Anthem: An American Road Story, opening at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater on Nov. 20, is a captivating cross-country adventure brought to life by two young women who took to the road to explore a new definition of the American dream.
When 26-year-olds Shainee Gabel and Kristin Hahn quit their Hollywood jobs, packed up a borrowed car, and hit the road, it was with the deeply felt conviction that somewhere, shrouded in the din of talk shows and tabloid headlines, they would discover the real America, alive and well in all of its regions and demographics.
Armed with a couple of videocameras, a laptop computer, and the names and phone numbers of over 200 Americans they wished to interview, they embarked on a journey that would take them from historic New Orleans to the rainforests of Washington, from the skyscraper-lined avenues of New York City to the dusty roads of the Great Plains. Spending an afternoon at the White House with George Stephanopoulos, driving recklessly through the back roads of Aspen with Hunter S. Thompson, hanging out with Michael Stipe in a New York City hotel room, and talking to people at gas stations and diners along the way, Gabel and Hahn capture a rich tapestry of ideas and cultures in one powerful voice they call Anthem. It is a unique, optimistic chorus that speaks of freedom, hope, and vision as we enter into the 21st century.
Anthem is showing on Nov. 20 to 23. Screenings are at 7 and 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday; at 1, 3, 7, and 9 p.m. on Saturday; and at 3, 5, 7, and 9 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $6; $5 for students; and $4 for senior citizens, children, and members of the Friends of the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater.
The presentation of this program at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater is made possible, in part, with the support of the Nebraska Arts Council, a state agency.
It's been nearly 20 years since his death, but the music of jazz legend Charles Mingus lives on, thanks to the Mingus Big Band. This 14-piece ensemble appears for an 8 p.m. concert on Nov. 18, at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.
The Mingus Big Band is devoted to the vast repertoire that bassist and composer Mingus left behind when he died in 1979 at the age of 56. One of the leading figures in 20th century American music, Mingus was a virtuoso bass player as well as an accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer.
Influenced by legends like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory and Lionel Hampton, Mingus developed his reputation in the 1950s, recording with the likes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Art Tatum and Ellington. By the mid 1950s, he had formed his own publishing and recording companies to protect his growing body of original compositions. His music epitomized human emotion: joy, sensitivity, despair. He recorded more than 100 albums and wrote more than 300 scores, including "Epitaph," a monumental 4,000-measure composition that was discovered and premiered posthumously, and "The Mingus Dances," an hour program choreographed by Alvin Ailey.
Mingus taught at the State University of New York-Buffalo and toured extensively worldwide until his diagnosis in 1977 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Although paralyzed, he continued to compose, singing his final works into a tape recorder.
Mingus' widow, Sue, organized the Mingus Big Band in 1991 to preserve her husband's works. The 14-piece band made up of alumni of Mingus' many ensembles as well as rising stars is an institution in New York City, where it plays every Thursday night at the Time Cafe in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. The band is a headliner at jazz festivals worldwide and a 1996 recording, "Gunslinging Birds," was nominated for a Grammy while winning rave reviews from jazz critics.
Reviewers have praised the band's past performances with superlatives like volatile and explosive. Mingus once said he never heard any band perform his music as well as he heard it in his head. The Mingus Big Band strives to make sure that Charles Mingus, no matter where his spirit resides, hears his music played with excellence and emotion.
Tickets for the 8 p.m. performance are $24, $20 and $16. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Doane College students and youth 18 and younger with proper identification can purchase tickets for half-price.
Target "Treatseats" Discount Coupons are available at participating Target stores.
Call the Lied Box Office at (402) 472-4747 or toll free, 1 (800) 432-3231 for ticket availability. Box Office hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. On performance weekdays, the Box Office is open from 11 a.m. through the first intermission. For evening performances on weekends, the Box Office opens at 3 p.m.
