Danish director Soren Kragh­Jacobsen's latest film stars Anders Berthelsen and Iben Hjejle.

Danish 'Rain Man' at Ross Theater

Anders Berthelsen plays Kresten and Iben Hjejle portrays Liva in Mifune, one of the summer offerings at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater.

In a Danish take on "Rain Man," director Soren Kragh-Jacobsen's Mifune observes a yuppie learning what's really important in life from his developmentally disabled older brother.

Mifune along with a short feature, Lipstick & Letterbox, are showing July 27 through 30 and Aug. 3 through 6. Showings are at 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays; 1, 3:15, 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Saturdays and 2:30, 4:45, 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Sundays.

Rep Performing Tony-Award Winners

Rotating Repertory Stages Ballyhoo, Picnic

The Nebraska Repertory Theatre continues its 33rd season by producing The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Picnic in rotating repertory through Aug. 6.

The Rep is the professional wing of the department of theatre arts in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.

Performances continue for The Last Night of Ballyhoo, written by Alfred Uhry of Driving Miss Daisy fame, at 7:30 p.m. on July 20, 22, 26, 28 and Aug. 3 and 5, and 3 p.m. July 30, in the Johnny Carson Theater.

Picnic, written by William Inge, continues the season with performances at 7:30 p.m. July 13, 15, 21, 27, 29 and Aug. 2 and 4, and 3 p.m. Aug. 6, in the Howell Theatre, Temple Building.

Winner of the 1997 Tony Award for Best Play, The Last Night of Ballyhoo is set in December, 1939, when the premiere of Gone With the Wind has put Atlanta, GA in the spotlight. But not even Scarlett O'Hara can steal the attention of the city's Jewish community, including the Levy/Freitag family, who are totally enthralled with the upcoming Ballyhoo, the social event of the holiday season, and possibly one of the few chances for young German Jewish men and women to find a 'suitable' mate. It's Ballyhoo that's on everyone's mind, not the pesky Depression or Hitler's invasion of Poland.

"Boo" Levy's misfit daughter Lala is having a hard time getting a date for the big night; now just two weeks away. A confident and handsome young New Yorker named Joe Farkas, who's just gone to work for her uncle Adolph, is Lala's preference, even though his Eastern European heritage leaves him several rungs down the social register. Joe, meanwhile, has fallen for Lala's debantate cousin, a stunner named Sunny, leaving Lala hoping for a Christmas miracle - a date with blue-blooded Peachy Weil. Before the night is through, everyone involved in this warmly funny and poignant play learns some bittersweet lessons about love and jealousy, prejudice and tolerance, and the importance of family.

Gene Anthony stars as Adolph. Other cast members include Shirley Mason, head of the Professional Actor Training Program at UNL, as Reba Freitag, Adolph's sister-in-law; UNL Theatre graduates Amy Rafa (Lala), Amy Jirsa (Sunny), and Steve Barth (Peachy); undergraduate Jude Hickey as Joe, and guest artist Diane Robinson as Boo Levy. The production is directed by Ken McCulough.

Picnic, set in a small Kansas town over Labor Day weekend, is the story of how a stranger's presence changes the lives of all those with whom he comes in contact. Hal Carter (Jude Hickey) arrives in town to see a former college classmate, Alan Seymour (Steve Barth). Hal, whose animal vitality seriously upsets all those he touches, is an interesting character. His attitude and demeanor is formed by his self-consciousness about his position in society.

The Owens family: Flo, the mother (Mary Douglass), and her two daughters, Madge (Amy Jirsa), and Millie (Amy Rafa), become the fulcrum upon which the conflict turns. Madge, who becomes attracted to Hal, as does her sister Millie, is the girlfriend of Hal's friend, Alan. A boarder at the Owens home, Rosemary Sydney (Equity guest artist Cheryl Graeff), and her male friend Howard Bevans (Richard Nielsen) are also permanently transformed by the stranger's presence.

Both Douglass and Nielsen are UNL instructors in Theatre and English, respectively. Other cast members include Shirley Mason as neighbor, Helen Potts; undergraduate Theatre students Brian Michael Lucas as Bomber, the paper boy; Kaitlin Byrd as Irma Kronkite, a school teacher; and Theatre graduate Amy J. Johnson as Christine Schoenwalder, a school teacher. The production is directed by Gene Anthony.

Tickets are available through the Lied Center box office at 472-4747. Tickets are $20/public, $18/UNL faculty/staff and senior citizens, and $7/students/youth. Box office hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Dormitory Breakfast (1913, oil on canvas) by Louis Ritman (1889­1963).

American Impressionism from the Permanent Collection

Opening July 21, American Impressionism from the Permanent Collection follows the culmination of a nationally touring exhibition of works from the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.

The exhibition of 50 works drawn from the Sheldon's own collections runs though Sept. 24. It traveled to six cities across the United States from August 1998 to June 2000.

Originally a French phenomenon, Impressionism arose from a confluence of social, scientific and art histories. From approximately 1870 to 1890, academic painting, with its reliance upon classical references and historic themes conveyed through a Renaissance sense of space and composition, was supplanted by a growing interest in an art of immediacy. Led by French Impressionists Monet, Renoir, and Degas, Impressionist painters applied pigment in small touches of pure color, which seemed dazzlingly bright when compared to works by contemporary academic artists.

