I~
SIngigi' Good Time
neMarathon and the Union Bookstore hold swing workshops.
Check out the latest fad in jumpin' and jivin' in the Union
Ballroom from 8 p.m. until midnight. Swing lessons take place
from 8 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., and then there is open swing dancing
from 9:30 until midnight. There will also be a raffle for prizes, and
admission is free.
~*ft~mOakl
IR
gEmorrow in Daily Arts:
. Come back to Daily Arts for Breaking Records, the weekly
feature of the Michigan Daily that reviews the music indus-
try's new releases. Tomorrow it features Spiritualized.
Monday
November 16, 1998
Cho packed in parental laughter
Absence. hinders
Brothers' show
By Amy Barber
Daily Arts Writer
Watching Margaret Cho with your par-
ents is kind of like wiping out on a patch
of ice in the middle of a crowded street.
You're embarrassed, but you just can't
help but laugh.
Cho had the audience at the Michigan
ter cracking up throughout her per-
ance as part of the Student Alumni
Council's Parent's Weekend, and her fun-
niest jokes dealt with off-color topics
such as sexual organs, drugs and gay
pornography.
The highlight of the routine was when
Cho intricately described her experience
of having a kidney stone. The worst part
of Cho's ordeal was when she went to the
hospital where "they put a camera up
your ... hoo-hoo"
Cho went on to
r introduce us to the
woman who then
Margaret came into her
Cho room and stated,
Michigan Theater "Hello my name is
Gwen. I'm here to
Nov. 14, 1998 wash your vagi-
na."
By Scott Bullock
For the Daily
The Assad Brothers' concert
this past Thursday evening began
with an announcement that Baji
Assad would not be performing
with her brothers, Sergio and
Odair. She had taken ill, and
instead the Assad Brothers would
give a full guitar recital.
As the last words of the
announcement echoed and died
throughout Rackham, I could
hear most everybody around me
quietly commenting on the big
disappointment of finding out
that Baji would not be perform-
ing. Having just listened to one
of the Brothers' releases,
"Rhythms," I was definitely feel-
ing that same disappointment as
the lights dimmed.
On stage, a door at the base of
ALLISON CANTER/Daily
Margaret Cho thrilled audiences Saturday night at the Michigan Theater.
were equally as entertaining as the jokes
Gwen's life was on her moti
then analyzed by It was th
Cho as she consid- jokes, as Ch
ered what inspired is just like
Gwen to chose her leaves "lo
career, what it machine,"
must be like to wake up every morning as topics.
Gwen, and, finally, if Gwen ever acciden- Cho imit
tally slips when she's not in the hospital. sages, com
"Hello my name is Gwen. I'm here to accent, that
wash your vagina ... oh, wait, no I'm not. you that gra
I need to renew my driver's license." I don't kno
After this skit, Cho showed her ability they old and
ad the audience as she imitating the die"
thoughts of many by saying in an embar- Cho's par
rassed whisper, "Oh my god I can't for which C
believe my mom laughed at all those the gay port
jokes." confused by
Much of Cho's performance revolved stating, " I
around the anticipated harassment of her can like ass
mother, a Korean immigrant without Growing
whom Cho's career probably never would constantly e
have started. Cho's impersonations of her provided an
mother's accent and facial expressions performance
Sequentia n
By Lauren Rice
Daily Arts Writer
You wouldn't think that a nun who lived more than
800 years ago would have the insight to create a drama
w ose significance still applies to the struggles that we
uman beings encounter today. Hildegard von
Bingen, a medieval saint whose play, "Ordo Virtutum,"
("Play of Virtues") presents a human struggle against
the temptations of sin, does not obey the limitations
imposed by the passage of centuries.
her's behalf.
e perfect audience for mom
ho described how her mother
every Mom who calls and
ng-ass messages on the
often on completely random
ated one of her mother's mes-
plete with a thick, Korean
said, "I just want to call to tell
ndma and grandpa gonna die.
w when they gonna die, but
d grandma and grandpa gonna
rents also owned a bookstore,
ho's mother was in charge of
n section. Cho's mother was
y the magazine "Ass Master,
do not understand how you
that much."
up in San Francisco, Cho was
exposed to gay culture, which
pother recurring theme in her
e. Cho weighed the pros and
cons of having a lot of gay, male friends.
