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: Haley Heynderickx

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On March 29, 2019, two magnificent women from Portland took over The Ark, capturing the night with their unique sounds and instrumentation for a night of pure and magical music.

Lily Breshears, who usually tours with Haley Heynderickx in her band as the bassist and keyboardist, took the stage first with her synth, a harp (a rental, in replacement of her harp back home named Spreadsheet), and a mic. She opened with a song about the dysfunctional long distance relationship, but later countered it with her hymn about relationships that are so good, it makes you forget all the pain, or be thankful for it because it led to the present. Her song, “Pick Up Game,” combined basketball references and pick-up lines, and she ended with “Wet Plastic,” which should honestly be the anthem for the #MeToo movement. Breshears’s voice and her harp weaved together harmoniously, setting the stage with her stunning musical aura for her good friend to follow.

After a short break, the most charismatic and comedic musician came out to mesmerize her fans with her Portland accent. After some tuning, Haley Heynderickx first performed a song with Breshears to ease into her own solo show, though she summoned Breshears back to the harp for two more songs later in the set. Heynderickx captivated us with her songs from her “I Need To Start a Garden” album. From priest-like praying mantises and successful exes to the wonderful mantra “Oom Sha La La,” Heynderickx’s music combines the emotionally poignant with the humorously absurd, creating music that is both thought-provoking and meaningful. Her guitar techniques were truly mindblowing, and the strumming, plucking, and melodies complemented her voice perfectly. Heynderickx also performed some covers and even threw some impersonations in there. For her encore, she treated us to some new songs in the works, giving us a little teaser to be excited about for the future.

Heynderickx’s music features some of the most underrated, beautiful, and meditative singing and lyrics, and seeing her perform live, with her nerves and all, made for one of the best concerts I’ve been to. The two musicians’ personalities and styles fitted together perfectly, their gentle and soft-spoken manner drawing us in to listen carefully to the stories they are telling, making their musical styles even more compelling.

PREVIEW: 21 Chump Street

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If you’re a fan of 21 Jump Street and Lin-Manuel Miranda, this mini musical is for you. Even better, it’s only 15 minutes long, so even if you’re drowning in midterms and papers and stress, you can make the time for this refreshing and entertaining break. There’s love, drugs, and deceptions…think 21 Jump Street set to music and shortened. This free Room 6 Productions is taking place on Sunday, March 31 at 8pm in the Keene Theater in East Quad.

REVIEW: Legally Blonde

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Legally Blonde is the story of positivity, hard work, and feminism, embodied by the great and legendary Elle Woods. MUSKET’s performance elevated this musical to stunning heights, full of laughter and empowerment and the best talent on campus.

The musical started out with squealing sorority girls excited about Elle and Warner’s potential engagement. When the fabulous Mika Secada emerged as Elle Woods, she instantly dominated the stage with her pink attire and commanding presence, even after Warner breaks Elle’s heart with his egoistic dreams. Dominic Dorset portrays him as a suave man fit right into Harvard, and Elle studies hard to get in to chase after him, even performing a lovely cheerleading routine sprinkled with law jargon to convince the Harvard men of her capabilities.

Once in Harvard, preppy girl Vivienne Kensington (Mackenzie Mollison) is out for Elle’s blood, but soft and geeky Emmett (Michael Dietz) is there to show her she belongs. Nevada Riley, Kaitlyn Tom, and Ryan Moore made the perfect Greek Chorus, giving Elle the strength and encouragement to be the Elle Woods we all admire.

In the hair salon, we meet Paulette, and Emma Cook’s dialect and hairstyle and outfit rivaled the Paulette in the original movie. Her positivity and energy was contagious, and she dominated the stage as well. One of the biggest stars of the show was Reggie the Campus Corgi, the crowd erupting into applause and cheers as he waddled his way across the stage after Elle helped Paulette win her dog back.

Sydney C. Shepherd played Brooke Wyndham, the accused fitness guru with style and moves. The extraordinary choreography of “Whipped Into Shape” involving synchronized jump roping was really impressive as the cast did a thorough workout to this extremely catchy song. Probably the best part of this number was when Ryan Moore’s jump rope flew out of his hands, and he started jumping up and down with his own unique flair that made it super entertaining to watch.

