Ann Arbor Dance Works, in collaboration with the University of  Michigan Museum of Natural History, presents “WITHIN/BEYOND,” an evening of dances inspired by frontiers in scientific research.

Performances will be 8 p.m. Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9 at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History, 1109 Geddes Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI  48109. Featured in the performance will be premieres by NYC choreographer Edisa Weeks and resident choreographers Jessica Fogel, Peter Sparling and Robin Wilson.

From the furthest reaches of space to the inner workings of a single cell, four choreographers find inspiration in cutting edge scientific research taking place at the University of Michigan and beyond. The performances will take place in the U-M Museum of Natural History, a 1928 architectural gem designed by Albert Kahn.

Featured in the performance will be a new work by NYC dance artist Edisa Weeks, inspired by the spiraling structures of DNA. Weeks’s choreography creates intimate environments that merge theater with dance, to deliriously explore our deepest desires, darkest fears and dearest dreams.

Described by the New York Times as having “a gift for simple but striking visual effects,” Weeks has presented her choreography nationally and internationally in venues such as Works & Process at the Guggenheim Museum, Harlem Stage, The Kennedy Center, The Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts, The National Black Arts Festival, Summerstages Dance Festival, as well as in swimming pools, storefront windows, senior centers, sidewalks and living rooms. Edisa Weeks teaches technique, improvisation and choreography at Queens College, NY.

Choreographer and Artistic Director of Ann Arbor Dance Works Jessica Fogel premieres a dance inspired by the research of U-M Associate Professor of Astronomy Sally Oey, whose focus is the role of massive stars in the evolution of galaxies.  Fogel also draws inspiration from Italo Calvino’s elegant absurdist short stories, ”Cosmicomics.”

The dance will travel between the two-story lobby rotunda and the museum’s intimate planetarium.  A longtime U-M Professor of Dance and the recipient of numerous commissions and awards, Fogel has presented her choreography throughout the US and internationally since 1974.  Her choreography has been inspired by wide ranging topics including visual art, literature, scientific research, and the natural environment. A recent interest has been the creation of large-scale site-specific dances, the latest of which celebrated the layered histories of several locations in downtown Ann Arbor.

With “How Autophagy Works,” Thurnau Professor of Dance Peter Sparling offers a dancer’s guide to cell biology that is both spoof and serious interdisciplinary research. Assisted by Dr. Dan Klionsky, U-M Ruthven Professor of Life Sciences, medical illustrator Dave Woodsell and composer Wendy Lee, Sparling and dancers provide movement models or dioramas for the museum’s rotunda in the form of animated video projections, danced episodes and psychodramas freely interpreting the ongoing cellular process of autophagy, or “self-eating,” the body’s method of cleansing, recycling and defending against disease.

A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and Juilliard School, Sparling was a member of the JoséLimón Dance Company and principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company. Sparling has had extensive experience  as artistic director, (Peter Sparling Dance Company), choreographer, performer, teacher  lecturer, video artist, collaborator, administrator and dance/arts consultant. His dances for video have been selected for numerous international dance on camera festivals.

Choreographer Robin Wilson, Associate Professor of Dance at U-M will choreograph and perform a new solo inspired by Rebecca Skloot’s bestselling book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” Lacks was “a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more.

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.”

Robin Wilson is best known as a founding member of the Urban Bush Women. She also performed in New York for over a decade with such choreographers as Dianne McIntyre, Kevin Wynn, and Dorothy Vislocky.  Her choreography has been produced by the Washington University Dance Theater, Metro Theatre Company, Happendance Company, Kentucky Arts Council, Bluegrass Black Arts Consortium, Harlem Dance Foundation, and various Kentucky arts organizations.  A frequent guest teacher, she has taught at numerous universities and institutions nationally and internationally.  She is the recipient of the 2012-2013 Shirley Verrett award, and is the president of the Michigan Dance Council.

These performances have received generous support from the UM Gay Delanghe Endowment, the U-M Department of Dance, and the U-M Museum of Natural History.

