Looking for a 'Bone'
U M-Flicks hosts a sneak preview of "The Bone Collectore."
This psychological thriller starring Denzel Washington and
Angelina Jolie screens at 9 p.m. at Lorch.
ct0 Wednesday
October 13, 1999
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Tomorrow in Daily Arts:
B While weekend, etc. takes a break, the List will be alive
and kicking with tons of weekend pleasures.
Wooten
brigs
bass to
the Ark
By John Uhl
Daily Arts Writer
The departure of harmonica and
piano player Howard Levy from the
genre-dodging band Bela Fleck &
the Flecktones in 1993 may actually
stand as a turning point for the elec-
tric bass.
Reduced to a trio, the group was
forced to redefine itself and the
resulting reconfiguration featured a
more prominent role for Victor
Wooten's bass playing. Meanwhile,
word of mouth spread fantastic
myths of Wooten's extended bass
solos at Flecktone concerts.
In 1996, Wooten released his first
solo recording, "A Show of Hands."
The album included neither a band
Night Music'
sigs of sexuality
By Nick Falzone
Daily Arts Writer
When we hear tales of relation-
ships from the turn of the century.
most of us do not expect these sto-
ries to be filled with modern themes
such as sexual frustration or midlife
crises.
Yet as Stephen Sondheim's "A
Little Night Music" comes to the
University this weekend, the audi-
ence discovers that perhaps fewer
differences exist between the
liaisons of the late 19th and 20th
centuries than it initially believed.
Sondheim's show, set in fin-de-
siecle Sweden, is filled with elegant,
sensual waltzes that evoke the period
of the piece, said musical director
Grant Wenaus. The waltzes compli-
ment the singing style of the musi-
cal, Wenaus said, which is also sup-
posed to bring the romantic, opulent
feeling of the turn of the century to
Victor
Wooten
The Ark
Tonight at 8
or overdubs, just
Victor and his
bass guitar with
a vocal track or
two. Its bold
insistence that
the bass can
function as a
solo instrument
was ground-
breaking and
Wooten's display
of technique,
lyricism and
brash evasion of
convention
the audience. Th
because the musi
A iLittle
Night Music
Mendelssohn
Theater
Oct.14-17
Courte'f of Compass Records
A member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Victor Wooten also holds his own as a solo artist.
is is appropriate
cal is, at heart, a
work about
romance and the
complexity of
relationships.
The show has
a rather small
cast compared to
many other
musicals, boast-
ing only 18
speaking roles.
Yet according to
Musical Theatre
junior Alexander
C. Gemignani,
this number is
the Mendelssohn
of the upper class have now gone
their separate ways in life. Yet, at the
beginning of the musical, they f4
their paths cross again at one af
Desmrac ' theatre performances.
When the two meet afterward
backstage, Fredrik and Desirae find
that their lives are not as simple as
they once were. Desirce is now
inmok"ed with another man, Count
Carl-Magnus Malcolm, and Fredrik
is currently married to a girl, Anne,
who is two years younger than his
son, Henrik.
Neither Desirce nor Fredrik are
satisfied with their current partners.
After 1 1 months of marriage, Anne
still remains a virgin. This, accord-
ing to Gemignani, the actor who
plays Fredrik, causes the lawyer
great sexual frustration.
"Fredrik wants Anne so badly yet
it is diticult for him to approach
her," Gemignani said. "Even if she
wanted to have sex, he would
know where to start."
Desiree is also experiencing disap-
pointment, albeit not sexual. She is
nearing the end of her career, said
Patti Lavery, the Musical Theatre
senior who is portraying the actress,
and beginning to feel her age.
"Before she wasn't ready to settle
down and be a family wife or moth-
er," Lavery said. "But now the
crowds are getting smaller, the tv
atres aren't as glamorous as they
used to be."
It is not surprising then that
Desire reaches out to Fredrik when
she sees him at her performance,
hoping to rekindle their once-pas-
sionate relationship. Fredrik con-
cedes to her wishes but goes crawl-
ing back to Anne afterward, still
overcome with desire for his child
bride.