"When I was a little girl," Cho
explained, "I used to wish I could con-
stantly be surrounded by gorgeous guys.
Now I am, and I realize I should have
been more specific"
Cho also went back to mom-bashing
to express how her mother used to prove
how she was hip to the gay community.
Again in her mom's Korean accent that
never fails to make the audience laugh.
Cho remembers a conversation in which
her mom said, "You so lucky because you
have cool mommy. Mommy know about
gay because mommy watch 'Ellen."'
One aspect of the show at which Cho
was particularly successful was the trivi-
alization of subjects that are, in reality,
very sensitive and often taboo.
Cho dealt with racism by telling a story
about two boys who walked up to Cho
and her Japanese friend and yelled, "you
fucking Chinos ruin everything!" They
were not upset at first because they didn't
know if the kids meant them or the pants.
Cho also commented on how the
entertaining episodes of Jerry Springer
are the ones when the KKK is on. Most
intriguing to Cho is the guests' apparel. "I
don't know where they get those outfits,"
Cho pondered. "Is there like some kind
of KKK-Mart that they go to?"
Specific stars were not safe from Cho's
humorous attacks. She explained that she
likes Hanson because "they are such cute
little girls,' and she wondered, "How is
Calista Flockhart alive? She looks like a
spinal cord."
The only downfall of Cho's perfor-
mance was that it was much too short.
When she left the stage after barely 50
minutes, everyone stayed in their seats,
waiting for her to come back out. When
the lights came on to indicate that the
show was over, fans were naturally disap-
pointed.
Despite the early exit, Cho's show
was well worth attending. In only 50
minutes, Cho packed in a week's worth
of laughter ... even for all the mothers.
The Assad
Brothers
Rackham Auditorium
Nov. 12, 1998
, ,
one of the
p i l l a r s
opened, and
out came the
t w o
Brazilians.
They set an
all-business
tone that
l a s t e d
throughout
the show:
After a few
waves to the
crowd and a
few formal
new additions to the program,
while not bad,-were slightly better
than mediocre,
While the original selections
were memorized, the duo unpro-
fessionally, but understandably,
had music stands and sheet music
out to aid them with the remain-
ing pieces.
And, while the duo clearly was
on the ball with the original
selections, playing with the afore-
mentioned musical bond between
each other, the fire between them
was much more minimal and
tame with the other selections
(with the exception of the concert
opener).
Another let-down was the
arrangement ability of Sergio
Assad. The arrangements seemed
to have lost the style of the orig-
inal composers when put to the
guitars of the Assad Brothers.
Although interesting, the
pieces originally written for the
solo harpsichord did not work
nearly as well as guitar duets.
At some points, the counter
melodies were lost, and the shape
and direction maintained by the
original pieces seemed quite
vague.
On an embarrassing note, at the
end of the concert the two broth-
ers walked off stage, and many
audience members stood to col-
lect their things and leave.
Returning to the stage to play
an encore piece, the Assad
Brothers came back on stage to
play with people filling the aisles
to leave.
Although partially due to the
quickness of the Assad Brothers
to get back onto the stage to play
the piece, the embarrassment was
more a result of some rude audi-
ence members leaving in a very
lazy and unhurried fashion.
Shuffling out, they were most
definitely a distraction to the lis-
teners as well as the performers.
The evening was marred by the
absence of Baji Assad, and the lit-
tle things just seemed to come out
of the woodwork to make the
third appearance of the Assad
Brothers under UMS auspices a
little less than great.
It is difficult to make a judge-
ment call on the Assad Brothers,
given that half their program
appeared as a result of their sis-
ter's cancellation.
But if they had been better pre-
pared for the recital, the two
would have presented a concert
worth hearing.
R E W
Sequentia
St. Francis of
Assisi Catholic
NvChurch
Nov. 13, 1998
Deemed a true visionary
prophet, Hildegard was one of
the most important figures to sur-
face during the history of the
Middle Ages. She was consid-
ered a harbinger of God's mes-
sage. This particular drama is
only one work out of more than
300 letters, countless stories of
saints' lives, nearly 80 vocal
compositions and poetry that she
laboriously breathed to life. As
with "Ordo Virtutum," her other
works are imbued with powerful
messages that have the capacity
to transcend the boundaries of
aystfies audi1
Francis of Assisi Church. The church setting further
enhanced the production's profound emotional experi-
ence.
