Stray Cats Strut Into Carpenter Combine 1500 tapping feet, a last encore. They can just move the sold out performance, and a pul- crowd. sating popular beat, and you've got Cats members Brian Setzer, Lee the Stray Cats rocking this town. Rocker, and Slim Jim Phantom Tickets to the Cats' perfor- don't have the heavy metal sound, mance at Carpenter Sports Build- but a more basic, 1950's dance ing on November 20, were no easy music style. Setzer does most of thing to come by. When tickets the vocals for the group while went on sale two weeks before, Phantom plays a single snare, bass they were sold out in less than drum and cymbal and Rocker three hours. plays an acoustic stand-up bass. Why are the Stray Cats such a Their performance included hot group? Maybe it's their combi- songs such as "Baby Blue," "Built nation of early rock 4n' roll music For Speed," "Rock This Town," and contemporary new wave that's and "Stray Cat Strut." The New- the key. Then again, maybe it's the ark crowd immediately jumped to way the Cats can make an audi- its feet and didn't stop dancing un- ence dance, jump and sing from til the several encores ended. the first echo of sound to the very by Anne Giacoma 204 Features Live From Newark ... It's Joe Piscopo Easy audience rapport and a all of his fans unfortunate enough constant repertoire of humorous to live in Newark. Highlighting antics characterized Joe Piscopo's Piscopo's performance was a September performance at Mitch- tongue-in-cheek Tom Snyder im- ell Hall. The Long Island native pression in Spanish, and a collec- spent just over one hour entertain- tion of typical Italian mannerisms ing the crowd with a collection of and gestures. For his closing num- ornery impressions, some of which ber, Piscopo stepped into the shoes were from Saturday Night Live of "Old Blue Eyes" himself, Frank skits. Sinatra. Piscopo belted out an off- Piscopo, who now resides in beat tune consisting of hard rock New Jersey, had plenty of jokes lyrics to a big band sound. The about his homestate: "They call it combination was quite effective, the Garden State," he told the au- and the audience called for more. dience, "I think because it smells like fertilizer." Then he offered the by Anne Giacoma crowd his "sincere condolences" to Features 205 It's An Ad-Venture! The Ventures, a popular instru- mental group of the 1960s, stirred- up a full house in Bacchus this past spring. Audience approval of the group's two-hour performance was evident through the screaming, hand-clapping, and boogie-danc- ing which occured during each song. Besides the captivating drum so- los and bass-playing, the Ventures entertained the crowd with old fa- vorites such as the theme from Ha- waii Five-O, "Wipe Out," and "Bumble Bee Twist." After several encores and a 15- minute performance of the hit-sin- gle, "Caravan," the exhausted crowd let the band conclude. Both the audience and the performers left satisfied and well-entertained. by Ellen Hatfield 206 Features Hunter — Live, Not "Dead" Robert Hunter, the veteran lyricist for the Grateful Dead, performed for a packed house in Bacchus this spring. Hunter did a moving solo performance of his own materi- al along with some of the group's classic songs such as "Run for the Roses," "Rubin and Cherise," and the ever-pop- ular "Friend of the Devil." Armed only with his har- monica and an acoustic guitar, Hunter played four sets which included a dazzling encore of the song "Ripple." Dressed in the styles reminis- cent of the 1960's when the group was the most popular, Hunter sported jeans and a vest with a black and white design. Even the audience came clad in styles that shared their loyalty to the Grateful Dead's earlier success. Hunter kept the crowd yell- ing and excited during the two- hour show. The audience left knowing that they captured a little of the old magic that Hunter is so well-known for cre- ating. by Ellen Hatfield Features 207 Tom Larsen Entertains Bacchus The Tom Larsen Blues Band brought their unique combination of rock and roll, funky stuff and traditional blues to Bacchus in Oc- tober. They magnetized the capac- ity crowd with their powerful sound, playing (two energetic sets) until midnight. The band per- formed such favorites as B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby," Elmore James' "Madison Blues," and the Allman Brothers' "Stormy Mon- day." Cries for more from the ex- cited crowd produced a version of Jimmy Hendrix's "Red Horse" as an encore. By the end of the even- ing both the trio and the audience were exhausted but well enter- tained. by Ellen Hatfield 208 Features Mitchell's "Comedy