 ABOUT ANN ARBOR DANCE WORKS

Formed in 1985, Ann Arbor Dance Works is the resident professional dance company of the University of Michigan Department of Dance. Dedicated to the collaborative process, the company shares a wide-ranging repertory with audiences.  In addition to producing works by resident UM Dance faculty choreographers, the company hosts guest choreographers from the US and abroad. Designers, poets, videographers, visual artists, scholars, and composers collaborate with company members, contributing to the creation of innovative and multi-layered works of resonance, depth, and beauty. Since its inception, Ann Arbor Dance Works has produced choreography to critical and popular acclaim in New York City, throughout the Midwest, and internationally. The company has also produced unique projects in the Ann Arbor community, including the creation of several large-scale site dances with a variety of community partners. Artistic Director for the company is Jessica Fogel. 

TICKET INFORMATION

• Admission: $10.

• Advance tickets can be purchased in person or charged by phone at the Michigan Union Ticket Office (MUTO), located on the ground floor of the Michigan Union, 530 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, (734) 763-8587. 

• Tickets can also be purchased online at www.mutotix.com.

• Tickets can be purchased at the door, but seating is limited and advance sales are encouraged.

• Directions to the museum and parking:  http://www.lsa.umich.edu/ummnh/visiting/directionsparking

• For further information, please visit the Ann Arbor Dance Works website: http://www.annarbordanceworks.com

• Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-Arbor-Dance-Works/116357105065295 and @AADanceWorks.

• University of Michigan Dance Department Events Line:  (734) 763-5461.

Prevailing over many thousands of contestants and dozens of elimination trials, Michelle Chamuel (photo left), an alumna of the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, has made it into the top 10 on The Voice, the popular singing competition show on NBC-TV.

Throughout the season, Chamuel has been celebrated for her powerful voice, nuanced performances, and unique style and showmanship. The winner will be announced on the live broadcast 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 19.

Michelle Chamuel, a native of Massachusetts, graduated from U-M in 2008 with a BFA in performing arts technology (media arts concentration). In addition to singing, she plays guitar and piano. While still an undergrad, she formed a band with other SMTD students, which quickly amassed a devoted fan base. Titled Ella Riot (formerly My Dear Disco), the band is currently on hiatus but Chamuel has continued to make music under the name The Reverb Junkie while also forming a duo with fellow band member Tyler Duncan, also a 2008 graduate of SMTD (jazz and contemporary improvisation), which they call S/he.

The Voice, which airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST, is regularly the top-rated program in its time slot.

Each of the contestants is mentored by one of four top music industry professionals (the show’s “coaches”). Chamuel had her choice of working with three of the four coaches (each of whom expressed interest in working with her based on a blind audition) and selected the Grammy-winning R&B/hip-hop artist Usher, one of the best selling music artists in American music history.

During the first several weeks of the competition, which are taped, the contestants compete against others on their coach’s “team,” with the coach choosing the contestant who will advance to the next round. When the remaining contestants move to the live performance phase of the competition, the viewing audience votes to decide who will continue and ultimately win.

Songs that the contestants perform during the live phase of the competition are immediately made available to download from the show’s website and iTunes. Selections by Chamuel include “I Kissed a Girl,” “True Colors,” “Raise Your Glass,” “Titanium,” and “Call Your Girlfriend.”

Marilou Carlin is a writer at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Two University of Michigan graduate music students, who double as Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensemble Mentors, hit the road in a brand new Cadillac ATS and followed the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to Carnegie Hall for its May 10 Ives Immersion performance as part of the week-long Spring For Music Festival.

Along the way, David Cook, first year graduate student of clarinet performance and Emily Wespiser, second year graduate student of flute performance, spread the word about Detroit, the DSO, and Cadillac ATS drivability by performing pop up concerts and documenting their trip using hashtag #ATStoCarnegie.

Stops along the way to Manhattan included a performance at Central Cadillac on Carnegie Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio and a visit to Lola Bistro, a Cleveland diner owned by Michael Symon of Detroit’s Roast in the historic Westin Book Cadillac hotel.

It’s the first time in 17 years the DSO has performed at Carnegie Hall.

General Motors Foundation provided a $350,000 grant to the DSO for music education initiatives, including its involvement in the prestigious Spring for Music festival.

