From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #887 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Friday, November 8 2002 Volume 01 : Number 887 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 23:16:18 -0700 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: RE: [AML] Y'All Need to Get Out More - ---Original Message From: Linda Adams > > I think Utahns oughta leave > the state more often to find this out. Work outside Utah for > at least a > five-year stint Abroad--as in, some other state in the Union > (and no, Idaho > doesn't count--take a risk.) No, your 2-year mission doesn't > count. Regular > work. (And while you're at it, stop calling > Every-Location-But-Utah "the > mission field." That alone is a very excluding term, isn't > it, and hardly > accurate??) Now, I'm not offended in the least by any of this > stuff--I just > think it's funny. As in weird *and* humorous. > > I have lived in that "mission field" my entire life > except for four > years attending BYU. Most of my friends growing up were not > Mormons, and I > still have several close friends who are of other faiths. Let > me just say > that getting to know our dear 'Gentile' friends simply for > who they are > (unlike Jeff's Amway friend: as prospective distributors, > giving up when > the prospects don't come around to our way of thinking) is a > marvelous > blessing. Y'all should try it. Here's a heretical idea. Make > some nonmember > friends without involving the missionaries. Just to be > friends. Get to know > each other. I find this rather condescending, Linda. You might not mean it that way, but it certainly seems to me that you are lecturing us on a situation you admit up front you are not very familiar with. Perhaps it would be a good idea if you spent a couple years in Utah to discover what it is like before offering us advice that we don't really need. Speaking as someone who has lived in the "mission field" (though I haven't heard it called that since I was a kid) for your proscribed five years and more, I have been trapped in Utah the last three and a half years and I can tell you that you don't have the whole picture. First, those of us who live in Salt Lake City no longer have the kind of homogeneity that seems to be an underlying assumption of your comments. My ward, for all it is less than a mile on each side, has a good number of non-LDS members (I'd estimate half or so)--many of whom I know and interact with as much as I interact with anyone. We are not the clear majority we used to be and that has cracked our provincialism to an extent yet to be recognized in our literature or art. Salt Lake has as much vice as any other city its size and the problems that go with it. It also has as much opportunity for expansive experience as any other city its size and possibly more. Second, those who are *not* LDS are often actively hostile to Mormons to an extent I did not find outside Utah. I've been threatened with physical violence for being "one of those arrogant Mormons" during a traffic dispute that would have ended with a simple finger wave anywhere else. I have had a boss who is actively antagonistic to the church and the author of a scathing anti-church website (who complimented me for not being a typical Mormon, whatever that means--I should probably be offended). Regular business relations are heavily complicated by my Mormonism here in ways that would have no meaning outside Utah. Dealings with non-Mormons are automatically strained by a searching stand-offishness seeking to ascertain if I'm one who will frown on a cigarette or drink during dinner. Dealings with Mormons are as strained by a searching stand-offishness seeking to ascertain if I'm one who will frown on a cigarette or drink during dinner (um, as often in the "is he valiant" as in the "will he rat me out" vein). It's tense and it's inevitable and there is no cure for it as long as Mormons are a substantial part of the population here. Third, Mormons here are no more likely to invite the missionaries in than anywhere else I've ever been. Less likely in most cases because most of our non member friends not only have Book of Mormons, they've likely had a number of discussions, probably know who their Stake President is, and have attended a missionary farewell within the past year (well, if they have kids anyway). Finally, I'd love to get out more, but I'd rather have a date with Melissa (who is sadly neglected, frankly) than try to find common cause with the hunter across the street. Don't get me wrong, I know Roger, we talk, we've discussed the recent Elk hunt. But we frankly don't have a lot in common and our conversations are as uncomfortable for him as they are for me. We're friendly and we talk about neighborhood issues, but we aren't going to become buddies any time soon. