Category: Music

REVIEW: Bang, Click, and Falala

Kayla Silverstein

Last night, I went to an outstanding benefit show for Appreciate + Reciprocate, a group of scholarship students who work to raise money to provide more scholarships to those in disadvantaged positions. The performance involved four groups and lasted a very appropriately-designated hour. GROOVE, RhythM Tap ensemble, 58 Greene, and the Harmonettes joined forces to put on a truly awesome display of passion, music, and energy that was well worth my $7.

First of all, let me just say I am the biggest fan of GROOVE there is. Okay, no, I’m sure there are greater fanatics than I, but seriously, GROOVE is the best thing ever. And I’ve seen STOMP, a similar world-renown group that makes instruments out of garbage cans and broom sticks, but GROOVE brings that youthful energy I think STOMP greatly lacks. They left me on the edge of my seat, wanting more after their three or four songs were over. I’m so there for their spring concert.

I’d never seen and/or heard of the group RhythM Tap ensemble, so seeing them for the first time was really awesome. They’re synchronization and athletic abilities were a marvel. I’m totally going to keep an eye out for their future performances.

58 Greene. Why did you choose those songs? Some oldies mixed with who knows what; honestly, I love the a cappella groups on campus and I am a huge fan, over all, of 58 Green and they’re work. However, this performance was simply not their best. I’m sure their concert will be better, and maybe it was just a weird staging, but I was not a big fan of their work last night.

The Harmonettes, on the other hand, were a huge success. I would say that it was one of their best performances I’ve seen. The soloists were talented, but not overbearing, and the song choices were fun, upbeat, and varied enough to hold my attention.

Wintry Mix was a huge success and I’m so proud of my friend who worked diligently to put on the show. The LSA Emergency Student Aid Fund is such an outstanding cause, working to “pay forward” the due respects they’ve earned through their scholarships to attend the University of Michigan. I’ll be sure to look out for any other future events of theirs.

PREVIEW: Wintry Mix by Appreciate and Reciprocate

Kayla Silverstein

Hello friends, nothing to do this Friday night? At 8pm, come support a wonderfully musical presentation featuring multiple groups on campus sponsored by the group Appreciate and Reciprocate. Appreciate and Reciprocate is “a community of Michigan scholarship students devoted to enriching the cycle of giving from which they’ve benefitted” (www.umichappreciate.org). With a sort of “pay it forward” mentality, they work to raise money for the LSA Emergency Student Aid Fund to help Michigan students stay enrolled after experiencing unexpected and difficult circumstances. One of my close friends is part of Appreciate and Reciprocate, and she ensures me that this event is going to be a ton of fun. So come out, enjoy, and support a great cause helping out your fellow students.

Tickets are between $7/$8 and its 8pm-9pm on January 27th. Location TBA – see website later in the week.

PREVIEW: WCBN LIVE

nina.j

University of Michigan’s student radio station is broadcasting a live performance!

Here are the basics:

Woody Goss, Julian Allen, Katie Battistoni– Wednesday, January 18– 8 pm– Work Gallery (306 S.State)– FREE entry!

Here are the details:
WCBN DJ’s Bennett Stein, Cory Levinson, Eleanor Dumouchel, and Shelley Salant present a live musical performance. Details from the WCBN website site describe the event as thus:

“Woody Goss makes a live soundtrack to projected footage from the 2001 film Winged Migration, a documentary showing the migration patterns of birds the world over. Then Woody will be joined by Julian Allen on drums and Katie Battistoni on electric guitar to play songs. All three musicians went through the jazz program at U of M. Katie’s playing is dedicated to the marriage of her twin sister, Julian is playing for what’s left of his innocence, and Woody is playing to world premiere his new secret technique. A magical gathering, indeed!”

Before Wednesday, be sure to check out the Facebook event. Oh, and apparently there will be free WCBN 40th Anniversary Coffee from the Ugly Mug. Can’t miss that!

Keep your eyes open for another upcoming Live WCBN Event at Work Gallery next week:

Living Writers with T. Hetzel–LIVE wsg Zell Distinguished Poet in Residence Naomi Shihab Nye– Wednesday January 25– 8pm– Work Gallery (306 S. State)– FREE entry!

See you there!

Review: Little Women, Big Hearts

Danny Fob

This Friday I got out of work very frustrated and ready to go to bed, but then I walked into Arthur Miller Theater to see the Department of Musical Theatre Studio Production’s Little Women the Musical. As soon as the show started it was like I was taken back to my own childhood as we explored the adventures of the young protagonist Jo March. Her family, consisting of her mother, her three sisters, her father away at war, and the later addition of their friend Laurie, went through both hardship and joy as Jo grows up with a dream of writing. This story is famous and is a piece of classic American literature. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, has inspired and

moved millions of Americans and has led to the production of a movie, a musical, an opera, and a play. It is such a beautiful story and it always gets to me (I saw the opera last year) because I also have three siblings and I often feel like it is the four of us up on stage. Anyway, enough about yours truly.

The show! The music is original, magnificent, and fun. A large portion of the story takes place in Jo’s childhood, and the music reflects that perfectly. It is bouncy, fun, and sort of quirky sometimes like Jo herself. The lyrics are also cleverly written to reflect the youth and innocence so important to the story. All the actors carry out the scenes of adolescence so well. The funniest things happen and they dance around like mad, but they never break character. But of course, they are fantastic. For those who often visit the campus musical theater scene, these actors are locally renowned for great performances and you may recognize their names; Jane Bruce as Jo, Trevor St. John-Gilbert as Professor Bhaer, Ali Gordon, Samantha Massell and Paige Silvester as the sisters, Katherine Thomas as Marmee, and Harry Katzman as Mr. Lawrence (Full Cast). I preferred this version of the show to the opera, but I have a feeling that the reason is because the musical is a little more cheerful. I remember that the opera seemed really depressing and a little slow, whereas this one seemed to moved faster and, though it was sad, it didn’t leave me sad the entire night. I just cried the whole second act with a friend of mine. No big deal.

