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(09/16/02 5:08am)
"Schoolgirl Figure" opened at the Bloomington Playwrights Project on Friday the 13th. Written by Wendy MacLeod, the play tells the story of a bunch of pathetic high school girls competing to be the thinnest girl. The competition follows the idea that thin is beautiful, and through this, they all hope to win the masculine favor of the school's star athlete called The Bradley.\nThe curtain rose on the BPP's badly ventilated Black Box theatre to reveal an almost full house. The audience was mixed in its composition of Bloomington residents and members of the IU campus.\nSeniors Anne Acker and Lyndsey Anderson played the two lead roles, and they lead with excellent stage presence, timing and delivery that enabled them to pull laughter from a crowd watching something so macabre. \nI took particular delight in the way Anderson (Renee) delivered lines saying Marilyn Monroe was "jell-o on springs," and in the way she forced her compatriot, Acker (Patty) to wheel her around everywhere as she was too weak from lack of food to do it herself. \nIn one scene Renee schemes with Patty to get a ham from a grocery store to take to the funeral reception of a fallen friend. Such antics as this made me laugh. In another scene where Patty and Renee are trying to sabotage a competitor, Renee says a line prompting Patty to say "You're smart, scheming, and evil."\nThe fallen friend of Patty and Renee is named Monique, who succumbs to anorexia. Monique is a bit part played by sophomore Tenaya Hurst, who plays several other characters in the show. One other character is the mother of Monique torn with grief over the loss of her daughter. Hurst played Monique's mom sadly. \nRick Fonte did a nice job in his direction. The show progressed at a good speed. But Fonte is also listed as being responsible for the so-called "Original Music."\nIn this case, the original music was supposed to be the incidental, overhead stuff that facilitated scene changes since there wasn't a curtain, but the music was so loud that it was anything but incidental. \nAnd it was "original" in that it was the first time the BPP used such badly edited music "borrowed" from recent pop group hits. Don't get me wrong, I liked the music of these groups. It's just that the music did nothing for the show, and even less for people with hearing aids.\nAll in all, this show is a fresh and humorous way to look at and try to understand the minds of those with eating disorders. Seeing it would bring laughter from something so unlaughable.\n"Schoolgirl Figure" will run at the Bloomington Playwrights Project, 312 Washington St., until September 29th. Show times are 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2pm Sundays. Ticket prices are $15 for adults, and $12 for students/seniors. For reservations call 355-9001.
(09/13/02 5:06am)
The second annual Indianapolis Gay & Lesbian Film Festival starts this coming weekend in Indianapolis.\n"We've worked really hard to get a broad mix of films that would cater to the entire community," festival co-director Pam Powell said. This year the festival will try to embrace diversity even further and "look for more movies about women, youth, and people of color."\nPowell also said this year's line-up will have a little more "zest." Art films, shorts and comedies are slated for viewing. Most of this line-up are also being premiered in Indiana.\nNotably present this year will be actor Jason Stuart of NBC's "Will & Grace." Stuart will be on-hand at the premiere of his new film "10 Attitudes."\n"It's a look at looking for love in all the wrong places ... Los Angeles," Stuart said. \nBefore the film, Stuart will perform his stand-up routine and will host a VIP reception for festival pass holders. Stuart's live act will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, and his film begins at 7:30 p.m.\nThe festival will showcase more than 15 films over a three-day span at Key Cinemas located on the corner of South Keystone and Hanna Avenue. For more information about festival movies including times and descriptions, visit www.queerasfilm.com.\nMargaret Cho is a stand-up comedian whose sexuality is ambiguous, but Stacey Harbaugh, an Indiana Youth Group staffer said Cho is "by far my favorite stand-up comedian. She is wonderful ... she is hysterical. She is definitely a hero to gay and lesbian people everywhere."\nCho's film "The Notorious C.H.O." also makes its Indiana premiere at 9:30 p.m. Saturday.\nThe Indiana Youth Group funds this year's $275,000 budget through several grants from federal and state agencies as well as foundations. \nThe leading federal grant is from the Administration of Children and Families and is to be used for homeless outreach. The State Department of Health consistently pledges funds to pay for HIV awareness programs.\nThe Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Foundation Trust is also depended on for private money.