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 23:35:32 -0800 From: "Richard R. Hopkins" Subject: [AML] AML Conference Question About Cornerstone I have heard that Duane Crowther of Horizon was at the AML Conference and that he said some things about me and Cornerstone. Is that true? If so, could any who heard these things email me off list as to what was said? This request (though not necessarily the replies to it) is on subject because we are planning to resurrect Cornerstone (as a distributor only, for now), and it is important that we address any rumors circulating in the industry about us. The LDS publishing community is a small one. If we are to have an opportunity to contribute to it, we need to address detractors and identify any false rumors or statements. I have promised to give a full update to the list about Cornerstone, and would like to do so soon. In order to do justice to that report, however, I need to know what is being said. Richard Hopkins - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 02:52:08 -0700 From: "D. Michael Martindale" Subject: Re: [AML] The Role of the Reader Bill Willson wrote: > > Lynette Jones wrote: > > >"...please, resist creating art specifically for "the > > Mormon market." That's putting the candle under the >bushel, if you ask > > Amen! I think we do quite enough `preaching to the Choir' as it is; we need > to reach out to the lost sheep. If we have found the way, we need to leave a > trail for them to follow, and then go out into the wilderness and heard them > into the fold. Here we go telling writers what they should write again. Why on earth shouldn't we write to our own people, for heaven's sake? What makes you think all the lost sheep are "out there" among the Gentiles? I wrote my novel _Brother Brigham_ for a Mormon audience. There ain't no preaching to the choir there. Not the sort of preaching the choir is used to anyway. My book ought to make the choir sit up and think. - -- D. Michael Martindale dmichael@wwno.com ================================== Check out Worldsmiths, the new online LDS writers group, at http://www.wwno.com/worldsmiths Sponsored by Worlds Without Number http://www.wwno.com ================================== - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 08:31:18 -0600 From: "Kumiko" Subject: [AML] Boba Fett Starring in "Johnny Lingo" Of the actors starring in the upcoming "The Legend of Johnny Lingo," the best known to American audiences are Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan, the actors who portrayed Jango and Boba Fett, respectively, in "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones." "The Legend of Johnny Lingo" features an ALL-Polynesian cast, and the screenplay was written by Polynesian screenwriter Riwia Brown. The director, Steven Ramirez, is a Latter-day Saint film editor best known locally as the editor for "The Other Side of Heaven." Ramirez and "Johnny Lingo" producers Jerry Molen and John Garbett all worked together previously on "The Other Side of Heaven," which was also set in Polynesia and filmed in the Cook Islands. - - Preston Steven Ramirez, film editor: The Other Side of Heaven (2001) All My Friends Are Cowboys (1998; TV) Pacific Heights (1990) first assistant editor: Double Jeopardy (1999) The Devil's Advocate (1997) A Family Thing (1996) The Chamber (1996) Dolores Claiborne (1995) Intersection (1994) Leap of Faith (1992) Rush (1991) Driving Miss Daisy (1989) Cocoon: The Return (1988) The Running Man (1987) Big Trouble in Little China (1986) Weird Science (1985) Tough Enough (1983) Second-Hand Hearts (1981) Being There (1979) Thicker Than Blood (1998; TV) - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 05:30:09 -0700 From: "Andrew W. Gallup" Subject: Re: [AML] AML Conference Question As I mentioned in my posting yesterday we are a new publisher and we only distribute through Covenant. Please feel free to contact our company directly with any questions or submissions. Please visit our website at www.koffordbooks.com for details. Thank you, Andrew Gallup Greg Kofford Books Inc. (801) 523-6063 Office (801) 671-7470 Cellular (801) 576-0583 Fax P.O. Box 1362 Draper, UT 84020 agallup@koffordbooks.com www.koffordbooks.com Original message: Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 11:37:45 -0700 From: "Brown" Subject: Re: [AML] AML Conference Question It might have been Cedar Fort! www.cedarfort.com or 1-801-489-4084, or 925 N. Main, Springville, Utah. We're open for suggestions! Also, Covenant and Kofford books were there. Contact Covenant for both of those entities! Cheers! Marilyn Brown - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 08:36:50 -0600 (CST) From: Rich Hammett Subject: [AML] Economics of Polygamy (was: Sealings) On Wed, 6 Nov 2002, Eric Dixon wrote: > Subject: Re: [AML] Sealings > > Barbara wrote: > >I'm no longer ambiguous about the concept of plural wives. I reject it. I > >may be proven wrong, but a system that treats one gender as deserving of > >more privilege than the other is not consistent with the God I know. I > >guess I've just seen too much "But it's different for men" excuse-making in > >my life. If I had a husband who brought home some chick and told me that > >he'd be sleeping