Daily Bruin

One-act puts twist on classic ’40s

Ingenious direction and comic acting make for appealing "Tangled
Snarl"

By Jennifer Richmond

Daily Bruin Staff

Theater is at its best when it’s short, sweet and unbelievably
funny. John Rustan and Frank Semerano’s "The Tangled Snarl" is all
those things.

Set in 1940s Los Angeles, the 45 minute one-act follows private
dick, Spuds Idaho (Lee Ryan) on another case. Just like most of the
old radio shows of the ’30s and ’40s, not only do audience members
get to follow Idaho as he discovers each clue, but they also get
treated to an onslaught of one-liners.

But while these, at times corny, one-liners work miracles, it’s
Ryan’s comic timing and delivery that gets the laughs.

Idaho hates smoking. So, every time femme fatale Leslie
Detweiller (Lynn Lowry) tries to light a cancer stick, Idaho puts
it out. But he does so in very bizarre ways, from simply breaking
the cigarette in two to squirting an old water spitting fire
extinguisher at her from across the stage.

As much as Idaho hates Detweiller’s habit, the two seem to get
along ­ very well. She visits Idaho to collect a "package" her
hubby left with him for safe-keeping. Unfortunately, during the
exchange, Detweiller’s husband was bumped off by an unknown
assassin.

Idaho is forced to tell Mrs. Detweiller in his blunt and
uncaring way that Mr. Detweiller was killed, making her the unhappy
widow. But to no one’s surprise, she’s not all that unhappy. She’s
more interested in the package and Idaho rather than her husband’s
funeral service. This makes Idaho more than a little suspicious, so
before handing over the package, he inquires to see if she knows
anything about the murder or why the package is so important.

Although Detweiller answers Idaho straight, he’s still unsure
about the situation, as relayed through his thought monologues to
the audience. Ryan uses the same deadpan expression that
accompanies all of his lines. This constant expression creates the
comic tributes that compliment the humor of the one-act.

They’re like the rest of him ­ twisted, blunt and so
complex that it’s a treat just to watch Ryan try to say the five
minute speech without getting tongue-tied. But the real treat is
watching the other cast members while he’s talking.

They’re supposed to be frozen. But because Idaho tends to be
long winded, they can’t hold their position for too long. Although
their slow movements seem like a terrible mistake made by bad
actors, it becomes obvious through Robert Stadd’s direction that
their actions are all part of the production’s cute slapstick.

It takes a special sort of talent to direct a short comedy so it
rolls along rather than having uneasy starts and stops. Stadd seems
to have the gift. Stadd’s blocking is wonderful and the idea of
having the actors move even though they’re supposed to be frozen is
ingenious.

When the audience first sees this clever blocking, Detweiller is
held at gun point by The Man (Nicholas Cascone). Because Idaho goes
on and on, their arms get tired and slowly fall. But before they
fall too far, the two catch themselves and straighten up. This act
continues several times creating chuckles among audience
members.

Another incident similar, but much funnier, is when Idaho goes
off yet again and everyone freezes except The Kid (Daniel
McFeeley). It’s almost like the rules don’t apply to him. He uses
his moment in the spotlight to the best of his ability, but is
unfortunately cut short when Idaho flashes him an ugly look
accusing him of stealing his scene. The entire moment is
priceless.

Although the actors deserve much of the credit for not allowing
their lines to get in the way of their concentration, it’s really
Stadd who deserves much of the credit. He gives a whole new twist
to the classic radio show of the ’40s.

STAGE: "The Tangled Snarl." Written by John Rustan and Frank
Semerano. Directed by Robert Stadd. Starring Lee Ryan and Lynn
Lowry. Running through Oct. 16 at the Santa Monica Playhouse.
Performs Fridays at 10:30 p.m. and Sundays at 8 p.m. TIX: $12 with
discounts available for students. For more info call: (310)
394-9779 x1.

Sebadoh has goods on ‘Bakesale’

Singer/songwriter Barlow follows classical tradition

By Michael Tatum

That Lou Barlow ­ he’s such a perfectionist. Barlow,
co-front man of the indie-rock band Sebadoh, has in the past been
the subject of much celebration in the rock press, and his band’s
latest full length release, "Bakesale" (Sub Pop), has had the
critics once again gushing with superlatives.

But is the man himself satisfied? Yes and no.

