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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 1992)
Center Fee dum iter Usage k iemester an| ;sion. Ik has expand?: reased duet:! al space an:: fee has no| at the Studer ? increased t, 52/summe- 1 Year 1993, Tuesday, March 31, 1992 Lifestyl The Battalion / Page 7 A Aggie Players' 'Lullaby' production promises revue of Broadway's best by Timm Doolen The Battalion f The Aggie Players are almost always sure ■to provide an evening of quality entertainment for a reasonable price, and that's exactly what 1 they deliver with their current production The Lullaby of Broadway." This is not a play or a musical in the tradi tional sense, but rather a revue of songs from e stages of Broadway throughout the past 70 ears or so. The numbers are loosely wrapped the dreams of a young boy, played by Brian rano. Of course with just a little over two and a alf hours, it's impossible to provide a thor ough retrospective of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of musicals that have appeared on the stage over the past decades. Nonetheless, Lullaby" is a worthy attempt to hit the high lights of several (22) of the mainstream Broad- ;way productions. As an Aggie Players production, the quali- act on anclty °f the singing was much better than I expect- the Senate The standout of the night was the perfor mance by Sombra Davis as Christine in four numbers from "Phantom of the Opera." The ultra-high note on "Thihk of Me" was ear-shat- lering, and right on pitch. Her performance was complemented won- ■erfully by the rich voice of Mark Anthony td broadeigSterling, who also deserves credit as the direc- ents such Jtor of the production. events. I wif hut the truly unsung hero is Anna Leslie, y to interaciN choreographer. Almost every number was Class of '94 Choreographed,in some way - more than half If them with at least some sort of group dance Immbers. All of them were at worst entertain- Ing, and at best visually stunning on the small Fallout Theater stage. I One of the best choreographed, and funni est numbers was "Summer Nights," one of the two numbers from "Grease." Over the course of the revue, the group I pieces usually stood out, probably because the canned background music was both pitiful and soft, so the greater number of voices drowned I •, i out the paltry music. llieaKCr Of the ensemble songs, the male pieces f were more memorable, such as "Luck Be a Lady" from "Guys and Dolls" and the beauti- | fully touching "Bui Doi," from "Miss Saigon," which describes the plight of Vietnamese chil dren that American soldiers helped conceive, [but left behind in Vietnam when returning home. "They are the living reminders of all the ;rs >ositions or tiate a fai remote anc rticipationr BILLY MORAN/The Battalion Lisa Wood of the Aggie Players sings “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof in a performance of “The Lullaby of Broadway" in the Fallout Theater. ided. good we failed to do," sings Mike Whiteside in a sentimental reminder of the problems of chil dren "whose crime was being born." Also from Miss Saigon was a wonderful performance by Tonya Cochran of "Movie in My Mind" which was ironically cdunterpoint- ed with the all-male "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" from South Pacific, a radically different musical about a much previous war (World War II) in Asia. In Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific," the guys sing about how they long to be with a woman; in "Miss Saigon," Cochran sings about having to surrender her body to American soldiers in Vietnam. Not all the songs are perfect by any means. The young boy showed how bad he could sing on "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" from "Annie"; "Master of the House" proved hard to re-create with the humor or the singing of the professional productions of "Les Miserables"; and minor flaws in other num bers, such as "Friendship," "I Know Him So Well," "No One Is Alone" and Never, Neyer Land" detracted from an otherwise sparkling set of songs. Other songs -were performed well, but seemed out of place without the surrounding story, especially the numbers from "Les Miser ables." The brief lines of dialogue before most of the songs were helpful, but a good knowl edge of the musicals the songs came from is a big help for anyone watching the performance. The two biggest questions I had about the production were the music (why couldn't it have been better?) and the size of the theater. , They surely could have sold out Rudder Fo rum with their performances, which is a much nicer theater. It's nice to be in the quaint setting of the Fallout Theater in Blocker, but it's an odd experience to have more people on the stage (28 total cast members) than were in the audience. The show is not without its ups and downs, but it is definitely a pleasing night's entertain ment, especially to fans of musicals, and is well worth the $5 ticket price. ; , , , ( ^ "Lullaby" runs April 1-4 at 8 p m. and April 4 at 2 p.m. also. Call 862-2052 for more’ information. r DEPRESSION STUDY Are you currently taking medication to treat your depression? VIP Research is recruiting individuals who are taking a specific anti depressant to participate in a research study of an investigational anti depressant medication. Participants who qualify and enroll into the study will be paid a monetary incentive. CALL VOLUNTEERS IN PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH, INC.® 776-1417 J Toore ^ GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER STUDY A Individuals are being recruited for a research study on Generalized Anxiety Disorder. If you experience anxiety or would like to find out more about this study, call VIP Research. $200.00 will be paid to qualified volunteers who enroll and complete this study. CALL VOLUNTEERS IN PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH, INC.