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The Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase hosts its Comedy Jamm night every Wednesday at 8 p.m. For only $5 you can see 12 up-and-coming comedians perform live, most from the Detroit area but others are from various places all over the country. I’ve been once before, and I am looking forward to going again and writing a review for all of you! The one show I attended was pretty interesting–one comedian actually cussed out the crowd and stormed off of the stage because no one was laughing at her jokes! Never a dull moment. Even if the jokes aren’t funny, you can still have a good laugh! Especially if you’ve never had the chance to go to the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, you should definitely check out Comedy Jamm on Wednesday night, if not this week, then sometime in the weeks to come. It certainly makes for a cheap, fun night out on the town, and a great way to de-stress on a Wednesday night! Hope to see you there!

Upon attending Musket’s production of Caberet Saturday night, I had no idea what to expect. I knew the title song “Caberet” from an old recording I have on a Broadway Classics CD I bought at a used bookstore. I always thought it was cheerful and upbeat, and, logically, I presumed the musical itself would be just as light, fun, and energetic as the title song I knew it by.

Umm…not quite.

Caberet tells the story of Berlin at a dangerously turbulent time in Germany, directly before Hitler comes into power. It is a heart-wrenching story with multiple layers enshrouded by the rising influence of the Hitler youth. Two of the plot lines include an affair between an American writer and a British dancer and a tentative engagement between a landlady and one of her Jewish residents. It is the most moving and thought-provoking musical I’ve seen since Spring Awakening (a musical about teenagers trying to handle the new changes in their minds and bodies; also set in Germany, coincidentally).

The star of the evening was by far Connor Ryan, a sophomore Musical Theatre major, playing his “dream role” as Emcee. If you’ve never seen Cabaret before, Emcee is the caricatured narrator who directs the audience as the story unfolds. Ryan’s body language, expressions, and singing voice, of course, were positively magnificent. My friends and I were heatedly discussing the show afterwards, and we realized that there were times when Emcee would say something like “Life is beautiful,” but you’d know he didn’t really believe that. We were left wondering – how do we know he doesn’t think that? It was possibly the best role played by a student performer that I’ve ever seen.

That’s the other crazy part of this performance: it was entirely student directed and performed! Even the music director is only a junior Musical Theatre major! Musket is a student-run organization and their performances are always amazing. Last year, I had the opportunity to see both of their musicals (they do two a year), and they were both equally as well done. I think Caberet was the first time I’d seen them do such a deeply moving show, and they pulled it off with the ease of a professional theatre company.

After the performance, I went back to my room and was reading through the director’s note in the program. I think he sums up the essence of the musical quite well. I hope all of you get a chance to see Caberet performed because it is truly a remarkable show:

“With Cabaret, you get a chance to see how human beings survive in an increasingly evil, decadent society. It serves as a warning to those who would rather sleep in a dream of complacency, ignorant to the injustice around them and helpless to the powers above them instead of face their demons head on and do their part to make a change before it is too late.” – Roman Micevic, Director’s Note

This weekend the UM School of Music, Theatre, and Dance is holding their BFA Dance Concert: Questioning Perceptions. The performance features original choreography by Daniela Blechner, Andrea Davis, Rachele Donofrio and Collen Shaughnessy, and will be held tonight (Nov. 18) and tomorrow night (Nov. 19) at 8 p.m. at the Betty Pease Studio Theatre, by the CCRB. Tickets are only $5 and go on sale at 7 p.m. before the show.

Where do I even begin to review this performance? I am actually at a loss for words. I was so pleasantly surprised last night at the Katie Herzig performance at The Blind Pig. Prior to the concert I had only heard one or two of her songs. I expected her to be a poppy solo artist, a chick with a guitar playing upbeat love songs all night, which would have been enjoyable, but what I saw was so much better!

Katie had a full band, and an extremely multi-talented one at that. They used instruments that you would rarely see in a live performance. She had a cellist, who also occasionally played the keyboard, a guitarist who also played the accordion, ukulele, french horn, and xylophone, a keyboardist, drummer, and bassist. It was really cool to see the musicians move between instruments with such ease. They clearly knew their music inside and out, and fully immersed themselves into the performance. They were completely comfortable onstage–it often felt like we were watching a private jam session rather than a concert, like we were all just hanging out and playing music. They really seemed to enjoy themselves, and so did the audience. They had energy, but more pronounced than that, they had heart. I felt that they were completely comfortable and open to sharing the best of their art with the audience.

Katie Herzig’s style is very unique. She has some poppy, upbeat love songs, like “Forevermore”, but even these have a unique sound, due to the variety of instruments used and the delicate, folky sound to her voice. Then she has fuller, more epic, rock/electronic songs, like “Lost and Found”, which was actually played in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Throughout the variability in the style of her music, her ethereal voice runs through, connecting her songs to create one genuinely unique artist.

Here’s a great example of Katie Herzig live (thought it still doesn’t compare to being there!)– a video someone took at one of her other concerts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eveegew3-Co