77 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(02/16/01 4:30am)
During the past two decades, the AIDS epidemic has taken many lives and left lasting impressions on society. The virus, which attacks the human immune system, has changed attitudes and ideas about sex, sexuality and life. AIDS also is the subject of some of the most haunting and beautiful works of modern art -- especially that of the theater.\nAt 8 p.m. and 11 p.m Friday and Saturday in the Rose Firebay of the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St., two undergraduates will present "Lonely Planet" by Steven Dietz. The play is about the loneliness of the disease and what companionship can mean for those suffering from AIDS.\nOne of two main characters, Jody, runs a map store where he stays all the time, secluding himself from the outside world. His friend Carl brings in chairs that represent their departed friends and leaves them in the store. When Jody must leave the store to take an HIV test, Carl convinces him to go so he can avoid becoming another chair. The two become close friends and realize the importance of human contact during trying times.\nOne unique aspect of this production is the perseverance of its performers to put together the show. Seniors Tom Ridgely and Stan Wash produced the show together without a director, and until recently, without any crew, stage managers or technical staff.\nAfter having the idea to produce the show, Wash sought to work with an actor he respected.\n"Tom was the first actor I asked. There are few actors here who could preserve the subtlety and still keep the tremendous comedy alive. Tom was an obvious choice," Wash said. "I'm graduating soon with a degree in musical theater, which is all I've been doing lately -- with the exception of some Shakespeare and Moliere -- and I thought a little black box intense realism would be good for me."\nThe two have worked together for the past five weeks without the help of an outside director, which Ridgely said can be an actor's dream, but also an actor's nightmare. This form of creation led to the two performers creating their own theater of sorts.\n"It was nice to have all the control, but a burden to have all the responsibility. So, in the end what works will be the result of our efforts and what doesn't will also be the result of our efforts. Exciting and scary," Ridgely said. "I decided I wanted to find peers of mine whom I respected and do work on our own -- create our own theatre. So, that's why when Stan approached me I was excited (to) take the challenge."\nThe two actors, respected by their peers, have received support from not only their friends (in capacities ranging from run crew to lighting design) but also from theater department directors who have recently come in to offer feedback before the show opens. \nJunior Arian Moayed, who is performing in "The Food Chain" in T300, supported the show by advertising.\n"People should see this show because they are two great University actors finding their own theater and their own way of doing it and their own budget," Moayed said of "Lonely Planet." "This is the how great theater started and will continue to shine"
(02/15/01 2:51am)
Age comes with privileges -- and responsibilities. \nThe government has set certain age limits for certain things for a reason. And it's just more fun to wait until it's actually legal for you to do these things, like vote and drink alcohol. Both the privileges and the responsibilities are worth the wait.\nWhen a young adult turns 18, he or she is granted the right to vote, purchase cigarettes or lottery tickets and is considered an adult in terms of legal responsibilities. Most people under 18 would love to be 18 to have those new privileges, and those 18 and above would probably enjoy not having the legal responsibilities of being an adult.\nIn less than five days, I will be 21 and will finally gain the right to purchase, drink and own alcohol as well as visit establishments that sell alcohol. When that day arrives, I will be surrounded by friends and perhaps family, and we'll have a great time.\nBut that day will not be the first time I've tasted an alcoholic beverage. Beyond going to the United Kingdom, where the drinking age is 18, I've been to many parties where alcohol was served, and friends have bought alcohol for me. The one thing that I've never done is pose as being older than I am.\nThough I've been served alcohol in bars before, I've never shown a fake ID. Many friends and even those who are no longer friends have told me to get a fake ID, so I'll stop complaining and just go out with them. To me, the reasons not to go out and get a fake ID are many.\nAccording to the Indiana Code, being caught with a fake ID is a class C infraction resulting in fines. It is also a Class C infraction to have a fake ID on your person, even if you never used it. Using a fake ID can result in the loss of your driver's license for up to one year, regardless if the driver's license was used when trying to obtain alcohol. Making fake ID's is a Class C misdemeanor and is punishable by up to 60 days in prison and a $500 fine. Beyond that, individuals may increase their punishment on a circumstantial basis.\nRegardless of the legal responsibilities, it is also an embarrassment to get caught with a fake, especially because they cost so much money. You not only lose the use of something expensive that was purchased, but also possibly legal rights when you're of age. I think of a lot better ways to spend my money than on a beer (and the fine) for $103.\nI think having to be 21 to go to bars, buy or drink alcohol is ludicrous. What's the difference between a 21-year-old and a 20-year-old, or even an 18-year-old? \nBut, because I will soon be the magic age of 21, I have new respect for the law and for my personal dignity.\nThere is another reason I've not ventured in to buying a fake ID. It's the same reason that I had a bar mitzvah at 13 and not at 10, why I graduated high school and had commencement when I did and why I didn't get a fake ID so I could vote in 1996. There's something exciting about waiting and letting the occasion happen in its natural course.\nIf I'd been going to the bars for three years already, why would my 21st birthday be special at all? All birthdays are special, but the 21st, much like the 18th, is special because it marks the day we accept a new responsibility and privilege into our lives.\nI look forward to that day and the newness of it. But perhaps I am a traditionalist. After all, it's just another day.
(02/06/01 5:02am)
With a red glow reflected off the curtain of the Musical Arts Center, the Philharmonic Orchestra began the somber prelude to "Faust" by Gounod under the baton of maestro Imre Pallo. Slowly, the curtain rose for the Saturday evening performance of the French opera about the dangers of lust and temptation.\nSung in French, the production included fine singing, lush musicality and haunting scenery, but the overall presentation was not as harrowing as was expected.\nDoctor Faust, an old, bitter man, seeks the youthful joys of his past. The devil, Mephistopheles, offers Faust his wish in exchange for his eternal soul. Faust agrees because he loves a young woman, Marguerite, and wants to win her love. As a young man, Faust and Marguerite become lovers; but they never marry, and their relationship is condemned by the villagers. Faust tries to bring the virtuous Marguerite with him (inevitably to Hell), but she refuses, thus saving her soul.\nProduction designer Max Rothlisberger, a professor emeritus of music and opera scenic design, created looming arches that hover over the locales, to remind the audience of the omnipotent power of the Lord. Locations were suggestive, but detailed and beautiful to behold.\nLighting designer Michael Holt, a senior, created scenes with brilliant designs (the final scene was haunting). But too often the set was so dark that it became difficult to watch, causing the actors to be illuminated by dim lights and leaving them roughly unrevealed to the audience.\n"Faust" is a long opera. Done here in two acts, the length is nearly three hours and some scenes are difficult to sit through -- specifically the end of the first act, in which Faust and Marguerite profess their love. The music was drawn out and made it difficult to stay awake.\nBut "Faust" contains some of the best choral singing of any IU opera production and the best of many operas in general. The numbers were delightful to listen to, although not staged particularly well (in semicircles most of the time).\nGraduate student Johan Weigel, as Faust, was not particularly interesting and his singing was often forced rather than flowing. Stephanie Johnson, a graduate student, did not make Marguerite intriguing, but she did sing with beauty not often heard in the MAC.\nThe best performances both from the standpoint of voice and character came from graduate student Kimberly Gratland James as Siebel and performance diploma student Jonathon Bainbridge as Valentin, Marguerite's brother.\nJames' Seibel was reminiscent of a Cherubino from "Marriage of Figaro" -- delightful to listen to and too sweet to be the rough man the character aspires to be. Bainbridge, long absent from a MAC performance, is the best singer in the production and gave Valentin a humanistic quality that made it difficult to condemn him in his death.\nThe Philharmonic Orchestra played in top form, accompanying the singers rather than stealing the spotlight. Pallo created the mood changes with mastery and milked all phrases, yielding a fine orchestral sound.\nThe IU opera production of "Faust" is mostly good, but depending on the cast could be better or worse. Although one could become sleepy and annoyed, the long opera is interesting, well sung and masterfully played.
