Word: paule
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...central character is Paul (William Converse-Roberts), a young, success-driven banker. We see him making connections at cocktail parties, bad-mouthing fellow-workers to his boss and jetting to exotic lands to work out deals. His significant other, Fran (Alice Manning), is just as stereotypical (but then, don't they always come in twos). She feels her pink-collar job as a graphics artist fails to stimulate her intellect and is unsatisfied with her romantic life. So Fran sleeps with...Peter (Peter Crombie), Paul's old '60s throwback friend, who at least talks of the old idealism even...
...three horsemen could cause calamities like the stock market crash it is this cast of characters. They offer every tired cliche that has been marketed by a dozen writers for the yuppie generation. For fans of Tama Janowitz, Fran bewails her inability to leave Paul because she'll be without a decent place to live. For Jay McInerney aficionados, there's cocaine. For the fashion-conscious, there's braces. And of course, we couldn't forget the piped-in classic hits that accompany each scene change...
...main problem with this play is the script. To say it's inane would be an understatement. Paul, the banker, is accused of not producing, of being a mere paper-mill. Does this symbol for an age offer the remotest response? Forget it. An unsavory type whom you can be sure Paul doesn't meet at Le Cirque confronts this modern success story by questioning the meaning of his life if there is nothing he is willing to die for. Does Paul put up at least an inarticulate defense for the lightness of his being? No time; a blackout...
...fact the play is at its best when the plot calls for pure yuppiedom. The staccato exchange of pleasantries and other banter at an art-show opening cocktail party is admirably done. The best performance is turned in by Paul's boss, Diane (Sandra Shiply), whose locked jaw and frozen smile never let down, even though she suffers the most terrible tragedies. Of course real yuppies, because of the frequently superficial aspects of their lifestyles, are actors too, so it would make sense that professional actors would be at their best in imitating them. The problem is that this dual...
...sources." Having studied the South African singing group Ladysmith Black Mombazo, McMahon arranged both the dance and the music for a risky version of "You Can Call Me Al," soloed by Larry "Wheel of Fortune" Witdorchic. McMahon's fused all of Ladysmith's guttural African sounds, along with Paul Simon's quiet New York nasality, into one arrangement...