Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 September 2000 — Page 22

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2000

George Benson Kenny G Spyro Gyra James Ingram Sade Whitney Houston Ramsey Lewis Babyface Stanley Clarke Steely Dan Miles Davis Chuck Mangione Roberta Flack and many more!

Be sure to check us out at The PENROD Art Festival

get to the bottom of the nefarious plot and clear his name, Shaw innovates while he keeps moving, taking a hostage in a targeted U.N. interpreter witness while he’s out in the cold. The movie had more realistic spycraft with some modem twists. Handheld computers are employed to decode messages. So that agents can get information in the field, as seen in the original “Mission: Impossible,” they use Internet chat rooms, of which there are millions and virtually untraceable, even vrith CARNIVORE or ECHELON spy agency search engines. This is far different from the use of printed books by the CIA nest in Robert Redford’s ‘Three Days of

the Condor.”

Like that 1973 film, and one of my all-time favorites, the lifespan of a spy out in the cold is measured in hours, or a few days, tops. T don’t even have a health plan” Snipes’ Shaw grumbles to his control, the tough “M”-like Anne Archer who plays Eleanor Hooks, aide to the U.N. secretary general, played by Canadian Donald

Sutherland.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” his ultimate boss says when introduced to Shaw by Eleanor. “We still haven’t,” says Snipes. “How do you give a medal to someone who doesn’t exist Tor something that never hap-

bringing us through the decades, landing in present day. The only, and most obvious obstacle is to complete this journey as smoothly and honesdy as possible, touching on the most ' poignant moments in the collective American Journal. My only question was, is this to be an adventure in American music or American history. This was never really clear throughout the evening. There seaaMdto be«o j»alit»< v. start to the show. When the d the first note if we were just joining the show in its continuation. Maybe this wds die idea — to feel as though the story was already in progress. I was never quite sure where in time we were. The first 20

minutes were pretty much a performance of popular show standards of the day. What gave the audience a feeling of history were the pictorials that accompanied the show throughout. There were depictions of the American countryside, famous screen stars from the early days of the silver screen to our present-day heroes

and young ingenues.

I was soon to discover that cabaret is completely sung with not one single spoken word. The only drawback to this formula was the trapping of a monotonous and repetitious score. Many of the songs up through the Civil War decade, fell into this catch. The spell was broken when cast member Steven Taylor offered a solo depicting the state of Black American slaves. Singing a spiritual, and breathing life into a nameless character.

SCREEN Continued from Cl pened?,” says Sutherland, seen 1 now in Clint Eastwood’s “Space Cowboys.” The film is a U.S.-Canadian production with Snipes’ AmenRa production company, which he founded after he blew up after “Passenger 57.” That throwaway film the studio put out to make some quick change went on to become one of the biggest grossers of its year, making Snipes one of the cinema world’s top action heroes. His martial arts skills, blended in with the African-Latin foot fighting techniques of Capoiera learned in Florida and New York, are used here as his “Rising Sun” with Sean Connery, and “U.S. Marshals,” but not as much as in “Blade.” The editing is fast and furious as the numerous foot race scenes; the camera pulls back, back, back, to show the rest of the city going about its business as others are engaged in life and death struggles that may turn their world upside down. The quickcutting editing in “The Art of War” is also used to show states of mind as Shaw puts the pieces of the plot together, such as recreating the scene of another operative who was brutally

beaten.

Seeing the three impact marks of a head on the mirrored wall he’s shown playing the painful •scenes in his minds eye. On his DECADES ContlmMd from Cl “Decades” was finally starting to sprout wings and fly into the next

century.

Taylor provided several of the shows highlights. Being the only African-American man in the cast, the plight of the people seemed to fall on his shoulders more than once. During an ode to the age of the blues, Steven delivered a respectful (although jazzy) performance accompanied by a semi-soulful saxophone r HSOlflta'/« Pit 1 hn < Another' standout in this show • of America^pop culture was Jeff Owen. Possessing a voice that danced between folk singing and Broadway crooning, Owen added to the authenticity of the American Diaspora. His presence was reminiscent of a young Bob Dylan or even John Denver. It wasn’t until after intermission, and at the start of the ‘50s, that “Decades” was able to get some lift underneath its wings. Returning from intermission with a parody of the famed British band, the Beatles, that was a smart and fun take on where we were and what was important. It also set the tone for a more enjoyable, colorful, and energized ride through the rest of the

century.

Whether by accident or clever coincidence, the women in the cast seemed to shine more during this part of the show. The most current half of the 20th century finds women finding themselves. Cast members Melody FinchumDeMumbrum, Erin Kurtz, LaDonna Bums and Nataly North created a series of entertaining moments for “Decades.” The ladies came together for

way out, just for spiteful vengeance, he puts another silenced slug into the thudding corpse of the ChiCom agent he got the , better hand of. This is not a pretty film, aqj if you thought the world of spycraft was a glitter glamour world of baccarat playing in high class, casinos on the coast of France with the tuxedo wearing antics of James Bond 007 you’re in for a surprise. “The Art of War” ha? some hard-core stuff in it. But there’s some fun stuff, too. 0 Michael Biehn of “The , Terminator,” “The Abyss” and “Aliens” uses his “Navy SEALS” military skills as Shaw’s fellow agent Bly, specializing in electronics and surveillance. Shaw, trapped in a ballroom with Chinese agents coming at him is picked up by Bly’s cameras. To distract the. agents from Shaw, whom the * team can’t help anyway, Bly makes the fighting scenes as if it was entertainment for the party by putting it up on the big screen, liie ball-goers clap in delight at the fight staged for their benefit. “The Art of War” is directed by Christian Dougray and rated “R” for brutality, shadowy murders, and gratuitous violence. There is also some brief nudity. Have an opinion on the movies or these reviews? Contact Kevin J. Walker http:// cinemaviews. tripod, com

an empowered remake of Nancy Sinatra’s, “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” as well as solo performances by Bums of Tracy Chapman’s, “Fast Car,” and Nataly North’s take on Madonna’s, “Material Girl.” , The entire production would not have worked without the aid of the accompanying slide show. Which, in my opinion, should have gotten top billing. The images presented were a brilliant display jcjf America past and present. Alone they showed the anguish of the depression, the joy of the country’s financial rise during the ‘90s, and the hope of the American frontiersmen. • More of a Time Life collecj tion set to music, than a true £ adaptation of American histo^, “Decades” is a well-executedj account of the American pop 1 culture of the past 150 years.« The only true disappointing pjrt of the show was that it didn’t*! represent our country in its *! entirety. It can never be deniejl that America truly is a melting pot; its history being one of tl$ most diverse and prolific advdh-

tures of our time.

*1 •r

McNeal succeeded in captur-

ing at least one man’s view ofa story seen through the eyes oF; many. £

What made the evening m<j$t

enjoyable was the genuinely *

euphoric staff. They wore

nothing but smiles, from the I; moment we picked up our l 1 tickets, to being ushered to our seats. Although the audience was considerably on the mature sijle, the American Cabaret Theatrq is a great place to take the family,

or a date for that matter.

#» •*

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n?r INDIANA im-mm — Mncrotv ^ TNIATM ade forker By William Gibson Sept. 23 - Oct. 21 Riley Hoipital for ChiUrcn 1 CUrian Health UMiodM'U-M* producing tpontor (Arfieritech Discovery Series call 635-5252

www.indianarep.com

| American Sign Language available at all Sunday performances

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