(02/01/01 6:27am)
Twenty-four centuries before Freud developed his theories, the ancient Greeks tapped into human psychology in the most public of places -- the theater. The most popular form of entertainment for the Greeks, playwrights such as Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes brought the human condition to the foreground with their plays about the history and religion of their culture.\nAt 8 p.m. Friday, the University Theatre will open, for eight performances, perhaps the most well-known, but seldom performed Greek tragedy of all time, "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles.\nOften called the first mystery in Western culture, Oedipus is the story of the King of Thebes whose country is under great suffering because of a plague. Oedipus learns the plague will end when the man responsible for the murder of Laius, the previous king of Thebes, is exiled from the city. The play then finds Oedipus searching for the truth not only for the death of Laius, but also for his own parentage leading to one of the most haunting revelations in all of drama.\nA new production featuring a design staff of professors and a visiting lecturers, this "Oedipus Rex" features a set with a modern feel rooted in tradition.\n"We see the exterior and entrance to the palace, which has been inspired by the work of some contemporary architects such as Frank Gehry," said set designer Ed Haynes, a visiting lecturer. "We wanted an exterior appropriate for the palace of a king -- impressive, expensive and -- to reflect the action of the play -- a sinister place where evil, unacceptable things have occurred."\nWhile the play itself is more than 2,500 years old and the traditions of Greek tragedy such as the Chorus will be present, director Howard Jensen said he feels the play is in no way dated and many ideas moving through the play are current.\n"The idea of an unknown plague, a disease that continues that people don't quite know what to do with is one (idea that is current)," Jensen said. "The dilemma of Oedipus is something we all go through. I'm on top of the world, but I have this nagging feeling that it could all collapse."\nJensen, a professor of acting and directing at IU for more than 25 years, is also a regular director at the Utah Shakespeare Festival during the summer. The company recently won the Tony Award for best regional theater the same year Jensen directed "War of the Roses," his own adaptation of the Shakespeare's Henry VI plays.\n"With this (production) I wanted to be immediate in a different way, in a less academic way," Jensen said. "I was interested in different values. So many plays (in Greek Tragedy) are about some secret that has to come to light." \nCast members also said they believe "Oedipus" continues to speak with conviction to a modern audience. Graduate student Erik Anderson who will perform as Kreon, Oedipus' brother-in-law, said he believes the play represents a new challenge for him as an actor.\n"Though it's not his (Kreon's) play, it gives me a chance to do something I've never done before -- a straightforward, solid leader," Anderson said. "He's the glue that holds the play together." \nIn addition to the challenges on stage, Anderson also believes the play contains social issues relevant to today.\n"Look at the collapse of power in our own country. The president, the leaders in our country are never the men we think they are," Anderson said. "All truly remarkable leaders will have some tragic flaws."\nJensen said he believes part of the reason Greek tragedy is not as popular as other forms of drama is because of the obstruction the Chorus can be for an audience. This production, Jensen said, will have only a three-person Chorus as opposed to the traditional 15. \nAlthough most actors prefer the leading role, junior Carol Enoch clambered at the chance to be in the Chorus.\n"I read the Chorus parts, and the language is so beautiful and there's so much room for interpretation," Enoch said. "The Chorus is a conduit between the audience and the stage. Having three allows room for a lot more individual personality."\nWhile the opportunity to work with Jensen as a director is something Enoch and Anderson said they had enjoyed and admired, the chance to work on the material in "Oedipus" is just as unique. Although Jensen has seen and directed many plays, including Aeschylus' Orestia trilogy at the University Theatre, he has never himself seen a production of "Oedipus."\n"I do what I think is right -- what comes from my heart as well as my mind. I know it's going to be wonderful to look at and to hear," said Jensen. "You don't get a chance to see a live performance of 'Oedipus' very often. I've never seen it live"
(02/01/01 5:00am)
Much like the film by Joel and Ethan Coen, which is a mysterious, absurdist odyssey, the soundtrack for the film "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" contains similar nuances, filled with old-time, Southwestern music in a package that caters to a modern audience with it's CD-ROM capabilities.\nThe opening track is an apparition of sorts, introducing the CD the same way the film introduces itself -- prisoners singing soulfully to the rhythm of mallets on a railroad. The track foreshadows the spirit of the coming music: that which comes from something supernatural, yet quite corporeal.\nThe disc continues with various songs from the Depression's height such as "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and "You are my Sunshine" in recordings from artists like Harry McClintock, who, though somewhat forgotten, had been great names of the past.\nThe hit of the album, if it can be called such, is the song in which the film's three heroes sing in a recording studio to make themselves $10, but ends up making them statewide music stars. The traditional "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" has four incarnations on the disc -- twice with the Soggy Bottom Boys, the band in the film, once with Norman Blake and once with John Harford. \nEach version has a unique quality evoking a different set of emotions, but the fifth track and the first time we hear the song is clearly the album's best track combining the best of the old-time sound with a rhythm and harmony that would make most people get up and dance.\nThe first "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" is followed directly by the solemn "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" sung mournfully by Chris Thomas King. The two songs together represent the complete soul found in the album.\nThe soundtrack to "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" has hit the nation like a bat out of hand and it's not surprising -- finally a soundtrack that doesn't rely on the modern popular music to sell its product -- just down-to-earth, human music done in a tasteful, yet accessible fashion.
(02/01/01 4:51am)
Much like the film by Joel and Ethan Coen, which is a mysterious, absurdist odyssey, the soundtrack for the film "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" contains similar nuances, filled with old-time, Southwestern music in a package that caters to a modern audience with it's CD-ROM capabilities.\nThe opening track is an apparition of sorts, introducing the CD the same way the film introduces itself -- prisoners singing soulfully to the rhythm of mallets on a railroad. The track foreshadows the spirit of the coming music: that which comes from something supernatural, yet quite corporeal.\nThe disc continues with various songs from the Depression's height such as "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and "You are my Sunshine" in recordings from artists like Harry McClintock, who, though somewhat forgotten, had been great names of the past.\nThe hit of the album, if it can be called such, is the song in which the film's three heroes sing in a recording studio to make themselves $10, but ends up making them statewide music stars. The traditional "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" has four incarnations on the disc -- twice with the Soggy Bottom Boys, the band in the film, once with Norman Blake and once with John Harford. \nEach version has a unique quality evoking a different set of emotions, but the fifth track and the first time we hear the song is clearly the album's best track combining the best of the old-time sound with a rhythm and harmony that would make most people get up and dance.\nThe first "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" is followed directly by the solemn "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" sung mournfully by Chris Thomas King. The two songs together represent the complete soul found in the album.\nThe soundtrack to "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" has hit the nation like a bat out of hand and it's not surprising -- finally a soundtrack that doesn't rely on the modern popular music to sell its product -- just down-to-earth, human music done in a tasteful, yet accessible fashion.
