Engaging
play sets
children’s
minds in
motion
By Jason Hardy
Staff Reporter
A giant banana cream pie, a
flying school bus and a group of
shrunken elementary children are
just a few of the amazing things
that are appearing in Lincoln this
weekend. *' •
At 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m.
Saturday, characters from the PBS
cartoon Scholastic’s Magic School
Bus will be live and in color at the
Lied Center for Performing Arts.
Scholastic’s Magic School Bus -
Live! is a spinoff of the animated
PBS series that began in 1994 and
has grown in popularity since.
The live show focuses on Ms.
Frizzly a redheaded science
teacher, who takes her students on
fun via, what else, a
magic school bus.
In the live performance,
“Arnold’s Favorite Field Trip,”
the cast of seven finds them
selves shrunk and trapped in a a
pantry. ■
Together, Ms. Frizzle, her ^
students and Liz the Lizard, their |
pet, build a bridge over a banana .
cream pie to escape. m
The show is intended for chil
dren ages four to 10 who get the
chance to interact with the adult
cast and solve problems.
Gillian Crane, who plays Ms.
Frizzle, said a lively audience was
important for the show’s success.
“We use a lot of audience par
ticipation to solve the problems
that we create during the show,”
Crane said.
She said the show had no prob
lems in getting kids excited either.
“I’ve never experienced such
f
an involved audience
in a theater produc
tion,” she said.
Getting into the
character
of a K
shrunk
en sci- far
ence teacher
ordinarily would '
be difficult, but an
audience full
of crazed
kids made
all the dif
ference, she A
said. j|
“They scream out M
some of the most amazing /£
things that inspire you to get
into that role and be that char- ^7
acter for them,” Crane said. \
She said the facial expres
sions of the kids in the first few
rows let her know how real the \
story was.
“They really believe that the j
banana cream supreme pie is the
size
of an ele
phant,” Crane
said.
T h e„
show’s incredi
ble visual
effects are backed
by nine songs by Peter
Luyre, creator of
the TV show’s
theme song.
Crane says the
kids usually
“scream along
with every song.”
Doug Kinsley,
the show’s company
manager, said the
production’s main
focus was to teach
children positive
lessons while they
thought they were
only having fun.
Scholastic’s Magic
School Bus - Live! is the
first in a series of specially
priced, family-oriented
shows at the Lied Center. The
series
is intended to give
children a chance to see profes
sional theater for a reasonable
price, said Norah Goebel-George,
director of marketing and media
relations for the Lied Center.
“The protocol for children
coming here is to have a good
time,” she said.
CFane said by the end of the
show she could always tell the kids
enjoyed it.
“Sometimes when we leave the
theater, we’ll see the kids singing
the songs,” Crane said. “That real
ly makes it for me.”
Prices for the performances are
$9 for adults, $4 for children and
$4.50 for college students. Call
the Lied Center box office at 472
4747 for reservations.
Photo courtesy of Andrew Baran
_ BALLET OMAHA, partnering with Dayton Ballet from Dayton, Ohio,
opens its season tonight with “Fire & Dance.”
Dancers showcase diverse talents
By Liza Holtmeier
Senior Reporter
The all-American girl meets a
Samurai’s geisha during Ballet
Omaha’s opening performance this
weekend.
Ballet Omaha, in partnership with
the Dayton Ballet from Dayton, Ohio,
presents “Fire & Dance” Friday,
Saturday and Sunday at the Orpheum
Theater, 409 S. 16th St., in Omaha. The
program features four contemporary
ballet pieces choreographed by various
Dayton Ballet members and associates.
It begins with the premiere of
“Dance Bytes.” Choreographed by
Dermot Burke, Dayton Ballet’s execu
tive and artistic director, the piece
explores the fast pace of entertainment
today. It features more than 20 musical
selections, ranging from romantic to
frenetic, said Derrick Wilder, Ballet
Omaha’s managing director.
“The piece seems to be controlled
by a remote control,” Wilder said. “The
speed is always changing. It’s a very
athletic piece.”
Burke said the piece dealt with the
question of instant gratification vs. sat
isfaction.
“We have a world of entertainment
at our fingertips,” Burke said. “Do you
stay involved, intrigued and partici
pate, or do you surf and change the
channel?”
The piece’s movement ranges from
neoclassical ballet to ballroom dancing
to rhythm and blues. Each scene lasts
less than a minute and represents a dif
ferent television channel.
Following “Dance Bytes” will be
“Bushido,” choreographed by former
Dayton Ballet dancer Jon Rodriguez.
Set to traditional Japanese music trans
lated for flute and harp, this duet
depicts a Samurai warrior as he
remembers his love for his geisha.
Beth Common, director of resource
development and marketing for the
Dayton Ballet, said the piece may be
the program’s most classical work.
it draws neaviiy on tastern influ
ences like tai chi and martial arts, but
the romantic tone and breathtaking
lifts make it seem more classical,”
Common said.
The third piece will be “Our Town,”
choreographed by Phillip Jerry with
music by Aaron Copeland. The ballet is
based on Thornton Wilder’s play of the
same name. It follows the life of Emily,
who falls in love with George and real
izes the everyday events in life make it
so wonderful.
Common said the company’s deci
sion to perform this ballet stemmed
from the group’s desire to present
works relevant to American audiences.
“We’re very big on dance for every
one,” Common said. “There is nothing
elitist about this piece. It’s not some
thing that will make husbands say, ‘Oh,
man! Snoozy time at the ballet! ’”
Along with the American story and
music, the movement is based on a
more American form of classical ballet
- one with grand, sweeping movement.
Dayton Ballet performs this piece
as a memorial to Jerry, who died in
1996, six months after the ballet’s New
York premiere.
The final piece will be “Fluctuating
Hemlines” choreographed by
American Repertory Ballet member
Septime Webre. Webre, a longtime
associate of the Dayton Ballet, choreo
graphed the version of “Romeo and
Juliet” that Dayton Ballet presented in
Omaha last year.
fluctuating Memlines begins
with dancers clad in 1960s costumes at
a high-society cocktail hpur. With
elaborate curtseys and “air kisses,”
they portray the effects of social con
straints. Soon, the characters begin to
reveal their inner selves, shedding the
bouffant wigs, dresses and blazers for
the freedom of unitards.
“The piece asks how much of what
we are is fashion and social fagade,”
Common said. “It deals with what hap
pens when we start shedding that
fagade.”
Set to an all-percussion score, the
piece uses daring, athletic choreogra
phy. As the score increases in intensity,
so does the movement s energy.
The performance runs Friday and
Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Adult tickets are $29.50, $25 and $18.
Tickets for seniors and children aged
12 and under are $ 19.50, $ 17.50 and
$12. Call the Ballet Omaha box office
at (402) 346-7332 for reservations.
)