YOUR
SNOW
BOARDING
HEADQUARTERS
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13th & Lawrence • Eugene • 683-1300
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Giyndi, Coathead,
Last Chapter, U^ty litter
Hard Rock
$5 at the door, 8:oopm
■ Saturday ■
loules Graves
ERhythmethod,
Freedom
Power Folk
$10 advance, $12 door, 8:00 pm
Royer dyne
£ The Peacemakers,
lohn Shipe £ The Scapegoats
$10 advance, $10 door, 8:00 pm
■ Wednesday ■
Mates of State,
HawnayTroof, Royue Wave
Indie Rock
$10 advance, $10 door, 8:00 pm
■ Thursday, Feb. 5 ■
An Acoustic Evenmy
with Floater
i $10 advance, $10 door, 8:00 pm
Community
Canter tor the
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■ Friday ■
■ Monday ■
Rock
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AH Ages Welcome • 687 2746
Twists on Greek classic make Thread7
Second Season presents
an update of the Greek myth
of the Minotaur in ‘A Thread
in the Dark’ starting Feb. 4
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
Sometimes, with a little rework
ing, classic tales can have relevance
to modern political situations. This
is the common theme reappearing
in the University Theatre Depart
ment's Second Season productions.
Meant as an outlet for small-cast
productions and experimental
plays, Second Season productions
are performed in the "black box"
Arena Theatre in Villard Hall. Fall
term's production of "Desdemona:
A Play About a Handkerchief" was a
feminist reworking of a Shake
speare's "Othello." This term's pro
duction has a similar take on a dif
ferent kind of tale.
A new take of the Greek myth of
the Minotaur, "A Thread in the
Dark" by Hella Haase, also changes
the perspective from a male to a fe
male lead, but with a different pur
pose in mind.
Lauren Wimer Photographer
(Left to right) Margie Kment, Connie Hymer and Erica Smith perform a scene from their
upcoming play "A Thread in the Dark," which opens at the Arena Theatre Feb. 4.
"In this working, the Minotaur
represents those secret fears that
people have and that politicians ex
ploit," director Elizabeth Helman
said. "It really makes it relevant to
today's political situation."
Helman has directed a number of
productions for the theater depart
ment, such as "Picasso at the Lapin
Agile," as well as productions for
children through the Mad Duckling
Theatre. She decided to put on
"Thread" after reading it in a West
ern European theater class.
"It's an obscure Dutch play that
was first performed in Holland in
1962," Helman said. "I think this
will only be its first or second per
formance in the United States."
Cast members were also interest
ed with the subtext of the play and
the possibilities for political com
mentary that it holds.
"1 think it's great to come at a
classical Greek story from a such
different perspective," actor and
University senior Eli Levine said.
"It's interesting to show a take on a
famous myth in a way that makes it
still relevant to today's politics," ac
tress and first-year graduate student
Connie Hymer said. "This play deals
with how governments use fear as a
way to control, how they create an en
emy to keep people subservient."
The original myth told the story of
a half-man, half-bull called the Mino
taur that was kept in an inescapable
maze called the Labyrinth on the is
land of Crete. The hero Theseus
entered the maze and killed the crea
ture and was able to find his way out
using a ball of thread given to him by
Ariadne, daughter of the king of Crete
In Haase's retelling of the myth, Ari
adne is the central character. Her deci
sion to expose the truth about the
Minotaur, which her father uses to
keep his subjects frightened, has be
come the central source of drama.
"I love the way all the classical
structures and archetypes are used
to this end," Helman said. "I was
also drawn to the strong female pro
tagonist. The character of Ariadne
becomes a form of political activist.
The play also raises many interest
ing question, such as what is the rel
evance art has to politics."
Working with a play which much
of the audience will not be familiar
with also gives Second Season the
freedom from any preconceived no
tions, Helman said. The black-box
style of the Arena Theatre, where the
seats rise above the sparsely decorat
ed stage, also allows the seven-per
son cast to be close to the audience.
And over the course of the play's
six performances, the cast is looking
forward to the challenges the pro
duction presents.
