February 21, 1997




Musical Drama Graces Ross Screen

Set against the backdrop of the late '50s and early '60s music scene, Grace of My Heart follows Edna Buxton (To Die For's Illeana Douglas, above), who heads to the big city to be a singer. There she meets manager Joel Milner (John Turturro), who changes her name and helps make her a successful songwriter. Now known as Denise Waverly, she lives through a succession of men, the changing times and evolving music styles to finally come into her own as a singer and songwriter. The movie also features Matt Dillon.

Grace of My Heart is showing Feb. 21 through Feb. 22 and on Feb. 27 through March 2. 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 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 movie is rated R.

'Don Giovanni' Opens Feb. 27

The UNL School of Music will present Mozart's operatic masterpiece Don Giovanni, sung in English, at 8 p.m. Feb. 27 and 28 and 3 p.m. March 2 in Kimball Recital Hall.

William Shomos is the stage director and the University Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Tyler White.

Pamela Starr will give a pre-performance talk at 7:15 p.m. Feb. 27 in Room 119 Westbrook Music Building.

Tickets are $12, $6 students, and are available at the Lied Center box office, 472-4747.








Ballet Fiddles Dance of Cajun Saga

"Feu Follet," a celebration of dance inspired by the history and culture of the Louisiana Cajun people, will be performed by New York-based Elisa Monte Dance at 8 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

From variations on hot community jigs to more elaborate character-driven dance that is fluid, flexible and passionate, "Feu Follet" traces the 300-year history of the Acadian people. The odyssey follows the people from 17th century France through their migration to Nova Scotia and forced expulsion to the swamplands of southwestern Louisiana.

"Feu Follet" draws on literary sources, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's classic poem "Evangeline" with its star-crossed lovers Evangeline and Gabriel. The dance work incorporates the rich musical heritage of the Cajun people with jubilant choreography.

"The dancers are stunningly beautiful. They are athletic, strong and just a joy to watch. They perform incredible feats of dance. Breathtaking," says Charlotte Adams, director of the dance program at the UNL Department of Theater, Arts and Dance.

Often abstract, the eight-member Elisa Monte Dance also will perform two other pieces, the American premiere of "Kaamos" and the "Volkmann Suite." Now in its second decade, Elisa Monte Dance is recognized for its innovation, driving intensity and sensuality. The troupe was formed by Elisa Monte and David Brown, former soloists with the Martha Graham Dance Company.

A 15-minute educational pre-performance talk will be delivered by Adams at 7:05 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Steinhart Room of the Lied Center the evening of the performance.

Tickets for Elisa Monte Dance are $24, $20 and $16 and are half price for youth 18 and under and students with valid identification from UNL, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Doane College. The Lied Center box office is open for walk-in business weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 90 minutes before the performance. Phone orders may be placed by calling 472-4747 or 1-800-432-3231.

Elisa Monte Dance is a Mid-America Arts Alliance Program made possible by the Fund for Dance Touring of the National Endowment for the Arts with the Nebraska Arts Council.

Lied Center programming is supported by the Friends of Lied and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Mid-America Arts Alliance; and the Nebraska Arts Council. All events in the Lied Center are made possible entirely or in part by the Lied Performance Fund, which has been established in memory of Ernst F. Lied and his parents, Ernst M. and Ida K. Lied.

Conjunto Cespedes Performs Saturday

Combine classic Cuban rhythms with molasses-rich vocals, a taste of Brazil peppered with a little jazz and driving percussion out of West Africa and you've got Conjunto Céspedes. This Latin jazz group performs at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 in the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

The sound of the 12-member San Francisco Bay area band is an ethnic musical soup of danceable sounds from congas, timbales, chekeres and crave that offers up bedrock Afro-Caribbean beat.

Deborah Reinhardt, assistant professor of music education at the School of Music, will give a free, 15-minute pre-performance talk at 7:05 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Steinhart Room of the Lied Center.

Tickets for Conjunto Céspedes are $22, $18 and $14 and half price for youth 18 and under and students with valid identification from UNL, Nebraska Wesleyan University and Doane College. The Lied Center box office is open for walk-in business from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 90 minutes before the performance. Phone orders may be placed by calling 472-4747.

Dark Comedy Theme of Theatrix Double Feature

Theatrix will present a double feature, Cold Journey in the Dark and Endgame at 8 p.m. March 6-8 and at 8 and 10:30 p.m. March 7 in the Culture Center, 333 N. 14th St.

Cold Journey in the Dark, by Parke Godwin, is directed By Michael Rothmayer.

The darkly comedic play features an encounter between Jesus and Judas in a church 2,000 years after the crucifixion. The two discuss life, what went wrong the last time they met, and how things have gone ever since.

Endgame by Samuel Beckett, is directed by Nita Ritzke and will performed immediately following Cold Journey in the Dark.

Beckett's view of a numb, irrational world reduces life to games and games to life. Endgame is a condensed look at human relationships compressed by absurdity - explosive in result. Tedium becomes a game, regret becomes performance. Philosophy is reduced to slapstick. The imaginary mingles with the bizarre reality of four characters trapped in the final game of human survival.

