2007-02 Vital Source Mag – February 2007
Translations
By Russ Bickerstaff Language rarely gets the center stage in any major theatrical production. Even in the best scripts, language is far too busy conveying meaning to call much attention to itself. With Translations, Irish playwright Brian Friel (Dancing at Lughnasa) has deftly coaxed language into the spotlight with charm and passion in a story of love and loss in the slow fade out of a culture in decline. The Milwaukee Rep continues its 2006-2007 season with a powerful production of the drama on its main stage. The play is set in a meticulously detailed Hedge School in County Donegal of rural Ireland in 1833. As the lights rise to illuminate the beginning of the first act, Manus (Jonathan Gillard Daly) is working with a woman named Sarah (Colleen Madden). She has great difficulty speaking. With great struggle, she manages to whisper her name and where she’s from. Madden doesn’t speak much in the role, but she’s always saying something. Subtle glances and movements convey a great deal in an excellent performance by Madden. From humble beginnings between student and teacher, the play broadens rather quickly into a large ensemble play. A particularly sharp Torrey Hanson plays educated Irish native Owen who has moved away to England. He has returned to County Donegal with British soldiers to help them rename the geography so that it can be spoken in clear British English. As a native Irishman, he is assisting British Lieutenant Yolland (talented Chicago actor John Hoogenakker) in the job. Yolland is quite taken with Ireland’s charm, which contrasts against the more progressively minded Owen. Irishman-turned-Brit plays against the Brit-becoming-Irish in an interesting thematic dynamic. When it becomes clear that Yolland is falling in love with local woman Maire (Leah Curney), things get considerably more complicated for everyone involved. The Irish in County Donegal all speak Gaelic, so Owen is acting as translator. Friel wouldn’t have much of an audience for the play if most of it was spoken in a dying language, so everyone speaks English. This has the strange effect of making it seem like the British and the native Irish could understand each other in the play if they’d just stop and listen. It’s a casual absurdity that keeps conversations between British and Irish accents interesting for the entire length of the play. A talented cast plays out the intricate interplay between many different shades of character as one culture takes over another. James Pickering is strong as a highly educated Irishman named Hugh who teaches at the school and spends much of his spare time drunk. There’s quite a bit in this play spoken in Latin and he’s usually he one instigating it. His students include a weaselly farmer named Doalty (a clever Jonathan Wainwright), a clever girl named Bridget (Sarah Sokolovic, back from New York for the role) and, of course, the highly progressive Maire. As all struggle to be able to recite Latin etymological derivations on a moment’s notice for their shrewd teacher, Maire […]
Feb 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Rockin’ Bones – 1950s Punk and Rockabilly
By Blaine Schultz Everyone knows Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, but when you think of rockabilly’s iconic image the person who comes to mind is Ersel Hickey. You might not know the name but trust me, odds are you’ve seen the photograph of this proto-rockabilly cat – all greasy pompadour, suggestive stance and hollow body guitar. It has been said that rock & roll died when Elvis was inducted into the Army. Truth be told, around the same time Little Richard saw the Light, Chuck Berry was doing time and Buddy Holly died in a plane wreck. So, yeah rock & roll had pretty much shot its wad by the end of the ‘50s. But prior to that there were untold countless backwoods wannabees, regular guys who had a little talent and inspired maniacs who were aimed like Halley’s Comet for their one shot at the big time. Rockabilly’s premise couldn’t be simpler: here’s three chords stolen from country music or the blues and some primed teenage angst. Toss in the sharpies at small record companies looking to make a buck, a handful off green pills and more attitude than Hollywood could ever manufacture and what you have is mid-20th century American History in four acts. Produced by former Milwaukeean Cheryl Pawelski and James Austin, this four disc set plays out like a soundtrack to a time when things were changing fast. For the first time in history teenagers had expendable income and were beginning to challenge the older generation in terms of popular culture. Every parent’s nightmare was that their son would end up a juvenile delinquent or their daughter would be attracted to one. (And while the title of this collection uses the term “punk,” no self-respecting JD would have been called