Courtesy Photo
“DANCERS,” a pastel
and charcoal drawing,
is just one of the works
by Edgar Degas that will
be shown at Omaha’s
Joslyn Art Museum
beginning Saturday. The
exhibition, “Degas and
the Little Dancer,” fea
tures 55 woiks by the
French impressionist.
Joslyn exhibit to feature celebrated Degas sculpture
By Jason Hardy
Assignment Reporter
In 1881 a little girl made some French peo
ple very mad. That same little girl is now mak
ing some Nebraskans very happy.
From Saturday through May 3, the Joslyn
Art Museum is presenting 55 woiks by impres
sionist artist Edgar Degas. On display will be
one of the most celebrated sculptures of the
modern age, Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged
Fourteen.”
The first time Degas exhibited the sculpture
was in Paris in 1881. Then the “Little Dancer”
was made out of wax with a real fabric tutu, hair
wig and ballet shoes. It immediately caused
quite a commotion among art critics because its
depiction of an ordinary girl broke with the tra
dition of using sculpture to portray heroic or
mythic subject matter. Also, the subject of the
piece is a ballet dancer. In the late 1800s student
dancers, known as “rats,” were closely associat
ed with prostitution.
Claudia Einecke, associate curator of
European art for the Joslyn, said Degas took a
bold step with “Dancer.”
“As a work of sculpture it broke with all the
norms and traditions,” Einecke said. “You either
hated it or you loved it”
Einecke said both the artistic and social
implications of the piece made it hard to handle
for most people. However, some art critics saw
it as a valuable piece of modem art.
Eventually the sculpture was cast in plaster,
and about 20 bronze replicas were made. One of
those will be on display at the Joslyn, which also
owns the plaster cast used to make the bronze
statues. •
Einecke said Nebraskans were lucky to get
the opportunity to witness such a significant
piece of art.
“It was an important, pivotal piece of mod
em sculpture,” Einecke said. “Its existence has
shaped the way our pace has developed.”
Jennifer Rubin, public relations associate
for the Joslyn, said the exhibition offered a wide
selection of Degas’ works, and the Joslyn put a
lot of emphasis on education for this show.
“It’s probably one of our most important
shows,” Rubin said. “In addition to us being
able to bring 55 Degas works to Nebraska, it’s
also educational.”
She said related events to the exhibition
were: a lecture by Richard Kendall, curator for
the Degas show, a ballet performance by Ballet
Omaha, a Degas video screening and a two-day
symposium examining impressionism. Also,
the Joslyn is offering three-course dinners in
Joslyn’s cafe before or after viewing the Little
Dancer. Cost for the dinner is $18.95 per per
son.
Rubin said she was anxious to start the show.
“We’re thrilled and very excited about it,”
Rubin said. “I think this is probably one of the
biggest shows the Joslyn has ever done.”
Einecke said she hoped the show would
appeal to more than just people who study art.
“I don’t think this is only for scholars,”
Einecke said. “We all think we know Degas.
He’s on T-shirts, coffee cups and magnets, but I
don’t think we’ve had the chance to really exam
ine him.” > /
The Joslyn Art Museum is located at 2200
Dodge St. in Omaha. For more information call
the museum at (402) 342-3300.
Remodeled local dinner theater
now serves up stand-up comedy
By Bret Schulte
Senior Reporter
It’s not too tough to And things to laugh
at in Lincoln: attempts to keep smart kids in
the state, lines outside The Brass Rail and
Stars hockey; to name a few.
Now there are even more.
O’Mally’s Restaurant, Bar and Comedy
Club, 245 N. 13th St., has recreated itself
from the Downtown Dinner Theater at
Huey’s to serve as Lincoln’s only consistent
source for stand-up comedy.
Owner Mike Miller said the conversion
of the dinner theater to primarily a comedy
club took place last October, about five
months after he bought it.
The venue has always featured comedy,
but was primarily known as a dinner theater,
which, Miller explained, was too expensive
to continue.
He opted for featuring comedy on a reg
ular basis because of its low overhead cost
and greater crowd attraction.
“The cost was just really high for dinner
theater, between $3,000 to $6,000,” Miller
said. “We’ve had a lot more success with
comedy. It fits into the scheme of things
down here better.”
The dinner theater will not be complete
ly removed from O’Mally’s schedule (a
murder-mystery is penciled in for March),
but the new emphasis on comedy is
designed to enhance the bar and pool-room
atmosphere of the three-room chib.
“(In addition to the comedy club) we
have a pool room with 10 tables and a big
screen TV, and dance room with a DJ every
Friday and Saturday,” Miller said.
Comedy chibs are springing up all over
the place, said local comedian Darrin
Meyer, who can frequently be seen at
O’Mally’s.
“(Comedy) is in a bit of resurgence
now,” Meyer said. “I think people like live
entertainment and are sick of watching
cable.”
It was partly because of this comedy
comeback that Miller decided to refocus his
club.
“Comedy is on the upswing right now,”
he said. “People are looking for something
different to do.”
O’Mally’s seems to be the perfect place,
offering plenty of pool, live bands, dancing,
occasional theater and comedy at least
every other weekend.
a
I think people
like live entertainment
and are sick
of watching cable.”
DakrinMeyeb
stand-up comedian
For a relatively young club, O’Mally’s
regularly features comedians seen on HBO
and Showtime, including Marie Gross, who
wrote for “Politically Incorrect” and Jeff
Foxworthy.
This weekend, Bud Dingman, of HBO
and Showtime fame, takes the mike, fol
lowed by local band Gigglebox on Saturday.
The combination of drink, laughter and
music seems to be going over pretty well,
said Miller.
“Our last two shows have sold out, and
we’re getting a lot more calls early for reser
vations,” he said. “It's a great change from
movies or the normal bar scenes.”