to take charge of
it for a while, an act which suc
ceeded in getting them involved.
Eventually the "UFO" found its
way back onstage, where the mad
scientist plotted to capture it for
himself. To his surprise the thing
began to shudder, and the scientist
hid fearfully behind a nearby tapes
try.. Moments later a foreign
looking creature broke out of the
balloon and surveyed the area sus
piciously. Assured that no one else
was around, the creature removed
its mask. Surprise! It was Samel
son!
Samelson skillfully combined
acting ability with humor through
out his performance and worked
well with the audience. His objec
tive was "to help people see the
world in a little different way and
see the magic in their lives." He
succeeded: •
an excellent job of making Eva both
connivingly seductive and falsely
innocent. Bowman as the cynnical
Che had angry-energy galore as he
belted out his songs with thick sar
casm ( too much to be real or effec
tive at times). And although Wolfe's
voice wasn't always strong enough
to be well heard; he was excellent at
playing the part of the distant, calcu
lating Peron. •
The technical portion of the show
heightened the theatricality. Giant
metal framework structures served
as balconies, city streets and hotel
rooms. Slides of the real Eva and
Peron were shown on screens flown
in and out. Peronist banners swung
down from the heavens and flaming
torches were brought out in an awe
some political ralley imagined by
the pair while they are in bed.
In places the theatricality went to
far, though. For example, just be
fore Eva died of cancer, Director
Harold Prince had her suddenly leap
to her knees when 'a few moments
before she had barely been able to
whisper. And from the front of the
auditorium, many of Bowman's
movements looked so exaggerated
that he seemed to be indicating.
Even so, the over-all performance
wasn't harmed, and the show turned
out to be the strongest theatrical
production brought in by the Artist-
Series in a long while. •
Marvin Gaye's talent lives on
in his musical accomplishments
By PAT GRANDJEAN
Collegian Staff Writer
On Sunday, April 1, Marvin Gaye was shot to death by
his fathei• in his parents' home. According to reports last
week on National Public Radio, the cause of his was a
family dispute that got out of hand: Gaye managed to get
in the middle of a parental disagreement over an insur
ance form. Reportedly, Gaye's father became incensed
over the fact that he sided with his mother. Having shot
Gaye once, his father hesitated before shooting him a
second time, which has led Gaye's mother to pUrsue a
charge of murder againstagainst her husband a rather sad and
pathetic ending to the life of a rather remarkable and
special artist.
Gaye came to prominence as an entertainer through his
work with Detroit's Motown Records. He had already
completed a vocal stint with the Moonglows, the classic
1950 s R&B group, before arriving at Motown in the early
'6os. When he arrived, though, he tried to sell himself to
label head Berry Gordy as a jazz singer. Initially, Gordy
used him in the background on some early projects,
primarily as a session drummer. (In fact, Gaye admitted
in a recent Musician magazine interview that he had
continued to drum on several recordings throughout much
of his Motown career.)
Gordy gave Gaye his first crack at lead vocals in 1962,
with the song "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," and from then
on the hits came hard and fast. In his early career with
Motown, Gaye worked with a whole raft of producers,
including Smokey Robinson ("I'll Be Doggone," "Ain't
That Peculiar"), Holland-Dozier-Holland ("Can I Get a
Witness," "How Sweet It Is") and Norman Whitfield ("I
Heard It Through the Grapevine," a #1 hit). Gaye worked
as producer and writer himself: he shared co-writing
credits on Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the
Streets" and on "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My
Home)," recently beautifully resurrected by Paul Young
on his first album. In the late 19605, he sang on a
transcendent series of duets with the late Tammi Terrell
("Your Precious Love," "You're All I Need To Get By"),
produced by Ashford & Simpson.
Gaye occupied a special position in the early days of
Motown. Smokey Robinson gave the label a tender heart.
The Temptations were its speed, Levi Stubbs and the Four
Tops its soul, and the Supremes its flash. However, Gaye,
more than anyone else, gave it what it really needed: sex.
The sexual pull he could communicate remained guard
ed until "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and didn't
really flower until "Let's Get It On." But earlier it was
always there, particularly in the high, gritty timbre of his
vocals. Unlike many of his label counterparts, he wasn't
safe family entertainment, and that was the key to his
appeal for a white pre-adolescent suburban female such
as, myself. He was an outlaw, a little dangerous, but
basically human and vulnerable just the same.
Like Smokey Robinson, Gaye the vocalist had tremen
dous influence upon his singing contemporaries and heirs.
Among other Motown artists his style has impacted most
strongly upon Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. As for
non-Motown artists, his admirers and imitators include
Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, Annie Lennox (Eurythmics)
EVITA
and David Bowie (who in a recent Railing Stone poll
named Gaye's Greatest Hits his choice for "Best Album of
1983").
In the early 19705, Gaye embarked 'upon a musical
course that was to change the quality of his Motown work
dramatically. Reportedly fed up with the artistic formula
forced upon hiin by Gordy and the usual legion of Motown
writers and producers, he - made the decision to begin
doing more of his own writing and production work. He
wanted his songs to begin to reflect more of his growing
concern with world affairs and his burgeoning involve
ment in fundamentalist Christian theology.
As a result, Gaye's 1971 album, What's Going On,
abandoned the tightly constructed "pop" songs of his
early career for longer, more fluid and elliptical instru
mental grooves. Thematically, he discarded boy/girl
romanticism for a more hardheaded but optimistic look at
the trials of black urban life, and became the first at his
label to do so. Several of these songs provided Gaye with
further popular hits ("Inner City Blues," "Mercy Mercy
Me," "Save the Children"). What's, Going On was later
cited as an important influence upon Stevie Wonder's
groundbreaking 1973 album, Innervisions. He shortly
returned overtly to the role of black sex idol with a
vengeance, releasing the album Let's Get It On, the title
track of which became another major hit. Let's Get It On
laid the groundwork for current efforts by Rick James and
Prince.
In 1976, Gaye's longtime marriage to Berry Gordy's
sister Anna broke, up. The alimony settlement induced him
to file for bankruptcy, and he decided to follow the
recommendation of his divorce trial judge that he write an
album on the subject of the divorce and pay his agreement
off with record royalties. The resultant record, Here, My
Dear, did allow Gaye to make good on $600,000 back
alimony, but the subject matter of the record itself was S . Q
personal that she considered suing him for invasion of
privacy. In fact, Here, My Dear was not a resounding
commercial success. But it was a big success with the
critics, who praised it for its unflinching personal express
ion.
Gaye's financial situation in the late 1970 s led to rather
intensive harassment by the Internal Revenue Service,
and he found himself becoming increasingly agitated and
dissatisfied with his work and his life in the United State.
He spent the years 1978-1982 in European exile, releasing
one final Motown album in 1981, In Our Lifetime.
In 1982, Gaye released his first album on Columbia,
Midnight Love, and almost overnight his public fortunes
seemed to change. The album went platinum, its single
"Sexual Healing" was a major hit, and Gaye was awarded
his first Grammy award (after eight prior nominations)
for his vocal performance on "Sexual Healing."
Midnight Love is a truly fine album that shows Gaye's
vocal talents at their peak, and features several stand out
tracks." Thematically, this album represents Gaye'S
attempt to integrate his "sex symbol" image with his
strengthening religious ties. The whole album is infused
with an enthusiasm for personal expression that is all too
rare in all music these days which proves that Gaye,
had he the opportunity, would have continued to provide
us with challenging and thoughtful work.
The Daily Collegian
Monday, April 9, 1984