of Errors" ctober proved to be a smash Omonth for the University Theatre as they presented, among other productions, an excellent version of William Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors." The play was an updated version from Elizabethean Times to post- World War II Greece, and the fine direction and casting successfully completed this modernized piece of work. The story centered around a set of twins, the Antipholuses, and their servants the Dromios, another set of twins who meet for the first time since they were sepa- rated during childhood. The setting and costumes were one of the best features of the play. The emphatic performance of the actors added to the brilliancy of the production. Features 209 HTAC Presents Pal Joey .. he September showing of the THarrington Theatre Arts Company's production of Rodgers' and Hart's play "Pal Joey" was a treat for all. The production char- acterized the company's reputa- tion of excellence, as it was per- formed with eagerness and assurance. The story line centered on the life of a small night-club entertainer, who had great ambi- tion to make a name for himself, and a lot of plans on how to do this task. Joey Evans, the main charac- ter, fulfills his dreams by purchas- ing the night club where he works. Soon after this accomplishment, he is warned by Linda, the woman in love with him, that his "agent" is involved with the underworld. Joey, despite his distinct ability to charm just about anyone, is unable to save the situation. His ambitions fail. The many characters of the show were played very realisti- cally. Plaudits go to the show-stop- ping chorus members and choreo- graphy which kept the audience on the edge of their seats. by Ellen Hatfield 210 Features ... and The Skin of Our Teeth amily life in the Ice Age? race" from the threat of the Ice F Age; and Act Two finds the family After the Great Flood? For faced with the Great Flood. The the Antrobus family in HTAC's final act portrays the Antrobus' at- production of Thorton Wilder's, tempts to reconstruct their lives "The Skin of Our Teeth," life is after the war. anything but dull. Wilder attempts to incorporate Set in the 1940's, the play pre- three basic themes through his set- sents three acts which take place tings: the importance of learning during the Ice Age, the Great from the past, the value of the fam- Flood, and after a war, respective- ily, and the power of inner ly. Through these events, the play strength. The Harrington Theatre explores the Antrobus family's Arts Company presented an en- ability to adjust to the many mis- thusiastic and thought-provoking fortunes that life presents. look at the trials of family life in In Act One, the Antrobus fam- the 1940's. ily attempts to "save the human Features 211 Winter Productions' Bacchus Players week in the lives of two A neighboring housewives was the subject of John Ford Noonan's comedy "A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking." The Bacchus Players presented the comedy at the end of January and beginning of February in the Student Center Bacchus Theatre. The wittiness and good timing of lines made the two-character com- edy a hit. Director Barbara Izard helped to inspire the quick one-lin- ers between "Hanna Mae," a row- dy newcomer from Texas, and "Maude Mix," a prim and proper WASP. The chicks reside in Westchest- er County, New York, and as the title suggests, the flippant, sparked language doesn't stop throughout the entire performance. by Jill Smith 212 Features ...and Mitchell Hall U'T' hieves' Carnival," a A French farce which tells of the masquerades of three thieves in France in the year 1910, was per- formed this February in Mitchell Hall. A fast moving comedy, "Thieves' Carnival" explores the lives of three men who gain all the material wealth they can in vichy France. Intertwined with the action- packed escapades is a tender, light love story. The three parallel ro- mances all end differently, which adds to the many dimensions of the performance. Artistic Director Paul Barry, who is one of the founders of the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, •MpHHjj was invited to direct the play by director of performance Richard Brown. The fast-moving vitality of the performance reflected Barry's talents. The energy of the overall performance clearly transformed the audience from Mitchell Hall to France shortly after the turn of the century. by Jill Smith Features 213 Flinging into Spring University and community resi- dents enjoyed a variety of special events over the weekend of April 29-May 1 during the North Cam- pus Spring Fling festivities.