As theories of Impressionism developed, French theories of art began to appear in the work of Eastern seaboard artists. The decisive event for the introduction in the country of the then radical Impressionist aesthetic was an exhibition sent to New York City by the Parisian dealer Paul Durand-Ruel in 1886. The exhibition met with surprising acclaim among critics and patrons who were becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Hudson River School, which was seen as provincial and outmoded.

What is referred to as American Impressionism is really a hybrid of influences converging in the United States sometimes as much as 60 years after the height of Impressionism in France.

Mary Cassatt, an American expatriate living in Paris, was among the few Americans introduced to Impressionism at its inception. A close friend and associate of Edgar Degas, her portrait of Mary Say Lawrence, included in the exhibition, is an example of Cassatt's work under his influence.

At the turn of the century, a group of artists, known as The Eight, followed Robert Henri's lead in rejecting the pleasant manner of Impressionism, but retaining its stylistic tendencies of loose brush strokes and generous applications of paint. A number of artists from The Eight, including Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, and Henri himself, continued to paint occasional landscapes in an Impressionist style. Examples of their works are included in the exhibition.

Regionalism played an important role in the development of the paintings associated with American Impressionism. Robert Gilder of Nebraska, and Birger Sandzen of Kansas, both lived and painted in the Midwest, yet their interpretations of the Impressionist aesthetic are quite different.The innovations of Impressionism identified issues that precipitated the Modern era. Light, space and colloquial subject matter are issues that were sustained, reacted to, and reinterpreted throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact, these issues continue to be extrapolated by contemporary artists interested in problems of light, atmosphere and the environment.

American Impressionism from the Permanent Collection is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog. The catalog includes color reproductions of each of the exhibition's paintings, and interpretive essays by American art historian William Gerdts and former Sheldon Gallery Curator Daphne Deeds.

Karen Janovy, Sheldon's curator of education, will present a slide-illustrated lecture at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 13 in the gallery. Mary Cassatt, Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase and Maurice Prendergast are among the artists whose works will be discussed.

In addition, Daniel A. Siedell, curator/interim director of the Sheldon Gallery, will present a gallery talk from 12:15 to 1 p.m. Sept. 20 on the work included in American Impressionism from the Permanent Collection as part of Sheldon's "Wednesday Walks" series.

Local Color II Highlights Work of Area Artists

A new exhibition opening July 26 at the Sheldon spotlights a number of local and regional artists. Local Color II: Cherry, Gallimore, Helm, Roots, runs through Sept. 17.

The exhibition features the recent work of Judith Cherry, Patty Gallimore, David Helm and Larry Roots. The second in a series, it is part of the Sheldon Gallery's ongoing effort and commitment to present the work of developing artists in the region whose aesthetic activities engage important aesthetic issues in the contemporary art world.

The Nebraska Art Association will host a public reception from 5 to 7 p.m. July 26 in the Great Hall at the Sheldon Gallery.

Working in a large-scale, gestural and dynamic style, Roots has developed a considerable body of art since his arrival in Lincoln several years ago. The diversity of Roots' aesthetic expression is on display again with a series of large, dark paintings that confront the viewer with a powerful physicality. But this initial impact soon gives way to an awareness of the subtleties of Roots' marking of the surface, a mark-making that brings to the fore the artist's existentialist approach to art.

Although at first glance her paintings appear to be dichotomous to Roots', Cherry's meticulously painted trompe l'oeil canvases not only provide the viewer with a similar immediate impact, but also, like Roots' reward close scrutiny. Her super-realist paintings are not simply exercises in technical virtuosity. She uses her technique to create highly composed paintings that, by virtue of the symbolism of the objects she paints, deeply access the 17th-century Dutch vanitas still-life tradition, a tradition that used the material to communicate the spiritual.

The existential and spiritual aspects of art making are also an important component of Gallimore's work. Holding undergraduate and graduate degrees in studio art from UNL, Gallimore has spent the last 15 years working simultaneously in printmaking, photography, assemblage and installation art. Her aesthetic expression is very much concerned with the sacredness of the personal act of art making as it relates to the spirituality of the artist. For Gallimore, no space is more sacred than her studio, and it is within this sacred studio context, that her artwork achieves and maintains this spiritual and personal connection.

In contrast to Gallimore, who conceives of her spaces in spiritual and ritualized terms, installation artist David Helm, creates aesthetic environments that serve as laboratories or sites where historical and scientific scholarship is created. This scientific and "research" perspective was honed through his study of anthropology at Ithaca College, New York. Helm is an associate professor of art at UNO. Helm's three-part installation for Local Color II, titled Terrarium #1, Terrarium #2, and Terrarium #3, is inspired by regional geography and makes reference to science and history museum displays.

Ghost Dog Melds Samurai Instincts With Urban Warriors

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, opening at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater on July 13, ingeniously re-creates the gangster picture as a cross-cultural fusion of Eastern philosophy, hip-hop music, urban darkness, and movie iconography.

