8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Air ARTS Early music ensembles evoke musical past. By Andrew Klein Daily Arts Writer FIEARg RVE La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Le Con- cert des Nations are like any other large classical ensembles that might pass through the University on any given day - except that both groups spe- cialize in early music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. And conductor Jordi Savall, a master of the viola da gamba - the fretted, seven-string instrument that was replaced by the cello in the 17th century - is by no means a typi- cal musician or conductor. La Capella Reial de Catalunya, a vocal group created in 1987, and Le Concert des Nations, an AMY DRUMM/Daily Music and LSA junior John Hartman and Theater junior Mikala Bierma created, wrote and now star in the Basement Arts sketch comedy show "Kapowski." Student-led comedy hits Basement Arts orchestra that performs on period instruments that was created in 1989, are the brain- children of Savall. Both groups are acknowledged to be some of the foremost performers of early music. But in all fair- ness, Savall commented that "early music" isn't the best term to describe their work. "I think we mix many different time periods from very differ- ent cultures, presented with style for the time," he said. La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Le Concert des Nations Thursday at 8 p.m. $30-40 At St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church By Victoria Edwards Daily Fine Arts Editor After nearly a year, the love child of John Hartman and Mikala Bierma - "Kapowski," a sketch comedy show written, pro- duced and per- formed by the two students - will run for three nights at the Frieze Build- ing's Arena Theater as part of the Base- ment Arts series. Kapowski Thursday through Saturday 7:00 p.m. Free At the Arena Theater Frieze Building "(Our show) is the only student-writ- ten thing performed at the Basement this semester," Hartman said. Basement Arts productions usu- ally consist of performances for which student directors and actors re-imagine the works of other play- wrights. But Hartman and Bierma, who both perform in the campus comedy troupe Witt's End, began writing the sketches for their pro- duction last summer. They've con- tinued to meet at least once a week for the entire school year to continue working on "Kapowski." The pair originally wrote sketches that included two roles for them to perform. But when they submitted their proposal to the Basement Arts executive board, Hart and Bierma promised to open the sketches up to include other cast members as well as a design and lighting staff. Their labor of love turned into a comedy .that now involves no less than 12 different sketches. Hart- man and Bierma star in the produc- tion, along with four supporting cast members. Hartman said that the per- formance depends heavily on satiri- cal comedy. "(The, show) satirize(s) everyday life and people. It makes fun of dif- ferent aspects of society," Hartman said. He added that as a writer, he uses satire as means to address the problems that one faces in the world. One skit, called "Sloppy Second Chances," is set up as a mockumen- tary, humorously following reformed prostitutes who attempt to rejoin the job market. "A lot (of the show) revolves around surprise - you don't know what's going on," Hart said. One problem that the duo faced in being so deeply involved in the inception and development of their project was the possible conflict of interest entailed in both directing and acting in their sketches. Because both Hartman and Bierma star in each sketch, it's not easy for them to critique their own performances. "We're also directing ("Kapow- ski"). So we're giving people in the scenes direction, which is why we had to hire an assistant director - to give us notes," Hartman said. Hartman and Bierma's experi- ence improvising in Witt's End per- formances provided a good basis around which to frame the show. While sketch comedy is more close- ly related to improv comedy than it is to stand-up, Hartman also has a background experience in that field. "It's been our project for the whole year, from the beginning to now," Hartman said. The culmination of Hartman and Bierma's work will make its debut tomorrow night. Both groups have performed numerous concerts around the world and made multiple recordings as well. The two groups recorded W.A. Mozart's Requiem together in 1994, which received an award from the prestigious European radio sta- tion, Luxembourg Television and Radio. Le Concert des Nations performs with period instruments from the Baroque era to give their sound a genuine feel. La Capella Reial de Catalu- nya is composed of a group of top-level vocalists that ranges from eight to 60 members, depending on what pieces are being performed. The sing- ers, mostly from Spanish-speaking countries, are noted for their revival of Catalan historical music as well as their devotion to music from their respective cultures. The groups are set to perform pieces that include The Music of Don Quixote and Monte- verdi's Madrigals of Love and War. The group- ing of these two works is not coincidental; Savall explained that while the former deals with war in a "lively manner," it is still a "tragic history" in comparison to the latter, which addresses "Greek mythological themes of war and love." "There is a balance between the drama and Courtesy of UMS Jordi Savall will conduct La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Le Concert des Nations on tomorrow night. A the humor. Both are a medium to understand the human condition," Savall said. He insisted that even an uninformed listener has much to enjoy from this concert. To Savall, the most important objective is "to have the plea- sure in discovering another type of music, anoth- er type of emotion There is always something to appreciate. You don't need to be a musical specialist to perceive the music." University produces famed Broadway musical By Colleen Cox For the Daily In 1989, "City of Angels," written by Larry Gelbart (of "M*A*S*H" fame), was adapted for the stage and exploded into major success, sweep- ing the Tonys for Best Musical, book, score, set design, actor and featured actress. With a vivacious jazz score by Cy Coleman - who won his first Tony with the show - and David Zippel's lyrics, "City of Angels" became a huge hit on Broad- way, running at its opening venue, the Virginia Theatre, for an amazing 878 performanc- es. Now, "City of Angels" comes to the Power Center for performances City of Angels Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets $15 - $20 At the Power Center and Stone's dilemmas reflect each other, with Stone stepping forward from fiction as Stine's conscience and critic, eventually leading to their explosive duo, You're Nothing Without Me. The play's sets and costumes are integral to the mood: Stone's fic- tional realm is cast in the bleak hues of noir-esque black and white, while Stine's real world appears in vibrant color. But with one stage, two worlds and numerous scene changes, bring- ing "City of Angels" to life is quite difficult. The director, Theater Prof. Mark Madama, realized this imme- diately when adapting the musical for a University production; at the outset, he knew what the central challenge would be. "Clarity ... The script was already brilliant, but the plot is very layered and dense," Madama said. He dealt with this by utilizing the Power Center's stage space-as well as he could, using projections and moving sets to aid the flow of the story. Musical director Cynthia Kortman Westphal leads both local musicians and School of Music jazz students in the pit orchestra. She expressed great excitement to be acting as musical director for her first University show. "I've worked in Broadway shows for the last 10 years," she explained. "I didn't know what to expect when I came to (the) University ... but it's been a fantastic experience." Madama stated that the script for "City of Angels" also reflects what lies in store for his students - or perhaps any young person - look- ing to find his way in the world. "There (are) tremendous truths in this script," he explained. "There's so much of the reality of Hollywood and Los Angeles there, and it's something that these students will be relating to in the time to come - just like how (the character) Stine is trying to come to peace with his artistic life and economic life. But it's also a part of the human condi- tion. We all go through something like this." this Thursday through Sunday. "City of Angels" follows the tri- als of writer Stine and his alter ego, who happens to be the leading char- acter of his novel, Detective Stone. Stine struggles to adapt Stone's adventures for the screen under the direction of sharky and overbearing producer/director Buddy Fiddler in '40s Hollywood. As parallel charac- ters in interwoven storylines, Stine EVERY WEDNESDAY IS THE SHOWGIRL SEAR H DAity ARVs. AMATEUR CONTEST $300 CASH PILO O PLEASE MAGAZIN' B .OF ANN AMBoR FOR ZOOS rN COLLEGE NIGHT THURSDAYS TuORO 0 $3 COVER PPR W /COLLEGE 10 0 related rentalsM Norman R. 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