"It’s more of a straightforward rock and roll record than the
previous ones," he allows. "I’m not crazy about studio recording,
but it has a good, strong, clear sound. There are a lot of good
songs, not a weak one actually. And there are some powerful lyrics.
But …"

But … You knew it was coming. Even the man SF Weekly predicted
would be remembered as "[the decade’s] greatest songwriter" has his
doubts about what may be his band’s most triumphant hour.

"I miss the diversity," finishes Barlow, referring to the days
of "Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock (1992) and "Bubble And Scrape"
(1993), when Sebadoh (performing two shows tomorrow night at the
Roxy) featured three prolific songwriters and not two.

The missing link this time around is Eric Gaffney, Barlow’s
partner in crime from the very beginning (singer-songwriter and
multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein, still with the band, came
on board later). The two came together under the name of Sentridoh,
churning out low-fi recordings taped in Barlow’s bedroom, and then
selling them to hip record stores in their native
Massachusetts.

Not since Lennon and McCartney had two such dissimilar talents
occupied the same space. Even as late as last year, the differences
between the two couldn’t have been more pronounced. While Barlow,
the more disciplined songwriter of the two, displayed his folk rock
leanings to great effect on beautiful tracks like "Soul And Fire,"
Gaffney pretty much stuck to his tried-and-true practice of
improvising in the studio and turning the resulting chaos ­
not always successfully ­ into a completed song.

Gaffney, who had left and rejoined the band pretty much at
random over the course of the band’s seven year history, bowed out
once again in the spring of this year. But accolades of "the
kindest drifter you’ll ever meet" (as Gaffney dubbed himself on his
song "Telescopic Alchemy") shouldn’t place all their hopes on
Gaffney being allowed back into the fold.

Barlow, when asked if he’d let Gaffney rejoin Sebadoh of he
begged for forgiveness, categorically answered in the negative –
you can tell it’s still a touchy subject. "There’s really only so
much you can take," he says wearily, crediting the two’s friction
to unresolved rivalries that began when they were younger. "It
really comes down to jealousy," Barlow says. "If Eric could find a
way to throw a monkey wrench into the works, he’d do it."

Past interviews with Gaffney bear his statement out: "It’s
really obvious people are going to be into us because of Lou," he
told Request Magazine last year. "There’s no doubt about it, the
guy can write a song. What I focus on is putting the rock ‘n’ roll,
abrasive edge into things." When asked by Net Magazine about a
typically out-there contribution to "Bubble And Scrape," he
replied, "Maybe that’s there to mess with anybody who wants a
cohesive album, from song to song."

This time, however, Gaffney wasn’t around to flick flies in the
ointment, and no matter how much Barlow may modestly deny it, the
new "Bakesale" takes Sebadoh’s art a quantum leap in the right
direction: tight, well-constructed tunes from both Barlow and
Loewenstein; sprung, exciting rhythms courtesy of new drummer Bob
Fay; and intriguing, almost "poetic" lyrics make this the strongest
indie-rock outing of an already stellar year.

One of the new songs, Barlow’s "Magnet’s Coil," actually
addresses the tension in Gaffney and Barlow’s partnership: "And if
you turn back just to fuck me / I’ll cut you loose and watch you
fall / It feels good just to bitch about it / Scratch that itch
until it bleeds," he sings in his delicate tenor, without the
slightest hint of bitterness or anger, which makes the chorus’s tag
lines, "But I don’t really want to lose you…you never say what’s
on your mind" all that more poignant of a plea for
communication.

In this respect, Barlow’s approach to songwriting has little to
do with his indie-rock peers than he does with the folk troubadours
of two decades past, writing primarily from his own personal
experience. Many of his earlier compositions, like "The Freed Pig,"
were poison pen letters directed at J Mascis, who kicked him out of
the group Dinosaur, precursor to its current "Jr" version. When the
relationship between him and his long-time girlfriend Kathleen
began to crumble, he wrote "Soul And Fire" and "Two Days Two
Years," two of the most vulnerable and painful breakup songs of the
decade. The songs proved so powerful that when she saw Barlow
perform the songs live, she had a change of heart and reconciled
their relationship.

Leading one to the obvious, age old question: "Do songwriters
write better when they’re in pain?" From John Lennon’s "Plastic Ono
Band" to Bob Dylan’s "Blood On the Tracks," the songs that haunt
the most always seem to be the ones that lay the turmoil of the
respective artist at their most naked. And at his best, Barlow has
certainly exposed some raw nerves.