The vocal power of this cast was extraordinary, especially Secada’s performances. As she danced and marched around in stilettos, she proved how powerful and confident women could be. From fashion icon to winning lawyer, her positive and outgoing mindset helped her succeed, and Secada grabbed this narrative we’re all familiar with and turned it into her own. Vivienne’s unwavering support for Elle after Callahan assaulted her was even more poignant as Mollison sang “legally blonde”, nailing that run over and over again.

The set was simple and beautiful, yet it screamed Elle Woods. The revolving walls brought us between the bright pink walls, the blue salon, and Harvard with effective ease. Once again, the pit’s brilliantly-played music matched Elle Wood’s spirit and gave her an upbeat soundtrack to her life. This all-star cast, from Cook to Mollison to Reggie to Secada, turned this story about a sorority girl turned lawyer into a moving tale about self-empowerment and the importance of believing women. Bruna D’Avila and MUSKET exceeded expectations again with this very pink, very enjoyable, and very powerful musical.

PREVIEW: Haley Heynderickx

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A gentle yet powerful force took the stage of Hill Auditorium for a quick set on the first night of Folk Festival, and now she returns to The Ark for an entire show at the end of March. Haley Heynderickx’s unique voice and lyrics fill the air, her folksy and soulful songs fitting her whimsical personality perfectly. After her strong Folk Fest debut in January, she will take Ann Arbor by storm on March 29 for her show at 8 PM. Students can get a free ticket using a Passport to the Arts voucher.

PREVIEW: Legally Blonde

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Everyone’s favorite Harvard lawyer is coming to the Power Center with MUSKET’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical. The story of our beloved blonde, Elle Woods, has taken the stage all over the country, and Ann Arbor will get to enjoy this fun, upbeat musical and follow her journey of self-discovery on March 22-24. Tickets can be bought at www.ummusket.org or at the MUTO in the League Underground.

REVIEW: Merrily We Roll Along

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Everyone wants success, but at what costs? The storyline of Merrily We Roll Along isn’t anything revolutionary or extraordinary, and the conflicts of the musical are pretty predictable, but the deeper meaning behind the storyline is still profound. Frank Shepard’s desire for money and success ruins the relationships that mean the most to him, and as we see the moments in his life that acted as either subtle pathways or dramatic turning points, we reflect on our youth and hope for a brighter future.

Runyonland Productions took an in-concert approach to this Sondheim musical. Providing a vibrant blast of music onstage, the 12-member orchestra music directed by Brian Rose and conducted by Tyler Driskill brought Sondheim’s score to life. The company’s transition in between the years, the title song “Merrily We Roll Along,” was a catchy melody that conveys the theme of the musical. The entire cast’s performance was pretty spectacular, but if I had to pick just one outstanding number, it would be Emilie Kouatchou’s strong and heartbreaking performance of “Not a Day Goes By,” one of Sondheim’s greatest songs about lost love.

However, all the songs were performed brilliantly, such as Charley’s breakdown on air with “Franklin Shepard, Inc.,” a frantic song with dire consequences. Due to illness, Thomas Laub provided the voice of Charley while Wilson Plonk acted onstage. This unexpected change didn’t deter from the production much, and the performances of both Plonk and Laub are to be applauded. Erica Ito, who played Mary, also sang powerfully and captivated the audience with every note sung and drunken word slurred as she desperately tries to keep her closest friends together.

Liam Allen captured Frank Shepard’s confusion and regret in his later years in a somber way, as well as his selfish vanity and ego in his youth with a relatable aspirational mindset. As he continues to make poor choices that ruin his relationships with his wives and friends, you can see the toll it takes on Frank, who carries less weight on his shoulders with each retrospecting scene.

The very last scenes of the musical captures Frank in his early 20s, an age that many college students can relate to. With a bright-eyed optimism and naive hope, they sing about conquering each day and crafting their lives the way they want. Though the stories of Frank, Charley, and Mary end poorly, “Our Time” is still an anthem of hope for the future. By watching this musical, it is important to recognize that hopes and dreams don’t necessarily evolve in a positively linear path to success. It can be messy, and there may be pain and regrets along the way, but as we can learn from Frank’s life, it’s never too late to take responsibility for your actions and choices, and it’s possible to reach success both professionally and personally without sacrificing one for the other. If there’s one thing to take away from this musical, it’s to never lose sight of what’s important.