with her from now on, by golly. . . . . . [bleep] > > Economist David Friedman, who has done groundbreaking work in applying > price theory to the economics of behavior, concludes that the availability > of polygamous (polygynous) relationships is actually better for women & > worse for men: > > http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Price_Theory/PThy_Chapter_21/PThy_Cha > p_21.html I found his analysis quite non-compelling. The major fault in his first model, to me, is that he purports to be analyzing a situation similar to current society, ie, where women have complete control over their own marriage decisions, which is a relatively recent development in most cultures. However, at the same time, he doesn't seem to appreciate another major contemporaneous development in marriage, the importance of the "romance" or emotional bonds in the marriage. In most marriages that I am familiar with, Pw (the "price" a woman will accept in return for giving herself in marriage) would quickly rise too high for most men to be able to "afford" two wives. Perhaps one of you writers who likes writing relationships could examine this question in a short story. rich - -- \ Rich Hammett http://home.hiwaay.net/~rhammett / rhammett@HiWAAY.net "Better the pride that resides / in a citizen of the world; \ than the pride that divides / when a colorful rag is unfurled." - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 07:59:47 -0800 From: "Kim Madsen" Subject: RE: [AML] Epiphanies Paris Anderson wrote: "... in my vocabulary that phenomina is called "the awakening or rise of Kundalini." I've written several posts about it. Maybe you could find them in the archives. I would be happy to talk to you more about it and or help you get started." Paris, As a yoga instructor, I found this comment really interesting. I currently teach a free class daily at a ward house in our stake. I taught various kinds of aerobic/resistance training/fitness classes for 22 years in health clubs. Got sick of that grind and offered to start teaching for free to people around here just to keep doing it but to move into a different mindset. The daily 5:30 AM class has morphed over the years, as I slowly introduced concepts, to Yoga only. It took me awhile to get them to change gears from "gotta get that heart rate up there" to a more connected breath-spirit-mind-body thing, but now they only want to do Yoga. We jokingly call it "Mo-ga" because we have occassion to link the philosophies of the yogic tradition with teachings of the LDS faith, remembering that "all truth" will one day be brought together. People in my class have reported to me that they've started making a connection with "pondering" and the ability to clear one's mind from all the internal chatter and just observe--both their interior and the world around them. Increased strength and flexibility in their physical bodies have opened spiritual strength and flexibility paths to some of my class members. They've learned to slow down, de-stress and appreciate their lives more. Christ taught turning the other cheek, offering the cloak, non-judgementalism. It sounds a lot like wu-wei to me...learning to be the rock in the stream of life, letting chaos flow around you. Have you found any good sources of reading material you like in connection with this? I've learned alot from Beryl Bender's BEYOND POWER YOGA. Any suggestions? I'm headed now to see if I can figure out how to search the archives to find your past posts on the subject. Kim Madsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 11:12:54 -0500 From: Tony Markham Subject: Re: [AML] Book of Mormon Movie Casting Call I don't know why either of the Bof M movies is even thinking of casting women in this film, as they are largely absent from the source text. Somebody pointed out that only three are mentioned by name--a wife, a queen, and a prostitute. I envision a movie filled with big-muscled, oily-skinned, weight-lifters, something akin to the Steve Reeves movies of the 60s. If this turns out to be the case, the BofM movies will have two widely diverse target audiences--devout LDS, and gay men. Relish the thought. Tony Markham - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 10:13:01 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: RE: [AML] Teaching at BYU Yes, I'm almost positive that LDS professors at BYU now must keep a current temple recommend. This policy was tightened within the last couple of years or so. