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.t ,.Y : 4 d% -The Michigan Daily
Pondering'Assassins' and the man behind it all
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By CATHERINE SMYKA
Daily Arts Writer
It's impossible to walk out
of the theater after seeing a
Stephen Sondheim play and
not talk about what just hap-
pened. And that's not JUST
because he can write spec-
tacular Broadway musicals.
Sondheim can fit more politi-
cal and philosophical state-
ments in a 100-minute show
than some presidents can in
an entire term. In this past
weekend's performance of
student-group MUSKET's
"Assassins," a musical about
nine assassination attempts
on U.S. presidents, the audi-
ence couldn't leave the Power
Center without bursting for
discussion.
Sondheim gives his audi-
ence an uncomfortable per-
spective in "Assassins" from
the very beginning when the
show's narrator comes out of
the audience and runs onstage
to tell the musical's story of
nine crazed individuals. Cit-
ing Arthur Miller's "Death of a
Salesman," Sondheim tells his
audience that "attention must
be paid." He wants people to
think about the sequence of
events that alters lives indefi-
nitely. He doesn't want the
audience to exit the production
fearingviolence, assassination
or human nature, but rather to
question society's influence on
individuals' extreme actions.
Even when sitting with
some of the cast members in
Jimmy John's after opening
night, no one could agree on
whatexactlyhismusical istry-
ing to say. Which is precisely
why "Assassins" will live a
long and prosperous life - is
Sondheim telling the Ameri-
can people it's their fault for
what happened to these nine
assassins? Is he warning us
that any one of us could be the
next character in his musical?
Or is he making a statement
about human passion?
MUSKET director Stephen
Sposito extended Sondheim's
multi-faceted message one
step beyond the script for the
show's closing moment. Sposi-
to literally puts the future of
assassination into the hands of
one small, freckled fifth-grade
boy, brought onstage and wel-
comed by John Wilkes Booth
and Charles Guiteau with
open arms. He joins the center
stage line of assassins as they
shoot the American flag to the
ground.
We wiggle in our seats and
try to laugh it off, but the truth
is Sondheim addresses what
people don't want to admit.
The audience gasps when the
young boy enters with a gun,
and they laugh uncomfortably
as he takes his cherished posi-
tion in future history books.
Similarly, the audience can't
handle it when mother Sara
Jane Moore points a gun at the
same child. Sondheim creates
an enjoyable environment that
the politically correct world
refuses to embrace, a world
where mothers point guns
at their children and people
laugh at others' deaths.
We've created a "them"
and an "us" in history that
separates the good from the
bad and the right from the
wrong. But sitting in the audi-
ence of "Assassins" you watch
an average audience member
emerge from the house seats
as a main character. These
individuals are us. They have
the same human instincts
and the same passion - but
channeled in a devastating
way. After the initial shock of
John Wilkes Booth's suicide
in scene two, you aren't going
anywhere. The show is worth
more thanthe $7 ticket in your
hand; you're there and you're
part of it.
As much aswe don't want to
admitto the fact that we might
have had an influence on Lee
Harvey Oswald and Squeaky
Fromme, we still think about
it. Sondheim's work is enjoy-
able through such fanciful
lyrics as "But God was acquit-
ted and Charlie committed."
But his underlying themes
are dark and twisted - yet
we clap and cheer for more.
As a society, what could we
have done to prevent the
awful assassinations of the
past? Was it our fault in the
first place? Sondheim doesn't
have the answer, but we think
about it nonetheless.
Sondheim's work,the cast of
MUSKET's show and the con-
versation in the Power Center
lobby afterward - brilliant.
Attention has been paid.
This article originally
ran on March 29, 2007.
A TV guide for 'U'
Courtesy ofteenSondhein
By BEN MEGARGEL student-run television station -
Daily Arts Writer recently found herself staring down
the newfound movie star.
A disgruntled ex-pro wrestler is "Apparently he was told that this
an unfriendly sight for just about was my first celebrity interview, so
anyone. But imagine you're a nov- he ignored me and was stone-cold
ice student television reporter, for the first minute - he gave me
and you're about to interview The horrible one-word answers," Urka
Rock. said. "Then he burst into laugh-
LSA sophomore Kaitlin Urka, the ter and told me he was kidding.
director of "Entertainment Buzz" He ended up being one of my best
on WOLV-TV - the University's interviews."
Such big-name stars are just a
part of WOLV-TV's expansion
in recent months. The channel,
now in its 13th year, broadcasts
in all University buildings and
residence halls. The network
claims 96 percent of students in
the residence halls watch WOLV
each week. Programming is
broadcast each night on the Uni-
versity's cable station (Comcast
channel 22), which has potential
viewership of more than 76,000
"E households.
While WOLV runs several
sports and news programs,
Urka also works exclusively in
entertainment. Their flagship
show, "E-Buzz," shorthand for
"Entertainment Buzz," tapes
once a week and airs Thurs-
day through Sunday at 11:30
p.m. The show features Hol-
lywood news, movie reviews
and pop-culture events, includ-
ing an occasional segment of a,
movie roundtable featuring The
Michigan Daily's film writers.
"We do a range of celebrity
interviews, from Will Smith to
the cast of 'Reno 911!' We also
focus a lot on all types of local
A * * f entertainment," Urka said.
She added that the show will
next feature coverage of "Michi-
used and save gan Idol," the University-spon-
sored competition where the
victorious performer can win
$500.
Pablo Schott, the host of the
film segment "Box Office Buzz,"
said the network's growth has
trickled down even into his own
smaller chunk of airtime.
