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T he P ortland O bserver • M arch 2 4 , 1 9 9 3
Portland Repertory Theater
is proud to present a play by Phillip Hayes Dean
K zi/W '
T h e
G
It’s a term that for nearly a half
century has described the work of one
artist-R ay Charles A man whose tal­
ent, style and sheer generosity of spirit
has sparked some of best and most
enduring sounds in the whole range of
American music, Ray is a true original.
That much is history.
But, with Ray Charles, history is
always in the making, and his new
W arner Bros. Records release, My
W orld, continues that tradition. Ten
exhilarating selections, with the apt
inclusion of Paul Simon’s Still C razy
A fter All These Y ears, are trans­
formed by the m aster’s touch. From
the propulsive, and socially relevant,
title track to the quintessential Ray
Charles ballad, If I C ould, My W orld
stands with the best work of his long
and illustrious career.
Produced by Richard Perry, My
W orld hosts an all-star line-up of sup­
porting players including, among the
many, Eric Clap[ton, Mavis Staples
and Billy Preston. The result is an
album that showcases the timeless art­
istry of this living legend, even as it
makes a case for his continued impact
on the state of music today In a recent
interview, Ray Charles talked about
the making of My W orld, his place in
history and other subjects.
Q: You do a lot of performing. Do
you get more satisfaction out of being
on stage or in the studio?
A : T hat’s like talking about apples
and oranges. When you’re recording
it’s a different groove, a different mood,
a different atmosphere. Y ou're try ing
to please yourself, that’s all. When you
walk out on stage in a concert, the
people expect you to be what they know
you to be, what they've heard you to be.
PAUL
e n i u s
O f
S o u l
l |:| III li I
Starring JOHN HENRY REDWOOD
Paul Robeson, he was an all-American football hero, valedictorian at Rutgers University, Phi Beta
Kappa from Columbia University Law School, and is remembered for his stunning bass singing in
“Show Boat'. John Henry Redwood, so powerful last year in “Fences", begins this extraordinary
national tour in Portland.
Funded in part by Metropolitan Arts Commission & Oregon Arts Commission.
A Portland Repertory Theater production at the Winningstad Theater. Tickets: 224-4491 or any
Ticketmaster outlet. March 25-April 3. Group discounts available.
Q: A whole new generation is
coming to know you through your
commercial endorsements. Are you
comfortable with that?
A: Very' much so. I’ve been very
fortunate in my career to be associated
with quality products. I’ve picked the
commercials I’ve done. It’s nice to do
business with companies that are well
respected, that don’t spare any ex­
pense in making something that folks
are going to get excited about. Those
Pepsi commercials are entertaining.
T hat’s why people remember them.
Q: Isthercanythingyoufeelyou’d
still like to accomplish in y our career?
A: I’ve been fortunate. I’ve done
all the things Ray Charles can do. If
some youngster comes up and asks me
how I played something. I’d be happy
to pass it along. But for me, I’ve done
just about everything I ’ve wanted to
do. I had my own big band, which I
have always wanted. I have recorded
with some of the greatest musicians of
my time.
MOVIE REVIEWS
A FAR OFF PLACE/TRAIL MIX-
UP: (KIDDIE FAIR) In the backlands of
Africa, where two European children face
reality and must grow-up in the process.
Their parents are nature conservationists.
They are there to save the animals from the
African people who are being paid to kill
them.
It isactually the Europeans that brutally
murder the childrens parents. This leaves
the young people to find someway out of the
bush.
An clement of danger is introduced
when the kids discover that the men who
have murdered their parents are now look­
ing for them Betrayal sweeps through the
movie when the girl finds out that her
fathers best friend is the mastermind behind
the elephant slander for their ivory tusks and
her new orphan status
So how does an African born European
girl and her American born European male
friend walk across the Serengeti? Its like
walking from New York to Florida in the
summertime Well, they enlist Ihc aid of an
African Bushman; complete with a clicking
sound for a name.
What is the first thing the Bushman
docs He teaches the boy to k ill, of
course. To kill for food Africans have
been doing this for centuries. It’s just
now taboo. Now they are supposed to
buy from the Europeans The Bushman
must explain that it’s okay to kill when
it’s for food only. But the question is,
did the Bushman permission from the
Europeans, if not, it cant possibly be OKAY
The beauty of Africa is dramatized by
the picturesque colors and scenery of a land
that has been described as the birth place of
all mankind
This is a movie adults should sec too It
is relaxing, because there are no crude
references or illustrations of sex or profan­
ity. There is v iolence in two scenes. One the
killing of the elephants and two the murder
of the parents. But the scenes were in good
taste.
Do the kids make it? Come on, this is
a Disney film 111 give you one guess.
Now, TRA IL M IX-UP is a different
story. In the tradition of cartoons. Trail
Mix-Up picks up all the violence it possibly
can. Not that I counted, but I do believe the
poor bunny died approximately every 30
seconds with kids laughing at his death
each time. What arc we telling our kids? A
Far Off Place is worth the FULL PRICE
You ’ re going to pay for your kids when ever
you go SufTcr through Trail Mix-Up. and A
Far Off Place will be well is worth it.
CB4- Im not one for Rap and I doubt 1
would have gone for entertainment pur­
poses only But it wasnt as unentertaining
as 1 thought it would be O f course it’s
audience is teenagers as is the target market
for Rap itself.
Warning, the theater will be full of
bopping heads and off tunc singing, espe­
cially when CB4s hit song
Sweat on My Balls, gets going You
also may be kicked a couple of times in the
back and assaulted by disrupting chit chat
This film is on the same caliber as the House
Party scries. Except House Party discusses
safe sex CB4 discusses and illustrates
sex in the most crude way possible without
getting an X rating
So whats the movie about Mainly
sex But there is a premise to this CB4 is
the abbreviated name of Cell Block 4 where
the real Gusto goes after Albert (Chris
Rock) of Saturday Night Live inadvertently
assists the cops in arresting the club
INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO SEE AN UPCOMING
WALT DISNEY PICTURES' RELEASE
For anyone
who has ever
dreamed oi
running away Iroin it all.
PICTURES
presents
T H E - ADVENTURES • O F
BUCK F IN N
AAH U M K C M .- 1H1 AÜMIURÍS 01 HUCt RUN' « H Q «MH»-. ÍIÜAH MOD CUUIM 8. M
owner.who is a gangster and drug dealer
Gusto is played by Charlie Murphy, Eddies
older brother
With Gusto safely in jail Albert and
his iddle class friends decide to take on
Gustos persona and the group becomes
CB4 As CB4, they visit the outside of the
local motel with a rap groupie CB4 be­
comes rich, famous and angers a Sacra­
tuiöäll CfllKWH-JASllli HUhAHOS
tiki COMI --JOtUi tJAtUlHHI -“ BAfirir BIRWHÜI-M WHIR
—CSIIHHH»SUMMIHS TlAWMCl UM« TWttWWMtrtS
. — — V.UW M
mento politician
To CB4. the politician is just a nui­
sance Their real worry is Gusto who has
just escape from jail
Without the interruptions of the teen­
agers, the movie could be called entertain­
ing The only way to forgo the disturbances
is to wait for Ihc RENTAL
II»
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