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Wednesday,
Feb. 18, 1998
Hard effort and talent promise to make "Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof" a powerful performance
JARED BEZZANT
Co-A&E Editor
Maggie Chapin is no amateur when
it comes to acting. After performing
five shows at CCC, she has some valu
able experience. That’s just what The
ater Director David Smith-English
needed to put on Tennessee Williams’
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
“I’ve wanted to do Williams for a
long time,” said Smith-English. “I fi
nally felt I had a group of people with
experience, commitment and the talent
needed. I am very pleased at how it is
developing.”
Smith-English has been working with
a cast of 13 for over a month to prepare
for what could be his biggest challenge,
but also his greatest accomplishment.
“It has been a satisfying experience
for actors and directors,” said Smith-
English. “The depth goes on and on
with Williams.”
Smith-English explained that “Cat on
a Hot Tin Roof’ deals with serious is
sues—issues that are often evident in
Williams’ works, from “A Street Car
Named Desire” to “The Rose Tattoo.”
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’is set in the
Mississippi Delta in 1954. It revolves
around the conflicts of a Southern fam
ily struggling with death, inheritances
and addictions. Throughout the play
characters develop, as their weak
nesses prevail in very emotional mo
ments and stirring lines.
Williams could be called one of the
most famous American playwrights,
Smith-English said. To many Ameri
cans, Williams is considered a literary
genius, who brought the South to the
stage, just as William Faulkner did to
the page.
“Williams’ plays are poetry,” Smith-
English said.
In the 1950’s Williams’ plays became
mainstream through cinematic produc
tion. Great actors such as Marlin
Brando and Vivian Leigh turned in
award winning performances of Will
iams’ roles.
Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor
led the production of “Cat on a Hot
Tin Roof,” with Burl Ives playing a
memorable role as Big Daddy.
Anyone who knows Williams prob
ably would tell you it’s required to be a
great actor in order to conquer some of
Williams’ characters, who are deep
with complexities and a prevalent eerie
realness.
Actress Maggie Chapin, who is play
ing Big Mama in the Clackamas pro
duction, said most people don’t even
remember her character in the movie.
“She must not have done a very
good job,” said Chapin.
She refuses to watch the movie until
after the production is done. “I want to
be my own Big Mama. She has a very
important part. I want her to be memo
rable.”
Chapin said her role as BigMama is
powerful, and feels like magic on the
stage.
“I have a hard time not carrying it
offstage,” said Chapin.
One thing she will not be carrying
offstage though is the “fat suit” she is
required to wear in order to make her
character more believable. Chapin ex
plained the difficulty in adjusting to
the suit and the role, where she must
act many years older and out of shape.
The play has required a lot of work
and focus for the entire cast. To make
the play as “true South” as possible,
History Instructor and native South
erner Jackie Flowers was brought in to
teach them a proper Southern accent.
“I think it will be one of the best the
Drama Department has ever done,”
said Chapin.
The cast is confident of this drama,
though it is much more serious than
the fall production of “Flea in Her Ear.”
“People have a hard time going to
dramas,” said Smith-English.
“They have a hard time seeing
plays.”
Smith-English promises humorous
moments in “ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,”
which is not too serious. Smith-En
glish is confident in the magic of Wil
liams—his ability to make audiences
laugh, cry and feel.
“I feel it will be a powerful experi
ence for the audience,” said Smith-
English. “The audience should leave
feeling something inside.”
Danielle Turley, Jayson Shanafelt,
VJoseph Erickson and Chapin will lead
the cast. The play will open Feb. 26 at
8 p.m. Other nights include Feb. 27-28
at 8 p.m. and March 6-7 at 8 p.m. March
8 at 2:30 p.m. in the McLoughlin Hall
Theater. Tickets are $6 for adults, $3
for students and free for seniors who
make reservations. Make reservations
by calling 657-6958, ext 2356.
" I finally
felt that I
had a
group of
people
with
experience,
commitmem
and the
talent
needed."
David
Smith-
English
Director
Five Iron Frenzy delivers ska at its skankin1 best
JOEL P. SHEMPERT / Clackamas Print
Saxophonist Leanor Ortega prepares to scream
some hardcore during Friday's concert.
JOEL P. SHEMPERT
Feature Editor
A common difficulty any group faces is that whenever
they produce an album which broadens their horizons,
which progresses musically, which builds in a creative way
on their previous foundation—which, in short, sounds dif
ferent from their last album—the fanbase reacts negatively,
accusing them of anything from simply sounding bad to
“selling out.”
Ska-punk ensemble Five Iron Frenzy, with their sopho
more release, Our Newest Album Ever, has faced this tide
and hopefully stemmed it. While many seemed to think
Wednesday, February 18, 1998
that their new CD,
which features
cleaner recording,
more distinct lyr
ics, and a greater
variety than their
debut, Upbeats
and Beatdowns,
was somehow
“too slow,” and
lacks their previ
ous energy, their
Lake Oswego
concert on Friday
the 13th at Rolling
Hills Community
Church amply
dispelled that no
tion.
Opening acts
Zak Attack and
Spacefighter—ska-swing group the Ws were superb—but
it was obvious the bulk of Friday’s concertgoers were really
their for their long-overdo dose of the Frenzy. The six lads
and a girl from Denver did not disappoint.
Five Iron Frenzy is enjoyable on recording, but nothing
equals their live show. If it’s energy you want, this is the
team to beat. The hordes of skankers and even, uncouth
though it may be, moshers, bore witness to this, and the
only ones more fired up were the crowd were the band—all
of whom, particularly frontman Reese Roper, kept up the on
stage acrobatics for the entire show.
The enjoyable selections in Five Iron Frenzy’s set were
too numerous to mention. They played a good mix of new
and old tunes, so faithful fans were treated to such memo
rable oldies as “Beautiful America,” a spoof on materialism
and other moral decay, and the insane ditty “Third World
Think Tank,” as well as newer hits like “Superpowers,” an
offbeat look at fame, and that ever-popular ode to Junior
High, “Suckerpunch.” Leanor “Jeff the Girl” Ortega, the
group’s sax player, even sang the hardcore bridge to “A
Fistful of Sand.” She claimed later to have been practicing
in the shower, and it seems to have paid off!
For all their volume, this time around Five Iron didn’t
sacrifice a shred of clarity. The horns were clean and the
vocals were clear—something of a rarity at rock concerts.
With the exception of the classic “Combat Chuck,” which
was pretty distorted, a new listener could have gone away
from the show with a good idea of what the songs were
saying.
And what the songs say is important indeed. Roper, the
band’s lyricist, has always claimed that humor comes sec
ond in importance to the message he hopes to convey. Five
Iron Frenzy is a Christian band, and while they tend to be
lauded as “less preachy” than their colleagues the
Supertones, their faith comes through on stage as well as in
the lyric sheet. Roper isn’t afraid to say onstage, reiterating
the punchline of the song “Anthem,” that “freedom is only
found in Jesus Christ.”
It was the end of the set which really brought home this
facet of the group. They played “Every New Day,” in itself
a song of devotion to God, and segued into a common praise
chorus, “As the Deer.”
The temptation at most concerts is to end with a big fin
ish, guitars blaring and amps pushed to the limit. Five Iron
didn’t succumb to this. They chose instead to make a state
ment of faith, and to considerable effect. Groups of fans
were seen when the dust settled to be praying, both singly
and in groups. It is refreshing to see a group that knows
how to have fun, and push it to the limit, yet in the end has
a higher goal.
Five Iron Frenzy was indeed in rare form, and the entire
ensemble has been more polished each time this reporter
has heard them. May they continue to excel.