Spotlight on... arts

DSO to perform Pops Concert on East Lawn

It takes skill to command a potential audience of 1,600 or more, armed only with instruments invented in the 16th century. But it takes perhaps additional aptitude to do so virtually without rehearsal, as the Duke Student Orchestra will attempt to do next Sunday, Sept. 4 in front of Baldwin Auditorium. The DSO Pops Concert, more informal than regular season performances, will be the product of one all-day retreat rehearsal—an initiation of sorts for new members. Auditions for the group occur just days prior to the big show, held annually over Labor Day weekend. Admission is free.

—Sarah Ball

Duke players show gives taste of theater

The Class of 2009 got to sample Duke’s theater offerings early this year thanks to a special production of The Last Five Years put on by the Duke Players as well as the traditional Hoof ‘N’ Horn cabaret, both performed during orientation week. The Last Five Years, a modern musical by Jason Robert Brown, will continue its run this weekend.

The show is directed by senior Vanessa Rodriguez and stars sophomore Katie Lee as aspiring singer Cathy and junior Michael Ayers as her husband, Jamie, a newly published author. The show brings to life the painful reality of a relationship gone wrong—with a twist. Jamie’s perspective is relayed chronologically, while Cathy’s vignettes relive the years in reverse.

The forward and reverse storytelling juxtaposes Cathy’s anger at the end of the relationship with Jamie’s newfound, now ironic, joy at finding his “personal Aphrodite” five years earlier. With strains of jazz, rock, and blues in the songs as tangled as the couple’s feelings for each other, the music set is innovative and has the feeling of an updated Rent.

The pit overpowers the singers at times, with a shrill string section detracting from the more ear-pleasing onstage action. The two leads’ voices complement one another well, especially in a midway duet when the stories overlap at the couple’s wedding. This early taste of the Duke Players’ season sings well of things to come.