Hey! Read this! 'On the Playground' is at the East Quad auditorium tonight at 7:30 only. iRTS michigandaily. com/arts FRIDAY MARCH 22, 2002 5 Hughley brings irreverance to Hill Tharp brings creative steps, visionary style to the Power Center By Lyle Henretty Daily Arts Editor "Yeah, it's gonna be a good time coming to the University," comedi- an D.L. Hughley said of his upcom- ing performance at Hill Auditorium. "There's always a dif- ferent vibe performing D.L. H in front of a college WSG crowd. Lots of ener- gy," Hughley told The BL Daily. The comic will Hill Au be on campus Sunday Sun. at evening with Lewis $2 Black, best known for his curmudgeonly rants on "The Daily Show with John Stewart." Hughley originally made a name for himself on HBO's "Def Comedy Jam" and as the first host of BET's "Comic View," has since done two HBO comedy specials and has his own television show on UPN, now entering its third season. The sitcom is a fictionalized account of Hughley's own family life. Hughley plays Darryl Hughley, the owner of a successful vending machine company, who moves his family from a working-class neigh- U iul L AC idi 7:3 10-2 borhood to a more upscale (and slightly white) one. The racial humor of the show is an offshoot of the humor Hughley uses in his standup routine, in which he decon- structs stereotypes and pokes fun at the social differences between races in everyday life. The JGHLEY show has been a hit for EWIS UPN's Monday night CWS line-up. "I guess peo- ple say they can relate torium to my comedy, which 30 p.m. is good," sais Hughley. 23 .Despite his success in numerous fields, Hughley feels that being funny is similar across differ- ent media. "Although, you know, comedy is comedy for me, no mat- ter where I do it - whether it's on stage at a school, or a [comedy] club, a movie set or on the set of the TV show. It's like a meal at Taco Bell - all the same thing just fold- ed a different way. I mean, who the hell can tell the difference between an enchirito and a burrito?" Despite his flippant attitude towards his craft, his importance is apparent in the prestigious nomina- tions of both Hughley and his tele- By Archana Ravi Daily Arts Writer When Twyla Tharp has a vision, she twists, bends and sometimes juxtaposes it with three or four of her other visions until the final product is a work of creative genius. This tendency is manifest- ed in her dancers' bodies and is illustrated in her choreography. Hughley is determined to make you laugh, I vision show. Both "The Hughleys" and Hughley himself have received NAACP Image Award nominations each of the last four years. Accolades aside, Hughley is dead set on entertaining audiences. He promises that "they can bet I'm gonna be doing that this weekend." He may be opening for Hughely, but Lewis Black has his own cult of like-minded anger-mongers sure to be pleased by the comedian's astounded haranguing of worldwide stupidity. Every Wednesday on "The Daily Show," viewers are treated to Black's recap of the world's greatest Courtesy of UPN like Taco Bell. atrocities to the intellect during his "Back in Black" segment. He is known for his disheveled look and frighteningly large forefingers, which seem to take on a mind of, their own when agitated. His simple observations are often punctuated by his extreme disgust for humani- ty, as the casual viewer often won- ders whether on not the comedian may drop dead of a heart attack while onstage. Black's social observations and hectic delivery meld perfectly with Hughley's smooth racial and per- sonal musings. This weekend's pair- ing is sure to be an explosion of Known by many as America's greatest liv- ing choreographer, Tharp revolutionizes dance fusion through her unique integration of ballet, modern and jazz dance. But Tharp is not one to pursue all of her visions. In 1988, she TWYLAr DAN At Power Tomorrow Sun. at first to step over the boundary between modern dance and classi- cal ballet. Some of the troupe's most popu- lar pieces, including Mozart's "Clarinet Quintet, K.581" and "Surfer at the River Styx," will be performed this weekend at the Power Center. The Mozart piece is noteworthy because the dance takes place on the beach, focusing on the interactions between men and women. There are traditional THARP male/female couples, 4CE but Tharp also created a trio of lovers, which Center make the story all the at 8 p.m., more exciting. This 3 p.m. dance is filled