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Wednesday, March 28, 2412 - 5A

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Seafaring fun in 'Pinafore'

Gilbert & Sullivan
Society to present
timeless tale
By ANNA SADOVSKAYA
Daily Fine Arts Editor
The story of a wealthy girl
falling for a lowly, poor boy is
timeless. Told
and retold, this
depiction of HM
class separation Pinafore
and immutable
love is a classic. Tomorrow,
The University Friday and
of Michigan's Saturday at
Gilbert & Sul- 8 p.m. and
livan Society is Saturday
portraying one and Sunday
version of the at 2 p.m.
traditional tale Lydia Mendelssehn
with a sailor- Theatre
filled, high-
land-dancing From $5
production of
Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S.
Pinafore."
The mission of UMGASS is to
produce and perform the shows
created by the joint venture of
composer Arthur Sullivan and
librettist William Gilbert. Gilbert
and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore"
opened in 1878, in London's
Opera Comique, and ran for 571
performances. Now, the group
will bring the comedic opera to
the Ann Arbor stage with its ren-
dition of a traditional Gilbert and
Sullivan show that, according the
the show's Musical Director Dave
Day, is one of the "big three G &
S shows."
The satire follows the story
of Josephine, a captain's daugh-
ter aboard her father's ship,
the H.M.S. Pinafore. As her
father plans her marriage to the
respectably affluent Sir Joseph,
Josephine spends her time pin-
ing for a lowly sailor, Ralph Rack-

UMGASS's version of "H.M.S. Pinafore" fuses highland dance with a classic story of class conflict.

straw. .
"They're poking fun at the
social classes, and that you have
to be a certain social class to
marry another," Day said. "It's
really a timeless thing that we
still see today."
Despite unrequited love and
class inadequacy, the show is full
of light interludes and comedic
nuances that attempt to carry the
show from one scene to anoth-
er without much pause. The
charged scenes all come to a head
in the Act 1 finale, in which the
bulk of the action happens.
"(Gilbert and Sullivan) shows
are known for their Act 1 finales,"
said Greg Hassold, artistic direc-
tor for the show. "You build up
all the drama and it winds up to
a pitch, and very silly accidents
evolve in the second act."
To enhance the visual effects

of the melodramatic exchang-
es, the show employs highland
dance, a fast-paced form of Scot-
tish dancing intricate in its tech-
nique and performance. Though
classical highland dance involves
single perfgrmances, the show
adapted the style to fit the cho-
rus. Hassold explained that the
finale of the first act culminates
with a large dance number that
involves the finished highland-
dance product.
"I'm particularly pleased with
the chorus in (the Act I finale)
scene," Hassold said. "We took
highland dance and adapted it so
that a chorus can do it and so that
it looks impressive. We're doing a
lot more dance than I've seen in
some of the shows before, and it
works."
The liveliness of dance and
variety in performance culmi-

nates in the sing-song tunes that
reflect every turn and switch of
mood, accordingto Day.
"You have a bunch of little sec-
tions that tie themselves togeth-
er," Day said. "You have a little bit
of sadness, a little bit of happiness
and a bit of doom from the sailor."
"Musically, it becomes dif-
ficult because you go from one
section to the other, no stops, and
you're going to have to be ready
to quickly change the mood, not
only of the singers but the orches-
tra as well," he added. "The music
follows the action really well, but
it's something you have to be pre-
pared for."
With the technically intense
dancing, dramatically variant
mood and catchy songs, "H.M.S.
Pinafore" will aim to deliver a
newfound, comedic spin on the
age-old love story.

