Who: Groove
What: Groove presents #TRASHTAG
When: December 6, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Michigan Theater
Cost: $5 for students, $8 for adults. Tickets available at the door.
Groove, campus’s premier percussion group, will be taking the Michigan Theater to a technological and technical level Friday night for their fall show #TRASHTAG. The performers are known for using a variety of surfaces to capture and uniformly create percussion beats. This show will be an opportunity to showcase their talents on a wide scale, and it will be interesting to see how their viral, hashtagged, techy theme plays out.
RSVP to the event on Facebook, visit their official website, or check out some of their performers on their YouTube channel.
A combined UMMGC of alumni and current members sing "The Yellow and Blue" for the 154th Annual Fall Concert finale.
The University of Michigan’s Mens Glee Club filled the walls with sounds of song in Hill Auditorium Saturday, November 24 for their 154th annual Fall Concert. “Songs of Experience and Innocence” featured 10 different sections as listed in the program, with an intermission to let the performers’ voices rest. Conductor Eugene Rogers did an excellent job directing the powerful voices and explaining the theme or messages in pieces that did not have English lyrics. For the audience’s convenience, many selections were embedded into the program with English translations to follow along and make sense as to whatever-the-heck the men were singing. I was pleased to find traditional Russian numbers that I have never been exposed to before through my Russian mother. During the Russian piece “Kalina,” a group of about five members did traditional Nutcracker-like dancing that mustered many hoots and hollers from the audience in awe and appreciation.
Perhaps the coolest part of the night came when members of Dearborn High School’s Glee Club took the stage to perform “Vive L’Amour,” conducted by their director Carmelle Adkins. She described the group as coming together in such a short amount of time to learn and perfect their selections for the concert. Interestingly, over half of the group had no prior singing experience, but that did not detract from their talent. Adkins thanked the UMMGC tremendously for their support of the high school program that connects University Glee Club members with high school students, and for the opportunity and desire instilled into the young men through the collaboration. The Dearborn members sang together with UMMGC members for two selections, including a Caribbean-themed Jamaican Folk Song.
I was suprised to see many percussion instruments and the aid of a pianist on many numbers because when I think of the style of glee music I picture music created entirely through voice. I don’t think the added instruments hindered the peformance, and their aid definitely aided in the overall experience of sitting for two hours intently focusing on the show.
One of my favorite parts of the show was the Friar selections, a subset of eight UMMGC members. They sang two original numbers including a ballad expressing the frustration of not making into the selective Ross Business School to the tune of Les Miserable’s “I Dreamed a Dream.” Equally has hilarious and sticking to the rejection theme was a number about not being selected in the sorority rush process to the tune of “Beauty School Dropout” from Grease.
Nearing the end of the program, Michigan song selections filled out the last of 10 sections for the night. Audiences rallied behind a slower paced version of “The Victors” during “The Varsity and the Victors.” As per tradition, UMMGC alumni members crowded the stage to sing the finale “The Yellow and Blue,” and there were many of them who stood alongside current members.
Even though it was a cold and snowy night, the UMMGC warmed the hearts of many for a beautiful night of song.
At my first ever showing of RENT, I was thoroughly impressed with the singing and dancing the MUSKET performers presented on opening night November 22 at the Power Center for the Performing Arts. As I sat down to take my seat, I noticed there wasn’t any specific stage designs or set-up, just platforms where cast members could climb up and down to sing at an elevated level. The simplistic stage design made me and other audience members intently focus on the music and lyrics throughout the entirety of the show. The one noticeable feature of the stage was Mark and Roger’s (played by Sam Yabrow and Ryan Vasquez) sofa, a raggedy representation of the late 1980s/early 1990s New York City lifestyle they lived in the heart of the city. I thought the decision to keep the stage so minimalist really fared well for the overall production.
As a tale of living through AIDs and poverty and temporary homelessness, RENT’s most touching scene was that for the funeral of Angel (played by Alex Miller) where the crossdesser’s friends told stories about him bringing them together through love. Indeed, the musical’s signature piece “Seasons of Love” captured the essence of that spirit, and the cast members performed it in the most simplistically beautiful way possible, lined up shoulder to shoulder facing the audience.
Seeing the play from a more mature perspective I picked up on themes that my adolescent self had no preconceived notion to pick up on. My favorite song when the play first came out was “Tango Maureen” because I liked the tango melody that oozes through the song. Little did I know it was a tale about how ex-lover Marc and current lover Joanne believe Maureen uses and abuses them and makes them “tango” around her.