® 776-1417 J ULCERATIVE COLITIS ^ VIP Research is seeking individuals with ulcerative colitis. If you've been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and you're 12 years of age or older, you may qualify for a five month study of a currently available medication. $200.00 will be paid to those who complete this study. CALL VOLUNTEERS IN PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH, INC.® ^ 776-1417 Hey Freshman, Be one of the few, the proud, the MSG Council Assistants sophomore Leadership development MSC Council Assistants: -work as assistants to the MSC President and Vice-Presidents - work in the Student Development, Student Programs, Finance, Operations, Public Relations, and Development areas of the MSC - develop leadership skills through group dynamics Informational meeting: Wednesday. April 1. 7PM. 401 Rudder Applications available Wednesday, March 25 in the Student Programs Office (MSC 216 & 223). r ACNE STUDY VIP Research is seeking individuals, 12 years and older, with mild-to-moderate acne for a 12-week research study of an anti-acne medication. $100.00 will be paid to those who complete this study. CALL VOLUNTEERS IN PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH, INC.® .. V 776-1417 J/ e GENITAL HERPES INFECTION Individuals with genital herpes infection are being recruited for a research study of an investigational antiviral medication. If you would like to find out more about this study, call VIP Research. A monetary incentive will be paid to qualified volunteers who enroll and complete this study. CALL VOLUNTEERS IN PHARMACEUTICAL ,, RESEARCH, INC.® V 776-1417 WANTED A&M’S FUNNIEST PEOPLE PARTICIPANTS AND SPECTATORS WILL WIN REWARDS FROM Freebired's Bill's Style Shop Wendy's Kentucky Fried Chicken Massio's Pizza Little Caesar's Garfield's Chilis Witt's End Casa Tomas A&M Steakhouse On The Double Pizza Hut Mario & Son's Casa Ole' Floppy Joe's Brazos Stock Exchange Equinox Golden Corral Ken Martin's Steakhouse Beetle’s BBQ If you have a stupid human trick, an impersonation or unusual talent then you can be a part of A&M's Funniest People Contest. Come out April 1 to the MSC fountain from 11 to 2. Participants will receive a FREE 91-92 Video yearbook. Call AggieVision at 845-0458 or 823-2114 for sign up time & more information. Sexy sounds for sold-out show t: l i | - 73 w o c _ O - o o CD - < ~ c5‘ £ By Matari Jones The Battalion Explosive. Unrelenting. Powerful. These three words describe the performance of world-reknown saxophone player Branford Marsalis Satur day night in a sold-out concert in Rudder Auditorium hosted by the MSC Opera and Per forming Arts Society. Marsalis said listening to "Trio Jeepy" (his third album which earned him his fifth Grammy nomination) could never prepare you for this con cert - and he was right. There were no patterns, no gimmicks, and no predictable moments - just pure melody in this very free-form performance. The first composition of the evening, "G is for Groove" by the legendary jazz master Duke Ellington, exploded into a very powerful and emotional per formance with Jeff Watts on drums and Robert Hurst on bass. The band then followed with a furious and energetic 45- minute jazz suite of about four segued instrumentals. This set the tone for the entire show. The musical virtuosity, emotion and vibrancy of these talented artists filled the air. The trio performed in a rock-steady bassist, interactive drummer style with a rich vari ety of tempos and moods as they laid down some irre sistible, crazily impulsive grooves. There is no doubt that this trio works well together. Marsalis touched the perfor mance off in all the right places with his dynamic and melodic playing. i Fqij Marsalis, the notes were .eaaijy .and. intensely wrung, out ' of Kis sg.x on every chord and every note. His one line blasts gave way to more fluid, mellow yet upbeat notes. Each Marsalis entrance was as strong and in terjectionary as the first. Hurst and Watts nearly stole the show with their electri fying super-extended duets as Marsalis would sit in the shad ows at the back of the stage and sway and nod at their work. It was sometimes question able if Marsalis was the main at traction, since Watts nearly dominated the show with his somewhat overdrawn, yet thunderous and rhythmic drum solos. His polyrhythms enveloped the band while he played hard and harsh with his vibrant beats. Watts performed as if his drumsticks were extensions of his hands. There was never a repeated, predictable or identi fiable moment as he crazily smacked and caressed his drum kit. Watts played and he played hard - vigorously un sentimental and vibrant. With his resounding, deep and smooth bass interludes, Hurst added a funky and medi tative alternative to Watts as he plucked out the themes. An encore ended the con cert with Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo". This type of jazz was softer and subtler than the earlier performances and al most added a sexy blue mood to the evening. The artists looked and acted as if they were having a good time the entire show. Even less- studied music lovers could rev el in this evening of fantastic music. Branford Marsalis definitely illustrated jazz at its finest. Lis- tening to him w^s an excellent way. do spend . a Saturday evemng. — j Beta your chovce 8® TRI-STATE Sporting Goods 3600 Old College 846-1947 Open 9-6 Mon.-Sat (across from Chicken Oil Co.) Going Once, Going TwiceTisOLm at the LOST 0 FOUND AUCTION Sponsored By MSC HOSPITALFI Wednesday, April l...ll:30-2 : 30 MSC Flagroom VALUABLE NOLAN RYAN Seventh No-Hitter Print ^PERSONALLY AUTOGRAPHED’" As well as much more... Including Baseball cards and other Sports Memorbilia! Donated by the Nolan Ryan Historical Foundation