The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - 7A MT&D relives 'Summer' COURTESY OF Fox Guys, it's Y-M-C-A - not Y-A-Y-Y..." m - s te a By LAURA KAYE For the Daily Don't expect to sit back and relax duringthe School of Music, Theatre & Dance's production of Tennessee Williams's Suddenly Last "Sud- denly Last Summer Summer." IStmed, Through Oct.16 fasten your at various times seatbelts and Walgreen Drama get ready for Center a rocky ride Tickets from $10 through the telling of a story that involves a dramatic relationship between a mother, her dead son and his cousin. Williams's play explores the tangled emotions of grief, desire and madness. Like a car accident people can't look away from, audiences are drawn to the depth of emotion, life-alter- ing events and brutal violent attitudes that only a family can elicit. "Suddenly Last Summer" is about the strange death of a young man and the shock- ing after-effects surrounding his grieving mother. The play becomes a struggle between two family members that leads to a suspenseful and horrifying con- clusion. This year would have been the 100th birthday of Ten- nessee Williams, who died in 1983. "Suddenly Last Summer" serves as an homage to this great American playwright. Though the actors, who are all theater have re mer, th the opp charact vide az Furthe delve in sentedi Scho Kerr, w tion, ex the get "It's Kerr s at wha what a ter, ant be a co two son view." undergraduates, did not of a person and his victimization ehearsals over the sum- by a savage society as well as the hose months gave them instability caused by mental ill- portunity to explore their ness. This production is infused ters thoroughly to pro- with private anguish and a real more realistic portrayal. dramatic fury to deal with the rmore, they were able to situation at hand. nto critical messages pre- More than anything else, the in the script. play highlights the characters' 'ol of MT&D Prof. Philip relationships with one another who directs the produc- and how their own individual plained the process from emotions and dispositions inter- -go. sect. Kerr said Williams uses his a three-point triangle," characters to showcase the valor aid. "You have to look of the human condition, and the t's in the play, as well as needto plunge ahead. ctor is playing the charac- The department of The- d then the director has to atre & Drama is bringing more 'ordinator between these attention to this production mewhat similar points of by arranging for the American playwright Christopher Durang to give an address and organiz- ing other panels on themes and ou t interpretations of Williams's plays. Additionally, there will relieve the be a screening of the 1959 Holly- wood version of "Suddenly, Last ending Summer," which stars Mont- ' - gomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn. As one of the greatest play- as the director, tries to wrights of 20th-century Ameri- e actor the space to meld ca, Williams created a work that racter with his own per- will mesmerize the audience. He dentity. Furthermore, the held nothing back in "Suddenly have to take Williams's Last Summer," but rather pre- d language and make it sented a heartfelt drama, reveal- natural. This becomes a ing the intimate relations of its e challenge, because the characters. are in their early 20s, "I want them to be exalted by menting with characters it," Kerr said of his intentions for e middle-aged. the audience. "I want them to irector, Kerr's production feel that they witnessed a part cus on complex themes, of a piece of art that is worthy of ng the misunderstanding their attention." Co ve If C he mi immo "0 - acc ment and catacl film and highli of t two doom perfur dynar dram wise, the u now-s action monta of "TI called beaut: low yo might No' can Id of the Cola, son, t succes seven made i well's new FOX for its inaugural season. Created by Simon Cowell and crafted for nture no better maximum ratings impact, it fills the void left before the 11th "Idol" than Idol' season debut in January. In tone and style, the shows By JOE DIMUZIO hit the same sharp pitch. The DailyArts Writer arrangement of "X Factor," how- ever, is a little different. While Carl Orff were alive today, it's still a "singing competition," ght be a little pissed off. His gone are the "Idol" age cap and rtal (for better or worse) group limitations. Finalists go on Fortuna" to something called "Boot Camp" compani- and the judges apparently get to any pretty hands-on later in the sea- every The X Factor son. Auditions are made (after ysmic preliminaries, where magic goes trailer Pilot to die) in front of a studio audi- sports ence. Pepsi's the soda of choice. ght reel Wednesdaysand The show's an "Idol" palette he last Thursdaysat8p.m. swap with the contrast driven decades FOX way up. Over the course of two seems physically and emotionally ed to its own seat in a demanding hours we're treated