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Arts
Wednesday, February 7, 2018 — 5A
It’s hard not to fall in love
with Jessica Williams (“The
Incredible
Jessica
James”)
and Phoebe Robinson (“Broad
City”). The two best friends
— both outspoken New York-
based comedians who host
the aptly titled podcast “2
Dope
Queens”
—
not
only
have
infectious
personalities
and a magnetic
rapport, but are
also
intensely
attuned to almost
everything
happening
in
pop
culture.
Whether
it’s
dishing about the
latest Hollywood
gossip,
introducing new
comics
to
the
stage or illuminating issues
important to Black women,
Williams and Robinson have
accrued a healthy amount of
deserved
attention
through
“2 Dope Queens.” And what
better way to realize that
potential
than
through
a
deliciously
profane
and
immensely entertaining four-
part HBO comedy special?
Like “2 Dope Queens” the
podcast, “2 Dope Queens” the
HBO special gives Williams
and Robinson a platform to talk
about the timeliest topics, but
also manages to finesse their
chemistry just as effectively
on-screen. Part of what makes
the HBO adaptation of “2 Dope
Queens” so successful is how
much
spirit
Williams
and
Robinson fill within an hour.
On their podcast, Williams
and Robinson would spend the
first few moments delivering
some
cheeky
observational
humor — usually about Bono or
Beyoncé — before transitioning
into the rest of the show, all of
which is live and replete with
celebrity interviews, stand-
up sets from up-and-coming
and
established
comedians
or Williams and Robinson
exchanging
more
witty,
incisive banter. This structure
works
to
their
advantage
visually
as
well;
HBO’s
cinematic production values
bolster “2 Dope Queens”’s
appeal — matching the queens’
brand of topical,
niche
humor
with the iconic
ornateness of the
Kings
Theatre
and
a
colorful
stage resembling
a
Brooklyn
rooftop
in
the
summer.
The first part,
“New
York,”
captures
this
aesthetic charm
in
its
opening
sketch,
wherein
a
stubborn,
oblivious attendant brushes
off Williams and Robinson
for
not
having
tickets
to
their
own
show.
As
they
Google themselves to confirm
their
identities,
Williams
and Robinson refer to this
situation as “Black-on-Black
aggression,”
a
phrase
the
two often jokingly use when
making light of racial disparity
within the Black community.
Though very brief, the bit alone
demonstrates Williams and
Robinson’s comedic talent and
timing, especially considering
the former was a “Daily Show”
correspondent and the latter
has a healthy pedigree of
sketch comedy experience.
“New York” continues to
enthrall,
as
Robinson
and
Williams
welcome
their
audience
with
the
same
rowdy, high-ball energy they
incorporate into their podcast.
They invite a string of stand-
up comics — Michelle Buteau
(“Key
and
Peele”),
Mark
Normand (“Horace and Pete”)
and Baron Vaughn (“Grace
and Frankie”) — each of whom
offers an equally dynamic and
distinctive set of personal
stories and observations on
New York culture. Williams’s
old boss Jon Stewart (“The
Daily
Show”)
makes
an
appearance,
his
segment
dedicated to discussing New
York “moments” and taste-
testing New York pizza, which
wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying
if it were just recorded.
While “New York” has a
stronger opening, the second
episode, “Hair,” is centered on
a more grounded issue — Black
hair and the complex discourse
surrounding it. “Hair” also
includes a consistently funnier
lineup of stand-up acts —
Aparna Nancherla (“BoJack
Horseman”),
Rhea
Butcher
(“Take My Wife”) and Sheng
Wang (“Fresh Off the Boat”)
— and the unexpected arrival
of fan favorite Sarah Jessica
Parker (“Sex and the City”).
Parker’s earnest attempt to
learn more about Black hair
from Robinson and Williams
drives her segment away from
being an awkward display
of
“white
cluelessness”
—
an issue that Robinson and
Williams discuss and exploit
in their podcast, sometimes to
a fault.
For
those
familiar
(and
even unfamiliar) with “2 Dope
Queens” as a podcast, the HBO
special
does
an
admirable
job of bringing Robinson and
Williams’s moxie to television,
even if it doesn’t experiment
with the podcast’s structural
formula. The first two episodes
are both fairly breezy for an
hour, though they occasionally
lag during extended jokes that
lose steam pretty quickly. Still,
“2 Dope Queens” remains a
testament to Robinson and
Williams as an unstoppable
comedic duo, as pop culture
commentators and as badass
forces of nature.