About David Cook

Originally from Troy, Michigan, David Cook is pursuing Master of Music degrees in clarinet performance and chamber music at the University of Michigan. He holds Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Central Michigan University. David works with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Youth Ensembles as Civic Orchestra Clarinet Mentor and will be an Orchestra Fellow at the Immanuel & Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival this summer. He is especially excited for the Carnegie Hall performances as a result of completing his research project about the musical evolution throughout Charles Ives’s symphonies.

About Emily Wespiser

A native of Lee, Massachusetts, Emily Wespiser is an active solo, orchestral and chamber musician.  As the Detroit Civic Youth Orchestra mentor, she has performed under esteemed DSO conductor Leonard Slatkin, and alongside international soloist Emanuel Ax.  Selected to perform and study at the Brevard Music Center for the 2013 season, Emily has spent past summers as the resident principal flutist in the Opera in the Ozarks Orchestra and performing in masterclasses for flutists such as Jeffrey Khaner, Keith Underwood, Ian Clarke, and Doriot Dwyer. Emily can be heard performing with the University of Michigan Symphony Band on their recently released CD, Points of Departure (Equilibrium Records), and with the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra on their soon to be released Rite of Spring CD.

An advocate for new music, Emily has premiered works by composers such as David Biedenbender, Marco Schirripa, Brendan Vavra, Peter Learn, and Gordon Stout. Emily holds a B.M. from Ithaca College, and recently completed her Masters of Music at the University of Michigan, under the direction of flutist Amy Porter.

About DSO’s Carnegie Hall performances

On May 9 and 10, the DSO will become the first orchestra ever to perform two unique programs during New York’s visionary Spring For Music Festival. Joined by Oregon crossover artist Storm Large and the University Musical Society Choral Union, the repertoire will include all four Charles Ives symphonies performed for the very first time on the same program, as well as Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins, selections by Rachmaninoff and Ravel’s La Valse.

May 9 Performance

The first performance will feature Kurt Weill’s ballet The Seven Deadly Sins, starring cabaret singer Storm Large on lead vocals. Originally written for Weill’s wife, Lotte Lenya, in collaboration with Bertolt Brecht, the work premiered in Paris in 1933 after Weill fled persecution in his native Germany. It tells the tale of what could be two sisters or a split personality as they set out on a tour of American cities each represented by a different sin. The ballet is a bitter satire on bourgeoisie exploitation.

Also on the program are Ravel’s La Valse, and Rachmaninoff’s Caprice Bohemian and Isle of the Dead. Isle of the Dead will appear on the DSO’s third and final CD of Rachmaninoff’s symphonic works to be released on the Naxos label in 2013.

May 10 Performance

The second performance consists of all four Charles Ives symphonies, a debut for the DSO as well as for Carnegie Hall. Music Director Leonard Slatkin chose an immersion into Ives in pursuit of showcasing the strength, sound, ensemble and style that is uniquely Detroit.

Long known for celebrating American repertoire through recordings and commissions, telling Ives’ biographical story through the consecutive performances of all his symphonic works serves as a tribute to both Slatkin’s affinity for American compositions and Detroit’s longtime acquaintance with the American school. Slatkin, who considers Ives to be one of America’s most progressive composers of his time, imagined the four-symphony program as a way to familiarize the audience with his style.

Gabrielle Poshadlo is a publicist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Spring is the season of Broadway award nominations and once again alums of U-M’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance have been recognized for their outstanding work in theatre. This year, musical theatre alums Benj Pasek (BFA ’07) and Justin Paul (BFA ’07) have received nominations from all three of the major award bodies, Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. The Tony Awards ceremony will be held June 9, while the Drama Desk Awards will be held May 19, and Outer Critics Award will be May 23.

The Tony nomination, in the category of “Best Original Score,” is for writing the music and lyrics for A Christmas Story, which also received Tony nominations for “Best Musical” and “Best Book of a Musical.” Additionally, Pasek & Paul received a Drama Desk “Outstanding Music” nomination for A Christmas Story, with the show also receiving a Drama Desk nominations in five other categories, including “Outstanding Musical.” A Christmas Story was also nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as “Outstanding New Broadway Musical.”

