Reviews: Theatre and the Performing Arts

Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch sat on a bench at the Staller Center last Saturday evening. A silky, purple-colored sheet engulfed her entire body, revealing only her face, a single hand and bare feet that were planted on the ground.

The Ballet Folklorico de Mexico transformed Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts into a time machine on the evening of Oct. 12, with a myriad of vibrant colors, movement and music – propelling the audience back to an era of love, war, religion, and most importantly, tradition.

Women’s rights. Feminism. Gender stereotypes. Admit it, some of you roll your eyes when you hear these terms. And why shouldn’t you? They are overused, oversimplified, and not well explained.

There have been relatively few truly magical moments in rock n' roll since its inception nearly five decades ago, relatively speaking. Given the amount of acts flooding the market over the aformentioned time period, the number of truly mesmerizing and legendary performances that have transpired is comparatively small. There was the original Woodstock Festival, the high-watermark of the '60s generation; there was Bill Graham's renown Fillmore venues, which provided the setting for landmark performances on each coast (including those by The Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix' Band of Gypsies and a slue of other notables); there was the infamous Beatles concert on the Apple Rooftop, a short performance that briefly ended the band's four year stint of concert absence; there was the first performace of Dylan with an electric band, ending his folk period and beginning what would be his most prolific period to date. All of these and select others culminate to make rock and roll history, with precious few entries into the canon over the course of the last twenty years. But Chris and Rich Robinson's all-acoustic "Brothers of a Feather" tour made a solid addition to the list with their performance at Manhattan's Jazz at Lincoln Center this past Friday evening.

When a play is entitled "Boy Gets Girl," and its promotional posters feature a Caucasian bride and groom wedding cake topper, it’s very easy for an audience member to walk into the theatre with expectations of a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. Everyone knows the usual romantic plot: some male character falls in love with some female character, wackiness ensues, there’s some kind of conflict, but somehow they end up living happily ever after. It’s only natural to expect a play with this title to follow this formula. However, in the case of Rebecca Gilman’s "Boy Gets Girl," the action onstage revolves around a woman who falls prey to a stalker. Not a trace of a cliché romantic plot is to be found; unfortunately, a cliché stalker plot ends up taking its place.

In 1926, a woman named Martha Graham formed a classroom, a workspace, and living quarters from a small Carnegie Hall studio in midtown Manhattan. From these humble beginnings grew a company that would soon push the boundaries of movement as a means of artistic expression and modern dance as an art form would never be the same.

Imagine the main stage at Staller covered completely in ice. It was a reality when the Ice Theatre of New York, a figure skating group, performed at the Staller Center on October 15th. The show was beautifully choreographed, and had a very diverse selection of music which helped to compliment the extraordinarily talented ensemble.

The Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of guest conductor Jeffery Milarsky, performed on the main stage of the Staller Center on Saturday night. The program consisted of Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, Francis Poulenc’s Concerto in d minor for Two Pianos and Orchestra, and Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements.

Vos' best work has always been done on the stand-up circuit. This was made perfectly clear when he appeared at the SAC Ballroom this past Thursday night. As a part of this semester's ongoing "Comedy Series," Vos easily proved that he is one of the best comedians working these days. His set was offensive, off-color and relentless...everything a comedy show should be. However, in the cravenly PC days of 2005, those qualities are also everything that most college students are against.

There are several kinds of Hair. There is the hair that grown on your head, the hair that your pet sheds off onto you, and the kind that makes you really enjoy a few moments of life. Thankfully, the kind of hair I am reviewing is the latter. Hair, the musical, was performed April 7th through the 10th in the year 2005. The performers however warp you back more towards 1965 (although the play first was performed in 1968).

"Music has the power to inspire compassion and foster understanding between cultures while deepening the bonds that form our communities. We dedicate our resources to the health, education and dignity of the world citizenry, and to the environment that sustains us."

These are the words that greeted attendees on the commencement day program for the Music For Peace Project.