"I’ve thought a lot about that," Barlow says, "And I’ve
certainly written some of my best songs in those circumstances. But
that’s really just a generalization, and it’s never really that
simple. I mean, ‘Songwriters write better when they’re in pain.’ Oh
that’s nice. That’s really something to look forward to!"

Sebadoh’s music, meanwhile, is certainly something to look
forward to, and if justice actually reigned over the airwaves and
sales charts, "Bakesale" would be the catalyst that would propel
the band into the spotlight. But though Barlow jokes that his band
is about "a third as popular as Pavement," lack of commercial
success doesn’t seem to bother him as much as being acknowledged
more universally as a mover and shaker. He even psychoanalyzes his
past dismissal of bohemian-rock legends the Velvet Underground as
being "overrated" as his way of countering his jealousy.

Ah, the perfectionist’s quintessential lament: "Why them instead
of me?" When reminded that Lou Reed wanted the same attention
thrust upon him in 1967, only to get it twenty-five years later, a
parallel is suggested: what if, two decades from now, the
commercial, conservative fodder that normally debuts at the top of
the Billboard chart recedes into a half-remembered memory? And what
if worthy bands like Sebadoh and Pavement finally get the credit
from rock history that today’s fickle record buying public never
gives?

Though you can’t possibly see a facial expression during a
telephone interview, you can almost feel Lou Barlow smile. "That
would be nice."

Redgrave brings the personal onstage

One-woman play mixes Shakespeare with own biography

By John Mangum

No matter how broad her experience as an actress becomes, Tony
award-winning Lynn Redgrave always returns to Shakespeare.

Ranking among the most versatile and best-known actresses today,
Redgrave has performed in too many different productions in too
many different genres to count.

Considering her family and childhood, this stature becomes
almost a forgone conclusion. Redgrave, the youngest daughter of
renowned Shakespearean actor Sir Michael Redgrave, grew up
surrounded by luminaries of the British theatre.

"It was quite as awe-inspiring as anyone might think it would
be," concedes the actress. "I grew up in an era when children felt
this sense of awe about their elders anyway."

"We weren’t romping around the living room playing tag when we
had guests over," Redgrave says. "I realized how special the
artists were who came to visit."

Some of these visitors included Sir Laurence Olivier, Richard
Burton and playwright Noel Coward. They turn up as characters in
her play "Shakespeare for my Father" which appears Oct. 7-9 at the
UCLA Freud Playhouse as part of the UK/LA festival.

Strictly a solo performer in this production, Redgrave assumes
all of the roles in the play. The plot weaves biographical sections
with scenes drawn from the writings of William Shakespeare.

"The play is about my search for reconciliation with my father’s
memory," Redgrave says. "My father happened to be a great actor,
but to me he seemed faceless. The play allows me to finally reach
him in some way."

Redgrave’s use of Shakespeare facilitates this. "I grew up
knowing my father through the great Shakespearean roles. I believed
that if I could get on stage with him, I would somehow find
him."

Now, by performing scenes her father once did, Redgrave is
examining his role in her life. She selected scenes which matched
the experiences she relates in the play.

"I had a scene and looked for something that would match it,"
says the actress. "Some things came as easy choices. There’s a
scene with my nanny and me, and out of it they become Juliet and
her nurse."

Redgrave wrote "Shakespeare for my Father," which her husband,
theatre veteran John Clarke directs. The play began when the Folger
Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. invited the actress to
perform for their members.

From there, it eventually reached Broadway, where the production
enjoyed a nine month run. The unique approach the play takes to
both autobiography and Shakespeare no doubt accounts for its
success.

Currently touring throughout the United States and Canada,
"Shakespeare for my Father" presents one woman exploring her own
life without the help of other cast members. Redgrave believes that
this results in a different stage experience.

"What you don’t have is taking energy from the other people. My
collaboration is really with the audience. I get a lot of energy
from them."

The audience produces energy both on account of her performance
and what she performs. Redgrave feels that audiences really react
to Shakespeare.

"He goes on speaking to generation after generation," Redgrave
says. "The sheer scope and size of his characters ­ the real
modern humanity of them ­ makes it always fascinating."

For Redgrave, every audience reacts differently to her play.
Students, she says with obvious appreciation, see Shakespeare in a
clear way.

"The thing about young audiences is that they don’t have
preconceived notions. They have a much fresher approach," she
says.

She perceptively describes the difference between students and
more seasoned theatre audiences. "People get highfalutin after
they’ve seen 20 Hamlets. Students look at it fresh and either
believe it or don’t believe it. I find it very gratifying."