Admission for the double feature is $3 at the door.

Barbara Hendricks Stars in Symphony Gala

World-renowned soprano Barbara Hendricks will be the featured artist when the Lincoln Symphony presents its Gala 70th Anniversary Concert at 7:30 p.m. March 1 in the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

Hendricks, an Arkansas native, received her Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and chemistry from the University of Nebraska at age 20. She also studied at Nebraska Wesleyan during her time in Lincoln. Later she earned her bachelor of music degree at the Juilliard School of Music in New York where she studied with the great mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel.

During her student years Hendricks sang with the choir of Saint Paul United Methodist Church, where the Lincoln Symphony gave its first concert in 1927. She was active in the musical life of the community, and attracted an enthusiastic group of supporters who provided a scholarship to the Aspen Music Festival. That same group of friends also helped finance her musical study in New York.

"I'm looking forward to performing again in Lincoln, before many of my friends who encouraged and supported my early career," Hendricks said. "Celebrating the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra's 70th Anniversary will make this occasion even more special."

The Lincoln Symphony's Gala 70th Anniversary Concert will feature Hendricks performing popular arias from Mozart operas and selections from operettas by Franz Lehar and Johann Strauss. In addition the orchestra will perform several overtures by Mozart and selections from Bizet's Carmen Suites.

Tickets are available from the Lied Center box office at 472-4747.

The Lied performance also will be shared across the state when "Lincoln Symphony with Barbara Hendricks: 70th Anniversary Concert" airs at 7:30 p.m. March 1 on the Nebraska ETV Network.

Kalabari Textiles, Student Designs Exhibited

Colorful clothing worn by Kalabari women in Nigeria and innovative student designs inspired by those authentic African textiles will be shown in a month-long exhibit at a gallery on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's East Campus.

Free and open to the public, the exhibition will be displayed Feb. 27 to March 27 at the Textiles, Clothing and Design Gallery at the College of Human Resources and Family Sciences in Home Economics Building, 35th and Holdrege streets. The display is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

The exhibit features authentic Kalabari textiles collected by Catherine Daly, an NU assistant professor of textiles, clothing and design who conducted field work in Abonnema, Nigeria, in the 1980s to examine changing forms of dress worn from childhood through adulthood. The exhibit includes photographs, mannequins and brilliantly-colored fabrics painted and dyed by student designers.

Daly will present a free public lecture regarding Kalabari dress at 5 p.m. March 4 in room 11 of the Home Economics Building.

Jazz Innovator El'Zabar in Residence March 3-20

Kahil El'Zabar will be in residence at UNL March 3-20 as part of the College of Fine & Performing Arts' Artist Diversity Residency Program.

The internationally renowned percussionist and composer is considered one of the most prolific jazz innovators of his generation. He grew up on Chicago's South Side where he heard music in the streets everyday - doo-wop, bebop, gospel, and the blues. Even though he is fully grounded in the history and music of his African American community, he has taken his studies deeper, ingeniously incorporating African music and instrumentation, producing a unique and wonderfully engaging sound.

El'Zabar's passionate love for music, other art forms and philosophy motivated him to pursue a thorough and diverse education. His formal training is highlighted with studies in Ghana, West Africa; the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Music) School of Music; and the Sun Drummer Institute. He acknowledges philosopher and master drummer Harold AtuQue Murray as his most significant mentor.

El'Zabar is an accomplished musician with mastery of a variety of instruments to his credit from the elementary - congas, bongos, African drums, shekere, gongs, and trap drums - to the esoteric - balaphon, marimba, sanza, kalimba, balaphon, and berimbau.

He has performed and recorded world-wide with such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Donny Hathaway, David Murray, Stevie Wonder, Henry Threadgill and Paul Simon, to name a few. El'Zabar is also a highly respected composer, band leader, and recording artist with two aggregations - the 20 year old Ethnic Heritage Ensemble featuring trombonist/percussionist Joseph Bowie and multi-reedist Edward Wilkerson, Jr.; and the Ritual Trio, featuring bassist Malachi Favors Maghostut and saxophonist Ari Brown.

His talents have also extended to the cinematic arena, scoring two feature films - "Mo' Money" (Columbia Pictures) and "How U Like Me Now" (Universal Pictures) - costarring in the feature film "Savannah," and starring in two independent films - "So Low But Not Alone," and "The Last Set."

As a community servant, El'Zabar has taught at both the University of Nebraska and the University of Illinois, and currently serves on several prestigious boards, and was recently selected "Artist of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune.

El'Zabar offers a broad range of opportunities for students and faculty to work with a guest artist who brings an extraordinary range of talents appropriate to a wide range of disciplines. A previous residency in 1994 included meetings with students in Architecture, Music Education, Teachers College, Business College, Honors Program, University Foundations Program, Textiles and Housing.

Although he is a musician, he can also address a wide variety of other issues far-ranging as violence, cultural sensitivity, writing poetry, the business of being a musician, fabric designs, creativity, rhythm in all aspects of life, music as a means of communication, and other topics.

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