Freshman Chani Wereley starred in her role as lost Mimi, where her solo number clad in lingerie and another scene where she shoots up heroin were performed with killer execution. Additionally, ensemble member Kevin Lee provides comic relief to the grim story line, at one point in which he rocks a cow costume. I could go on and on about the hidden laughter and special moments throughout the show, but you really need to see it yourself to appreciate the hard work the cast has put in to this production.
If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s still a performance tonight at 8 p.m. and a matinee show at 2 p.m. tomorrow. Don’t miss out on a fun-filled, musically engaging study break—RENT!
Tickets: $20 for the floor, $18 for the mezzanine, $5 for students or free with a Passport to the Arts (available at Office of New Student Programs in the LSA building)
The University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club will take the stage at Hill Auditorium for their 154th Annual Fall Concert under conductor Eugene Rogers. That’s right folks, 154 years. This highly classy organization will be using their talented voices to create harmonies and melodies for attendees. As an award-winning group, make sure you don’t miss your chance to see the men of glee this Saturday. It’s also a perfect opportunity to spend a little time in acoustically amazing Hill Auditorium, and if that doesn’t convince you enough, the architecture and layout of the place serves as a nice backdrop to get lost in at the same time you’ll be losing yourself to the music.
Visit the Men’s Glee Club official website, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and RSVP to the Facebook event page. Their new album, “Ye Shall Have a Song” is also available for purchase on Amazon, so you can sample a preview of their sound before the show.
When: November 22 and 23 at 8 p.m., November 24 at 2 p.m.
Where: Power Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets: $7 for students, call the Michigan League Ticket Office at 734-764-2538 or visit the box office at the back of the Michigan League.
MUSKET’s fall production of RENT comes to the Power Center this weekend for three shows. As the unversity’s only completely student-run theatre company, the musical will broadcast the talents of students from a variety of schools. I’m super excited for the hit after seeing the movie way back in middle school in 2005.
Visit MUSKET’s official website, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and RSVP to the RENT Facebook event page!
The MMB covers the stage for the 33rd Annual Crisler Concert
The spirit of over 400 Michigan Marching Band members and 300 high school bands students from across Michigan rang throughout Crisler Center on Sunday, November 17 for the 33rd Annual Crisler Concert. With the entire floor filled corner to corner with band members playing season favorites from halftime shows, the entire venue sat back and relaxed for an afternoon filled with beautifully executed band music for a 90-minute bill.
Although the music played was the same tunes we’ve been hearing all season, the show was still a spectacular undertaking. It was not just a concert to be heard, but one to take part in to. The MMB, including the Michigan Dance Team, encouraged audience participation during sing-along tunes like “Sweet Caroline” and “Radioactive,” as well as demonstrating the “I Can’t Turn You Loose” Blues Brothers dance. Crisler’s Jumbotron was used to zoom in on band members and highlight the audience too, and added a neat visual experience to simply just watching the band play in place.
Before the end of the first half, high school marching band members joined the MMB to play alongside them for three pieces. These students attended workshops and sectionals to learn the music and show directions for the concert. With over 700 students on the floor, the sound was the good kind of loud and super impressive. It was noted that many current MMB members played their first time with the MMB as high school students during their Crisler Concert.
During intermission, high school color guards joined the MMB Flags for a visually delightful number to Lady Gaga’s “Applause.” Seeing the myraid of color on the stage, choreographed to the energetic piece, certaintly highlighted the talents these students have when handling the large flags. The Michigan Dance Team also performed two numbers, one a hip hop routine which they will be using in January at a collegiate dance competition. That number was one of my favorites of the non-MMB portion of the program. To round out intermission, the Drumline performed rhythmically well, as they usually do.
I can’t stress enough how talented the MMB members are, and director John Pasquale certainly attested to this before he began the second half, referencing how he can not find anywhere where there are more intellectual and creative people in one group. The second half highlights included MMB’s traditional “Temptation” and “Hawaiian War Chant,” and concluding with “The Victors,” getting everyone out of their seats and cheering for the maize and blue.
If you haven’t been to a Crisler Concert yet, I’d highly recommend it. It’s one of the few times the MMB performs outside of half-time, and you can hear the music much clearer in a contained space than on the open field in the Big House. Kudos, MMB, for putting on such a great show!
