10 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 13, 2005 Arb enhances retelling of Shakespeare classic By Imran Syed Daily Arts Writer F IN E A RTS R EV IE W After "Much Ado About Nothing" and "As You Like It" the past two years, director Kate Mendeloff, her team of Residential College Shakespeare Players and other local actors in the Arb are returning to where they Thursday, Friday, started five years ago: to the Saturday and most beloved and perhaps the Sunday at 6:30 p.m most bizarre of Shakespeare's Tickets $15 comedies, "A Midsummer Students $10 Night's Dream." This fifth pro- At Nichols Arboretum duction of Shakespeare in the Arb, presented by the University's Matthaei Botani- cal Gardens, Nichols Arboretum and the Residential College, is as lively and enjoyable as ever, providing the unusual and thoroughly laudable combination of fine arts and the great outdoors. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is perhaps the per- fect play for this setting. With the majority of its action outdoors, the presentation is more realistic than most. The rugged scenery of the Arb lends itself perfectly to the adaptation and provides more of a feel for the action than any theater, no matter how grand. Though it may seem tedious at first, walking the winding for- est trails to move from one set to another turns out to be quite enjoyable and provides the audience with a sense of involvement in the play's action. While the actors should be commended for their exceptional voice projection, it's nearly impossible to perfectly comprehend Shakespearian dialogue at a distance in the open air (especially with the ambient noise of the Arb). For this reason, knowledge of the play beforehand goes along way in understanding the various conflicts and situational comedy. Still, even the passing observer can get the gist of the action relatively easily, thanks to the exuberant gestures liberally employed by the actors. Indeed, even for the daydreamer, little of the humor is lost, which can be attributed to the skill of the production. Stealing the show is the bumbling, overly confident and downright hilarious Nick Bottom, the weaver whose unfortunate gaffes yield many laughs. It would be wise to remember that, no matter how An audience gathers for a previous performance of "Shakespeare in the Arb" last spring. nice the weather, much of this play is set in the woods. Bug spray is a must, and folding chairs along with a bottle of water couldn't hurt. Plenty of time is allowed between the start of on-site ticket sales and the (figu- rative) raising of the curtain for the audience to picnic and get into the mood of the show. But even so, nearly three hours in the forest - most of which is spent in the blazing sun - can become rather fatiguing. While strolling through various settings of the Arb, with its the colorful peony garden and meander- ing forest trails, the audience is left in amazement that ' so much nature could be present within a short walk from the hustle and bustle of central campus. Com- pliments to Residential College drama instructor and director Kate Mendeloff for creating an experience that is enriching in more ways than one. I I THE SIGN SAYS IT ALL... By Evan McGarvey Daily Arts Editor Music REVIEW i k n With a waistline as imposing as his street-rep for smashing liquor bottles over clubbers who get in his way, Fat Joe is clearly a man who is used to being catered to. Fittingly, All or Noth- ing, his latest release, is a silver platter of dense, stylish and almost satisfying rap melodies. Almost. For all of the luxury production work from young superstars Cool & Dre; the grimmest white boy studio-master in the game, Scott Storch; and future-hall-of- famer Just Blaze, Fat Joe still can't let the beats do the heavy lifting. You'd think he'd learn from his past, considering that all of his major Fat Joe hits have come All or Nothing from his ability to Atlantic shut up and let the melody and guest verses drag him around like a 300-lb ter- rier ("What's Luv?," "Lean Back"). But no, he does his best to scar "So Much More" and its Church-organ loops with Bad-Ass-Rap-101-level verses. His best line: "Make ya hair stand up like you 'Growing Up Gotti' " gets lost in the shuffle of how much he misses Big Pun and how fucking awe- some his own street buzz is. If you can tune out Joe for long enough, All or Nothing does have enough sprinting club-thumpers to fill a Jamaican relay team. "Get It Poppin' " seemingly ignores every single rap trend of the past four years (Crunk, Bollywood, etc.) and sticks with a reliable ratio of snares/kicks/ handclaps/Nelly that make 2001 feel like it was 20 years ago. Just Blaze owns "Safe 2 Say (The Incredible)" and drives the linebacker-thick sam- ples around the beat harder than a candy-painted Phantom. All this is fine and good, but damn if it doesn't make you wish Jadakiss got his hands on this product. Or T.I. Hell, even Memphis "Coattails" Bleak might squeeze more out of this orchard of beats that Fat Joe. Even the softball of the moment, wail- ing on 50 Cent, evades Joe. In response to 50's fish grease-hot "Piggy Bank," Fat Joe makes the following observation on "My FoFo": "Is it me or does 'Candy Shop' sound like 'Magic Stick' /In the video this nigga's about to strip." Wow, you know, I think it's pretty much everyone who has listened to those two songs. But still, good try Joey. 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