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PAJAMA PARTY
There’s no sleeping when post-grad life’s this fun. by james bien Among the plays featured in The Music Theatre Company’s current season is its adaptation of the award-winning musical, “The Pajama Game.” In it, Frankie DiCiaccio (Communication ‘12) and Kelley Abell (Communication ‘12) play a swing (a male understudy to an ensemble of male characters) and the character of Poopsie, respectively. These are among the first roles the Northwestern alumni have acted in since graduating last year. Attached to the tremendous excitement of acting with a professional company is naturally some nervousness and fear. “It’s kind of scary,” DiCiaccio said. “I’ve never done it before.” Abell, who has 12 years of dance experience, also noted the challenging choreography she has to learn for her character. “(The choreographer) really pushes our limits as actors and dancers, which is incredible,” Abell said. The choreographer for the show, Jessica Redish (Communication ‘02) is also a friend of NU. Redish is the founding artistic director of The Music Theatre Company in Chicago. “I wanted to create a home for new musicals to flourish,” Redish said. “Now that the company has grown from then, a summer festival, to now, a year-round theater, we started doing bigger titles as well, but looking at them in a new way.” This production, which is directed by Jess McLeod, an NU graduate student studying directing, takes a specific approach to this classic play. “It’s usually a really big show, but our theater is really intimate, a smaller space,” DiCiaccio said. “You get to know the characters better and more intimately. Jess McLeod, the director, has done a really terrific job being specific with all of the characters and who these people really are, so there is something really real
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about it.” Abell expressed a similar sentiment about her role as Poopsie, one of four women working in the factory. “The women who work in the factory are so important to the telling of the story,” Abell said. “Jess (McLeod) makes us each such unique and strong women.” As the choreographer, Redish tried to explore the play through the eyes of the factory workers in the harsh conditions of their working environment. “We see this production sometimes, and we think it’s a very enjoyable place to work, so I want to make it clear through the choreography that it’s some place that’s very difficult to work at,” Redish said. The musical, which is set in the 1950s, centers on a group of pajama factory workers who demand a 7.5-cent raise. Although the setting is different from what a 20-year-old might face today, Abell said as a recent graduate, she can relate to her character’s struggles. “It feels very close to home to be working on close to a minimum wage, where literally every cent does count,” Abell said. “Most of all, it’s feeling like you deserve to be compensated for all the work you have to do.” Despite that, Abell still noted some important differences between her character and herself. “Poopsie really understands men, and that’s how she wields her power,” Abell said. “I’m not sure Kelley’s like that.” Abell said she feels incredibly fortunate to be part of The Music Theatre Company. “There’s such a great sense of play in the room, and a commitment to exploration that I have really, really loved. I felt so free to explore,” Abell said. “It’s really important to me because I keep telling friends of my graduating class that we have so much time to make art that we promised ourselves we’d make in Willard at 3 a.m. drinking our Starbucks double shots.” Abell said part of the reason why it
was so enjoyable to work with The Music Theatre Company was the heavy presence of NU alumni: Matt Deitchman, the music director, and Carly Robinson, a female swing, are also graduates. “It’s been really fun working with people who speak the same language,” Abell said. “They have the same priorities of creating meaningful art.” DiCiaccio, who described the company as warm and inviting, also said he appreciates having friends from his graduating class. Redish recalled only one other time when a musical was comprised of so many NU graduates. In 2011, The Music Theatre Company featured the musical “Merrily We Roll Along,” in which six NU graduates participated. “I really like working with Northwestern graduates,” Redish said. “There’s a common dialogue that we share, and I appreciate that.” Redish said since graduating in 2002, she has been back to see a few shows, making her familiar with some of the students’ work on campus and throughout the city. One of the students she recognized was Abell. “I adore working with Kelley,” Redish said. “I’ve seen her perform at other theaters around town, and I admire her work. She’s very smart, and her approach is very intelligent. Frankie’s also delightful.” In the end, both Abell and DiCiaccio said they value the experience NU has given them in preparing them for roles like theirs in “The Pajama Game.” “I’m so blessed to continue working with people I met at Northwestern,” Abell said. “In my mind, (NU) is the only place to study theater, but that’s just me.” jamesbien2016@u.northwestern.edu @jamesbien
INSIDE: Odds & Ends 2 | Columns 3 | Reviews 4
Page 2 | The Current
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Odds & Ends
Q&A with
Dr. Don She’s not a mad scientist or nerd. She’s the science adviser for “Breaking Bad.”