In addition, Pasek & Paul’s Off-Broadway musical Dogfight, for which they wrote music and lyrics, received Outer Critics Circle Award nominations in the categories of “Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical” and “Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway),” along with three additional nominations.

Other nominations this award season include:

• Josh Rhodes (BFA ’93, musical theatre) nominated for both a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award in the category of “Outstanding Choreography” for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.
• Jack O’Brien (BA ’61, theatre and MA ’62 English), nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as “Outstanding Director of a Play” for The Nance.
• The Araca Group, the production company of Matthew Rego (BFA ’92), co-produced two shows nominated for top awards: The Testament of Mary, Tony nominee for “Best Play” and Outer Critics Circle nominee for “Outstanding New Broadway Play;” and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Tony nominee for “Best Revival of a Musical,” Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for “Outstanding Revival of a Musical.”

Marilou Carlin is a writer at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

University Musical Society (UMS) celebrates the centenary of Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium with an original, feature-length documentary entitled: A Space for Music, A Seat for Everyone: 100 Years of UMS in Hill Auditorium. This 56-minute documentary is scheduled to air on Detroit Public Television (DPTV) on May 19 at 5 pm (WTVS – Channel 56.1).

One of the most storied venues in the United States, Hill Auditorium opened on May 14, 1913. Designed by the renowned architect Albert Kahn and boasting one of the world’s finest acoustical designs, Hill Auditorium has been a true cultural incubator for the arts community in southeast Michigan for the past 100 years. With a rich history of performances by the world’s top artists, Hill Auditorium is a shining example of how investment in the arts cultivates a vibrant, engaged community.

In many ways, Hill Auditorium is more than a gathering place for music enthusiasts; it has been the beating heart of civic life in Ann Arbor for a century and has created a self-perpetuating reputation for attracting top talent, both to the venue, the university, and the city itself. Through concert recordings, news articles, and anecdotal interviews, A Space for Music, A Seat for Everyone: 100 Years of UMS in Hill Auditorium provides historical context for the auditorium’s role as a UMS anchor-venue and highlights its evolving community function.

“Researching and producing A Space for Music, A Seat for Everyone was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the history of my own community,” said UMS Video Producer Sophia Kruz. “I grew up in Ann Arbor, and have fond memories both performing on Hill’s stage and attending concerts in the hall. Prior to starting this project, I was certainly familiar with how important Hill Auditorium has been to the southeastern MI community over the past 100 years.

“What I didn’t realize, however, was how many other members of our community share such deeply personal relationships with the hall, and how important Hill Auditorium is to them as well,” she said.

“The role that UMS has played in the formation and evolution of Hill Auditorium over the last 100 years is something that we are very proud of,” said UMS President Kenneth Fischer. “The strong feelings of connectedness that Ann Arbor residents feel with Hill Auditorium are just as enthralling as the great artists who have performed here. And we are simply thrilled to have a documentarian as talented as UMS’s own Sophia Kruz to tell this story for us with such integrity and impact.”

In addition to the documentary project, UMS is honoring a century’s worth of legendary performing arts experiences in Hill Auditorium with a rich season featuring both new and returning artists, including theater and dance companies, orchestras, chamber and jazz ensembles, and global music sensations from Mexico, Brazil, Africa, Japan, India, and Iraq. Special Education and Community Engagement opportunities surrounding these performances are happening throughout the season as well. Info and details at ums.org.

Students from the U-M Department of Screen Arts & Cultures took a deep dive into the U-M Library’s largest archive, the Robert Altman collection. The result is an expansive exhibit, The Many Hats of Robert Altman: A Life in Cinema, which will be on display in the Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery through June 30.

The exhibit started as an assignment in the SAC 330 class “Major Directors: Robert Altman & Orson Welles” taught by Professor Matthew Solomon. Students explored the Altman archive, chose exhibit topics, selected corresponding items from the collection, and drafted the exhibit’s interpretive text – all under the direction of Film Studies Field Librarian Philip Hallman and Special Collections Librarian and Curator Peggy Daub. Daub said, “It was wonderful to see their excitement as they discovered ‘gems’ in the archive and then did the research to put their finds into context. They went from knowing nothing about archives to becoming much more adept at this kind of research.”