"In the beginning we only
ves you 25% off talked about the past weekend's
box office and the upcoming
films for the next," Schott said.
he bookstore for "Now it is a broader spectrum
of actors and directors. It's more
democratic, and we feel out how
A behindthescensglance atthe WOLVTVproductionsetnthe th foorfothQuad.
students feel and how movies affect
college students."
While both Schott and Urka had
previous interest communications,
they said they discovered their call-
ing in television at WOLV-TV. A film
professor referred Schott to the sta-
tion, while a WOLV representative
recruited Urka when he came to her
introductory communications class
to advertise.
Although they can log 20 hours
a week at the station, both Urka
and Schott said the WOLV's group
dynamic make the station worth
the time.
"There is definitely a lot of cama-
raderie. It's as if we're a band,"
Schott said. "We hang out outside
of set. We are always playing off
each other. Before I go on, me and (a
coworker) will do a little freestyle."
Added Urka: "It brings together
so many different walks of life to
produce this show. We also do social
outings or watch movies together."
The station requires no prior
experience and involvement var-
ies by student. The station hosts
"WOLV Pitch Night" at the begin-
ning of each semester where any-
one can pitch new shows. These
ideas area then evaluated by the
Executive Board and potentially
implemented.
This spirit of growth has helped
WOLV achieve newfound success.
At the beginning of the semester,
the Open Student Television Net-
work selected content from WOLV
to stream on the Web and across
campuses all over the nation.
WOLV has also produced five-epi-
sode drama series now in post-pro-
duction. "Entertainment Buzz" is
will also expand its music coverage.
"How I'd like to see us is as an
elite group for student television,
contending for programs on major
networks and recognized by major
media outlets," Schott said. "We
already have instant name recog-
nition, so some -real relationships
with outlets could make us almost
a feeder for jobs in the industry,
similar to the University of South-
ern California."
They aren't kidding: In 10 years,
look for Kaitlin Urka the ESPN
anchor and for Pablo Schott to "be
the next John Stewart in 10 to 15
years." Big goals, but for now, both
personalities will work to improve
WOLV-TV and recruit new stu-
dents.
"I know I wouldn't have got-
ten my start had I not been given a
chance," Urka said. "I want to give
other people a shot."
This article originally
ran on March 8, 2007.
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Who's a critic? Not me
4
think music criticism is pretty
much total bullshit. If enjoy-
ing music is a subjective expe-
rience, who is
qualified to say
what's good or
bad? I might
know more
names or own
more records,
but I can't tell
you what to
enjoy, only
what does it for LLOYD H.
me. If you think CARGO
Fall Out Boy
is a five-star
band, then why let some preten-
tious, wannabe-musician writer
piss on your opinion? That's why
I'm not a music critic.
Writing about music can be
beautiful, revelatory and touch-
ing, and there's alot of ways to go
about a record review that make
for an engaging and informing
read. Robert Christgau did it by
being as direct and to the point
as possible, saying more with 50
words than most could with 500.
Lester Bangs did it by writing
about himself, and occasionally
mentioningthe music he was
reviewing - but with a style that
ran deeper than your average first-
personwankfest. There are more,
too, but unfortunately it seems the
world of music criticism is (most-
ly) a bitter, nerdy boys' club that
turns out the same crap over and
over again. There's even a formula
that goes something like band A
sounds like band B plus band C and
are influenced by hip reference X,
Y and Z so that Band A fits nicely
into whatever ridiculous sub-genre
or scene is the flavor of the week.
Still, it's not like music criticism
doesn't serve a certain purpose,
it's just a very narrow one. At their
basest level record reviews actas a
consumer guide. Ifa so-called crit-
ic can establish credibility, usually
by being associated with a respect-
ed publication like Pitchfork or
Rolling Stone, his voice becomes
a part of the hype machine that
exposes new artists, canonizes old
ones and shreds anyone who can
no longer be considered cool.
Critics want to think they have
more power than they do, but the
truth is critics don't make their
favorite musicians mega-stars. I
don't think a respected critic on
Earth praised the last Black Eyed
Peas albums, but didn't slow down
sales one bit. The only realm of
the industry that critics have that
much power over is the hipper,
trendier demographic - the indie
world, if you will. If Pitchfork
trashes someone (like the time
they gave Travis Morrison a 0.0)
then that person can say goodbye
to all but their loyalist fans. And
on the other hand, a grade above
9.0 means Wazoo better order 40
more copies.
That system works because
sometimes kids need someone to
tell them what's cool, and with so
much indie-rock totally sucking,
it can be tough to sort through for
the diamonds. That doesn't mean
that critical consensus means you
ought to like something, it just
means that maybe you ought to
check it out and decide for yourself.
After all boys and girls, being into
things just because they're deemed
cool is what makes you a hipster,
and these days who wants to be
labeled that?
Isn't this hypocritical? I've
expressed some pretty strong opin-
ions about music in the Daily. I jus-
tify it by trying to make sure that
most of them are positive. After all,
why else would you want to write
about music if you didn't concern
yourself primarily with music you
love? Rarely is music enough of an
assault on my sensibilities (Tally
Hall, The Doors) for me to go out
of my way to say something nega-
tive about them. So, bottom line,
I'd hope that I turned people on to
music that affects them as much as
it does me.
So yeah, I'm a pretentious, wan-
nabe-musician who writes about
music in a critical manner, but
don't call me a music critic. Robert
Christgau, Lester Bangs - those
guys are music critics (Google
them, trust me). I'm just a music
appreciator.
- cargo can be reached at
lhcargo@umich.edu.
This article originally ran
March 29,.2007.
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