The Drowsy Chaperone is literally a musical within a comedy, as the poster states. It is a hilarious story about the chaotic events occurring before a wedding. I had the pleasure of performing in this musical a year ago and it was honestly one of my favorites. The show is so light and fun, and is bound to make you fall out of your seat laughing at one point or another.
U of M’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance is putting on this wonderful production and I am beyond excited to see it tonight! The music is so much fun and the story is extremely loveable. Later, I will be posting a more in-depth summary of the show with my review.
Shows run October 13-16 and October 20-23. Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm.
Layla and Majnun is an “opera” based on a Persian poem about lovers who will never be allowed to unite. Alim Qasinov and Fargana Qasimova, singers from Azerbaijan, will be showcasing their majestic voices accompanied by the Silk Road Ensemble and Mark Morris Dance Group as they tell this emotional story.
Just looking at the photos and sneak-peek videos make me happy. There are so many colors, emotions, movements, and art.
Photo by Susana Miller
Layla and Majnun, to me, seems like the epitome of performing arts: a skillful combination of poetry, dances, fashion design, visual art, and of course, music — both improvised and composed. And that’s what excites me about it. Collaboration among different art forms is something that I’m striving to achieve in my final year of undergraduate degrees, and I can’t think of a better example than Layla and Majnun.
The show will be on Thursday October 13 at 7:30pm, and Friday & Saturday October 14 & 15 at 8pm. Tickets are running out, so get yours ASAP from the Michigan League Ticket Office or ums.org/students.
One of the many wonderful things about new technology is that it can lead to entirely new genres of art. Performance animation is one of those genres.
First, we were introduced to two blank screens. Then, a flash of light and color as animated landscapes splashed across the screens. A silhouette stepped into view, and we watched it interact with the buildings and plants and animals that appeared. At times the message was a clear narrative, while at others it was more of a series of dreams transposed on top of one another. If that makes the show sound trippy in any way, then good, because it absolutely was trippy.
Miwa Matreyek is a multi-talented artist currently on tour performing the two pieces that formed this week’s Penny Stamps event. “This World Made Itself” seemed to be more of a love story, although love was by no means the only theme. The juxtaposition of her gigantic form with a city skyline, and her interaction with a tiny animated figure, had strong allusions to King Kong.
Her second piece, “Myth + Infrastructure,” dealt with the biggest themes possible: the birth and death of the world, modernization, death, life, and the interaction of mankind with the natural world.
Time and again we watched Miwa swirl through bodies of water, capture and free flying insects, blend in and become one with the Earth.
Several times it was like a magic show. The audience and I reacted with awe when Miwa sprouted wings out of thin air and her arm melted away into a swarm of white petals. “How did she do that?!” the people next to me exclaimed as they recorded the performance for their Snapchat stories. I wondered the same thing as I too recorded a clip for my story.
Shows like this are rare opportunities, and I strongly encourage you to see the show in Ypsilanti on Friday, October 7 if you can.
You can get a small taste of the performance in this TED video here.
Sunday evening at Michigan Theater there was a screening of the National Theater Live presenting Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”. One of Shakespeare’s comedies, Polly Findlay directed a dynamic, innovative, and truly enjoyable rendition of this classic, supported by a talented cast.
Rosalie Craig as Rosalind (Photo Credit: Johan Persson)
Rosalie Craig starred in the title role of Rosalind (funny how that worked out) and was by turns both a woman seeking to be free and a humorous youth; showcasing not just her stunning versatility but also the full depth of Rosalind’s character. Craig and Patsy Ferran, who played the subtler Celia, had an intimate and pure friendship that really was the heart of the show. While Celia deciding to run away to the forest with Rosalind is always a pivotal scene of the show, the humor and devotion each imbued their characters with made Celia’s declaration one of my favorite moments. Ferran’s Celia found amusement at every turn and her loyalty was so admirable that one didn’t wonder how Oliver fell in love with her at a glance.
Orlando was played by Joe Bannister, who was awkward, earnest, and adorably well meaning. Orlando always comes off the less strong minded in comparison to Rosalind (especially Craig’s energetic performance), but the quirky sweetness of Bannister’s Orlando complimented his franker counterpart. He made me love him as much as
Rosalind (Rosalie Craig) and Orlando (Joe Bannister) (Photo Credit: Johan Persson)
Rosalind.
Fra Fee, who studied at the Royal Academy of Music, played Amiens and could he sing! “As You Like It” has lyrics written into it, but with Fee at the head they expanded this aspect of the show. His performance was stunning and he just about stopped the show with his powerhouse voice; the only thing that came close to dropping the audience’s jaws more was the spectacular scene change as the characters entered the forest.
