RTS 'Diaghilev' is full of high spirits By LIZ SHAW It was a high-spirited tribute to an ingenious man. It was fantastically "lawless music performed by an ex- In the Spirit of Diaghilev Power Center February 3, 1994 :ellent orchestra. It was the long awaited re-introduction of the once *ontroversial "Afternoon of a Faun" ,long with the premieres of the spiri- ,ually moving "Daughters of Isis," she abstractly charming "The Vast Sky is Falling," and the radical elo- quence of "The Firebird." It was "In the Spirit of Diaghilev" and it de- ;erves much praise. The audience settled back into their -hairs, listening intently to the Uni- versity Symphony Orchestra (USO) playing an excerpt from Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring." Suddenly, the beauty of the moment is shattered. A ,ouple in the first row is arguing. The entire front section starts shushing them, as their entire group starts speak- ing louder and louder. Finally, two of the women get up and leave the the- ater in a huff, saying the music is "an abomination." The patrons sitting around this group was baffled, won- dering why these oddly dressed people (dressed in the style of 1912) were making such a disturbance. This was supposed to be an illustration of how audiences first reacted to the music and the choreography of the piece "Afternoon of a Faun." Frankly, it seemed lost on much of the audience. The performance of "Afternoon of a Faun" was unique and well done, but it is not hard to see why it was greatly ballyhooed in its time. The dancers looked as if they were painted right into the backdrop, luxuriously replicated by Peter Beudert). The dancers showed exemplary control over the piece. The often stiff and oddly-timed movements were delivered with grace and poise. They very carefully locked themselves into their flat, two-dimensional plane and stayed within it perfectly. The faun (Kevin Clayborn) kept within the framework of the piece, keeping his moves restrained and exacting, while at the same time emulating a wonder- fully carefree faun. A very compelling performance was given by the dancers in the ex- tremely long, but fascinating piece, "Daughters of Isis," choreographed by Linda Spriggs to a composition also premiering, "Symphony No. 5: Five Shades of a Woman in Black." Through a series of different dances the piece presented different women of circumstance - women from different stages in time, stations in life and different places in the world - to praise women of color. One of the more outstanding represented was the rapping Queen of the Hip Hop Empire, Latifah (Akosua Burris). Her thrown, perched atop a long slide was as unexpected as her rapping (the words of which were actually a poem by U. professor Thylias Moss). There isn't much that can be said confidently about "The Vast Sky is Falling," choreographed by Gay Delanghe. The piece was so harried and scattered that it became hard to follow at parts, and led many audi- ence members to their performance notes to see what exactly the piece was about. The dancing was like or- ganized chaos, and the dancers were well synchronized. There was a great use of falls, jumps, recoveries and contrasting movements. "The Firebird" started out very simple. The set was a series of white sheets hanging from ceiling to floor, with lights making odd shadows and flashes on the sheets from behind. Although the dancing was precise and the piece well done, my attention was captured by something that had been dropped on the stage and I kept wor- rying that someone was going to slip and fall on it. No one did. The dancers worked well as an ensemble through- out the dreary, saddening piece. There were many parts where they were all working as one without a flaw. The music of the evening was the cherry on top of the evenings festivi- ties. As usual, the USO's playing was virtually error-free and, combined with the dance performance, was a special treat for all. IN THE SPIRIT OF DIAGHILEV plays through Sunday at the Power Center. Performances are tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $14, $10 ($6 students). Call 764-0450. Josef Woodson dances in "The Firebird," part of "in the Spirit of Dlaghilev." GOOD MEDICINE 'Two Sisters'1s Chekov with a twist By NICOLE BAKER Combine a little bit of Russian, a little bit of French farce, a bit of