The Altman collection is huge—more than 1000 linear feet of shelf space—and the exhibit represents only a small portion of it. As impressive as the archive is, Hallman said the important thing is that “students have the opportunity to actually get their hands on this kind of unique material.”

Robert Altman, the director of such films as MASH, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, The Player, Short Cuts and Gosford Park is considered to be one of America’s finest movie directors, although his work extended far beyond directing; he was also a producer and writer, he did theater and opera, and he founded Lion’s Gate Films. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences respected his contributions with an Academy Honorary Award. His diverse style and range of vision and cinematic approaches is captured in the photographs, papers, letters, drawings and artifacts found in the collection.

While Altman is remembered for his great screen contributions, Hallman said “Altman had ups and downs in his career.” After the epic movie flop Popeye (so epic that the film’s composer tried to pull the music from the film at the last minute to avoid the association), Altman accepted an invitation to U-M to direct an opera, The Rake’s Progress, at the Power Center. For his semester at Michigan the Board of Regents named him Marsh Visiting Professor of Communication.

“He really liked it here and felt a kinship with the school,” said Hallman. “He came back several times, for movie premieres and once to film the movie Secret Honor, a one-man show based on Nixon. Filming took place at Martha Cook. We got the collection because he felt comfortable here and knew we would honor his legacy.”

While Altman did wear “many hats” by fulfilling different roles throughout his career, you can also take the title of the exhibit literally. Hallman said, “Students came up with the apt title for the exhibit; for each production, Altman wore a different hat.”

The exhibit is only one part of a larger tribute to Altman. A symposium about Altman will be held June 7-8 in the Hatcher Gallery and will include scholars; Altman’s widow, Mrs. Katherine Altman; graduate students talking about using the archive; and open conversations. It celebrates Altman’s legacy and the official opening of the Robert Altman archive. The 2^nd annual Cinetopia, a film festival that will feature several films by Altman, runs June 6-9 at the Michigan Theater.

Exhibit: The Many Hats of Robert Altman: A Life in Cinema

Exhibit Location: Gallery, First Floor, Hatcher Graduate Library, 913 S. University Ave.
Dates and Times: April 22 – June 30, open during regular library hours

Free and open to the public.

Mary Morris is a writer with the University of Michigan Libraries.

]]> http://www.montage.umich.edu/2013/05/candid-look-at-a-film-legend/feed/ 0 http://www.montage.umich.edu/2013/04/soleful-innovator/ http://www.montage.umich.edu/2013/04/soleful-innovator/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:09:52 +0000 Montage http://www.montage.umich.edu/?p=10436 Standing in his crowded art studio, Neil Zemba (photo right) explains the intricate details of his collaborative venture to design a must-have stylish sandal from recycled material. He runs his long fingers over the rubber-sole work-in-progress, which looks as if it could be worn on the hippest beaches from Tahiti to Malibu to the Hamptons.

“This is only a prototype,” he says. “We have a ways to go before it’s complete. Now, we have to create the manufacturing process.”

Mastering the relationship between creative design and practical marketplace realities is what Zemba refers to as the “push/pull challenge” of today’s designer.

“We live in a world where every product has to have a ‘design appeal,’ and it has to be cost-effective,” says the senior from Saline, who will graduate in May from the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design.

In late fall, Zemba’s collaboration with Cass Community Social Services in Detroit, known as “Detroit Treads,” is expected to yield a “saleable sandal” made by those who seek shelter and assistance at the Detroit-based agency. The sandal is currently undergoing “test marketing.” (Translation: The sandals are on the feet of Zemba’s friends.)

The project is in line with Zemba’s view that fashionable design can be responsible and make a positive difference. He learned first-hand the impact of design on a person and community from participating in Professor Nick Tobier’s class, “Design for Change,” where he, along with other students, taught the fundamentals of design at Detroit Community High, a charter school.

Zemba and A&D senior Daniel Gold have taught a footware design class at the school. He says the class is a way to encourage students to learn about art, and inspire them to see possibilities beyond their community.

