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The Voice of the College at Florham

"News is the first rough draft of history." - The Voice of the College at Florham

Tag Archives: review

Review: ‘Gypsy’ musical makes anticipated opening

MEGAN HEINTZ
News Editor

Friday’s performance of the musical “Gypsy” showed the talent and professionalism of Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Visual and Performing Arts Department.

It is said to be one of the most quintessential and beloved musicals of the 20th century and is the ultimate story of the aggressive stage mother, Mama Rose (Carole Healey), and her quest to get her daughters into show business, something she wishes she had done when she was younger.

Rose, Baby June (Zoe Considine) and Young Louise (Montana Byrne) travel throughout the United States in the 1920s when vaudeville is dying and burlesque is booming.
For this production, directors Stephen Hollis and Allen Cohen decided to bring in children from the community, as well as a professional actress to assist in the enhancement of the musical.

Mama Rose is such a major part of the show and so demanding, the two thought it would be “unfair and unrealistic to expect a student to carry off the emotional and technical skills the role requires,” according to the playbill.

Healey has acted and directed in many major regional theaters throughout the United States, including The Oregon Shakespeare Company, Missouri Repertory Company and Two Rivers Theater Company.

She has also been on television shows like “Law and Order” and “Guiding Light.”

Healey made Mama Rose a loathed character, which was the point. There were many times where I wanted to go on the stage and yell at her; this is how you know she did her job well.

Arguably, Healey is not the only actress with impressive credits to her name. Considine could be considered a professional actress as well. Most recently, she was on Nickelodeon’s Kids Promo Awards with Will Smith and Cameron Diaz and “Saturday Night Live,” where she played HPV girl with Kristen Wiig.

Byrne has sung alongside Elmo, Rosita and Baby Bear on “Sesame Street” and with talented recording artists like Kenny Rogers.
The musical went off without a hitch, initially.

Yet no more than ten minutes into the show, the adorable Baby June ran off the stage during her song. The others in the scene with her kept going, making the audience think that it was part of the show.

Yet everyone quickly learned that she fell ill.

Luckily, it was at the point of the show where Baby June was no longer a baby anymore so June (Julie Dwoskin) was able to take over the role.
Friday’s performance included some beautiful songs and great acting.

A favorite of mine was “If Mama was Married,” which showcased Louise (Megan Barrios) and June’s voices perfectly. The harmonies in that song were enough to leave me with chills.

“Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” a song that many people have probably heard before, was another hit. Healey sang the song with intense passion.

Furthermore, some of the most memorable acting came from Mama Rose’s love interest, Herbie (Reuben Natan), and quick-witted secretary, Miss Cratchitt (Ashley La Selva), whose simple walk to answer the telephone got audiences laughing every time.

Overall, the play was entertaining. If you have not yet seen “Gypsy,” there are still some performances left: April 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. and April 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Review: Drew University’s ‘Vagina Monologues’

MELANIE ANZIDEI
News Editor

It starts with a “c” and rhymes with “bunt.” Don’t worry, you don’t have to say it out loud.

But, if you were at the Drew University Center on Sunday night at around 8 p.m. chances are that you would have not been the only one screaming this at the top of your lungs.

Sunday was the final night of the two-day performance of the renowned “Vagina Monologues.” You either are extremely familiar with this play, or might be thinking to yourself, “What the heck?”

Either way, just know that it was all in celebration of the vagina in honor of the last week of Women’s History Month.

“The Vagina Monologues” is an award-winning play written and first performed by Eve Ensler in 1996. The production has since been performed by both high school and college students, as well as professional actors in theater and television.

Ensler also began V-Day in 1998, a global movement that has raised more than $70 million in an effort to end violence against women and girls through benefit productions of the play.

The monologues are updated every year with the addition of a monologue tackling a current issue affecting women around the globe.

The 2011 addition to “The Vagina Monologues” focused on the women of Haiti that were affected by the 2010 earthquake.

The two-hour event, run by Drew University students, was held in a room half the size of the Dreyfuss Theater. Despite its size, almost all of the approximately 140 seats were filled with either FDU or Drew students, professors, friends or relatives. And, yes, there were even men in the audience.

The white walls were decorated with pink, red and purple construction paper cut outs, each with a different word or phrase written across it that served as slang term replacements for “vagina.”

The stage, which was of adequate size for the eight performers – Alex Brown, Emily Miller, Rachel Schachter, Miranda Poett, Taylor Poruks, Edith Braggiotti-Painting, Lenora Jackson and Kate Thomas – was canvassed with a large, handprint-filled banner that read “These Hands Will Never Hurt Women.”

The play is divided by separate monologues.

Each is based on a true story that Ensler was told by women she interviewed throughout the country, and even the world.

Some of the monologues were humorous, asking questions like: “If your vagina wore clothes, what would it wear?” or “If your vagina could talk, what would it say in two words?” The answers varied from, “A hat!” to “Where’s Bob?”

There were monologues that were much more somber dealing with issues like the cruelties of female genital mutilation or how rape in some countries is used a systematic tactic of war.