W
hen “Breaking Bad” first aired, producer Vince Gilligan explained to Chemical & Engineering News that he relied on the Internet and Wikipedia to look up scientific information for the show. Donna Nelson, a chemistry professor at the University of Oklahoma, saw Gilligan’s interview and was the only one who responded to Gilligan’s request for assistance. She soon became the science adviser for the hit AMC series. Nelson will speak Friday at Northwestern, but before her visit, she answered The Current’s questions.
THE CURRENT: How did you become involved with
“Breaking Bad”?
DONNA NELSON: I already knew that the scientific community … and so many other people have been very concerned about the way scientists and science are portrayed on television and in the movies. There’s this great effort to try to make the depiction more accurate. A lot of times we are portrayed as the evil scientist or the mad scientist or the bad scientist or the nerd scientist. I thought ... here is a producer (Vince Gilligan) who is really interested in getting the science right and the story right, and that’s exactly what we need. It would build a bridge between the scientific community and the entertainment community, and it would help the entertainment community learn more about us. The next thing I knew, Vince Gilligan contacted me and said, “Sure, we would
lson
love for you to help out.”
THE CURRENT: Were you a fan of “Breaking Bad” before you joined their team? DN: I had never watched it. The thing that motivated me was this was an opportunity to help a community. When I watched the show, I was initially put off by the subject material. Inside our chemical community, all of that is taboo, and we would never do anything to encourage students to do anything illegal. When I watched the show, I realized Vince Gilligan is portraying the main character, Walter White, in a way such that no student is going to watch that and then think, yeah, that’s the lifestyle I want. I felt comfortable with it at that point and I was happy to help them. THE CURRENT: What’s your favorite part about advising for the show? DN: I’ve learned so much about the entertainment industry. One thing that I think was very important, and critical to having a good relationship with the entertainment industry if you’re a scientist, is you have to have a respect for the art that they do. I respected them and they respected me. When I would do things like review pages from their script, I would look at it and I would remember those writers had written the words that they thought would have the optimal impact on the audience. The goal was to have a popular show. It was not a science feature
show. It was a popular show that used science. When I read the script, I kept that in mind and I would change as few words as possible from their script just to get the science correct.
THE CURRENT: Why do you think it’s important to include science advisers on TV shows? DN: It’s really important whenever you have a television show or a movie, you have to have a suspension of belief. They’re watching along and then there’s this huge faux pas committed, that suspension of belief is broken. The producers really do want to get the material presented on television or in the movies just as correct as possible, so that viewers will ... stay immersed in the show from beginning to end. I think it’s important to scientists, because to us when we hear something not factual presented, it’s like fingernails on a blackboard. THE CURRENT: Do you have any advice for students who want to pursue chemistry in the future? DN: I’ve certainly enjoyed it, and being a professor, I’ve really enjoyed the autonomy. I’ve had the freedom to select projects and accept offers like this, and when you have that sort of freedom and you can do things like this, it really makes life fun. annebruce2015@u.northwestern.edu @anniefb13
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Source: Creative Commons
This week, Justin Bieber visited the Anne Frank House, a museum dedicated to the life of the fearless Holocaust victim, whose diaries chronicle some of the most horrific events of Nazi occupation. Bieber had the ridiculously awful (and highly offensive idea) of signing the following in the museum’s Y B ILED guest book: “Truly inspiring to be able COMP TH FREDA BE to come here. Anne was a great girl. ELIZA Hopefully she would have been a belieber.” Below, The Current and Daily staffers, as well as some Northwestern students, chime in on the incident.