The musical unfolds from the c
ple's fling, yet the relationships
between the pairs never cease to
becomplex. Be it in the backstage of
a theatre or in front of Desir6es
mother's immense country mansion,
we are constantly exposed to charac-
ters with great depth and personality.
Sondheim never strays from this
theme, holding true to reality until
the very end of the musical.
Wooten presented less of his awe inspir-
ing chops and employed a number of
guest musicians to develop a well-
rounded tonal and dynamic spectrum.
Wooten's latest endeavor, "Yin-
Yang," attempts to flesh out his
musicianship further with another
host of guests, from Dave Mathews
drummer Carter Beauford and
George Clinton collaborator Bootsy
Collins to three of Wooten's brothers.
The album is a mixed bag of tunes
that duck between highlights of
Wooten's instrumental proficiency,
P-Funk evocations and smooth jazz
radio-ready disappointments.
The recording's brightest spot is
the song "Kaila Speaks," in which
Wooten plays a tape of his 13-
month-old daughter's baby talk. As
the tape is repeated, he provides
musical accompaniment to Kaila's
speech, transforming what formerly
sounded like gibberish into an
intriguing tune. More than a gim-
mick, the song's touching moment
of communication between father
and daughter is astonishing evi-
dence of music functioning as lan-
guage.
Unfortunately, much of the rest of
the album finds Wooten's goal to
broaden his music's scope and sn-
sibility doing just the opposite.
"Yin-Yang" proves that he is a more
than competent composer, who con-
ainues to hone his song-writing
skills His singing is average and the
album sito rap, for the sake
of presrvmi~ good taste, are better
left umtioned. It seems a shame
that Wo; i abilty to play the bass
like a vnrcckmig crew might be lost
In hi puisu of becoming a musical
Renmi mane-mnan.
oniihi. \ooten will bring drum-
mer ) lir and his brothers Regi
and Joe. . guitar and keyboards
respectively to The Ark. Here's to
hoping t ha a live seting will bring
a lile oe it bass and a little
less of e cie hung ele.
perfect due to
stands as a defining moment for the
bass. Anyone seeking a deeper
appreciation for the word virtuoso'
need only listen to the track
"Classical Thump."
Less concerned with advancing the
solo status of his instrument on his sec-
ond album "What Did He Say?,"
Theatre's space constraints.
"The Mendelssohn cannot handle
that many people on stage,"
Gemignani said. "Because of the
size of the backstage and the dress-
ing rooms, we could not handle
more than 15 or 20 people."
In addition to the small stage area,
Wenaus said the size of the pit
orchestra also limited him to select-
ing only seven other musicians
besides himself to play in the show.
One of the primary relationships
of the musical is that of Fredrik
Egerman, a lawyer, and Desir6e
Armfeldt, a stage actress. Once
lovers, these middle-aged members
Hunter and company
host benefit for IMPACT
By Jeff Glogower
For the Daily
IMPACT/Model Mugging Self-
Defense organization holds a benefit
concert this Thursday at the Gypsy
Cafe. All pro-
ceeds will go
towards scholar-
ships for women
IMPACT who are interest-
Benefit ed in taking the
Gypsy Cafe Model Mugging
Tomorrow at 8 p.m. self defense
c la ss.
Performances
will include Lisa
Hunter and
Repercussions.
Lisa Hunter
has her own
unique style of
music, Truth or Dare Folk Rock. Lisa
is a graduate of the course herself,
and will be performing music
inspired by it. She will be perform-
ing alongside the all women's drum-
ming Group, Repercussions. They
will be performing original rhythmic
arrangements from Africa, Latin
America and Cuba.
When people get assaulted how do
they defend themselves? Do they
even know how to defend them-
selves? How does one protect them
self? One option is to learn how to
fight back. This is what women are
doing when they take a class through
IMPACT/ Model Mugging self-
defense. This. organization was
designed to prevent violence against
women by teaching them practical
self-defense techniques. .