with acrobatic yet sexy lifts, designed to draw attention towards the inner thighs. The "Surfer at the River Styx" is based on Euripides' "The Bac- chae." An interesting thing about this piece is that it displays one of Tharp's most notorious trademarks: the juxtaposition of ballet with var- ious forms of boogie. Other featured dances in this weekend's programs are "Westerly Round," with music by Mark O'Connor and "Sinatra Suites," a dance set to one of America's most popular and beloved singers. East Lansing Film Festival this weekend By Lyle Henretty and Andy TayloFabe Daily Arts Editors The fifth annual East Lansing Film Festival (ELFF) kicked of Wednesday night with a screen- ing of Jeff Daniels' new film "Super Sucker," with the Michigan actor-director and several cast members in atten- dence. The film, which is about compe- tition between door- to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen, is the second effort of Daniels' Purple Rose Productions (after last year's comedic "Escanaba in da Moonlight"). ers"), a collection of Czech fairytales brought to the screen by director F.A Brabec. The seven dark fairytales blend dark eroticism with themes of death and despair. Those less interested in high art can view Jessi- ca Villines' "Plaster Caster," a documentary look at the infamous rock groupie and her impressive colection of plaster casts of rock star penises. Tomorrow, the festival takes on a more interna- tional flavor, showing both "Dear Fidel: Marita's Story" from Germany and "Lumumba," a joint effort between France, Belgium, Germany and Haiti. Wilfried Huismann's documentary on the life of concentration camp survivor/Castro- lover/CIA operative/FBI operative with mob ties Marita Lorenz is an interesting study in the nature Films made by former Michigan residents are also included.William Greaves' "Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey" follows the life of Bunche, a human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner and statesman. Greaves will also be at the screen- ing. On the lighter, more bizarre side is Christopher Robin Hood's "Coping," a story of a man who is mistaken for a terrorist after he meets the woman of his dreams at the airport. He then begins an exhaustive, city-wide search to find her. The student film category, which has over a dozen films this year, has two showings Sunday afternoon. There will also be a seminar on Sunday morning during which several filmmakers wil dis- cuss their work and independent film. brought her modern danice compa- ny to a close after 20 years due to a lack of sustained interest. Soon after, she started missing her troupe, so she formed another, which eventually collapsed as well. A third troupe came and went, just like the others. But with her fourth and most recent group of dancers, the innovative and stylish Twyla Tharp Dance Company, her work has finally paid off. The TTDC is composed of seven veteran dancers from institutes such as the American Ballet The- atre, the New York City Ballet and the Joffrey and Feld Ballets. These dancers left their prestigious jobs because they were attracted to Tharp's artistic visions of dance. And, because of this, Tharp chose these dancers because of their unconventionality. When Tharp picks her dancers, she walks into a ballet company, looks around and selects the dancers whom everyone else ignores. Often, these dancers might be the ones with less than "ideal" body types or with otherwise "ordinary" talent. . It is this type of unconventional practice that brought Tharp a lot of criticism from the public eye. Many complained that she was try- ing to combine ballet with "lower" dance forms. Her objective, howev- er, was simply to intensify, comple- ment and transform ballet, keeping in mind its strong resilience. Tharp became known as a "crossover" choreographer because she was the MrS I 5TH ANNUAL EAST LANSING FILM FESTIVAL Michigan State campus Thru Sun. Prices vary The ELFF's the largest film festival in Michi- gan and boasts being the most diverse. It screens short and student films as well as foriegn and independet. They also have entire sub-festivals dedicated to both children and homegrown Michigan filmmakers. The festival was created in 1997 with full sup- port from the city of East Lansing and Michigan State University. The festival gets into full swing this weekend, with speakers and films from around the world, many making their