Thunder, Gwen Frank	Serendipity, Gwen Frank

Prairie Music Suite

The Great Plains Art Collection will present Prairie Music Suite, a collaborative project of prints and poetry exploring the changing prairie from March 1 to April 20 at the Great Plains Art Collection, 215 Love Library.

A public reception, co-sponsored by the Friends of the Center for Great Plains Studies and UNL's Department of Art and Art History will be from 4:30 to 6 p.m. April 7, with a talk by David Faber, curator and participating artist, starting at 5 p.m. This event is in conjunction with the Center for Great Plains Studies' Symposium, Bison: Past, Present, and Future of the Great Plains, April 6-8.

Organized by Faber, an associate professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., the exhibit grew from a gathering of seven artists and a poet with a vision of the prairie. Robert Alexander Hedin, poet-in-residence, presented to the artists his six poems with themes ranging from tornados and wind to baseball, prize sows, Ferris wheels and barns. The artists then dispersed and created works that were inspired by the poems. Imagery includes the artists' dreams and recollections of prairie places from their ancestry as well as the changing aspects of today's prairie. These encompass images of bison, elk and deer, tornados, tumbleweeds, and people of the prairies. In addition, the exhibit will feature scanned and enlarged photographs dating from the early 1900s with references to the conversion of the prairie from grasses to crop land.

Nationally recognized printmakers participating in the exhibit are: Derek Michael Besant from the Alberta College of Art in Calgary; K. Gwen Frank also from Calgary; Warrington Colescott and Frances Myers from the University of Wisconsin at Madison; Faber, transplanted from Illinois to Wake Forest, N.C.; Karen Kunc from UNL; and James Westergard from Red Deer College in Alberta. Also participating is poet Robert Alexander Hedin, also from Wake Forest.

The printmaking techniques incorporated range from such highly inventive methods as laser cuts on mipolan, an industrial grade linoleum, to more traditional color reduction woodcuts, aquatint, mezzotint, engravings and etchings.

Gallery hours are: Tuesday-Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1:30 to 5 p.m. and closed Mondays and the weekends of March 11-12 and March 18-19 for UNL's Spring Break.

New York City National Opera Company in THE BARBER OF SEVILLE.

Rossini's Classic Barber of Seville at Lied March 9

The New York City National Opera Company performs Rossini's classic opera The Barber of Seville March 9 at the Lied Center.

The Barber of Seville is based on the first in a trilogy of French plays by Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais. The second of these plays was the basis for Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which deals with many of the same characters found in The Barber of Seville.

A serious case of love at first sight poses a problem for Count Almaviva. Rosina, the woman he adores, is kept under lock and key by her jealous old guardian Dr. Bartolo. Enter Figaro, the barber of Seville, who concocts several plots in order to bring Almaviva and Rosina together right under the doctor's very nose. Donning various clever disguises, the Count insinuates his way into Bartolo's house and manages to steal a few moments with Rosina. The resulting situations lead to mayhem as the suspicious doctor tries to keep these peculiar visitors away from Rosina.

In the meantime, Bartolo arranges with Don Basilio, a music teacher, to trick Rosina into rejecting her handsome suitor and marrying her old guardian instead. The doctor is no match, however, for the wily Figaro, who masterminds a bold midnight elopement. Dr. Bartolo takes the precaution of removing the ladder from Rosina's window, which was to serve as the escape route. However, the doctor is foiled again, for Almaviva and are hastily married. The doctor ruefully admits his defeat and reluctantly blesses the newlyweds.

Established in 1979, the New York City Opera National Company began with the mission of taking world-class opera productions to communities throughout the country and to provide young artists with valuable performing experience. Now in its 20th year, the National Company is regarded by audiences and critics as the premier touring company in the United States.

The company has toured with classic productions such as La boheme, Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly (presented at the Lied Center last season) and The Marriage of Figaro.

The productions of the New York City Opera National Company are designed to introduce audiences to America's best new talent, many of whom go on to successful careers with major opera companies. The National Company also utilizes seasoned performers, producers and administrators of the New York City Opera main company. Therefore, audiences are given the opportunity to see both experienced performers and rising stars.

Pre-performance talks begin 55 and 30 minutes prior to curtain in the Lied's Steinhart room.

Tickets are $44, $40 and $36, half-price for students. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 for ticket availability.

Match Play Debuts March 10

Inaugural Production of Nebraska Premieres Project

Match Play, written by the late William McCleery, opens March 10 at the Studio Theatre in the Temple Building.