that without a fight breaking out.) Now in a perfect world we would all have access to The Cramps’ record collection, but this will save you the time you’d spend digging up all these 45s on your knees in dusty backrooms of thrift stores (presuming you own a record player), not to mention the collector scum prices you’d fork over if you went the auction route. Consider each of these gems a musical resume whereby the artist gets to grab your attention. And usually in little over two minutes it’s the musical equivalent of 0 to 60 and a chugged Red Bull. Lightning in a bottle, even. In the world of rockabilly obscure is often better. While the Big Four are all represented – plus a pre-operatic Roy Orbison – it is not with their most recognized tunes. In Fact, Elvis’ “One Night of Sin” oozes blues. Representing what can be considered the next echelon of artists – never quite becoming household names – these folks managed to have careers in the music biz, and were often held as icons in Europe and Japan. You get a dose of Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Link Wray, Johnny Burnette/Rock & Roll Trio and […]
Feb 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Chicken pox party
By Lucky Tomaszek I called my friend Jesi one evening in early December to see if she wanted do a little Christmas shopping, but she told me she already had plans. “We’re headed out to Watertown for a chicken pox party; I won’t be home for a couple of hours.” That’s right, she said “chicken pox party,” and parents all over the country are searching them out as a way to expose their children to what’s been dubbed by the medical community as “wild chicken pox.” In spite of the existence of the chicken pox vaccine (available in the U.S. since 1995), many families still believe in the superior protection provided by contracting the actual disease over the immunization. As luck would have it, Jesi’s kids contracted the pox at the party. She brought it back to her West Allis home, where she has graciously shared it with several other families who had been looking for a local case, including mine. During the last couple of months, we’ve all done a fair bit of research to learn how to make our quest for chicken pox as successful as possible. We’re currently waiting with our fingers crossed to see if any of my kids break out. The earlier, the better Chicken pox is most contagious in the 24 hours before the pox appear and for the first 24 hours after you start seeing spots. If you have friends and family members who want to be exposed, it’s best to do so as soon as possible. As the pox start to heal up and crust over (after four or five days), the possibility of spreading the virus diminishes. Once all the pox are crusted over, there is no more risk of contagion and children are usually able to return to school or daycare. The virus that causes chicken pox is varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and it’s the same virus that causes shingles in about 10 percent of adults over 40 years old. It’s possible for a child to contract chicken pox after being exposed to an adult with shingles, but it’s not possible for the child to contract shingles from exposure to shingles. Hosting your own party According to www.askdrsears.com, “[Chicken pox] is passed through the saliva, coughing secretions and direct touch. In general, you must either be living in the same house or play indoors in close face-to-face contact for more than 5 minutes, or have close face-to-face or physical contact outdoors in order to catch the illness.” If your goal is to expose your child, there are several tried and true methods that have been around for generations. Gathering a group of children and visiting a friend with chicken pox is the first step. Once everyone is together, have the children share treats like lollypops, ice cream cones and popsicles. If any of the children are too little to eat those kinds of food, passing around a communal sippy-cup is also effective. Allow the children to play together for at least […]
Feb 1st, 2007 by Lucky Tomaszek
They Came From Way Out There
By Russ Bickerstaff With all the many different themes and subjects floating around local stages these past few years, it’s surprising that the paranormal hasn’t received much attention. The Milwaukee Rep rectifies this with a production of Jahnna Beecham and Malcom Hillgartner’s cabaret musical They Came From Way Out There. Authors of last year’s acclaimed cabaret show Chaps!, Beecham and Hillgartner have put together another enjoyable evening of song and dance for the Rep’s Stackner Cabaret. The show is set at a meeting of a fictitious paranormal society. The performers each play a candidate for the Society’s next president. Every major different aspect of the paranormal is represented in the cast. Michael Herold plays the Society’s founder – a man who had a close encounter in the