Author: Angela Lin

Angela is a senior studying English and the Environment. The only thing she loves more than writing and the arts are wombats.

REVIEW: Hasan Minhaj: Before the Storm

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With two sold out shows in one night and Azhar Usman as an opener for Hasan Minhaj, Before the Storm was the perfect remedy for any anxiety you may have about the current political nature of America.

As an Indian-American Muslim standup comedian from Chicago, Azhar Usman tackled the racial tensions in America, commented on Google, and laid some conspiracy theories out on the stage before making way for Hasan Minhaj.

The event used Yondr, which made it a phone-free show. At the beginning of the show, Hasan justified the use of Yondr, saying he knew it was really hard locking our phones up, but it was necessary to protect the content of his show (and his image) since this Before the Storm tour was a sneak preview into his new Netflix show, Patriot Act.

Since some of the content he performed will be used on the show, I’ll try not to give away any spoilers. However, the basic gist of his new show, Patriot Act, centers around analyzing the political and cultural landscape in our fragmented country. Just as he did as a correspondent on The Daily Show, Hasan will bring his distinct comedic voice to dive into serious topics on his Netflix show, and that’s exactly what he did on his live tour as well.

Hasan Minhaj used news clips, statistics, and nicely-timed graphics to explain heavy topics such as the travel ban and refugee terrorism. His fast-paced delivery that was synchronized with the information he was displaying on the screen behind him was extremely impressive, and it worked. With this kind of multimedia presentation, Hasan is bringing about a new modern type of comedy show where he uses technology and visuals to make us laugh and to emphasize his points as well.

Through all the laughter and applause that filled the Michigan Theater, the best thing about Hasan Minhaj’s show was how important it was — the serious content delivered in a way that uplifted the spirits of many minorities who could relate to the humor and perspective that Hasan’s comedy provided.

Keep an eye out for Patriot Act, which comes out on Netflix on October 28. From the bits Hasan used during Before the Storm, his new show is guaranteed to be as incisive and bright and witty and brilliant as the renowned comedic voice he has established as his own.

PREVIEW: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

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What happens when two lifelong French con men try to one-up the other in an attempt to prove who is the ultimate con artist by swindling $50,000 from an American heiress? Based on the 1988 comedy film featuring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre is bringing the Broadway musical of the same name to the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. The jazz musical comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will be sure to keep you tapping your toes and laughing the entire time. Performances are September 6-9, with a 7:30pm show on Thursday, 8pm show on Friday and Saturday, and a 2pm matinee on Sunday. Tickets are $15 for students or FREE with a Passport to the Arts.

PREVIEW: Hasan Minhaj: Before the Storm

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Hold onto your seats and save your laughter because a storm is coming. From the Daily Show to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Hasan Minhaj is now making an appearance at the Michigan Theater, bringing his North American Tour “Before the Storm” to Ann Arbor. With his insightful political and cultural commentary, Minhaj is standing up to analyze America. After the release of his first comedy stand-up special and before he is set to host his own Netflix show, this rising comedian is touring the country to tell everyone exactly what is happening in this fragmented country. See his striking comedic talent in person at the Michigan Theater on September 8 at 7pm and 10pm. Yondr is used for his performances, creating a phone-free environment so everyone can fully immerse themselves in Hasan Minhaj’s brilliant new show.

REVIEW: Big Fish

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It is a story of love. It is a story of dreams. It is a story of being misunderstood and one of wanting to understand. Big Fish is a story filled with stories, and it’s one definitely worth watching.

The 12 chairs version of this musical performed at the black box theatre of The Encore created an intimate setting for this musical exploring the truths and exaggerations behind a faltering relationship between father and son, between a dreamer and a realist. As Will questions everything he knows about his father, he dives deep into the stories he’s grown to doubt.

It all starts with a witch who tells Edward Bloom how he dies. The aura around this scene gave me chills. With Anna Birmingham killing it as the witch surrounded by four dancing creatures and green lighting and music to set the mood, I would’ve freaked out just like Zacky Price. The town of Ashton is too small for a man like Edward Bloom, creating a big fish in a small pond. Edward sets out to see the world and befriends a giant named Karl and a circus ringmaster who is secretly a werewolf, only to come across love at first sight when he sees Sandra, winning her over at Auburn University with daffodils. His adventures are wondrous and empowering — just enough so for Will to become skeptical of the tales he once loved.