nctory hell. Shorn of its to all the standard tropes: the guy nics and forced to create who works at a burrito joint with a that doesn't exist other- a voice of gold, old lady stuns Orff's 1936 cantata remains everyone with a flat belt, aimless nwilling participant in this riffage from a tweenage white tutqdard mechanical trans- girl rewarded with ov tihns ad . And here, in the opening kneeling prayers. The American age of the American debut Dream, still boundless and reces- he X Factor," is "Fortuna," sion-proof, flies and dies in eight in for the heavy lifting, so minute vignettes. "The X Factor" ifully calculated and hol- is a master-class in the artifice of su can't help butsmirk. Carl the edit. It's all relentless fortis- 've vomited. simo and glitter - spray-on tears w, nine years after "Ameri- and strobe montage of titanic dol" translated the success proportions. UK's "Pop Idol" into Coca- While the sugar high feels nice Ford Focus and Kelly Clark- in little doses, "X Factor" aches of :he U.S. has its nauseous a nation unwilling to look itself in ssor. "The X Factor," now the mirror and deliver any blunt years old in Britain, has honesty as to the state of things. its way to FOX's primetime Criticisms are fluff and ovations are party favors. A monumental hollowness pervades the entire program. The criticism never gets past "good," "bad" and "nice outfit." Parents weep as their child gets a solitary affirmative vote. Nothing of the rampant pitchiness, flimsy breath support nor any indication of a nascent representation of vocal phras- ings. But hey, it's never really been about singing, right? It's all drama. You've got to imagine the actual drama of putting on the entire "X Factor" production is very interesting - all the manip- ulation and fake cues. Interns scrawling fake signs for fake fans inthe crowd. Custodians slipping some carisoprodol into Paula Abdul's 40-ounce Diet Pepsi dur- ing breaks. The people turned away for having too good a voice (it happens). And perhaps the original promise of "Idol" was a novel one: that in this lightning-quick technology age we can craft a wholly transparent interactive, television production ... that the American monoculture can still clutch upon some notion of understanding. For now, the promise remains defiantly hollow. Orff's "Fortuna" is an adap- tation of a 13th-century poetic satire on fate and luck. "Sors immanis / et inanis" goes it's second stanza - "Fate, mon- strous and empty." Maybe Orff would be fine with it. For "The X Factor," the tune feels curiously appropriate. Kerr give th the cha sonal is actors elevate seem definit actors experi who ar As d will fo includi b Egyptian city unveiled "My doctor said I have to wear pink on Wednesdays" Can't escape from'Suburgatory' ByANNA SADOVSKAYA DailyArts Writer Where the majority of ancient Egyptian exhibits evoke the wealth and prosperity of pha- raohs with gold and intri- Karanis cate jewelry, Reveaed a recently opened exhibit Through in the Kelsey Dec. 18th Museum of Archaeology Kelsey Museum brings some- of Archaeology thing new to Free shows that highlight ancient civilizations. "Karanis Revealed: Discover- ing the Past and Present of a Michigan Excavation in Egypt" reveals to its visitors the possi- bility of connecting on a person- al level with a society that lived thousands of centuries before. "It's all about getting people to connect with what's on dis- play and being able to estab- lish a connection on something familiar," said associate profes- sor of Egyptology and curator Terry Wilfong. "The formality of high art from ancient Egypt is somewhat off-putting, but this is about seeing things people used every day and were a part of their daily lives." Wilfong also acknowledged that the strong point of the exhibit lies in the sincerity and simplicity of its objects. "The idea was toget what peo- ple's everyday lives were like," Wilfong said. "Our strength is that we have so much material from the daily lives of ordinary people, and we made a point of Among the various artifacts making some of that available to is a selection of painted animal tell stories of what lives would. bones thought to have been used have been like in that time." in magic rituals and ceremonies, This archaeological story- wooden locks and keys that were telling can be seen in the riv- at the height of the society's eting images and videos from ingenuity at the time, broken the excavation at the site of the coins and a statue of a priest, small Egyptian village of Kara- which has become the icon of nis, led by a group of University the Karanis exhibit. archaeologists and researchers "The piece that welcomes you, in the 1920s and 1930s. the statue of the seated priest, it's Ahead of its time, the travel- a really unusual piece," Wilfong ing group brought video equip- said. "It shows us something ment to the northeastern village about the Egyptian culture, even