In the beginning, the singing human soul, clothed in
white garments to signify her blessedness, is in the
process of ascension to the dwelling of the Virtues. As
she joyfully invokes the Virtues, the devil intervenes
and tempts her with the worldly desires of sin. His
harshly staccatoed rhetoric contrasts sharply with the
soothing hymns of the robed Virtues. Unable to shake
herself of the struggle and toil, the soul succumbs to
him. In one foolish and violent act, she tears the white
shroud from her body to reveal a black one that was hid-
ing beneath all along.
Once the Devil succeeds in distracting the soul from
her path, her vibrant songs of praise vaporize. Yet, the
Virtues never cease their song in order to beckon the
lost soul to return into their arms once again. At the
sight of the tormented soul, each Virtue steps forward
and introduces herself.
The most effective of these 16 women is Humility,
the queen of the Virtues. Played by Maria Jonas, she
calls upon the others and reassures them of their ability
to seek that which is lost. When the soul returns with a
heart weighted with sin, it is the queen that rounds up
her companions to lift her up. It is Humility whom she
calls upon to aid her when the devil makes one last
attempt to lead her back into his wickedness.
Intertwined throughout the drama are the harmonies
of an instrumental trio, consisting of two fiddles and a
flute. The use of the music is interesting, in that it never
',
nce in play
serves as a back up for the singing Virtues. Rather, it
juxtaposes the sorrowful hymnal lamentations of the
women with their strangely uplifting melody. The
sounds continue to evoke a mystical air in response to
the exaltations of the singers.
Although the entire production is performed in Latin,
Sequentia succeeds in defying the language barrier and
artfully transmits the message through mediums of
song and body language. Stage Director Franz-Josef
Heumannskamper successfully creates a drama in
which the use of voice, body position and hands all
work to convey the message of that particular individ-
ual. The Devil's level of expression is limited to words
only. Unlike the rest of the cast who assert themselves
through music, he does not have the privilege to assault
the ears with a spiteful song.
The soul does not physically stand in assemblage
among the Virtues until they have victoriously ward-
ed off the devil by calmly holding up their hands.
The continuation of their exaltations renders the
devil weak, for he is no match in the face of their
strength. Once the soul has returned from the clutch-
es of evil, the Virtues gently replace her white shroud
and for the first time, she assumes her position
among them.
The most amazing asoect of this performance was
the enthusiasm of the audience. It is likely that the
majority did not have much knowledge of the Latin lan-
guage, and yet, they gasped when the soul rejected God
and sighed with relief when she returned to his
embrace.
bows of appreciation for the
applause the audience gave, they
set to work.
Overall, the full recital pre-
pared by the Assad Brothers was
quite respectable, given the
short-notice cancellation of their
sister.
The two brothers, having
played with each other all of their
lives, displayed an amazing sense
of cohesion. Not only did each
brother know the exact instants
that the other would be playing,
but each also knew how the music
would be played. They under-
stood each other's style, feelings
and emotions, and because of
this, the two were wonderfully in
sync.
Also, the sound was spectacu-
lar. The dynamics of volume were
done quite nicely. Throughout the
show, even during some incredi-
bly fast pieces, the brothers main-
tained a clear sound.
Of course, though, there is a
"but." The conditional is that they
were great, but only on the pieces
they had planned on playing. The
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age and touch the human soul.
A celebration of this popular and beloved saint, the
cal ensemble Sequentia, well versed in the realm
of medieval liturgical drama, performed the complete
staged version Friday night to a full house at the St.
Weekend, etc. returns this week
celebrating the 150th anniversary of
the University's Medical School.
I I
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Donm't Panice
If you think you're pregnant...
call us--we listen, we care.
PROBLEM PREGNANCY HELP
975-4357
Any time, any day, 24 hours.
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CONC ENTRATORS
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November 17, 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. In 1024 TIa HaI.
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