WITH summer still stuck
somewhere south of San
Francisco, the only tans
on display these days are
under local stagelights
where the temperature
currently rages from
warm to red hot.

Martin
Millerchip _

Det

eee First Impressions Theatre
CHITA are Winding up their season at
call Deep Cove's Shaw Theatre
— with Mister Roberts,

The play. by Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan, is set on an
American Navy cargo vessel in the back ead of the Pacific near
the end of the Second World War.

The war is passing by the ship’s first fieutenant. Mister
Roberts. like a task force in the night but the captain continues
to block his transfer to active service.

The captain continues to deny shore leave for the crew in an
ever more-obsessive attempt to deliver more supplies than any
other ship in the fleet.

Guess where our sympathies are meant to lie?

As written. the captain's role is probably unplayable. The

‘ writing offers no serious character development. reducing the
options to one-note stereotypes.

That said, Ross Clarke's portrayal of the pivotal role wavered
between uncertainty and pantomime ogre on opening night.

Unfortunate. given that the captain is the only enemy this
ship faces and must be the rock against which the tide of ship-
board optimism breaks.

Doubly unfortunate, given that director Ryan Crocker once
again displays a flair for working with a male ensemble and has
drilled the rest of his crew into as shipshape a cast us one could
wish.

Nick Boughen has
designed a solid yet versa-
tile set that anchors the
action and Norman White's
period uniform costumes
provide another level of
credibility.

[tis worth noting that
just because a story has an
honorable moral core it is
Not necessarily strong
dramia, but this First
Impressions production is
certainly recommendable
for its warmth and enter-
tainment value.

Mister Roberts runs to June
Il.

Meanwhile, North
Vancouver Community
Players have just
announced the holdover of
Lend Me A Tenor by Ken
Ludwig.

Apparently they’ve been
tuming people away from
Hendry Hali with monoto-
nous regularity ever since
the play opened.

Set in a Cleveland hotel in
1934, the farcical plot
revolves around the prob-
lems in getting a famous
Ralian tenor onstage for a
gala performance of Orello,
Set designers Jenny Ashton
and Ann Booth have man-
aged to squeeze two rooms
of furniture and five work-
ing doors Uf comedy works
in threes, how many duors
does a set need to become
farce’) onto Hendry Halls
diminutive stage while
retaining a real sense of art
deco style.

There's nota weak link
in the cast under Robert
Metealle’s excellent direc-
tion and the physical come-
dy is timed te pertection.

photo David Cooper

DIANE Lines is a standout
in the Arts Club’s Tapestry.
The North Vancouver
pianist, composer and
singer has toured and
recorded with Gary
Fjellgaard and is a popular
pertormer in the Arts Club’s
Backstage Lounge.

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

LINDSEY Bayne and Devin Manky are two of the performers in Dennis Foon’s
Mirror Game presented by Sutheriand Secondary Schocl. The play, which
deals with how abuse is learned through the generations, runs May 26-30

and June 3-6. Reservations: 645-0272.

Bravos and cheap chianti to all concerned.

If you want a chance to see the final three performances call
983-2633 as soon as you can.

I'll confess 1 went to see the Arts Club Theatre production
of Tapestry out of a sense of duty.

Three of the eight performers are from the North Shore and
two were names I had not previously seen.

Sure. E was familiar with the music of Carole King. I still
have an album of hers somewhere.

But | tend to associate her name with the playlists of FM
radio stations that promise “soft rock” and deliver the Nineties
equivalent of elevator music.

So [ was not expecting to come out of the theatre with a
spring in my step. a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

Make that 40 songs! f guess Vd forgotten just how many
great songs King (and lyricist Gerry Goltfin) have penned.

Under the direction and musical direction of Yoni Grindler
and Michael Creber performers Keith Beaneit, Diane Lines,
Peter Padden, Densil Pinnock. Bill Runge. Sibel Thrasher Shari
Ulrich and Harris Van Berkel deliver a high-octane show of non-
stop highlights.

The musicians are hot (none hotter than the sexational sax of
Bill Runge) and the voices hotter.

Sibel Thrasher and Shari Ulrich are well known to
Vancouver audiences, but North Vancouver's Diane Lines is a
surprising standout in the show and takes a backseat to nobody.

Tapestry comains memorable music you could enjoy four
times over for the price of one ticket to Adiss Saigon 's unremark-
able noodlings.

And if you went to Granville Istand via SeaBus you'd probu-
bly see a helicopter Jand at Vancouver Helijet as well.

Hosted by West
Vancouver celebrity
Jackson Davies. the
annual Jessie
Richardson Theatre
Awards go Monday.

June 17 at the Ford
Centre for the
Performing Ans.

Deep Cove’s Pam
Johnson is nominated for her moody set design for Three Tall
Women,

Fellow Cover Richard Newnan is nominated in the category
of Actor ina Supporting Role for his work in Lear.

Wendy Van Riessen is nominated for Outstanding
Performance hy an Actor ina Musical for Mare Sex Tips for
Modern Girls while Sheila Moore is up for her work as Actress
ina Lead Role tor Homeward Bound.

U you like improvisational comedy you might want to check
out The Backwards Zone at Presentation House ‘Thursday to
Saturday this week,

Judgement returns to the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre June 13
for six perfornuinces

This show won Deep Cove Stage’s [tizabeth Lambert and
Paul Klocgmian Best Director und Best Actor awards respective:
ty at the North Shore Zone Festival of Plays recently.

The ovo week run will give Lambert and Kloegman a chance
to fine-tune Barry Collins” intense play about survival before
representing North Vancouver at the provincial theatre compet-
tion: Mainstage *96.

Break a leg. guys.

rn eemed