Hoim to helm talk on kids books

NBC
No touching!
Shallow, pleasant
By RADHIKA MENON The supporting cast is largely
DailyArts Writer the source of the very few laughs
"Bent" offers up. Margo Harsh-
There's nothing really irong man ("Even Stevens") plays
with "Bent." It has an attractive Alex's sister Screwsie (why is
cast, enjoyable that her name? No one knows), a
characters and *** flirty, carefree spirit who hilari-
an easy-to-fol- ously wonders if she has hooked
low premise. Bent up with Pete in one of the pilot's
But calling it Pfunnier moments.
a comedy is a Pete's crew of Clem (J.B.
stretch, espe- Wednesdays Smoove, "Curb Your Enthusi-
cially when at 9 p.m. asm"), Gary (Jesse Plemons,
the laughs just NBC "Friday Night Lights") and
don't exist. Vlad (Pasha Lychnikoff, "Indi-
Alex Meyers (Amanda Peet, ana Jones and the Kingdom
"2012"), an uptight recent divor- of the Crystal Skull") all have
cee and lawyer, has moved into a more funny moments than time
new house after her husband was onscreen. They have obvious
arrested for insider trading. She chemistry, picking on Gary for
hopes to get some work done on being the new guy while also
the kitchen of her new home and poking fun at Pete's sexual feroc-
begins shopping around for con- ity and gambling addiction.
tractors. Pete's father Walt (Jeffrey
Tambor, "Arrested Develop-
ment") also shines as a strug-
is .glin g" musician, to a cute
jU Bent' is moment, he shares the piano
with Charlie, helping. her get
renting from1 over her stage fright by allow-
NBC. ing her to play afew measures
of Pachelbel's Canon in D in the
middle of a department store.
But, not wanting to be shown
Enter Pete Riggins (David up by a 10-year-old, he quickly
Walton, "Fired Up!"): contrac- takes over with a favorite by.
tor by day, sexual fiend by night. Fleetwood Mac.
Playboy Pete has a history of It's a classic Californian
sleeping with clients and gam- tale, with the romance of two
bling, having gone to rehab for polar opposites brewing under
the latter. When he gets a job the sunshine. In fact, it seems
with Alex, it's apparent that the exactly like a show that one may
two are complete opposites - so easily get hooked on for its light-
obviously, they have palpable heartedness. We can picture our-
sexual tension. selves joining the world of Alex
Walton plays a breezy, laid- and Pete week-in and week-out,
back Californian with ease. He watching as they navigate the
charms with his line delivery, ins and outs of starting over. It's
banking on his twinkling eyes, a calm, slightly mundane world,
dimples and undying charisma albeit an enjoyable one.
to win Alex - and the audience But with a killer of a times-
- over. Walton and Peet's chem- lot (up against FOX's "American
istry is a highlight of the series, Idol" and ABC's "Modern Fam-
each working off of the other's ily" - yikes) and barely any pro-
dynamic. Pete forms a bond with motions, NBC has shown little
Alex's daughter Charlie (Joey faith in the sitcom. With an order
King, "Ramona and Beezus"), of only six episodes to be burned
a plot point that will invari- off in three weeks, "Bent" may
ably bring Alex and Pete closer not be worth getting obsessed
together. with.

,By JOEY STEINBERGER
For the Daily
We all remember the potent
effects of children's books on our
imagination. Books such as "The
Phantom Tollbooth" by Nor-
ton Juster and
"Charlotte's
Web" by- E.B. Jennifer
White capture Holm
young readers' lecture
thoughts and
take them to Tomorrow at
other worlds. 5:10 p.m.
Those curi- Helmut Stern
ous to learn Auditorium,
more about 'M
children's UMMA
bookwriting Free
can attend the
Sarah Marwil Lamstein Chil-
dren's Literature Lecture tomor-
row. This year's lecture will be
given by Jennifer Holm, recipient
of three Newbery Honors for her
books "Our Only May Amelia,"
"Penny from Heaven" and "Tur-
tle in Paradise."
"Originally I wanted to be a
ballerina ... since that didn't pan
out, I obviously had to become a
children's author," Holm wrote in
an e-mail interview.
* Holm primarily writes his-
torical fiction for middle-school
readers. Her first book, "Our Only
May Amelia" depicts a rebellious
pioneer girl in turn-of-the-cen-
FILM FESTIVAL
From Page 1A
the artists behind each film,,
more akin to Picasso than Brett
Ratner, according to Harrison.
"We're very much about being
a forum, a celebration for film-
makers as independent artists,
and presenting an incredibly
diverse, broad scope of what
artists are thinking about, what
they're exploring, what they're
challenging," he said. "We're out
to present, reflect the world to
itself in a true sense, not one that
is channeled through a commer-
cial-film image."
While that may sound a bit
intimidating, the festival isn't an
exercise in artistic snobbery. In