comedy and a little romance, and you get T.E. Williams new play, "Two Sisters." "Two Sisters" has been running in preview perfor- mances since January 27. The play has its official opening tonight at the Purple Rose Theatre. Set on a Russian farm in the 1890s, the play starts when Sasha Prokopov, the older sister, returns home to help her sister, Katya (Pamela Cardell), save their home from being taken by Boris Zebulsky (Michael Ouimet). Boris, the local land barren and tyrant, wants the land and has gained control of the surrounding land by cheating at cards in a series of games against the sisters' father Fyodor Prokopov (Roy Dennison). Desperate to save their home, the rest of the play follows the sisters as they embark upon a mischievous ploy to beat Boris at his own game, with hilarious results. Williams has been working on the play for over 3 years. "I have always been a fan of Chekhov's plays, and I thought it would be a great idea to write a comedy with Chekhov as a base," he said. "There are a lot of inferences to Chekhov in the play, but you don't have to be a Chekhov scholar in order to enjoy (it)." There may be lots of little in-jokes about Chekhov, but they don't form the gist of the play. The sisters are complete opposites, but their desire to save their father and home brings them together. Katya, a dancer, is a little eccentric, and lives in her own fantasy world. "Its not that she's an airhead," stated Williams, "She thinks - but what she comes up with isn't always practical. You could even say that she's in a whole different book." Sasha, a teacher, is very practical and level-headed. "Things keep going wrong with (her) plans, but not because of anything she does. She tries to figure out why, so she makes all these lists," he said. According to Williams, Boris the antagonist, "has a" certain amount of charm. However, he offends everyone in some way or another, and they all unite against him to' bring him down." Although it could be considered a revenge comedy, William sees his play as "a comedy with a Chekhov flavor and farcical moments." "While the play resembles a French farce to an extent," continued Williams, "French farces involve a lot of door 9 slamming and quick entrances and exits. This play is without the doors, just open entrances." "The play itself is a little slapstick, a little farce, and hopefully a lot of fun," stated directorPhillip Locker, "and" even though it moves fast, it deals with problems and forces the characters to face those problems." TWO SISTERS will be performed February 2 thorugh March 20 at the Purple Rose Theatre (137 Park St, Chelsea). Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 - $25. For more informatiop call 475-7902. Most bands have their share of troubles on the road and Medicine is no exception. Though we had at least two scheduled interviews with the band, the weather prevented them from speaking with us. After much trial and tribulation, they have finally made it into Michigan; they will be opening for Swervedriver tonight at the Blind Pig. Medicine's music is intoxicating. They love melody almost as much as they love noise, making their second album, "The Buried Life," sound like an unholy marriage between My Bloody Valentine and the Beach Boys (Brian Wilson's old collaborator, Van Dyke Parks, arranged one of the album's tracks). Medicine's live show promises to be a pile- dciving clatter of shatteringly loud guitar, thundering drums and fragmented melodies - in short, it will be blissful , it bring your earplugs. Doors open at 9:30 p.m. and tickets are a steal at $7.50 in advance. I IN A R6O R I&, 5th AVE. AT LIBERTY 761-9700 THE PIANO (R) - Fri: 4:55,.7:25, 9:451 I Sat, Sun: 12:25,2:40,4:55,7:25,9:45 6 DEGREES OF SEPARATION (R) - Fi: 4:45,7:10,9:35 Sat, Sun: 12:15,2:30,4:45,7:10,9:35 1 BARGAIN MATINEES $3.50 BEFORE 6 PM ' STUDENTS WITH ID $4.00 EVENINGS I 0~F E E 32 . DR|NK * 1-h urhseofa agepocrn($.« 1le Present this coupon with purchased ticket thru 2/2/94j C.. k p I at / II :I OD 1 l (s 104 Xx 4 &, __ u~ ~ w* velcomes "Mixing maximum R&B with Chicago blues stylings, Oakland's LOVED ONES don't act retro, they just play what comes naturally and passionately." College Music Journal New Music Renort a q M-Flicks/x jiPresents: r +a ' , / ' ! - Bugs Bunny Festival Four hours of classic A *3 A2 I I ,, I .