44 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider ... If you missed this epic master- piece in theaters this summer, check it out at the League for free. 8 p.m. michigandaily.com iRTS WEDNESDAY MARCH 20, 2002 8 A 'La Cenerentola' to bring Rossini's classic opera to 'U' Andrew W.K. gets 'wet' with new album and tour By Josh Palay Daily Arts Writer The Michigan School of Music has one of the strongest vocal departments in the country. Con- sistently producing singers of the highest caliber, it is a valuable asset to the University community. This weekend provides demonstrative proof of this as the Michigan School of Music Opera Theatre presents ' Rossini's "La Cenerentola." This opera, a version of the Cinderella . story, is an especially poignant CENER choice as its title role calls for an At the Me incredibly adept and skilled col- The oratura contralto backed by a highly skilled ensemble of singers. The Thursd University is indeed quite fortunate 'ickets $15 to have a student body talented studen enough to persuasively perform this Universityl work. Rossini's operas, of which the best known is most certainly "The Barber of Seville," are usual- ly characterized by florid lines and lush melodies. Yet, unlike his successors Bellini and Puccini, there is a charmed simplicity to Rossi- ni's music. The lines might be florid or ornament- LA Er [en eat ay nts Pr ed, but the decorations do not encumber the essence of the music. The underlying lines are always very clear. "La Cenerentola" exemplifies these characteristics. One should be warned, however, that this is not the Disney version of Cinderella to which we have all become accustomed. Although the story does end happily-ever-after, the fairy godmother is replaced by a philosopher and the evil stepmother is now an evil step- father. Likewise, there is neither a pumpkin-coach nor a glass slipper. NTOLA The history of this opera is also of delssohn particular interest since its premiere tre occurred exactly one month after Rossini first received the libretto; turday at Rossini composed the entire opera 0 or 7 for in two weeks. This original produc- w/id. tion was particularly impressive oductions when one also takes into account the time then necessitated by staging and rehearsals. Unfortunately, the opera was a failure at its premiere, yet, like "The Barber of Seville," it eventually became a success. In fact, many even find the score preferable to that of "Barber." The University is fortunate to have guest direc- By Matthew Weller For the Daily If Frank Zappa ever chose one musical persona, and then pushed that persona to the bounds of absurdity, instead of achieving absurdity by adopting a host of personae, he would sound like Andrew W.K. And the music would be something ferocious. Imagine being pummeled about the head with Glam Rock hooks circa Twisted Sister, while Slayer played full-blast in the background.Yet Andrew W.K. is not angry. And they do not want to share your pain. They may indeed want to share your beer, or more likely your keg, and - as the. title of a song off their upcoming release may suggest ANDRI - encourage you to WDK Party Till You Puke. W.K. But Andrew W.K. At St. And is not apersona. Church, D+ They are in-the- April 5 moment, in-your- Album due out f a c e University Music in-your-sister's-pants rock and roll. And Courtesy of University Productions Cast of "La Cenerentola." tor Nicolette Monlir. If her staging of "La Cener- entola" is of the same quality as was her staging of University Production's 1998 "Turn of the Screw," the production will be in good hands. 4 RC Senior takes 'Playground' to stage m )et ith ical Mr. W.K. from the Limp Bizkit/Linkin Park hordes is his evangelical, unfeigned approach to music: "It's the truth. This music is the truth and it's also freedom. It's so big, so huge and so spanning. So many things, so much, and so true. This is the most wonderful thing that's ever happened in the history of human kind." So when he sings "we're gonna have fun and we're gonna get wasted" you get the impression that he means it not as a statement of empirical fact, but as a declaration that 'anything is possible, and we're going to do whatever the Hell we want' (although there is the high likelihood this will land them somewhere near a kegger, and in a highly agitated state). On stage AWK is a pha- lanx of sound. There are four guitarists, a drummer, and Mr. W.K. on keyboards ews and vocals. It is a unique troit metal actathat employs the k piano in a non-ballad con- Mar. 26 text. "My number one influ- Society ences in this world are potential energy and piano", explains Mr. W.K. The piano serves as a bulwark against the tirade of sound the band, many of them veterans of the Floridian death metal scene, unleashes. It is Mr. WK.'s kinetic energy, of course, that grabs you. Fist pumping, jump kicking, head banging and crowd-surfing his way through the show, Mr. W.K. is a dervish of brawn and fucked-up bravado. Although maybe not The Truth, there is something primal and com- pelling about AWK. It is what you lis- tened to when you got your first beer buzz. It is loud, defiant, mindless, and adolescent. It is, in short, rock and roll at its puerile best: Anarchy hangs out at Recidivism's house on a Friday night, and brings along a beer bong. Andrew W.K. will be returning to Detroit April 5, at St. Andrew's Hall. Their album I Get Wet is available March 26 on Island/Def Jam. By Rachel Lewis Daily Arts Writer Rachel Razgunas is not a typical senior. This coming weekend, she won't be found at the bars, house parties, or even the libraries. Instead, she'll be taking the stage in East Quad's RC Auditorium to per- form "On the Playground," hernself- written, one-woman show based on her experiences working with inner- city youths in Detroit. A combination of prose, poetry, music and dramatic scenes, "On the Playground" will feature the writing and musical talents of Razgunas, a former voice-education major who is now a Humanities major in the Residential College studying Eng- lish and Creative Writing. With an innovative and unique backdrop of projected slides, her pieces will be performed not only by the writer herself but also by 15 of the six to 13 year olds that she currently works with in the Core City Neigh- borhoods. Core City Neighborhoods is a non-profit organization that pro- vides quality, low-income housing for northeast Detroit residents. They also run after school and summer youth programs, both of which Raz- gunas is affiliated with. Although it is