or... ords f w e v i F
JUSTIN BIEBER
Chelsea Sherlock/The Daily Northwestern
Two things annoy me: being expected to read almost 100 pages for each history class, and when my Facebook news feed is filled with reposted images. I value originality or at least the effort to take that interesting quote and put it in a status with some context or reason why you posted it. I’d rather see a photo of my Facebook friend or a picture they took than another shared image from “A relationship is not a test so why cheat?” (That’s an actual page that appeared on my news feed.) Although if you share a Pinterest photo linking to some delicious-looking food, I’ll probably click on that. What especially bothers me are the photos urging people to like and share to end cancer or feed a starving child in Africa. This is a lie. It’s like a chain letter. No one actually benefits from those likes and shares. They just raise awareness. This barrage of unoriginal posts is why when my news feed began to contain comics from the Facebook application Bitstrips, I was so pleased and began deliberately looking to see if more friends had posted from the app. Bitstrips is a website and app that allows users to create a pretty accurate cartoon version of themselves. They can then place their cartoon selves in comics and cartoon images that
can also include other friends who use the app. Scenes are pre-made, so it doesn’t require much effort other than choosing a scene. The real creativity and benefit comes in the opportunity to be witty, choose specific scenes and come up with captions and quotes. Bitstrips can also be used to depict events. The best Bitstrip I have seen so far showed someone hiding in a trashcan to spy on her crush. That’s the beauty of Bitstrips. People can use them to update their statuses and share what they’re doing with a cartoon version of themselves rather than a poor-quality photo. Friends can be included, and, rather than just a status telling something that happened in my day or an interesting thought I had, I can visually depict it with a comic. Bitstrips are outlets to demonstrate wit, be humorous and stand out among other Facebook posts. I love using them to share things I’m thinking about in a way that isn’t a status, and I’d rather have them dominate my Facebook news feed than reposts. chelseasherlock2017@u.northwestern.edu @musovogr
“Please, Anne Frank had standards.” — Shelby Thordarson
“Annex couldn’t fit his ego.” — Sam Freedman “I don’t beliebe the audacity.” — Yoni Muller
“Go back to Canada, please.” — Jen Reese “Wait, what? Why? How? No.” — Andrew Brugman “I give up on humanity.” — Josh Walfish “I beliebe … JB’s an idiot.” — Laken Howard
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Fashion
LAKEN HOWARD
DATING COLUMNIST @LAKENISAHORCRUX
Foul
column
What’s one of the most obvious advantages of online dating? You have the chance to tell people all the wonderful things about you before they even meet you. You can put your best (virtual) foot forward and create a profile that will show off how unique and beautiful you are. In this week’s column, I want to share with you the do’s and don’ts of making your online dating profile the best it can be and help you avoid unwittingly scaring off your potential soulmate. The most important thing to remember when creating a profile is to be honest. If you’re genuine and display your true interests and intentions, it will greatly increase your chances of finding a date you’ll really hit it off with instead of, say, mistakenly attracting a balloon fetishist. I’m aware that not everyone uses sites like OkCupid to find a girlfriend or boyfriend. If you are indeed looking only for a hookup, mention that on your profile in the nicest way possible, i.e., “At this point in my life, I’m more interested in a casual, short-term relationship.” This way, no one will be misled or have unrealistic expecta-
DIGITAL GET DOWN
“
If you’re genuine and display your true interests and intentions, it will greatly increase your chances of finding a date you’ll really hit it off with instead of, say, mistakenly attracting a balloon fetishist.
Source: Creative Commons
STYLE VIOLATION Early in his career, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook dressed nowhere as outlandishly as he does now. Westbrook’s style on and off the court (think lensless glasses and fishing-lure shirts) may draw criticism, but with his playing, he doesn’t have to worry what his detractors say.
BALLE AND TI RS ARAS
lakenhoward2015@u.northwestern.edu
col u
FOOD COLUMNIST
Small plates seem to be all the rage these days. Modeled after the Spanish tapas, restaurants have begun serving up taste portions of internationally inspired dishes rather than traditional, one-plate entrees. The idea is to go in and taste a variety of foods. Found, 1631 Chicago Ave., was just named one of the best new restaurants by Chicago magazine. It too is a small-plate restaurant. You can get a plate of fried oyster tacos with bacon and tomatillo, and pair that with a selection of three to five cheeses. Other small-plate restaurants in Evanston include The Cellar, 820 Clark St., and The Stained Glass, 1735 Benson Ave. Unfortunately, although these tapas-style places are delicious, they are also expensive. As most of us know, college students are poor. So how do you get a delicious dinner without emptying the wallet?