Paul Chahidi as Jaques and Fra Fee as Amiens with other exiled lords (Photo Credit: Johan Persson)
While the show started in a corporate office setting, equating the royalty of Shakespeare’s time to today’s big business tycoons, once the daughters decide (or are exiled) to leave, the office started to rise. It began with the ceiling which rose, and then took everything with it: chairs, lamps, and desks were strung together, as the carpet pulled back to reveal a forest floor. And the forest’s trees were the office setting itself. The lighting then created dappling through this modern industrialized forest, reminding audience members simultaneously of nature and standing on the edge of civilization, the place where nature and city meet. In the “trees” ensemble member sat in chairs, often suspended over the stage, and made the sounds of the forests. It was a really neat touch and added an air of authenticity. Not only were actors birds, but during the scene where the Touchstone and Corin are discussing their differing views, the rest of the cast came on as the sheep of Corin’s flock. Dressed in khakis and white wool sweaters, crawling on their knees, it was so funny to watch as these two characters debated. This scene is just one example of a series of great creatively innovative moments that characterized this production, making for a wonderful evening!
Saturday, March 26th is the first ever University of Michigan Improv Festival! Organized by UofM’s very own groups of hilarity: Funny or Die, ComCo, and Midnight Book Club. In addition to performing themselves, these comedians have brought in other outside artists. Check out the full line-up in this video posted on the Festival’s Facebook Event page:
There is a show at 6 pm and 9 pm; yes, there are TWO shows! Really want to avoid your homework? See both and get twice the laughs, plus each performance features different groups. But, RSVP to reserve your seat. Visit their Facebook Pageto RSVP by noon on Saturday. Not a planner? No problem! Doors open to the public, those who did not reserve seats, at 5:45 pm for the first show and 8:45 for the second show. Reserved seat or not this event is totally FREE!
I’m so excited for this festival and can’t believe UofM hasn’t had one before now! It’s a chance to see our local on-campus talent and that of other universities all in one place. Without ever having to actually leave campus! It should be a great show and the first of many improv festivals!
Sunday evening in the Keene Theater RC drama students performed 8 of David Ives’ popular farces. It was a joint production with the course RC HUMS 482 providing the directors and RC HUMS 281 suppling the actors. The Ives collaboration has become an annual tradition and if all the years are like Sunday night’s energetic and witty performance it should definitely be continued.
The production opened with Ives’ Mere Mortals, during which 3 construction workers take their lunch break. In addition to having convincing New Jersey accents, the actors had a group chemistry that made the scene both believable and entertaining. The entire farce took place almost stationary as they never moved from where they were sitting, despite the fact that during the course of the conversation one person declared themselves to be the lost Lindbergh baby and another to be the czar of Russia. Minute changes of body position and tone of voice were the only physical indicators of a change in attitude or emotion. The simplicity of the setting made Mere Mortals one of my favorite because it let the words and actors speak the message without any overt distraction.
In both The Philadelphia and Sure Thing, I felt the believability and chemistry between the actors, that was so prevalent in the first piece, was missing at times. I enjoyed The Philadelphia for its unique idea that metaphysical states of being have equivalents with places, such as Cleveland being like death and in a philadelphia you never get what you want. But the two friends in the piece lacked a closeness in their interactions and the play missed a chance to increase the natural humor in the play.
I had a similar experience while watching Sure Thing. The two characters have a chance meeting and their conversation repeats itself whenever they hit a dead end- where normally their relationship would be stopped from developing. Each conversation restart is marked by the ding of a bell, so everyone knows the conversation is going back a bit. But they are both given a second chance. It is all in the timing and the word choice of each character. In this way the concept is really interesting and it was extremely entertaining to watch them repeat the same line until the other responded with an acceptable answer. It is the way we all wish we could meet people, with the guarantee its a sure thing. They did a very good job of jumping back and forth whenever they had to rewind and restart the last section of their conversation It was fast paced and snappy. But I missed the chemistry that could have been between them; true, they were playing strangers meeting for the first time but even as they got to know each other better, with many restarts, I did not believe the build up that finally led to them liking each other.
Another one of my favorites was Moby-Dude: Or, The Three Minute Whale. A solo farce, Mardheanna Md Yasin was animated and energetically dynamic in her performance. It was three minutes of her talking and accounting, in the stereotype of a surfer dude’s laid back manner, the tale of Moby-Dick. She stumbled a few times with the words in the middle but it was a very long piece and she recovered quickly. Her rendition was a highlight of the show.
There were three other pieces, each just as much fun as the others. The Universal Language was a riot of known and unknown languages, ultimately ending on an optimistic note for a global community which was portrayed by two dedicated and comedic actors. Honestly, I didn’t quite get Variations on the Death of Trotsky though the actors capitalized on the humorous moments with great effect and made it enjoyably entertaining all the same. The production ended with Time Flies which is a close up on the brief life of a mayfly. The actors had a familiar chemistry and were not afraid to embrace the awkward moments in the play but instead made the show all the more humorous for their fearless representation. Overall, “BEWARE the Ives of March” was an evening of good theater and good laughs that ensures I’ll be back for more farces by Ives next March!
