Wednesday, March 30,2011

Opera with punch

MSU Opera Theatre takes on Ricky Ian Gordon’s fierce ‘Grapes of Wrath’

by Lawrence Cosentino

Sing a song of hope, love and family. Is it the great American song yet? Try a song of unemployment and foreclosures, union busting and immigrant bashing, alcohol and suicide. Need more? Sing of vigilantes with torches, reformers branded as communists, and bankers golfing while depositors lose their shirts.

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Wednesday, March 30,2011

Farewell and zwee-bop

MSU Jazz Vocal Ensemble assembles for the last time

by Lawrence Cosentino

As part of a university-wide 20 percent slash of programs across many departments, the School of Music’s 7-year-old vocal jazz program has been dropped. The program’s founder, MSU vocal jazz luminary Sunny Wilkinson, will not be re-hired next year after 17 years with the school.

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Wednesday, March 30,2011

Delightfully 'Distracted'

Smart script, superb cast make Peppermint Creek’s offbeat comedy a gem

by UTE VON DER HEYDEN

Peppermint Creek Theatre Co. has done it again ' fulfilled its stated mission of entertaining while raising awareness and encouraging dialogue.

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Wednesday, March 30,2011

Williamston’s 'Bowling' is a solid hit

Sterling stars make 1950s comedy-drama connect

by Paul Wozniak

Pithy bowling metaphors scarcely describe the Williamston Theatre’s "While We Were Bowling." Carter W. Lewis’ magnificent script takes a curved look at one suburban family in 1957, contrasting the televised ideal to the reality on stage with a poignant and...

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Wednesday, March 30,2011

'Pentecost' can't decide what to accent

Timely themes are buried inside a confused script

by Mary C. Cusack

Producing quality theater is always a challenge. Academic theater programs have the added challenge of finding a script that meets certain learning outcomes. The play must also be an ensemble piece that has enough roles to give substantial stage time for all of the students in the course, further limiting the script choices.

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Wednesday, March 30,2011

Turn it down: A survey of Lansing's musical landscape

by Rich Tupica

The band plays the Landshark Friday. Sharing the bill are Audrey (Muskegon), Good Weather For Airstrikes (Howell), Bloomill (Mt. Pleasant). Elliot Street Lunatic will record its sophomore album in California this June with producer Casey Crescenzo from The Dear Hunter, a national indie band.

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Wednesday, March 30,2011

Paging book lovers

Antiquarian Book & Paper Show has something for you

by Fiona Guo

Book dealers are coming from all over Michigan, as well as from Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Minnesota. But that’s not all: Book binder Jon Buller, manager of the custom binding division of Thomson-Shore Inc., said he’s looking forward to showcasing his work as well.

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Tuesday, March 29,2011

Starlight shines

A success is announced: 'Murder' is fast-paced and enjoyably played

by Tom Helma

Return with us now to those thrilling moments of yesteryear — no, it is not the Green Hornet and not the Lone Ranger either, but rather Miss Marple of Agatha Christie fame, as presented in the Starlight Dinner Theater's production of “A Murder is Announced.” While ...

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Thursday, March 24,2011

Violins and Valkyries

Lansing’s Melissa White tops varied LSO program

by Lawrence Cosentino

For Melissa White, headlining Saturday’s Lansing Symphony concert doesn’t mean hotel food and hangers you can’t pull off the rack. Born and raised in Lansing, the peripatetic violinist can look forward to home-cooked meals with her mom and dad and a sleepover with her sister.

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Thursday, March 24,2011

1920s Michigan: Klan country?

Indeed, according to an eye-opening new book from a British historian

by Bill Castanier

"Mask," the current exhibit at the MSU Museum, stands as proof. Some of the several hundred masks on display are scary, but none is scarier than the robed and hooded mannequin of a KKK member Maybe it takes a Brit to step away from the inherent...

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