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PAGE 16 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1983 The concert will contain works by European St s composers such as Bach, Handel, Albimoni, ephen Simms as Sweelinck, Saintâ€"Saens and van Marion himâ€" Jones. self. an â€"Best Little Whorehouseâ€" Local theatre patrons will have a chance to see a comic opera that has spanned nearly a century when the Shaw Festival production of Tom Jones graces the UW Humanities Theatre stage Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. First produced in 1907, Tom Jones was the last important comic opera by Sir Edward German â€" and it has been rediscovered by artistic director Christopher Newton and assistant director Sky Gilbert and the Festival. The new version has undergone some changes from the original. The present libretto is based very loosely on the original book and much more specificially on the novel and has been adapted solely for the Shaw Festival. Newton and Gilbert has used much of the original music, along with certain numbers from German‘s other memoraâ€" ble stage works Merrie England and A Princess of Kensington. The Shaw Festival production stars Bruce Clayton in the title role and Valerie Galvin as the hotâ€"blooded youth‘s sweetheart Sophia. Dutch organist and composer Sander van Marion will entertain with "A Musical Trip Around Europe" at St. Andrew‘s Presbyterian Church Sunday, Oct. 23 at 8: 30 p.m. Tickets for the performance are $13 ($12 for students or seniors) and are available by calling the Humanities Theatre Box Office 885â€"4280 or in Room 161. Hagey Hall of the Humanities at UW. van Marion 3 at St. Andrew‘s There are those who refuse to say its name â€" and others who won‘t let it be used to advertise the show. But there‘s no denying the popuâ€" larity of The Best Little Whoreâ€" house in Texas, starring Stella Parton and Blake Emmons, which makes a oneâ€"stop appearance ail Centre in the Square, Monday. Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. Radio and television stations in Houston â€" the town where the true story behind the musical began â€" would only advertise ‘"The Best Little (bleep) in Texas." But that was nearly five years ago. The musical has since played a year in Houston â€" the longest running show in that city‘s history. The Broadway company played well into its fourth year, and spawned two national companies. There even was a movie which starred Stella Parton‘s sister Dolly, with Burt Reynolds. Throughout the show‘s history, one sequence has unfolded a numâ€" ber of times in city after city. A group of wouldâ€"be customers, alâ€" most always female, enters the theatre lobby. Its members seem slightly ill at ease and somewhat out of place. The odds are good that they are. From their manner of dress and hairstyles they would appear more at home at a matinee at Symphony Hall. After a brief huddle, eventually one lady will separate from the rest and, after much gentle prodâ€" ding and giggling, approach the box â€"office window. It takes considâ€" erable effort for her to speak, but finally the words come gushing forth: ‘"We‘d like eight tickets for After all, what‘s in a (bleep) name? Tom Jones Delightful at UW The more astute theatre personâ€" nel have learned not to ask which show . They know which show. The rookies who do not are in for a surprise, especially when the anâ€" swers range from: ‘"The Best Little Playhouse,"" ‘‘*Texas," ‘"That Place with the Evil Ladies®", and that most venerable standby of all, "Oh, you know‘!" Such answers are generally accompanâ€" ied by a bit more laughter and much blushing. the Thursday night pertor mance." But as "The Best Little Whoreâ€" house in Texas" has continued its long runs on Broadway. in Housâ€" ton, and throughout North Ameriâ€" ca, much of the media resistance to the title has given in to reluctant acceptance. And it all began in Houston, where a television doâ€"gooder newsâ€" caster went on a campaign in the midâ€"70‘s to close down that "Iil ole bitty pissant country place" in LaGrange, Texas known as the Chicken Ranch. The well known bordello had existed for nearly a century, depending upon whose word you took, and was estabâ€" lished in Texan lore as the Alamo. Hidden away in a little Texan town 40 miles from Houston, this was the subject of the newscastâ€" er‘s attack, while Houston‘s (and every other major