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 10:29:10 -0700 From: Marny Parkin Subject: Re: [AML] Teaching at BYU Jana wrote: >So the real question is, do _LDS_ BYU profs have to have temple recommends, >pay tithing, attend sacrament meetings, etc?? This is from a brochure I received upon being hired as part-time staff last week (and was read to me during the policy review): "As a matter of personal commitment, students, staff and faculty of Brigham Young University seek to demonstrate, in daily living, those moral virtues encompassed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and will: - - Be Honest - - Live a Chaste & Virtuous LIfe - - Obey the Law - - Use Clean Language - - Respect Others - - Abstain from Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, Tea, Coffee and Drug Abuse" In addition, the web site states "It is a condition of employment that employees observe the behavioral standards of the University, including the Honor Code and Dress and Grooming Standards. LDS employees also accept as a condition of employment observance of the standards qualifying them for temple privileges." Marny Parkin - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 10:20:58 -0700 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: RE: [AML] Teaching at BYU > >So the real question is, do _LDS_ BYU profs have to have >temple recommends, pay tithing, attend sacrament meetings, etc?? Yes. And at least one BYU prof was fired for not attending Sacrament Meeting on a regular basis. But you think that is strict. If you work for CES as a Seminary Teacher, and you become divorced, you are also relieved of your job. At least that doesn't happen at BYU. Thom - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 10:37:02 -0700 From: "Thom Duncan" Subject: RE: [AML] The Role of the Reader > >Amen! I think we do quite enough `preaching to the Choir' as >it is; we need to reach out to the lost sheep. If we have >found the way, we need to leave a trail for them to follow, >and then go out into the wilderness and heard them into the fold. I don't think you are saying this, but I'm going to use your statement as a jumping off point nonetheless: Hearding people into the fold should never be the sole reason one creates art. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it should never be a reason at all. Whatever is of good report in the life of the author will find its way into the work without the author even trying. People: that is what good art has always been about. Ideas, philosophies -- those make for good propaganda. Thom - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 10:06:45 -0700 From: "Eric R. Samuelsen" Subject: Re: [AML] Teaching at BYU Jana asked: >So the real question is, do _LDS_ BYU profs have to have temple >recommend= s, >pay tithing, attend sacrament meetings, etc?? Yes. We do. As a condition of my employment, I have to be temple = recommend worthy. i would be anyway, so it's no big deal for me, but = there have been times when this requirement has been used to try to get = rid of controversial faculty. Eric Samuelsen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 08:42:11 -0800 From: JLTyner Subject: [AML] LDS Film And Its Critics Article There is an article by Kieth Merrill today on Meridian Magazine. "Throwing Stones at Ourselves: LDS Film and Its Critics". The link: www.ldsmag.com Kathy Tyner Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 14:12:06 -0800 From: "Jerry Tyner" Subject: RE: [AML] WILSON, _The Prelude to Glory_ This is a dumb question but isn't this phone number (Call 310-587-0144) = in the LA area code?=20 Jerry Tyner Orange County, CA - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 11:24:01 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: [AML] Jana Riess, Publishers Weekly Religion Book Review Editor I've recently entered into a correspondence with Jana Riess, the religion book review editor for Publishers Weekly. She's agreed to do an interview with Irreantum, and I wanted to ask people for suggestions on questions to ask her. Seems like a good opportunity to probe the prospects for more Mormon stories to break out in national venues. Here's a blurb on Jana we ran in the current Irreantum: <<< Since 1999, Mormon convert Jana Riess has served as Publishers Weekly's religion book review editor. Her reviews, articles, and columns appear regularly in the trade publication, and she oversees about 100 freelance reviewers. "I try to give every book a fair shake and an honest read," she told a Lexington, Kentucky, newspaper. "I think also, as an author, I'm more sympathetic, because I realize how difficult it is to write a book and how courageous it is." Last year, religious book sales rose 17 percent and Riess received review copies of about 2,500 new titles, fewer than a third of which received review or mention in Publishers Weekly. Raised by an agnostic mother and an atheist father, Riess attended Princeton Theological Seminary and earned a doctorate in American religious history at Columbia University, where she wrote her dissertation about 19th-century female Protestant missionaries who tried to save Utah women from polygamy. An LDS Church member since 1993, she lives with her husband and children in Clark County, Kentucky. >>> Thanks in advance for any questions you can suggest. Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 15:19:28 -0700 From: Barbara Hume Subject: Re: [AML] SAMUELSEN, _Peculiarities_ >The women in >this play seemed to be much more evolved than the men. It's the girl in >"Tahoe" who becomes more and more upset about what has happened; the chick >in "NCMO" calls the shots; the woman in "Temps" clearly knows what is at >stake. Should be generalize about this to all men and all women? How >many *really* smart women do you know, as opposed to men? I didn't reach the same conclusion you did on this issue. The girl in "Tahoe" was more disturbed because she had less emotional involvement. He'd thought they had something going on beyond a mere physical relationship; she was just using him to have fun. I saw her as feeling more guilt because she was doing wrong on a deeper level: hurting another person as well as hurting herself. That's why she lashed out at him so cruelly. I think she blamed him for being her victim. The chick in "NCMO" was also a user. She knew he was uncomfortable with what they were doing, and she knew he was reaching the limits of his control. But she pushed and pushed, partly because he wasn't strong enough to say "no" and mean it, and partly because her own pleasure was more important to her than his feelings. The young wife, bored and unhappy, is luring a man into a relationship that can only end in misery. If she tempts him to the point where he has sex with her and they get caught, she will probably blame him for taking advantage of her. You can tell she is pretending that it isn't her fault because she keeps saying "I gotta go" even though she doesn't. I have a strong feminist streak (I know, I know, you've noticed), but I was appalled by the heartlessness of these women. I'm still trying to decide whether that's what was in the play, or that's what I brought to my interpretation. The one big generalization I came away with was to wonder whether Eric Samuelson knows any women who actually let anybody finish their sentences. I am glad that Eric brought these issues to light. As I commented in the after-play dialogue, when I first encountered the Mormon culture I wondered how a people who apparently never had sex somehow had all these babies. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 15:31:33 -0700 From: Barbara Hume Subject: [AML] Re: Economics of Polygamy At 01:49 AM 11/6/02 -0500, you wrote: >Economist David Friedman, who has done groundbreaking work in applying >price theory to the economics of behavior, concludes that the availability >of polygamous (polygynous) relationships is actually better for women & >worse for men: That article seemed to have nothing to do with human beings -- it was all about equations and prices. Plenty of things that are economically viable are not the least bit soul-satisfying. barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2002 16:06:34 -0700 From: Cathy Wilson Subject: Re: [AML] WILSON, _The Prelude to Glory_ Hi, Steve Perry wrote:"The Prelude to Glory" at the Washington Temple Visitors' Center. This features the premier performances of Russell Wilson's landmark musical tribute to the patriots who won American freedom. This event is free and open to the public and takes place at 7:00 pm Sun & Mon night. Call 310-587-0144 Cathy, Is this *your* Russell Wilson, and can you tell us more about it? Yes, that's us. It will be performed in the Great Hall in the National Building Museum the following Saturday at 7:00 as well. Almost four years ago, Ron Carter, author of _Prelude to Glory_ in conjunction with Deseret Book commissioned Russell to write a musical performance based on the book series. It's an unusual genre--music about a book?--but it's only loosely based on the books. It's a full evening of music, a major work for chorus and orchestra. It will be premiered in Washington DC and thereafter there will be Utah performances (not yet scheduled but I'll let you know) and some California performances are scheduled as well. Although I know Russell would not want me to run to effusiveness, I must tell you that the work is magical and well worth going out of your way to attend :). Cathy Wilson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 15:25:37 -0800 From: "jana" Subject: [AML] Exponent II I received this message from Exponent II today. I thought it might be = of interest to those on AML-List who are interested in keeping Ex2 = alive. Take care, Jana Remy - ---------------------------- Dear Exponent Supporters; =20 Thank you so much for your support of the publication over these past = many years. Some of you may be relatively new to Exponent II, but many = of you have been with us from our very beginnings in 1974 - we are = grateful to you all.=20 Though our subscription volume remains at a pretty constant number, it = has been clear to us for a while now that this number was not sufficient = to allow us to continue without a large infusion of cash or increasing = our subscriber roll by at least 300. Our efforts over the past 2 years = have not been successful in increasing our subscription base. We would = ask that you, our supporters, choose one of these options - or both if = you are so inclined - as a way to facilitate our continued operation and = success. Without additional funds, we cannot afford to publish the next = issue.