South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 44

6E Sun-Sentinel, Tuesday, November 10. 1987 ENYEKTAIKirjaEMY Revenge not sweet in 'Death Wish 4' Church choir concert unpretentious, sensitive MUSIC MOVIE REVIEW REVIEW Christ Church Chancel Choir 4 Durward McDonell, conductor. Sunday evening at Christ Church, Fort Lauderdale. y2 Death Wish 4: The Crackdown Vigilante Paul Kersey is out of retirement and mopping up drug pushers. Credits: With Charles Bronson.

Kay Lenz, John P. Ryan, Perry Lopez. Soon-Teck Oh and George Dickerson. Written by Gail Morgan Hickman. Directed by J.

Lee Thompson. Violence, adult language. Poof Faif Good Excellent 1 H- -J Jr. l' JT I 1 jf By TIM SMITH Music Writer Some of the most satisfying performances are the most unpretentious. A case in point was the free concert offered Sunday afternoon by the Christ Church Chancel Choir in Fort Lauderdale.

Less than an hour in length, the program included a youthful, but musically mature, mass by Schubert, a buoyant organ concerto by Handel and a heartfelt anthem by Haydn. Except for one slight touch of the theatrical as if magically, the organ rose up out of a pit to tower over everyone else for the Handel work there was a welcome simplicity, not to mention musical proficiency, throughout the concert. And unlike at some concerts in area churches, there were no sermonettes tacked on before or afterward, nothing added that could detract from the music. Schubert was still a teen when he wrote the major Mass. Some of it, especially the Credo, has a superficial quality, but it is full of engaging melodic ideas and the choral writing is assured.

The Agnus Dei section approaches the caliber of Haydn's mature masses. There was clarity and refinement in music director Durward McDonell's approach to the score; his rather brisk tempos helped to strengthen the drier portions' A more lyrical, expan- By JUAN CARLOS COTO Special to the Sun-Sentinel Death Wish 4 is subtitled The Crackdown because vigilante Paul Kersey (Charles Branson), who has eliminated street scum for three films now, is forced out of retirement when his stepdaughter-to-be dies of a rock cocaine overdose. In this by-the-numbers revenge fantasy, Bronson delivers the expected crash-and-bang picture (perfect for popcorn munching), but except for a catchy opening and some twists near the end, Death Wish 4 has few surprises. Bronson shoots two criminals in the leg, and follows them as they limp away, just as Clint Eastwood did in the famous stadium scene from Dirty Harry. A missile shot from a gun and an exploding criminal, done with an arrow in Rambo: First Blood Part IL is also a big hit in this film.

But Death Wish 4 does demonstrate some concern for the moral questions it raises. It even suggests that vigilantes may not be the romantic saviors filmmakers used to make them. Director J. Lee Thompson doesn't show the stepdaughter, Erica (Dana Barron), smoking crack, but allows for an emergency room scene that momentarily makes Death Wish 4 a documentary. The director forgoes most of the theatrics and simply shows a teen-ager dying from a crack overdose.

In its own ingenuous way, it works. A morgue scene in which Erica's reportermom, Karen (Kay Lenz), Kay Lenz and Charles Bronson team up in Death Wish 4. sive touch, however, would have given the Benedictus and Agnus Dei still greater depth. not on the highest professional level, the choir was alert well-balanced and sensitive. Oi the vocal soloists, tenor Richard Crawford and baritone Thomas Cavendish were the more effect tive; sopranos Kay Miller and Stephany Heilig sounded too strained, though they certainly matched their male colleagues for commitment.

A small ensemble, drawn almost entirely from the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida, played firmly in the Schubert and also in Handel's B-flat Orf gan Concerto. The soloist for the-Handel was Christ Church ganist Stephen Kolarac, whose playing, if a bit more robust afr times than Baroque purists-probably would allow, had ad-! mirable facility, vitality and. warmth. The choir's spirited account of Haydn's Abendlied Zu Gott, opened the concert. looks over teen-agers who have died in various cocaine-related incidents, ties up the final "just say no" moments of the film.