Each monologue either left the crowd catching their breath in between bursts of laughter or holding it in due to the shock of the realities that some girls as young as 15 years old had to face. Other monologues simply left the audience with no other option but to applaud vigorously.

The monologue, “Teenage Girl’s Guide to Surviving Sexual Slavery,” had the audience hushed in silence and disbelief.

“Rule number one. Get over that ‘girl thing’ that ‘this could never happen to me,’” began Poett, who later finished with the last rule: “Rule number eight. No one can take anything from you, if you do not give it to them.” The crowd then roared with applause as she walked off the stage.

At the remainder of the event, director Valerie Dohrer, stage manager Chelsea Hunt and the cast welcomed questions from the audience.

Some spectators were alarmed when they were told that each monologue was based on a true story, with the exception of two monologues written by Drew University students.

Others were fascinated to find out that the event had been planned since November, but casting, auditions and rehearsals were only done in the past two weeks.

The trip from FDU to Drew was organized by Professor Sarah Crabtree of the history department, as well as resident assistants from the College at Florham.

The performance was produced by the Drew University Feminist Union. All proceeds from the show went towards bettering the situation of women in Haiti.

Review: Antlers album makes you ‘burst apart’

JOHN SAAVEDRA JR.
Staff Writer

Chances are that in your 20-something years of experience (and by no means am I alienating the youngsters), you have felt heartbreak.

The little fingers of it grab at your heart and make it hard for you to breathe. These fingers could be rooted in the passing of a relative, of a pet, a friend; a less than amicable break-up. You’re human. You’ve felt pain.

In this way, you already know about The Antlers before listening to them. Frontman Peter Silberman’s songwriting and high-pitched vocals, Darby Cicci’s funereal keyboards, and Michael Lerner’s heart-beating drums turn your mourning into the weeping sounds of electrical waves and guitar riffs.

The Antlers’ 2009 break-out album “Hospice” occupied itself with reeling out your pain and helping you overcome it, its final message: learn to live with the ghosts that haunt you, and you will overcome them.

The critics proclaimed “Hospice” as “heartbreaking”— a description the Antlers have been trying to shy away from over the years.

After all, no one wants to be typecast as a funeral director.

Two years after “Hospice” was released, I had the pleasure of watching The Antlers perform their new album, “Burst Apart,” live at the SXSW Music Festival, courtesy of NPR’s First Listen series. The performance lasted about an hour.

Another hour passed as I sat in my office (a.k.a, a makeshift desk in the laundry room) and I sat there unable to continue living my life. I was ready to burst apart in my chair.

The title of the Antlers’ fourth album is perfect.

A band that was more likely to be heard at a wake (not literally) is now more prone to dance halls.

Their new wave of sound is led by songs such as “French Exit,” “Parentheses” and “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out,” to which you are more likely to bounce in joy than employ the assistance of a Kleenex.

Silberman’s harmonies are so light-hearted and Cicci’s keyboards complement them perfectly.

But let me make this clear: “Burst Apart” is not the Antlers’ would-be pop album.

Silberman’s songwriting still embraces its trademark moments of reflection. Songs like “No Widows” and the closer “Putting the Dog to Sleep” embody that sense of loss and hope that has earned this band so much love from fans and critics alike.

The peak of the album’s aforementioned sound wave is “Rolled Together,” which employs less of Silberman’s beautiful story-tale lyrics and tons of his harmonic shrieking. It bears a resemblance to famous Pink Floyd songs such as “The Great Gig in the Sky.”

This is the point where you’re taken by the music, and don’t land for a couple of hours. The sound reverberating in the room makes you feel like you’re dispersing into particles.

Silberman’s musical genius may have found a way to help us transcend our physical form.

Take Uncle Johnny’s advice: visit NPR’s First Listen series online and listen to the Antlers’ SXSW performance. You have nothing to lose but your mind for a few seconds (seek medical assistance if longer than four hours).

“Burst Apart” hits stores on May 10.

CD Review: Dance Gavin Dance returns to ‘Battle’

MELISSA KRENEK
Staff Writer

Jonny Craig and the rest of the original lineup of underground sensation Dance Gavin Dance are back, and back with a boom.

Millions of fans across the world have been waiting patiently for a reunion, one that many believed would never come. Thank goodness it has, and the new album, “Downtown Battle Mountain II,” has more funk and soul in it than any other before it, even the original.

Dance Gavin Dance began in 2005 out of Sacramento, Calif., with their EP, “Whatever I Say is Royal Ocean.” It was then re-released in 2006, when they were officially signed to Rise Records.

“Downtown Battle Mountain” was released a year later, taking the techniques from the EP and vamping up the quality.

This album caused a band of followers, thanks to their unique technique of spastic guitar laced with soulful vocal chords.

The cat screeching provided by Jon Mess, though not a popular sound, was unique to the band, which also gave them attention.

Above all was the angelic voice of Jonny Craig, originally from Canada.

Craig has a voice that no bystander would expect from a guy with a small frame and an orange mullet haircut.

