Stanley Spielberg ... The Michigan League will show Steven Spielberg's "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" tomorrow at 8 p.m. Free. michigandaily.com /arts YE Aitrbigatn tadl RTSr WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 6, 2002 5 'Tavern' brews up a big storm at Mendelssohn Van Dyke returns in new 'Diagnosis' film By Jenni Glenn Daily Arts Writer University Productions pokes fun at the melo- dramatic nature of murder mysteries with its lat- est play, "The Tavern." This satirical look at murder on a dark, stormy night comes to the Mendelssohn Theatre stage starting Tomorrow. THE ] The script revolves around a vagabond, who enters a tavern to Mendelssc escape the storm and finds himself a suspect in a murder. "The Tavern" Thursday-S also features a cast of stereotyped p.m. and S characters, from the mysterious P. woman to the tavern wench in love $ 15-201 with the owner's son. "There's something very apparent- University ly theatrical about this play and about the silliness of it," said Prof. Philip Kerr, the show's director. Composer George M. Cohan of "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Give My Regards to Broad- way" and "Yankee Doodle Boy" fame penned the play, one of his few non-musical works. Cohan, who was involved in some 230 shows during his lifetime, directed, wrote and eventually took over acting the role of the vagabond in "The Tavern." The production's Vaudevillian style has its roots in Cohan's legacy. Along with the stylized characters, "The Tavern" features sound effects visible to the audience. A wind machine and thunder sheet sit on the fringes of the set and cre- ate the storm effects. In addition to the effects, the script, direction and acting hinge together well, said Josh Lefkowitz, a junior Theater student who portrays the vagabond. The overall effect keeps the pro- duction moving at a fast pace and preserves audi- ence interest, he said. By Melissa Gollob Daily Arts Writer ohn Sur y Pr( "It's so super-charged and fast and furious," Lefkowitz said. The cohesive nature of "The Tavern" demon- strates Cohan's ability to find what works on stage, Kerr said. The actors primarily stayed true to Cohan's production, but Kerr also offered them creative freedom to experiment with their own comic ideas. "I've given them a bit of leeway to WVERN find their own rhythm," Kerr said. This openness made the rehearsal n Theatre process for "The Tavern" very enjoyable and stress-free, Lefkowitz :urday at 8 said. nday at 2 "You throw all your problems at the door at the beginning of $7 w/id rehearsal and pick them up again at the end if you want or just forget .oductions you ever had them," he said. "What more could you ask for as an actor Dick Van Dyke and company return to CBS in an all new "Diagnosis Mur- der" mystery movie. "A Town without Pity" explores ethnic racism in the wake of Sept. 11 and the extremes to which some are willing to go to express their hatred. Van Dyke ("Mary Pop- pins") reprises his role as Dr. Mark Sloan in this new television movie. This doctor and amateur against them and they fear the worst for Carol and her traveling companion. They meet a couple non-hostile townies that help in the investigation. Steve even assists the young blonde deputy when a woman from town just acciden- tally turns up dead from a car accident. Because this is part of the television series "Diagnosis Murder," there is of course at least one murder. This one hits close to home for the Sloans and brings a new set of emotions to the than being given a license to play?" The actors also worked hard to learn to per- form in the Vaudeville style of Cohan's work, said Christina Reynolds, a junior Theater student who portrays the tavern wench. She said it was important to find a balance between having fun as a cast and concentrating on the acting. "You have to surrender yourself to some big choices and not go too far and get dragged off by the acting police," she said. This performance also will add to the history of "The Tavern" at the University, where the show once experienced a significant revival, Kerr said. The show debuted on Broadway in 1920 but gradually had lost its high profile. Ellis Rabb, director of the University-sponsored Association of Producing Artists, rediscovered the play in 1962 and brought it back to the stage and nation- al attention. "I think it's sort of a hidden treasure of the- ater," Kerr said. murder investigator takes his show on the' road to Nevada in ** search of his missing A TOWN daughter Carol. Dr. Sloan receives a WITHOUT PITY frantic phone call from Tonight at 9 p.m. on his daughter asking for CBS help during his son's birthday party. The con- nection on the cell phone is bad so he solve the cr does not understand her very well. He his son is a becomes worried and sets off to make The plot: sure his daughter is safe. Dr. Sloan trav- the constant els to Nevada and finds a gas station ted men har attendant who informs him that he sent garage prov a young woman and her foreign friend ous messag to a near-by town to have their car they findt repaired. When he arrives in town, the venirs. The entire community countinually tells lies discovery ti and tries