ee “Herring season opens tomor- row and you'll work for me because there is nobody else to sell your fish to. And anywhere on this coast, in the Caribbean or South America, you’ll still work for me... .” As Mort Wheeler, officious little capitalist, cannery owner and murderer snarled at the fishermen on the dock, the meta- phor wore thin enough to allow George Weston to peek through — or at least a 1921 vintage proto- type of the same. Wheeler’s profiteering success story, complete with the bumbl- ing assistance of the RCMP and the ideological guidance of John D. Rockefeller, and his run-ins with a rum-running pirate and a salty fisherwoman heroine — all set to music — provides some of the best entertainment currently available in Vancouver in Tamahnous Theatre Company’s latest production, Liquid Gold, now playing in the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. The advance publicity for this romping musical comedy, how- ever, leads the audience slightly astray. It does recount a colorful piece of B.C. history when rum- of Tom Braidwood as Mort Wheeler in Tamahnous’ Liquid Gold. Liquid Gold flows with fun, songs — and political punch runners raced U.S. authorities up and down the coast in defiance of prohibition laws, but in essence, Liquid Gold is a real-life lesson in political economy, and in par- ticular the dominance that the fish processing companies maintain over fishermen and fishing communities by their monopoly position and by the use of the ‘‘credit plan.” It all starts with Mort Wheeler, ably performed by Tamahnous’ Tom Braidwood, accumulating capital and keeping the fisher- men in line with the “‘credit plan” and local ‘‘moonshine”’ until he decides to bring electrical power to the fishing village of Envers Inlet, a fictional spot on the Se- chelt Peninsula. With power on hand, and a monopoly on it, the enterprising Wheeler hooks up with US. capitalists to bring in electrical appliances that he intends to sell, of course, on credit. The dollar signs are wheeling around in Mort’s head when fisherwoman Sophie McCafferty, played by Suzie Payne, and rum-runner Moon Morgan pirate the ap- pliances. That leads to a series of alter- = cations between Wheeler and his loyal servant, RCMP officer Lance Harker, and the rest of the villagers, Moon Morgan and Sophie, and even the village whore, Susannah. Finally, Wheeler resorts to the gun — Harker’s gun — and imposes law and order. At the play’s conclusion, Sophie has the fishermen ready to fight back but Wheeler has them squeezed, with the fishing season beginning and he owning the boats, nets and their livelihoods. Packed with humor, political punch and about 10 songs, Liquid Gold moves quickly as Tamah- nous applies their usual energy and zest to make it flow — and to make it fun. Braidwood and Payne are joined in the key roles by Richard Newman who impresses as the swashbuckling Moon Morgan. He and two others in the 12-person cast have joined Tamahnous for the show on loan from Actors’ Equity. One of the others, who blends nicely as a simple Swedish fisherman, is Kitimat-born Glen Thompson who drew on his coastal background and involve- ment with political theatre during the Vietnam War to author his first script, and to make it a relevant one. The idea for it all, Thompson says, came from Tamahnous’ Bruce Ruddell who wrote the musical score, with help on the lyrics from Tom Braidwood. There is the matter, though, of the ending. Tamahnous has it all set up for the fishermen to end on a high note of struggle and optim- ism, a note they just don’t reach. But they’re working on it. From the preview performance where it ended with the obscure message of a song, ‘‘chart a new course,” there is now a brief monologue by Sophy that hints at some new forms of struggle. By the time you get there — you have until April 22 — it may be even better. —Fred Wilson Saying a Baby, I ain’t afraid to die It’s just that I hate to say goodbye To this world, this world, this world. This old world is mean and cruel, But still I love it like a fool, This world, this world, this world. I'd rather go to the corner store Than sing hosannah on that golden shore, I'd rather Street Than fly around where the angels meet. Oh this world is all I know, It’s dust to dust when I have to go From this world, this world, this world. Somebody else will take my place, Some other hands, some other face, Some other eyes will look around live on Parker And find the things I’ve never found. Don’t weep for me when Iam gone, last farewell to Malvina Reynolds Just keep this old world rolling on, This world, this world, this world. I thought Mal would go on forever — that gallant human being who stirred thousands to action and indignation with her funny, scratchy voice and swinging guitar. Malvina Reynolds — who doesn’t know her, one way or another? — died March 17 quite unexpectedly, although she was 77. Unexpectedly because she was the most animated active