Unfortunately their luck wouldn’t last, with Craig getting into drugs and being kicked out of the band in 2007. They continued to make albums without him, while he joined the Christian band Emarosa.

The two albums without Craig were innovative, but were still missing the soul.

In August 2010 many fans’ prayers were answered, when, according to Alternative Press magazine, Jonny Craig rejoined DGD, and the band decided to record “Downtown Battle Mountain II,” with the original lineup.

“Downtown Battle Mountain II” was released on March 8, 2011, and received many positive reviews.

The sequel to the original has many of the same techniques, but also some from previous albums.

“Happiness,” an album produced in 2009, added a funk quality to the band, mostly through guitar riffs and drum patterns. This funk was revived for “Downtown Battle Mountain II,” which was much better with Craig’s R&B style of singing.

The new album starts with “Spooks,” a brilliant first track starting with a high guitar riff and Craig’s cooing following shortly after. It continues into the hard snazzy guitar, which then leads to a new technique, rapping, provided by guitarist Will Swan.

Accompanying this short rap is a perfectly funky guitar riff that again leads into Craig’s brilliant serenade.

If listeners enjoy straight funk, track eight, “Blue Dream,” is the perfect package. It still holds the screaming and crazy guitar, but breaks down into a song that would be found in the 1970s.

With Craig singing, “Doo doo doo doo doo don’t move, baby, stay put,” no ears can resist the Motown-esque flavor.

Craig adds some personal spice to the pot, ending the song with a phone call to his girlfriend, in a style only Jonny Craig would do it – no details given away here, one must hear it for themselves.

Other fan favorites would be the always reoccurring “Robot with Human Hair,” this time being pt. 2 ½.

Though different on each album, every version still manages to have sounds similar enough to recognize.

“Heat Seeking Ghost of Sex” has some of the catchiest melodies, reminiscent of the first “Downtown Battle Mountain.”

The band is known for its intricate breakdowns, and this song is one of the best examples on the album.

The only downside to “Downtown Battle Mountain II” would be the lyrics, though DGD has never been known for completely intellectual thought processes.

The music and singing was enough to keep fans preoccupied from disorienting lyrics, but this latest album takes the cake for extremely bizarre writing.

“Pounce Bounce,” the second song on the album, is a perfect example of this, with Jon Mess screaming: “What’s it like to be a marble?/ Did I get something in your eye?/ She’s a referee, and I’m lethally overdosed on pumpkin pie.”

Most lyrics that Mess creates are incoherent, but he still manages to make them catchy.
Regardless of lyrics, the rest of the “Downtown Battle Mountain II” package is solid, and guaranteed to impress every lover of any genre of music.

Review: “The King of Limbs”

JOHN SAAVEDRA
Columnist

The first thing I ever heard by Radiohead was one of their first singles, “Creep.”
As an angsty teen, I ate that up as I suffered breakups and mishaps. But when I grew up a little, I felt I was past this band.

Unfortunately, I only seriously delved into the world of Radiohead last semester. I heard the dystopic riffs of “OK Computer” and the electric heartbeat of “Kid A” and something special happened: I recalled those very sad moments you have in your life where you’re not exactly sure what’s wrong; the world just seems to start eating at you.

Thom Yorke’s vocals remind me that there are a lot of beautiful moments that come along with that sadness. Just ask me how I feel about “How To Disappear Completely.”

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I know anything about music or how to make it. I’m just a music lover with pretty average hearing.

My ears like “The King of Limbs,” but I’m not going to sit here and rave about this new album, released a day shy of its original Feb. 19 release date. It’s not one of their best. If I had to rank this album within the rest of their discography, I’d put it down there with “Hail To the Thief” and “Pablo Honey.” What I will say is that I don’t necessarily hate it like I do those other two albums at the bottom of the list.

“The King of Limbs” was announced on the band’s website on Monday.

On Friday, the album appeared; and strangely, it was as if it had always been around. The music became part of my existence, part of my room, part of its walls. I forgot I was listening to a song at all. It’s all ambience. That’s what I think this album is missing, an actual song.

The closest thing to a song in this album is “Lotus Flower.” It’s funny, actually. It’s as if the band set out to only make one radio-friendly track.

That said, I think it’s a fantastic song that makes up for tracks such as “Bloom,” which I honestly don’t understand. Watching Yorke dance in the “Lotus Flower” music video is pretty entertaining as well.

Other tracks that stand out are “Morning Mr. Magpie,” which has some cool guitar work – something I wish the album had more of – and “Codex,” which has beautiful piano playing that takes me back to that place of angst.

I’m not going to sit here and hate on Radiohead, though. I respect them. Hell, I love them. I can put on their albums to write (“OK Computer”), play video games (“Kid A”), exercise (“The Bends”), or sleep (“In Rainbows”).

That is what makes this band so special. There is a time and place for all their music. There is definitely a time and place for “The King of Limbs.”

I have a friend who listened to it 13 times since its release 12 hours earlier. I can imagine he laid down in bed, his arms behind his head, and let the album become a part of his walls.

That’s how I’d listen to it.