Last week, we than his contemporaries? Probably not. Again, LeBron James wore discussed the leather sweat shorts recently. What does that even mean? significance of Westbrook’s issue resides in his public perception. The point NBA FASHION COLUMNIST two NBA players guard plays in the shadow of arguably the second-greatest bas@ROHAN_NU bringing back the ketball player in the world, Kevin Durant. The media only seem hi-top fade. Well, to cover Westbrook when it can criticize him for not deferring consider that the enough to Durant. introductory course to Ballers and Tiaras. This week, we’re jumpThe two alpha-dogs sometimes even boil over on the court, ing right into the center of the NBA fashion world with one of and on multiple occasions Durant and Westbrook argued on the its most polarizing figures, Oklahoma City Thunder guard sidelines of a close game. Russell Westbrook. At this point, Westbrook seems to have adopted his villainous personality with those outside of the team’s Before we get started, Coral Glades High gradufan base. He even took it to the level of denying ate and professional life saver Steven Berger (aka col u mn firefighter and paramedic student) deserves some Denver fans free queso by blocking a halfcourt credit for the idea of this column. When told The shot attempt by the Nuggets’ mascot. Current would be wading into the vast waters Westbrook did not always dress this way. After a lengthy Google image research process, of NBA fashion, Berger immediately suggested that no NBA fashion column worth a lick could the results showed Westbrook began his career avoid the topic of Westbrook. dressing conservative yet classy. But as soon as Westbrook attended the University of Califorthe country began criticizing his on-court decinia, Los Angeles, so one would assume that during sions (pass it to Durant, stop shooting, don’t deny his time in trendy SoCal he would pick up some hot anyone in the history of America free queso ever), fashion tips. Instead, the mercurial point guard wears Westbrook’s fashion decisions started to yell back at your face. outfits like a white shirt adorned with fishing lures topped Now, when people criticize Westbrook for looking like a colorwith lensless red glasses, leopard-print pants under a brown coat and short tie or a silvery, leathery vest over a gray shirt and too- blind Steve Urkel during press conferences, he can shrug off the naysayers and infuriate his haters even more. tight turquoise pants. But when Westbrook can do things like score the most points in So what’s my working theory here? Westbrook’s poor fashion choices don’t come from insecurity an NBA Finals game since Dwyane Wade in 2006 or throw down a or a need for attention. Instead, I’m sensing Westbrook’s fashion one-handed tomahawk dunk over a 7-footer, he probably doesn’t choices further help him embrace his bad boy image with have to care what those haters think. opposing fans. Listen, in reality, does Westbrook push the line further rohannadkarni2015@u.northwestern.edu
ROHAN NADKARNI
tions if things do progress to the meeting offline stage. Equally important, you should always find engaging ways to list your interests. Although you may not want to reveal some more personal information such as your religious or political views, you should also keep in mind you’ll find someone more similar to yourself if those important things are out in the open. The tricky part is to not say too much. If you ramble on about every last band you love, once you go on a date with someone, there may be little left to the imagination and conversation could run dry. If you can, try to do something totally different with your profile, like one of my friends did. She filled out each section of her profile as the game “Two Truths and a Lie” and invited guys to message her to see if they could guess correctly which things she mentioned were true. It makes her profile fun while still revealing interesting facts about her. Most importantly, it makes her easy to message, so she probably receives fewer “Hey sexy, wanna hook up l8r?” messages at 3 a.m. The bottom line? It’s your profile, and whatever impression you want to give people is up to you. Don’t be shady, though: Always upload honest pictures of yourself and be clear about what you want from the site. Remember: Have fun and stay safe! Happy dating!