‘2 Dope Queens’ podcast is
matched by smart special
SAM ROSENBERG
Senior Arts Editor
HBO
COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW
This weekend it was my turn
to meet a stranger at a concert.
In my defense, I didn’t sign
up to do that. About a week ago,
I had signed up to review the
Estonian National Symphony
concert at Hill Auditorium.
I have always been a fan
of conductor Neeme Järvi,
particularly
his
recordings
of the Sibelius symphonies
and
his
performance
of
Pärt’s “Cantus for Benjamin
Britten” from the BBC Proms.
When emailing for my press
ticket to the event, I assumed
that I would be sitting in an
upper
balcony
somewhere,
presumably far away from the
ticket-paying audience.
After arriving at the concert,
however, I was seated in a
mostly empty row next to an
elderly woman. I prepared as I
usually do for a review, reading
through the program with
a pen and circling a couple
of ideas that I might want
to refer to later. After about
five minutes of circling and
reading, the woman next to
me asked me what I was doing.
Was I at this concert for a class,
she asked?
I briefly explained that I
was a writer for The Michigan
Daily. I tried to start a light
conversation, asking if she was
a fan of Järvi as I was. After
talking for a bit the lights went
down and the concert began.
First on the program was
Heino
Eller’s
“Homeland
Tune,” the fifth movement
from his “Five Pieces for String
Orchestra.” Eller, I learned, is
one of Estonia’s more famous
composers, having been Arvo
Pärt’s
primary
composition
teacher.
Järvi
entered
the
stage to tremendous applause,
obviously enjoying the cheers
of
a
friendly
crowd.
He
began the first piece almost
immediately, the applause of
the audience fading suddenly
into the calm, chordal opening
of “Homeland Tune.” While
this piece was definitely not
the most adventurous work
on the program, it was a
pleasant six-minute opening
to the concert. The orchestra
responded brilliantly to Järvi’s
every move — the crescendos
and
decrescendos
reaching
incredibly expressive levels of
subtlety. I found myself being
drawn into a lull throughout
the piece, easily losing myself
in the fabric of the work.
Next was Brahms’s “Piano
Concerto No. 1 in D Minor,”
a
tricky
but
rewarding
piece.
It
opened
with
a
long introduction from the
orchestra, the winds and brass
having entered the stage after
the first performance. Garrick
Ohlsson, the piano soloist for
the evening, demonstrated his
interpretative ability during
the slower portions of the first
movement. The slower passages
were
captivating;
Ohlsson’s
ability to give repeated phrases
new meanings was incredible.
The cadenza in the second
movement
was
absolutely
stunning. At one point, it felt
as if time itself was slowing
down. The third movement
was seamless too, the energy
from the opening passages
seeming to fade over the
entire movement into the slow
ending.
Ohlsson’s performance was
met with almost instantaneous
applause. As a quick encore,
he
played
Rachmaninoff’s
“Prelude in C-sharp, Op. 3 No.
2.” This most famous of all
Rachmaninoff’s preludes was
neither too rushed nor too slow,
Ohlsson’s incredibly engaging
way of playing repeated pieces
breathing new life into the
work. This was met with two
more rounds of applause, the
audience begging for another
encore.
During the intermission, I
talked with the woman sitting
to my right. She is an alumni
of both the undergraduate
and graduate programs here
at the University and has
been living in Ann Arbor ever
since. We talked a bit about
the University Musical Society
and the tremendous growth it
underwent while she lived in
Ann Arbor.
She
explained
that
she
was from the Detroit area
and that she had gone home
to study the week before
finals her freshman year. The
night before her final, as she
prepared to go to sleep, her
dad came to ask her where her
final was the next morning.
After explaining that her final
was in Haven Hall, her dad
had unbelievable news: Haven
TV REVIEW
Just in time for the release
of the “Black Panther”
soundtrack this Friday
(which looks amazing), Ken-
drick Lamar and SZA have
shared the
music video for
their newest
collaboration
“All The Stars,”
an airy single
off the film’s
soundtrack.