“Everyone needs a mentor,” says Zemba, who points to the influence of mentors Tobier and professors Bill Lovejoy, John Marshall and Marianetta Porter during his undergraduate years. Collectively, he credits them with shaping his “design with a conscience” sensibility, and seeing connections among disciplines.

Since winning the Nike-sponsored “Future Sole” national competition as a sophomore, Zemba’s future has been on a high-trajectory career path. His eclectic, thought-provoking designs have attracted attention of preeminent shoe innovators such as Nike’s legendary Wilson Smith.

After graduation, however, rather than seek a stable job with an established shoe designer, Zemba plans to follow in his father’s unconventional footsteps.

“My father’s my biggest role model,” he said, noting his dad’s can-do entrepreneurial zeal. From success owning a sub shop to his current business as a liaison between medical device companies and the FDA, the elder Zemba, said his son, is the embodiment of living life according to your dream.

“It starts with a dreamer, but it doesn’t stop with a dream,” said Zemba. “I have a pretty good role model who taught me how to get things done, how to make ideas a reality.”

On Friday, April 19, the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) joined a list of many of the most renowned international art museums participating in the Google Art Project, an online virtual journey to a front-row seat to some of the most fascinating artworks in the world.  The project, which was launched two years ago, has grown from about a dozen museums to more than 150 museums in 40 countries. More than 40,000 high-resolution objects are available to be viewed.

At the gathering, UMMA Director Joseph Rosa was joined by Mike Miller, a U-M graduate, who is head of Ann Arbor, Google. Rosa and Miller demonstrated the current online features of the Google Art Project, and discussed the potential for increasing the popularity of art, visitation at art museums and elevating the discussion about art history and the visual arts.

Rep. John Dingell, who represents Michigan’s 12^th Congressional District, was also in attendance. Dingell sponsors an annual art competition for high school students, and serves on the House Committee for Energy and Commerce. He is also an outspoken advocate for improving cultural literacy in K-12 education.

“The Google Art Project is very important to us,” said Rosa. “We serve as a cultural nexus for the University, but we also understand our global responsibility in making the arts accessible to the masses. Not to negate the value of seeing a work of art in person, but we believe that it is just as important to interact with this visually literate generation in the digital space as well.

“We see value in both visitors to our museum, and to our website and online collections; it is an opportunity to allow for students and educators to make connections and interpret art without physical barriers,” he said.

UMMA is among the first group of American university art museums to participate in the project, joining Yale University, Princeton University, Rutgers University and University of Texas. Featured art museums include Tate Gallery, London, England; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Uffizi, Florence, Italy; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; White House, Washington, D.C.;  Australian Rock Art Gallery at Griffith University, Brisbane; Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar; and, Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Curators selected 60 images from UMMA’s collection, which collectively reflect the expansive range of the museum’s encyclopedic collection, including works from Claude Monet, James Abbott Whistler, Eastman Johnson, Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri), Tiffany and Hosoda Eishi. UMMA has more than 19,000 objects, including artwork from artists in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

The Google Art Project aims to increase the popularity and accessibility to art museums at a time when many museums are struggling financially. Generally, revenue is derived from attendance along with public support and private fundraising. At UMMA, revenue is generated through annual allocations from the university’s general budget, fundraising and earned income. There is no admission charge to the museum.

Further, the ease in which to access the Google Art Project provides K-12 teachers with a valuable tool for teaching art history, said Rosa. Annually, about 5,000 K-12 students visit UMMA, and the museum’s education department provide tours and outreach to a range of pubic, private and charter schools.

University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.

Phone: 734.764.0395

www.umma.umich.edu

www.facebook.com/ummamuseum

www.twitter.com/ummamuseum

Summer hours (May–August): Galleries open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 12 p.m. – 5 p.m; closed Mondays. The Forum, Commons, and selected public spaces in the Maxine and Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing are open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily. Admission is free.