person you could imagine. Only a few days before she had been dancing away at Keystone Korner with Country Joe McDonald. The day she went to the hospital — for what was supposed to be some routine treatment — she had been hard at work on those songs that moved mountains. Who doesn’t know and can hum or sing “Little Boxes,”’ the one that poked not so gentle fun at con- formity; ‘“‘DDT Blues,’’ ‘‘God Bless the Grass,”’ “‘Carolina Cotton Mill Song,” “‘The Day the Freeway Froze,” ‘‘Rosie Jane’ (“are you pregnant again?”’), “What Have They Done To The Rain?” — and on and on? She told sdme stories some PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 7, 1978—Page 10 people would otherwise find hard to take: “Dialectic” — “‘It’s hard to believe that people live in such shanties ... and they don’t know how they’ll make it to the next pay day ... that’s why a few live in palaces and cannot spend money as fast as they get it... .” The cotton-topped woman with the beautiful, sensuous face was born of a radical, working class family south of Market in San Francisco. Classical music per- vaded the family. When she was supposed to graduate as an honor student from Lowell High she was refused because her parents opposed World War I. Much later, she received her Phi Beta Kappa pin at the University of California. During the Depression and World War II she worked as a steelworker, tailor and social worker. She was my first ‘‘boss” on the People’s World — feature editor back in the °40s, when she published any number of class- conscious stories and poems for children. I loved illustrating them. Her beloved Bud — William Reynolds, who died in 1972 — was a skilled carpenter and World War I draft resister. When she returned to the UC- It wasn’t sanctioned by any world sport federation but it was international sport, nevertheless, as t Steelers played a Cuban team made up ships docked in New Westminste +s he B.C. baseball team, the Norburn from the crews of two Cuban r. Although the Canadians won decisively, the game, played in Burnaby’s Central Park last Sunday, was apparently much more important remembered the final score. Later than the outcome — since nobody the Steelers joined the Cubans on their ships for some of the famed Cuban hospitality. A memorandum of agreement signed March 16 in Ottawa will open the way for sports exchanges between Canada and Hungary. The agreement, initiated last year following meetings in Buda- pest and signed last month by Iona Compagnolo, minister of state for fitness and amateur sport, and Dr. Sandor Beckl, secretary of state and president of the national office of physical education and sports in Hungary, provides for the ex- change of coaches and specialists and the participation of athletes in bilateral competitions and training camps. The voice of Malvina Reynolds, familiar to many in this province through many records and the few concert appearances, was finally stilled March 17. This tribute, by People’s World staff writer and a close friend of Reynolds’, Pele De Lappe, is taken from that paper. Berkeley campus in 1951 to study music she met Lou Gottlieb, a kindred soul if there ever was one. Lou has a mordant wit and the same extraordinary talent for putting meaningful words to the proper, swinging music. Lou en- couraged Mal to write music. From there she was off and running. The rest, to anyone in- volved in the Free Speech move- —Sean Griffin photos Sports exchange signed It also provides for the exchange of experience in the production 0 sports equipment, the planning and development of sports facilities a5 well as the manufacture of scientific instruments. The new exchange agreement will be reflected immediately aS? Canadian gymnastics team is 0 — visit Hungary this week and will be followed in June by a Canadian canoeing team which will take part in a joint training camp. Canada will host a Hungarian gymnastics team in the Toronto Cup competi- tion in November. ment, the anti-war movement, you name it, is history. She once said, “I feel that everything that’s wrong today stems from the basic contradictio® that the institutions of productio™ which are actually social 1 stitutions run by many people, ar@ in the hands of a few people wh? — are only after profit.” At her wake were many of thé people — musicians, babies, jittle children, relatives, friends, and 0 course her daughter, Nancy Schimmel, and sister, Elean0! Lawrence — whose lives she had enriched. And we sang her song® She hasn’t really left us becausé her songs are here. She wrote one of them as her epitaph: ‘ “Celebrate my death for the good times I’ve had, For the work that I’ve done and the friends that I’ve made. ‘Celebrate my death of whom — it. could be said, “She was a working class — woman and a Red.” j My man was the best, @ comrade and a friend, Fighting on the good side to the very end. . My child was ,a darling, merry, strong and fine, And all the world’s children were mine.