10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 29, 2000 'Fabulous' production sets the story straight with look at love By Jenny Jeltes little fleshy thing' and Steve exclaims: For the Daily "And we're both huge and you're just jealous because you wish you had a Could biblical creation and the life fleshy, humongous thing!" This is experiences of human beings be told bound to make the audience laugh, effectively from a gay/lesbian perspec- On a more serious level, however, a tive? This complex and controversial lot of this show effectively touches question isstrongly emphasized in "The upon more personal issues. Is there a Most Fabulous Story Ever Told," writ- God? Steve is not so sure: "I will not ten by Paul Rutnick. It takes a radical believe in something I cannot see or view of the issues --religion, sexuality, smell or touch." Adam replies, "Well, relationships - most commonly dealt you believe in love." Throughout the with in one's life and portrays these show, these characters struggle to find struggles in the who they are, why the're here, and what most hilarious it all really means. Actress Toni Trucks The Most yet poignant way. said, "The script is so well-written that Fabulous Story Let's begin by the time you stop laughing, you real- with Adam and ize that you've really learned some- Ever Told Steve. Or how thing." Arena Theatre about Jane and Taking the audience back to the Tonit and tomorrow Mable? In "The first few days of the Creation, one atse.m. Most Fabulous can learn of the experiences of these Story Ever Told," characters and how they come to the origin of affect their everyday living. For humanity begins example, what were Adam and Steve not with Adam to do in the Garden of Eden? One and Eve, accord- must wonder what implications their ing to the Holy decisions will have on their livesjust Bible, but with these characters instead. as everyone else is faced with diffi- Steve can't help but notice the anatomi- cult decisions and encounters cal differences between he and Jane. throughout their own lives. The Jane expresses her disgust over Steve's important question that this play ARTS PUMPKINS A SMASH ON MP3 When a man loves a woman? Not this show. addresses is how all creatures of this Earth are to live in harmony with one another despite the numerous differ- ences in beliefs, customs and atti- tudes that each holds. Actor Nich Kauffman said, "Being a gay man and being in this play allows me to have a voice in this community. Hav- ing this show allows people to see that homosexuality parallels hetero- sexuality. Who you love is who you love. The struggles are the same." This play is far from maintaining a constant atmosphere of peace and harmony throughout, however. There are a number of qtite shocking situa- tions dealing with nudity, childbirth and Mormonism. According to actress Lauren Molina, "The audience needs to be prepared for a shock value. At the same time, it will be very new and refreshing for the audi- ence. It will be something they've never seen before." By Ben Whetsell For the Daily On Sept. 8, the Smashing Pump- kins released Machina I: lthe fi'iends and enemies of modern music in MP3 forrnat over the internet. The brain- child of guitarist/vocalist extraordi- naire Billy Corgan, the Smashing Pumpkins announced in May that they would break up at the end of this year after 10 years at the top of the alt e r n at i ve scene. This album, Grade: A- released on Corgan's own Smashing Constantinople Pumpkins Records, is the Machina :II the band's farewell friends andenemies tribute to the of modest music fans. A state- ment from the Available on MP3 S m a s h i n g Pumpkins Fan Club website describes that Corgan distributed 25 sets of Machina1 / LPs to close friends and encouraged them to spread the music ott the internet. The new album contains some of the best Pumpkins material to date and easily one-ups Machina: the machines of God, their previous effort. The sound of the album, ott the whole, floats somewhere in between the menacing guitars and bluesy vocals of Gish, the Pumpkins's first album, and the fuzzy distortion and reverbgrating drum treatments of There Is a God" brings John Lennon's "Imagine'' to mind. The only text that accompanies the albumt is a plains typed page entitled "ch5!the story of june (so far),' which presents richly suggestive Smashing Pumpkins imagery and thinly veiled references to earlier songs. Besides4 this text, the album sleeve features dramatic black and white photos of urban scenes, and the album cover itself presents repeating prints of tiny white icons over a black background. Corgan's unorthodox release method has been extremely successful - the songs have spread over the internet like a wildfire. All the sottgs are available on Napster: additionally, the Smashing Pumpkins Fan Club website (s'i' ..S/ .c) trtfeatures a4 extensive list of cyber-Pumpkinheads who have devoted their sites to t5e distribution of the new music. Que sera sera, Billy, que sersera. Machina. Compared to te first Machina, it seems as if the stashing Pumpkins have relaxed thr isnsis- tence upon art and emotion ifavor of the pure joy of rock 'n roll. The first three tracks sliecase the Pumpkins in -all of their lrd-edged glory. Machina H then segis into the lush chords of "Real Los" and the mellow vocals of guitaristames lisa in "Go" "Let Me Give th World to You," an Adore outtake, feaures some of Billy Corgan's most mcing lyrics, while "Innosence" feature an apreg- giated piano riff that'ivals the "Cheer's" theme for snsforting effect. The album then take,. urn for the heavy before ending i te synthe- sized ease of the last vo tracks. As for the three EPs, the sosu are for the most part heavy, slow, ad quite good. "Soul Power," a James3town coves, stands out from the sesfor its drive; and the minimalist vtsion of "If Carpenter displays arti By Jee Chang Daily arts riter We think because the majority of the university's campus is called "cess- tral campus, is should be the center of our attention. This is far from true. North cam- Kayb pus may be too Carpenter artsy for some, but is should be Warren Robin Center recognized for Through Sept. 30 the outpour of artistic talent that surrounds the area. On the second floor of the Art and A r c hi tec ture building the art school ves graduate art students an opportu y to display their work in the Robin Mrren Ce'nter. This month's featured artt, Kayb Car- penter, takes on the chalge to trans- form a bare gallery room sto a sacred and spiritually uplifting si-e. Entering the exhibit, yoare imme- diately bathed with the scets of burns ing Frankin incense (usetfor prayer and meditation in churchesand white lilies - creating a Zen lie atmos- phere. With mounds of sangcovering the floor, a sky of sewn bile pages chanting above, and a large )ite robe' with inscribed red Hebrewwritingt hanging in the center of theallery, Carpenter makes viewers awse that they have entered a room emedded svith personal value and meanin, Ip North Carpenter received a B.A. in Reli- gion and is studying to be a liturgical artist (one who does artwork for tem- ples, synagogues and churches): She realized how art had become a "com- modity market,' and feels that liftsrgi- cal art is more appreciated and "M personal." She carries over this belief in her exhibit, using the main room to bridge a connection between twosub- jects personal to her - Judeois nd Christianity. Carpenter's exhibit is filled with overlapping religious m- bolitsm. The use of numerology issne of many ways she shows religious;ig- nificance. She uses four walls to repre- sent four directions, four seasons, and three sets of lilies in red water vials' signify the trinity): four tirnes thW edtuals twelve, which represents the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles There are three sets of salt mounds 'g'ainst earls wail as a senssnder oi whet Chi st told ithe Apostle s to be -salt of the earth," and twelve mounds of sand that symbolize God's promsise and the foundation of the Jewish faith. In the second half of the room, tar- penter displays her sculptures of uses as well as a small collection pencil drawings. Her work is delicate and soft. The mood of the entrance caies over to the rest of the exhibit. (including "Brazilian Bikini Wax") Arbor Iills Hair & Budy' Salos 2295 S. State Street Call 913-5557 to schedule i an appointment Close to Campus Free Parking RETIREMENT INS CANCEFpMUTUArvidUND U E U A TIAA-CREF provides financial solutions to last a lifetime. Building your assets is one thing. 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