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American Safari Review

'Safari' traverses surrealistic terrain
By Graydon Royce
Staff Writer
Star Tribune
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2000

"See the USA in your Chevrolet!"
That was the hit advertising slogan back when Chevys were as American as hot dogs and apple pie (in fact, wasn't that another General Motors ad campaign?).
When actor Tony Brown drives onstage with a miniature '57 Chevy ragtop, he takes us through a time machine to celebrate exaggerated images of eras when American power, optimism, belief in future technology, and backyard picnics defined our society. "American Safari," which Brown and director Kari Margolis brought to the stage Friday at Red Eye in Minneapolis, has an uncanny eye for unlocking our amazing capacity for gauzy nostalgia, but it does so with a sharp sense of humor that pokes fun as it celebrates.

"Safari" drifts in like a dream. A couple slowly slides across stage, sitting at a revolving picnic table, all gingham checks, enjoying Kool-Aid, hot dogs and corn on the cob, while a soundtrack of somnolent music lulls the senses. It's trademark Margolis and Brown - a stamp of surrealistic imagery emphasizing visual impact over verbal communication.

On one level, the show exists to demonstrate Brown's considerable physical dexterity as an actor and mime. When we first encounter him, four industrial fans blow him out of his lawn chair, and he fights in Chaplinesque fashion to refind his foundation. Soon, he dances and romances a coy mannequin in a charming bit of puppetry and legerdemain. And again, he fights with four suitcases, trying to navigate in slow motion through an airport for a flight that he just misses.

Brown has created a character, Arthur A. Peterson, who is full of wide-eyed innocence, quizzically charming and friendly. He wins a trip to Disneyland, that marvelous caricature of Americana, and once the plane departs without him, he loads up the car for a crosscountry trip worthy of any summer vacation.
Along the way, he becomes dozens of other characters pulled from his brief of American culture, circa 1962. As the host of a fair exhibit on future technology, he employs a robotic tic and stiffness, measuring each movement with precision. His cowboy has the laconic, magnified style of Gary Cooper. And then he sends up Doors singer Jim Morrison in a barroom gig that is visually innovative, layered with music and video.

Which brings up another part of the Margolis-Brown imprimatur: clever, evocative use of multimedia to enhance the fantastic mood of the show. A wall of sound with cars, airplanes, bells, techno tones, pop music, synthesizers, arias and new-age drones creates bizarre aural and mental imagery. Precise video projections put faces in such unexpected spots as the open cover of a barbecue grill. Film bits, video collages and more support the 70-minute show and keep it moving briskly.

Equal to Brown's physical proficiency is Margolis' eye as a director, which recognizes the power of American iconography to touch deep chords within us and create this dream come true.

Theater review
American Safari
- Who: Created by Karl Margolis and Tony Brown.
- Where: Red Eye Performance Space, 15 W. 15th St, Minneapolis.
- When: 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday, through Dec. 17. Pay-what-you-can show is Monday.
- Review: Brown's physical dexterity takes him on a trip through American iconography that amuses, and the pair's trademark multimedia work enhances a dreamlike experience.
-Tickets: $18. Call 612-3394709.