Wednesday, April 25, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C3 Buy art and help an Oakville artist and the Oakville YMCA expansion A bbozzo. "We invite our clients to jo in us, rep enow ned O akville artist N aoko M atresentatives o f the tow n, and m em bers o f the su b ara w ill be ex h ib itin g her new Y M CA 's board o f directors to celebrate the w ork w oodcuts as w ell as a few locallyo f N aoko M atsubara and lend their support to in sp ire d w orks in p ro g ress at the this very w orthw hile project." A bbozzo G allery from April 27 to M ay 13. The M atsubara w as b om in Kyoto, Japan, the exhibition, w hich is a fundraiser fo r the new O akville Y, w ill open w ith an artist's reception at d aughter o f a Shinto priest. She studied art in Japan and the U .S.A . as w ell as at the Royal C ol 7 p.m. on Friday. lege o f A rt in England. She has exhibited and A long-tim e resident o f O akville, M atsubara p u b lish ed her w o rk in tern atio n ally fo r four has achieved international recognition fo r her decades and has been the recipient o f num erous w ork in the traditional m edium o f Japanese aw ards and honours. w oodcuts. T his classic process requires extrem e For m ore inform ation on her O akville exhibit, sensitivity to m aterials and superb technical co n contact the A bbozzo Gallery, 179 Lakeshore Rd. trol and restraint. M atsubara's approach stresses E., at 844-4481 or w w w .abbozzogallery.com . strong, sim ple design and lum inous colour. H er exhibition at A bbozzo will include w orks from two recent pro jects, w hich illustrate the expressive F IN E F U R N IT U R E & A C C E SSO R IE S range o f this artist - a collection o f her new w oodcuts as w ell as a m ajor pub lic com m ission w hich extends her tal ents in new directions. T he form er features w orks from the book Tokonoma, a collaborative effort w ith Jam es K irkup, the cele brated British poet, novelist, play w right and translator. Published by the 481 North Service Road West, Unit A35 (West of Dorval) Oakville O ld School Press, U .K ., it consists o f Store Hours: Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm a set o f 20 original w oodcut prints by (905) 847-3999 M atsubara, accom panied by haiku and tanka verse by K irkup. com plem ent ing or inspired by her im ages. A com plete set o f the artist's proofs w ill also be on display. T he p u b lic co m m issio n , w hich com es from the O akville Y, is to Natural formula gently promotes breakdown design and create a donor recognition and elimination of body fat. w all for the new Y M C A building. Reduces cellulite, fat deposits and appetite. M atsubara has donated her tim e and talent to fund-raising and has created a new lim ited edition w oodcut print specifically for the A bbozzo exhibi tion. Titled YMCA K ids , all the pro ceeds from the sale o f this edition will be donated to the Y M CA 's Capital C am p aig n . In ad d itio n , A bbozzo G allery w ill be com m itting 20% o f all sales from M atsubara exhibit to the Y 's fund-raising cam paign. "We are pleased to support this im portant in itiative in a w ay that 1395 Abbeywood Rd. brin g s the local arts co m m u n ity to g e th er w ith the co m m u n ity at [ " ffy& ib xl 'W ta q ic O A K V IL L E (In th e B ru n o s F u u Foods p ltm ) large," says Ineke Zigrossi, ow ner o f "Offer expires May 2/01. Not valid with any other offer. R ROSEWOOD GALLERIES INVENTORY CLEARANCE Photo by Barrie Erskine N aoko M atsubara's w oodcuts and books will be available at her new exhibition, which opens on F riday at the A bbozzo G allery, 179 Lakeshore Rd. E. Formula F/B / 1 m thsu p p ly -- A few antics away from greatness By C arol Baldwin ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Lots o f good one-liners, a couple o f digs at the m uchm aligned city o f Buffalo, and a zillion zany antics, yet som ething seem ed to be m issing in the opening night perform ance o f Burl-O ak T heatre G roup's M oon O ver Buffalo. I can't seem to put my finger on it. Tim ing perhaps, or m aybe too much buffoonery. I ju