(02/01/01 3:47am)
When IU President Myles Brand announced that Bob Knight was fired as IU's head coach, I was surrounded by people who supported or hated the decision, and people who didn't care. \nI, being an IU basketball fan from the age of 5, respected the decision because Knight had been, in my opinion, forewarned. But I did not like it at all.\nA recent IDS article reported that, in a speech to the National Press Club, Brand laid out his ideas for downsizing intercollegiate sports in hopes of promoting "academics first." With that move, my respect for Brand went out the window.\nI am a student first and foremost. I believe that the only reason to attend college is to get an education. But I also firmly believe that the best education is not always found in the lecture hall.\n"The goal is not to become a leader in the reform of collegiate athletics, but a leader in the best research university in the country," the article quoted Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations Christopher Simpson as saying.\nAs a theater student, most of my days are spent in the rehearsal room, preparing the practical theater education I know will be beneficial when I look for work in my field.\nIn the same way that journalism students become involved in the IDS as practical education for becoming journalists, IU basketball players get their practical education on the court.\nTheir practical education of choice is to participate on the IU basketball team, beyond their classroom academic work, just as mine is to direct plays -- something I don't get to do in class.\nIU has always been the pinnacle of cleanliness in play, program and academic performance. Basketball players almost always stay for four years and graduate, the program has been free from bribes and paying off players and the team has always been just that -- a team.\nOne of the things I've always enjoyed about IU basketball has been the sense of team play upon which Coach Knight insisted. IU was not home to ego-boosting, overachieving, prima donna star prospects, yet its players succeeded anyway, both on and off the court. And Knight was first and foremost a teacher of the game. \nCompared to other schools, sports plays a minor role in the lives of students at IU. And a majority of students feel academics is the primary reason for being here.\nIU basketball is a tradition at Indiana, as is Little 500, IU Sing and the IU Opera Theatre. IU prides itself on traditions, and basketball has survived and thrived for more than 100 years.\nMy question to Brand, then, is why reduce a program that is clean, well-respected, well-liked and unpretentious? And why, even if this "academics first" proposal is meant to apply to all teams, should Brand be the one to lead it?\nPerhaps programs at UNLV, UNC or Duke need reform, but IU's program certainly does not -- or was firing Coach Knight not enough?\n"We also need to work on the chain of command from the president to the athletics director to the coaches," the article quoted Brand as saying. \nIf I were to read into the subtext (a theater term for what Brand is really saying), Brand seems to be saying, "I'm the boss here, and if I want basketball to be a minor program, it sure as hell will be!"\nBut who knows, I'm only a theater student. Perhaps I need to do more research -- or maybe I'll go to rehearsal.
(01/11/01 4:01am)
God bless the United States of America! Or, for those who don't believe in God, may the Force bless the USA! I must say this winter break enlightened me to a plethora of American legal proceedings that left me both intrigued and bewildered.\nThursday, Dec. 14, I was set to leave for home. But all was lost when my car was hit at the corner of Ninth and Dunn streets on my way to work. \nYes, I'm fine (so stop worrying). But, the best part was that it was not my fault! I got the cash hook-up, but it meant dealing with the insurance companies. My advice to those who suffer the same fate with their cars is to never accept a first offer; be stern, and tell them you have the lawyer from the law offices of Keller & Keller, even if you don't.\nWith my car all disheveled, the issue of buying a new car surfaced -- something I've never done. To my chagrin, I was denied a loan by four establishments, but the fifth was smart enough to give me a loan without a co-signer. I am now establishing credit and not driving a POS!\nThen, Dec. 20, I became a juror for the first time in my life. I went to the jury pool at the City-County building in Indianapolis and was called and finally selected to be on a six-member jury in a criminal recklessness case.\nIf anyone has ever read or seen "Twelve Angry Men," it was almost exactly like that. But there weren't only men on the jury, there were only six of us, and it wasn't a murder trial. But still. The whole thing was almost comical because everyone took it so seriously. \nAfter it was over, the lawyers and the bailiff told us that if we'd just thrown away our jury pool cards and not come, they wouldn't have done anything about it. Misdemeanor my petunia! Oh well, I made $40. Speaking of which, I still don't have my check.\nI won't bore my faithful readers by pontificating about my wild and crazy New Year's celebration, but I must say I thank my friend Alex Miller for creating freak dancing to the music of "Baby got back," which I shall demonstrate in a more intoxicated state (only 40 more days!).\nBut, on the New Year's tangent, Jan. 2, my mother called to tell me all of the computers at HP products (toilet paper), where she works, were down.\nTold you so.\nIt always seems the world is in check with itself, and this goes for people as well. If too much good comes to us, something bad happens to balance it out, and vice versa. Perhaps that is why people with money never seem happy. This is the only explanation I can come up with for the next winter break issue.\nOur new century and millennium have finally begun. I am now scared for my life because of the most important of U.S. affairs that occurred during break: "W" is now the president-elect. \nThough I am not a political columnist, I can only wonder why he thinks a $1.3 trillion tax cut will help the nation. For some reason, I thought one needed income to make a budget. And the former superintendent of schools from Houston as secretary of education? I won't even mention the horror of John Ashcroft.\nAll I can say about "W" is that he's the President Dan Quayle we never had.\nSo, the semester, year and century begin with uncertainties, checks and balances, new cars, new classes, old friends and hopefully a little bit more sechel. May the Force help the White House!
(12/06/00 4:12am)
es, I'm a Jew … and yes, this means I don't believe in Jesus … yes, I'm going to hell. To tell the truth, I'm glad because, man, Christmas is freaking expensive! I don't know if everyone realizes this, but it's true. And I haven't even gone shopping yet. So far, I haven't had Christmas this year, and as it looks now, I'm going to have to stick with just Hannukkah … or is that Channuka?\n Speaking of the festival of lights, I must explain a few things our dear friend Mr. Sandler left of out of the famous song. This holiday is in effect a celebration of two miracles: the miracle of the Jewish people's defeat of the Syrian king Antiochus with limited forces, and the miracle of one day's worth of oil lasting for eight days, so new oil could be made.\nThese miracles are what the rabbis have explained are the reasons for celebrating this holiday -- to show God's faith in the chosen people in a time of strife. What is it with Jews and strife?\nBut in the book of Macabees, an apocryphal book and not part of the Tanach (Torah or Bible, Prophets and Chronicles), there is no mention of these miracles. It is interesting to think miracles of such importance wouldn't make it into the actual accounts themselves …\nAnyway, the holiday is not a major holiday like Rosh ha Shannah or Yom Kippur, nor does it fall during Christmas -- well, this year it does, but normally it doesn't. In fact, this is one of the more minor holidays; it consists of lighting candles each night for eight nights, adding one new candle per night as well as eating fatty fried food (to symbolize the oil once again). What is it with Jews and oil?\nWe also play with dreidels, which are also not made out of clay -- in fact the two I have are made of plastic and wood and cost $0.50 at your local Jewish boutique. The dreidel game is a gambling game; depending on the letter the dreidel falls on, one wins or loses money. What is it with Jews and money?\nI can see the appeal of Christmas. I mean, madrigal dinners ($32), the "Nutcracker" ballet ($20), holiday parties ($3 a cup), fruitcake ($5), turkey ($25) because ham isn't kosher, a Christmas tree ($75) because I "threw" my Channaka bush away, marijuanika ($50) -- oops -- and of course the mistletoe ($5). I just had an awesome Christmas for only $165, but I still haven't bought a gift for anybody!\nTo make this holiday season merry, I better get the cash hook up from Khannukka Harry. But, will it really be all that merry anyway? I mean, every time I tell someone Merry Christmas, they look at me with horror of what to say back because I don't celebrate Christmas! So, often I'll get "You have a good Hannika" or "You too!" but never back do I hear "Merry Christmas!"\nI can understand the confusion because Christmas is one of the most important Christian holidays. I know this because I see mass on Christmas eve on television every year. And I already had my Happy New Year (Rosh ha Shanna), so, technically, I don't get that, either. \nI don't know about all of the readers out there, but so far my holiday season looks pretty dismal. I'll probably spend most of it down in old B-town working at Penn Station, drinking White Russians … bowling.\nI suppose what I'm trying to say is, please enjoy the break and I hope we've all learned something this semester. And use a little bit of sechel every now and then. Do you have any Kahlua?
