You can never get enough of Shakespeare. I caught a part of a soap the other day at the airport and suddenly it struck me as to how many of the twists were taken straight out of a Shakespearen play. We owe so much to the Bard of Avon- for his immense contributions to the English language, his insight into human nature, his amusing and wise quotes and so much more!
This week, University of Michigan’s Musical Theater Department, presents “All’s well that ends well“. Much as I adore Shakespeare, the play “All’s well that ends well” leaves me a bit unhappy as there are parts of it that I just don’t get.
“All’s well that ends well” is about a lowborn beauty Helena who falls in love with a foppish count, Bertram. Due to a set of circumstances, Bertram ends up marrying Helena but he “hates” her. Bertram lays down certain conditions that need to be fulfilled for Helena to become his true wife and goes out to the battlefield. The rest of the play is about how Helena tricks Bertram into accepting her after fulfilling all his ridiculous conditions.
Well, what I can’t get about this play is why a smart woman would go behind an apparently foolish guy who doesn’t see the value in her? Maybe it was so in Shakespearen times!
Ok, so if I don’t like the play that much, why am I going? Well, on paper, it is very tough to understand why Bertram would refuse Helena or why Helena would still want Bertram. But on stage, this confusion can be sorted out by the acting of the performers (which I will tell you in my review!). Will director Malcolm Tulip help smooth the hate-to-love transition convincingly and make it believable? That is what I am looking forward to!
On a certain level, it does show a smarter woman who knows what she wants (why is not ours to question) and gets it and I do love that part. As is typical of Shakespearen comedies, there is a lot of laughs and double entendres in this play. So, do come to the play and may it all end well!
What: Play “All’s well that ends well”
Where: Arthur Miller Theatre at U-M’s Walgreen Drama Center, 1226 Murfin Avenue
Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize winning play, “Our Town” is being staged by the University of Michigan Department of Theatre and Drama, under the direction of Jerry Schwiebert, between Feb 18-Feb 21.
The play is quoted to be “the quintessential American play on life, love and death”. When it made its debut in 1938, it created a buzz for its minimal props, no sets and even lesser scenery. The plot revolves around the everyday lives of two young people, George and Emily who fall in love with each other. The complex script takes us through their lives alongwith those of the other townsfolk. Hence, it’s also the character portrait of a typical American town with other supporting characters depicting the typical routines and life in a town.
Without the help of a set,scenery, etc., the complex script relies on superb acting skills of the performers. It will be interesting to see the director’s take on the play and it’s relevance to today’s life.
Where: Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
When:
Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m.;
Feb. 19 & 20 at 8 p.m.;
Feb. 21 at 2 p.m.
Tickets at the League Ticket Office ($9 with student ID).
When it is Valentine’s Day, it is just impossible not to think of love. The “I love you” balloons, entwined hands, red roses, heart shaped everything, and of course, listening to a Schubert Piano Trio- it is just so difficult not to think of love.
It was a prefect setting to contemplate about love- a beautiful afternoon at the Rackham Auditorium with the best artists to perform a serenade for you and you only. The program for the day comprised of both the Schubert piano trios- the B-flat Major and the E-flat major. Normally, these don’t get performed together. So everyone was excited.
The three artists entered and they took their positions. And the evening started with the mellow sound of the cello followed closely by the violin. Just three minutes into it, and that’s when I fell in love- with Schubert!
Schubert, the genius composer
Schubert composed both his piano trios close to his death (and after the death of Beethoven). So Beethoven’s shadows are seen in these compositions. But what is so impressive about each of the pieces in addition to their clear structure is that if there is a musical definition of love,beauty and life- then this is it! It just doesn’t get better than this.
Let’s consider the B-flat Major. The Allegro Moderato was so pleasant and fluid. The long sustaining notes for the cello echoed by the violin and the piano punctuating each melody and everything complementary to everything else- it was so beautiful. The second movement embarks into a sense of longing and almost contented sighing with solos and duets that were just unbelievable. The third movement goes back into this happy phase- almost playful. The fourth movement was more passionate and aggressive with the piano parenthesising each melody played by the violin and cello and it ended on a triumphant gleeful note.
