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The Red a Black | Friday, February 16, 2001 1 3
Elizabethan playwright’s work unique, tragic
By KYLE MINSHEW
kminshew@randb.com
The draw of EUzabethan playwright
John Webster doesn’t Ue in the whimsi
cal fantasy of his contemporaries like
Shakespeare and Ben Johnson.
This writer, whose works and Ufe are
shrouded in mystery, had a literapr
taste for the less than pleasant side of
humanity.
Opening this weekend as part of the
Town & Gown Players’ second-stage
season, “The Duchess of Malfi” is con
sidered the masterpiece from the writer
who was described by modernist poet
T. S. EUot as a man who was “much
possessed by death, and saw the skuU
beneath the skin.”
“We were wanting to do a
Renaissance play that wasn’t someone
like Shakespeare or Ben Johnson,” said
Steven Carroll, the director for the pro-
THE DUCHESS OF MALFI
When & Where: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Athens Community
Theater located behind the Taylor-Grady HoGse
Tickets: $5
Information: 208-8696
duction. “And Webster is infamous for
being so uncharacteristic of the period.
His work is so tragic and morbid and
that’s what reaUy makes him attractive
and plus he’s reaUy not done enough.
He was a great playwright.”
“Malfi” begins using the traditional
Elizabethan plot device of innocent
lovers. The widowed duchess of Malfi,
one of the more famous female protago
nists in Renaissance history, is forbid
den to marry by her scheming brothers,
the Duke Ferdinand and the Cardinal,
because they want her money.
u
“The characters are not all good
or all evil. They're human.”
STEVEN CARROLL
Director, “The Dutchess of Malfi”
The duchess secretly marries her
steward Antonio, and they live together
in secret; the dutchess gives birth to
three children. Once the marriage is
discovered, the brothers plot to destroy
the family.
“My character is just a stone-cold
kiUer,” said Derek Adams, who plays
the assassin Bosola.
What separates Webster from his
contemporaries, CarroU said, is that his
characters are more morally ambiguous
than many of the heroes and heroines
of the time period.
“The characters are not aU good or
all evil,” he said. “They’re human. They
all possess some human flaw which
makes them more interesting to the
audience and more complex from the
standpoint of an actor.”
The driving force behind the dynam
ic of the characters is their role as
opposite facets of humanity, CarroU
said. What Webster enjoys is the psy
chological scope and range of the char
acter’s mind.
“The lessons in the play are not the
idea of morality,” he said. “It’s more a
matter of humanity. What Webster likes
to explore is the different sides of
humanity. How utterly low they can faU
in comparison to what heights they can
reach. The Duchess is central to that
because her spirit is never broken and
her faith in her religion never waivers.
She learns to never throw away her love
for society.”
SPECIAL | The Red a Black
▲ Ferdinand, played by Justin
Wickline, fantasizes about his sis
ter, the Duchess of Malfi (Amanda
DeWees).
Gibbs joins Kinney Payne
in homeeoming concert
By JONATHAN REED
jreed@randb.com
While the triple biU wiU be a homecoming of
sorts for aU involved, only the openers — Kevn
Kinney and Adam Payne — are locals.
For the Emma Gibbs Band, Athens represents
the birthplace of its present momentum. The six-
piece roots-rock band hails from Winston-Salem,
N.C., but it was while working with John Keane to
record its second album, 1999’s “Seven-Even,” the
band matured into a tightly-knit unit.
“The guy’s a genius,” said EGB rhythm guitarist
and vocalist Richard Upchurch. “His attention to
detail is amazing.”
The session resulted in aU of the band members
focusing on playing as a unit and aUowing one
another equal space in the music.
While the Emma Gibbs Band, named in honor
of a group member’s grandmother who aUowed
the young band to practice in her house, plans to
record with Keane again in the near future, it is
currently focused on building slowly.
“Seven-Even” was enough to earn the band a
spot on festival bills and as an opening act for the
likes of Leftover Salmon, String Cheese Incident,
Col. Bruce Hampton and unfortunately, a bill with
Vertical Horizon and several other bands of that
ilk.
“Those guys never even got off the bus,”
Upchurch said of the experience of playing with
EMMA GIBBS BAND
Performing with: Kevn Kinney, Adam Payne Band
When & Where: Tonight at 10 Athens Music Factory
Tickets: $6
information: 353-8869
radio-friendly acts.
He said he preferred to tour with acts who
could appreciate the roots element of EGB’s driv
ing groove.
The band is tough to pigeonhole. It’s equal
parts Americana and pop-rock with hints of The
Grateful Dead’s sound. Upchurch, however,
doesn’t want the group classified as a jam act just
because its roots lie in the genre.
“Our live shows are a mix of genres,” he said.
“We like the Dead, but even they covered all types
of music.”
Emma Gibbs Band had the chance to ring in
2000 with James Taylor. Upchurch said Taylor was
as gentle as one would expect, and said the audi
ence was quite responsive.
The homecoming tonight also will feature David
Blackmon, the renowned fiddle player who guest
spotted on “Seven-Even.” Upchurch, however, is
looking forward to finally hearing Kevn Kinney.
“We’re always just behind him or just ahead on
tour, so I never get to see him,” Upchurch said.
“The guys been doing great stuff for years.”
☆☆☆I
REGULAR SEASON HOME FINALE!
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SUNDAY, ffB, 18th • 2:30 pro • Stegeman Coliseum
Tlie first 1,000 fans receive a Lady Dog rally towel! See Coco, Kelly, Tweety, Kiesha,
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honor one of the most successful senior classes in Lady Dog history.
BE ALL YOU
ARMY
FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL 706-542-1231 • UGA STUDENTS AND FACULTY FREE ADMISSION W/ID
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$ 2 pints of Guiness
PRIZES • GIVE-AWAYS
Don't miss this world-wide toast
of Ireland's favorite
Friday 2/16 is Maverick Night
The Golden Quartet
Jazz Concert
“Morning, Noon, Night”
Tuesday, February 20, 2001
8:00 pm Hodgson Hall
$6/$8 UGA Students w/
UGA Card
$ 12/$ 14 Non-Students
Tickets on sale now at
the Tate Student Center Cashier’s Window
M-F 9am-4pm
Please call (706) 542-6396 For more Information
Sponsored by:
TENTH ANNIVERSARY
CM 2000-2001
Performing Arts Series ill
itiNi n
C9&
university!
UINIIOIM
February 16 at 8 pm Hugh Hodgson Hall
Proceeds to benefit the Black History Month Fund
$10 & All Students $5
Box Office: 542-4400
Sponsored by the UGA President, the Office for Student Affairs
and the Office for Minority Programs
Plus two free workshops in the
Performing Arts Center on Feb. 16
10 am Jazz Improvisation--with Wadada Smith
I pm Jazz Percussion--with Jack Dejohnette
Jack Dejohnette played with Miles Davis and is considered the best jazz drummer
of this generation. He has been named Downbeat Drummer of the Year
nine times. The Golden Quartet is a Jazz Supergroup
formed by trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith.
GW classes travel abroad! Advance your
knowledge while exploring new horizons
Business Environment in China: Washington, DC & China
• Central European Politics: Czech Republic & Slovakia
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• Inside French Theatre, Le Coq Training & Beyond: France
• Models of Educational Service Delivery in Greece
• Paleoanthropological Field Program in China
••Privatization and Competition as Reform:
Washington, DC & England
• Program in International Human Rights Law: England
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Washington, DC & Bulgaria
GW also offers over 500 courses and specialized summer
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website: www.summer.gwu.
email: sumprogs@gwu.edu (202) 973-1123
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