Redgrave appears this morning at Melnitz Hall, where she will
talk about the play and her experiences as an actress.

"The play is about what it is to be an actor ­ fleeting
that it is and noble that it is ­ how sad and lonely and
exciting a thing it is," Redgrave says.

An odyssey of self-discovery for the actress and, she believes,
for her audience as well, "Shakespeare for my Father" allows
Redgrave to finally come to terms with the father she loved and
admired.

The actress grew up playing Cordelia to her father’s King Lear.
Redgrave realizes this, and tries to come to terms with it by
performing a scene between the father and daughter in her play.
"Cordelia was the daughter who could not speak to her father, but
she loved him so much."

Redgrave pours this love, as well as a passion for the
Shakespeare that was an inseparable part of her father, into a
production examining a relationship everyone can identify with.

THEATRE: "Shakespeare for my Father," starring Lynn Redgrave.
Presented by the Center for the Performing Arts. Co-produced by LA
Theatre Works and the UK/LA Foundation. At the Freud Playhouse Oct.
7-9. Tickets $25, $9. For more info, call 825-2101.

Quiet ‘Happened’ peeks at ’90s dating

Sundance Film Festival favorite succeeds with heartfelt, honest
plot

By Michael Horowitz

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

"What Happened Was" quietly presents itself as a funny, witty,
romantic date movie. The winner of the 1994 Sundance Grand Jury
prize is all of these things, but to try to capture its’ tone in
the same phrase you’d use for, say, "Only You" would be a
disservice to this film. This movie subtly explores an
often-uncomfortable date with a touch for reality many feel-good
films would jettison. It is funny, it is witty, but it’s also sad,
shocking, and anxious.

Tom Noonan, best known for playing psychotic villains in
adventure films ("Last Action Hero" and others), decided to write a
real first-time date between two characters who, unlike leads in
larger budgeted fare, take more than ten minutes to reveal
themselves. Noonan and Karen Sillas play Michael and Jackie, two
law office employees who keep surprising themselves and the
audience with disquieting revelations. Both are not necessarily
successful, but their job descriptions would belie their ambition
and their dreams. On the other hand, no one really knows where
their lives go after 5 p.m. and before 9 a.m. the next day.

"What Happened Was" is a film that would never exist in a studio
utopia, but it’s a film festival dream come true. It never rushes,
it’s never forced and it ends with you caring deeply but feeling
sorry for Michael and Jackie. The dialogue is carefully crafted and
real enough to never take you out of the story. Basically, it’s the
result of a nurtured project come to fruition for Noonan, who
stayed in control of the entire film.

If you need a car chase, or even a plot development every ten
minutes, "What Happened Was" might not be the film for you. But if
you enjoy character-driven stories with limited aims and realistic
themes, Noonan’s quiet masterpiece is just the film to discuss over
coffee.

FILM: "What Happened Was." Written and directed by Tom Noonan.
Starring Karen Sillas and Tom Noonan. Now playing.

King

of the Pigs

By Michael Horowitz

Daily Senior Bruin Staff

The Nine Inch Nails "Self-Destruct Tour" is back in town and it
hasn’t lost much intensity or emotion. Tuesday’s show at the
Universal Amphitheatre wasn’t the intimate clusterfuck of cult fans
that filled the Palace, but the tight set, mood-enhancing
theatrics, and still-impressive staging allowed the Nails to affect
thousands more.

Trent Reznor is on the verge of being heinously over-publicized.
His much-celebrated mudbath at Woodstock and his brilliant "NBK"
soundtrack have generated him plenty of press; he’s now suffering
genre and generational idolatry. So what’s a self-loathing,
society-hating musician to do?

Well for starters he can shock the KIIS-FM fools who showed up
because they’ve memorized "Closer." He can rock harder than the
KROQ junkies who pressed redial until they bled. And he can give
his all to the faithful.

Cool Trent moments: fucking his guitarist’s face, smashing his
bassist to the floor and throwing water bottles at anything that
breathed.

Annoying "Mr. Anger" moments: the self-parodying, arena-rock
lightshow, an annoying video-screen reminiscent of UCLA
construction and a setlist that was built more for fan recognition
than emotional structure.

As Reznor leaves any semblance of underground status, there are
questions that need to be addressed. Like, what’s with that
bottomless rage thing? And, does he attack roadies because he’s
suffering artistic angst or is he just a malicious dick who knows
how to put on a good show? Or, several more notches down the
disappointing ladder, is it choreographed like professional
wrestling?

