Tag: Michigan theater

Review: National Theater Live: “The Audience” – Hellen Mirren wears the crown once again.

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Helen Mirren: A Queen Once Again
Helen Mirren: A Queen Once Again

Sunday the 8th September brought a live recording of London’s award winning production “The Audience” to Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor. Starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, written by Peter Morgan (The Last King of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon).

The play took place in the private audience room in Buckingham Palace, London, where the Queen meets with her Prime Minister every Tuesday evening to be brought up to speed on current issues. These audiences take place under strict confidence of secrecy and the actual course of events and conversations have not been recorded. Peter Morgan wrote this production to investigate what might have transpired behind closed doors between the Queen and her twelve different PM’s over the years. He based his writing off of known information; historical events, political conflicts, state issues etc.

The Audience is Morgan’s second script featuring Queen Elizabeth II. He admits he can be somewhat generous and kind to her as a historical figure, the Queen written in this production was very likable, human, silently opinionated and, naturally, refined and polite. There is little, if any, criticism written into this representation of Queen Elizabeth, she always comes out on top in each meeting, dispute, conflict or sarcastic interaction.

Helen Mirren won London’s Oliver Award (the equivalent of a Tony) for Best Actress in a Play, for her role in The Audience. She has mastered the nuances of Queen Elizabeth’s movements, speech, facial expressions and general carriage. It is amazing to watch her act in this production. There is always a different atmosphere surrounding live performances, recorded or otherwise, in comparison with feature films. The videographer of this National Theater production did a wonderful job of capturing essential physical movements without making these details obtuse or allowing these specific focal points to detract from the plot, or the other actors.

As someone who is interested in, but has little understanding or knowledge of, British history and the Royal family, I was captivated by the historical relevance of this play. I praise the Michigan Theater for bringing this production to Ann Arbor, Peter Morgan for his wit and intelligence, Helen Mirren for her skills as an actress and grace as a woman, as well as the other actors for creating such a wonderful story and executing it with such pride.

Michigan Theater will hold more screenings of National Theater Live productions through out the fall, the next performance will be Shakespeare’s “Othello” Sunday, October 13 at 7:00 PM.

Preview: Annie Hall – Life in Techni-Awkward

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What: Annie Hall, a film by Woody Allen
Where: Michigan Theater
When: Monday the 9th of September 7pm
Cost: $8 with student ID, $10 general

Annie Hall marks the kick off of Michigan Theater’s “Monday Funny Film Series.” Every Monday from the 9th of September to the 9th of December, Michigan Theater will screen a previously released comedy.
Film List: http://www.michtheater.org/series/monday-funnies/

Annie Hall, starring Dianne Keaton and Woody Allen is a wonderfully comical, charming and excruciatingly awkward film about relationships. If you have never seen this movie you must do so promptly! It is a favorite of many a Allen fan, as well as others who aren’t so keen on the bespectacled comedian/writer/director/actor.

Preview: “The Audience” – National Theater Live – Helen Mirran

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What: “The Audience” – a play
Where: Michigan Theater on Liberty
When: Sunday the 8th of September 7pm and Tuesday the 10th of September 7pm
Tickets: $22
(http://ums.org/performances/national-theatre-live-the-audience)

Coming out of the West End in London, Helen Mirran (The Queen, Red, The Debt, Hitchcock) and Peter Morgan (director of The Queen, The Last King of Scotland, Frost/Nixon) come together once again for a performance about Queen Elizabeth II. Bound to be another spectacular production with Mirran as the head of the British crown.

Michigan Theater’s Website has this to say about the production:

For 60 years Elizabeth II has met each of her 12 Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace – a meeting like no other in British public life – it is private. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said. Not even to their spouses. The Audience breaks this contract of silence – and imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister has used these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional – sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive.

From young mother to grandmother, these private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age. Politicians come and go through the revolving door of electoral politics, while she remains constant, waiting to welcome her next Prime Minister.