The entire cast rocked every song and dance move, from the Alabama Stop to the “Little Lamb from Alabama” routine. In the number “Stranger,” Billy Eric Robinson as Will nailed the longing of a son that just wants to know who his father really is before it’s too late and as he prepares for fatherhood himself. Emmi Bills and David Moan’s beautiful love duet “Daffodils” captured the chemistry that lets the audience see how Edward’s dream finally came true as he finds his soulmate, and Bills’s touching rendition of the ballad “I Don’t Need a Roof” perfectly reinforced that love. Ridiculous laughter was provided by Connor Giles and James Fischer as the hilarious brother duo Don and Zacky Price. Moan pulled off the often rapid transition between acting as a sick, dying man and as an exuberant young man with his entire life ahead of him and his sights set to the skies. Together, all 12 members of the cast created a beautiful story that stretches your imagination.

Stories are a source of inspiration, and as Will reconciles this with the father he never knew, he realizes that the man who’s like a stranger to him is a man who is just finding a way to leave a memorable legacy for the family he loves.

If you’re in the area for the next month, be the hero of your own story and go out to The Encore in Dexter to watch this talented cast tell this story you don’t want to miss.

PREVIEW: Big Fish

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Alternating between two timelines of the present-day real world and the storybook past, Big Fish is the story of Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman, and his son Will as they grapple with mortality and their faltering father-son relationship that has been riddled with tall tales. Based on Daniel Wallace’s 1998 novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions and the 2003 film Big Fish written by John August and directed by Tim Burton, Andrew Lippa has merged the two with music and lyrics to create a musical as mystical as its plot.

Celebrate the end of finals week, the 2017-2018 school year, and the coming of summer with a musical that will stretch your imagination and warm your heart. From April 26 to May 20, The Encore Musical Theatre Company will be performing Big Fish from April 26 to May 20, so there are many chances to see the amazing talent The Encore has to bring! Tickets can be bought at https://www.theencoretheatre.org/tickets/.

REVIEW: Once Upon a Pops

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As much as I love words, they can only do so much. When I am speechless, when words escape me, I turn to music to express what I cannot put into words. The Michigan Pops Orchestra have combined my two favorite modes of communication, putting on a night full of literature, ranging from childhood favorites to modern classic, all in the form of music.

Disney made a beautiful showing through Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, and movie and musical soundtracks had their fair share of representation through powerful, emotional performances of Forrest Gump, Jane Eyre, The Godfather, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Fantastic Beasts, Romeo and Juliet, and The Sound of Music. All of these selections gave the Pops a chance to shine.

The break from literature was found in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concert in D Major. Katie Sesi was the winner of the 2018 MPO Concerto Competition and performed this beautiful masterpiece with breathtaking precision and tackled the incredibly intimidating technical difficulty with poise. I’m excited to see all the talent she has to bring to the music scene at University of Michigan when she attends in the fall, as she already received a standing ovation with her debut performance with the Michigan Pops Orchestra.

The night featured soloists Kevin Starnes, who shook the jungle with his silky baritone rendition of “Bare Necessities,” and Allison Prost and Michael Floriano as they took on the classic love duet, “All I Ask Of You.”

It wouldn’t be a Pops concert without a hilarious video narrative and a trivia game. This time we followed the story of a princess, stand partners, and the inferior Harvard Pops Orchestra as music director Rotem Weinberg read the story of the PrinPop Bride from “Scheherazade” for a sick boy. The battle of the bookworm consisted of naming a classic book based on amusing summaries (my favorite was “teenage boy fights noseless alum”).

Overall, it was a pretty standard Pops concert, which means it was phenomenal, full of the usual amount of laughter and engagement and amazing music you find at a Pops concert. I can’t wait to see what the Michigan Pops Orchestra has to present next year!