Warren Robbins Gallery, Jean Paul Slusser Gallery, Work • Ann Arbor, Work • Detroit

April 18 – May 5
Ann Arbor Receptions: April 19, 6 – 9 pm
Work • Detroit Reception: April 21, 4 – 7 pm

AggroCrag features culminating projects by the School’s graduating seniors produced during their year-long Integrative Project course, including film, installation, traditional and new media. Encompassing all of the School’s exhibition venues, the show also features off-site exhibitions, events, performances and a film screening.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT PENNY W. STAMPS SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance Department of Musical Theatre closes out the 2012-2013 season with a well-loved musical classic, Crazy for You®, The New Gershwin® Musical. With a book by Ken Ludwig and featuring the music and lyrics of George and Ira Gershwin, Crazy for You® plays April 18 at 7:30PM, April 19 & 20 at 8PM and April 21 at 2PM at the Power Center for the Performing Arts in Ann Arbor.

Linda Goodrich directs the production with music direction by Catherine Walker Adams. Goodrich and Adams collaborated last November on Bat Boy: The Musical.

In 1990, producer Roger Horchow, a life-long fan of Gershwin music, acquired the rights to a number of their works and obtained permission from the Gershwin Estate to recreate the 1930s musical Girl Crazy. Horchow immediately contacted playright Ken Ludwig, who had recently won a Tony Award for his work Lend me a Tenor. Ludwig initially turned Horchow down, having never written a musical before, but Horchow eventually convinced him to take on the project.

Ludwig adapted the classic tale of boy gets girl after many obstacles and blended it with 19 of George and Ira Gershwin’s most beloved songs including “Embraceable You” to “I Got Rhythm” and “They Can’t Take that Away from Me.” Crazy for You® premiered on Broadway on February 19, 1992, at the Shubert Theatre in New York City. After a slew of British musical invasions, the show was hailed as one of the great American musicals destined to regain the American dominance of the field. The show ran for 1,622 performances and won the 1992 Tony Award for Best Musical.

The musical follows Bobby Child, an aspiring dancer, as he works to escape the corporate-bank life his mother and fiancée insist upon. To get him away from the stage, his mother sends him to the small town of Deadrock, Nevada, to foreclose on the local theatre. Upon reaching Deadrock, Bobby’s life is turned upside down by the beautiful and stubborn Polly Baker, the daughter of the theatre owner.

Inspired by his love for the stage, and for Polly, Bobby hatches a plan to save the theatre. But when his life in the city collides with the persona he has created in Deadrock, mistaken identities and miscommunications threaten to undo everything Bobby has worked towards in revitalizing the cowboy town he has come to love.

“A year ago when this was chosen, I wasn’t planning to work on the show,” states director Goodrich. “Now I am so thankful and grateful that I am directing – I have absolutely fallen in love with it. The show really tells a beautiful cohesive story from all the musicals that the songs were was pulled from. At the heart of all of the Gershwin’s musicals from the depression era is the single question of ‘shall we dance or keep on moping?’

I think there is a cynicism that has been in vogue, ushered in from the 1980s, that we all fall into daily. So that question of whether we will embrace our lives or just complain and mope has become a profound question today. And as a community we learn to come together and embrace our lives. I am thankful for Crazy for You for reminding me of that.”

Shari Jordan, a dance captain in the original Broadway production, recreates the original Tony Award-winning Broadway choreography by Susan Stroman. Additional choreography is by Dept. of Musical Theatre Assistant Professor Ron De Jesús. The design team includes scenic designer Bruce Brockman (The Full Monty), costume designer George Bacon (42^nd Street), lighting designer Andrew Lott (Sunday in the Park with George), wig & makeup designer Dawn Rivard (August: Osage County), and U-M SMTD alumnus Michael Eisenberg as sound designer.

Following the Friday performance on April 19 will be a post-performance discussion moderated by Goodrich and featuring members of the cast. Curtain Call Fridays offer an opportunity for audience members to talk with artists about each production. Sponsored by Friends of Theatre & Drama, the discussion is free and open to all.

Ticket prices for Crazy for You® are $26 and $20 with student tickets only $10 with ID. Limited seats remain for all performances. Tickets are available in person at the League Ticket Office, located within the Michigan League. The Ticket Office is open 9am-5pm, Monday through Friday, and 10am – 1pm on Saturday. Order by phone at (734) 764-2538.

Tickets may also be ordered online at tickets.music.umich.edu. The Power Center, located at 121 N. Fletcher Street, is accessible to patrons in wheelchairs and features an infrared assisted listening system.