The Audience reunites writer Peter Morgan and Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren following their collaboration on the critically-acclaimed movie sensation The Queen.

The Audience is directed by Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) and presented in the West End by Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions, Robert Fox and Andy Harries.

REVIEW: GROOVE

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GROOVE

On Friday night, the student group Groove put on an energetic, fast paced performance in the Michigan Theater. The bi-annual event has a different theme each year and this season the subtitle was “Innocent Until Groovin’ Guilty.” The evening opened with a spoof film of a criminal case in which Groove members were prosecuted for making too much noise. The convicts were detained in a cell and when they were finally freed, they sprang forth from the silver screen onto the stage and began drumming with spirit. Using non-traditional instruments, such as garbage cans, bicycles, ladders, umbrellas, newspaper, and more, the show turned regular objects on their heads and made them entertaining in a whole new way. The performers also demonstrated their talent with traditional instruments, like guitar, drum set, electric violin, and keyboard. Each scene told a story using a variety of wild costumes and lots of bold singing and acting. One of the funniest sketches was a rap battle between two sections of a middle school band in which the lyrics spoofed off of popular rap songs but using lyrics associated with pre-pubescence and the terrible awkwardness of middle school. Another memorable sketch was a play on the James Bond theme, where some Groove members were taken hostage while others came to the rescue, all the while hammering away a beat.

The audience was totally packed and seemed to love every second of the show. It takes a lot for a student group to pack a full house at the Michigan Theater!  Some fans were also there to support to opening acts, EnCore and Rhythm student dance groups, as well as interluding musicians James Cornelison and Julian Allen.  The exciting evening concluded with a sentimental- albeit comedic- farewell to the senior Groovers as well as an audience shout out from a large sum of Groove alumni who had returned to Ann Arbor for the special event. It was a totally energetic evening, full of comedy, musical talent, and pure entertainment.


PREVIEW: Esperanza Spalding

Kayla Silverstein

2011 Grammy winner for “Best New Artist” and 2012 Grammy for “Best Jazz Vocal Album,” Ms. Spalding returns to wow Ann Arbor audiences this Saturday, April 6 at 8pm at the Michigan Theater. Singer, bassist, and composer, Ms. Spalding will demonstrate how her talents encompass various stylings and rhythms. Young, beautiful, and vibrant, she is going to rock the stage Saturday night, and you’re going to want to be there. Billboard writes, “Whether exploding into vocalese or making her bass solo sound like a horn, she’s a spark plug who dances as she grooves through a funked-up and rock-out repertoire.” Esperanza Spalding will blow you away as she returns to present her new album, Radio Music Society.

More information can be found at her website: http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/

REVIEW: Ann Arbor Film Fest Animated Shorts

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Ann Arbor Film Fest Animated Shorts

On Friday night, I attended my favorite film event of the festival: the Animated shorts. The screening 14 mini films ranging from 1 to 1o minutes. The style of each was highly varied, though the recurring theme remained the same throughout: darkness and sadness. While some films used traditional cartoon animation, others used collage, paintings, fibers, and other mediums of animation. Some used dialogue and human voice, dialogue, and narration,  while others used electronic music, abstract soundscapes,  and silence. With film makers from all over the world using influences from literature, personal biography, and political polemic, the series was a very strong curation of artwork.

However, the sadness factor was all-pervading. The films touched dark moments in the psyches, representing disturbed and distorted images that were transportive albeit harrowing. After the show, I ran into a woman I work with at the UMMA and she shared her opinion: “It’s this kind of a thing that makes everyone else think that all artists and depressed!’ It is true that it was depressing, but finely produced and worth seeing- had I had the caveat in advance.

On Sunday, the competition screens the cream of the crop, the winners from each category. I imagine that  one or more of these films will take him recognition at the end. They creative, unusual, and interesting to witness. To read about the animated film makers and watch clips from the animated shorts, click here. I hope you enjoyed the film fest and, if you didn’t make it this year, be sure to check it out in the future!