You-review-it Monday

February 13, 2012
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For me, the weekend included a trip to Ball State to see a terrific student production of "The Drowsy Chaperone" (co-directed by that show's original Broadway star Sutton Foster) as well as an excursion to the Center for the Performing Arts' Studio Theatre for Actors Theatre of Indiana's take on "Godspell." More thoughts on both soon.

Plus there was the Grammy Awards which I live tweeted at IBJARTS.

And you? What A&E activity did you experience this weekend?

Your thoughts?

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  • Godspell & Lend Me a Tenor
    Michael TavelFebruary 13, 2012 1:39 PM
    I had the opportunity to see the opening night performance of Godspell by Actors Theatre of Indiana and a performance of Civic Theatre's Lend Me a Tenor, both at the Carmel center for the Performing Arts. Godspell has always been a favorite of mine and this production did everything to maintain that appreciation. The production is lively, well directed, professionally performed and expertly choreographed. It is truly a most enjoyable 2 hours and should not be missed. Lend Me a Tenor is a campy, slapstick play in the style of Neil Simon. This production moves smoothly to a most comical conclusion. I would also recommend taking in this production.
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  • Indy Chamber Orchestra
    CConradFebruary 13, 2012 2:50 PM
    The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra play a fine concert Saturday night at the Basile Theater in the Indiana History Center. Music Director Kirk Trevor conducted and the soloist was oboist Leanna Booze. The program opened with a one on a part rendition of the Third Brandenburg Concerto of J.S. Bach. The violins and violas performed standing, which is likely the manner the orchestra in 1721 would have done all performances. The second movement, which is in reality a single cadence with harpsichord improvisation, was replaced by a slow movement from a Bach Violin Sonata, and it was well played by violinist Davis Brooks and harpsichordist Tom Gerber. The effect was a dynamic and energetic playing in which bow strokes were more audible than when several players are on each part. When bassist David Murray played the lowest notes on an extension that allows lower notes than low E, there was a noticeable oomph in the room, and it had a wonderful impact. Leanna Booze played a beautifully nuanced performance of Richard Strauss late masterpiece the Oboe Concerto. It was written in 1946 when the composer was 82. The orchestra played a well balanced accompaniment and the audience responded with a warm ovation. There seemed to be a bit of a hiccup at the beginning of the third movement and some tentative horn playing was noticeable. The remainder of the orchestra winds performed their significant roles extremely well. The second half of the concert was the 1788 Symphony 39 of W.A. Mozart. It was a nice opportunity to hear two contrasting versions, as the Royal Philharmonic played it a couple of weeks ago at the Palladium. Both performances were of a very high calibre, but the sound of the larger string section in the big warm hall was very different from this one, with a smaller string section in a drier and much more intimate setting. Maestro Trevor, conducting without score, led a most interesting and spirited rendition. This is the only late Mozart Symphony that does not use oboes, so a most interesting situation was mentioned by Trevor; there were no oboes on stage to give the tuning A for any of the works. It was given by harpsichord, english horn and clarinet. I especially liked what Trevor did with the third movement, as it was a bit faster and more aggressive than most performances, so the effect was closer to a waltz than to the traditional minuet, and it had a very nice flow and pacing. Without the presence of oboes, the clarinets are featured prominently, and they played very well indeed. The were slight balance issues with trumpet a bit loud and flute a bit soft, but this was a minor criticism of an overall fine performance.

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  1. So the Mayor adds another non value added layer to having a vehicle towed? Whereby the City Government RECIEVES AN ILLEGAL KICKBACK FROM A LGOISTICS COMPANY THAT SUBS THE WORK TO LOCAL TOW COMPANIES? What is the service the City performs for receiving the "tribute"? This is RICO!!!!! What a corrupt and unnecessary layer. What a dirtbag Mayor and his cronies.

  2. Owner occupied housing. Clear enough?

  3. So people think I am paranoid. It's from experience in dealing with puds requested by developers who make major donations themselves to representatives, have nice fund raisers for those running for office and hide through pac's. then there are the public relation firms. You will note some pr comments below. You there Clyde Lee? My opinion. Commercial along 421, great. Multifamily housing, terrible idea that will change the town. Senior condos or zero lot line homes west, great. I suggest keeping all entries to commercial areas at 421. All entries to owner occupied on sycamore. Will keep the traffic on sycamore down some. Two other things. You can't trust what will be there in 10 years. Steve builds quality stuff, but areas change over time. Look at the changes at the wall mart center at 86th and 421 over the last 10 years. Look at the apartments and neighborhoods behind St Vincent's. Raintree properties WILL decrease in value if commercial and multifamily goes in near. It has already been happening around the bridges area. The houses that have been sold recently are way below market. Several deals not closed due to the Illinois construction and the whole unsurety of the bridges. It's pretty simple, Zionsville will approve the whole thing because the city council has been groomed over a LONG period of time for this. I might even suggest some are in their position as a result of this.

  4. Esta, do you have a dog in this fight? You seem to really want to knock anyone against this project. No, I didn't move to Indiana for the architecture. I moved here for that red barn in the field. The horses and fields of corn. A place that is NOT overdeveloped. There are plenty of nearby places in Indianapolis that could be REDEVELOPED instead.

  5. RKW - OK, we get it, you're paranoid. The question is, are you paranoid enough? Greg - Yes, Pittman(s) is (are) at it again. They are developers, they build things. It's what they do. So when you go to work tomorrow, Greg, you're at it again too. Cliff - Really? You moved to Indiana for its progressive architecture? That's like moving to England for the cuisine. Zionsvillain - The house you moved to was once a field or woods. I'm willing to bet folks were upset when that ground was plowed under and a house was built. But I guess now that you are in, everything should stop? "My house was OK, but the next one is sprawl." SE Guy - Please don't paint us with such a wide brush. Most reasonable Zionsville residents welcome planned, measured development.

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