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PHOTO BY JOE LESTERIOVE
Bananaland Conjures Up
Central American Circus
k.d. lang:
Is She or Isn't She...Patsy?
You will enter through the door which is
open but only after the door has been opened
by someone who is standing on the inside.
Consider yourself an outsider in this matter.
One who must by necessity buy a ticket in
order to enter. Those on the inside know
something which you do not know and it is
your job to find out what it is.
Welcome to Bananaland! Where
everything is bananas south of the border.
Where Somoza smiles when he says
"Frequently you will be told what to do and
where to go. I like that." And he grins some
more as he chews on his cigar with his teeth.
George Nikas, as Somoza, has never looked
better or happier in a uniform as he oversees
the Plaza area where you may be seated at a
few select tables and be entertained by the
enchanting duo of Rodger French and Nita
Hardy.
Here in the Plaza you will have the
opportunity to slurp a banana smoothie or
drool over a banana popsicle. You may want
from the top banana in propaganda-Edward
Bemays (played by Kent Whipple) who will
speak to the effectiveness of a good public
relations campaign in keeping the natives
quiet while stealing away their land. Let's
hear it for the United Fruit Company and the
capitalist way.
After the museum tour you will find your
way to the tour of Guatemala, or vice versa as
the case may be. And here you will find the
most effective use of political theater in Neil
Bogan and Jim Brooks' presentation of
"Operation Success." See how the CIA
replaces a democratically elected leader with
a puppet government in a few easy song and
dance numbers. Very imaginative work that
holds one's attention with a focus and clarity
that is sometimes missing in other parts of the
show.
Bananaland is a multi-media extravaganza
approach in creating a theatrical environment
I found it visually amazing that anyone could
come up with so many different images of
Actors Nita Hardy and Rodger French appearing in "Bananaland" at 7 Stages July 7-24.
to check out the tourist hut for pre-Columbian
artifacts and other good deals like authentic
Panama hats and banana napkin holders. You
may also want to check out the propaganda
booth in an attempt to get serious. In fact, this
may be a good cover. Buy a good book, a
Panama hat, sit at the table with the hat pulled
down over your eyes, and pretend that you are
not having a good time and that bananas don't
interest you a bit Pretend you are CIA on a
counterintelligence mission in enemy
territory.
When you have exhausted that fantasy or
another of your own choosing you will want
to visit the Museum. It's not that you will
want to visit the museum but you will have to
visit the museum. Because that's the way it is
in Bananaland. Freedom of choice is an
optical illusion. You will begin to understand.
Slowly. For instance we as Americans
support the right to democracy in
Nicaragua-as long as the Contras are in
control.
While in the Museum area you will hear
bananas under one roof, but you may leave
never wanting to see the face of another
banana again.
Some of the show's messages get buried in
the busyness of the production and I found
myself wondering if those without strong
background information on Central American
politics would get all the references alluded
to. I didn't And I also found myself feeling
sort of dazed, wandering around aimlessly
waiting for the next event to begin, then
marveling at the wonderful metaphor I had
been presented with...because it's so very
similar to what American policy is in Central
America. Wandering around aimlessly with
nowhere to go, waiting for the next event to
begin.
Hats off to Ruby Lemer and George King
for a thoroughly imaginative
show/experience. Bananaland runs through
July 27th at Seven Stages Theater. 523-7047
for reservations and information.
-Debra Hiers
Does Patsy Cline give you chills? Brenda
Lee make you cry? Loretta Lynn get your
feettappin'? And what about Kitty Wells?
Have you checked into k.d. lang? She's a
Canadian-up there they call her the Alberta
Rose-from Consort, Alberta (population
674-sometimes small towns produce the
strangest folks).
At the closing
ceremonies of die
Winter Olympics
she got the
athletes on their
feet dancing with
a kickin' rendition
of "Turn Me
Round" from her
"Angel with a
Lariat" album.
That's a fine
album-lots of
raucous
roadhouse music
guaranteed to get
you dancing just
like those athletes.
But hidden away on the album are two slower
songs: "Diet of Strange Places” (written by
k.d.) and a cover of the Patsy classic "Three
Cigarettes in a Ashtray." I wanted more.
And now we've got it "Shadowland," an
album produced by Owen Bradley, arguably
the finest Nashville producer ever, is out and
it's everything we could have dreamed of:
couple of Western-type numbers a la Marty
Robbins ("Western Stars" and "Don't Let the
Stars Get in Your Eyes"), some Big City
Blues ("Black Coffee" and "Busy Being
Blue”), a bit of Big Band ("Shadowland") and
enough classic country to make Patsy proud,
wherever she is.
The first thing to mention about led. is The
Voice. Best guess is she's got a four and half
octave range; the lower register rich like
"Black Coffee," the upper register crystal
clear. And emotion, lots of emotion. If some
of Patsy's broken heart songs tear you up,
listen closely to "I Wish I Didn't Love You
So" or "Lock, Stock and Teardrops."
Generally speaking, I like to avoid
comparison to other artists, but comparing
k.d. to Patsy is inevitable. k.d. herself seems
to invite it: her band's called "The Reclines,"
and the credits on "Shadowland" include a
thanks to "patsy." Like Patsy, k.d. has
remarkable control over a remarkable voice,
an amazing ability to take the corniest c-w
lyric and, with a careful break in the voice,
turn it into a heart-wrencher. And k.d. claims
to be a reincarnation of Patsy. No kidding.
She really does.
And then there's "Honky Tonk Angels'
Medley," a medley of "In the Evening (When
the Sun Goes Down), "You Nearly Lose
Your Mind," and "Blues Stay Away from
Me." The thing that makes this a memorable
cut is that it's a quartet featuring k.d., Brenda
Lee, Loretta
Lynn, and Kitty
Wells. Only
Patsy is
missing.
k.d. spent
two years
convincing
Owen Bradley
to come out of
retirement to
produce this
album. With a
little help from
RCA artist rep
Mary Martin
and an
appearance on
"The Tonight
Show," he did, and the result is an
exceptionally well produced album. Play it
loud when you think you can't possibly feel
any more depressed, or just to enjoy one of
the best voices on record.
She's touring the US now, but as of this
writing, there is no Atlanta date set When
there is, I'll see you there.
-KC Wildmoon
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