Author: hannahrye

REVIEW: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

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I really had no idea what to expect from this musical.  Before last Saturday, I’d never seen it performed or heard any of the songs.  Perhaps that’s the best way to go to a musical–with a completely open mind.  Let the cast members do what they will with the story.

One of the first things I noticed, before the show even started, was how amazing the set was.  Kudos to whoever designed it and set it up.  The spelling bee was set to take place in a school’s gymnasium, complete with wooden floorboards, crappy metal bleachers, and even a basketball stuck between the hoop and the backboard.  It was perfect.

The musical itself was a delicate balance between hilarious and touching.  Much of it was lighthearted and funny–the definitions and sentences given for each word were my favorite part.  The introductions of each contestant were great, too:  someone was “writing an opera in Braille,”  while another was “kicked off Project Runway for creating that outfit.”  Audience participation was a huge part of the first half, but just because someone was brave enough to go on stage in front of hundreds of people didn’t mean they would get treated gently.  Aside from the Project Runway line, someone was referred to as “Babycrombie and Fitch,” and the last holdout in the spelling competition was given the most difficult words possible, until he failed and left no one on stage but the cast members.  I was really, really glad I hadn’t volunteered!  I just laughed comfortably from my vantage point in the auditorium seating.

I thought there were a couple standout performances (Maddy Trumble, Jordan Harris, Tyler Jones), but the real magic came from how the cast worked with each other.  In a musical that could have easily coasted on the hilarity and quirkiness of the writing, everyone on stage dug a little deeper and found a way to make each character’s story poignant and gripping.  By the time the contestants are whittled down to Olive and William, the audience has felt the loss of each kid that dropped out, and doesn’t quite know who to root for to win it all.  Even so, when one kid does win, all of a sudden it feels like that’s exactly how it should work out and everyone goes home happy.  All in all, I felt like the show did exactly what a show should do:  it was entertaining, and at the same time, it left the audience with some deeper issues to think about on the way home.  If you ever get a chance to see it performed, I highly recommend it!

PREVIEW: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

hannahrye

In the mood for a musical this weekend?  You’re in luck!  MUSKET is presenting The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on March 25-27:  Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm.  All shows will be at the Power Center.  It’s the first time ever that this musical has been produced on campus–we’ve got some really ambitious performers in our midst!  It’s a Tony Award-winning, comical musical about 6 awkward adolescents competing in–you guessed it–a spelling bee, and the stakes are ridiculously high.  The original recording was also nominated for a Grammy.

Tickets are $7 for students, $13 for adults, available at the Michigan League Ticket Office.  It’s not sold out yet, but anything put on by the music school is pretty much guaranteed to be popular–grab a seat, and enjoy!

[V][S][A] Annual Đêm Việt Nam Culture Show 2011

hannahrye

It’s a night of Vietnamese culture.  It’s a night of dancing.  Most of all, it’s a night of great fun.

Saturday, January 29, 2011 was the night of Đêm Việt Nam, VSA’s annual culture show.  It was listed as a 7 pm show, and started promptly at 7:20 pm.  (Which, coincidentally, was exactly when I arrived – don’t try to park on Central when the folk festival is in town!)  This was the fourth Đêm Việt Nam show I’ve attended, and on Saturday night, I was delighted to see all the changes that have taken place since I started going.  I don’t know if it’s because I’m graduating, or if the effort was indeed larger this year, or a combination of both, but this 2011 show felt like a culmination of many years’ worth of work and publicity.

The first thing that struck me was attendance.  While the balcony of the Lydia Mendelssohn theater had been reserved for performers in years past, this year, it was almost full.  (It’s where I was sitting!)  The entire audience felt free to cheer for their friends on stage and converse with the emcees, giving the night a collaborative, comfortable atmosphere.  I could tell how much everyone onstage enjoyed and appreciated the energy from the crowd.

The show itself was bigger and better than ever, too.  One of my favorite segments was a dance that highlighted the way in which the Vietnamese have been influenced by Indian customs.  In a way, the night has always been a study of Vietnamese culture meeting and combining with culture in the United States, examining both the tensions and triumphs of living in a place where people from all over the world live and work side by side.  The addition of the Indian-inspired dance further explored the fluidity of cultures around the world.  The title of the show, “The Way We Are,” was especially fitting in this context.  In this day and age, nothing is static.

Speaking of collaboration, VSA had a lot of help this year:  CSN joined the women from VSA for a beautiful ribbon dance at the beginning of the show, and Element 1 joined in for the hip-hop portion of the evening.  The extra voices made the night even richer.