There’s a lot of evidence in all directions. To support the
Three Physical Outbursts Per Show Model, Trent did smile a whole
lot. He does freak out in every show, and the intensity level is
almost too perfect to be anything but managed. On other hand, some
of his actions are completely belligerent and sometimes go unseen.
After the fourth song on Tuesday night he went backstage and hurled
a water bottle into a roadie’s gut from only a yard out. It
couldn’t have been for effect.

At a certain point this debate leaves the realm of
intellectualism. A probable compromise is that Reznor onstage is
simply a spoiled intensely-dramatic lightning rod. If he wants to
smack his set-up crew with a microphone stand, he does, because all
they can do is set it up again for him. He’s not solely motivated
by Spinal Tap theatrics, but he’s at least aware that he’s fun to
watch.

Overall song selection was interesting in this second leg of the
tour. While he ignored a lot of great tracks from "Pretty Hate
Machine," his finally has started to play "Ruiner" and "Piggy," two
new selections that work well live. And one could almost justify
Nails playing a seated arena and ending with a slow song by the
lush version of "Something I Can Never Have."

The crowd … sucked! Apparently on Monday night there was
moshing in the aisles to the point of a security risk. Tuesday,
people had lighters, they clapped along to "Hurt" and the
excitement level dipped below pathetic several times. Further
enhancing the general sense of misanthropy among NIN faithful was
the crowd’s reaction to Reznor’s comment: "You’re a polite crowd!"
They cheered.

If the biggest Nails fans bought tickets to Monday night and the
second-best fans purchased Tuesday seats, fans going to either
Thursday or Friday nights’ performance will have to endure the
quietest, most serene crowd since the Pebble Beach Golf Tournament.
And no one wants Reznor and friends to be simply par.

UCLA grad Marco Sanchez delves below surface in "seaQuest
DSV"

Sanchez begins second season on TV program with new goals

By Rodney Tanaka

Marco Sanchez wants to discover himself.

He wants to explore the motivations and desires that fuel his
actions.

To follow his progress, tune in to "seaQuest DSV," the
futuristic underwater NBC series now in its second season. Sanchez,
a recent UCLA alumnus, plays sensor chief Miguel Ortiz on the show.
In the opening season, Sanchez followed orders and kept the ship
from crashing. This season he hopes to move beyond the surface of
his character and examine the nuances of his character.

"The great thing about being on a series is you continually
learn about a character," Sanchez says. "With each episode you have
something new to explore. I hope to learn about what he cares
about, what he likes and doesn’t like, everything about him that
makes him interesting."

Sanchez harbors high expectations for "seaQuest DSV." "(Last
year) the show wanted to accomplish many things, but it struggled
to find its voice," says Sanchez. "This season it will be a lot
more exciting and very entertaining without losing its moving
moments."

With such a bright future looming, Sanchez’s past must have
helped nurture his talent. He performed in his first play in the
eighth grade, and from there his acting projects and educational
endeavors continued to grow. He attended UCLA for four years and
graduated in 1992. "I have a lot of good memories of UCLA," Sanchez
says, "especially of the people that I met."

Sanchez continues to work with fellow UCLA students in the
Buffalo Nights Theatre Company. The company, composed entirely of
students from the UCLA theater department, completed their second
season of shows. It emerged out of a need for Sanchez and other
students to create their own opportunities.

"(The current) theater department at UCLA is better than the one
I went through. It was general education, like an English major,"
Sanchez says. "It seemed like they could care less whether anyone
got work."

Yet Sanchez rose above any setbacks and found work in theater
and television. His first job took him to "Knot’s Landing" as a
mischievous high school student. Other projects included "In the
Heat of the Night" and "Gunsmoke: The Long Ride."

Sanchez is cognizant that his exposure as an actor may make him
a role model to other Cuban Americans. He hopes that the writing in
Hollywood explores all aspects of his community, rather than just
the negative ones. "Hollywood is just beginning to understand that
the Hispanic community is multi-faceted," Sanchez says, alluding to
the dearth of positive roles for minorities.

Yet the actor does not dismiss the idea of playing a
less-than-wholesome character in the future, as long as the
character does not fall into ethnic stereotypes. "One-dimensional
bad guy roles are uninteresting and insulting to me," Sanchez says.
"I appreciate that Miguel Ortiz doesn’t have a cheesy accent.

Perhaps the future holds dangerous and violent characters for
Sanchez to portray. For now, he is content to explore his character
on "seaQuest" for as long as the ship explores the oceans.