Written, directed, and produced by Jim Jarmusch, Ghost Dog stars the sublime Forest Whitaker as Ghost Dog, a man of few words who shares his rooftop home with dozens of pigeons. He lives by the precepts of the 18th century warrior text Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, practicing the ancient disciplines of the samurai and applying them to his work as a contract killer.

In the Samurai tradition, Ghost Dog has pledged his loyalty to one master, Louie (John Torney), a small-time mobster who saved Ghost Dog's life many years ago. As an assassin, Ghost Dog communicates only via his trusted carrier pigeon and moves through the night like a phantom, handling his weapons with the skill and speed of a medieval Japanese swordsman.

Louis is a foot soldier in a struggling crime family headed by Ray Vargo (Henry Silva). Acting on orders, Louie hires Ghost Dog to kill Handsome Frank (Richard Portnow), a "made man" and the love of Louise Vargo (Tricia Vessey), Ray's beautiful young daughter. Unfortunately, Louise happens to be in Frank's apartment when Ghost Dog completes the jog, and now an irate Ray Vargo wants the hit man dead.

Using the strategic wisdom he has gleaned from Hagakure and other Eastern books, Ghost Dog prepares to battle the Vargo family. Ultimately, though, it is Louie whom he must confront, in a melancholy showdown between the two men who know their world is changing, its moral codes unraveling. In Ghost Dog's words, he and Louie are "from different, ancient tribes . . . both almost extinct." But Ghost Dog will not abandon the Hagakure principles: he is a Samurai, above all, to the end.

Filled with Jim Jarmusch's signature humor and odd characters, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai takes the filmmakers' work to a new level of accessibility, opening it up to genre fans and students of Eastern thought.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is showing July 13 through 16 and July 20 through 23. Screenings are at 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays; at 1, 3:15, 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Saturdays; and at 2:30, 4:45, 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $6.50 for adults and $4.50 for students, senior citizens, children and members of the Friends of the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater.

Egg Artistry Contest Under Way

Nebraska artists are invited to participate in an egg artistry contest to represent the state in the 2001 White House Easter Egg Display. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Poultry and Egg Division sponsor the Nebraska contest.

Decorated eggs must depict one or more special feature(s) of Nebraska. In previous years, artists have adorned eggs with landscapes, state symbols, beads, feathers, and various other designs representative of Nebraska. Entries for this year's contest are due Sept. 7. Entries will be on display for public viewing and judging at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Gift Shop from Sept. 9 to Oct. 10.

Only Nebraska residents, including previous winning artists, are eligible. Both amateur and professional artists are encouraged to participate. Contestants must contact the Poultry and Egg Division to enter the contest and receive specific contest criteria. Contact Mary Torell, Nebraska Department of Agriculturem Poultry and Egg Division, P.O. Box 830908, Lincoln, NE 68583-0908.

Torrell can also be reached at 472-0752 or by e-mail: mtorell2@unl.edu.

NPRN Presents Louis Armstrong Mini-Series

Jazz Profiles presents a powerful centennial reflection on Louis Armstrong's 50-year career, from his seminal work in the 1920s to his song releases in the 1960s, when "Satchmo: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong" airs at 11 p.m. on Fridays on the Nebraska Public Radio Network.

The 13-part mini-series - which began July 11 and will run through September 2000 - marks the centennial of Louis Armstrong's birth on July 4, 1900. Transcending racial barriers with the force of his talent and charismatic personality, Armstrong became an American cultural icon recognized around the world. With a gravelly voice that seemed to rumble up from the center of the earth and complete mastery of a musical range on the trumpet never before heard, he is the only artist in music history who made as great an impact with his voice as with his instrument.

"Satchmo" will feature extraordinary sound clips, recordings and a parade of voices of those who knew him, worked with him and were influenced by him. The first two programs offer an overview of the artist's life and work, with the subsequent programs exploring numerous facets of Satchmo's extraordinary contribution to musical history.

Armstrong revolutionized the sound of the trumpet in jazz. In "Armstrong - The Trumpeter" (July 21), the program traces his development as a trumpeter and reflects on his contributions. Interviewees include the late trumpeters Doc Cheatham and Harry "Sweets" Edison, along with current trumpet players Nicholas Payton, Ruby Braff, Jon Faddis and Joe Wilder.

After establishing himself as the most innovative jazz instrumentalist in the business, Armstrong was given a chance to sing and sing he did, turning the jazz world upside-down again, elevating "scat" style singing to an art form. "Armstrong - The Singer" airs July 28. Future programs look at Armstrong's years in New Orleans, Chicago and Hollywood and his big band experiences and much more.

The Nebraska Public Radio Network broadcasts on the following frequencies: Alliance/91.1 FM; Bassett/90.3 FM; Chadron/91.9 FM; Columbus/90.3 FM; Culbertson/92.7;

Falls City/91.7 FM; Harrison/89.5 FM; Hastings/Grand Island/89.1 FM; Lexington/88.7 FM; Lincoln/90.9 FM; Max/93.3 FM; McCook/92.7 FM; Merriman/91.5 FM; Norfolk/89.3 FM and North Platte/91.7 FM.