(12/04/00 4:30am)
In all families, people take on certain roles as the family grows. Although people grow and change, the roles seem to stay the same, adapting to fit the new person.\nThe latest T300 studio theater production of "Independence" by Lee Blessing examines these ever-changing, yet familiar dynamics. In the production, the audience is shown a small piece of the lives of the Briggs home in Independence, Iowa, where three sisters and their mother live and have lived their entire lives.\nThe play concerns three sisters: Jo, Kess and Sherry, and their mother Evelyn. Jo has asked Kess, who's been gone from the family for four years, to return to help her with their mother. Jo is pregnant and can't dedicate all her time to her mother.\nKess, an independent woman who lives in Minneapolis and is a college professor, does not want to stay in Independence. The same sentiment is held by the youngest sister Sherry, who, through her sculpting and affection for Goth style, has completely separated herself from her mother. The play surrounds these three sisters and their eventual need to become independent of their mother and Independence.\nThe beginning of the play was a little stiff, and some sound problems occurred, but they were quickly fixed. A more troubling part came at the beginning of the play, with Jo and Kess on stage staring at each other through a screen door.\nThere were few staging problems, despite that initial scene, which was confusing. In fact, most of the staging was motivated, clear and interesting.\nThe set, designed by graduate student Namok Bae, was eerily normal. The pink walls, pictures everywhere and end tables with doilies remind the audience of the home of a nice little old lady (Evelyn Briggs), while hinting at something a tad devious.\nGraduate student Rebecca Jarell's costumes worked well with the set and established the definition between the dissimilar characters.\nMorgan Brenner, a graduate student and the lighting designer, created a nicely lit interior with slight variations in each scene. Each scene shift was made with stage lights on, which helped the flow of the play.\nThe acting in the play was mostly impressive. The order of the scenes is a bit stifling because at times it disrupts a certain character's relationship with another. For instance, Jo and Evelyn do not interact between Act 2, scene 2 and scene 4, but in scene 4 Jo is very upset -- it almost seems illogical.\nEvelyn herself is an enigma as she seems to be the one character in the play who does not get enough attention or dimentionality.\nNevertheless, each actress did fine work with what they were given. Graduate student Christine Woodworth gave a nice performance as Kess, giving her character a nice strong backbone while still having heartfelt emotion at times.\nGraduate student Coryell Barlow did as well as she could with Evelyn, making her sweet at some places and genuinely heartbroken at others. She, like all actresses in her place, suffered from being too young for the role. Out of character, she became almost too vibrant at times.\nSenior Kiersten Vorheis was wonderfully comic as the rebellious Sherry. Her audacity, sarcasm and wit fit perfectly with the show and created some much-needed comic relief. But she did show her three-dimensionality in the second act. Vorheis made Sherry more than just a loud mouth tramp -- she made her a human being.\nHubbell Carothers, a junior, gave a very stirring performance as Jo. Being the sister with all the highs and lows in the show, with self esteem no bigger than an ant and being the one person who constantly cares for her mother, Carothers had a difficult role to play. But it was striking and nicely mixed between intensity and comedy.\nOverall, "Independence" was a tight production with very few flaws.
(12/01/00 4:12am)
"Independence," an all-female play by Lee Blessing, opens this Friday and plays through next Saturday in the T300 Studio Theatre. The production is the first of many for the ensemble.\n Blessing, who came to IU as a Collins Lecturer in 1994, and whose play "Eleemosynary" was also done in IU's T300 the following year, is known as a generally masculine playwright. But, in this instance, he explores the vast and unique dynamic of family life without masculinity -- sisters and their mother.\nThe play takes place in the timeless town of Independence, Iowa where Evelyn Briggs and her daughter Jo live. Like Evelyn before her, Jo's family role is to stay in Independence and take care of her mother, that is until conflict breaks open when Jo becomes pregnant out of wedlock.\nThis brings home the eldest sister Kess, an independent, professional and lesbian woman whose ideals are in direct contrast to her sisters, especially Evelyn's. Along with Jo and Kess, the added dynamic of the youngest and rebellious sister Sherry makes this a character-driven play that closely explores the family unit.\n"I think that any person can relate to family life," said junior Mary Carothers, who plays Jo. "Everyone knows a Jo, Evelyn, Kess or Sherry. And, we've all been in a situation where we want something so badly and we haven't been able to get it."\nCarothers, who just returned to school after taking a year off, is making her first appearance in an IU Theater production with "Independence." She talked about Jo as having a specific role in the family that was broken by her pregnancy, therefore causing conflict.\n"I think she is held back because of her responsibilities to her family, but she never had a choice," Carothers said. "She has the obligation to take care of the family and follow in the footsteps of her mother. Evelyn was there for her mother and Jo must be there for Evelyn."\nExploring familial dynamics and obligation is something that Blessing uses often in his plays. From exploring different sides of Ty Cobb's family outlook in "Cobb" to the family dynamic of the family in Hamlet in "Fortinbras," Blessing seems quite interested in those relationships.\n"We are all striving to find a balance between asserting our own independence from our heritage and our parents' dreams for us, and maintaining contact with the people who have made us who we are," said the show's director Heather May, a graduate student.\nMay, who directed this summer's "Oz" during the Wizard of Oz festival, is directing her first show for IU Theater.\n"In this age of mobility and potential outside of the domestic realm, all of us, male and female, are likely to have to decide how much of our independence we are willing to give up to maintain the health and well-being of our parents and loved ones," May said.\nOther firsts in this production come in the design staff with graduate students Rebecca Jarell, costume designer; Morgan Brenner, lighting designer; and Namok Bae, set designer. Christine Woodworth, media liaison for the Department of Theatre and Drama, is making her first IU Theatre debut playing the role of Kess.\n"The challenge for me has been finding those moments when Kess can relax and feel like she is home where everything is familiar," Woodworth said. "That comfort can disappear in a second, however, when hurtfulness emerges in the family."\nAlthough no stranger to the theatre, this is Woodworth's first time acting since the Bloomington Playwright's Project production of "Tramaturgy" last winter. The arrival of her character, Kess, back to the home of Evelyn Briggs after a long hiatus is the play's starting point.\n"This production has been a wonderful experience from the very start," Woodworth said. "The four of us have become almost like a real family through the course of the rehearsal process."\n"Independence" by Lee Blessing plays in T300 Studio Theatre at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Dec. 3-9 with 2 p.m. matinees Saturdays. Tickets are $8.50 and $7.50 for students and seniors Monday through Thursday. They are available at the IU Auditorium Box Office (812) 855-1103 or at all TicketMaster locations or by phone (812) 333-9955.