Artistled Recording
The E-flat Major followed after the intermission and it was a revelation. Each movement was so beautiful that it was just too good to be true. It gave a feeling that you get when you look at the pristine beauty of the majestic mountains of Yosemite from the Tunnel view for the first time or when you look down at the Colorado river from the highest point at Guano point in the Grand Canyon or at a sunset over Lake Michigan at the Sleeping Bear dunes park! It was a piece where each melody seems to cite an instance of happiness and urges you to be happy.
To me, the E-flat Major is a joyous celebration of all there is to love and life when you have not an iota of doubt about a prosperous future or benevolent heavens.You just can’t help feeling happy when you listen to it. The feeling you get when you look a baby’s smile or feel your mother’s touch- it is so so beautiful!It somehow directly connects to that part of the brain that creates happiness.The ending seemed as if a level of matured happiness has been achieved and it was a quiet joyous conclusion!With these pieces, you feel “safely” joyous as it is set in a familiar structure and yet there is so much going on.
David Finckel,Wu Han, Philip Setzer
It is definitely to the credit of the musicians that they were able to bring out of the genius of the composer by executing it so flawlessly. There was a harmony among these musicians and the mastery exercised by each musician over his or her field made the concert what it was- an absolutely beautiful evening!
There was an encore when they played a slow movement from Mendelssohn’s piano trio. Already you could see the difference in beauty between Mendelssohn and Schubert!It’s like looking at the beauty of two different rose buds.
I love the signing that UMS sets up these days after the concerts. It gave a chance to interact with the musicians. These world-class musicians are so down-to-earth and easy-going.
Overall, it was an enthralling evening…when love was definitely in the air in the garb of music.
Same time, last week, I was awaiting with bated breath to hear some Latin Jazz. And why did it take so long for me to post, well.. where do I start! It has been one of those weeks when you never know what you are doing, why you are doing it but you know that you have to keep doing it as your life depends on it- aka exam week! Also, there were three unique performances ( Luciana Souza, Schubert Piano trios and Bela Fleck) in store that week and my musical senses along with my academic were totally overwhelmed. So anyway, here goes….
It started with a very Latin-jazzy tune with Luciana Souza crooning away to the lovely harmonising of Romero Lubambo on his guitar and then Cyro Baptista joined in with his percussion. So at the very beginning itself, I was spellbound by the magical phrasing, the perfect harmonising and the totally crazy but superb percussion!
Luciana Souza Trio
I don’t know which artist to talk about first in the trio! You know what, let me do it in the alphabetical order (Ok, i was lying, i wanted to talk about Cyro first!). So first comes Cyro Baptista. Ok, this man is a crazy genius. He is like a mad inventor who just gets the most fabulous tunes out of ordinary things. He had a gas pipe whistle, a brush, some beads, a wheel like thing with balls embedded in it that made such a distinctive clanging sound, shakers made out of vegetables and gourds, metal sheets, rocks…. he was totally amazing in his percussion arrangement. Apparently, Cyro’s favorite store is Home Depot where he goes looking for new material for new percussion instruments.
Of course, in today’s electronic world, you can get whatever sound you want. But hearing those sounds (like a bird flying away or rain pouring down) live produced from real tangible instruments on stage? Well, the effect is totally different. His superb grasp of the rhythm and the way he blended all the funky sounds from his myriad instruments into the music was just breath-taking.
Cyro Baptista
In his solo, he showed a glimpse of what he could do. You could here the tides and the ocean one minute, then the next moment you were in a jungle with the birds chirping and the whooshing of the wind. But then, suddenly you would be transported ina train to join an army parade. There were so many combinations of sounds – with echos, with tribal sounds, animal sounds- he was a true entertainer.To me, he was the highlight of the evening. But, that said, the others weren’t any less stars.