=20 Send us a tax deductible contribution and/or gift subscriptions for your = family and friends. Of course, this is a great way to "kill two birds = with one stone". This would give us the much-needed cash that we = require, while at the same time increasing the potential for follow-on = subscriptions when their gift subscription runs out. =20 Whichever of these methods you choose, we are greatly appreciative. = These funds will allow us to publish the next issue, and hopefully = increase our subscriber base sufficiently to continue to publish into = the future. As another means of raising funds, we are immediately raising our = subscription rates from $15 a year to $20 a year and will no longer be = offering the two-year subscription for $25. Again this move will allow = us to cover our costs and continue to publish the paper. =20 Again, thank you so much for your support. Your donations and gift = subscriptions can be sent to:=20 One year =3D $20=20 Two years =3D $40=20 Exponent II=20 P.O. Box 128=20 Arlington, MA 02476=20 One year =3D $20=20 Two years =3D $40=20 - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 00:29:21 +0000 From: "Andrew Hall" Subject: [AML] STEWART/JENSON, "Almost Perfect" (DN) Deseret News Thursday, November 7, 2002 'Almost Perfect' doesn't come close By Sharon Haddock Deseret News staff writer ALMOST PERFECT, Ragan Theatre, Utah Valley State College, Orem; continues through Nov. 9; box office: 863-8797. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (one intermission). OREM - Sadly, "Almost Perfect" isn't. It's a good start and there certainly are some bright spots. But overall, as a new musical trying to become a favorite, it's too long and too uneven to succeed. The cast members are troupers, doing their best and bringing gallons of enthusiasm with them, but the production is too long - there are 14 scenes in the first act - and the premise is thin. Also, it resembles familiar musicals in a number of places. To start, a "Music Man" style con man needs only one more good con to get where he wants to be =97 but alas, he's undone by a sweet, ingenuous young maiden who wants nothing to do with him. Spats is a "Guys and Dolls" gangster-type who's going to break the sidekick's legs or marry the ingenue's aunt. There's a "Cinderella" type song about waiting for the prince to come and a Jean Valjean tune later on sung by a lover whose love is going unrequited. In a "Climb Every Mountain" moment, the aunt tries to help the ingenue figure out what to do with her love for the con man. And in a "West Side Story" moment, there's sort of a rumble at the dock. Which is not to say this production doesn't have some originality. The music box melody "Segue La Voce" is beautiful, but it's outweighed by those songs and characters that have an air of deja vu about them. In addition, the charming con man Jack Riley - played by Jeff McLean - is deceiving everyone he meets and only decides to be good because he wants to con Anna the ingenue (played winningly by Andrea Ingles) into loving him. When Anna is trying to decide what to do about her feelings for Jack, she's conflicted - as well she should be - because he's a crook. But her aunt is telling her to listen to the force - er , voice - and that would mean she should ignore her well-founded instincts and follow her heart. The play also vacillates dramatically and suddenly from mock comedy to intense drama. Is this a light comedy or a deep treatise on humanity? When you throw in trading arms to Mussolini, it becomes harder to shrug off embezzlement, betrayal and dumping people into the East River. It's really too bad that this doesn't work a little better because it's pleasant enough to watch. The choreography is well planned and the acting and singing is polished. Spats's love song is a winner and very funny. There are a few choice lines, such as "Everything's a con and I am King Con." Eddy, played by Kimball Wirig, did an outstanding job in a yeoman's part, as did Allison Hawks as the spoiled Viking bride LaRue Canfield. The interlude between Jack and Anna is wonderfully romantic, although he comes off throughout as kind of a stalker. In fact, it ends up as "the best stalker wins" in a fairly simplistic and predictable ending. But altogether, "Almost Perfect" is in fact, imperfect. Copyright 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*=20 http://join.msn.com/?page=3Dfeatures/junkmail - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 17:27:29 -0800 From: "dorothy" Subject: RE: [AML] Indian Placement Program Query One of my cousins (who has since retired) was a professional social worker employed by the church to work in the Indian placement program. I will forward this message on to her. She would be able to answer any of your questions, I am sure. Dorothy ________ Dorothy W. Peterson http://www.lds-index.org dorothy@lds-index.org - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #887 ******************************