Word: manic
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...control over his means is such that never once does one doubt the emphatic seriousness behind the display. He has at last discovered his own sensuality as a painter, and set it forth in what is, quite simply, the bravest performance abstract art has offered in years: manic energy channeled by an infrangible toughness of mind. Almost a decade ago, Leider's essay notes, Stella described his ambition- "to combine the abandon and indulgence of Matisse's Dance with the overall strength and sheer formal inspiration of . . . his Moroccans. " Perhaps that goal, like the target toward which Zeno...
...friend Emma, a social worker and one of several outsiders visiting the summer paradise, falls periodically into despair over the rootlessness and lovelessness of children she sees professionally, who are the first victims of the decline of old values. Sif Ruud gives a fine portrayal of a manic depressive in this role, and functions as a kind of chorus commenting on the mounting evidence that she is right. One of Katha's daughters awaits the return of a philandering husband, not at all certain he will come back to her or that it will be good if he does...
...PERHAPS the worst problem with the first act is its main character--Susie's brother, Dick Trevor (Fred Barton). Although he can dance and belt out a song, he overacts so much that his rolling eyes begin to resemble the oranges and lemons of a one-armed bandit. His manic mechanical nature nearly ruins the number "Swiss Miss," which is cleverly choreographed (by Douglas Fitch and Nancy Tulowiecki) for Dick and Susie to move like the puppets on a Swiss cuckoo clock. Because Barton is nearly always cuckoo, the dance doesn't come off as much of a contrast...
Through everything, Ali was a fighter. In his youth, when he psyched himself into manic pretensions and took the title from Sonny Listen, he was a dazzling, dancing fighter. In midcareer, when he willed his body through three epic bouts with Joe Frazier, he was a courageous fighter. Toward the end, when he paced his guttering resources to turn away muscular challengers like Ken Norton, he was a thinking fighter. Last week he was an old fighter. He had to match the craft of his past against an opponent who seemed to have little more than youth, stamina?and courage?...
Paul Guilfoyle's Teach provides the moving force in the play. Both Donny and Bobby (jitteringly played by Lloyd Brass) are deferential to Teach, a self-assured, macho punk and Donny's old buddy. Guilfoyle brings an excellent manic intensity to his part. His mannerisms, a shambling set of neverending words and motions, are largely reminiscent of Robert De Niro in Mean Streets. Teach, a grown-up yet immature punk, follows De Niro's Johnny Boy, save that Guilfoyle lacks De Niro's genius, and his Teach is self-consciously smart, whereas Johnny Boy is too dumb to know...