city) massage parlors, with all their lurid impliâ€" cations and flesh peddling continâ€" ue to go unchecked. Little did he know, at the time, that his actions would make *******house‘ a houseâ€" holid word, and that the Chicken Ranch would become the best known bordelio in America. Stephen Simms as Blifil and Valerie Galvin as Sophia Western in the Shaw Festival production of Tom Jones. Ross MacDonald Chronicle Special Director Sam Peckinpah is such a master with respect to his graphic depiction of violence that the plots are usually of passing interest. In the case of The Osterman Weekend, this is the only saving grace for a film so downright baffling it is practically incomprehensible. A more appropriate title for the Robert Ludlum novel (which the movie is based on) would have been What‘s My Political Stance? or Name That Double Agent. Like a big screen version of To Tell the Truth, the entire affair becomes an exercise in futility as we try to figure out who‘s working for who. The audience begs for the real KGB agent to "please stand up‘ but by the end, all that is left is mass confuâ€" sion. Confusion reigns in dizzy Osterman Weekend The Osterman Weekend is typical Peckinpah fare, a nasty film about nasty people who have a penchant for doing some nasty deeds. As the old line goes, look up a definition of violénce in the dictionary and you‘d probably find Peckinpah‘s picture. Rutger Hauer (the psycho in Nighthawks) is a rightâ€"wing television personality who enjoys grilling government officials on his 60 Minutesâ€" like interview show. However, he soon finds himself in a hotseat of his own when a C.1.A. official (Burt Lancaster) candidly informs him that three of this closest drinking buddies just happen to be Soviet agents. Boy, what a way to spoil a weekend. It turns out that the friendly KGB threesome (Dennis Hopper. Chris Sarandon and Craig T. Nelson) will be dropping into Haver‘s for their annual Osterman Weekend (named after Ben Osterâ€" man, played by Nelson). Hauer is instructed by another C.1.A. agent (John Hurt) to play dumb, something that comes easily for the unsuspecting babushkas (Cassie Yates and Helen Shaver) that accompaâ€" ny the Kremlin connection. Hurt has Hauer‘s sprawling homestead wired for sight and sound and figures it will only be a matterâ€"of time before the Soviet sympathizers seal their fate. Movie Review What seems like a fairly straightforward scenario suddenly goes astray. As the weekend winds down, it becomes increasingly apparent that Hauer has been set up. But who has perpetrated this sick facade and why? Are the three friends really in the KGB and just exactly who‘s on Hauer‘s side? We are never given an answer to these questions. There appears to be no rhyme or reason for the soâ€"called retribution that follows and whether or not its justified. Such justification doesn‘t really matter when Peckinpah decides its time to turn on the human elimination machine. In his familiar cinematic style that has long been a trademark, he takes us through a gamut of terror to a survival of the fittest climax where even the fit don‘t survive. Hauer is convincing as the bewildered jourâ€" nalist. He effectively emits the tension and confusion that would naturally be associated with someone in his predicament. Unfortunâ€" ately, we never find out what drives his neâ€" meses. Since his riveting portrayal of Brad Davis‘ cellâ€"mate in Midnight Express, Hurt has found himself in a number of diverse roles. His depiction of the enigmatic agent typifies the many complexities that make up this film. The Canadianâ€"born Shaver gives another limp and unintentionally comedic performance. Some scribes insist on heaping praise on this overrated starlet but her range as an actress merely extends from the time she doffs her garments until she is fully clothed. Her sappy characterization of Hopper‘s sleazy, Cokeâ€"snortâ€" ing wife is something right out of a Brady Bunch rerun and Peckinpah‘s only mistake is his failure to pull her plug a lot sooner. But when a Peckinpah fright flight is running smoothly, it is easy to overiook the characters. Preparing the audience for the next moment of horror is more important than any attempt to rationalize the storyline. For those who enjoyed Straw Dogs and are generally familiar with Peckinpah‘s work, The Osterman Weekend is a must For the weak at heart, beware David Cooper photo