theater
What's so funny?
Three artists take a humorous shot at explaining the mysteries of life, love and art in David Gordon's "The Mysteries and What's So Funny?"
Photo courtesy of IPA, Incorporated
By Delin Cormeny Kansan staff writer
the meaning of art, of life, of marriage and of anger are all mysteries to the creators of the upcoming production of "The Mysteries and What's So Funny?"
Series
The multi-media show, which has been touring the nation the past few months, will make a stop in Lawrence at 5 p.m. Saturday in Crafton-Preyer Theatre. The performance is part of KU's New Directions
Tickets are $8 and 7 for KU students and $16 and
$14 for the general public.
The piece contrasts the life of 20th century French artist Marcel Duchamp, who eventually gave up art to play chess, with the experiences of Sam and Rose, an elderly couple living in Brooklyn. The lives of Sam and Rose are loosely based on writer/ director/ choreographer David Gordon's parents.
"It's a thoughtful biography," said Philip Glass, who composed the music. "It's a story that people can understand, and it's told with language and movements which people understand. At the same time, it's provocative, funny, stimulating and even romantic."
"Mysteries" has played to receptive critics in New York, Boston, Cape Cod, Mass., and Charleston, S.C.
"It's art and entertainment together," Glass said. "It's written in an understandable way and is quite popular."
Throughout the show, the characters are teased,
and haunted by two shady figures: Anger I and
Anger II, who prince around in front of cartoonish,
larger-than-life orons.
The show combines the strengths of three artists: Philip Glass, David Gordon and visual artist Red Groom.
"They're usually the hardest to please," Glass said, referring to the critics. "If they like it, most every person does."
The 14-member cast stays in almost constant motion throughout the 90-minute piece as Glass' continuous piano score plays in the background.
"I think the balance is actually quite good," Glass said. "I'd call it a dance-theater piece. David came from the world of experimental dance and is working world of theater. It really straddles the two genres."
"I had an image of a parlor piano," Glass said. "It's a piece about Gordon's parents and living on the lower east side. I thought the piano was the kind of instrument that have been around. It's the kind of piece you'd hope to hear if you went into someone's house. It was natural to go with the story 'ine."
This most recent project is "The Voyage," an opera which premiered earlier this month at the New York Metropolitan Opera.
He said "Mysteries" took almost two years to complete, but he did not work on it full time. He composed the music in between other projects.
Glass, in fact, built his reputation on opera. He first claimed fame with the 5-hour piece, "Einstein on the Beach," which debuted in 1976. He also composed music for the operas "Satyagraha," which portrays the early life of Gandhi and Akhenaton, an ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
He is also well-known in the world of rock-n-roll. He has collaborated with musicians such as David Byrne, Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Suzanne Vega, Ravi Shankar and Laurie Anderson on various albums and projects.
In addition, he composed musical scores for the films "Mishima," "Koyannisqatsal" and "Powaqat-
He said that although he enjoyed working on films, he preferred composing for theater pieces.
films, he preferred composing for theater pieces. "Theater is organic," he said. "Films are not organic pieces. They are very limited. You can't revise it, change it or add to it."
Saturday's performance will mark Glass' fourth production in the first one he will miss here. His multi-media, science fiction work titled "1,000 Airplanes on the Roof" played here in October 1988, and he discussed the making of the show with students.
In November 1987, he and his ensemble performed the musical score while the film "Koyanisnasiqs" was shown. In October 1985, he and his ensemble performed a concert.
"Lawrence is a good place," Glass, a New Yorker,
said. "Places like Lawrence, Minnesota, Houston and Iowa really have become regional centers for American high art culture. These places are very important. They are evening out the cultural environment.
"Performers talk about where they like to work. In the professional art world. Lawrence is quite a well-known place."
Charla Jenkins, public relations for the Concert Series, said Glass was instrumental in helping develop the New Directions Series.