tury Washington State. Though
Holm writes about times well
before her own, she relies on her
own experiences for inspiration.
"I think it's safe to say that I
remember very clearly what it felt
like to be twelve years old," Holm
wrote.
Newbery
Medal-winning
author to advise
future authors.
But Holm doesn't just write
historical fiction, she has pub-
lished graphic novels, as well.
"Babymouse" is a series of graph-
ic novels about an adventur-
ous young mouse who dreams
of being the queen of the world.
Written from the perspective of
a 9-year-old girl, "Babymouse" is
Holm's favorite character she has
brought to life.
Holm will lecture on how her
family's history influences her
writing. The inspiration for "Our
Only May Amelia" came from the
childhood diary kept by her great
aunt, Alice Amelia Holm. When
Holm researched the novel, she
relied on oral family histories,

Jennifer Holm was influenced by her family's history for "Out Only May Amelia."

area. research and the experi-
ences of Finnish immigrants at
the time. While that might sound
boring to some, Holm finds joy in
the research process.
"I'm a sucker for local histori-
cal societies," Holm wrote. "I love
crawling through dusty collec-
tions and hanging out with archi-
vists and historians. When I went

to (Dickinson College) I worked
in the Archive in the library and
it ruined me for life."
While University students
probably haven't read Holm's
books about rebellious pioneer
girls or the perils of middle
school, prospective children's
book authors may find her lecture
insightful.


fact, it intends to represent the
opposite ideal: an exchange of
opinions and values in an envi-
ronment characterized by open-
ness and conversation. There are
12 free screenings at this year's
festival and 25 percent of the
festival is free and open to the
public, encouraging attendance
among the event's skeptics.
"(There are) alotofopportuni-
ties to go hear artists talk about
their work, see artists' work,
engage in conversation about
what we're watching together,
what we're exposing ourselves
to, what we're consuming or
digesting on the screen," Harri-
son said.
"That's one of the most impor-
tant things for a healthy culture
... a big part of why art is impor-

tant in our lives," he added.
There are about 5 events
in the coming week, and with
such a breadth of options, what
should we see? Harrison under-
stands the amount of material
is enormous, but he maintains
whether you're a newcomer or a
veteran, "you just got to try to go
to it all."
"You can't, but you got to
try," he said. "It's the challenge
of seeing as much as possible
... I would encourage people to
approach it differently than they
would going out on a typical
weekend to the movies, where
you might've heard about the
film (or) read a review."
Films and filmmakers are
coming to Ann Arbor from
locales as close as Detroit, and

as exotic as Singapore and the
Netherlands. Student-made
pieces will be shown today, and
throughout the festival, audi-
ences will be exposed to docu-
mentaries, music videos, historic
underground works and a mid-
night showing of George Lucas's
first feature length film, "THX
1138." And the best part is that
the experience doesn't end after
the credits roll.
"One of the most exciting
parts about our festival is so
many of those artists are here,"
Harrison said. "They're all flying
in, they're coming from around
the world, (giving attendees)
an opportunity to not just hear
themtalk about their work, but,
to go up to them and have a beer
- it's a very accessible festival."

The Vice President for Student Affairs
is looking for students to serve on
her student advisory board for
the 2012-2013 academic year, and
advise her on the topics that are most
pressing to the students at
the University of Michigan.

Applications and more
information can be found at:
http://www.studentaffairs.umich.edu
'/DSA-student-advisory-board
The deadline for applications is
Friday, March 30, 2012 at5 pm.


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