The Lumbrr|i(k Thursday. Notemhcr 20. 1996 Pair II g : I 1? ENTERTAINMENT w r Seinfeld puts C h a m b e rm usical production Ardrey crowd ‘P h i l e m o n’ opens this week in stitch es by Lori Myrland entertainment editor “ Philemon,” a chamber musical set in the Roman city of Antioch in 287 A.D., opened last night and will play at 8 p.m. tonight through Sunday in the Creative Arts Theater. The words for the play were writ­ ten by Tom Jones and the music was composed by Harvey Schmidt, authors of “The Fantasticks.” The hero of the two-act play is Cockian, a cheap street clown try­ ing to stay out of trouble. He is Comedian Jerry Seinfeld enter­ forced to impersonate Philemon, a tained a crowd of about 1,040 in leader and hero of the suppressed Ardrey Auditorium Saturday Christian followers, in order to get Richard Long, Timm Rogers and Thad Brenncmnn will be performing night. He did his well-known out of Rome and get back to in'Philem on," the second play of the \A L ’ theater's 1986-87 season. routines on subjects such as socks Greece. “Philemon” is a chamber musical set in 287 A.D. in the city of Antioch. that escape from the dryer, cotton The hope is that he will uncover Timm Rogers is a freshman 4. balls, childhood Halloween ex­ and report internal subversion. theater major from Phoenix, and The theater department’s first periences, being engaged and dogs He agrees to help the Romans in has the role of Servillus, the com­ offering, “ Brighton Beach driving cars. stamping out Christianity, but in­ mander’s assistant. Andos, a Memoirs,” was also entered in the He even took requests from the stead ends up drawn into the move­ youns man in jail with Philemon, is competition, but was judged here audience, which seemed to be ment to promote it, eventuallly be­ played by Tom Ratke, also a at NAU. If a school’s plays do well familiar with his material from ing looked upon as a saint. freshman theater major from at the regional tournament, they numerous appearances on “ The Music for the play will be done Phoenix. are eligible to go on to a semi-final Tonight Show1' and “ Late Night by a trio including two pianos and Senior telecommunication and and finally are invited to perform with David Letterman.” a synthesizer. theater major Robin Bianchi, from at the John F. Kennedy Center in Seinfeld did a 90-minute show, Clifford White of the Theater Phoenix, portrays Marsyas, the Washington, D.C. and was brought to campus by Department is the director. Junior ghost of Cockian’s wife. Jac­ Tickets for the performances are SUN Entertainment. Coordinator Richard Lorig, a theater major queline Masei, a freshman theater $3 for adults and $2 for all Tom Byrne said he was pleased from Mesa, portrays Cockian. major from Phoenix, plays the wife students, children and senior with the response. Freshman Laura Coxon, a of a murdered Christian leader. citizens. They can be purchased at “ I think this gives us a pretty theater major from Tucson, plays “Philemon” is NAU’s entry in the Central Ticket Office in the J. good indication that comedy is Kiki, Cockian’s unwilling partner. the 19th Annual American College Lawrence Walk up Skydome or at something that people would like Commander Marcus Gallerius is Theater Festival scheduled for Dec. the ticket window in Ardrey after 7 to see more of here,” Byrne said. portrayed by junior theater major 2-7 at Eastern Arizona College in p.m. the nights of the □hotcsby Kevin t_>ar Thad Breneman. Thatcher. It will be performed Dec. performances. A t 69, ‘The Hook’ can still crank out the blues by Billy Miller Squad). Tommy Dukes was a bit more receptive than a girl who looked like she’d just been tending bar. She ed “ Crawling King Snake Blues.” It was spooky. journalism student Johnny Lee, but I’m getting to that. played Billie Holiday for a while, and she was pretty I got close to the stage and saw the Hook just before Anyway, from what I understand, Tommy Dukes is good, but the crowd wasn’t going for it. They wanted his happy encore. Unfortunately, you could tell that “ The way you walk that walk, a musician from Winslow who set up this band just for Johnny Lee. he’d been at this a long, long time. The years have ob­ the way you talk that talk.” the Hooker show. Dukrt-and the lead guitar player of I wondered if he was