A&E

Tale of mistaken identities on stage this weekend

Mistaken identities. Love. Lust. Relationship crises. Laugh-out-loud humor. No, this is not a reference to the typical events of a weekend at IU, but rather to Sir Oliver Goldsmith's comedy of manners, "She Stoops to Conquer," which will run at 7:30 p.m. Friday through March 4 at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. According to the press release, the performance "combines slapstick visual humor with perfectly phrased wit to create a uniquely comedic brew." This 18th-century comedy centers on the independently minded, well-to-do Miss Kate Hardcastle, played by graduate student Renée Racan Rodríguez. Her hand has been promised in marriage to Sir Charles Marlow, played by graduate student Eric VanTielen, a timid young gentleman reluctant to enter into a relationship with a stranger, finding upper-class women to be immodest and hypocritical.

Ceremony to rename music school Friday

The Jacobs School of Music, renamed in November after receiving the largest single gift from an individual donor of $40.6 million, will celebrate its new identity with a naming ceremony and concert at 4 p.m. Friday in Auer Hall. IU President Adam W. Herbert will provide opening remarks for the event, and son of donors Barbara B. and David H. Jacobs, David H. Jacobs Jr., will attend as well as Jacobs School of Music Dean, Gwyn Richards, according to a press release.

COOKING DEMONSTRATION

Two naked actresses plus one clothed man: Anything wrong with this picture?

NEW YORK - Pick up this month's Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair and you'll see two lovely young stars-of-the-moment, Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson, posing alluringly in the altogether. Open the foldout, and you'll even see Johansson's bare buttocks. What you won't see is a third, equally lovely young actress, Rachel McAdams of "Wedding Crashers" fame. It seems McAdams arrived at the photo shoot and decided she didn't want to take her clothes off.

New tap dance club seeks members

Students with "any inkling to tap dance" are encouraged to join a tap dance club being developed by senior Kyle Daley and IU tap dance instructor Allana Radecki. Daley said she has created flyers to post and promote the club, which she hopes will begin meeting in the next couple of weeks. She said "all different types of people with all different levels of tap dance skill" are invited to attend club meetings, where students have an opportunity to practice tap dance.

SIDEWALK RUNWAY

Historic deal signed to return looted treasures to the Met

ROME -- New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will return 21 looted artifacts to Italy in exchange for loans of other treasures in a deal signed Tuesday that the Italians called a model for other museums with stolen goods in their collections. Met chief Philippe de Montebello said the agreement with officials from the Italian Culture Ministry "corrects a number of improprieties and errors committed in the past" and would encourage museums to put in place new legal and ethical measures.

Talent in our town

The Bloomington community and IU are proud to collaborate once again on ArtsWeek, an annual two-week arts festival. After 22 years, the festival has continually expanded to include dance, exhibit, film, music, talk and theater events. Mike Wilkerson, ArtsWeek coordinator and director, explained that the festival was originally ArtsWeekend and was mainly a venue for art programs on campus to showcase their talents. "However, as the festival evolved, we started getting more involvement from community organizations," Wilkerson said. "The biggest change that has occurred for this festival is that the community has now come to feel that they are full partners in this and really want to contribute significantly."

SIDEWALK RUNWAY

"I like bright colors and things that are not baggy. I like vivid colors like orange, yellow and red. I think it looks really sharp."

Ireland comes alive at night

Rays of light begin to litter the streets on a damp daybreak in Dublin. The buildings are clean and fresh from the rain that whipped across the "fair city" the night before. The clouds are clearing and the sun is shining through, lighting up the spirits of the people lucky enough to enjoy this beautiful Irish morning. As is said here, "first up, best dressed," an old adage that rings true this morning. However, the truth strays from the original context. The saying carries over from harder times on the island. When a houseful of kids sharing clothes was a common thing in the country, the first up was the best dressed, for they had the biggest selection.

Move over, Barbie

OK, having survived this year's Valentine's Day extortion and the demolition derby of sales bonanzas surrounding Presidents Day, it's time to get back to buying random trinkets that serve no functional purpose. Fortunately for everyone, "the grand clearinghouse of all that should not be" known as the Internet offers plenty of artful choices for desperate shoppers clamoring to find a unique gift.

STONES IN THE SAND

CUTTING EDGE

ARTIFACTS

Institute offers opportunity to explore global music

Ancient music is anything but dead as the Jacobs School of Music's Early Music Institute keeps tradition alive. Founded in 1979 by the late Thomas Binkley, a lutenist and musicologist, the institute focuses primarily on ancient music and instruments. Binkley acted as director of the Early Music Institute until January 1995. "It's a great regret in my life that I never met the man," said Michael McCraw, current director of the Early Music Institute. "But I feel like I can talk about him, because I know so many people on both sides of the ocean that are so greatly influenced by him. He was a man of boundless energy and extraordinary vision."

IU Auditorium season selected to inspire, educate wide audience

It's a process that takes months, even years, to complete. Before the first patrons take their seats for a lecture, concert or Broadway musical in IU's Auditorium, a team of people work behind the scenes, choosing shows, booking talent and setting schedules -- all in an effort to find the right mix of entertainment for the community. "It's part science, part magic," said Doug Booher, director of the auditorium. "We try to create a nice melange of shows. Some are highly sought after, some are new down the pike that people haven't heard about, and that's the magic part."

Small crowd for Mardi Gras parades

NEW ORLEANS -- The first of the major Mardi Gras parades with marching bands, brightly decorated floats and flying plastic beads rolled down New Orleans' streets Saturday, greeted by small but celebratory crowds. Despite the widespread destruction from Hurricane Katrina, officials decided to allow a scaled-back Mardi Gras celebration this year. New Orleans parades, put on by private groups, were restricted to one corridor to help cut the cost of police protection and trash pickup.

ARTICULATE

Bloomington Community Band seeks percussionist

The Bloomington Community Band, an all-adult volunteer band, has an opening for a percussionist. The band, which has about 50 members, plays about 20 concerts a year at civic events and public gatherings in Monroe County and surrounding areas. The band always welcomes new members, but it particularly needs a percussionist who can read music.

Six months later, Michael Jackon's Katrina song said to be ready soon

LOS ANGELES -- Eight days after Hurricane Katrina hit, Michael Jackson announced he would release an all-star charity single within two weeks. Nearly six months later, after questions about exactly who would be participating, the prince who has been hosting Jackson during his self-imposed exile in Bahrain says the song will come out by the end of this month. In a telephone interview from Dubai last week, Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain's king, told The Associated Press, "The record is coming along great. We've been taking our time to perfect it and mix it."