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 account, and we'll give you a 4-piece Corning Ware casserole set FREE. Totally Free Checking features: No minimum balance requirement*