Model Mugging is a course that
has women defend themselves in real
life assault situations. Two
Instructors teach the class, including
at least one male instructor who
serves as the attacker. The male
instructor wears a protective suit,
and he reenacts real life assaults. The
suit protects him from the women
who are encouraged to use "full
force" when practicing self defense
techniques. "Full force" is the term
used when training the students to
deliver knock out blows, or to the
point where their attacker will be io
seriously injured to continue the
assault. The instructor can usually
judge this by how much he feels
through the pads when the women hit
him.
Surprisingly, the self-defense tech-
niques are not based off of any par-
ticular martial art. Instead the
women are trained a more practical
street fighting technique. The street
fighting techniques utilize "muscle
memory," which relies on natural
reactions when attacked. Muscle
memory is like learning to swim or
ride a bike. No matter how long it
has been since the participant has
done the activity, they still remember
how to do it and their body will nat-
urally react to it.
The course is broken down ino
five classes that are six hours long
'Three Tall Women'
stretch subtexts
Courtesy of swingsistersound
Lisa Hunter plays her sound at the Gypsy.
ach. Wun learn how to defend
themelves both verbally and physi-
calv Th classes are team-taught
and women of any age, ability or fit-
,_: can partiipate. Scholarships
are alo avalable for those who need
financial help. One of the instruc-
tors Kay Maingiy, said she teach-
s the corse o "enable women to
el safe in t heir body" She is hoping
to gt a lage response to their bene-
t concer so that they can begin.
prepnation f or a possible winter
coue
f~wor iuei/ natwn about Impact
/i)L'i~ cl! ~O-45KICK.
By Rosemary Metz
For the Daily
The success of a play whose char-
acters are named A, B, C and Son
might cause confusion among audi-
ence members. In spite of the chal-
lenges, Edward Albee accomplishes
this triumph in his Pulitzer Prize
winning play, "Three Tall Women."
Alexandra Berardi, senior in Theatre
Arts, and Eric Skarpac, graduate stu-
dent in nuclear engineering and
math, are among the cast members at
the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's pro-
duction this weekend.
II
Three Tall
Women
Ann Arbor Civic
Theatre
Oct. 14-17, 8 p.m.
---1
thnrsda S P OTLIG nT
HHT
The play has
two very differ-
ent, distinct
acts, with three
female charac-
ters: A,B,C and
a male charac-
ter, Son. Act I
opens with 92-
year-old A on
her deathbed. B
is her nurse and
C her attorney.
Son returns
home, his
estrangement
middle years. She has tasted som #
life's bitterness, yet denies that her
life is less than perfect. Finally, A is
portrayed by Mildred Koen, facing
her different selves.
"A's three different selves must
battle it out and eventually reconcile
and become one, accept being the
same person, before A can die,'
Berardi said. The motif of
Everywoman, in Berardi's vi,
weaves through the play.
As Alexandra Berardi says, this
play is "provocative, shocking, can
make your stomach turn." There is a
monologue, graphic for sexual con-
tent, which might, she said, "make
the audience laugh, but nervously."
Eric Skarpac said that he, too,
might list "shocking" as a main
ingredient, but he also said the play
is "intriguing yet embarrassing,", all
depending on the point of view'
the audience.
Both actors agree that this play
will echo in each member of the
audience, since there are strong con-
nections and universal themes that
Albee has captured in this compli-
cated work.
Albee said in the foreward to the
play, "I did not cry and gnash my teeth
as I put this woman down on paper. I
cannot recall suffering either with
or because of her as I wrote he. I
recall being very interested in what I
was doing-fascinated by the horror
and sadness I was (re)creating."
Audiences have an opportunity to
witness the experience of Albee in
excruciating detail, in this weekend's
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deepened because of his homosexu-
ality.
There are comedic moments, yet
there are subtexts regarding aging,
death, racism, homophobia, sex. At
the end of Act 1, A has a stroke,
paving the way for the surreal decon-
struction of A's life as her life ends.
Berardi portrays C, who is A in her
mid-twenties, full of optimism. B,
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