BLAIR DUNBAR
The Current | Page 3
Columns
mn
LA A R I BLA RTE CA
First and most importantly, small plates, as strange as it sounds, are supposed to be shared. Sure, you could most likely finish a salad and some oyster tacos by yourself, but then you might still be hungry and your bill is already at $20. Two people, or three, means the more new foods you can try, the fuller stomachs and smaller bills with which you’re left. For example, a delicious deal my boyfriend and I shared at The Cellar consisted of smoked salmon flatbread, small Caesar salad, EDITOR IN CHIEF lobster mac and cheese and Chelsea Peng bacon-wrapped dates. Total per person? $16.15. My boyfriend and I eat a lot, and we were both full. Secondly, order filling
foods. Yes, the tempura vegetables are delicious, but if you are on a tight budget, it might be better to order something with a little more protein, like shrimp and grits. The more filling the plates are, the less you have to order and consequently, the less you have to spend. Why drop $3.75 on French fries when you can order a micro burger for about the same price? Third, avoid ordering wine and beer. Yes, the beverage lists at these places are extensive. No doubt they offer quality alcohol, but alcohol, particularly good alcohol, is expensive. You’re better
off skipping the $6 glass of wine and spending those $6 on some delicious food. College students are on a tight budget, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a nice meal from time to time. Those nice meals also don’t have to cost a whole day or two’s pay. You just have to know how to order right. Next time you have a date or want to go out with some friends or just try some new, high-end food, don’t be afraid to drop by The Cellar, The Stained Glass or Found. blairdunbar2015@u.northwestern.edu
THE CURRENT
ASSISTANT DESIGN ASSISTANT EDITOR EDITOR DESIGN Annie Bruce Jen White EDITOR
WRITERS
James Bien Alex Burnham Maria Fernandez Sammy Caiola -Davila Blair Dunbar
Elizabeth Freda Laken Howard Rohan Nadkarni Chelsea Sherlock Celia Skaggs
Page 4 | The Current
theater
A PERMANENT IMAGE SAMMY CAIOLA
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Reviews
SCARED SULLY
ALEX BURNHAM
can figure out who they are and who they want to be. She described “Monsters University” as a movie of “self-discovery and friendship.” Both Rae and Scanlon emphasized the already existing adoration for characters that will appear in “Monsters University.” All the voice cast members from “Monsters, Inc.” were more than excited to get back into their roles, having “to find a new take on the characters that was still familiar but was a little younger,” Scanlon said. However, the film was not without its challenges. Aging the characters while still maintaining their familiarity to audiences was a hefty task and took a lot of creativity on the part of the animation team. By thinning them up and movi brightening their colors, the e “Monsters” team reimagined Mike and Sulley in their younger years before the stereotypical college weight gain. When asked what they most wanted audience members to take away from “Monsters University,” both Scanlon and Rae agreed they wanted the film to touch people emotionally. “This film is very much about what happens when you come up to a closed door and how you get around that,” Scanlon said. Personally, what I’m most looking forward to is the opportunity to experience the characters I love in brand-new environments, interacting with the typical college student archetype. I can’t wait to see Mike and Sulley in their awkward teenage years, navigating their wild first year at college just as I did. I know I’m among many people young and old who will be beyond excited come June 21 when “Monsters University” hits theaters.
