Secret Affairs"
a must see play
her performance with energy
and enthusiasm. When not
raging at her would-be-
Once in a great while, all the unfaithful husband (adequately
elements of successful live played by Rod Ragsdale), or
theater come together at one cooing about her favorite stars
time and place. Perfectly balan­ of yesteryear, Mildred occupies
ced, the actions of the actors her time by winning, the
and technicians make for an “Hollywood Homemaker of
ensemble that fills the viewer the Week Award” from a local
with delight and satisfaction. television station. Her delight is
Sunday
afternoon
in short-lived however, when the
McLoughlin Theater, this “prize” turns out to be a sham
reviewer enjoyed just such an with taxes due.
experience during a perfor­
All is not lost. She wins a
mance of “The Secret Affairs of screen test, of sorts, in which-
Mildred Wild.”
she portrays a pre-teen chan­
By Joe Woods
For The Print
Mty member (right) Barbara Bragg achieves a
ling a day dreaming housewife in “The Secrets
comical level of character, when
of Mildred Wild” last Friday night.
tudents create art
art we use nature as
ter. We look and we
to nature’s songs.
...”
■re we create
Perhaps that is the best basis
for a young art student. The
Milk Creek Little School is
displaying its “nature art” in the
ftist of the week
Lobby located in theSmuckers
building.
The next artist of the week
will be announced after spring
iidc. Albeki, student ar­ term begins March 26.
pe first candidate for this
The Print will be covering
In. Her works will be on each artist as they recieve the
Lhisjveek^n^h^^r^ title.
1st of the Week,” is a
formed idea sprouting in
Kge Art Department.
college library until the end of
this term.
Margaret Charters, librarian,
says the display is “delightful.”
The students range in age from
5 to 15 at the alternative
school, owned and financed by
the students’ parents.
The display includes poetry,
collages, stitchery and a great
number of weavings. Each art
work is made from or has
something to do with nature
and its beauty.
odd Rundgren’s latest
Runt proves best of litter
like Koller
■Mnt
|dd Rundgren’s new
Ke live album on Bear-
■ecords is titled “Back
he Bars,” but a more fit
■e to this record would
■been “Back to the
■oks like (for the time
ig,I anyway) that the
Kadet has landed back
■th. Rundgren is no
[er [the “Runt” character
Rued on his early
ns or the cosmic kid he
■ed as with his group,
Bia, on their albums,
Id] Rundgren’s Utopia”
fRa ” The entire album
Ben stripped of any
pic debris which makes
lajvery listenable two-
|]set.
■
HI
Bundgrenproclaims on
■opening song, “Real
■ “deep down inside
Bere’s a real man,”
■f he’s admitting that,
te what he has led his
_
believe in reality, he’s
V much a normal guy.
Bsion, Todd?
The listener gets a chance
to hear what the “real” Todd
Rundgren sounds like,
especially on “A Dream
Goes on Forever,” where it’s
just Rundgrenand his piano.
One can even detect a bit of
emotion in his usually
mechanical voice. It appears
that Todd Rundgren has
finally decided to be himself
musically.
Rundgren’s
faithful
Utopians are still with him
on several cuts throughout
the album, but their backing
proves most effective on
side one. Rundgren and
Utopia sound crisp and
clean with less of the
clouded synthesizer sound
which dominated their other
live album, “Another Live.”
On the cuts, “Love of the
Common Man” and “Love
in Action,” the bands drop­
ped all of the spacey syn­
thesizer which turns these
songs into flowing rockers.
Rundgren’s biggest success
commercially was his album,
“Something Anything?”
with the hits, “Hello It’s Me
and “I Saw the Light,” both
of which are included here.
“Hello It’s Me” ends the
album on an inspiring note
with Stevie Nicks of Fleet­
wood Mac and Hall and
Oates joining Rundgren on
stage for a stunning remake
of the tune.
Rundgren’s only setback is
on side three and four where
he performs “Eastern In­
trigue” and “Zen Archer,”
both from his album, “In­
flation,” which deals with
Rundgren’s bizarre fetish with
Zen
Buddism.
What
Rundgren believes personally
, is his own business, but
■ when he put his beliefs into
music it only proves boring
and above the listeners’
head.
Eliminate the two religion
songs and “Back to the
Bars” proves to be Run­
dgren’s strongest effort sin­
ce “Something Anything?”
If you’ve never heard
Todd Rundgren before, stay
away from his early material
and stick to this album which
gives the listener a chance to
hear Rundgren at his live
Jack Shields, director, has
outdone himself this time by
fusing the talents of a variety of
people into a cohesive produc­
tion which rivals the best
theater available in the area.
Although he would be the last
to admit it, most of the credit
for this wonderful production
belongs to Shields himself. By
supportively coaxing the best
from his actors, actresses and
assistants, Shields has provided
the audience with a glimpse of
just how good community
college theater can be.
In short, “The Secret Affairs
of Mildred Wild” is about a
fading dreamer who spends
much of her time fantasizing
about movie stars and the
golden age of Hollywood. Bar­
bara Bragg, a CCC theater
veteran, brings Mildred to life
with a flamboyancy rarely
found on local stages. When
she says, “Movie fantasies tell
me what to do, how to work
things out,” we believe her.
Indeed, the fantasy sequen­
ces throughout the show are
admirably staged by Roby
Robinson, et. al., and provide
a
continual
source
of
amusement and excitement. In.
one sequence, we see the hand
of King Kong reach through the
window of Mildred’s dumpy
apartment, grabbing Mildred in
her fantasy disguise as “Jungle
Woman.”
teuse who opens a lemonade
stand on 8th Street in New
York.
It’s
flows
written by Paul Zindell, who
also wrote “The Effect of
Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-
Moon Marigolds.”
Having seen all of the
McLoughlin Theater produc-
tions in the last two years, 1
would have to rate this one at,
or near, the top.
David Wilkes deserves
special mention for his zany
characterizations of different
stars from the past. During the
fantasy sequences, Wilkes cap­
tures the essence of Claude
Raines as the “Invisible Man,”
and, believe it or not, Prissy
from
“Gone With the Wind.”
Edeena Haffner is quite sexy as
the spaced-out landlady caught
in a compromising situation
with Mildred’s bald husband.
Tracy Hamblett turns in a
credible performance as Helen
Wild, Mildred’s business-
minded sister.
“The Secret Affairs of
Mildred Wild” is a must see
production.
The play, nearly a sell-out
last weekend at the College,
staged again March 29-31 at
the Coaster Theater in Cannon
Beach. Call 436-1242 in Can­
non Beach for reservations, or
Bragg as Mildred has an just show up at the door. You’ll
almost “star’quality that injects be glad you did.
Choir class offered
Clack amas Community
College is once again offering a
Community Chorus class,
beginning March 27, at 7:45
p.m. in Randall Hall, room
201.
The chorus will be conduc­
ted by Gene Lysinger, a former
soloist with the Seattle Sym-
phoney Chorale.
Rehearsals will be held on
Tuesday evenings. For more
information call the Clackamas
Community college music
department, 656-2631, ext.
293.
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