UW News

April 26, 2012

Arts Roundup: Zydeco, Creole, organ and symphonic sounds — and a student-penned rock musical

UW News

Grammy-nominated fiddler, vocalist, accordionist and songwriter Cedric Watson and his band Bijou Creole will perform April 28 in Meany Hall.

Grammy-nominated fiddler, vocalist, accordionist and songwriter Cedric Watson and his band Bijou Creole will perform April 28 in Meany Hall.UW World Series

The week in UW arts starts strong and just keeps getting better here in the sunny heart of spring quarter. An undergraduate has written a rock musical just to make folks happy and an “all-powerful sorcerer” helps along the plot of the School of Drama’s continuing production, “The Illusion.”

Plus, Cedric Watson and Bijou Creole conjure zydeco and Cajun rhythms, the University Symphony features violinist Elisa Barston and UW voice students, Hall Health holds an art walk and a lot more. This all-powerful Arts Roundup just loves zydeco and home-made musicals. Et toi?

School of Music: Student recitals, April 28-May 3. Five students are giving free recitals in Brechemin Auditorium in coming days. Megan Bledsoe, harp, a doctoral recital, 1 p.m. April 28; Yesol Im, Violin, a junior recital, 4:30 p.m. April 29; Graeme Smith, harp, a junior recital, 7:30 p.m. April 29; Lauren Vander Lind, cello, a junior recital, 7:30 p.m. May 1; Katherine Isbill, flute, a doctoral recital, 7:30 p.m. May 3.

“The Illusion,” through May 6. The School of Drama presents this play by Pierre Corneille, adapted by Tony Kushner, at the Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse. The play features students in the Professional Actor Training Program. Production notes ask, “Is the play reality once removed, or is reality the play itself? Test your wits along with Plato in this tale about a father’s love for his son and the complications of romantic love as revealed by an all-powerful sorcerer.” Last preview is April 26; the show formally opens on April 27. Tickets are $10.

Curran Foster

Curran Foster

“For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky,” 7:30 p.m. April 26-29. An original rock musical about two friends wanting to transcend “the inane complexities of their social environment,” written by Curran Foster, a School of Drama undergraduate. Foster writes the project began as rebuttal to current musical theater trends, “where most musicals are either wildly inaccessible, or simply a satire of the genre itself … I mostly wanted to create something totally new that expresses my musical and artistic vision, and makes people happy.” Foster was given a $4,000 Mary Gates Leadership Scholarship to produce the musical, which plays in the Hutchinson Hall Cabaret Theater. Learn more on Facebook. Tickets are $5.

Cedric Watson and Bijou Creole, 8 p.m. April 28. Watson is a Grammy-nominated fiddler, vocalist, accordionist and songwriter who plays old-school zydeco styles, original material and Creole traditions. The New York Times wrote that Watson “reconfigures new and old Cajun music with guts and smarts. He plays fiddle and two-row button accordion and often sings in old Cajun French, like a revivalist, but his band, Bijou Creole, switches among vintage Cajun rhythms, New Orleans second-line beats and rock.” Presented at Meany Hall by the UW World Series. Tickets are $20-$30. 206-543-4880.

Naomi Shiga and Jonathan Wohlers

Naomi Shiga and Jonathan WohlersUW School of Music

Naomi Shiga and Jonathan Wohlers, 3 p.m. April 29. These duo organists will present a concert of solo and duo works for organ featuring music by W.A. Mozart and from the German Romantic movement. The concert, in Kane Hall’s Walker-Ames Room, is part of the 20th Anniversary Littlefield Organ Series. Tickets are $15, cash or check at the door. 206-685-8384.

University Symphony, 7:30 p.m. April 30. Jonathan Pasternack will conduct the symphony in a performance of works by Wagner, Berg, and Ravel in Meany Hall. Selections include “Good Friday Spell Music” from “Parsifal,” by Wagner; “Violin Concerto” (featuring Elisa Barston, violin) by Alban Berg; and Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les Sortileges,” featuring students from the UW Voice program. Tickets are $10-$15. 206-543-4880.

Burke Trivia Night, 8 p.m. May 3. Natural science, teamwork and beer make a great combination at the Burke Museum’s monthly trivia night at the College Inn Pub. Teams are limited to six players, and the cost is $5 per team. (And just think: On other worlds the dinosaurs might be the ones playing guessing games, and drinking really big beers.) Also: Admission’s free May 3 (the first Thursday of the month) and the Burke’s open until 8 p.m.

'Happy Goose Family Strolling Through Gas Works Park,' one of the images on display at the Hall Health Artwalk on May 3.

"Happy Goose Family Strolling Through Gas Works Park," one of the images on display at the Hall Health Artwalk on May 3.Yen-Chen Chiu

Hall Health Artwalk, 5:30-7 p.m. May 3. The first open, public event showing the collection of more than 70 objects of art on loan from UW students and employees. Some of the artists will be present to discuss their work. The display of art “is much more than just making our newly remodeled building look nice. It has been shown that art can promote patient healing,” says Mark Shaw, director of health promotion and chair of the committee that created the collection. Artists take note: There’s also a call for art under way
for the 2012-13 school year.

“White Rabbit, Red Rabbit,” 7:30 p.m. May 3-6. An original play by Iranian citizen Nassim Soleimanpour, who was denied a passport for refusing to serve in his country’s armed forces. Performed by a different actor every night. Presented by the Undergraduate Theatre Society and FIUTS at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre May 3-4 and Hutchinson Hall’s Cabaret Theater May 5-6 — and performed by a different actor each night. $5 admission will go to charity.