Day: October 4, 2017

Scrambling all the Way: 50 Years of Be-striped Irreverence

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Huskies Pep Band Concert Celebrates “50 Years of Be-Striped Irreverence!”

The Huskies Pep Band presents Scrambling all the Way: 50 Years of Be-striped Irreverence next Friday, October 13, at 7:30 PM in the Rozsa Center. The Huskies Pep Band (HPB) is a Michigan Tech point of pride and one of the most lauded (and loud!) pep bands in the Midwest. Members dressed in “bumble-bee” stripes perform in unscripted and unrestrained glory at concerts, athletic events, parades, and special events all around Houghton, and support Michigan Tech teams on the road as well. The Huskies Pep Band is a nationally-known Division I pep band of nearly 250 members that performs at all home football, basketball, and hockey games. The band was selected as the host band to the WCHA Final Five Tournament in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

What can you expect from the Pep Band “live and In-concert?” According to Director of Bands Michael Christianson,

“On this date, or likely some other one 50 years ago, Michigan Technological University’s Director of Bands Don Keranen decided to transform the Huskies Pep Band into a bestriped, scrambling, irreverent, annoying, distracting force for both good (for our athletic teams) and not as good (for the opposing teams). Since then, the HPB has performed at many arenas and stadiums (including some from which they have been banned for creating a “home atmosphere” for Michigan Tech’s teams), learned more than 8 songs, developed the capacity to breathe fire, been a P.E. credit for many movement-challenged students, and reached the age of 50 as a “Scramble” band!”

Christianson adds, “To celebrate, our yearly Pep Band Concert will feature tunes from all 50 years of scramblin’ (as well as several from our brand-new CD, plus photos and videos from many years. Our world-famous HPB Swag will be available for purchase at intermission, and we fully intend to have well-known guests with us for the event, as soon as they make bail. The concert is Friday October 13, there will likely be a ghoulish flavor to the evening…bwahahaha. Actual Quotes:

I didn’t know such sounds were possible!”- Marlee Matlin.

 

Vertical stripes aren’t always slimming.“- Anna Wintour.

 

Will there be another taco eating contest?”-Taco Bell”

 

Tickets for Scrambling all the Way: 50 Years of Pep at the Rozsa Center are on sale now, $13 for adults, $5 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at Rozsa.mtu.edu, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or at the Rozsa box office the night of the show. Please note that the Rozsa box office opens only two hours before performances.

Art or science, what has more power to change the future?

picasso at lapin agile 2Tech Theatre presents Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile

Art or science, what has more power to change the future? Come, have drinks with Einstein and Picasso, at the Lapin Agile, a bar in 1904 Paris, as delightfully imagined by actor, comic, musician, and yes, playwright, Steve Martin. In his first full-length play, Martin puts Picasso and Einstein on a funny and poignant collision-course to drink, laugh, and debate the genius and imagination that inspires both. Members of the audience can even “drink” at the bar! There will be seats at the café tables for a few lucky audience members each night, with refreshments and snacks served as part of the performance. Tech Theatre, Directed by Christopher Plummer, Professor, Visual and Performing Art,  presents Picasso at the Lapin Agile, a thoughtfully comedic look at the power of imagination at the start of the 20th Century, from the perspective of two giants of their time. The show will run for two weeks, Thursday – Saturday, October 12 – 14, and Wednesday – Friday, October 18 -20, at 7:30 pm in the McArdle Theatre.

A long-running and popular Off-Broadway play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile began with a first reading of the play at Steve Martin’s home. Tom Hanks read the role of Picasso, and Chris Sarandon read Einstein. Following further development, the play opened at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago on October 13, 1993. The show then enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles and then made its way to New York City. The New York Times wrote, “It’s important to remember that the playwright of Picasso at the Lapin Agile is Steve Martin, stand-up comic, actor, writer, banjo player and something of a genius in his own right. So when big questions are being addressed, you can be sure that a layer of silliness is always in place (and, subversively, a layer of seriousness beneath that).”

 According to Alexandra Walker, Tech Theatre’s stage manager for Lapin Agile, “The play explores the question ‘what is the power of genius?’ As Picasso and Einstein argue over who will be able to change the century more with their work, we come to the conclusion: Both art and science are important, summed up in the words of Freddie, the Lapin Agile bartender/owner Freddie, proposing a toast with his patrons: ‘No movement will be as beautiful as the note across the staff, the line across the paper, or the idea across the mind.’”

Tickets are on sale now, $13 for adults, $5 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or the night of the show at the McArdle door, which opens one hour prior to performances.

Mike Christianson in the news!

Michigan Tech’s very own Michael Christianson in the news. A great review of his Lincoln Center appearance with the legendary Fred Hersch two weeks ago.

“…Mike Christianson‘s trombone proved to be an indispensable voice, covering the low-middle ground with strength.”

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/fred-herschs-leaves-of-grass-at-jazz-at-lincoln-center-fred-hersch-by-dan-bilawsky.php