September 11, 2003

'Rose Pedal,' a Tour de Lincoln art project by Jane Stricker, is now at home in the lobby of the Lied Center for Performing Arts. Photo by Tom Slocum.

New 'Rose Pedal' bike blooms at Lied Center

A piece of artwork from the Tour de Lincoln city art project that was vandalized in early May, just weeks after being installed, and reconstructed by Lincoln Public School students and teachers has been installed on campus.

Jane Stricker's bike, "Rose Pedal," was given a new home in the lobby of the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Aug. 29.

LPS students, teachers and Stricker created more than 1,300 roses to replace the ceramic roses that were smashed off the bike frame during the vandalism.

Safety of the repaired "Rose Pedal" bike was a concern for its reinstallation as part of Tour de Lincoln. Charles Bethea, executive director of the Lied Center, said, "We are happy to be able to support the efforts of the Lincoln Arts Council by hosting 'Rose Pedal's' return to public display."

"Rose Pedal" is visible inside the Lied lobby. Anyone interested in a closer look may visit the Lied Center during business hours when a Lied Center member can assist them.

Stricker's bike will be on display at Haymarket Park for the Tour de Lincoln's Last Stop event on Oct. 2 and for purchase at the public auction on Oct. 3.

Broadway composer to read, present master class

The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Department of Theatre Arts will present a free reading of a new musical being developed by Broadway composer Michael John LaChiusa at 8 p.m. Sept. 26 at Kimball Recital Hall.

The musical, C'est L'Amour, features songs by LaChiusa and concept by LaChiusa and Daniel Henning. It is an evening of songs written for the theater with the setting of a bridal suite where a newlywed couple prepare to spend their first evening as husband and wife. The reading is a free, ticketed event with open seating.

UNL also will host a Meet the Composer Event with LaChiusa at 11 a.m. Sept. 27 at Kimball Recital Hall, where the audience can participate in a question-and-answer session. LaChiusa also will offer a master class on the performance of his compositions at 2 p.m. Sept. 27 at Kimball.

A ticket covering both events on Sept. 27 is $10. Tickets may be purchased at the door one-half hour in advance or reserved by emailing Brad Buffum at <bbuffum1@unl.edu>.

For more information, visit: <www.unl.edu/pr odmgr/LaChiusa/invitation.html>.

University Theatre sets season

Tickets for University Theatre's 103rd season of productions are now on sale. This season's productions:

• William Shakespeare's classic story of young love, Romeo and Juliet. The production directed by assistant professor Virginia Smith will begin at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9-11 and Oct. 15-17 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 19 in Howell Theatre.
• An uplifting, honest and provocatively funny play by Tom Griffin, The Boys Next Door, directed by associate professor Harris Smith. The play tells the story of four men, all intellectually disabled, supervised by Jack, their social worker. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30, 31, Nov. 1, 5-8.
• A frantic and romantic French farce by Georges Feydeau, A Flea in Her Ear, directed by professor Tice L. Miller. Determined to catch her husband having an affair, a young wife enlists her friend to assist in writing an anonymous letter requesting a rendezvous. A series of misunderstandings ensues. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20-22 and Dec. 3-6 in Howell Theatre.
• Paula Vogel's 1998 Pulitzer Prize winner, How I Learned To Drive, directed by Virginia Smith. The play will begin at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19-21 and 25-28 in Howell Theatre. Vogel takes audiences on the journey of Li'l Bit and her Uncle Peck through a series of flashbacks and remembrances. The playwright peels back the many layers of abuse exposing the ultimate understanding that strengthens Li'l Bit's ability to forgive and survive. This play contains mature themes.
• The season concludes with the musical Guys and Dolls, a joint production of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, the School of Music, the Department of Theatre Arts and the Lied Center of Performing Arts. The musical centers on notorious gambler Nathan Detroit, who bets fellow gambler Sky Masterson that he can't make the next girl he sees fall in love with him. The next girl he sees happens to be Sarah Brown, a pure-at-heart Salvation Army-type reformer. Performances are at the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. April 8 and 9, and at 2 and 7 p.m. on April 10.

Four-show season tickets (not including Guys and Dolls), on sale through Oct. 19, are $42, with $34 for faculty/staff and senior citizens. Individual tickets are $14, $12 faculty/staff and senior citizen, and $10 student/youth. Tickets for Guys and Dolls range from $10 to $30.

Tickets may be purchased from the Lied Center Box Office and one hour before performances in the designated theatre lobby. Call 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231.

Theatrix plans fall lineup

UNL Theatre's second stage, Theatrix, has announced its fall semester slate of shows.

The season begins with Standing By by Norman Barasch, directed by undergraduate Jeff Nathan. A flirtation between two travelers teaches them about love and courage. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and 28 and 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Studio Theatre.

The Blue Room, adapted by David Hare from La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler, is the second offering. It is directed by undergraduate Jason Slaughter, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 and 25 and 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Oct. 24 in Studio 301. The story tells of encounters between five women and five men.

Finishing the semester is The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, directed by undergraduate Tom Oldham. This backstage comedy portrays a woman trying to merge worthy causes with her art as an actress. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 and 13 and 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Studio Theatre.

Theatrix is run by students within the Department of Theatre Arts with a council of advisers. Admission to all productions is $5 with tickets available at the door only.

