When I went to see “Urinetown,” I didn’t really know what to expect, so as I entered the dimly lit theater, I found myself wondering, ‘What the hell could this play be about?’
Well, ladies and gentlemen, it was about social injustice, corruption, and the merciless trampling of the destitute under the iron boots of a mega corporation. It was about love, sacrifice, politics, preservation, and, of course, pee. It also explored the idea that a leader of people needs a heart. But in order to sustain the people in the face of diminishing natural resources, a leader also needs a brain.
In this play, the leader only had a heart, which meant that “Urinetown,” ultimately, was not a happy musical. In fact, it was a musical making fun of musicals, including itself. A blatantly satirical cliché mocking all components of musical theater from the unrealistic idealism of sappy feel-good fests like “Annie” to the angry street rat rebellions of “Les Misérables,” this play made me wonder why we even like musicals while simultaneously presenting an irresistibly enjoyable one.
On Wednesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 1, Johnson State’s different musical groups performed their end of semester concerts for the JSC community and public. These acts included the JSC Guitar Ensemble, Jazz band, Afro-Cuban ensemble, Funk Fusion Ensemble, Concert Band, Concert Choir, and Chamber Singers.
The Guitar Ensemble, directed by Greg Matses, kicked things off on Wednesday with a very impressive set of songs performed with different types of guitar. Three songs were performed, ranging from Bach to the Police – which was the stand-out song with ensemble member Jessica Albright channeling Sting himself with her vocals.
By Calista Tarnauskas
In his first published book of poetry, leadbelly, Tyehimba Jess explores the life and music of the blues legend Huddie William Ledbetter, more commonly known as Leadbelly. Jess’ book was chosen by Brigit Pegeen Kelly as one of the five books published through the National Poetry Series in 2004, which is co-supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Having been a part of the Chicago poetry scene, Cave Canem, and a former Green Mill Slam team member this collection of work represents the power and struggle that comes with the gift and curse of the blues, as well as the struggle of all those gifted and hindered by the odds stacked against them.
The book, all 117 pages of it, is broken into eight parts guided by titles like, “what kind of soul has man?” or “black girl, black girl,” all of which seem to echo the chronological sequence of events in Leadbelly’s life. It opens with the poem, “leadbelly’s lessons,” in which the young musician, age 12, discovers the “pure white envy” of his white boss, Mr. Haney, whose jealousy for the talent of young Leadbelly swells to the point of threat. Though Haney begs Leadbelly to play, he makes his envy clear saying, “nigger, someday i’m gonna kill you.”
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