But Thompson and screenwriter Gail Morgan Hickman almost go overboard here you get the feeling that Nancy Reagan is going to give a speech. When Hickman realizes that Death Wish 4 has to end after 30 minutes (that's all the time it takes for Bronson to gun down the pusher that supplied Erica), she has a wealthy newspaper publisher offer Kersey the job of wiping out the major drug gangs in Los Angeles. From here, Bronson is supplied with the usual stock of massive guns and some inventive, if not cute, weapons (such as volatile Napa Valley wine). Then the sys- tematic mopping up begins. The film forgets Karen, who supposedly is on a big cocaine story, until the end, when it's convenient for bad guys to use her as a bargaining chip.

Bronson still can command a leading part, delivering the "make my day" lines nicely, but the actor suffers from Roger Moore Disease it's hard to believe he can beat up some of the gargantuan thugs as easily as he does. In one scene, a lunch box is all the weapon he needs to knock out a man almost twice his size, and in another fight, an oven door and big- screen television prove crucial to the almost-doddering Bronson's victory. Though he overuses the hackneyed technique of driving the camera at an actor's face during an intense moment, Thompson still can deliver the action genre So if you haven't had your regular dose of ultramacho, gun-slinging, you-killed-my-loved-one-so-I'm-gonna-blow-you-away movie this month, you might as well get into a theater seat with a big bucket of popcorn and munch your way through Death Wish 4. mm. 'Heat Wave' first of big winter shows LESS THAN ZERO fm 7:15 and 9:30 DEATH WISH 4 (m 7:30 and 9:30 DELRAY SQUARE THEATRES 4809 W.

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Starring Mtehaal Douglas 730, lange of songs and scenes from film musicals dating to the early talkies. At the Marco Polo, Miller-Reich's A Touch of Class begins previews Friday with an official opening Nov. 20. Both this company and the Sheraton's Ryan are veterans at creating costume and showgirl revues; Miller-Reich preceded Ryan for several seasons at the Sheraton, and both produce shows for South Florida-based cruise lines. "I think there will be more competition on the beach this year than ever before," says Lenny Miller, the producing half of the Miller-Reich team.

Partner George Reich typically directs the shows. A Touch of Class will be a compilation of the best numbers from other Miller-Reich shows, of which there currently are a dozen. In addition to programs for the Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines, Miller-Reich Productions has showgirl revues in hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas; Atlantic City, N.J.; Baltimore; New York City; and Montreal. "We're gambling on the largest and most lavish show ever done in the Persian Room," Miller says. "If it's successful, we'll stay through next summer." Although the Miller-Reich national headquarters are on 163rd Street in North Miami, the duo has produced land-based shows in this area only infrequently.

"I've won and I've lost here, and I want Miami" for a permanent show, Miller says. Ironically, a key factor in the decision to move back onto Miami Beach is Miller's plans to expand into other cities. Hotel owners and other potential hosts won't go to Atlantic City or Nassau to check out existing programs. Despite South Florida's chronic image problems, "they will come to Miami Beach," Miller says. To accommodate the Touch of Class revue, the Persian Room is being upgraded with about $80,000 in sound and lighting equipment.

Changes and improvements also are in store for ticket sales operations to make it easier for non-hotel guests to make reservations. By JACK ZINK Theater Writer The South Beach area of Miami Beach has been in the limelight for the past year as the leader in nightlife renaissance. This week, the north end of Collins Avenue begins fighting back. Three revues are poised to open in oceanfront showrooms, two of them big-budget attractions evoking the heyday of top-line entertainment on the beach 20 years ago. Among them is a surprise booking by Miller-Reich productions in the Marco Polo Hotel's Persian Room, a $125,000 costume show replacing the low-budget programs of the past five years.

Thursday's opening of the Sheraton Bal Harbour Hotel's Heat Wave has been anticipated for months. Produced and directed by Jean Ann Ryan, the showgirl revue is traditionally the winterlong mainstay in the hotel's Bal Masque Room. At the Newport Hotel on Friday, To Hollywood With Love replaces Ship Ahoy in the Constitution Room for the season. That show is a me 1722 RUSSKIES (PG) 430 MS CLOTHING 25' HAIRCUTS DIRTY DANCING (PG) IVTUES. SUN.

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