Intermittent delays plagued Kid Cudi’s third studio album, “Indicud.” Scott Mescudi mentioned the title of his 70-minute, 44-second installment during last summer. However, he put off its release from October 2012 to early 2013 and then eventually until April 23. “Indicud” leaked on the Internet last week, forcing the artist to release it a week early. The 18-song compilation delivers exactly what Mescudi, who goes by Kid Cudi, promised: his version of Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic 2001.” His experimental, avant-garde production, which features King Chip, Too $hort, Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky, advances the limits of hip-hop and delves into an exotic end of the musical spectrum. For starters, the singles on “Indicud” demonstrated his unique approach before the album was released. “Just What I Am” begins with robust bass kicks and fluttering cymbal crashes, which evolve into a sonically distorted Mescudi exhaling the lyrics “I need to smoke.” His words echo and coalesce. “Girls,” another single, expands and contracts to the pulsing of synthesizers and warbling bass tones. Music practically breathes as Mescudi describes his associations with women. “I see pretty girls everywhere I go,” he repeats during the chorus. The layering of separate electronic sounds gives the song acoustic depth and an airy temperament. This quality persists throughout the album as an underlying theme that relates lyrically different tracks. A sanguine disposition hops from song to song against a popping of vigorous bass. And, in typical Cudder fashion, a few parts of the album contain references to marijuana and the alienation of Mescudi from society. The “Moon Man” — also known as “Mr. Solo Dolo,” — describes therapy, isolation and a general lack of hope. But he also details the fortitude to continue living after a bitter custody battle. Yet, any more self-deprecation for Mescudi would be trite, prosaic to the point of regurgitation. “Indicud” alludes to low points but encapsulates the artist’s motivation to live under the influence of happiness. “I just tell ‘em I’m an oxymoron when I open my mouth,” he raps on the psychedelic “Solo Dolo Part II.” Reminiscent of ScoobyDoo and carnival music, plus The Doors, the track features Kendrick Lamar. It also samples “Going the Distance” by the Menahan Street Band. Musical invention defines the album in this way. The nine-minute penultimate track “Afterwards (Bring Yo Friends)” begins like “New York City Rage Fest.” Forceful bass smacks and pounds; it threatens to break the speakers. Then, above the beat, a phaseshifting organ pumps melody into the mixture. Various phrases emanate from the aural depths and repeat, given that the song lacks narrative lyrics. “Afterwards” transitions into “The Flight of the Moon Man,” a short, spacious finale. Natural, atmospheric noises blend with xylophone sounds into a cacophony, which in turn becomes the industrial pattern of grinding, mechanical bass. Ultimately, “Indicud,” the vaporous, effervescent collection of plangent tracks, sparks through musical synapse. Profundity integrates with simplicity, a sublime journey from song to song.
elizabethfreda2015@u.northwestern.edu
afburnham@u.northwestern.edu
Source: Creative Commons
SCHOOL OF MONSTROSITIES “Monsters University,” the prequel to the story of “Monsters, Inc.” arrives in theaters June 21. Crowd-pleasing monsters Mike and Sully star, as well as many unique and hysterical new monsters audiences are sure to fall in love with.
ELIZABETH FREDA MOVIE REVIEWER @EFREDAMEDILL
samanthacaiola2014@u.northwestern.edu
If you’re anything like me, your late childhood years were filled with some pretty incredible Pixar movies that shaped the way you’ve viewed animated films for the rest of your life. So when I was contacted to be a part of a conference call with the director and producer of the next “Monsters, Inc.” installment, you can imagine my excitement. “Monsters, Inc.” was a hysterical and meaningful flick I watched several times as a kid. Mike and Sulley, the two main characters, have a friendship for the books and were definitely a fan favorite, with “Boo” as their fearless child companion. I couldn’t wait to see what the next chapter would include. “Monsters University” takes viewers back to the place where Mike and Sulley first met. College seemed like the ideal setting and an “opportunity for fun, monster antics,” director Dan Scanlon said. Luckily for the viewers, Mike and Sulley will still be the charismatic monsters audiences are anxiously awaiting to see. “We wanted the characters to be somewhat familiar,” Scanlon said. “If we went back too far and did Monsters Elementary, we felt it wouldn’t be the Mike and Sulley we know and love.” Producer Kori Rae has quite the track record at Pixar and was a crucial member of production for several movies people of all generations fell in love with, including “Up” and “Toy Story 2,” to name a few. Rae said she really connected to the college setting, a time when teenagers (and monsters)
t "ęFS HFUUJOH FOHBHFE in June 2012, Miley Cyrus and Liam e f th o Hemsworth have s e v t h e l i d fa m o u s yet to set a wedn ding date. Father r i ch a Billy Ray Cyrus was cautious to avoid mentionE C U R IE B ing the engageANN ment in his memoir “Hillbilly Hearth.” In a recent interview, he admitted he intentionally left
things vague because he doesn’t know if the young couple will end up marrying. Miley has extra incentive to get married now to continue her “rebellious” phase and show up her dad. Kids these days. t "QQBSFOUMZ $IJQQFOEBMFT JT DBUFSJOH UP B OFX audience. The Las Vegas show will feature “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Ian Ziering as a guest headliner for four weeks in June. The 49-year-old actor calls the job a “dream come true,” and he already has some experience after doing “Dancing with the Stars.” I’m just waiting for ABC to start a late-night version of the show focusing on Chippendales, featuring the D-listers who are ready to move on to their next dancing gig.
