‘Dracula’ haunts Lied
with eerie performance
By Liza Holtmeier
Staff writer
One hundred one years ago, Bram
Stoker created a villain who continues
to permeate our consciousness and
fears: Dracula.
The chillingly evil vampire has
vvwniv uu viul/uu
iment of humans’
attraction to the
macabre and
spawned the cre
ation of movies,
cults and countless
texts.
Tonight, the
Houston Ballet will
try to bring the
gothic world of
Dracula to life
through the art of1
classical ballet at
the Lied Center for
Performing Arts.
301 N. 12th St.
Choreographed to music by Franz
Liszt the ballet portrays Dracuia as his
essentially evil self and the embodi
ment of all that is ugly and dead in the
world. Two young lovers, who fall vic
tim to Dracula’s hypnotic power, con
trast his sinister nature through their
undying devotion to each other and
come to symbolize the beauty of life.
The Houston Ballet version takes
place entirely in Dracula’s home region
ofTransylvania. The first and third acts
occur m Dracula’s castle, while the sec
ond act transpires m a nearby village.
The Houston Ballet is not the first
company to attempt a production
revolving around the legendary vam
pire. From Atlanta to Kalamazoo,
Mich., various local ballet companies
have mounted annual productions of
the show to celebrate Halloween.
Because of the subject’s popularity,
the design team of the Houston Ballet
version was slightly intimidated during
the mitial production stages.
ty has just been sat
urated with images
of Dracula through
movies,” said
Thomas Boyd the
ballet’s set designer.
“We had so much to
compete with.”
However, the
Houston team
decided to discard
, previous interpreta
tions and work to
present its own
vision.
Ben Stevenson,
the ballet’s choreo
eraDher and the
company’s artistic director, distilled the
story to its key characters and conflicts
to make it more ballet-accessible.
The design team was left to provide
the proper environment for the produc
tion. Its initial reaction was fervent and
somewhat bewildered.
“We often jump on a horse and take
off in all directions when we’re given an
opportunity like this,” Boyd said. “But
you have to pay attention to detail.
Everything has to be right and logical.”
So, after a year of discussion, story
boards and models, the team had a pro
Please see DRACULA on 10
a
We have equal parts
of revulsion and
fascination to the
macabre in general
The idea of an anti
hero transcends time.
Thomas Boyd
set designer
Radio King makes appearance on '33rd Street
By Jason Hardy
Senior staff writer
This week the Nebraska ETV Network is
taking one of Nebraska’s premiere rockabilly
bands out of the smoky and beer-laden haze of
the bar scene and projecting it onto televisions
everywhere.
Radio King, known for its vintage rock ’n’
roll sound and on-stage craziness, is set to rule
more than the radio this week with a perfor
mance on NETV’s “33rd Street Sessions,” a
music series featuring up-and-coming local
and regional acts.
While Radio King has been together for
only a year and a half, its members have been
playing music all their lives. But when the
group recorded the “33rd Street Sessions” per
formance last July, it was a first for everybody.
n was way uinerem oecause n was in tne
day and nobody was allowed to bring booze
into the building and there was no smoke,” bass
player and vocalist Marty Stenhausen said.
“It was pretty nerve-racking, but exciting.”
Sue Maryott, co-director for “33rd Street
Sessions,” said Radio King handled a televised
atmosphere and studio like it was no different
than being in the bar.
“It’s hard to get a band fired up for this
because you’re bringing them into a pretty ster
ile environment,” Maryott said. “But I really
think their show is probably going to be the
best this year.”
John Helwick, Radio King’s vocalist, said
the show stayed true to the group’s style, as
well as their sound.
“The vintage instruments have a lot to do
with our sound,” Helwick said.
I
Courtesy Photo
ROCKABILLY ACT RADIO KING has been pleasing fans at local bars since it formed a year and a
half ago. Now fans can catch Radio King’s first televised concert on NETV’s “33rd Street
Sessions” on Friday.
“I think for the most part they kept each sig
nal as we gave it to them. They didn’t really add
any effects or anything to make it sound better
to them. They captured to a T what we gave
them.”
Following Radio King’s performance this
week will be a re-showing of a concert by the
American Indian blues band Indigenous,
which hails from South Dakota.
The show was filmed last year and the
group’s live album, “Blues From the Sky,” was
recorded during this performance.
Maryott said getting Indigenous to be a part
of the program was quite an achievement.
“I was really torn in bringing them in
because the basis of the show is Nebraska
bands, but I felt like they play here enough that
it was okay to bring them in,” Maryott said.
“Also, they're still from the heartland. It’s not
like I got someone from New York.”
The group was asked to play for an episode
of MTV’s “Road Rules” at the same time the
“33rd Street Sessions” show was to record, but
Maryott said she convinced Indigenous to opt
for Nebraska public television instead.
For Radio King, joining the ranks of bands
like Floating Opera, Mercy Rule and the many
other talented local groups who’ve been on
“33rd Street Sessions” was not only an honor,
but an ego booster as well.
“It’s a really nice thing to have as far as let
ting people know what you’re capable of and
what you’ve achieved,” Helwick said. “We
thought that was just the coolest thing. It’s a
really good feeling.”
Stenhausen said being asked to do an
episode of “33rd Street Sessions” was a sign
that the members of Radio King are on the
right track.
“We have very big aspirations, but they’re
realistic because we’ve all been playing for a
long time and we know the reality of the situa
tion.
“It seems like the bands that we respect
aren’t the big stadium bands, they’re not main
stream artists but they’re well-known in the cir
cles of people who know good music. To make
it to that level would be really great.”
The Radio King performance on “33rd
Street Sessions” airs Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. followed
by Indigenous’ performance at 9:30 p.m.