(11/30/00 4:26am)
This is my last restaurant review for the IDS. I figured as it should be my last, I'd do a review of a new restaurant, which in my mind is what my job really is about.\nThe owners of the former restaurant Me Oh My Oh's could not figure out how to make their idea work. Either Bloomington was not ready for a Bayou-style restaurant, or the one they presented was not up to par.\nThree weeks ago, the owners re-opened at the same location, 106 W. Sixth St., with a different menu and style now called Gratzi! An Italian eatery, as they call it, Gratzi! was an educated move because of the lack of Italian restaurants in Bloomington -- I can think of only three others.\nBut Gratzi! seemed to lack the authenticity and panache Bloomington dining requires, even if it does not attempt to be fine dining. Even with so-called casual dining, the Bloomington restaurant scene demands quality and style.\nThe decor of the restaurant, similar to that of its former incarnation, is more suitable for the new style and menu -- a cafe.\nIt no longer seems odd to sit in a stylish wood booth to eat, whereas before I had difficulty imagining alligator eggs in a place like that.\nOur server immediately offered us drinks and brought them to us as soon as we'd ordered them. Although we did not order alcohol, the selection of wines seemed to be on a lower scale than some other Italian restaurants in Bloomington. While at Gratzi!, a better red is the Beringer Estates Cabernet Sauvignon. At a place such as Puccini's, it might not even make their list.\nWe began our meal with calamari alla marinara; fried calamari over marinara sauce. It was preceded by salad and breadsticks that seemed to be stylistically similar to that of the Olive Garden, but it was nice as it was free with dinner. The calamari followed shortly. It was very good calamari as it was not too chewy and very moist. The marinara sauce was also quite tasty and zesty as a dipping sauce.\nAt Gratzi!, one can choose his or her pasta based on the different pastas they make in combination with any sauce ranging from marinara to pesto. Also, there is a classic recipes and specialties menu. My companion and I tried veal scaloppini and wild mushroom tortellini.\nThe scaloppini came with a side of fettuccine alfredo and asparagus. It was not the best veal I'd had before, but it was not disappointing. But it relied too much on the garlic to give it flavor. The fettuccine was not good and I did not eat it. The pasta was underdone and the alfredo sauce did not taste good at all.\nThe wild mushroom tortellini was a decent dish, but the alfredo sauce was the same and it did not inspire. The taste was not as wild as I'd hoped it would be, but the mushrooms were varied and tender.\nFor dessert we tried the dessert of the day -- sweet potato pie with rummed whipped topping. It was scintillating. The flavors surpassed most sweet potato pies I've had. It was gone in minutes.\nTo the owners of Gratzi!, I would not say to try again, but rather to augment. As it stands, I see Gratzi! as a mere step above something like the Olive Garden (only because of location and decor), but the menu just isn't cutting it. The food is not of a region, it is just "Italian" and what people perceive that to mean.\nI would say that seeking out some new recipes, bring the wine list a little higher on the classy scale and fixing the whole free breadsticks and salad deal (I liked that, but we're talking about class, not accommodation). I believe Bloomington and IU patrons would rather suffer some extra cost than be patronized in a restaurant.\nThanks for reading and happy eating.
(11/20/00 4:52am)
Often IU opera will choose an opera of such rarity and beauty that one wonders why it is not more often performed. Such is the case with Carlisle Floyd's musical drama "Susannah," which was the most recent piece produced by the Opera Theater.\nThe opera itself is a breathtaking piece of music full of drama and heavenly touches that make it one of the best modern American operas.\nBut the treatment by Opera Theater did not do Floyd justice.\nAlthough the production at the Musical Arts Center Saturday had its share of stellar moments, overall there were a great many problems with the production. Errors were apparent and could easily have been avoided with pre-planning and communication.\n"Susannah" takes place in New Hope Valley, Tenn., where preacher Olin Blitch has come to lead a revival. The townsfolk condemn Susannah Polk (basically because she's pretty) as being a loose girl who has the devil in her. In reality she's as down to earth as one could be. When the townsfolk catch her bathing naked in a creek, their suspicions appear to be proven.\nThe preacher prays for Susannah's soul but has other intentions in mind as he visits her at home. The opera ends with Susannah's brother Sam shooting the preacher and Susannah alone in the world -- condemned from society.\nThe entire production takes place behind a scrim decorated with a trellis pattern -- a convention that did not seem to work for this show. Because the opera is supposed to be verismo and in-your-face, the use of the scrim seemed to contradict that precept. The scrim blocked the audience from the action on stage, which was something unexpected and ineffective.\nOther production problems were derivative of the set design from C. David Higgins. While the use of the raked stage -- similar to the rake used for "Wozzeck" -- drew the audience closer, the scrim blocked it again.\nAlso, while the set was effective and aesthetically pleasing to look at, it also made it difficult to perform scene changes smoothly and quickly. Many scene changes were performed in the dark without underscore, which is not the fault of the composer, and they took between two and three minutes to perform each time.\nBecause of these problems, the flow and pace of the show was sorely disrupted, and it had audience members conversing out loud rather than paying attention to the action on stage.\nBut when the opera was being performed there were some incredible vocal performances. Maestro Christopher Larkin and the Philharmonic Orchestra were top notch, with perfect balance. Attacks were sharp and strong, and the phrasing was masterful as each moment of the score was drawn out to its most shining beauty.\nCynthia Watters, a graduate student, as the title role was a joy to listen to. Her aria in act two, "The trees and the mountains are cold and bare," was performed with beauty, precision and longing -- it alone was worth a bravo.\nSenior Nicholas Coppolo as her brother Sam was also great to watch and listen to. His natural charm made it easy to understand his action at the end of the opera.\nOverall, the singing was very good, but it was difficult to hear most of the singers above the orchestra, even with microphones. For the most part, the acting was fairly dismal, but this was a very difficult opera to act.\nLighting designer Michael Schwandt's lighting added much to the atmosphere and mood of the production. The last moment with Susannah alone in her spot, center stage was quite effective, emphasizing her loneliness and condemnation.\n"Susannah" is a very beautiful opera with music from ranging from folk tunes to dramatic aria. The production at IU, however, could not do it complete justice. While beautiful singing and accompaniment was a strong force throughout, the pacing problems derivative from design elements disrupted the flow and took away from the performance.
