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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1993)
Nebraskan Thursday, October 28,1 Akts@Entertainment Business offers cure for mall-sick Halloween apparel available at Ruby’s By Bryce Glenn Staff Reporter Second-hand clothing — it’s not just for budget shoppers anymore. “Shopp ing for second-hand cloth ing isn ’ t really a question of low income anymore,” said Jennifer Johnson, owner and manager of Ruby Begonia’s, 2322 O St. “I think it’s just kind of smarter.” “1 don’t think people are as eager to go mall shopping as they used to be,” she said. Ruby Begonia’s, which opened last April, offers a variety of men’s and women’s vin tage clothing from suits and dress clothes to jewelry and hats. Although most of the items in the store come from the 1940s and 1950s, modem streetwear such as jeans, boots and flannel also are sold. The former UNL student said she got most of her inventory from estate sales and auctions. She said the uniqueness of the styles, the quality tailoring of older clothes, and the low cost combined to make Ruby Begonia’s a great place for students to shop. A few items of vintage furniture also are on display, and Johnson said she planned to increase her stock in the future. “I think anyone can find something in here,” she said. Those still searching for a Halloween costume may also want to stop by, as Johnson has displayed clothing articles that can be used as to create devils, angels, gangsters or flappers. Although Ruby Begonia’s is Johnson’s first business venture, she said she was no stranger to the retail business. The 22-year-old began collecting older clothes about 10 years ago and her interest led her to her employment at several of Lincoln’s vintage clothing stores. Eventually, she worked her way up to the manager position at the Haymarket’s Sec ond wind. That is when she first kicked around the idea of opening her own store. “I never really planned todo it," she said. “But I had so much stuff of my own that I had collected forever and ever that 1 thought I better either go into business or seek thera py." Once Johnson made up her mind to act on the idea, it wasn’t long before it became Therrese Goodie tl/DN Jennifer Johnson owns Ruby Begonia’s, a vintage-ware clothing store at 2322 O St. She said the name of the store comes from a character por trayed in black vaudevilles. reality. She said it took her only a month to find space for the store, and a month after that she was ready to open. Johnson, who was born and raised in Lincoln, said the city was unique among most campus towns in that it was not teem ing with small, student-oriented businesses. She added, however, that recent develop ments had been encouraging. “It’s nice to see places like A Novel Idea and Eyes of the World opening," she said. “There’s a lot of smaller, younger busi nesses cropping up all over the place, and I’d like to see them be successful because it makes Lincoln a more interesting place for students.” Philharmonic to take stage at Lied Center Concert preview By Anne Steyer Senior Reporter Friday night, the Lied Center for Performing Arts will be filled with the sounds of the War saw Philharmonic Orchestra. Renowned pianist Ruth Laredo will perform with the orchestra, which will be led by conduc tor and music director Kazimierz Kord. Kord, a native of Poland, has served as the Philharmonic’s music director since 1977. For the last 30 years he has made numerous guest appearances with some of the world’s finest orchestras. Laredo, a three-time Grammy winner, has been hailed as “America’s first lady of the piano” and has collaborated frequently with the Tokyo String Quartet. The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra ranks among the finest ensembles in Europe. The orchestra was formed in 1901 and achieved success early. By the beginning ofWorld World I, it had risen to prominence as one of Poland’s leading musical institutions. Between the two world wars, the orchestra performed with many of the greatest conduc tors and soloists of the era, including Pablo Casals, Vladimir Horowitz and Igor Stravinsky. The orchestra lost nearly half its members with the advent of World War II, but was re established during the 1947-48 season. Seven years later, the Warsaw Philharmonic was hon ored with the title “National Philharmonic Or chestra of Poland.” Friday night’sprogram includespieces from composers Sergey Rachmaninoff, Sergey Prokofiev and Andrzej Panufnik. Panufnik’s powerful works were banned in his native Poland until 1976. In 1990 he re ceived an award for his contribution to Polish culture. Panufnik’s Symphony No. 10 was commis sioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1988 for its 100th anniversary. Following Panufnik’s Symphony No. 10 on the program is Rachmaninoff’s Concerto for Piano No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1. Russian composer and pianist Rachmaninoff was a 19th-century composer who wrote lush, romantic epics. There will be a short intermission before the orchestra Orchestra returns to the stage to per form selections from Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.” The performance begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the Lied Center Box Office. Battle between the generations highlighted in ‘Tango’ theater preview By Anne Steyer Senior Reporter With a steady beat of political and social turmoil, together with a few dips of comedy ami drama, “Tango” opens Thursday night in the UNL Temple Studio Theatre. Tne play, written by Polish play wright Siawomir Mrozek, represents the second show of the University Theatre Arts and Dance 1993-94 sea son. The action of the play revolves around an unusual family. The con stantly changing directions of the tan f[o — the dance — are the metaphor or this action. Arthur is a conservative son who is appalled by his parents’ wild ways. He seeks a return to the rigid ways of old. “You’ve poisoned the generations before you and after you with your freedom! No order, no sense of reali ty, no decency, no initiative ...he says to his parents. H is mother Eleanor's actions seem to substantiate his viewpoint. She has an affair with Eddie, a vulgar hooli gan, while Arthur’s father Stomil looks the other way. Stomil’s actions also are peculiar. He passes the time writing avant garde plays while Arthur* s grandmoth er loses the grocery money playing cards. Arthur’s dream of a solid, orderly family seems impossible to realize. He decides the only way to re-estab lish tradition is to marry his cousin Ala. Julie Hagemeier, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln theatre arts gradu ate student and company manager for the Nebraska Repertory Theatre, said the play straddled the line between comedy and drama. “There are moments of comedy and tragedy blended together,’’ she said. “You find yourself laughing and then wondering why because it’s trag ic.” The generation gap is a thin dis guise for Mrozek’s intricate mix of political commentary and social sat ire. “1 think it is very thought-provok ing,” Hagemeier said. “It challenges how we view our roles in the world.” This, she said, is due to the conflict of ideology between Arthur and his parents. “It’s kind of a reversal, because normally you’d think the child is the liberal one, but here he wants to bring form and order back into the family,” Hagemeier said. The production is directed by Alexander Gelman, UNL assistant professor of theatre arts. Assistant Professor Dee Hughes set the dance choreography, while Assistant Pro fessor Paul Steger choreographed the fight scenes. Two UNL fine arts graduate stu dents contributed to the look of the production. Set designs were done by Tom Watson, and costume design was by Christine Wendell-Chapman. Marsha Mueller, a UNL theatre arts undergraduate, provided the lighting design. The cast is made up almost entirely of fine arts graduate students: Jonas Cohen (Arthur), Mark Klemetsrud (Stomil), Kristi Covey (Eleanor), Ja son Richards (Eddie), Julie Fitzgerald (Arthur’s grandmother, Eugenia), and Jeremy Kendall (Arthur’s Uncle Eu gene.) Michelle Eckley, a freshman theatre major, rounds out the cast as Cousin Ala. The show opens Oct. 28, and runs Oct. 29,30 and Nov. 2-6. All perfor mances begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the The atre/Dance box office on the first floor of the Temple Building. Janies