In addition to the new dances, all the old favorites were present on stage.  The traditional fan dance was energetic and well-choreographed, men and women danced together in Vietnamese garb, and B2Viet returned to showcase their boy band capabilities.  The highlight, as always, was the hip-hop segment, which is only getting longer and more popular as the years progress.  This year, there was even a song dedicated to breakdancing, which was an awesome thing to watch.  A fashion show closed the evening, showing off the traditional dresses that are so beautifully vibrant.  The hour and a half had passed by in a blur of color, music, and camaraderie.

REVIEW: Five Bowls of Oatmeal

hannahrye

On November 22, the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater was filled with existentialist romance novels, epic pinky swears, unicorns, samurai ducks, and, of course, oatmeal.  Thanks to U of M’s MFA Creative Writing Program and 826michigan, as well as several other sponsors, students from schools all around the area got to see their plays come to life on stage.  The evening consisted of four one-act plays, each incorporating a bowl of oatmeal in some way (the last one contained two), and three playwrights’ studios.  Joe Morton, a second-year grad student in the MFA program, hosted discussions with several of the authors – the youngest was 8, and the oldest was 15.  It was a nice spotlight moment for the kids, and a wonderful insight into their active imaginations for those of us in the audience.

Seven professional actors, directed by Jacqui Robbins, portrayed the various characters in the plays.  They were reading scripts (which I thought was a bit odd, since this had been planned for several weeks), but they still did a good job of creating the different personalities on stage.   I’m sure it was exciting for the authors to see their work performed by seasoned professionals.  Personally, though, I wish the plays had been performed by fellow students – while young kids may not have been as technically good as the trained actors, I think the authors’ peers would’ve been even more charming and energetic in those roles.  Even so, the authors’ splendid imaginations and senses of humor were evident in a big way – I was laughing the whole evening.

Much like any other 826michigan fundraiser, this event was creative, off-the-wall, and a lot of fun.  If it happens again, make sure you see it!

PREVIEW: Five Bowls of Oatmeal

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Tonight, at 7:30 pm in the Mendelssohn Theater, you can witness what is probably the most adorable thing to have hit this stage:  five one-act plays written by 11-to-15-year olds, all somehow involving a bowl of oatmeal.  It’s cohosted by the University Department of English Language and Literature and 826michigan, a nonprofit literacy organization for kids ranging from 6 to 18 years of age.  They provide tutoring and writing opportunities for children, and profits from your ticket ($15 for general admission) will benefit these programs.  So come!  Watch the kids!  And bask in the glory of knowing you’re helping them in more ways than one.

REVIEW: Venice Baroque Orchestra

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I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the kind of person who can listen to recordings of classical music and muster up any kind of emotion whatsoever. If I try to use it to improve my concentration while I’m working on something, it only serves to distract me further. That being said, I absolutely love listening to orchestras play live. There is strength and passion in a live performance that never properly transfers into the CD or digital format.

The Venice Baroque Orchestra, who played at Hill Auditorium this past Wednesday night, was no letdown. They played both Vivaldi’s masterpiece The Four Seasons and Philip Glass’ interpretation of The Four Seasons, titled The American Four Seasons. I discovered at the end of the show that Philip Glass was actually in attendance to watch his work performed – he seemed overjoyed and perhaps a little overwhelmed by the group’s talent. The orchestra was a much smaller group than I’m used to seeing, consisting only of eighteen members. The lead violin, Robert McDuffie, also doubled as the conductor. There was no shortage of sound, however – the auditorium was full of their music. Most of the musicians stood for the entire performance (about an hour and a half, total). Although it looked exhausting, I liked the effect this had on the show – the lack of chairs gave the performers more freedom of movement on the stage. Their expressiveness, coupled with the movement of the music, built up the illusion that the performers were in constant, graceful dialogue with each other. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

The collection of instruments was interesting, too. There was a lute being played during the Vivaldi piece – I don’t think I’d ever seen one played outside of a Shakespeare production! That plus the harpsichord added a lot of dimension to the work. In Glass’ piece, they removed the harpsichord and lute, and added a keyboard. My initial reaction when I saw that being set up was trepidation, because I tend to associate keyboards with the ubiquitous synthesized pop music on our radios today. I was afraid the modern instrument would somehow cheapen the sound of the orchestra. As soon as they started playing, however, I was proven wrong. As it turned out, the only part of the concert I didn’t like were the songs in between movements of The American Four Seasons; the second one especially was too repetitive and grating. The movements themselves, though, were well done. It was sometimes hard to hear the relationship between Glass’ work and The Four Seasons, but the last two movements really brought that connection to the forefront. Glass’ music was unmistakably modern, but no less beautiful than Vivaldi’s.