Arts
delicate
subjects
Human emotion is central theme
in three-woman performance
BY CRYSTAL K.W1EBE
" • \ *
“Giving Up the Ghost” is a play that
explores love and other delicate subjects.
Written by Cherrie Moraga, peppered
with Spanish and composed of the identity
struggles brought on by race and sexuality,
the three-woman show is a perfect fit for the
intimate Studio Theatre stage.
Beneath haunting paintings of women
dressing or staring hollow-eyed from the can
vas, UNL actresses portray the lives of three
Chicano lesbians in Los Angeles.
Opening the Theatrix season, “Giving Up
the Ghost,” is a completely student-run per
formance, including the paintings by Mike
Hirtzel, a graduate student in the College of
Fine and Performing Arts.
Director Sonali Zooey Kumar, a senior
performance studies major, made her
Theatrix directorial debut with last season’s
“Dionysus in ’99.” She said “Giving Up the
Ghost” has been another “incredible learning
experience.”
With a three-person cast and a four-week
rehearsal schedule, the director and actors
had no choice but to do some fast bonding.
Actresses Mandi Jefferis and Amy Black
were first challenged because they each por
tray the same character at different stages of
her life.
Jefferis, a junior advertising major, plays a
young adult artist, Marisa, and senior theater
major Black is Corky, Marisa at age 14.
The women said the first rehearsals were
difficult because they were not in sync with
one another, but the intense rehearsal sched
ule helped.
“It became easier to pick up on each
other’s habits and meld into one person,”
Black said.
Senior theater major Julie Kinnekenon
said the script forced her relationship with
Jefferis into fast forward, as well.
In the show, Marisa falls in love with
Amalia, a much older woman played by
Kinnekenon.
“It's kind of interesting to jump into some
thing with a complete stranger and have to
make out with them,” Kinnekenon said.
Kumar said the show’s sexuality, as well as
its Hispanic cultural element made it a chal
lenge.
“It’s been really wonderful negotiating
how to make something true and real for
something that's in some way outside your
own experience,” she said.
Although Kumar said the show deals with
race, sex and rape - some very sensitive topics
- she said at its core, “Giving Up the Ghost” is
a love story.
“While people may not be able to directly
relate... ultimately none of that matters
because it is about human emotions,” Kumar
said.
Amy Black and
Julie
Kinnekenon
perform in the
Theatrix produc
tion,"Giving up
theGhost.'The
play runs
Thursday
through Sunday
at Studio
Theatre.
Noyes displays art for all eyes
■ The local art gallery exhibits the
works of four artists with four
distinct styles.
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON
Take a trip and get lost this week
end.
Nebraska abstract artist Jo Brown
is encouraging you to do it; she wants
you to succumb to the peer pressure.
Only Brown doesn’t really want
you lost somewhere on the highway.
She just wants you to get lost in her
paintings.
Brown will be one of four artists,
different in styles, that will headline
the new exhibit at the Noyes Art
Gallery.
The exhibit will open on Friday.
Aside from the abstract paintings
of Brown, Robert Egan will be showing
off his photography, Mary Jane
Lamberson will display jewelry and
sculptures and Maxine Cox will bring a
southwest flavor of pottery to Lincoln.
It should be enough variety to
entertain any art lover, said Julia
Noyes, owner of the gallery.
“Each artist has a different kind of
interpretation,” Noyes said.
Brown said those differences are
beneficial to the show.
“Nobody is infringing on anyone’s
space in this show,” Brown said.
Noyes said viewers will be able to
see a wide range of artistic talent at the
show.
“Mary Jane’s metal sculptures will
be very figurative and linear, thor
oughly crafted,” Noyes said. “Maxine
brings a southwest interpretation. Her
pottery is very eloquent and time con
suming - very unique.”
Egan, a Lincoln resident who
teaches at the University of Nebraska
at Omaha, will bring out some of his
biology background in detailed black
and white photographs developed at
his own studio.
Meanwhile, Brown, who also
works for the Lecturer Center for
Curriculum & Instruction at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said
she uses collage techniques that give
an atmospheric feel to her work.
"I want people to have tranquillity,
feel a spirituality when they look at my
paintings,” Brown said. “I try to evoke
a mood. My landscapes are usually
designed to be something that you can
float on.”
Brown said she never knows exact
ly what beaten path her painting will
take her down when she touches her
first color to the canvas.
“It's an adventure,” she said. “It’s
like the painting has a life of its own
and takes you with it.” The Nebraska
trio of Brown, Lamberson and Egan
have toured their works together at
many exhibits.
Brown and Lamberson also have
Best of Show ribbons to stick on the
fridge, both winning the honor at the
Association of Nebraska Art Clubs
gala.
Noyes said everyone that visits the
exhibit should have no problem
enjoying some aspect of the exhibit.
“Our gallery has a big variety of
work to offer,” Noyes said.
“People will see a lot of different
styles. There is something for all
tastes.”