Framed by
an electronic
dance beat and
soaring vocals, the song bold-
ly declares the grandeur that
can be found in love and per-
severance. It’s a song meant
for royalty, perfectly match-
ing the narrative of “Black
Panther,” which is centered
around African nobility.
The music video fits the
film’s premise to an even
stronger degree. The first
shot depicts a regal Lamar
standing on a boat, buoyed
by a sea of waving hands; the
strength of his posture makes
him appear carved out of
stone, a position
of fortitude that
he maintains as
the pre-chorus
of “Love, let’s
talk about love
/ Is it anything
and everything
you hoped
for?” leads him
into the open
embrace of a matriarchal
figure. Her stature is sur-
real; larger-than-life, she
looms over Lamar, protecting
within the folds of her robe
a crowd of children. The hue
of each of their crimson hats
adds to the overall splendor,
and Lamar cuts a path to the
group’s center like Moses
parting the Red Sea.
As SZA takes over the
chorus, we are taken to the
heavens, zooming in on a
depiction of Africa made
entirely out of stars until
the outline is magnified to
abstraction until there is
only SZA dancing amid the
swirling nebula of space, as
she croons “All the stars are
closer.”
This music video glows.
Each individual featured is
costumed in bright colors
and striking patterns, and
their backdrops are equally
vibrant: electric blue jungles
and intricate gold throne
rooms. “All The Stars” honors
the beauty in love, in ancestry
and, most importantly, in the
many complexities of a cul-
tural heritage that has often
been diminished by stereo-
types and generalization.
- Shima Sadaghiyani,
Daily Music Editor
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: SZA &
KENDRICK LAMAR IN ‘ALL THE STARS’
“All The Stars”
Kendrick Lamar and
SZA
Aftermath Records
AFTERMATH RECORDS
“2 Dope
Queens”
HBO
4-part special
Fridays @ 11:30 p.m.
Hall had burned down earlier
that night! The next day, after
arriving back on campus, she
learned that it was true. Haven
Hall was destroyed in a fire on
Jun. 6, 1950. She took her final
in Hill Auditorium, leaning on
clipboards in the first rows of
the audience as her professor
paced the stage.
At this point, it was time
for the second half of the
program to begin, and though
I had many questions about
the fire and her experiences
at the University, I turned and
applauded as the orchestra
re-entered the stage. This was
Eduard Tubin’s “Symphony No.
5 in B Minor,” a roaring work
for full orchestra featuring two
timpanists placed on opposite
ends of the back portion of
the stage. Tubin is another
composer
who
I
was
not
familiar with, though I soon
learned that he was another
famous
Estonian
composer.
He had fled the Soviet Union
in 1944 and resided in Sweden
for most of his life. This work
was full of quick, aggressive
passages — particularly in the
brass. The biting sound of the
bass trombone and the muted
rotary valve flugelhorns was
quite
frightening,
as
were
the thundering sounds of two
timpanis playing loudly in
unison. It was a captivating,
almost frenetic work, and it
demonstrated the orchestra’s
ability to navigate fast music
with ease.
As the second round of
applause began, the woman
sitting next to me waved
goodbye. It was past 10:00,
she explained, and she had to
get home. Her sudden arrival
felt like the proper ending to
the entire evening: The works
of
unfamiliar
composers
paired with my accidentally
meeting a friendly stranger,
the
eclectic
peculiarity
of
the repertoire on the concert
paired with the peculiarity
of my experience and the odd
familiarity of the music paired
with the friendly nature of this
charming woman. It reminded
me to constantly be open to
new
experiences.
Though
I knew nothing before that
concert of Estonian composers
or Estonian classical music, I
have two new pieces to listen
to and become familiar with.
And though I knew little about
the history of Haven Hall and
Hill Auditorium before that
concert, I have an interesting
story to tell now of a first-hand
account of the University’s
history.
Backstage Pass: Estonian
Symphony with a stranger
Sammy Sussman makes a friend and gets a history lesson
During the
intermission, I
talked with the
woman sitting to
my right. She is an
alumni of both the
undergraduate
and graduate
programs here at
the University
Though I knew
nothing before
that concert
of Estonian
composers or
Estonian classical
music, I have
two new pieces
to listen to and
become familiar
with
SAMMY SUSSMAN
Daily Arts Writer