"He was very encouraging when [Jackie Davis] first came up with the concept," she said. "He made a lot of suggestions and kind of steered her in the right direction."
The New Directions Series is paid for in part by the Kansas Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the KU Student Senate Activity Fee, the Endowment Association and the Swarthout Society.
Other upcoming Series shows include: the Nov. 5 Waverly Consort, which is a concert of music from the year 1492, and the Nov. 17 Artur Pizarro solo piano concert.
music
Truck Stop Love—a little bit country
By M. Olsen Special to the Kansan
While many local bands try to sound like they're from somewhere — anywhere but here — Manhattan's Truck Stop Love does not mind its Midwestern roots.
"Someone told me if you went outside of Kansas and played our music, people would just know we're from Kansas." said guitarist and vocalist Rich Yurges "I told you it was not, we only played outside of Kansas twice."
review
Yarges said the band was influenced by country music
Even so, some listeners are unable to recognize the country influences in the band's music.
"Sometimes we think we're playing a total country song and all the other people are like 'That's not country,' "Yarges said.
One definite difference from most conventional country acts is the sheer volume at which the band plays.
"We've played a few gigs where it was so loud people just left. That no good. Yarges said, "I can understand people not wanting to stand in front of a 100 or two feet wide pit. You're gonna down a little bit, or at least turn down a little bit."
The band just completed recording a new six-song
tane at Red House Recording in Lawrence. The recording should be available at local stores within the next few weeks. The band hopes to earn enough money from the tapes to press some vinyl, seven-inch singles. Yarges said he thought the band was received better than it could.
in Lawrence than in its native Mammoth...
"There they want to hear that 70s classic rock stuff"
"And they want to hear that the guy told us that if one of those cheesy metal bands wanted to play he was gonna cancel our gigs and give it to them."
The band will be appearing in Lawrence three times during the next week. It will be playing with Cylon Raiden'toright at the Down and Bomb, 801 New Hampshire St., and with Atom Bound on Saturday at Hashinger Hall. On Monday, Nov. 2, the band will play at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., as part of South by Southwest Showcase 95, the winner of which goes to Austin, Texas, for the next NSW convention.
Before setting on its current lineup with just more than a year ago, Truck Stop Love, which also includes Eric Mein on drums and vocals, Brad Huhnm on bass and vocals, and Matt Mozier on guitar and vocals, went through a two-and-a-half year period of constantly changing lineups. The shaggy dog story of the band's personnel to this point includes over 15 members.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
"This is probably the best it's gonna get," Yarges said. "If anybody ever quits now, that'll pretty much be it for this band."
Real KU Life begins on the weekend.
calendar
Nightlife
Benchwarmers Sports Bar & Grill
1601 W. 23rd St.
Tonight -Soul Shaker
Tomorrow night -Michael on Fire
Sunday -Milhous Nixons
The Bottleneck
737 New Hampshire St.
Tonight-Anson Funderburgh, The Rockets fea-
turing Sam Meyers
Tomorrow night - Caribe
Saturday - Lonsome Houndog and Friends,
Crapsupper
Sunday - Groove Alley
Monday - Open microphone
Wednesday - Gwar with Flipper
Brass Apple Sports Bar & Restaurant 3300 W.10th St.
Features 10 TV's with satellite dish and Monday Night Football
Congo Bar
520 N. Third St.
Tomorrow and Saturday - Outland Band
Down & Under
Dos Hombres
815 New Hampshire St.
Tonight - Jeff-n-Jeff
801 New Hampshire St.
Tenight-Truck Stop Love
Tomorrow-Kill Creek
Saturday-Stick
Gusto's
925 Iowa St.
Tomorrow - Mahoots and Guests
Saturday - id Xplosion
Henry T's
Henry T's
3520 W. Sixth
Karaoke every Thursday night
Hockenbury Tavern
1016 Massachusetts St.
Tonight - Milhous Nixons, Mountain Clyde
Continued on Page 8.