receiving oxygen backstage. viously taken their toll on him, but it didn’t shOfo -Johnny Lee Hooker his band play every Monday at Charly’s, a local water­ The sax player was having technical difficulties with onstage. Up there, he lives up to his legend. ing hole. For some reason, Tommy suggested that I his microphone and he was none too happy about it. But back on planet Earth, Johnnv I ee wasn’t as * * The hotel and restaurant next to the Museum Club should " ... get out of the college and roam around a But the crew got it squared away just in time for “ the friendly as I’d hoped. His press mar wouldn’t okay an ’ boasts steak and eggs, 24 hours a day. bit.’* Unfortunately, it’s a little hard to take advice Boogie Man” to come out. interview' for me. He told me he would >et up a phone Now picture a poor, broken down Joe sitting in that from a guy wearing a buckskin vest. Johnny Lee Hooker took the stage to a quite decent interview the next day, but he later declined that, too. restaurant with a cup of java. He’s thinking about his The Dukes band pulled off a righteous set audience response. I imagined him sitting in a chair for I talked with Hooker’s bass player. Gene Siegel, baby; the one that done him wrong. highlighted by, “ If you love me like you say, then why the whole concert and he didn't disappoint me. The who explained that at 69 years old. Hooker is probably . Scenes like that are what the blues are all about, so it you treat me like you do?” (Don’t you love blues Hook plopped down in a chair, set his shades in place a little bored with the trappings of fame. I understand seemed only right that Johnny Lee Hooker, elder philosophy?) But even they knew what we were all and commenced with his own style of premeditated that he’s got better things to do, but I had hoped he’d ' statesman of the blues, should play the Museum Club waiting for — “ the Hook.” badness. be a little more personable. Oh well, maybe someday ; last Wednesday. Pensive moments passed as the crowd waited, and Don’t let Johnny’s age (69) fool you. He knows his I’ll get to meet Carolyn Warner. Ha, ha. I was supposed to interview Johnny Lee before the waited, and waited some more. 1 listened to two girls way around the Gibson block, and he produced some But at least I walked away from a great concert with ] show, but ... well. I’ll get to that later. almost get in a fight right behind me. Tommy Dukes three-chord carnage to prove it. a better understanding of the blues. * * When 1 arrived at the show, the Tommy Dukes introduced me to a large person named Marvin. Hooker’s set was definitely at a slower pace than First, I found out it’s interracial, no. it transcends ■ Blues Band was already in progress. I kept trying to Marvin vaguely resembled boxing great George Dukes’, but then again it had an entirely different feel race into a mishmash of dance and sorrow. The band ■ think of a way to describe their show. The room was Foreman. An amiable guy named John tried to explain to it. It was a cave crawl all the way. The beat was members were of all ethnic backgrounds, but that - filled with the whir and buzz of my thought train, the finer points of Edward Abbey novels to me. A slow, the guitar was harsh and the lyrics were aimed don’t make no never mind. They weie all unified in the ; when suddenly it came to me. A veritable metaphor drunken slob, who had to have been a television straight for the libido. Let me give you a little sample: fact that somewhere someone pulled a nasty on them. * * for blues bar bands of the ’80s — chili-romp. This is the repairman, wobbled in front of me and clapped at the “ I’m a king snake, I’m gonna crawl on top of your I also noticed that the audience can really relate to ! kind of music that makes you think of bowling alleys. tape playing over the loudspeakers. This pillar of in­ floor. I’m gonna wrap myself around your pretty little the blues. People in the audience (despite their blood \ It makes you think of having steak and eggs at 3 a.m. ebriation was wearing a tie-dyed shirt and he badly body, baby. I’m gonna keep crawling ’til the da> I alcohol levels) were screaming out Hooker’s name as if * * in a roadside greasey spoon. Rhythm and blues needed to pull his sooty Levi’s up So he managed to die.” they were his best pals in the world.