N W O D N RU
INDICUD MUSIC REVIEWER
THEATER REVIEWER
No better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than with family counseling, huh? Head over to the Storefront Theater for LiveWire Chicago’s production of “A Permanent Image” and the cast will try, with little success, to convince you as such. This lackluster drama about familial tension and the futility of life left me pensive but dissatisfied, my mind grasping for the answer to the age-old question: “What was that?” The show revolves around an Idaho mother Carol, portrayed by Janice O’Neill, whose husband recently committed suicide. The two lived a lonely existence after their children, Ally and Bo, moved out of the house and never looked back. Over their years of mundane small-town isolation, Carol and her husband did a good deal of research on the Big Bang theory, which ultimately convinced them of their relative insignificance compared to the grander universe. Martin, Carol’s husband, takes his own life using drugs he steals from his job as a hospital custodian. He dies expecting Carol to follow suit, but she refuses to do so without both of her children present. The two kids — Ally, a small business owner, and Bo, a war photographer — arrive home after a decade of absence to find the entire house painted white, including the picture frames and magazines. Taking the bizarre transformation as evidence of their mother’s waxing insanity, the two spend the duration of the show analyzing the glitches in their personal psyches and pointing fingers in an attempt to pin down which bad seed brought their family to shambles. If you haven’t caught onto this yet, “A Permanent Image” has too much going on with almost nothing coming through. Under the cliched umbrella of “dysfunctional family,” Samuel D. Hunter’s script paws at themes of alcoholism, verbal abuse, emotional neglect and invasion of privacy without actually tackling any of these issues. The two siblings obviously feel cheated by their childhood but never explicitly say what went wrong. Rather than initiating an honest adult conversation about their parents’ shortcomings, they spend the time home fighting over their petty political differences and acting astounded that they can’t properly grieve for their father. Their living-room wrestling match, which is the only part of the show that resembles a climax, acts as a halfhearted resolution for a slew of problems that have obviously carried into their adult lives. Mostly, it’s a few people sitting around a white room, drinking and contemplating whether or not their lives are worth living. That, plus the political bickering about human apathy and the redundant dialogue about family obligation, makes for a mentally tiresome and emotionally numbing two hours and 15 minutes. For what the script was, it was well executed. There were a few convincing monologues from each character, and even some striking interplay between the two siblings. O’Neill’s inflection and gestures were spot-on for the pathetic persona she was trying to capture. But despite their performances, the actors were difficult to relate to. All in all, my problem is with the script, not the actors. It’s a good show if you’re intrigued by middleclass white people talking about their problems. But otherwise, I’d give it a C.
music
MONSTE UNIVER RS SITY
t "DUSFTT "VCSFZ 1MB[B QSPWFE JU T IBSEFS UP QVMM a Kanye than one might think. At the MTV Movie Awards, she attempted to grab Will Ferrell’s Comedic Genius award from him during his acceptance speech. Plaza, who appeared visibly intoxicated, had the name of her new movie written on her chest when she took the stage. Ferrell, proving he deserved to win the Comedic award, deadpanned, “Just like we rehearsed it.” In the end, viewers were just plain confused. At least Kanye’s interruption had a point. t "ęFS WBSJPVT POMJOF TPVSDFT QPTUFE BSUJDMFT claiming a “Friends” reunion would finally happen, Marta Kauffman, one of the show’s creators, shot
down the reports. The rumor mill said there would be an entirely new season of the show, but Kauffman told reporters there would never be a new season or a movie reunion, leaving viewers slightly relieved and a little heart-broken all at once. t "DUSFTT 1BNFMB "OEFSTPO SFDFOUMZ UPME SFQPSUers she never “felt beautiful.” Despite this claim, Anderson has a pretty good explanation for why photographers might want to change her image. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m so hot, but they definitely try to tone down my sex appeal,” Anderson said. Don’t try the false modesty act with us, Pamela. annebruce2015@u.northwestern.edu