Nevada desert half a decade ago. Jill Marie Anderson plays his wife, who he met during an out of body experience. (Their meeting is illustrated in a clever country-western-inspired musical number entitled “You Stepped Out Of Your Body and Into My Life.” ) Anderson’s character is a prim, Christian New-Age type cleverly offset by the pseudo-neo-pagan New Ager played by Katherine Strohmaier. In a clever turn for the character’s archetype, she sings a sweet love song to a Bigfoot that manages a brilliant end rhyme with the word “Yetti.” Lenny Banovez plays the stereotypical young, paranoid conspiracy nut. Banovez cuts a pleasantly erratic figure onstage, performing the same song in both rock and hip-hop styles before performing a tender duet with Strohmaier near the end of the show. Chip DuFord rounds out the cast as a scientist who had worked for NASA, privy to strange government secrets about the paranormal. In one of the production’s best moments, DuFord discovers evidence of mysterious home furnishings appearing in the skies all over the country. He is confronted by a hyper-intelligent recliner who offers to answer any question he asks. Michael Herold plays the recliner in what has to be the single most brilliant costume to appear on a local stage in a very long time. It’s amazing. The show’s pacing is wild and irreverent, including some surprisingly offbeat experimental stuff for The Rep. There’s an entire skit involving a rampaging bunny shadow puppet that may not be particularly funny (or really have much entertainment value, to be perfectly honest) but it shows a staggeringly edgy spirit for a mainstream show. Much of the rest of the fringe elements inherent in They Came From Way Out There are relegated to minor asides and obscure references that don’t detract from the overall experience. For all of its strange asides, this really is a mainstream show that will appeal to a relatively wide audience. Its weaker moments keep it from being completely enjoyable, firmly grounding it in the commercial end of the spectrum. The many different skits and songs provide an opportunity for the actors to perform a wide range of different characters. DuFord’s straight-laced scientist is accompanied by multiple performances as burnt-out drunks. Strohmaier is sweet as […]
Feb 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Paradise
By Russ Bickerstaff As complicated and as brutal as things have been in the West Bank over the years, it seems incredibly mundane to mention that people actually live there. This fact is important though, because without it, none of the bloodshed or brutality that’s gone on over the course of the past several decades makes the slightest bit of sense. Shedding light on the human element of the West Bank conflict, playwright Glyn O’Malley’s controversial Paradise is a very human drama about two girls living on the opposite sides of a river while dealing with the problems that go along with the distance that separates them. Next Act continues its season with a thoughtful production of O’Malley’s very human political drama. Leah Dutchin plays a 17-year-old Palestinian girl named Fatima living in a refugee camp with her family. She’s irrepressibly human in a place that threatens to tarnish that humanity with duty that is bound to history. Dutchin talks with friend and relative Omar (Joseph Fernandez), a boy who dreams of getting out of the West Bank and into a decent college on a soccer scholarship. Her human side comes out in the dialogues with Omar. There is something other than basic humanity in her interactions with a darker figure known as Bassam (Luke Leonhardt). Leaonhardt cuts a particularly memorable performance out of relatively little stage time. When a cell phone goes off in the audience at the opening of the play, it’s his. Placing a character like Bassam in the audience at the beginning of the play is an intriguing way of bringing the reality of the drama into the audience before the story starts. It’s a bit unnerving considering the last conversation he has with Fatima. Bassam instructs Fatima in something chillingly foreign to the minds of most Americans. It’s a simple moment, unclouded as it is by the complexity of human pretense, but Dutchin and Loenhardt fashion fascinating tension out of the simplicity. On the other side of the river, Sarah (Emily Trask) lives with her mother (Mary MacDonald Kerr) in a Jewish Israeli settlement. It’s an entirely different kind of life for Sarah than it is for Fatima, but they both share themes of trying to grow up human in a world shaped by a history that goes back to a time long before either were born. Sarah’s mother has a sense of belonging in the West Bank that Sarah lacks. It’s an interesting interaction between Trask and Kerr. Aside from staged internal monologues, we only ever see Sarah interacting with her mother, which makes for a particularly focused dramatic energy. Trask has a sophisticated stage presence that seems at odds with the youthful inexperience of the character she’s playing here, but measured against someone who has been performing for as long as Kerr, the illusion is complete. For her part, Kerr shows the kind of textured performance that has made her such a pleasant and entertaining addition to Milwaukee stages for the past 11 […]