I was also excited to finally go the Arthur Miller theater. Last time I went there was for freshmen orientation! I enjoyed the set design of the show, being very open with few props. The set allowed for multiple entrances, giving it a much more interactive feel. The audience was also right next to the stage and the theater donates an almost Shakespearian theater style, taking place right among the viewers.

Although this is my not my favorite musical, I did enjoy it very much and I was so glad to go out and support all of the wonderful performers, especially since it will be my last time seeing many of them. This will also be my last art[seen] post for seven months! That’s right folks! I’m studying abroad this winter in Italy at the University of Bologna! Luckily for me, Italian is my major, which means studying abroad is basically required. But don’t worry. If you will miss me, you can see my blog posts every week because I’m moving over to arts, ink. for the semester as an ambassador abroad! So if you are looking for me online, just check out my weekly blog on the arts, ink. website. I’ll be writing about art in Italy, which obviously isn’t that hard to find.

I hope you are all worker harder than I am on exams, because I know I need to crack down. So with that, I begin yet another paper and I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. Here’s to a new year and a new country!

Sending you love and light,

Danny Fob

(Coffee is on me if you can name the show that my sign off is from!)

Seriously, read my blog at arts, ink.!

REVIEW: Little Women the Musical

Kayla Silverstein

Speaking as someone who knows Little Women the Musical, as in memorized the soundtrack, researched the musical history, and followed the actors who have played the roles in the show, the performance of the students of the Musical Theatre department fit the way I’d imagined the show nearly perfectly. It was actually a little spooky how well cast everyone was to their characters:

Jo March, played by Jane Bruce, was absolutely perfect. Quirky, lively, and strong, she played Jo March with perfection. In many incidences throughout the play, I was brought to tears by her emotional and heart-warming vocal performance and gut-wrenchingly truthful interpretation of the character.

Furthermore, the character of Marmee March, the mother of the March sisters, by Katherine Thomas, was equally as impressive. One of my favorite songs of the show is “Days of Plenty,” where Marmee urges Jo to have faith that the death of her sister Beth is not completely in vain, encouraging, “You have to believe, there is reason for hope.” She performed it beautifully and did not disappoint.

All of the characters had amazing chemistry. Laurie, played by Joel Sparks, was dorky, adorable, and lovable. He fit the role perfectly, but in a different way than I’d previously imagined his character. It was for the better, I’d say, that Laurie’s character wasn’t the dashingly handsome hero who won Amy March’s heart but brought the audience to tears when he didn’t end up with his best friend Jo. I felt his interpretation of Laurie was fitting in that you saw, even from the beginning, that Laurie and Jo would never last together, at least on Jo’s end. I think the chemistry between Laurie and Amy overpowered any feelings of disappointment that anyone felt for the lack of union between Laurie and Jo.

The role of Professor Bhaer, played by Trevor St. John Gilbert, was equally as ideal. I felt he really understood how he and Jo fell in love: amongst bickering, arguments, but in the end, beneath a shared, “Small Umbrella in the Rain.”

Even the opening scene was magnificent. They had all the characters flying through the stage, ascending and descending from all sides, and moving set pieces with ease and distinguished flair. I saw the entire play as a story, seen through Jo’s eyes, set in the magical attic of the March household. Perfection.

This musical was tremendous and the entire cast did such a fantastic job. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see this play performed (finally!!!) and I can now put a proper backdrop behind my favored and well-loved Little Women soundtrack.

Preview: Little Women, the Musical?

Danny Fob

Last year I was blown away by the fact that Little Women was turned into an opera, but I went and thought it was fantastic. So when I heard that the musical was being put on this year, I had to go! Maybe next they’ll do the play…or I could read the book! But who has time for that? Maybe one day,

since it is a piece of classical American literature and all. The musical, inspired of course by Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women, is being put on this weekend by the Department of Musical Theatre Studio Production. The story of these four sisters and the trials they go through is sure to be a night to remember and I hope that the music by Jason Howland and the lyrics by Mindi Dickstein will be as memorable for me as that of Bare, which I reviewed last weekend. Maybe I’ll be listening to and singing Little Women for a week too!

This will be a welcome break right before exam week (which most of us will refer to as Hell Week) and I hope you can go out to a show or do something to relieve some of that built up stressing out. I promise, the sound of beautiful voices coming out of some of the sexiest people on campus really does things for the soul. You won’t be let down, because in musical theater, I don’t even think that is possible (unless you’re one of those Sondheim fans that hate everything that he didn’t write).

So here are the details, I know it sucks to have to read through some crazy guy’s thoughts all the time, so here it is laid out ;

What: Little Women the Musical

When:
Thursday 12/8 @ 7:30pm
Friday 12/9 @ 8:00pm
Saturday 12/10 @ 2:00pm
Saturday 12/10 @ 8:00pm
Sunday 12/11 @ 2:00pm

Where: Arthur Miller Theater on North Campus (it’s a great theater, worth the commute)

How much: Student rush $10 BUT HURRY! They’re going fast! They are nearly sold out!

With that, I sign off. Get back to studying!

Sending you love and light,

Danny Fob

(Coffee is on me if you can name the show that my sign off is from!)

P.S. I actually LOVE Sondheim, I’m just not all hipster about him.