to capture valuable footage, in the Greek and Roman times." which can be viewed on the This "Seated Dignitary" stat- interactive display in the center uette, carved from black basalt of the exhibit. and dated between A.D. 50 and 100, is just one of thousands of objects found during the Michi- gan archaeological dig. Kee ngu With so much material and with Karanis so many objects that have yet to be put on display, "Karanis after two Revealed" has been split into two parts - the current part nillenia. covers Karanis in its early stages and has objects in the exhibit that date to A.D. 1 and before. The second part, opening Jan. "The idea was to include asso- 27, will explore the changes ciated archival photos, or plans brought to Karanis with the or maps from the dig," Wilfong Roman occupation of Egypt in said. "But it expanded more 31 B.C. about the objects and the people "Karanis Revealed," though that lived in the town." covering a wide span of time The exhibit is filled with and information, allows visitors simple yet remarkable pieces to form a personal connection from the early centuries of the by the simple act of present- village under Greek rule during ing something relatable to their the Ptolemaic dynasty. Visitors lives - whether it's a wooden will get a feel for the quality and doll, a piece of cloth or a long- circumstance of life in Karanis, forgotten bracelet, a village as exploring the homes and posses- ancient and remote as Karanis sions of villagers. becomes familiar. By TEDDY PAPES Daily Arts Writer "Suburgatory" immediately stumbles with its premise. The dad, (Jeremy Sisto, "Law and Order") finds condoms in h his 16-year- old daughter's Suburgatory room, so he pulls her out Pilot of school and Wednesdays moves the at 8:30 p.m. family from ABC New York City to the Connecticut suburbs. It makes no logical sense - the suburbs are famous for the rich kids who live there and the drugs and sex they use to allevi- ate their boredom. Why did he think this would be a good idea? Immediately the dad is an idiot, but beyond the absence of any intelligence, what kind of hor- rible parent responds to finding condoms by uprooting his fam- ily and moving them out of the state? It's more than callous - it's psychotic. So within the first minute of the backstory, you hate one of the main characters you are supposed to empathize with. Not good so far. When the show finally starts, it seems that absolutely no cre- ative or original concept went into creating the setting. Take "The Stepford Wives," and then think+ adjecti Put the "Subur Tessa ( is begr tour of day. Th mate n kan, "T girl w in this credit. be frie her po poundE dresses leather could+ Tessa of the five moststypical intonation and plays into allthe yes about the suburbs. suburban cliches. She has a rich em together and you have mom, played by (Cheryl Hines, gatory." The daughter, "Curb Your Enthusiasm") who (Jane Levy, "Shameless"), insists her daughters' short udgingly given a guided skirts are too long - think Amy f her school on her first Poehler in "Mean Girls." Dalia is se escort is another class- bleached blonde, she bullies the amed Dalia (Carly Chai- nerds - you canguess the rest, it 'he Last Song"), a popular has all been done before. ho is only participating So for any promising material, act of charity for extra all that is left is the relationship Of course Dalia won't between Tessa and her dad. They nds with Tessa because are the only characters who seem pularity is at stake, com- to have any layers, but if the writ- ed by the fact that Tessa ing proves to be as boring and s strangely and has big uninspiring as the premise, "Sub- boots, which to Dalia urgatory" is headed nowhere only mean one thing - fast. There are a few laugh-out- is a lesbian. And yes, loud moments, but for the most part the writing is so mediocre that the actors deliver their lines W ait the in a tone that seems more desper- ate than funny. There are glimps- burbssck? es of situational humor and good writing, but they could have just been accidents.It feelslike every- one in the show is just trying too Girls" already did this. hard. The funniest part of this he new girl is an angsty half-hour viewing experience rculturalist, and tine pop- was an Aflac advertisement dur- rl is a robotic stereotype ing a commercial break, which urban excess. Not fording about sums up "Suburgatory" in new ground here. Dalia its entirety. great job of encapsulat- If you couldn't guess, "Sub- e problems of the show. urgatory" is a portmanteau of a monotone banality and suburbs and purgatory. The best as one of the many unc- word to describe the viewing tereotypes - in fact, she's experience would simply be hell. ction of them. She has no Enjoy at your own risk. su "Mean So t counte ulargi of subs much does a ing th She is serves lever s a colle WE'RE IN A WAR. FOLLOW @MICHIGANDAILY ON TWITTER SO WE CAN BEAT STATE.