SYMPHONY OF THE SHORES Famous of course for his Mission: Impossible theme, the Argentinean-born Lalo Schifrin doesn’t quite belong in the pantheon of film composers Bernard Herrmann, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and Henry Mancini. But he’s definitely second echelon, a prolific, adroit tunesmith who’s always ready to churn out atmospheric materials for Hollywood blockbusters and TV […]
Tag: Vol. 25 No. 35
Issue of Jun. 6 – 12, 1996
Posted inNews & Politics
LSC Elections Elaboration
As always, Ben Joravsky is all a journalist should be: unbiased, impartial, fair. It is virtual wizardry that he can get the people on opposing sides to believe the article was written from their viewpoint. Mr. Joravsky has worked his magic in presenting a balanced report of almost mathematical precision in his article entitled “Hard […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Southport Festival 1996
SOUTHPORT FESTIVAL 1996 The reputation of Southport Records–the exuberant local jazz label owned by pianist Bradley Parker-Sparrow and his wife, vocalist Joanie Pallatto–rests only partly with the quirky and entertaining albums by its principals; the label also affords a haven for a wide range of other local artists with something to say and (for whatever […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hedwig Dances
The world of Jan Bartoszek’s choreography is a gracious, orderly one; movements unfold gently, birth comes as surely as death. Her new piece, Falling Into the Sky, part of the “Dances for the Deep Field” program, explores the archetypal relationship between a grandmother and her young granddaughter. Innocent and playful in the beginning, they share […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Red Red Meat
RED RED MEAT It’s hard to think of a more moribund, cliche-ridden style than blues rock, but Red Red Meat breathe new life into the corpse by putting it to sleep. The quintet builds on then undermines genre staples, like heartbroken singing, lazy slide guitars, and great chugging riffs like the Stones wish they still […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Ignorance Is Blind
To the editor: I am one of several volunteers at the Chicago unit of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic who is recording the now-famous queer-studies book How Do I Look? by Bad Object-Choices for the use of graduate student Dawn (Caught in the Net, April 19). Thus, Claire Dolinar’s stirring defense of my right […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Ubu Raw
Ubu Raw, Defiant Theatre at the American Blues Theatre. Earlier this year Hystopolis Productions staged a perversely inventive puppet version of Alfred Jarry’s brutish play about the cowardly but gluttonous Ubu, his ambitious Lady Macbeth-like wife, and their cruel campaign to conquer Poland and bleed the country dry. Now comes Defiant Theatre with Joe Foust […]
Posted inMusic
Something Like the Real Thing
Something Like the Real Thing In 1947 the Stanley Brothers reworked an old British folk song named “Oxford City” into a mountain murder ballad they called “Little Glass of Wine.” In their bluegrass version, which scored them a hit on the tiny Rich-R-Tone label (they re-recorded it for Columbia two years later), a jealous, impatient, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Me’Shell Ndegeocello
Me’shell Ndegeocello When she released her debut, Plantation Lullabies, a few years ago, Me’Shell NdegeOcello attracted plenty of attention. Delivering a potent musical attack combining hip-hop, soul, funk, and jazz–she’s a superb bassist–with provocative lyrics that laced the harsh realities of a black woman’s life with a sensual, drug-tinged ecstasy, NdegeOcello was unlike anyone before […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Frank Foes in a Nutshell
A vote of confidence. I enjoy reading Tom Frank’s Capital Lies. I like the methodical way he takes apart one institution or another and the facades they put up in an attempt to mislead people. I also like, almost as much, the vituperative letters his writings inevitably provoke in the weeks following their publication. Now […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, Footsteps Theatre. Bringing Carson McCullers’s twisted fairy tale to the stage seems mostly to have entailed slowing it down. Edward Albee’s capable but somewhat didactic adaptation adds circumlocutory dialogue and some superfluous narration to create the laggard atmosphere of a southern mill town–an Our Town turned inside out, where […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Department of Misunderstood Thespians
To the editor: I have just finished reading Jack Helbig’s vitriolic review of our company’s current production of Endgame [May 31] and feel that I must respond. Mr. Helbig clearly has the right to believe whatever he likes about our current production, but for him to state that we “never pay attention to what other […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Whoop-Dee-Doo!
WHOOP-DEE-DOO!, Royal George Theatre Center Cabaret. This campy revue gives new meaning to the phrase “out of the closet.” Originally performed off-Broadway, it was conceived by east-coast costume designer Howard Crabtree as a showcase for his collection of wacky costumes. These in turn inspired the flamboyantly weird designs of William Buster, Robert N. DeWitt, and […]