\nIndiana Youth Group Executive Director Rob Connoley said the event was begun for two reasons. \n"The obvious is we want to have a high profile fund-raiser," he said. "Two years ago myself and another staffer were in an office bemoaning Indiana having so little high profile queer events. There is no Pride event in Indy. So we said, if we're going to put Indy on the map, a film festival was the highest profile thing we could do."\nTickets can be purchased at the ticket counter of Key Cinemas. An Adult Full Festival pass is $30. A day pass is $15. Individual movie tickets can be purchased for $7 each, but to attend the VIP event featuring Stuart, an additional $20 is charged and is only available with the Full Festival Pass.\nIU academic Dr. Iris Yob, academic coordinator at the Collins Living Learning Center, recommended IU students attend the event if possible. \n"Films that explore and celebrate the lives of different others such as gays and lesbians perform a valuable service for the community," Yob said. "It affirms and legitimized the differences which make community varied and strong, and informs us all about the members who make up the human family"
(09/12/02 5:01am)
Sept. 11, 2001, was equivalent to memories of Pearl Harbor and memories of the assassination of JFK. It was the MTV generation's shocking awakening to the world.\nIn the year since the occurrence of Sept. 11, an event unmistakably scarring the minds and hearts of people around the world, several songs have become anthems capturing the emotions describing what we saw, as a collective mind, first hand. \nThose in the area saw American Flight 11 crash into the North Tower. Then on national television America watched in disbelief and horror when United Flight 175 hit the South Tower at 9:03 am.\nOne song asks where we were when the world stopped turning. Another tells of a loving wife who, unbeknownst to her, kissed her husband goodbye and said he no longer needs a pair of wings to fly.\nBut with the help of the IU Choral Department, Mozart's "Requiem" will perhaps become yet another anthem.\nWritten in 1791, the piece was left unfinished because of the artist's death. "Requiem" is a setting of church music and a Mass for the dead. But it isn't a mass that sends them off tearfully and regretfully. It is a piece that sends those who have gone before us away celebrating their lives on Earth and celebrating their entry into the mysterious hereafter.\nThe Choral Department, part of the School of Music, follows the lead of the Seattle Symphonic Chorus. At a performance of the same "Requiem," an unidentified woman reportedly had a vision of all the great choruses joining hands and singing as they surrounded Ground Zero.\nBut the idea, with the help of the Seattle Symphonic Chorus, quickly grew to what is now known as the "Rolling Requiem."\nIn each of the world's 24 time zones, when 8:46 a.m. -- the chronographic mark of an airliner laden with humanity becoming a missile colliding with the first of the Twin Towers -- rolled around, there was a chorus somewhere singing "Requiem." It was in remembrance of the passing of those who fell as a result of unharnessed evil.\nThe Bloomington effort took place in Recital Hall in Merrill Hall. The singers who attended arrived at about 8:15 a.m. with their own copies of the music. \nOver 15,000 volunteers in over 190 performances in 26 countries sang for those who will sing no more on Sept. 11.\nOne member of the IU Choral Department who sang with the choir was Galen Baughman, a sophomore majoring in vocal performance.\nBaughman's permanent home is in Washington, D.C., and his former high school sweetheart's home near the Pentagon shook when the airliner crashed there.\n"'Rolling Requiem' will be one of the most remembered settings of the piece. I think it will help the community as it will strengthen the bond by showing their support for the victims of 9/11," Baughman said.\nBaughman was on campus Sept. 11, and as a fluke had his dorm room radio tuned in to NPR and this was how he was alerted of the events in New York and in his home town.\nBaughman said while his family was stuck in the middle of a disaster, they reported to Baughman via telephone that they were safe. Baughman said he was "stuck in the middle of a f-ing cornfield safe … I just felt like I had a duty to be there."\nBaughman is working towards becoming a professional singer, and most notably sang with the choir at the National Cathedral in tribute to the late Katherine Graham, former owner of The Washington Post, who some would say was the 20th century's first lady of American Journalism.\nWhen asked if he felt performing at this event would be good for his resume, Baughman said "It's just another school of music event…it's obligatory because I need to be seen by others and my professors at the event. I won't be directly penalized if I don't show up, but its kudos if I do."\nBrent Gutmann is an IU sophomore majoring in Philosophy. He was born in New York City and spent a great deal of his childhood there. His earliest memories involve the now absent towers.\nGutmann defined the spirit of America as having two levels; "the kind of excessive need people feel they need to show their patriotism. But I feel proud of the camaraderie it has brought about."