Material girl changes tune
with help of new producer
BY ANDREW SHAW
Madonna, once the wonder girl of
chameleon-like image changes, has landed
in a difficult position, something she used to
pride herself on and even wrote a book
about
But this position won’t be featured in the
adult section of any bookstore.
Madonna is an over-the-hill mother of
two who has yet to show a lasting interest in
any one companion, yet she is still trying to
live the clubbing life of a 20-something col
lege student. Her romp through the techno
scene that started in 1998’s “Ray of Light” is
continued in this year's dryly named
“Music.”
“Music,” when compared with “Ray of
Light,” points out the lack of power that
Madonna has over her “personal” sound.
“Ray of Light,” produced by William Orbit,
featured a thick, string-filled floating sound
throughout the album. The two tracks
which Orbit manipulated on “Music” could
pass as b-sides to Madonna’s previous
album, picking up right where Orbit left off.
The true difference in sound should be
attributed to Mirwais Ahmadzai, the pro
ducer of the majority of the album’s tracks,
including the first single bearing the same
name as the album.
The title track on "Music” is an addictive
Music Review
techno com
position
which would
lack nothing
if it lost
Madonna’s
prosaic lyrics.
Mirwais plays
with
Madonna’s
vocals to such
an extent that
her voice
could easily be replaced without notice. The
only reason Madonna seems to be associat
Please see MADONNA on 9
Songwriter endures obstacles, letting The Jayhawks fly
BY KEN MORTON
Gary Louris, songwriter, singer and guitarist for
The Jayhawks, may not be a corporate trainer or an ex
Navy Seal, but he probably would have held his own
on a deserted island.
Louris, in his long and fruitful musical career, has
persevered through lineup changes, dissolving record
companies and broken relationships to produce one
of the most influential bodies of work in recent mem
ory.
The Jayhawks, who are performing in Omaha
tonight, have been named one of the most influential
bands of the '90s by Rolling Stone Magazine, and
Louris has contributed to albums by The Wallflowers
and Joe Henry.
The band will bring its influential music to the
Music Box in Omaha tonight for a 7 p.m. show.
The Jayhawks actually preceded even Louris.
Songwriter Marie Olson and guitarist Marc Perlman
started the band in Minneapolis. Louris joined shortly
after. Perlman moved to bass to make room for Louris
on guitar and The Jayhawks were off and running.
After one release on High/Tone Records, The
Jayhawks moved up to the big label business, signing
with Rick Rubin’s Def American. “Hollywood Town
Hall,” the band’s first American release, still stands as a
testament to ’90s roots rock and has influenced hun
dreds of bands since.
The songwriting and harmonizing of Louris and
Olson became the group’s trademarks, and when
Olson decided to leave the band because of financial
and creative reasons, most thought The Jayhawks
were dead.
Louris refused to give up and kept the band
together under the same name. Pianist Karen
Grotberg, who joined the band in 1995, helped ease
the transition, and in 1997, the new Jayhawks lineup
released “Sound of Lies.”
The loss of Olson was obvious, mainly in the
band’s new pop-oriented sound. Without Olson’s har
monies, Louris was faced with the task of being a lead
vocalist for the first time.
Devoted fans still supported the band, but the
record didn’t make much of a dent commercially.
Louris and company remained devoted to the band
and hooked up with legendary producer Bob Ezrin for
its next album.
Ezrin, known best for his work with Kiss and Pink
Floyd, took the sound of the band on “Sound of Lies”
and shaped the songs into a tighter, denser pop
sound.
“Smile,” released earlier this year, mostly leaves
behind The Jayhawks’ country-rock sound, but
Louris’ songwriting still shines through.
At times, however, Ezrin's influence can sound
more like meddling than molding. Ezrin receives
songwriting credit on three of the album’s tracks, and
those three songs find The Jayhawks furthest away
from what they have done in the past.
One big difference between the new Jayhawks and
the Louris/Olson version of the band is the contribu
tions of other band members - Perlman, Grotberg
(who has now left the band) and drummer Tim
O’Reagan - all lend a hand on songwriting.
The combined efforts of all band members gives
The Jayhawks a more unified feel than ever before.
That feel is even more evident when seeing the
band live, and fans will have a chance to do just that
tonight.
The Jayhawks will mostly draw from “Smile” for a
song list, but count on plenty of old favorites as well. A
rocked up version of “Waiting For the Sun” and a har
mony-laden version of “Blue” are usually the high
lights.
Music Review
Tonight’s
show also will
give fans a
chance to check
out the two
newest members
of The Jayhawks:
guitarist Kraig
Johnson and
pianist Jen
Gunderman.
Johnson and
Louris have
played together
in the roots-rock
supergroup
Golden Smog,
and Gunderman
faces the dubious
task of replacing
Grotberg.
But “Smile” could be the album that fans remem
ber, and with such radio-friendly songs as “I'm Gonna
Make You Love Me,” success shouldn’t just be a wild
dream.