The Orion - September 5, 1990 Page 7 ENTERTAINMENT Where art thou? Why Stevie Romeo and Juliet in the Park By ANDREW HELM RayVaughan? Speciailo The Orion The Shakespeare in the Park production of Romeo and Juliet had something for everyone: A cast of nearly 50, three women in The death of a men's roles, songs and musical accompaniment throughout the play legend and several low-flying aircraft. :.:. In what will hopefully be the first of many such shows, Wall Street Center for the Arts presented eight performances of Shakespeare'simmonal tragedy in the Council Ring in Lower Bidwell By BILL CHAPMAN Park. The complete stage setup in the park, surrounded by oak'trccs Entertainment Editor and occasionally illuminated by the moon, was the perfect waytoview the Bard's work, despite the occasional noise of planes and the bite of insects. Usually the ones that die are the rock-bouom, drugged-out, shells of You have to admire director Bmd Moniz for even atlCmpting a former musicians that drink, smoke, inject, and/or ingest themselves to performance of this scale. With such challenges as directing a large, death. relatively inexperienced cast and the logistical problems in the building AC/DC's !eather-Iunged vocalist, Bon Scott drank Jack Daniel's for and lighting a large set with electrical generators, it's a wonder the SO long that they iound him the next morning lifeless in the trunk of his show turned out as free of technical foul-ups as it did. Cadillac. Legendary Lcd Zeppelin dmmmer John Bonham drank about 40 If you aren't familiar with the story, here is a brief run-down. shots of vodka in a 12-hour binge with guilaristJ immy Page and never woke Teenagers Romeo (Tim Driscoll) and Juliet (Heather Carnduff) fall in up. Left·handed guitar genius Jimi Hendrix over-dosed on stage. Bec.1use of love at a costume ball even though their parents, the Montegue's and a."! ir.at!!:ntivc paramedic, he choked on his own vomit in the back of an the Capulet's, despise each other. After Romeo's friend Merclltio ambulance. The Who's Keith Moon, one of the most spontaneous and (Jerry Miller) is killed by Juliet's cousin Tybalt (Joyce Henderson), entenaining' rock drummers of all time, gulped down a handful of sleeping Romeo kills him and ends up banished from Verona. Juliet's father pills and stopped his heart from beating .. (Ken Roye) forces his daughlCr to marry Paris (Corey Porter). Juliet The list gocs on ... is comforted by her sympathetic nurse (Jocli Nelson-Payne), but seeks Why SlCvie Ray Vaughan? Maybe he was getting too much atlCntion a solution ID her problem from Friar Laurence (John W. Young) who and God was jealous. Maybe someone up there wanlCd guitar lessons. married Romeo and Juliet before Romeo was banished. Recently alchohol and drugs were on the verge of taking Vaughan's To give away the ending at this point would either be anti­ life. Theirony in his death is in the fact that he hadjust made a complete turn­ climactic or redundant so I'm not going '0 do it around. He was touring, drug-free IDgether with Eric ClaplDn (who almost Obviously a production like Romeo and Juliet is going to suc­ got on the same chopper a~ Vaughan) and Robert Cray. ceed or fail on the strength of its leads. FortunalCly both were very In the last decade. Vaughan: capable. Driscoll really exposed the emotional confusion Romco has • won this year's grammy for best "conlCmporary blues" for the '89 in the early half of the play. However, Driscoll seemed to get tired by album, In Step. the end of the play, not surprising since it was nearly tllree hours long. • won al984 grammy in the "traditional blues" category for the song Carnduff was magnificenL She was very much the bright and "Flood Down in Texas." off of his platinum album, Couldn't Stand bubbly thirteen-year old Juliet is supposed [0 be. Her scenes with the theWealher. nurse (Nelson-Payne) were some of the best in tlie play, exposing the • was named Guitar Player Magazine's best electric blues player in remarkably close friendship the two women have. 1983,19B4, 1985,1986, and 1988. Julir.t (Heather C:trndurn takes advice from her nurse (.Joeli Nels()n-P~lyne) By far,the most intense action on stage came from the scene in • sold millions of albums in the 80's • had a successful tour in '89 with Jeff Beck. • hadjustcompleted an album with his brother Jimmie Vaughan (who Theater and dance programs show great promise quit the Fabulous Thunderbirds to work on the project) which will be Marty Gilber, faculty scene designer, will People Dancing 10 Good Country Music/Toysfor . released Sept. 25. By COURTNEY RASTATFER redesign Wismer Theater into a baseball diamond, Men. This