Frday March 14, 2003 michigandaily.com mae@michigandaity.com t[ctt~ut nnitg ARTS 5 Refried 'Beene' not a tasty meal By Christian Smith Daily Arts Writer When watching "Oliver Beene," it's hard not to get the feel- ing that you've seen this before. And it isn't just the deliberate '60s-era nostalgia that the show aims to generate. With its youthful sentimentality and family premise, not to mention the voice-over narration by a grown-up Oliver (David Cross, "Mr. Show"), the show has already been labeled as a far less schmaltzy variation of "The Wonder Years." Furthermore, the abundance of fantasy sequences bears it a strong resemblance to stylistically-similar shows like "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" and "Scrubs." Despite these similarities, all three aforementioned shows are far superior to "Oliver Beene." In the new comedy, Grant Rosenmeyer - better known as Ari Tenenbaum in "The Royal Tenenbaums" - stars as the titular Beene, a smart but awkward 11-year-old trying desperately to fit in during a time when JFK is president, the space race is heating up and the country is embroiled in the Cold War. While this may sound eerily similar to the premise of NBC's "American Dreams," "Oliver Beene" takes a much more comical tone, irreverently lampooning various cultural habits of the times.a However, the effectiveness of this comedic remembrance varies drastically. Set in Rego i Park, Queens, "Oliver Beene" does best when OLIVER dealing with characterizations of stereotypes, like the parts of last week's pilot that intro- Sundays a duced Oliver's eccentric family. F There's his womanizing, older brother Ted, played by what we can only hope is the last of the Lawrence brothers, Andrew; his social-climbing Jackie Kennedy-wannabe mother Charlotte (Wendy Makkena, Courtesy of Please let me catch it this time. You don't understand, I am not crazy, I just have to sing. By Christine Lasek Daily Arts Writer It is Aug. 15, 1947: midnight - the exact moment of India's independence. The large sectional screen cover- ing the back wall of the stage is aglow with historical footage of India and is the only light on stage. Down- stage from the screen are two beds, where two women are giving birth at the same time. The sound of the news footage is punctuated by the screams of the women. This is only the beginning. The play becomes more involved from here on out. "Midnight's Children" is told by Saleem Sinai, one of the 1,001 children born in the hour of India's independence, all of whom are endowed with special gifts. Saleem's story precedes him, as he narrates the struggle of his grandparents, parents and finally MIDN himself, all attempting to find love and raise a family against the backdrop of CHIL political uproar. "Midnight's Children" is Today-Su also the story of that uproar, recounting p.m. and the struggle of twentieth century India, At the Po Pakistan and Bangladesh. Yet, just when it seems that this play might be too grand for comprehension, it is drenched in all the details that comprise everyday humanity. The characters of "Mid- night's Children" are all human beings, who lust and hate and make love to one another (when they can). They bare children and question God, show moments of unbeliev- able strength and also pitiful weakness. Saleem believes himself to be at the center of history, willing historical events to happen. He is also a boy, self consc Ius about the size of his nose and his own sexual awareness. Twenty actors comprise the cast of this play, portraying over seventy roles. Zubin Varla as Saleem is astounding. I 7 rw One moment he narrates the events of his life to the audi- ence, the next he takes part in the action on stage, then he steps out of his life again to converse with the woman he recounts his story to, Padma. Costume changes happen on stage, and help to show differences in time and place. The set of "Midnight's Children" is never stationary for long. The only permanent, and the most elaborate, set piece is the sectional screen on the back wall of the stage, which could also be split or joined to suggest a doorway or curtain. There are many scene changes, and often a new place or time period is suggested by various moveable set pieces and drapery that fly in from the ceil- ing. Lighting effects are also very important. They por- tray everything from scene changes to civilian massacres. This type of staging keeps the play moving without any long ** black outs for transitions (important in a GHT'S three and a half hour show!) and it also allowes the footage on the screen to take )REN primary focus as it is playing. day, 1:30 The screen plays a very important role. :30 p.m. The story of "Midnight's Children" is too er Center big to be told through one medium alone. With the historical footage, the screen helps to ground the audience in a time and place, or create an interesting juxtaposition between historical events and the events in Saleem's life. The screen is also how the mid- night's children converse, representing the interior work- ings of Saleem's head, as he is the only midnight's child who can hear all the others as part of his gift. "Midnight's Children" is a show that defies all attempts at explanation. It is totally self contained; it is not neces- sary to read the novel in order to comprehend the play. Phenomenal actors, breath-taking costumes and impres- sive staging all come together