WHO: The Michigan Pops Orchestra
WHAT: Spring Concert “Game of Pops”
WHEN: Sunday, April 13th
WHERE: The Michigan Theater
COST: Free for students with Passport to the Arts
Centered around the theme of games, the Michigan Pops spring concert will feature music from Rocky, Hercules, Halo, Civilization, the Olympics and more!
Seeing Coriolanus at the Michigan Theater was definitely a good decision. The acting was spectacular, of course. A cast of greats including Tom Hiddleston and Mark Gatiss left the little Donmar Warehouse with queues of people camping out overnight to buy tickets to the show. The audience in the screening of this production probably mirrored the Donmar’s usual audience for the show: half an older crowd who enjoy Shakespeare, and the other half a crowd of young women who enjoy Tom Hiddleston (I would like to include myself in both of these categories). Hiddleston’s portrayal of Caius Martius Coriolanus left nothing to be desired as his acting ran the spectrum of emotions: a ruthless soldier who would like nothing more than to add one more man’s blood to his sword, to a son pleading for comfort and compassion from his mother. He carried the show, and wasn’t afraid to get dirty.
The Donmar is a great example of the kinds of theaters in which I prefer to see Shakespeare performed. It is a thrust stage (the audience sits on three sides), and a small space with limited seating. Shakespeare, to me, is best seen and understood in an intimate setting, and I believe this held true for Coriolanus. For most people the language takes a little getting used to, but this was achieved quickly with a close-up view of the actors. The smaller stage is also able to take more risks. The set was minimal: the concrete brick wall of the theater painted red and black and littered with graffiti, a ladder permanently fixed on the stage reaching higher than the audience could see, chairs for the actors to sit in while not in the scene, and a red square painted freshly on the stage floor during every performance.
Red was the color of the show. It first appears as it’s being painted on the stage, and next when Martius returns from slaughtering hoards of Rome’s enemies. He’s covered in blood to the point of excess in my eyes, and to the point that he can barely speak or see because so much fake blood has been poured on his head and is dripping in Tom Hiddleston’s eyes. Naturally, to get that blood off of him, water falls from the ceiling onto the stage in a stream steady enough to clean him up so that his face is visible.
This is the kind of risk a smaller theater can take that will pay off, and it is executed brilliantly. It has a strong impact, but also doesn’t require a big scene change to accomplish. Sure, the stage gets wet, but they can get some actors with squeegee-like mops to clean it off while another scene is taking place. The stage floor became a set piece in this production, constantly being redecorated with different red objects from flower petals to blood.
I was very unfamiliar with the story of the play upon arrival but the minimal set, the careful portrayals from the actors, and the close proximity of the action allowed me to come away from Coriolanus quite moved. It was an excellent production, and I’m glad that National Theatre Live was able to provide me and many others the opportunity to see it.
This Sunday, February 9 at 7:00PM the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Coriolanus will be shown at the Michigan Theater.
Broadcast by National Theatre Live, this Shakespeare play stars Tom Hiddleston (probably best known for his role of Loki in the Marvel franchise) as the title character who must defend the people of his city from imminent attack while also addressing their call for political change. This production is sure to be an intense spectacle not to be missed.
Tickets to see the recorded stage production at the Michigan Theater are still available and can be found through the University Musical Society here.
Checking my phone before Malcom Gladwell’s talk at the Michigan Theater to learn of the snow day announcement gave me a slightly distracted demeanor in my seat half way up the main floor. Alas, I actively put my excitement aside to gain wisdom and knowledge from the best-selling author and contributor to The New Yorker. Last night, Gladwell explored the theme of what makes people stand up and fight in circumstances where fighting is unprecedented, unwarranted, and least likely to be successful. His exploration of what made the women of northern Ireland take up arms and fight back against the British army is featured in a chapter of his new book David and Goliath, from which the event was promoting and featured a book signing after the talk.
