onigt;he pays theBlind Pig; doors open at 9:30 p and tickets are
navne tsgaantee t be oe great tim Wednesday,
March 8, 1995
'Rosencrantz' alive and well-made
!by J. David Berry
For the Daily
Hamlet. A word that will send
every high school English student
within a five mile radius running for
cover. Even old Shakespearean schol-
ars tremble a bit before hypothesizing
on just what the character of Hamlet
meant by some of the more elusive
lines in his trademark soliloquies.
Perhaps the most elusive question
in "Hamlet" deals with the existence
of Hamlet's two friends, Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern. They appear to
serve very little purpose except to
glean what is ailing the dark prince,
and for their efforts they meet with
the tragic end of beheading. One can't
help but wonder why, and the RC
Players, with the help of Tom
toppard's brilliant "Rosencrantz and
uildenstern are Dead," tried this
weekend to answer just that question.
The play begins with Rosencrantz
(James Ingagiola) and Guildenstern
(Melanie Farrow), having just re-
ceived orders to come to the castle,
sitting in the middle of the forest
tossing coins. By the end of the scene,
Guildenstern has successfully tossed
over 90 "heads" in a row, and it's
*lear that no natural force is driving
the characters forward.
When the Player (Kristopher
Chung) and his band of tragedians
stumble across the pair in the woods,
the question is asked whether it is
chance or fate that has brought them
together. They determine that it is
fate, but it is actually the omnipotent,
ever-present Shakespeare, pulling
their strings and controlling them as
Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern
are Dead
RCAuditorium (East Quad)
March 3, 1995
When: Thursday at 9 p.m., Friday
and Saturday at 8 p.m and Sunday at
2p.m.
Admission: $3 for students, $5 for
others
Call 761-3848 for more information.
though they were merely pawns in his
game of chess that is "Hamlet."
What Stoppard has done so bril-
liantly is to create in Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern, two unwitting and un-
willing puppets that have the ability
to question their fate, and even de-
nounce it, but who are powerless to
do anything about it. They are passen-
gers on Shakespeare's rollercoaster,
and they are buckled in until their
predetermined end. Powerless to fight,
they can only hold on and remain
seated until the ride comes to a close.
As Guildenstern, Melanie Farrow
has a wonderful energy and commit-
ment to her character's struggle for
control, even though that struggle
proves futile. Unwilling just to be
dragged through life without know-
ing the reasons why, she consistently
tries to grab hold of the reigns and get
control of her destiny. Farrow's focus
remains clear throughout the evening,
and she soon dispells -any doubt we
may have of a woman playing a typi-
cally male role.
James Ingagiola is also very
charged in his role of Rosencrantz.
Though Friday night he seemed to
take a while to warm up, once he did,
he was the perfect aloof foil to
Farrow's passionate Guildenstern.
Being much more content to remain
passive, Ingagiola's Rosencrantz is
filled with realism and true emotions.
We have no choice but to sympathize
with his character's plight and his
Gandhi-esque philosophy.
Perhaps the biggest presence on
the stage is that of Kristopher Chung
and his unique portrayal of the Player.
While Chung could have opted to
create an outspoken and brash char-
acter that attacks his scenes with a
vengeance, Chung takes a much more
subtle and effective approach.
Chung's Player is slick, and his mo-
ments where his artistic passion boils
over prove more effective due to the
Anonymous 4
Love's Illusion
Harmonia Mundi USA
Anonymous 4 isn't into provid-
ing us with the answers to all of
life's questions. Instead, by digging
into music from the past, the four-
woman group seems to like finding
new quandaries to sing about. This
time around, the ensemble, continu-
ing in their medieval mode, tackles
the idea of true love. "Love's Illu-
sion," their newest CD, contains
French motets from the Montpellier
Codex, a prime source of 13th cen-
tury polyphony.
Although all 29 pieces recorded
share a common theme of courtly
love, there is great stylistic varia-
tion. Often, two or three poems are
sung simultaneously, creating aclas-
sic musical and literary effect. In
one case, a mournful love song, a
denunciation of hypocrisy, and a
drinking song, are all performed at
once.