to bring the timeless words of Salman Rushdie to life. R. at ! "O Wanderlust' travels unfunny terrntory By Daniel Yowell Daily Arts Writer To state the obvious, it seems like shows on a network called Comedy Central should be funny. Not just "According to Jim" funny either, but excep- tionally funny. Since its inception, Comedy Cen- tral has been a second WAND home to landmark come- S dies like "Saturday Night aturdays Live" and "The Kids in Comed the Hall." The network} has also brought a new generation of classic shows like "South Park" and "The Daily Show" to the small screen. Enter "Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust" - a travel show parody that follows the not-so-illustrious tradition of "Battle- bots" and "Let's Bowl." In the same )E at y "Sister Act"); and his tightfisted dentist father, Jerry (Grant Shaud, "Murphy Brown"). But too much of the show focuses on uninspired subplots, like this Sunday's first-time-without-a-babysitter storyline. The one highlight is the introduction of Oliver's gay- beyond-his-years friend. More often than not, though, this offering from veteran sitcom producers Howard Ger- witz and Steven Levitan ("The Larry Sanders BEENE Show," "Just Shoot Me") resorts to the unnec- essary and unfunny crass humor that pads the 8:30 p.m. majority of today's lifeless sitcoms. X On the other hand, an upcoming episode dealing with the integration of a black student in Oliver's all-white school is sidesplittingly funny, and reminds us why FOX wedged it between "The Simpsons" and "Malcolm in the Middle" in the first place. way that "Battlebots" was too much competition and not enough comedy, "Wanderlust" is too much travel show and not enough parody. Gerhard Reinke (Josh Gardner) is an intrepid German travel writer and endearing buffoon who has appeared as a corre- spondent on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and, for RLUST what it's worth, is bear- able and pretty funny in 11:30 p.m. small dosages. On the Central contrary, a half-hour of his Mike Myers' "Sprockets"-meets-Balki-from-"Perfect Strangers" schtick can be too much to handle. "Wanderlust" feels like an overseas "Insomniac with Dave Attell," but lacks Attell's easygoing attitude and wry humor. Gerhard travels to Thailand in the first episode, where he tries out Thai boxing, checks out the strip club scene and learns about Buddhism. The episode has a weak beginning, with lit- erally nothing funny happening until nearly five-minutes in. At the episode's conclusion, Ger- hard recalls his adventure by singing over a terrible techno beat, which is funny in a Tom Green's "Bum Bum Song" kind of way Unfortunately, getting to these worth- while laughs requires suffering through some painfully dull and juvenile scenes, like when Gerhard - in a thong - is chased by a jellyfish or when he out- farts an elephant. Although flawed, "Wanderlust" is still pretty fiuny ... for a travel show. And that's the main problem. For the show to work on Comedy Central, it should be funny before anything else. U _. CONGRATULATIONS! T~ The following students will be among those recognized during the Honors Convocation program on Sunday, March 16, 2003. These individuals have demonstrated the highest level of undergraduate academic success by achieving seven or more consecutive terms of all A's and earning the designation of Angell Scholar. The University of Michigan congratulates these students on their superior scholastic achievement and wishes them continued success. EIGHT TERM ANGELL SCHOLARS Jennifer M. Bess Matthew Alan Bright.* Kevin Patrick Egan * Jeffrey Earl Harrington * Jennifer A. Hobbs * Gregory Alan Messinger * Mark Edmund Outslay * David Michael Roth * College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Engineering College of Engineering College of Engineering School of Business Administration College of Engineering College of Engineering School of Music SEVEN TERM ANGELL SCHOLARS Daniel Honig Julie Elizabeth Humphries Gaurav Kumar Jashnani Heather Leigh Jensen Christopher Kramer Sara Lynn Kuperstein * Paul Kuttner Matthew Miles Leach Molly Bree McCord Brian David Netter * Dalia Nechama Oppenheimer Amy Prakash Patel Todd B. Patterson Nathan R. Platte Martha Faye Richard * Stevan Rafi Rosenberg * Kara Renee Rumsey Jamie Nicole Schey Abigail Virginia Sebaly Eric Y. Shieh Benjamin J. Stafford * Residential College School of Nursing College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Residential College College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Residential College College of Engineering Residential College College of Engineering Residential College College of Pharmacy College of Literature, Science, and the Arts School of Music School of Nursing College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Residential College College of Literature, Science, and the Arts School of Music School of Music College of Engineering Paul Stephen Albertus Alexandra Grace Anderson Gwendolyn Bree Arnold Robert Joseph Bartz * Laurence Adam Benenson Mark Buckles Wei Mun Chan Elise Nicole Erickson Holly Lynn Graves Sarah Jane Grekin College of Engineering Residential College Residential College College of Engineering College of Literature, Science, and the Arts School of Music College of Engineering School of Nursing College of Literature, Science, and the Arts College of Literature, Science, and the Arts I I I itI