st know that I did n 't laugh at many of the lines that I found funny. Yet. __________________________________ how could that be? W hen I go to see a com edy on stage, I shy aw ay from over-analyzing it. Yet. this phenom enon w as puzzling. Since I found the dialogue to be funny, the w riting isn 't to blam e. (Even the best cast and crew c a n 't pull a good play out o f a bad script.) It w asn't the acting. All the m ain characters w ere great, especially D avid Jam es as G eorge Hay. A nd I hate to use the proverbial blam e-thedirector tactic but. if it w as the tim ing or the farcical nature o f the com edy, I have no choice. How ever, having said that, there w as m uch laughter com ing from the audience on opening night. I 'm not say ing I never laughed either - there w as many a good line, delivered on cue, that m ade m e laugh. It w as ju st those lulls, w here hum orous lines seem ed to ju st hang there w aiting for the action on stage to stop, so I could appre ciate them. I guess that's it - the antics w ere too farcical for my liking, too zany to allow the w ords to do their work. A s som eone w ho w orks with w ords, appreciates lan guage. and loves playw rights like Shakespeare, Shaw and Foster w ho are m aster m anipulators o f English, I prefer it when the gestures com plem ent the w ords, so the script can shine through. Now. 1 have to adm it that I also get upset when a director chooses to turn a Shakespeare an com edy into a farce (and I have seen that done often). W hy then, w ould I m ake an exception for a version o f M oon O ver Buffalo that overpow ers the w ords with physical com edy and dozens o f entrances and exits? But then 1 am a stickler when it com es to farces - def initely not my favourite genre. If you do a farce, the tim ing cannot be even slightly off, the pace has to be quick er than quick, and all the antics m ust have a purpose, em phasizing rather than thw arting any actions or dia logue. Those w ho try to "farcify" a com edy have their w ork cut out for them. In fact, in my opinion, it ju st shouldn't be done. A farce is a farce. A com edy is a com edy. They are not interchangeable. Perhaps that's why I appreciated Jam es's perfor m ance - he had a lot o f the witty quips and one-liners, many o f w hich w ere delivered w ith im peccable tim ing and, in m ost cases, with few antics or buffoonery. Lois M inard, w ho played G eorge's m other-in-law Ethel, had many o f those lines as well. M oon O ver B uffalo is a fun play w ith great lines and good actions. T here were many funny m om ents on open ing night, w hich w ere reflected in the laughter from the audience. H ow ever, if som e o f the farcical ins and outs (mostly in the second act) w ere rem oved, and the only stage antics w ere those that com plem ented the dialogue, it would have been a smash. Take good acting, add witty dialogue and a pinch o f purposeful gestures and lighting (w hat w as that dim -tobright-to-dim lighting all about?) and y o u 'v e got the recipe for a great comedy. This production cam e ever-soclose. M oon O ver B uffalo w ill continue at 8 p.m . in the O akville Centre for the Perform ing Arts, A pril 25 to 28. Tickets are $ 16 and are available through the O akville C entre box office at 130 N avy St.. 905-815-2021. T he headline on an article in last W ednesday's O akville B ea ver sug gested that the new m ural in the library o f B rookdale Public School w as designed to cover up graffiti. There was, in fact, no graffiti on the wall. T he m ural w as painted on a w hite canvas. The B eaver regrets any m isunderstanding or inconvenience this m ay have caused. Oops, not a cover-up *\ V" 469-4532 Theatre Review Television th at hooks you! COGECO D IG IT A L CABLE TV. Picture and sound have never been so real! I t 's no fish tale Digital Cable TV is so life-like you'll feel like you've cast yourself right in the middle of the action. You'll get m ore sports, m ore movies. 40 d ig ita l music channels. Access to specialty channels, Pay Per View and more. 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