WOW, Sure Is Condfusing to Watch TV These Days

 

As I sit in front of my 50-inch television with surround sound and access to an infinite number of channels and programs, you may wonder: what could he possibly complain about?

After all, I clearly remember the TV watching experience of my youth. The high-tech equipment we owned was a 12-inch black and white TV loaded to the gills with three channels – ABC, CBS and NBC.

All of the shows available were from those networks and were only presented once during the season, with some sporadic reruns appearing during the summer. After hours (midnight to 8am or so) the TV offered only a weird graphic that was called a Test Pattern.

TV viewing was simpler back then and very regimented.

40 Years at the LSJ - From Tickertapes to Email

 

A version of this article appeared in the Lansing State Journal

As Michigan State’s Wharton Center celebrate its 40^th anniversary season, it reminds me how closely my arts and music writing history at the Lansing State Journal is linked to the opening of that great performing arts center.

It was in July of 1982 that I approached Mike Hughes, arts editor at the LSJ, to see if I could have a stab at writing music criticism for the paper.

Hughes, always the exuberant and positive observer of the world said, “Sure. Wharton Center is opening in September, and we don’t have anybody to cover them.  You’re hired!”

I was shocked and surprised.  I approached the LSJ a couple of years earlier but that editor pronounced my writing far too high brow for Lansing audiences.

What I didn’t understand by Hughes hiring me so quickly was that I would be hired as a stringer, a free lance writer.  I would be paid by the article without any long-term contract. This translated to the reality that any time, if Hughes or the LSJ in general, did not like my writing, all they had to do was not call me. There was no real commitment on the newspaper’s part – just an opportunity for me.

STRATFORD: The Plays and the Place

 

After a two year, COVID-imposed respite, Ontario’s world-famous Stratford Festival is back. And it’s better than ever.

It’s better because in an addition to the stunningly produced plays, the festival just opened their newest theater, The Tom Patterson Theatre.

For many years, the festival had rented a city recreational center located along the banks of the Avon River and built a 500-seat theater inside that was deconstructed each year to make room for badminton courts in the winter.

They finally bought the building, razed it and built a magnificent structure that is artistic, high tech, beautiful and functional. Completed in 2020, the new Tom Patterson has been waiting for two years for enthusiastic audiences to fill up the glittering space with laughter, conversation and applause.

A trip to Stratford is always more than seeing top quality theater, It is also for taking in the charming city itself; its lovely gardens, good restaurants, European-looking downtown area and a picturesque river to walk beside. 

It’s about the plays and the place.

Fun Home, Comes To Life at Peppermint Creek

 

The two-year pandemic that we are now slowly emerging from, has been stressful to many segments of society.  But one of the hardest hit has been the arts – especially theater and classical concerts.

For that reason, we must take our hats off in congratulations to a Lansing community theater company, Peppermint Creek, for presenting their current production of the challenging musical, “Fun Home”.

Even though season schedules have been upended through Covid, artistic director Chad Badgero was determined to hold on to “Fun Home” and present this important show to Lansing audiences.

“Fun Home“ is the Tony Award winning show written by Lansing native Lisa Kron (book and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music).

I have seen “Fun Home” performed by seasoned pros on Broadway and the national touring company at Wharton Center. But there is something very special about watching local amateurs bringing this show to life in a church auditorium.

Evan Hansen: Real and Compelling

 

After many schedule changes and cancellations due to Covid, “Dear Evan Hansen”, by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, is finally at East Lansing’s Wharton Center. When the musical opened on Broadway in 2016 it was a monster hit and still is.

Last night I understood its strong appeal, especially among teenagers. First off, I must say that I approached the show knowing very little about the story and musical style. Except for the hit song “For Forever,” I was unfamiliar with much of the music.

In many ways “Dear Evan Hansen” is the anti-Broadway musical, musical. It's a small show (eight characters) with no production numbers, very little dancing and no over-wrought love songs.

LSO: Youth and Excitement

 

                                                                            Patrick Harlin

One didn’t really know what to expect when attending the Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s final concert on their Masterworks series Saturday night. 

From reading the program (printed last year) we knew that composer-in-residence, Patrick Harlin, would premiere a new piece but we didn’t know the name. The piano soloist was yet to be announced because he or she had not been named as the Gilmore Young Artist for 2022. But we thought, at least, that we knew what the winner would be playing - Beethoven’s 1^st Piano Concerto.

But even that wasn’t accurate. As it turned out, the only thing that remained constant in the program was the last piece of the evening, Brahms Symphony No. 2.

With all of these unknowns, who would have predicted that Saturday’s concert was probably the most stimulating concert of the entire LSO season?

