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Fever Pitch At The East Quad Auditorium

Fever Pitch At The East Quad Auditorium image Fever Pitch At The East Quad Auditorium image
Parent Issue
Day
14
Month
February
Year
1975
OCR Text

Fever Pitch

At the East Quad Auditorium 

Local aficionados of dance, slapstick comedy, parody, and tantalizing bits and pieces of bad dreams one hoped one had forgotten were treated to an evening of all of the above and much more during the brief life of “Fever Pitch,” which ran the first two weekends of February. The revue, a Peachy Cream Production, was the third creation of this dedicated troupe of all-Ann Arbor artists. 

 

The group is essentially concerned with maintaining and extending the various theatre disciplines of Broadway, off-Browardway, and even the classic Shakespearean stage. Indeed, one particularly brilliant bit entitled “Edge of Night,” written by Paul Meyer and performed by Meyer and Meg Fisher, recalled in form, language, and gesture some forgotten scene out of Macbeth. And yet the particulars of the parody included thoughts on homosexuality, machismo, and 

 

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cannibalism, the whole unlikely combination reducing the entire house to state of appreciative laughter. 

 

Other outstanding bits, were -- “Melancholy Serenade,” a dusty old ballad crooned to perfection by sexy Keith Smith, who is Ann Arbor’s answer to the Velvet Fog himself, Mel Torme; “The Lady is a Tramp,” sung by Val Gifford who exuded a hands-on-hips sexiness that combined the best of both Mae West and Julie London; a clever update of the racy Cole Porter evergreen “Let’s Do It” wherein Debbie Faigenbaum and Michale Kaplan did do it to it until they, and everybody else, were satisfied; and “The Picture Show Blues.” an intricate performance by Peter Anderson as Blind Alley Cocaine, a degenerate and wise old Blues singer. 

 

Anderson is one of the major talents in the troupe. He wrote or co-wrote and performed in about a half-dozen of the skits including “Boffo and Waffles” in which he and Marty Sherman unmask their clown characters onstage and indulge in a bit of existential acting verite; and “The Great Nation On Earth,” which is a first rate topical political satire. However, there is an uneven quality to Anderson’s writing which was evident in the silliness of “The Operating Theatre” and in “World Play,” which indulged his occasional penchant for cheap sexaul humor and tiresome punning. 

 

l’ve neglected until now to mention the major dance productions in "Fever l'iteh." The first half of the show ended in an animated Fifties-style soda shoppe where Rob Nuismer led eight or ten young punks strutting through the old Del-Vikings tune. "Come Go With Me." The cast danced the production to a close with the Busby Berkleyish "Fever Pitch." the magnitude and glamor of which didn't totally conceal a certain awkwardness. 

 

For all it's occasional weak spots, this production was stunning overall. And although you may have missed "Fever Pitch" there's no reason to deny yourself the next Peachy Cream Production, "The Rhinestoned Revue Last of the Big Time Splendors" which comes as dinner theatre to the Campus Inn March 5-8. Cali 769)-2200. ext. 701 3 today for advance ticket information.

 

-Bill Adler