Gladwell introduced himself by explaining that while although it’s a great pleasure to be in Michigan in January, it’s also “deeply traumatizing,” as the Canadian used to be an avid Toronto Blue Jays fan until the Detroit Tigers crushed them two years in a row to take them out of the playoffs. “So Michigan took away the sport that I love. But at the same I realized, as I thought about this even more, it also freed up thousands of hours, which I think I put to use writing books,” Gladwell comically lamented. Laughter aside, he interestingly explored the detailed and troubled history of Alva Vanderbilt, a prominent socialite in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “Nobody predicted on paper that she would become a powerful activist for social change,” Gladwell said. Through describing her upbringing, relationships with men and her beloved daughter Consuela, he tells a tale of an outspoken women confined and cornered in New York society because of mold women were expected to live in during her time. As ambitious as her goals were, all she could do was marry wealthy (which she did, to Sonny Churchill), and build extravagant estates to show off her wealth, participating in full-time conspicuous consumption.
Her story is used to answer what compelled her to act, and eventually lead, the woman’s suffrage movement. What made her want to “take up spiritual arms against forces more powerful than her?” asked Gladwell. Gladwell looked to legitimacy theory, which explains what makes us obey authority is how authority itself behaves based on fairness, trustworthiness and legitimacy. Alva felt society’s treatment of her was not trustworthy and she was denied legitimacy, and when people are denied legitimacy they get angry and will choose to fight back because the cost of disobeying the law outweighs the benefits of obeying it.
The most powerful lesson Gladwell shared through Alva’s story and relationship to the women’s suffrage movement was that “if you deny people legitimacy, they will, one day, by one means or another, come back and defeat you.”
Certainly stirring much thought in my head, I was grateful for the chance to listen a wonderful writer perform as a wonderful speaker. His ability to capture my attention for the duration of the program by following me along this very elaborate example was impressive and valuable. I look forward to reading David and Goliath with these themes presented in the back of my mind.
Who: Malcolm Gladwell
What: Reading excerpts from his new book David and Goliath
When: Monday, January 27 at 7 p.m.
Where: Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty Street
Tickets: $35 tickets are available on the main floor as the balcony has been sold out. With online service fees, it’s $44.65. Or you can stop by Nicola’s Books to avoid service fees, while supplies last.
The New Yorker’s Malcom Gladwell is coming to speak at the Michigan Theater to read excerpts from his new book David and Goliath, sign copies and answer audience questions. I recently read an article of his called “Most Likely To Succeed” for my English 225 class, detailing how predicting the future success of athletes and teachers based on perceived performance does not always work so well. Gladwell, in his new book, speaks on disadvantages and obstacles through new interpretations to overcome them. The experience of hearing his well-guided words and wisdom will be well worthwhile.
Purchase tickets here. Read some of Gladwell’s work for the New Yorker or visit his selection on Amazon.
In his first production as artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, director Gregory Doran presented a expertly crafted and wonderfully mesmerizing production of Richard II. Set in its own time period, this production details the downfall of King Richard II, a vain and somewhat villainous king who bases his power on divine right. Through the use of a simple stage design, lighting, and beautifully sung music, this production felt as if it were in a church, which heightened the religious undertones of the play. King Richard’s assumed god-like authority was further highlighted through the costuming choices, most notably his long mane of hair, white or light colored flowing robes, and the ever present cross around his neck.
The simplicity of the stage design and prop choices allowed the audience to focus on what was really important in the production–Shakespeare’s diction and the spectacular acting of the ensemble. David Tennant’s portrayal of Richard plays up Richard’s powerful and vain nature with a gold manicure and a sense of haughtiness. The real strength of Tennant’s performance, however, is the emotion he pulls out of the character. In one of his best moments on stage, Tennant forces everyone to sit on the ground with him and, as he pulls his knees to his chest and rocks with grief, tell the sad stories of the deaths of kings. Showing Richard’s vulnerability in the moment he realizes his power as king is gone allows Tennant to succeed in attracting the audience’s sympathy for a king who throughout the play is seen as wasteful and abusive of his power.
Although Tennant drew a lot of the attention, in no way was this production a solo act. With Nigel Lindsay’s portrayal of Bolingbroke as an intense and powerful man who is not afraid to mock and scorn Richard’s theatricality, Oliver Ford Davies’s emotional and somewhat comedic portrayal of the Duke of York, a man torn between two loyalties, and Michael Pennington’s portrayal of John of Gaunt as a dying man enraged with Richard’s actions, the entire ensemble worked together to create a production that was nothing short of fantastic.
There will be another broadcast of the play December 11th at 7pm at the Michigan Theater. I highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in Shakespeare.