The choice of music is great, and
the ensemble Anonymous 4 is even
better. This is a recording to be
enjoyed by everyone. The music is
interesting enough to be intellec-
tual, simple enough to have an in-
herent grasp of and beautiful enough
to tug at the heartstrings.
- Emily Lambert
Hoop Dreams
Original Motion Picture
Soundtrack
MCA/GRP
The majority of this album is
overproduced and a bit hokey jazz /
house fusion - which in the con-
text of a powerful documentary
might be satisfying. On its own it
has a few moments which stand out
but for the most part the music is
mediocre. The same goes for the
Title Track rap and the Digital Un-
derground song.
But - and this is a big but -
there is one stand out track on this
CD. "The Tide (Keeps Lifting Me)"
brings Phil Upchurch's guitar and
the voices of the Steeles and Mavis
and Pops Staples together for a phe-
nomenally powerful yet laid back
track. The guitar bounces along in a
carefree track while the Staples and
the Steeles bring some pure gospel
energy to create inspiration,
If this track is not available else-
where, or if you want to watch "Hoop
Dreams" in the car but don't have a
portable TV/VCR, then you might
want to pick this one up. Otherwise
go see the film.
- Dustin Howes
See RECORDS, page 8
Rancid's rock 'n' roll is far from stale
I I
By Brian A. Gnatt
Daily Arts Writer
Even though Rancid may try a
little too hard to prove their punkness,
with their 12 inch spiked hair and "Oi
Oi Oi"s, after seeing them live, it's
clear everything they do is to the
extreme. At their Monday night show
in Detroit, the band's awesome en-
ergy and music spewed out over the
sold out crowd at St. Andrew's Hall
for a good 50 minutes, rocking De-
troit harder than it's been rocked for a
good long while.
Made up of guitarist/vocalistTim
Armstrong and bassist Matt Freeman,
both formerly of the legendary East
Bay California punk and ska sensa-
tion Operation Ivy, guitarist /vocalist
Lars Frederiksen of the U.K. Subs,
and former Smog drummer Brett
Reed, Rancid knows performing. As
the last scheduled gig before going
back into the studio, the band's non-
stop show plowed through their in-
credible set, playing the songs even
better and with more spunk and power
RIEVIE.W
a Rancid
St. Andrew's Hall
March 6, 1995
than on their albums.
Rancid kicked off the show with a
smashing version of"Roots Radicals."
They played through the majority of
their latest and superb release, "Let's
Go," and also through a number of
tracks from their 1993 self-titled de-
but. They also played the skanking "I
Wanna Riot," a track which takes the
band back to their ska roots. Rancid's
level of energy throughout the entire
set was amazing at times, and seemed
to keep all the little punk rockers
happy.
The crowd was also very recep-
tive of the band. There wasn't much
crowd surfing and moshing going on
at first, whether it's because they re-
alized this band was worth listening
to, or they didn't want to mess up their
beautiful mohawks, the crowd wasn't
as obnoxious as most MTV audiences
are. That is until Rancid played their
Buzz Bin sensation, "Salvation." The
few junior high girls came out of the
rafters for that one, but the band still
rocked, playing a cool extended ver-
See RANCID, page 8
Most banks
g ive you a crock.
The Psychology Peer Advisors Present
FOCUS GROUPS
Winter 1995
EXPERIENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES
IN THE FIELD OF PSYCHOLOGY
Research Opportunities in Psychology
Thursday March 9, 7:45-9:30 pm, West Lounge*, South Quad
* Refreshments will be served at all events.
" Faculty members and graduate students will be available to answer your questions and discuss these issues.
RSVP to the Peer Advising Office at 747-3711
ALL ARE WELCOME!!
T *WEST LOUNGE: 1ST FLOOR, FRONT ENTRANCE, WEST SIDE OF SOUTH QUAD
We give you two.
(With lids.)
Open a Totally Free Checking
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