(11/17/00 3:48am)
While many might not realize it, the musical sensation "Les Miserables" is more than 20 years old. But the musical version by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Shonberg, as timeless as Victor Hugo's novel, does not seem to be losing any luster. \nI have had the great fortune of viewing this musical three times. It's no great record -- my best friend has seen it almost 15 times. Each time has brought a new aesthetic to my mind.\nI have studied theater at IU for the past three years, but I've never really known a lot about Broadway and big-budget musicals.\nMy first live musical was in 1986 when my parents took me to the Civic Theater in Indianapolis to see "The Music Man," which I adored on video. Later, I saw "West Side Story" at the same venue, again with my parents. Never in my life did I venture with my parents to New York, nor did I know much about what kinds of musicals were being done on Broadway.\nIn high school, I was about as naive as one could get. When I was a sophomore, my best friend told me that her mother did not want to see "Les Miserables" at the Murat Theatre because she had seen it so many times that it wasn't worth it to her. So the ticket was offered to me.\nI turned it down, at first. She wanted me to pay $50 for it. I'd never paid that much for a theater ticket in my life, nor had I ever heard of "Les Miserables," except for the T-shirts I saw some people wear. I had never heard a note of the music, nor did I know the story. But, because I trusted my friend's taste, I bought the ticket and saw the show in the fifth row.\nI did not know what to expect -- my friend would tell me nothing. She wouldn't even let me read the program because it told the story of the musical. I remember my friend and her father joking that their favorite characters were Brujon and Grantaire -- two minimal characters at best.\nWhen the music began and I heard the haunting opening melody of "Look Down," I was sent into a new world. Never before had I seen anything as remotely spectacular as that in a live theater production -- nor had I ever seen a Broadway-caliber show before.\nI sat in awe of the entire thing. I cried when Marius sang "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" about his friends lost at the barricade and I marveled at Valjean's rendition of "Bring Him Home."\nBut the tune of "Look Down" remained engrained in my head. For four years, I relied solely on the original London cast recording with Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Roger Allam as Javert and Frances Rufelle as Eponine. Those voices have put their mark on my idea of the production.\nLast spring break I went to London and left the United States for the first time in my life. The first thing I did, (as far as theater is concerned), was to go see the London production of "Les Miserables" at the regal Palace Theatre. I sat in the third to last row of the top balcony.\nThe magic was not the same. I knew all the words to every song, I knew what was going to happen before it did, and I knew how I wanted it to sound. The London production did not satisfy my deep need for a repetition of the original magic.\nThis is why people like my best friend continue to see this musical over and over again -- in hopes of recapturing a magic they once felt when viewing this musical.\nWhen I saw "Les Miserables" at the IU Auditorium Wednesday night, I sat next to professor emeritus of the Department of Theatre and Drama, R. Keith Michael, and his wife, Marion. They told me about how they saw the original cast of "Les Miserables" in London when it was just a fledgling project that the Royal Shakespeare Company tried to save. Now, the royalties the company gets from "Les Miserables" pays for itself.\nWithout becoming a reviewer, I must say that there were many things I did not enjoy about this most recent viewing. Many performances were not up to par, some new interpretations did not read to me and the Gavroche was just not likeable enough to care about. But I was happy to see that the Thenardiers could steal the show and that Fantine wasn't a bleached blonde this time -- but she wasn't that good, either.\nAfter being carbon copied so many times with different people and different directors recreating what John Caird and Trevor Nunn ingeniously bore, the musical has become much less alive than when it started.\nI only can wish that Mr. Nunn would look at the three major casts currently doing "Les Miserables" (New York, London and American tour) for a couple of weeks to do a few things. First, make sure the casting is proper -- some people just don't have the look or energy the characters need. Second, make sure the staging is motivated and inspired -- that the acting is still there, not singing heads. Last, that the production does not become a sounding board for upcoming stars to use as an avenue to say, "Look at me, I'm in 'Les Miz'!"\nI would like to commend Diana Kaarina who plays Eponine in this touring cast, for actually performing the role in a way that I not only enjoyed but also felt for. To me, she won the show. I've had problems with actresses being whiny girls who would over sing "On My Own" as if they'd waited to sing it their whole lives and leave nothing to the character.\nI wanted to go to the stage door, wait outside for her and tell her I think she's the best Eponine I've ever seen and heard (except for the aforementioned Rufelle, who was the original).\nEssentially, I found some magic in "Les Miserables," even after three viewings. One character I'd never seen done well was done magnificently and I actually cried when Eponine died this time -- something I'd never done before.\nIt's a wonder how something so miserable could be so breathtakingly awe-inspiring.
(11/15/00 4:45am)
On Jordan Avenue, just across from the admissions office, next to Delta Gamma sorority, IU is building a temple.\nOpening next spring, this temple will be holy, rough, immediate and alive. It houses a worshiping center for Dionysus and pays homage to the memory of Thespis.\n This is a place of Shakespeare, Sophocles, Brecht, Mamet and Bob Fosse. \n It is a place where the celebration of humanity through voice, diction, song, music, movement, ritual, action and emotion takes place.\nThis building has been in the works for more than 30 years, planned for 10 and built in the last three, but many people do not know of its existence. They are unaware of the magic in its empty space.\nThis is a place where, "The difficult must become habit, habit easy, and the easy beautiful." Prince Sergei Volkonski's words speak of what has intrigued man since the dawn of time -- Theater.\nThe avenue that brought forth the most ingenious author challenges us as human beings. Not merely entertainment, it speaks in a voice other arts cannot. It is alive in a moment and gone the next.\nStephen Sondheim wrote as a lyric, "Art isn't easy, even when you're hot. Advancing art is easy, financing it is not. A vision's just a vision if it's only in your head. If no one gets to see it, it's as good as dead. It has to come to life."\nOne of the few things in life I'll never forget was when I went to London during spring break. For eight days, I spent time in one of the most historic, vibrant and culturally fascinating cities in the world. I knew the theater in London was among the best in the world. There, I saw five shows: "Les Miserables," "The Lion King," "The Pearl Fishers," "Art" and "The Merchant of Venice."\nAs a Jew, "The Merchant of Venice" interested me the most of all. It was the best play I've ever seen staged. When I could look down on the characters on stage, care about them and hate them at the same time and leave not knowing who to feel sorry for, who to hate and who to love, I knew it had struck a remote chord in my soul.\nWhen the new Theatre/Neal-Marshall Education Center opens next year, it will also house the offices and facilities of the Afro-American Studies major. The Center is named after the first male and female African-American graduates of the University and provides the department some much-needed space.\nAnd IU will have one of the most advanced performing arts space in the collegiate community. \nBut as director Peter Brook said, "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theater to be engaged."\nUntil this space opens, the theater community in Bloomington and IU continues to strive for pure theater. Nevertheless, many students and people in the community have never even set foot inside of a theater. Those who do, imbibe themselves with the most potent and addictive of drugs.\nTheater at IU ranges from opera to plays to improvisational comedy. I urge everyone to take an evening, and go to the theater. Before leaving this space, this campus, go to the Auditorium and buy a ticket to see a play or an opera -- and I don't mean "Rent."\nI mean something where fellow students, people still learning their craft the same as everyone else at this University, perform a piece of theater that will last for a few performances and then close, never to be seen again.\nIn an age where reality television has become an abhorrent part of popular culture, there still exists an entity of entertainment where reality is face to face. It exists in a moment and then is gone forever. This exists in the theatre. When an actor can be smelled, his or her sweat so close it can almost be tasted and at that moment, they explode -- not even Richard Hatch could win that match.\nTake those moments, and let the magic that can overwhelm in a theatrical performance enter and engulf. The euphoria, fear, love and excitement from it will make anyone feel more alive.\nArthur Miller once said, "The body has to have a spirit. The eye must have a vision. If it doesn't, it's dead. The theater's about people -- human beings -- aspiring to something better"
(11/10/00 4:01pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tennessee mountain folk await the spiritual revival of preacher Olin Blitch as rumors and jealous hearsay fly about a young lady in their community. That is only the beginning of what the IU Opera Theater's third production of the year, "Susannah" by Carlisle Floyd has to offer.