Two 15-minute pre-performance talks beginning at 55 minutes and 30 minutes before curtain in the Lied Center's Steinhart Room are presented as part of Lied's ongoing education and outreach programming.
This Lied Center presentation of Mingus Big Band is made possible in part with generous support from the Berman Music Foundation.
Experience the "extraordinary" at 8 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Great Plains Room of the East Union. Mentalist Craig Karges offers a whirlwind of mystery, psychology and humor using total audience participation. The psychic magician can make tables "walk" and levitate into the air. You can have your mind read and predictions made about your future.
Karges was named Entertainer of the Year by the Psychic Entertainers Association. He has been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and CNN's Larry King Live.
For more information, contact University Programming Council at 472-8146.
The next Theatrix production is Sylvia by A.R. Gurney. It will be performed at 8 p.m. Nov. 20 and 21 and at 7 and 10 p.m. on Nov. 22 in the Studio Theatre, third floor of the Temple Building.
Sylvia is about a man (Greg) who loves a woman (Kate) and brings home a dog (Sylvia). Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan from the suburbs. Greg's career as a financial trader is unsatisfactory, while Kate's career, as a public school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park - or that has found him - bearing only the name "Sylvia" on her name tag. A street-smart mixture/mutt, Sylvia becomes a major bone of contention between Greg and Kate.
Greg is played by first-year M.F.A. Kristopher Gordon Kling, a Kansas native. Amy Rafa, also a first-year M.F.A. hailing from Chicago, is Kate. Amy Jirsa, a junior theatre major from Connecticut, "becomes" Sylvia, and Christopher Wachholz, a junior theatre major from Nebraska, is a triple-threat as Tom, Phyllis and Leslie. Director Kathy Dudley is a Ph.D. student in theatre. Behind the scenes, Daryn J. Warner, a Nebraska native and sophomore theatre major, is the stage manager. He is assisted by Erik Diaz, light board operator, and Joe Lupo, sound board operator. Lighting design was done by Ted Tyrell.
Although a comedy, this play contains language which may not be suitable for children
Tickets are $3 and can be purchased at the door.
Students for Camp Heartland in conjunction with the UNL Department of Theatre and Dance will present The Yellow Boat at 7 p.m. on Nov. 13-16, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Nov. 16, in the W.S.I. Hall, 1430 N. 10th St. Tickets are $5 at the door.
The Yellow Boat is the story of Benjamin, an 8-year-old boy who has hemophilia and contracts HIV in a blood transfusion. This true story, written by David Saar, celebrates the life of his son Benjamin who died in 1987 of AIDS-related complications. It is not, however, a play about death. The Yellow Boat celebrates Benjamin's life, imagination, relationships, and focuses on his unique ability to see the joy in life and celebrate its every moment. The Yellow Boat is a show for children, adults and all those in-between. Proceeds from this production will benefit Camp Heartland and the Nebraska AIDS project.
Camp Heartland is the nation's largest summer camping program devoted to the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS. Through charitable donations, the Camp Heartland Project subsidizes 100 percent of the transportation and camp costs for the children. Camp helps them fight the isolation which often accompanies the disease. But the benefits extend well beyond a week at camp. Camp Heartland gives each child a lifetime advocacy, a chance to normalize their life, and the chance to step away from secrecy.
Students for Camp Heartland is a student initiated organization designed to raise money for Camp Heartland as it raises awareness about AIDS on campuses nationwide. UNL began its own chapter of Students for Camp Heartland in 1997.
For more information contact Timothy Scholl at 472-2072 or Eva Nekovar, 436-9860.
Raag will present an Indian classical vocal music concert by Veena Sahasrabuddhe accompanied in the Harmonium by Pramod Marathe on the tabla by Bharat Kamat and vocal support by Jayanti Sahasrabuddhe at 7 p.m. Nov 20, in the Unitarian Church.
Tickets are $10 for non-students and $5 for students. For more
information
call Bidisha at 420-6360.
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