\nThe American people have become very aware of how Sept. 11 was the result of religious beliefs. And Gutmann is also aware, he continued, that his faith in Judaism "instills in you a supreme value of human life over all other things." \n"I feel an anguish for those who died as it was a senseless loss from my perspective," he said.\nFort Wayne native Captain David Phillips is a 30-year veteran of the FWFD and now serves the department in its Fire Code Enforcement Division. Phillips has engine house experience and said of the 343 firemen who died, "They gave their all to save the people in those buildings. There's nothing more you can do for a person than give them your life. A firefighter doesn't think about his life in that situation. They knew they had to try everything to save those people. They died as heroes doing their duty. Hopefully, I would have done the same."\nThe death of these fallen heroes and of those who gave up their lives trying to save the lives of others unequivocally demonstrated the role of a hero. Mozart's "Requiem" was sung in tribute to that demonstration.
(08/29/02 4:00am)
The Adventures of Pluto Nash" tells the story of a former low-life crook, in this case a smuggler, who makes a few smart financial moves and opens his own night club. The business takes off, and after seven years the local mob boss wants to move in and buy the place to make recent legislation allowing gambling more lucrative. When Pluto Nash (Eddie Murphy) refuses to sell, the hit men come running. \nGranted, they're low-grade hit men, but hit men nonetheless.\nWriter Neil Cuthbert picked a plot engine that shoots more clichés than an AK-47 does hot lead, but there is one slight difference between this presentation of the plot and all the others that could be thought of: this plot is set on a moon colony in the 2080s. \nThe hit men have guns, but they fire laser pulses. There are cars and car chases, but they're done with incredibly streamlined hover cars. The cutest dames in question are all robots, as are the best body guards.\nNash's trusty body guard, Bruno, is played by Randy Quaid. Bruno is always fun to watch, as his presentation is reminiscent of Paul Lynde. And the schtick the character generates while doing the mundane -- like recharging himself -- makes the movie worth the price of admission.\nEven more worth the price of admission is the cameo made by John Cleese. Cleese plays James, the computerized chauffeur of the car Nash and company had to "borrow" so they can get to Nash's hideout on the far side of the moon. What better person to play a pompous, sophisticated man-servant than the icon of British pomposity, Cleese of "Fawlty Towers" fame?\nDespite the film being the most fun I've seen on screen this summer, it still abounds in mediocrity. The plot is old and recycled, manufactured into the same standard gun fights, explosions, seedy motels and manhunts. \nQuaid and Cleese are the only reason to see this film, which will certainly serve as a tax write-off for Warner Bros.
(08/29/02 4:00am)
The Paramount picture "We Were Soldiers," starring Mel Gibson, tells about the events of a three-day battle that took place in the Ia Drang Valley pitting the 7th Cavalry against a division of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars.\nThe DVD holding the film, directed by Randall Wallace, has the normal whiz-bangs of any DVD out on the market, but this DVD is graced with the ever-desirable set of special features. While there aren't any bloopers, my personal favorites -- the director's commentary, deleted scenes and a special segment called "Getting it Right" -- make me think the celluloid in the can we all saw in theaters wasn't half as exciting.\nIn "Getting it Right," we start off by seeing actual footage of then-Lt. Col. Hal Moore talk to news cameras on the battlefield about the heroism of his men throughout the three-day onslaught of death and destruction. \nWe also see interviews of those associated with the film discussing how hard they all worked to ensure the film was as historically accurate as possible. They also try to express their hopes that the film serves as a testament to the bravery of American servicemen on that field of battle situated in the central highlands of South Vietnam. \nMost touching were the interviews with the real men who actually fought that day, including UPI reporter Joe Galloway, who took pictures and fought in the battle, and from the real Hal Moore, now a retired lieutenant general, who said Hollywood finally got the message right: "Hate war, but love the American warrior."\nAlso on the DVD are 10 deleted scenes, all of which are interesting and prompt you to yell and scream at the imaginary director and editor sitting next to you about why they should have left this scene in the film. The disc also includes optional director commentaries to run with the deleted scenes. This way you can listen to the so-called logic the director used to make the sometimes seemingly poor decisions to remove the scenes.\nAll in all, this is the most accurate war film made to date. It was a definite must-see in the box office, and it remains even more so in the new-release section.