mid-Michigan debuts. Last night kicked off the main part of the festival with "Hip Hop: The New World Order," a look at hip hop's effect on global youth. Tonight is the festi- val debut of the Czech film "Kytice" ("Wildflow- of truth. Roaul Peck's "Lumumba" is a fictional account of the rise and assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime min- ister of independent Congo. Sunday is the "Michigan's Own" portion of the festi- val. All of the film- makers are from in-state, and awards are given for best short film, feature, documentary and student films. Courtesy of Twyla Tharp Man, these guys sure can dance! Courtesy of the East Lansing Film Festival Huismann's documentary "Dear Fidel: Marita's story" contains both fact and fiction. Bodies hit the floor: Drowmng Pool lead Jagermeister tour By Sonya Sutherland Daily Arts Writer JiAgermeister and its blend of 56 unique herbs, roots, and fruits is a key ingredient at any classy soiree. There- fore, it is no surprise that the essential hard liquor is now supporting the essential hard spring tour and bringing a good time with a puke-free guarantee (in the form of a fine night of all-ages rock). First up on the bill are 40 Below Summer, new- comer to the mainstream arena but certainly JAGERb not novices on stage. Handled by the same TOUR F folks who brought Fear Factory and Slipknot DROWI out of the underground, 40 Below share the intensity found in their peers of hard rock At Clut but fortunately spread their sonic foundation Sun. a far past hoarse lyrics and distorted guitar licks. Recognizing the importance of going beyond the new trend of rap-rock singing and repetitive catchy riffs, lead singer Max Illidge's alternation of softer singing and more angst-motivated vocalization carries their already-strong tracks into the category of superb. Forty Below's set will end only to make room on stage for Ill Nino, another new face in the hard crowd. They are along the lines of a Soulfly-type intensity, but with a little less aggression. Ill Nino maintains an energy sure to fire up the mosh pit as well as entertain those more comfort- able in seats, and it will eventually clear the way for Coal Chamber. Although Coal Chamber seems to have been missing- in-action these days, rest assured that their days out of sight have not been days laid to waste. LOWEST PRICES! S HIGHEST QUA LITY! FASTEST SER VICE! U . 1002 PONTIAC TR. U 9E94-136E The Balcony By Jean Genet Directed by Mbala Nkanga A controversial portrait ofpower and sex set in a brothel. March 28-30 & April 4- 6 at 8pm March 31 & April 7 at 2pm Trueblood Theatre Join us for a discussion with the director and cast following the Friday evening performances! General Admission $15 Students $7 with ID League Ticket Office Charge it! 734-764-2538 UM School of Music Dept. ofThatre & Drama MEISTER EATURING NG POOL :h Cargo's t 6 p.m. Originally accused of ripping off Korn, the co-ed quartet has made it clear that they are more than a third-generation copy of the ever-popular heavy rock scene. Relying on self-described "spooky-core" sound, Coal Chambers' might as a metal contender is backed up by its large fan following, despite their absence from the scene. Though origi- nal bassist Rayna Foss-Rose left the band to care for her daughter, Coal Chamber is no weaker for the loss, gearing up for the high- ly anticipated release of their third effort. Which brings us to the headliners, Drowning Pool. They were the favorite of last summer's second stage Ozzfest, and they are confirmed to appear on the headlin- ing stage of this summer's bat-biting extravaganza. Drowning Pool's first hit, "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor," may have been the anthem of last fall, but it still continues to carry their record sales into platinum status. As one of the hotter metal bands of the year, Drowning Pool relies heavily on its no-frills approach to rock. There is no make-up and there are no costumes, only straight music - that's the strategy the boys have relied on to bring them this far. Gamma Sigma National Greek A ipha Academic Honor Society Alpha Omicron Chapter - University of Michigan Winter 2002 New Members Congratulations to our Winter 2002 initiates for representing academic excellence Heather Bruce KKF Elizabeth Burpee A' Erin Danahy 2K Karen Gibbons HB(D Kara Horsley HB(D Lindsey Kotler EAT Katherine Pape AA Elizabeth Erin Post XK Jordan Powell AD Monica Rose AX9 i