LSO - Classics with a Twist

 

Lansing Symphony’s Music Director, Timothy Muffitt, has a knack for programming a concert that is interesting, unpredictable but always a pleasure to listen to.

Saturday’s (March 19, 2022) performance was a perfect example. It opened not with an overture or a cute ditty, but with an 11-piece wind, harpsichord and percussion ensemble standing in a semicircle, to play the beguiling Suite Francaise by Poulenc.

It was a bold and refreshing programming choice.  The ensemble played this charming and humorous neo-classical work beautifully. The seven movements gave the listener a broad variety of musical styles to enjoy.  The musicians performed with a lovely blend.

The Philadelphia, 2 Maestros and Tuba Shine

 

The storied relationship between the Philadelphia Orchestra and the University Music Society (UMS) in Ann Arbor goes back to 1913 when they first appeared there under the baton of Leopold Stokowski.  The orchestra’s triumphant return to Ann Abor last weekend (March 11-12, 2022) marked their 269^th and 270^th performance at Hill Auditorium.

The orchestra’s residency at UMS this year had many reasons to attract a big audience. The first of the two concerts was helmed by conducting phenom and Philadelphia’s music director Yannick Nezet-Sequin, the orchestra’s principal guest conductor, Nathalie Stutzmann who is also a rising star, conducted the second concert, and the featured soloist was the brilliant tubist Carol Jantsch, who happens to be an alum of the University of Michigan, playing a new work by Wynton Marsalis.

Because of this stellar line up, Hill Auditorium which seats 3300 was nearly full at both concerts, despite COVID fears.

MAGIC OF JAZZ, THE MARSALIS WAY

Printed in Lansing State Journal 2/20/2020

Branford Marsalis doesn’t like music categories, like jazz, classical, R&B, show music, hip hop, rock, movie music, etc. He plays it all. Marsalis prefers to call himself, simply, a musician. And most of the music world agrees.

Joe Lulloff, professor of saxophone at Michigan State University, who has collaborated with Marsalis many times says, “Branford is a complete musician.  He’s a renaissance musician.”

Marsalis and his Branford Marsalis Quartet are appearing at Wharton Center on Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Coincidentally his famous (and younger) brother Wynton will be in Ann Arbor on March 11^th with the Philadelphia Orchestra for the premiere of his Tuba Concerto he just completed. It appears that both of these great musicians have something in common – they are not only world class jazz musicians (Wynton on trumpet, Brandon on saxophone) but are also involved in composing, teaching, arranging and performing of music in all styles.

Williamston Brings Iconic Play by Okemos-raised Playwright

 

Attending Okemos High School in the 80s, award-winning playwright Heather Raffo enveloped herself in the arts. She was the lead in several plays, was a violinist in the orchestra and sang in the choir. Raffo remembers, “It was hugely exciting. I was born to be an artist but was always looking for an outlet. Okemos formed me as a bridge builder.”

Her acclaimed play “9 Parts of Desire” will be playing at Williamston Theatre Jan. 27 – Feb. 27.

“Growing up in Okemos was so important for me. Although my father was an Iraqi, I am white, Catholic, and blond and I felt that I was passing. It made it possible to build a bridge between communities. It’s the foundation for how I started my work [as an actress and playwright]. I’m like a translator.”

From OHS, Raffo received her undergraduate at University of Michigan. “My father didn’t want me to be a theater major, so I majored in English literature and took all the acting classes I could.”

After Michigan, she went on to University of San Diego for her Master of Fine Arts, and went to England to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

“When in England, I traveled through Europe and the Middle East, and ended up in Baghdad.”

FROZEN - Theater Magic

 

When a show like “Disney’s Frozen” comes to town, it’s a true theatrical event for the entire region.  Not every theater is large enough to house this musical that takes 23 semi-trailers to move it from place to place.

Ever since “Frozen” the movie hit the screens back in 2013, it became a part of our culture.  “Let it Go” and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” were songs that every kid in the neighborhood was singing.

It took a while for Disney to transform the beloved show from a movie to a stage play, but in 2018 it finally stormed Broadway and never left. Now there are productions in the UK, Australia, Japan, Germany and the North American Tour.

Currently it is playing at Michigan State University’s Wharton Center until February 6. 2022 (whartoncenter.com).

From beginning to end, “Frozen” is a first class, Broadway caliber, production. No pickup orchestra here, “Frozen” travels with its own musicians and enough sparkles and snow to fill the entire theater.

Many Disney shows play well for audiences of all ages. After all, “Lion King” is the highest grossing Broadway musical ever ($8.2 bil in sales). “Frozen” plays best for girls ages 5-15, I’m guessing, but many boys were enjoying it as well.