(08/29/02 3:06am)
The Adventures of Pluto Nash" tells the story of a former low-life crook, in this case a smuggler, who makes a few smart financial moves and opens his own night club. The business takes off, and after seven years the local mob boss wants to move in and buy the place to make recent legislation allowing gambling more lucrative. When Pluto Nash (Eddie Murphy) refuses to sell, the hit men come running. \nGranted, they're low-grade hit men, but hit men nonetheless.\nWriter Neil Cuthbert picked a plot engine that shoots more clichés than an AK-47 does hot lead, but there is one slight difference between this presentation of the plot and all the others that could be thought of: this plot is set on a moon colony in the 2080s. \nThe hit men have guns, but they fire laser pulses. There are cars and car chases, but they're done with incredibly streamlined hover cars. The cutest dames in question are all robots, as are the best body guards.\nNash's trusty body guard, Bruno, is played by Randy Quaid. Bruno is always fun to watch, as his presentation is reminiscent of Paul Lynde. And the schtick the character generates while doing the mundane -- like recharging himself -- makes the movie worth the price of admission.\nEven more worth the price of admission is the cameo made by John Cleese. Cleese plays James, the computerized chauffeur of the car Nash and company had to "borrow" so they can get to Nash's hideout on the far side of the moon. What better person to play a pompous, sophisticated man-servant than the icon of British pomposity, Cleese of "Fawlty Towers" fame?\nDespite the film being the most fun I've seen on screen this summer, it still abounds in mediocrity. The plot is old and recycled, manufactured into the same standard gun fights, explosions, seedy motels and manhunts. \nQuaid and Cleese are the only reason to see this film, which will certainly serve as a tax write-off for Warner Bros.
(08/29/02 2:11am)
The Paramount picture "We Were Soldiers," starring Mel Gibson, tells about the events of a three-day battle that took place in the Ia Drang Valley pitting the 7th Cavalry against a division of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) regulars.\nThe DVD holding the film, directed by Randall Wallace, has the normal whiz-bangs of any DVD out on the market, but this DVD is graced with the ever-desirable set of special features. While there aren't any bloopers, my personal favorites -- the director's commentary, deleted scenes and a special segment called "Getting it Right" -- make me think the celluloid in the can we all saw in theaters wasn't half as exciting.\nIn "Getting it Right," we start off by seeing actual footage of then-Lt. Col. Hal Moore talk to news cameras on the battlefield about the heroism of his men throughout the three-day onslaught of death and destruction. \nWe also see interviews of those associated with the film discussing how hard they all worked to ensure the film was as historically accurate as possible. They also try to express their hopes that the film serves as a testament to the bravery of American servicemen on that field of battle situated in the central highlands of South Vietnam. \nMost touching were the interviews with the real men who actually fought that day, including UPI reporter Joe Galloway, who took pictures and fought in the battle, and from the real Hal Moore, now a retired lieutenant general, who said Hollywood finally got the message right: "Hate war, but love the American warrior."\nAlso on the DVD are 10 deleted scenes, all of which are interesting and prompt you to yell and scream at the imaginary director and editor sitting next to you about why they should have left this scene in the film. The disc also includes optional director commentaries to run with the deleted scenes. This way you can listen to the so-called logic the director used to make the sometimes seemingly poor decisions to remove the scenes.\nAll in all, this is the most accurate war film made to date. It was a definite must-see in the box office, and it remains even more so in the new-release section.