American composer Carlisle Floyd's modern verismo opera, meaning realistic and in-your-face, opened in 1955. Having been performed at IU previously, this year will feature a new production design from Professor of Music C. David Higgins.
The music of the opera is very similar in style to the music of Aaron Copland and George Gershwin for the use of folk melodies, dances and arias. The opera itself does not sound like the proverbial opera and the story is very American.
"(Susannah) does have some similarities with Musical Theatre," said senior Nathan Bick who will play Susannah's friend Little Bat. "It has a variety of musical styles: folk tunes, church hymns and arias. The setting, rural Tennessee, is like numerous other American musical theatre pieces set in the country."
The story brings preacher Olin Blitch to New Hope Valley, Tenn. for a spiritual revival. Susannah Polk, who receives much attention for her attractiveness, is scorned by the women in the town.
But the preacher dances with Susannah and for a moment she is forgiven. But when they find her bathing in the stream where the baptism is to take place, she is frowned upon again.
Blitch convinces her to make a public confession, but Susannah runs home. Blitch finds her and tells her he's leaving and that he's not only interested in her soul.
The opera's story, taken from the apocryphal "Book of Susannah," is very much an American story with its jealousy, zealous yet spiteful townsfolk and ultimate message of love.
"(Susannah) deals with passion and violence in a raw state," said stage director Vincent Liotta, a professor of music. "It also tries to give a picture of this in an 'unvarnished' way which recreates as closely as possible the mores and manners of the society in which it is placed, i.e., rural Tennessee."
The opera is one of two by American composers this season.
It marks the opera marks the premiere of two undergraduate students in leading roles: senior Nick Coppolo as Sam, Susannah's brother, and Bick as Little Bat. The singers said they have embraced their roles.
"The challenge of this show is being able to execute the challenging music and not lose the dramatic intensity or reality of the story," Bick said. "I think many members of the cast find themselves exhausted from the drama as much as from the singing."
"Susannah" marks the return of School of Music graduate and maestro Christopher Larkin, who met and worked with Floyd while working at the Houston Grand Opera.
Larkin was recently appointed music director of the New York City Opera National Company. But for the past month he has prepared the IU singers and orchestra for the performances.
Larkin said he thinks the production will be a worthwhile experience for opera virgins.
"I think it's an excellent opera for someone who hasn't seen much opera because the characters are very immediate and it's in English and the basic themes are very believable," he said. "These are very realistic themes of jealousy, religious intolerance, societal intolerance, lust as well as political themes."
Liotta said there is something profound in the music for a student audience.
"It is especially important to our time since it speaks very much to the way in which we all suffer when we try to create demons to take responsibility for our acts instead of accepting responsibility for our own lives."
"Susannah" opens tonight and plays through Saturday and Nov. 17-18 at 8 p.m. at the Musical Arts Center. Student tickets range from $9-14 and are available through the MAC box office or at all TicketMaster outlets.
(11/07/00 5:05am)
After a long weekend of performing, partying and holding auditions for a play, my friends and I wanted to have a nice relaxing dinner together in a comfortable, yet classy establishment. Cafe Django was the perfect match for us.\nLow lights, candlelit tables and soft jazz combine to create the sultry ambiance of this cafe, which takes its name from the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.\nAlthough it was a low-key evening at the cafe that night, Cafe Django has live jazz Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings in dinning room.\nThe menu is as diverse as the jazz idiom -- curries, Thai, Tibetan, pasta, sandwiches and many appetizers provide a great mix of flavors certain to cater to anyone's taste.\nMy companions and I began with Momo, Tibetan fried beef dumplings, mozzarella sticks and Kimchi, a Tibetan dish of curried and spiced cabbage. I tried the soup of the night: creamy mushroom. Each appetizer was brought out promptly and ready to be devoured.\nThe Momo was, according to my companion, quite good, so good that he finished them off himself. The same sentiment went for the mozzarella sticks. The Kimchi was spicy and treacherous if eaten too quickly. But it was a nice beginning. The creamy mushroom soup was not too thick, too thin or too creamy. Rather, it was a harmonious blend of broth, flavor and mushroom pieces.\nFor dinner entrees, our choices were diverse. I ordered Django Curry, a dish of curried beef, chicken, shrimp and vegetables over rice. My friends tried a five-cheese tortellini with chicken and alfredo sauce (marinara is also available) and seafood pasta with alfredo sauce.\nThe curry was similar to the ambiance of the cafe, spicy yet smooth and subtle. The plate was full, with rice and curry covering every inch of the plate. The tortellini and seafood pasta came in full bowls with a ring of flat bread around it. The pastas were flavorful and filling. All sauces at Cafe Django are made in the restaurant, including their alfredo sauce.\nAfter dinner, my companions and I sat and enjoyed the low lighting, the conversation and the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Reinhardt and Louis Armstrong. In addition to being a jazz cafe, Cafe Django also has an extensive coffee and nonalcoholic juice and drink bar. \nFor dessert, my companion tried a mango smoothie and the fresh fruit sculpture. I had an almond biscotti and a chocolate shake. The fruit sculpture came out as if it was the highlight of the restaurant. It was a work of art made of cantaloupe, grape, orange and banana served with slivers of cheese. For a few moments, all we could do was look at it.\nThe almond biscotti was a tasty sliced pastry, almost like a cookie. But the chocolate shake was by far the best chocolate shake I've ever had. Although the waitress swore that it was made no different from most milkshakes, it had sweetness that I've not tasted in a normal milkshake. The only explanation I received was that they don't use a normal type of chocolate syrup, but they wouldn't tell me which one they do use.\nWhether one goes to Cafe Django to have a cup of coffee and do homework, have dinner or listen to jazz and have a glass of wine, it is one of the most comfortable and classy restaurants in town.
