It’s February, which means it’s Oscar season! As the best of the best films and media are picked out, catch the nominated shorts at the Michigan Theater this week to see which animated short speaks to you. Opening today, they’re only showing for a limited time, so pick up a Passport to the Arts to see this selection of shorts for free!
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: NT Live: Hamlet
“Hamlet,” written almost 400 years ago, is a timeless piece of work by Shakespeare, performed thousands of times with hundreds of different Hamlets. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the lead character in the National Theatre Live 2015 production of this play, and the Michigan Theater played two showings of this performance. I didn’t know I needed Benedict Cumberbatch to be Hamlet until I saw this production. Cumberbatch nailed Hamlet’s anguished soliloquies and acts of madness with great humor and delivered his lines with great position. When he pretends to be mad when confronted by Polonius and dresses up at a giant toy soldier, he humorously tiptoes across the line of sanity, something he seems to cross by the end of the play.
Horatio, dressed in a simple flannel and a simple backpack, offered a simple alternative to Hamlet and the life in the palace, just as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern returned from his childhood as colorful characters. Polonius, the ever-verbose lord, rattled off his lines with such breathlessness that makes his pompous character memorable. Ophelia’s presence onstage seemed brief and disjointed, just as the constant presence of her camera and her love for photography was a detail seemingly overplayed with little significance.
The stunning of the visuals of the blue-lit stage set the mood beautifully, providing a foreboding edge to this great tragedy. The bursts of intense sounds and quick scene changes adds to the disorienting sense from the scene. Though the play ran for 3 hours and 20 minutes, the performance honestly flew by. No one seemed bored or restless, completely captivated by this once-live performance that grandly executed one of Shakespeare’s greats.
REVIEW: Paved with Good Intentions
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” And from what it looks like, the foreseeable future that’s changing along with the climate is that hell. Artist David Opdyke’s exhibition changes the way you see the world and the bigger picture, both literally and figuratively.
His politically-charged art attempts to stir something in you, something nostalgic yet foreign. By creating a feeling of longing for the past and reaching for the future, he grounds you in the present. There is a sense of chaotic unity in the gridded mural landscape. It alleviates the gravity of climate change through its absurd humor while leading us through an anxious journey that some people wouldn’t be able to go through by themselves. The postcards create a personal relationship with the viewer, using scenes and landscapes we may recognize and defacing the postcards with his drawings in a fashion similar to how we deface the actual landscape.
“Paved with Good Intentions” utilizes different levels of intimacy. The installation works both from a distance and up close, and the intricacy of the details pulls you in, requiring you to step closer and look at every single postcard before stepping back out to see the whole picture. This work requires more time than you think it would take to look at everything, precisely because of how much there is to see. Every postcard is interconnected, from the tornado to the fire to the flying frogs, putting a global layer to something so local. The accompanying animation of his postcards uses a slapstick humor inspired from Monty Python’s “Flying Circus.” It uses a different media to convey the same message in a more animistic way.
The world is too big to quantify and the enormity of the climate change crisis is too large to fully encapsulate, but David Opdyke tackles it through something as simple and recognizable and approachable as postcards. Set aside some time to stop by the Institute for the Humanities to experience this humorously serious exhibition through February 26.
REVIEW: Folk Fest
What is folk? After attending the first night of the 42nd Annual Folk Festival, my definition and understanding of this genre of music has both expanded and blurred. Folk isn’t just banjos and mandolins with a Southern drawl. It is so much more, and Folk Fest is the perfect venue to show just how diverse and magical folk music can be.
Peter Mulvey was the MC for the night, offering his music in between sets, along with Ford car giveaways and a little story called “Vlad the Astrophysicist,” which he performed, partly by reading from the illustrated children’s book but mostly as a memorized spoken word piece that took you through an existential crisis of time and the universe. Who knew Folk Fest was going to get this deep?
As the first act, Michigan Rattlers started off the night, the three-member band getting the audience excited with its folk-rock set. Sam Lewis gave us the clapping song we all craved for the night. Parsonsfield was a very talented band featuring an exciting variety of instruments, including the mandolin and harmonica.
One of my favorite performers was Haley Heynderickx, a very calm and sweet soul with a gentle yet mystifying sound. She said, “If someone is scared of bugs and you collect them, this song is about you. Everything else has already been written.” Her sing-along song, “Oom Sha La La,” was so soothing and unique, I’m now looking forward to seeing her back at The Ark in March.
After the intermission, a dim blue light illuminated the stage for Gregory Alan Isakov, setting the stage for the thundering music that was to come. Just as Peter Mulvey said in his introduction, there’s an immense stillness through his music. Bright globes matched the songs about space that moved you through time and the universe, all from a seat in Hill Auditorium.
Finally, the headliner brought the audience to their feet as she closed out a night of amazing folk music in style. Brandi Carlile is the most Grammy-nominated female artist this year with six nominations, including best album of the year.Alternating between guitars and the piano, her songs about life, love, and motherhood brought the emotions and power we all love her for.
Folk Fest was a phenomenal night filled with the best folk music around. Catch the second night tonight, or come back next year for the 43rd Ann Arbor Folk Festival that will definitely revolutionize how you engage with folk music and its deep and powerful meanings.
PREVIEW: NT Live: Hamlet
“To be, or not to be, that is the question.” These iconic lines from the classic Shakespeare play are going to echo through the Michigan Theater as it shows the National Theatre 2015 broadcast of Hamlet. Catch the stunning Benedict Cumberbatch as the title prince struggling to keep his sanity while protecting his country. The production plays on Sunday, January 27 at 7pm, and tickets can be bought at the League Ticket Office for $12 with a student ID.
REVIEW: Cory Wong
On his latest tour, Cory Wong returned to Vulfpeck’s Ann Arbor home, playing to a sold-out crowd at The Blind Pig.
Emily C. Browning opened the stage. From New Zealand, her Spotify page says her music is intended as “an electric experience that you won’t know you were looking for until you hear it,” and that is exactly what we got. With a unique mix of jazz, soul, and funk, Emily’s style was refreshing and entertaining, and her own guitar skills were something of marvel. Starting her set with a couple covers and original songs that set the vibe for Cory Wong, his band came out and joined her for a couple more rocking songs before Cory Wong himself came onstage. The chemistry between Cory and Emily resulted in a phenomenal soundscape that had everyone swaying and jamming.
After a little break, Cory Wong and his band came back out, rocking some team athletic gear. Along with many, unbelievable guitar riffs, Cory put on a performance in between songs with a number of jokes that required crazy setups. He also emphasized his need to sell merch, playing several clips throughout the show. As the “millennial ambassador to smooth jazz,” he certainly infused an appreciation for smooth jazz and funk with his incredible songs and technique. Watching his extraordinary right hand picking technique in person was surreal, an impressive skill unrivaled by any other guitarist.
For a wonderful surprise, Vulfpeck’s singing guitarist, drummer, and syncopation master Theo Katzman joined Cory onstage for a funky collaboration. As Emily C. Browning came onstage again to close out the set with Cory, probably the best people that joined Cory’s performance were the two green inflatable tube men that summed up Cory’s personality, music, and stage presence.
The crowd was jamming the entire night, getting excited at the immense talent that Cory Wong and everyone in his band, particularly the drummer, brought to the stage. The excitement surrounding Cory Wong and his reputation as a guitarist is not one to be understated, and the electric funk energy that he brings is certainly contagious in the best of ways.