Feb 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Everything for everybody
By Vital Staff Let’s face it; this is the time of year when most peoples’ energy ebbs low while commitments proceed at their regularly-scheduled breakneck speed. There was that mental break from the day-to-day world over the holidays (often taking the form of surreal flashes of family, food and lots of driving), immediately followed by a fiery re-entry to work and school life. Yuck. Just thinking about it makes you want to crawl under the covers and not come out until spring. Sadly, that’s not an option for most of us, and if we’re truthful few of us could stay buried for very long before we got real twitchy from lack of stimulus. So what’s a hard-working person to do? We at VITAL decided to hit the road for a weekend, with the following guidelines: must be within reasonable driving distance, yet far enough away so that you won’t run back home for a forgotten item; must be comfortable and, above all, must be a place where you can hear yourself think. Even breathe. Six of us went out and six came back with stories to tell about… mostly nothing, unless relaxation still counts for something in this crazy world. We recommend you try it soon. The Whistling Swan 4192 Main Stret, Door County 920-868-3442 www.whistlingswan.com September 2001 was the last time I took a vacation from work. I had almost forgotten how it feels not to work for a couple of days; to take a break from the daily drudgery. Having too long ignored a need for at least a break from it all, I ventured off to Fish Creek in Door County for a weekend. After a peaceful two and a half hour drive I arrived at The Whistling Swan Inn, Door Peninsula’s oldest operating inn, on a balmy Saturday afternoon. Interesting historic footnote: this beautiful late 19th century Victorian inn was moved across frozen Green Bay in 1907 to its current location. Fish Creek is small, its main stretch spanning roughly seven by three city blocks and housing small shops, galleries, bar and grills, inns and the very well-known Potters Wheel pottery workshop. If you are a people person and love summer activities, Door County, with its small resort towns and abundance of hiking, boating, shopping and dining, is the place to come in warm weather months. Rates won’t be as pocket-friendly but are worth every penny. October’s also a very busy month, with many fall festivals to suit every fancy. This winter, due to virtually no snow and the subsequent absence of winter activities, the area has experienced a decline in tourism. This, however, benefits those who prefer solitude and more reasonable lodging rates. I took off on foot to explore this little town’s offerings. I landed at a local pub to enjoy a nice glass of good scotch and engage in the great activity of people watching. I found a mix of locals and outside visitors, with conversations varying from local gossip to tourists planning […]
Feb 1st, 2007 by Lucky Tomaszek
Hat Trick – Third time’s a charm for Al and Susie Brkich
By Catherine McGarry Miller + Photos by Kevin C. Groen Cranky Al’s Bakery, Coffee & Pizza 6901 W. North Avenue 414-258-5282 Hey, Mikey, I got your pizza ready,” Cranky Al Brkich hails a customer. “I only dropped it twice!” Mikey shrugs his shoulders and smirks, “That’s better ‘n last time.” There’s a round of giggles from patrons steaming up the windows at Cranky Al’s this winter night with animated conversations over pizzas and garlic bread. I’m not one to go around outing people, but the truth is Cranky Al is a phony. He’s about as cranky as Rachel Ray accepting applause for yet another miracle recipe. A small warning sign on the door hints at Al’s true nature. It reads, “All unattended children will be given two shots of espresso and a free puppy.” Al is loath to admit it, but “cranky” actually references the hand-cranked donuts he turns out every morning for lines of neighborhood enthusiasts. For owners Susie and Al Brkich, this bakery and pizzeria is a hat trick. They’ve had two other successful eateries. The first was Crabby Al’s, a seafood shack that lit up the dark skies of the Menomonee Valley and then tumbled into a dissolved partnership. Second was Mrs. Java and Company, just four doors down from the new Cranky Al’s, which died last year when the building was sold to another restaurateur who wanted the space for a bistro. The news was sudden and devastating to the couple, who had hoped to buy the building themselves. “We didn’t know