"A Thread in the Dark" will be
playing Feb. 4-7 and Feb. 12-14 at 8
p.m. Tickets are available at the
EMU Ticket Office. Prices are $4 for
students; $5 for seniors, faculty and
staff; and $6 for the general public.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyenierald.com.
Mario and Luigi reunite for enjoyable plot
At long last, Nintendo
has paired up the Mario
Brothers again for Mario
& Luigi: Superstar Saga
By Travis Willse
Editorial Editor
In an Apollonian blend of the fa
miliar and the foreign, the sacred
and the pro
fane, Nin
tendo has
crafted a
_ unique
gaming ex
perience in the recently released
role-playing game Mario & Luigi:
Superstar Saga.
GAME
REVIEW
First off, Mario & Luigi is just
that: It's the first Mario game in a
long, long time to feature both
brothers (with the exception of rac
ers like Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
and the Super Smash Brothers fight
ing game series). And the game
reaches much deeper than control
ling two identical and separate
characters: Players use the pair in
tandem, utilizing each brother's
unique abilities to surmount obsta
cles. Need to get to a high ledge?
Use Luigi's high jump. Need to light
a fire? Use Mario's firebrand (fire el
emental) power. The combinations
of abilities are robust, and players
will have to learn and use all of
them throughout the game.
The convoluted but enjoyable
plot is definitely a variant on a fa
miliar theme. During the introduc
tion, on an otherwise idle day in the
Mushroom Kingdom's court, an
emissary from the neighboring
BeanBean Kingdom — presumably,
these non-democratic governments
haven't faced regime change — vis
its under the guise of diplomacy,
only to steal Princess Peach's voice
and disappear, replacing it with an
"explosive vocabulary." Mario and
Luigi set out to the BeanBean King
dom (with perennial Mario villain
Bowser, who briefly teams up with
the duo) to steal it back. Once there,
they get entangled in an offbeat, epic
opera of good versus evil, entertain
ing side games, goomba-smashing
and occasional cross-dressing, all
centered around control of the pow
erful Beanstar artifact.
Combat in the game mostly fol
lows the generic RPG formula: Dur
ing each battle, Mario, Luigi and
their enemies take turns attacking,
until one side's characters all run out
of hit points (health). Nintendo af
fords small, very welcome breaks
from the traditional turn-based for
mula: By pressing buttons at just the
right moment, the brothers can do
more damage with their attacks and
avoid (or even counter) their ene
mies' attacks. And by expending so
called Brothers points, the two
brothers can team up and execute a
powerful attack that requires precise
button timing. As Mario and Luigi
fight more battles, they gain experi
ence points, paving the way for in
creased power, defense, speed and
more. The game proceeds at the per
fect pace, too; the brothers pick up
skills speedily enough to keep play
fresh, but not so quickly the player
can't keep pace. Players can cus
tomize their heroes, too, by purchas
ing various clothes and "badges,"
each of which offer various offensive
and defensive benefits.
For those familiar with the expan
sive Mario canon, exploring the
BeanBean Kingdom and spotting
similarities to the more familiar
Mushroom Kingdom proves very re
warding. Familiar enemies, like bob
ombs, spinies and cheep-cheeps,
roam the land and seascapes, but so
do tanoombas (goombas with rac
coon-like ears and tails, a la Super
Courtesy
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the latest Nintendo game to feature the brothers, has some
features from games past including yoshis and Birdo.
Mario Bros. 3's tanooki suit) and
troopeas (variants of the Mushroom
Kingdom's koopa troopas).
Great cameos and nods to earlier
Mario games are ubiquitous, too: A
mission has Mario and Luigi collect
beanfruits to feed to yoshis (di
nosaurs who first appeared in Super
Mario World), Birdo of Super Mario
Bros. 2 lore shows up in side-splitting
plot-twists, and even primary-colored
viruses from the sublime puzzle game
Dr. Mario make an appearance.
The recommended Mario & Luigi:
Superstar Saga, which was released in
November, makes an excellent addi
tion to a Game Boy Advance collec
tion, even for RPG greenhorns.
Contact the editorial editor
at traviswillse@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
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