Smithsonian exhibit comes to Lentz

Through My Father's Eyes: The Filipino American Photographs of Ricardo Ocreto Alvarado (1914-1976), a collection of 50 rare photographs organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, will open at the UNL Lentz Center for Asian Culture on Sept. 20 and remain on view through Nov. 16.

Through My Father's Eyes, created by The Alvarado Project, is an exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program in collaboration with the National Museum of American History, Behring Center. It is organized for travel by SITES.

Ricardo Alvarado immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 1928 as part of the early 20th century wave of immigrants from that country known as the Manong generation. During World War II, he served in the Pacific with the U.S. Army's 1st Filipino Regiment. When the war came to an end, Alvarado supported his photography by working as a civilian cook for the Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco.

Alvarado began documenting postwar Filipino American life in San Francisco and surrounding communities. After Alvarado's death in 1976, his daughter, Janet, discovered his photographs. Janet Alvarado serves as the executive director of The Alvarado Project, which documents and preserves more than 3,000 of his images of post-World War II Filipino American communities.

SITES has shared the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 50 years. Exhibition descriptions and tour schedules are available online <www.sites.si.edu>.

Through my Father's Eyes is the Lentz Center's first show focusing on Asian Americans as its subject. Asian American visitors attending the show are invited and encouraged to share their experiences with the center by contributing to the journal at the gallery's visitor table.

The Lentz Center is at 1155 Q St. in the lower level of the Hewit Place building. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sundays. For more information, visit <www.unl.edu/lentz>.

Sculptors' work opens Sept. 15 at Eisentrager-Howard

The work of sculptors Julia Day and Barry Badgett will be on display at the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery in Richards Hall from Sept. 15 to Oct. 16. An opening reception will be from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 15 in the gallery.

Day is an adjunct faculty member at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and Western Iowa Technical and Community College in Sioux City, Iowa. She received her MFA in sculpture from Louisiana State University and her BFA in sculpture from the University of South Dakota.

Badgett is associate professor and head of sculpture media at Wichita State University. He received his MFA in sculpture from Syracuse University and his BFA in sculpture with a minor in painting from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.

Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.

A scene from Befriended by the Enemy, featuring the Bunraku-style puppets used by the In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre.

Befriended tells story of love defeating hate

In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre will present Befriended by the Enemy, a story based on true events that happened in Lincoln, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at Kimball Recital Hall using Bunraku-style puppets.

In 1991, Cantor Michael Weisser and his wife, Julie, began receiving hate-filled phone calls from Larry Trapp, a grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan of Nebraska and Nazi sympathizer. The Weissers responded with messages of their own: kindness and compassion. Eventually, Trapp renounced his former ways and, when he learned he was dying, he moved into the Weissers' home until his death in 1992.

The performance is recommended for ages 12 and older.

The Rev. Dr. Normal Leach, executive director of the Lincoln Interfaith Council, will give a pre-performance talk before curtain at Kimball Recital Hall.

Tickets for this performance are $30; tickets are half price for college students and those 18 and younger. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747.

Other offerings

A community dialogue about the ideas expressed in Befriended by the Enemy will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Lied Center's Steinhart Room.

On Sept. 17, members of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and Lied Center staff will conduct a workshop at the Lied Center for Lincoln Public Schools' theater students.

Dallas Brass added to Lied Season

The Dallas Brass quintet has been added to the Lied Center's 2003-4 season. The concert will be March 25 at Kimball Recital Hall. This performance replaces the Chestnut Brass Company.

Founded in 1983, the Dallas Brass combines a traditional brass quintet with percussion, creating a musical group with a repertoire ranging from classical masterpieces to Dixieland.

Tickets for this performance are $32; tickets are half price for college students and those 18 and younger. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747.

Anyone with tickets to the Chestnut Brass Company should call the Lied box office for information.

Music of Wolf to be on stage

The School of Music will present faculty artist William Shomos and guest artist John Wustman at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11 in the Kimball Recital Hall.

Shomos, UNL director of opera, and Lucinda Sloan, professor of music at Midland Lutheran College, will sing songs by German art-song composer Hugo Wolf (1860-1903). Accompanying them at the piano will be John Wustman, who has accompanied such singers as Luciano Pavarotti, Maria Callas and others.

Tickets will be $5 general admission and $3 students and senior citizens at the door.

Art group to tour Kansas City

The Nebraska Art Association will sponsor a day trip Oct. 16 to view the Marsden Hartley exhibition at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and contemporary art at the Kemper Museum and Kansas City art galleries.

The cost for the day trip is $65. Registration deadline is Sept. 23.

For information, call Monica Babcock at 472-2461 or <mbabcock1@unl.edu>.

Statewide tells Bosnia stories

This week on Statewide, reporter Mike Tobias' "Perspective" segment focuses on life at Camp McGovern in Bosnia, where Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers helping the NATO peacekeeping mission are stationed. This is the second of a three-part series and features Josh Harris, a UNL student, and others. It will air at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12 on Nebraska ETV.

The third episode in this series looks at the nation-building efforts in Bosnia. It features UNL political science professor Patrice McMahon and will air at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19.

Coming to the Ross

These films will run Sept. 12-25 at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Check the calendar for times.

Man on the Train tells of two men ­ a possible bank robber and a sedentary poetry teacher ­ who change each other's views of life. Rated R.

Capturing the Friedmans tells the true story of the Friedmans, a family torn apart when the father was discovered with child pornography. Not rated.