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The Barb 5 ff foRTissilMO Theatre I have been an admirer of Phil and Nancy Erickson and their Wit’s End Players since I first came to At lanta. “Tales of Love or One Dollar Per. Version” is the first time I have seen them since they moved from their own theatre to the Empire Suite Dinner Theatre at the Sheraton- Biltmore. I have always en joyed their unique variety of political - sexual -social satire, and have found them consistently above average. I am sorry to say, though, that while the ma terial is still as funny as ever, the Wit’s End show doesn’t seem to fit in the rather elegant (I use the word loosely) atmosphere of the Empire Suite. Part of the joy of a Wit’s End show had always been the very lack of any particular elegance. Ah well, enough said. Phil and Nancy are, as ever, wonderful. My fav orite bit is a song about the Rockefellers, song, ironically, “Rockefeller, cleft for me...” Nancy stood out in a terribly cute sketch about beauty pageants (as Miss Makem), singing a song about all the “Misses” she been: Miss . Connection (for Delta Air lines),” “Miss Conception (Planned Parenthood),” “MissDial (MaBell),” and loads more. Sally Street, who has been with Wit’s End since its conception, does her usual bang-up joo in just about everything; Terry Turner was good in a dirty-old-man sketch; Gin- ny Parker was cute and perk, but whs required .to do a straight version* of “Alice Blue Gown” that seemed very out of place in a Wit’s End show. Other critics in the media have taken the Wit’s End Players to task in their columns for not hitting hard enough. I find now, as I al ways have, that Wit’s End humour is soft; and it needs to be. They are not Ace Trucking Company, and to try to be would be not only sad, but possibly fatal. “Tales of Love” runs Tuesday through Thursday evenings at- 9:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturdays at 9:00 and 11:15 p.m. See this show. I’m sure you will en joy the whacky exploits of the Wit’s End Players. So who am I to criticize. Those of us in the media who fashion ourselves “critics” or “reviewers” (and there is a difference!) are often asked to justify our existences, are dished for not praising lavishly enough, or are considered ignorant, fools for not con demning everything out of hand. I suppose I consider my self more of an expert on the things I write about than the ordinary person. I have spent years as an ac tive participant in both theatre and writing, and that should count for some thing. I enjoy my work, seeing shows and trying to analyze, as best I can, their artistic worth. I have to view the things I see on the basis of my personal, opionated artistic vision. I view criticism as one of the most constructive out lets for the Arts, in this case, Theatre. So, we come to “the State of Theatre,” in At lanta, particularly, but, I suspect throughout Ameri ca. Whither Theatre, At lanta? While Atlanta is far from a theatrical waste land, it isn’t exactly para dise, either. We have either the over-produced, slick productions of the Barbara Eden right-wing companies (e.g., Alliance Theatre Company, Theatre of the Stars) or the under-produced, self- indulgent work of groups such as Kelly’s Seed and Feed Theatre. Perhaps I am not ob jective enough to write about Kelly’s. Last spring they totally destroyed, I think, and early master piece of the German poet- play wright Bertolt Brecht, who happens to be my fav orite dramatist. “Baal” (pronounced in their pro duction “Ball”) had, up until that time, been to me one of Brecht’s most in- triuging works. After see ing that production, I think- ed the Gods that the mas ter was dead and in his grave, so that, fortunately, he was unable to see his work so vulgarly raped. On the right side of the sepctrum, we have last season’s Alliance Theatre production of “Dracula,” a production so pretentiously encased in huge and stifl ing trappings that the play (and there wasn’t much of one to begin with) never could burst through. Every - by Eric Cushman Moore one, I imagine, has seen the film once. Perhaps that is why I so hated the Alliance production. The director (note the use of lower case, and be aware that I use the term EX TREMELY loosely) decided that the truly camp thing to do would be to try and make the play look and sound like a 1930’s film. He apparently forgot that the stage has a magic all of its own, and that (particularly on the Alliance stage) it is virtually impossible to bring a story as close to an audience as it possible in films. So we had Phil Pleasants doing great Bela lugosi-like close-up poses, but couldn’t see them. The result was a total disaster, the kind of production I am ashamed to admit I saw, and that I was even more ashamed to take out-of-town guests too. So, here we are, at the beginning of a new Theatre season. Things don’t look too hopeful, at least for the kind of inter-wing (a melding of the extremes of the left and right-wing elements in Atlanta) theatre I would like to see. Kelly’s will probably continue to writhe and moan, and Al liance will probably con tinue' to bore us. And, as ever, the theatre lovers will put up with it because it is the only theatre we have. It is about time, At lanta for a theatrical rev olution. When will it hap pen? Clubs ever seen. The whole even ing *was one helluva trip. I can’t ever remember be- ing so transfixed in a nightclub. He played and played and played, and the audience still hadn’t had enough. And when he brought out his back-up vo calists, WOW! I can hardly describe what happened. Suffice it to say, that it was a marvelous show. Special note to friends Randy and Erica: Your presence made it all the better! Schedule for the next few weeks at the Venetian Room includes: Glen Yarborough through Nov. 5; Sergio Mendes and Brazil “77, Nov. 6-16; Patti Page, Nov. 18-26; Miss Peggy Lee, Nov. 27-Dec 7; and Diana Trask, Dec. 9-17. Miss Peggy Lee Hot on the heels, of their success with Daphne Davis (see FFFortissimo, -Oct. 74) SCORE ONE engaged fabulous “Frisco Follies.” The “Follies” represent the art of female im personation taken to its most extravagant end. The costumes were superb. There was also an ex cellent balance of solo and ensemble work. Show di rector .Jamie Edward’s opening number, in which he donned eyes, makeup and sang “I Enjoy Being A Girl,” was* great. Froggie’s Totie Fields was also a favorite. Atlantans were so impressed with this group that they were held over for two weeks. Thanks again, SCORE ONE, for bringing us such fabulous entertainment-y , , Want to rap? Cali the gay help-linein Atlanta: | 874-4400 SI It has been a hectic month on the plub scene. Your very tired, overwork ed critic had almost more than he could handle, but most of what I saw was great. Thank God for the open ing of the Venetian Room at the Fairmont Colony Square Hotel. They have had con sistently good, big-name entertainment, since open ing at the beginning of Sep tember. Barbara Eden surprised me. All I could think of before seeing her act were those big blinking eyes. “I Dream of Jeanne” made her, and to a certain ex tent is still a great part of her appeal, but can that woman sing! There really wasn’t much else that she did, but she was excellent. She knows how to sing, has breath control that would make Streisand sit up and take notice, and a very in formal style that was quite disarming. I particularly enjoyed “Being Green” from television’s “Sesame Street,” and also a sexy version of “I Feel The Earth Move.” Mr. Ray Charles, in At lanta? About time, honey! His act is one of the best instrumental acts I have Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson And Ray Charles