Word: mimes
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...doctors, philosophers, and woodchoppers; fathers, daughters, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters. The crispness of their timing pays tribute to Serban's directorial presence. The succession of escapades which entangle the various Sganarelles come alive precisely on cue. Standing out in particular are the straight-ahead dead-pan and clever mime of Thomas Derrah and the pestering complaints of Richard Grusin, both of whom have a turn in the title role...
...turn Baltimore's Inner Harbor into a continuous celebration: milling on the promenades, perching on the bulkheads, dangling feet in the drink, flirting on the benches, lounging in the outdoor cafés, ogling, jogging, strolling, munching, sipping, savoring the sounds and sweet airs. In their midst, jugglers hurl batons, mimes mime, clowns pratfall and dancers soar. At one time or another, the sounds of jazz, Mozart, marching bands, rock, Rodgers, Bach, bagpipes and bouzouki fill the air. The air is filled, too, with the fragrances of fresh-baked bread, cheeses, chocolate, roasting coffee beans, crepes, French fries, fruit, sausage, seafood...
This is show business? A mime so inept he must describe his gestures to the audience. A grinning, phosphorescent-suited fellow who plays with funny balloon animals. A comic with a bag over his head who does a ventriloquist routine featuring a hand puppet that has a paper bag over its head. A talk-show host who is all smarm and insult jokes. A Carnegie Hall entertainer who shows cartoons, leads sing-alongs and wrestles with women volunteers from the audience. A female comic in Wayne Newton drag who unbuttons her shirt to reveal a forest of chest hair...
What began as a defiant form of anti-shtik has become a dominant mode in the funny-peculiar '80s. It is saturating the big screen with the films of Albert Brooks (the mime), Steve Martin (funny balloon animals), Murray Langston (the paper-bagged Unknown Comic), Martin Mull (the Fernwood 2-Night talk-show host), Andy Kaufman (heterosexual wrestling), Lily Tomlin (Wayne Newton) and the now-ready-for-prime-time cutups of NBC's Saturday Night Live. It took over TV years ago-in 1975, when S.N.L. hit the air and became a focal point for the new comedy...
...first goal is better classical dancing, Baryshnikov's second is better mime and "character dances." These usually appear in full-length works like Petipa's Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. Though they are often polonaises or czardas, they are not folk dances but theatrical steps that must be performed with panache. It is a European style that Americans must learn. Explains Baryshnikov: "Classical dancing means moving through the rules and trying to extend them a little. In character dancing you don't stop until someone says, 'That's bad taste.' It's show...