government funded, the program is housed in an old gothic church with classrooms that are actually intended to be storage space. When Razgunas first got involved, she was responsible for developing andI implementing edu- cational activities ON TI for 11-to-13-year- PLAYGRC old Detroit youths. Razgunas was At East( directed to this Auditori challenging, yet Thursday-Satu fulfilling position p.m., Sunday through the Michi- 2 cans of food4 gan Community mended donat Service Core, a ResidentialC University of Michigan program providing stu- dents with paid internships at non- profit organizations. Her experience there and her interactions with the staff and chil- dren of Core City Neighborhoods inspired the works that will be dis- played this weekend and is closely associated with every aspect of the show. "Working with Core City youth took me down uncharted paths, along which I encountered situations encompassing such issues as racial awareness, educational and social inequality," said Razgunas. Emotionally and morally affected by such eye-opening opportunities, she began compiling her thoughts in the form of poetry and prose. She later put some of the poems to music and wrote dramatic scenes to form the entertaining and diverse final product. HI Qu urd at or tio Col "On the Playground" is more than just a platform to display Razgunas' creativity; it is also a fundraiser for Core City Neighborhoods. She is performing in hopes that the $3 or two cans of food admission required to get in will help provide much needed funds for the pro- gram. She also hopes that students in the audience will learn from her experience and extend their time as a volunteer as well. "Because of September 11th, a lot of people decided to put their money elsewhere, so E I'm hoping people will JND get inspired to go out there and help out," said iad Razgunas.. m Perhaps most impor- lay at 8 tantly, Razgunas hopes 2 p.m. that University students recom- will populate the audience n of $3 so that they can provide llege lasting impressions on the Core City youths that will be attending. Along with the 15 children performing, there will be several traveling from Detroit on a field trip just to watch the show. "The more people that are in the audience, the more exciting it will be for the kids," she said. Despite her high hopes for Satur- day night, Razgunas already feels a sense of accomplishment. She cQn- tinues to volunteer at Core City Neighborhoods, running weekly theater workshops for as many stu- dents as are interested. Their partic- ipation in the show has been the highlight for her, making Razgu- nas' final experience with them (before graduation and moving to New York City to participate in Teach for America) a rewarding one. "They're really excited. They like it when all the attention is on them," she said. Mr. W.K. is as earnest as a high school motivational speaker: "when you've been given so many miracles, being alive being able to breathe and be happy, (playing music) is just a mira- cle on top of a miracle. It is a privi- lege; to do anything less than my best would be a disgrace," said Mr. W.K. in an interview with The Michigan Daily. So why are some having a hard time deciding whether or not to take these guys seriously? It is probably because the music itself appears to be pure hyperbole. The track list for Monday's show included Fun Night, Party Till You Puke, Girls Own Juice, It's Time to Party and the soon-to-be-ubiquitous Party Hard. Repetitive? Yes. Moronic? Probably. But as catchy as the com- mon cold, in a shotgun-a-can-of- adrenaline kind of way. There can be no doubt Andrew WK. is over-the-top. But what distinguishes al The grass is greener in 'Hot Shots Golf 3' By Matt Grandstaff Daily Arts Writer newest sequel has been given the Playsta- tion 2 makeover with "Hot Shots Golf 3." The most obvious change to "Hot 0 For anyone who doesn't play golf, the idea of playing a golf videogame usually sounds about as appealing as eating crayons. Realizing this and wanting to open up a new genre of sports games, Sony released "Hot Shots Golf" for the Playstation. The game and its sequel ("Hot Shots Golf 2") reinvented golf games by mixing simple play mechanics with over-the-top humor. And like every successful Playstation game, "Hot Shots" S hots" series is t h e game 's beautiful graphics. E a c h hole's lay- out is done to perfection w i t h HOT SHOTS GOLF 3 For Playstation 2 SCEA Vote yGSf "Shall the Ann Arbor Tenants Union (AATU) be funded directly by students through a one dollar per semester fee to guarantee every student the opportunity for free advice, counseling, and other services regarding landlord/tenant issues?" YES N ol bunkers, fairways and the rough all hav- ing distinct looks. As for the game's cam- era work, Sony has provided amazing zoom in shots that closely resemble tele- vised golfing events. On a down note, however, the camera work for aiming shots is more troublesome than previous games in the series. As for the game's gameplay modes, "Hot Shots 3" offers the same modes that previous games offered. Among the best of these, the game includes stroke play, tournament play and a skins game. The variety of gameplay modes brings "Hot Shots" more replay value, but provides nothing new for veterans of the series or "Mario Golf," which was worked on by the makers of "Hot Shots" Overall, "Hot Shots Golf 3" is a good way to introduce gamers to the world of golf With easy play mechanics and plen- ty of features, the game is perfect for playing with a bunch of friends on a rainy day. For veterans of "Hot Shots" and "Mario Golf," it may provide a few good hours of gaming, but falls short of lofty expectations. 6 What will $1 buy? Knowledge of Your Rights Your Security Deposit Lease Review Resistance to Eviction Repairs to Your apartment Network for Unified Action Ally Against Discrimination Efforts to Control Rent Info. Sessions Help Getting Rid of Infestations Parking Lot Enforcement tactics UM Experiential Learning How tn Renuest Insnections Who endorses the Vote YES? UM Student Legal Services UM Residence Hall Association UM LSA Student Government City of Ann Arbor Mayor John Heifje City of Ann Arbor Council Member Jean Carlberg Washtenaw County Treasurer Catherine McCleary Fair Housing Center of Washtenaw County Michigan State Rep Chris Kolb Michigan State Rep John Hansen UM Director of Project Community Joe Galura UM Black Students Union UM Native American Student Association UM Weslev Foundation Chaplain Rev. Bob Schoenhals >7> ~i2t ~ ~ ~ ~ 3 E C _.. ,.