The Tufts campus played host to several diversely enriching artistic ventures over the past year, from comedy shows to dance presentations -and, of course, an appearance by The Entertainer himself, Billy Joel. To honor these efforts, the incoming and outgoing members of the Daily Arts staff choose their picks (in the order in which they occured) for the Best of Tufts Arts 2001-2002 .
Night of the living dead...
Torn Ticket II brought a show back from the dead this past fall, breathing new life into the wonderfully zany musical comedy Zombie Prom. The original production, which premiered off-Broadway in 1997, was thrust into oblivion after critics panned its superficial treatment of deeper underlying themes.But the blatant stereotypes inherent in the script are precisely what made Torn Ticket's production work, as it combined the best of Grease, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Saved by The Bell, and everything in between. It didn't matter that the lyrics rhymed 'wax' with 'nymphomaniacs' or declared that "everything morphs when your boyfriend's a corpse" because they matched perfectly with the ridiculous nature of the show as a whole.
Under the creative direction of senior Mike Robb, the cast captured the story with just the right touch of parody to add an edge to the traditional boy-meets-girl boy-loses-girl musical theater plot. Though clearly an unusual choice for a college musical theater production, Zombie Prom provided both theater aficionados and non-fans alike with a weekend filled with entertaining performances.
- Lauren Phillips
All that jazz...
Though Cohen Auditorium was only filled half to capacity, this March's jazz show offered the self select few attendees a magical display of what live music is supposed to be. The evening's opener, the Aaron Goldberg Trio, set the night's tone, inciting just the right amount of foot tapping and head bopping to get things going.Then Payton on trumpet was joined by his pianist, bassist, drummer, and saxophone wizard Tim Warfield . Their presentation of a short but sharp set balanced the individuals' talents with soaring solos suggesting influences of Davis, Coltrane, and Payton's proclaimed favorite, the great Louis Armstrong.
Tunes like "Magic Bag," "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" and the closer, "One for Shirley" evoked an array of emotions presented through alternating styles - some fast, chipper, and cacophonous, others delicate, soothing, and heartfelt. Below it all, the performers' efforts found a rock solid foundation in impressive collaboration that hit the mark like a well-oiled machine.
- Rob Lott
Once upon a time...
Coinciding with its return to the Broadway stage, the acclaimed musical Into the Woods was performed in Cohen Auditorium this spring. Torn Ticket II presented Stephen Sondheim's dark perception of a fantasy world of happily-ever-after, interweaving the stories of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood along with other familiar fairy tales.
The first act takes the audience down the typical storybook path, complete with the happy ending. But the light mood of the show dissipates in the second act, when Sondheim ventures into the woods once again, this time raising issues of morals, stereotypes and death.
The actors in this spring major production deftly maneuvered their way through Sondheim's maze of complexity. Senior Kate Goldberg, who played the Witch, did an impressive job of carrying a large portion of the show. Other standout performances came from Suzanne Corbett as the Baker's Wife, and Mike Robb and Dan Balkin, who played the two princes.
- Salima Appiah-Kubi
Au natural...
Earth Day itself was a bit of a washout, but ECO's Earthfest was perhaps one of the most welcome innovations in Tufts' performing arts scene this year. Despite scheduling restrictions imposed by classes and the TCU presidential debate, ECO assembled a nine-hour show that featured eight Tufts bands, all performing for free to support the day's causes.
ECO representatives manned booths throughout the campus center, serving "eco-friendly food," and selling notebooks made from discarded printer paper, while a veritable Who's Who of Tufts musicians performed downstairs.
Never before has any one event even attempted to unite more than a handful of
Tufts bands, and Earthfest did as much for the cause of Earth Day as it did in furthering Tufts' knowledge of its own very fertile music scene.
- Rob Bellinger
Six degrees and rising...
While there were many worthwhile productions over this past school year, none were as intricate or ultimately moving as Luke Jorgenson's interpretation of John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation. Funny, confusing, bold and timely all at once, the play is a real challenge -and our Drama Department met that challenge with aplomb. The play is all about connections. Based on a true story, the play involves several members of the upper-upper class community in Manhattan being swindled by an outrageous, brilliant, pathological-lying gay man named Paul. He staggers into the Kittredge home one night, asking for help and saying he knows their children.Many seniors gave great final performances (especially Allison Clear as the materialistic Ouisa Kittredge) to cap off their training throughout four years of Tufts theater. The up and coming sophomores (Graham Outerbridge as her husband Flan) and freshmen (especially Kevin Miller) also made strong impressions, alluding to for moving, tragic, crazy, and great things to come. All that, and it was funny too.
- Taylor Shann
Out of the box...
Granted, the performers don't say much, but Hype -Tufts' first and only mime troupe- deserves to be recognized for its efforts. In the few years that it has existed, it has managed to attract some amazing talent and create their own form of non-traditional mime theater. The spring show this semester ran for just over an hour, yet still managed to run the full gamut of emotions.The opening, titled "Silence," was a fitting piece for a mime troupe. It centered on the different ways in which people prevent others from voicing their thoughts and ideas, from domestic violence to simple insults. With such success in so short a time, we can only hope for bigger and better things in years to come.
- Alex Moerlein