to force him back to Los the murder. Angeles. Dr. Sloan's son Steve (Barry The mov Van Dyke, "Battlestar Galactica") fol- crime poss lows his father to the town in search for effect that answers to Carol's disappearance. foreigner, w Unable to find Carol, they eventually descent, by call on their friends, the medical exam- crimes not iner Amanda Bentley (Victoria Rowell, plot has rel "The Young and the Restless") and fel- only keeps t low young doctor Jessie Travis (Charlie end, but to Schlatter) to help. With the entire cast entertainme reunited, they attempt to uncover the the limits of prejudices the town desperately tries to statement a keep secret. The town totally turns for acceptan 'Ucomposers usual ambivalence to death the show has had in the past. Dick Van Dyke turns in a good perfor- mance while commenting on a recent social prob- lem. The supporting cast is there to move the plot along and to give Dr. Sloan the expert knowl- edge necessary to actually ime. It's just convenient that detective. moves at a steady pace and t distraction of two dim-wit- nging around the mechanic's vide comic relief to the seri- e. They sell so-called fossils to out-of-towners as sou- ir purpose involves a major hat leads Detective Sloan to ie centered on the worst hate sible and the snowballing can occur. The hate of the vho turns out to be of Arab 'the town, shows that hate only affect the victim. The evance to the times and not the viewer guessing until the eaches tolerance through nt. Dick Van Dyke stretches f his acting to make a public gainst violence and the need nce. at Hill Courtesy of University Productions Lefkowitz (top) schemes in "The Tavern." "The Tavern" offers audiences not only an opportunity to see a little-known piece of theater but also a chance to see a show that's pure enter- tainment, Kerr added. "I think the fun is infectious," he said of the show. "It's a little pre-Valentine in the dead of Michigan winter." U' alum Kasischke to read from her new novel at Drum By Katie Cloud For the Daily On Thursday, Shaman Drum will be hosting a reading from writing class at Michigan and repeatedly winning the renowned Hopwood Award to actually mak- ing a career out of her poetic gift. She said, "The Life Before Her Eyes" author Laura Kasischke. Kasischke is an accomplished poet and promising novel- ist with achieve- ments including the Alice Fay DiCastag- nola Award from the LAURA KASISCHKE At Shaman Drum Bookshop , ' f Qr "I began to get pub- lished when I let go of the need for instant gratification and began to focus on the original rea- sons I began to write - to put an order to the world and direct LLi rsa Poetry Society of America and the Bobst Award for Emerging Writers. She attended the University, graduating in 1984, and contin- ued here for her M.F.A before going on to Columbia. Though she has written all her life, her literary talents became her life passion and pursuit when she declared creative writing as her major in the Residential College. In a recent interview with the Daily, Laura described the transi- tion from sitting in a creative .M my energy toward what I enjoyed instead of obsessing on what I did not understand or could not change." "The Life Before Her Eyes" is set in Ann Arbor. The novel com- bines the careless freedom of adolescence with the maturity and understanding of middle age in an imaginative and captivating plot. The novel's heroine, recluse, artist, daughter, friend, girlfriend, mother and wife are combined into the multidimensional charac- ter, Diana. Kasischke juxtaposes' Diana's teenage discovery of sex- uality, free will, mysteries of life and death, with her own middle- aged reflection on her past deci- sions and her current life. "Life Before Her Eyes" opens with a prologue describing a fatal circumstance followed by a fatal decision as the teenage Diana is asked to choose between her own life and her best friend's life. The text reads, "And when he asks, 'Then who should I kill?' She hears herself answer, 'Kill her. Not me."' Kasischke then slowly slips into the clandestine narra- tive of Diana's youth and Diana's middle age, forcing one to con- stantly question the outcome of the prologue. "The Life Before Her Eyes" reflects Kasischke's first passion of writing, poetry. Though this is her third novel, she excelled at Michigan, as well as in the begin- ning of her writing career, as a poet. Her verse did not metamor- phasize into prose until 1993 when she began writing her first novel, "Suspicious River"(1996) followed by her second, "White C By Joshua Palay' Daily Arts Writer This Thursday, University students will lead the University Symphony Orchestra in a concert devoted solely to the music of University student composers. An annual event, this concert has consistently been an excellent showcase for young talent. Michigan is known for producing some of the best young composers in the field, ones who are character- ized by a music that is Joel Puckett's "A Jacobs Lullaby" for strings and tuba draws its inspiration from other resources. Having grown up with a Tuba-playing father, Maestro Puckett has always been very familiar with the standard tuba repertoire. But UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Hill Auditorium Thurs. at 8 p.m. Free this work is not what one might expect from the usually jagged combina- tion of tuba and strings. Delicately lyrical, the work derives much of its material from a Welsh folk song that the com- poser's grandmother sang to him when he was a boy. The title itself is a Bird in a Blizzard" (1998). Kasis- chke admits her poetry is very narrative, and after reading "The Life Before Her Eyes," you will discover that her prose is very poetic. She is currently working on a new novel, and has just fin- ished a fourth collection of poet- ry, "What It Wasn't". Kasischke intends on reading the prologue and excerpts from her latest novel at Shaman Drum tomorrow. She will answer questions after the reading. both extremely well crafted and accessi- ble to those unfamiliar with contempo- rary music. Those featured in this year's concert are no exception. They include: David Byrne, Joel Puckett, Timothy Hanson, Andrea L. Reinkemeyer and Andre Meyers. "Star. Bang." by David Byrne, opens the concert. Inspired by Holst's planets and the "E!True Hollywood Story" of Savannah, Maestro Byrne explains "While watching the 'E!True Hollywood Story' and thinking about the similarities between stars in the sky and Hollywood stars, I noticed that, beyond the obvious comparison that both exemplify beauty, both lead similar existences. Both start from nothing, they burn with an incredi- ble intensity and then burn out with a huge burst of light. I wanted to write a piece that captured this form." reference to these two worlds: To his grandmother's lullaby and to Arnold Jacobs, one of the most influential tuba players of all time. "Scenic Highway: Gazing Skyward," the work's composer Andrea Reinke- meyer explains, "arose from a terrible sense of homesickness for mountains, green trees and misty summer mornings. Natural beauty has always played an important role in my life. As a kid, my family used to do a lot of hiking in the Columbia River Gorge, and those expe- riences made a deep impression on me and my music." With such a variety of inspirational resources, one can only speculate at the veritable cornucopia of music this con- cert will be. An orchestral concert of contemporary music of this caliber is, to say the least, a rarity. CSNY still relevant after all these years By Shelia McClear Daily Arts Writer "Dear Stephen [Stills]," Neil Young wrote in 1971. "Funny how things work out some- times. Eat a peach. I Neil." The letter was his economical way of CROSBY letting his band, Cros- NASF by, Stills, Nash and YO Young, of knowing The Palace that he was not only H quitting the band, but jumping bail in the Tonight; middle of a national $43- stadium tour. Well, things sure do turn out funny sometimes, because twenty years later Young is back with Crosby, Stills and Nash, in the mid- dle of another national arena tour - next stop, Detroit. Call it guilt, greed or just an urge to show the world what they've really got now that they have matured, but Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young still shine, playing songs from their 1999 11 cultural rubble pile. Even the irreverent way it was released pointed to the fact that it is a new time - rumor has it that Young mailed the song in a plain package , STILLS, H AND UNG e of Auburn fills at8 .m. $228.50 ing of four University - to only to non-corpo- rate radio stations, containing only a burned CD with the words "Let's Roll - Neil Young" scrawled across it with a Sharpie. Never since "Ohio" - CSNY's knock- down, drag-out response to the shoot- students at Kent State - have Young and Co. - anguished, confused, messy and pissed off as it may be. In fact, notably Young and Stills have an even longer track record of spitting out modern-day protest songs that you can dance you - going all the way back to Buffalo Springfield's 1966 hit "For What It's Worth." With the the simplest hook in pop history (two notes on a single string extended for four counts each) and it's chorus of "stop children / what's that sound? / Ev'rybody look what's going down," today those mere two notes conjure the memory of the late '60s and the civil unrest and sense of boundless idealism that defined it. The whole band crowded around one mic, backed by frequent Young collaborators Booker T and the MGs. Over two decades of materi- al. Over two decades of a rocky friendship that can't seem to stay apart for too long. It could end ip disaster, or it could bring new heights. Either way, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young will be damned if they don't at least try. OSCR Open House! so successfully and decisively welded their social and artistic con- sciousness with the national pulse Food for Thought Protest Movements FRENCH, PORTUGUESE, SPANISH AND ROMANIAN SPEAKING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PEACE CQRPS t LEARN HOW PRIOR STUDY OF ROMANCE LANGUA&ES CAN BE USEFUL IN THE PEACE COPRS. The Office of Student Conflict Resolution is hosting an Open House at its new location. Come and dialogue with OSCR staff about the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities (Code) and possible amendments to this document. 4 0 Ai .