Luciana Souza has a voice that is made for this genre. She has this pleasant yet deep yet not too shrilly voice (it’s hard to describe it!). She can sing so fast (almost breathlessly) or slip into a very slow soul-stirring song that makes you cry. Her phrasing and the improvisation was impeccable. To me, “firewood” was a very memorable song with very very creative percussion.There was a song about a two exes on the dance floor dancing with their current partners respectively, with the female looking at her ex with a longing (ah…these songs are so melancholic). In this one, Luciana’s phrasing (like tatara or papparapap similar to solfeggios of a sort being put together),matched Romero’s harmonising so well. This was a fast number and she executed it so well.
The charming Luciana Souza
Her song selection is very enjoyable. Her music flows like poetry and she is drwan by the sounds of nature too. “Tide”, “Amulet”- all these songs were thoroughly enjoyable. She explained that she is looking at the bossa nova genre from a new perspective- that of a Brazilian who has settled elsewhere and that is where most of her songs come from. The deep sorrow in most of the Brazilian songs will be somewhat surprising to people from other countries. But it had a tinge of dark humor that was pleasant.
Now about the other star of the trio- Romero Lumbambo. Remember when he had come alongwith Ms. Gal Costa? Well, I saw a different side to him today. He was totally in his element and was making “jokes with his guitar”. His playing was just fun and complimented the singing and the percussion. The spontaneity was amusing and totally entertaining.
Romero Lubambo
When the performers are true friends and have true respect for each other’s work, it shows. The camaraderie and as a result of it, the beautiful music and add the artists’ great sense of humor to it-it was a party that you didn’t want to miss!
At the end of the concert, there was an added bonus! We had a Q&A session with them and learnt so much more. Of course, I had to go ask a stupid question right. I asked them if they rehearsed (ok ,people, I don’t know much. me a jazz novice you see).. And Luciana, smilingly said,” No. We know the arrangement of the song. Then it is based on the audience, the mood of the evening and it’s all spontaneous. Maybe we should rehearse more (with a twinkle)”.
hmmm… nah! these guys are great doing what they do and I don’t think they need any practicing!
As for Latin Jazz- an art form where there is so much room for spontaneity and creativity- I am loving it!
Yours truly,
Krithika, for [art]seen
Krithika is totally looking forward to Cyro Baptista’s ” Beat the Donkey” show on Mar 13th!
Saturday night was the coffee shop performance of my friend Abigail Stauffer. I can’t stop listening when she starts singing and plucking the divine strings on her guitar. Her voice is pure like an angel but cultured with the depth of folk singing.
Abbie sings both covers for today’s music and her own original songs. She makes songs like Jay Sean’s Down sound romantic and poetic. It is truly beautiful. Her best songs, however, are the ones she writes herself. She is the most talented songwriter I know. She is a poet with music, a painter with a guitar. My favorite song, College, Love, and Cheesecake, is one about love and simile. I constantly listen to another one of her songs Beloved. I bought her CD because of these two songs, but there are so many other great pieces on it and it was totally worth the $8.
Abigail’s friend Rebecca sang with her on many of her songs and was really great, but this was Abbie’s show and I want to write about how amazing she really is. To listen to some of her music, search for Abigail Stauffer on www.youtube.com or become a fan of her on www.facebook.com.
Abigail’s voice is what is so amazing about her performances. It is clear and strong, yet she makes it sound so easy to put all of that emotion into it. She has complete control of her voice and can jump octaves in an instant only to come right back to the same note. The note strings that she puts together are original and flawless, sometime surprising and unexpected. Her style itself screams unique.
I would love to go to another concert or buy another CD, so you can be sure that I will be there next time too. Café Ambrosia was a great venue for the occasion, this being their first concert, and it was comfortably packed. I know that Abbie enjoyed herself and that the crowd loved her, so it was a great night and I’m sorry if you missed it.
As always,
This is Danny Fob: Artist and Art Reviewer