(10/27/00 4:03am)
After 2000 years of being in exile, a people -- ripped and nearly extinct by the most evil of powers -- finally found peace in a land they could call their own. Not only their own, but open to all whowished to feel free. All they desired was acceptance as a nation, race, creed, ethnic group and religion. The area in 1947 known as Palestine provided a tangible place for that hope. \nTwo years after the Allies liberated the surviving refugee Jews in the concentration camps of the Holocaust, Great Britain controlled the area of the world then known as Palestine.\nThe British decided to divide that imperialistic holding into two halves, Palestine -- which included the Old City of Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza strip -- and a section for the Jewish refugees who declared it the State of Israel in May 1948. That section included the western seaboard (where Tel Aviv is located) and the Negev Desert.\nShortly after David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, announced the birth of the sovereign State of Israel (Medinat Yisrael in Hebrew), armies of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt attacked the small country in hopes of destroying it.\nAfter a long, difficult war with these countries, Israel -- a country less than a year old with no formal military and no funding or support from any other place in the world -- defeated its opponents.\nIn 1967, the same armies attacked Israel again and lost within six days -- again. In that loss, Israel acquired the lands in the West Bank including the Old City of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the Sinai Desert.\nWhen able to occupy and become one with the holiest city on Earth again, Israel was complete.\nIn the early 1970s on the holiday of Yom Kippur (the holiest holiday for the Jewish people), the same Arab armies attacked again in hopes of obliterating the nation of Israel and again, after much blood shed, Israel won.\nIn the late 1970s, Menachem Begin, Anwar Sadat and President Jimmy Carter met and created a peace between Israel and Egypt. Israel returned the Sinai Desert as a sign of goodwill. Peace has lasted.\nThroughout this period of 52 years, a fairly large population of Arab peoples has occupied Israel. These people (mostly Muslim) are what we know as Palestinians. These are people who were in the former Palestine, who are not Jewish, do not wish to be part of the recognized State of Israel.\nIn Israel, these people live in conditions better than any other Arab country (save maybe Kuwait); they have religious freedom (as opposed to Kurds in Iraq) and they can be citizens and members of the government if they choose. They live in neighborhoods with such simple luxuries as internal plumbing and sewers, while many of their Arab cousins in neighboring countries do not.\nWhen Israel was made into its own country, these people were welcomed with open arms into the population by the Jewish majority. They refused. When the surrounding Arab nations attacked, Israel protected them.\nWhen they sought acceptance into Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Egypt rather than live under a Jewish majority government, those countries refused to let in their own countrymen and cousins. But Israel still accepted them.\nNow, peace talks are halted by terrorism and unnecessary violence. Two soldiers took a wrong turn into a Palestinian neighborhood and paid for the mistake with their lives, their bodies desecrated. A country that has for years wanted a peaceful co-existence is not going to have that because peaceful co-existence was and never will be an option for the Palestinians.\nI'm not an advocate of using unnecessary military force to keep the peace, but I am not an advocate of terrorism.\nThe Palestinians, like most of the Arab nations surrounding Israel, want and have wanted only one thing: the destruction of the State of Israel.\nWhat stops another full blown war? Israel has the best and most powerful army in the world next to the United States. Why does the United States not support Israel the way it should? Because of a minor, valuable commodity drilled in those surrounding Arab countries.\nThe intention of the Israelis has always been one of keeping the basic right that we hold dear in America, while trying to co-exist with their neighbors and Palestinian citizens.\nPalestinians refuse to recognize Israel and the Jewish people's right to live there. Therefore, peace can never truly happen in the Middle East.
(10/24/00 5:21am)
Although Bloomington restaurants have a reputation of making excellent food for the money, there are those exceptions. Chapman's restaurant is one of those restaurants that masks itself as an upscale steak and seafood restaurants. \nIts decor consists of Kincaid paintings on the walls, and it features a menu that boasts everything from fillet mignon to roast duck. This makes it seem like a perfect date restaurant, but for my taste it was the kind of place I would send my grandparents.\nFor appetizers, we tried the shrimp cocktail at $6.95 and the wild mushrooms en croute for $5.95. Both came out quickly, preceded by warm sourdough bread.\nThe cocktail contained five peeled shrimp served with cocktail sauce and lemon over ice. They were quite large and the cocktail sauce had a very pleasant zing to it. The wild mushrooms were a tad bland, but had a nice texture. \nSalads that came with dinners were next. Chapman's has six house dressing and my companion and I chose the vinaigrette dressing. The salad was a nice mix of green lettuce (not iceberg) with cucumbers and strips of red bell pepper. The salad was nothing special except for the addition of the peppers and the dressing also seemed bland.\nFor entrees, my companion and I both chose to try Chapman's steak. My companion chose a small fillet at $15.95 while I tried the bourbon steak -- a New York strip cooked in a bourbon sauce with shallots -- at $19.95. Both steaks came with steamed mixed vegetables and roasted and seasoned new potatoes.\nNeither steak was particularly appetizing. The fillet was fairly dry and had little taste. The bourbon also had little taste, was tough and was smothered in a sauce that not only looked unappetizing, but also tasted the same way. The only good part of the entrees was the potatoes, which were seasoned well and had a nice texture.\nFor desert, we tried chocolate terrine for $4.50 and cherries jubilee for $5.00. The chocolate terrine was a slab of chocolate mousse drizzled with a raspberry sauce. The cherries were flamed in brandy over vanilla ice cream.\nWhile I do not especially like chocolate mousse, the terrine was very intense. But the cherries jubilee was exquisite, and I only wished that there had been more of it.
(10/23/00 4:52am)
The absurdity of life and the human perception of idealism are at the core of the modern tragicomedy in the theater. One cannot help but laugh at some moments, while at others marvel in horror at the truth that is the human condition.\nT300's theater season opener, "Life During Wartime," written by Chicago-based playwright and actor Keith Reddin, portrays a world consumed by the absurd.\nWith scenes in which character John Calvin professing his philosophy, juxtaposed with very sexual and sensual moments between other characters, Reddin created a world known known to many modern Americans.\nThe play's language and form is very reminiscent of playwrights like David Mamet and Sam Shepard, with a human backbone provided by Reddin, whose real-life experiences are clearly an influence on the show.\nThe plot has Tommy (junior Arian Moayed), a new recruit for an agency that sells home security, learning from seasoned co-workers Heinrich (graduate student Ira Amyx) and Sally (junior Molly Thomas) the trade of selling and making people trust him.\nOn his first sale, Tommy meets Gale Hunter (junior Carol Enoch), who not only buys Tommy's product but also begins a love affair with him while her 16-year-old son Howard (graduate student Tony Garcia) can only wonder why.\nInterspersed with soliloquies from John Calvin (junior Peter Gerharz) the play examines the very relevant theme of living life for the moment rather than for the future, among many others.\nAmyx delivered a very natural performance that made his very unlikable character quite charming at times. He was a man plagued by his own hubris but knew it and used it as an advantage. Amyx made the voice of Heinrich very believable, while also utilizing the full extent of his body.\nMoayed's Tommy progressed nicely from a green, naive kid to a man hardened by the shocking realities and trials of life. His humor and ability to read the situations aided in making Tommy a very likeable character.\nThomas and Enoch, as the show's two women, were also noteworthy for their ability to transcend their ages and show a mature side with ease and even grace.\nFinally, Gerharz and Garcia added much humor, absurdity and backbone to a show that had a firm root planted from the first light cue.\nTechnically, the show was also interesting. The quaint set by graduate student Jason Lambdin created an intimate atmosphere using bland colors to represent the blandness of existence.\nCostumes by senior Beth Laske-Miller were appropriate to the early 1990s setting, yet they also revealed slight nuances about the characters -- for instance, Tommy's suits helped him to look ambitious but not too well dressed. With the exception of John Calvin's costume, which didn't convey the timelessness of his character, all of the costumes served nicely.\nGraduate student Becky Hardy's lighting also created contrasts for the different scenes and helped establish the stark moods in certain scenes and a very warm, inviting atmosphere in others.\nThe T300 space was used well to create a very natural show and showcase a cast of immense talent. Though tickets are hard to come by, "Life During Wartime" is a great evening of theatre.