if our customers would come back,” Susie says with her chin crumbling and eyes moist with deep appreciation for the support of the community. It took the Brkichs the better part of a year – and every penny of their resources – to relocate, gut the property and install a kitchen in two storefronts that had formerly housed a used auto parts and a vacuum cleaner store. It was a stressful time for the Brkichs, not knowing if their new enterprise would fly. But just a few months into it, this place has all the signs of being yet another success for the hard-working restaurateurs. High windows fill the spacious room with light, the dark woodwork, molded ceilings and pews from Pius X Church – which serve as bench seating – all lend an air of comfortable charm, as do the smells of fresh-brewed coffee and handmade donuts and pastries. This, as everything in their lives, is a joint venture. After two decades of marriage, Al and Susie are still thick as thieves. Al insisted that Susie be there for our interview and every time Al got up during our chat to attend to the business, Susie gushed about him. For their opening in December, she bought him his first chef’s coat. “Same old Cranky with a new coat on,” he boasts. “That’s right, kid, I’m fancy now.” Al, who grew up near State Fair Park and attended Solomon Juneau High School, met Chicago […]
Feb 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
The Early Years
Already in play to sell Nike shoes, the single “All Ones & Zeros” gets The Early Years’ debut out of the blocks at lightning speed; but it’s false advertising for the record as a whole. Although the intro song is a propelling dash, what follows lacks similar kinetic force. Intentionally. This three-piece, comprised of a drummer and pedal-happy guitar duo, adamantly refuse to chase after the skinny-tie, post-punk revivalist trend. Instead of worshipping Gang of Four, the self-proclaimed “experimental” band cite Neu!, Television and Mogwai as influences. If experimental means ambience, feedback and droning, and the preceding bands were reputably boring and uninventive, then these guys are spot on. The Early Years sound more confident when they aren’t trying so hard. The majority of songs, including the utterly beige “Brown Hearts,” are like a game of hot/cold (getting warmer…even warmer… ). The musicians find direction as the tracks count down, leaving questions as to how much improvisation they employed while recording. Likewise, the last two and a half minutes of “High Times And Low Lives” show potential and should have been the project’s starting line. Here, parts move – the darling avant-garde electronics live rightfully among the twangy guitar and incisive percussion. Regrettably, the disc’s closers, though pretty, deflate any remaining hope of resurrecting the buzz. The Early Years live up to their name; they play a diluted imitation of art rock’s early years, contributing little more than better technology. They’re on the heels of something good, but until their sophomore release, why buy a knock-off when you can just as easily listen to the real thing? VS
Feb 1st, 2007 by Amber Herzog
The Shins
The advent of the Shins’ latest sees them with not an entirely clean bill of health. They’ve paled from the short-term convalescence that the indie film and television world has bled them into. Yet they’ve somehow grown a muscular sonic extroversion from this bloodletting, while still managing to leave their lyrical core of persistent pathos intact. James Mercer’s sweet tenor will never quite echo the nerviness of The Fall’s Mark E. Smith, but it’s more of a “hell yeah” than an “oh, hell.” “Sleeping Lessons” is a fantastic kickoff, much in the way “Kissing the Lipless” was for Chutes too Narrow. Creeping in quietly, it assaults the unsuspecting listener’s ears with the volume cranked up to catch the Lewis Carroll references, blasting a train-chugging bass and a quick-click drumbeat with upswept, Beach Boy vocals. “Phantom Limb” catches the band at their wistful best, creating an atmosphere of ‘60s jangle-pop with an ‘80s bass line often associated with teen films, and a plotline to match. To hear Mercer sing the oh-wah-oh chorus is swoonable. The album is sonically variant starting with “Phantom Limb;” that track, “Sea Legs” and “Turn On Me” are all illuminating. The best surprise is “Sea Legs.” Containing a prominent Beck-ish bass line, flute and lounge piano chords, it features a smokier-voiced Mercer. “Red Rabbits” is another variation, but simple innovation and keyboardist Marty Crandall’s keyboard noodling is not enough to create a decent song. Wincing amps the listener up first with its familiarity, then further with a swing into the new, but fails to push through at the end. It’s promising, but The Shins are apparently still in that awkward stage; they still have plenty of room to grow. VS
Feb 1st, 2007 by Erin Wolf