comedy isa rclatcd-twoact play aboula . SlaffWriter complete with benches, and a scoreboard. married couple, a Slcp child, a cousin, and an Stevie Ray Vaughan Discography Holbrook's cast includeslO Chico State students employee who live and work at a country night Well, Chico StalC Theater Department has for the lead and one child. Each cast member wil! club. The play is wrillen by Lee Blessing and • Texas Flood, Epic Records, 1983 done it again! They have successfully put together be portraying four or five different characters. The directed by the Theater Department's most skillful • Couldn't Stand the Weather, Epic, 1984(Platinum) an agenda of enlCnaining and inspiring produc- cast for Diamonds includes the following students: student directors, Charmaine Colvin and Michael • Soul to Soul, Epic 1986 tions. The faculty and students spent the first and Sicily Bradc\y, Kelly T. Candelaria, Angela Gor­ Gannon. • Double Trouble, Live Alive, Epic 1987 second weeks of school auditioning for the five don, Shawna McCartney, Cynthia Stastny, Allison Following the ThealCr Department's offerings • In Step, Epic 1989 (Gold) (grammy winner) Chico State Theater and Dance Department's pro- Weiss, Glen F. Brown, Rob Greene, Frank Medina, will be the Dance Depanment's yearly Fall Dance ductions. On the ticket arc four plays ranging from Brent Sutton and Steve Wicckin~. Concert. The production will include jazz, tap, comedy to musicals and a dance concert. The la~t theater production of the year is Nice contemporary ballet and modem dance. Choreog­ They begin with the Septernbcrproduction of ,.... ______~ _____....;. ___.., raphers are Thomas Hargrove with conlCmporary Vaughan's gutsy, screaming guitar work was reminiscent of Jimi The Skin o/Ollr Teeth, directed by Mercedes Gil­ Entertainment at a Glance ballet; Minie Adamson with jazz and tap instruc­ Hendrix, but his playing always retained that Texas twang reflective of his bert. The production, writlCn by Thorton Wilder, is tion; and Catherine Sullivan and Mary Sweeny, home town of Austin, Texas a futuristic, surrealistic comedy/tragedy about the • The Skin of our Teetlz­ modem inlluence . The music had broken new ground by recieving air play on rock history of the world and humans. Auditions are still going on. The stations and was luring a new younger audience back to the sounds of the October opens with On the Verge wrillen by Sept. 26-30,8:15, Harlen Adams choregraphers encourage anyone who is intereslCd southern blues. Erik Overmeyer and direclCd by Donna Breed. This Theater in dance to come to auditions. Hargrove and Mary Afew lucky Chicoans got the opportunity to see this blues phenom­ drama is about three women who embark on an ·On the Verge- Oct. 10-13, Sweeny are looking for soloists for their dance enon in his early stages at a concert in the gym at Butte College. adventure into the jungle. However they get caught piece. Minie Adamson is auditioning for 18 people Chico StalC graduate student Ted Truscott from Cave Rock, Nevada in a time slip and end up in 1955. l11e three female 8:15, and Oct. 14,3;00, Wismer Theater in her jazz and tap piece. And Catherine Sullivan, was one of the chosen few. parts are Diane McGee, Jessic:t Neeman, and Tara the direct.or for the Fall Dance Concen, is audition­ Truscott said the show was "incredible," and was amazed that there Lynch. Tom LaMere is the male Jc<ld, taking on as • Diamulld- Oct. 30- Nov. 4, 8:15, ing for six or seven people. Sullivan encourages were only about 500 people in attendance. many as seven different identities such asa snowman Wismer Theater people 1.0 keep coming to audition so their names He and friends got righllo the frontand watched Vaughan walk on the and a Gennan air pilot. • Nice People Dancing to Good and faces become familiar 10 the directors. Audi­ Diamond, a collection of baseball related stage and start out with a seated, three-song solo perfonnance, his cigarette Country Music! Toys for Men- Nov. 28- tion will be held for dancer and technician at6 p.m. hanging by a thread from his lip with "about an ash about an inch-long." songs, dances, monologl'cs, v~lUdevilles (corny Dec. 1,8:15, and Dec. 2,3:00 Wismer WednesdLlY· Stevie Ray Vaughan was more than just another bluesman with a jokes), as well as serious dramatic scenes, will be Chico State's productions with competent cigarette. He was a symbol of the triumph of creativity, raw talent and directed by Gail Holbrook, the director of last Theater directors and technicians as well as, actors and feeling over the sampled, synthesized, sr.lI-out, pseudo-imagination that year's Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.