Match Play is the inaugural production in the Nebraska Premieres project, a collaboration between the department of theatre arts, University Theatre and the Nebraska Repertory Theatre.

The play, set in a contemporary newspaper publisher's office "somewhere west of Chicago," is directed by visiting professor Ken McCulough. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. March 10 and 11 and will continue March 21-25, with 2 p.m. matinee performances on March 11 and 25 in the Studio Theatre, third floor Temple Building. A student preview will be March 9.

The three-character play centering around the newspaper business but intertwined with a love story stars Sasha Dobson and Kristopher Gordon Kling, both members of UNL's Professional Actor Training Program, and Joel Story, local Equity actor. Dobson and Kling are performing their final roles prior to receiving their Master of Fine Arts degrees in acting in May.

"The Journal," a family newspaper, is floundering and needs financial backing for new equipment before the competition from the local corporate-owned paper puts it out of business. Although "The Journal" is of superior quality and serves the community well, it can not compete with the financial power of the conglomerate. Lucia Dutton, the daughter of the recently deceased publisher, has returned to get the paper off its feet after spending years in New York City as editor of a women's fashion magazine. Her finance, Adam Townley, could be the financial hope of the paper, but Managing Editor Neil Ross is the heart and soul. What ensues affects both the future of the newspaper and Lucia's life. The production contains some adult language.

Playwright McClerry was born in Hastings, Neb., in 1911, and entered the University of Nebraska when he was just 15-years-old. His mother, a musician, put him through college by playing the piano and the organ for a movie house in Hastings. McCleery, a journalist all his life with excursions into teaching, playwriting, and the writing of books, was editor of The Daily Nebraskan. At 19, he was working as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald. After graduation in 1931, McCleery traveled to New York City to work for Hearst Publishing and by the age of 25 was named Executive Features Editor of the Associated Press in Washington, D.C. For AP, McCleery covered the Oval Office press conferences of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was McCleery who came up with the idea of interviewing Roosevelt's mother, Sarah Delano Roosevelt, for a Mother's Day article. While at the Associated Press, he built a widely recognized service and invented what he called "The Picture Story," a full seven or eight-columns of photographs with cutlines telling an interesting story. Still in his 20s, he was made Picture Editor of Life Magazine.

McCleery left journalism for a time, devoted to pursuing a career as a playwright, but returned as associate editor of Ladies' Home Journal in the late 1950s. McCleery wrote 10 plays that were professionally produced including two on Broadway. Hope for the Best was produced in 1945 starring Franchot Tone and Jane Wyatt, and Parlor Story starring Walter Abel was produced in 1947. Good Housekeeping starring Helen Hayes was about to open in New York in 1949 when the death of the star's 18-year-old daughter, who would have made her Broadway debut in the play, caused the cancellation. McCleery went on to work with Hayes on two stage plays and one television play including 1964's Good Morning Miss Dove at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. His numerous network television plays featured such actors as Cornelia Otis Skinner, Rosalind Russell, Hume Cronyn, Nanette Fabray, Sarah Churchill, Dennis King and Elaine Stritch.

McCleery credited his love of writing plays to the University of Nebraska where he was a part of an organization that put on all-male musicals and toured the state.

Other McCleery publications include the humorous children's book Wolf Song, and Conversations on the Character of Princeton (1986, 1989, and 1991) and Wit and Eloquence of Woodrow Wilson, Teacher (1996). McCleery was a theatre reviewer for Town Topics, was Sunday editor for the New York newspaper PM, and edited Princetown University's quarterly magazine University. McCleery spent from 1964 to 1998 at Princetown University, 12 of those years teaching Princetown's first playwriting seminar. He spent from 1965 to 1998 as a trustee of The Daily Princetonian mediating between the college administration and the student newspaper to assure the maximum in free speech.

McCleery was inducted into the Nebraska Journalism Hall of Fame at the Nebraska Press Association Convention in Omaha April 16, 1999. McCleery died in January, 2000.

Director Ken McCulough is a visiting associate professor in the Department of Theatre Arts, and is thrilled to be working on a new script again. He is on a one-year leave from his position as head of the theatre program at the Wilson Center for the Arts with the Florida Community College at Jacksonville. McCulough's professional credits include productions at Memphis' Playhouse on the Square, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and New City Theatre in Seattle. He has directed more than 30 college/university productions over the last ten years; his professional and academic productions have won many city and arts organization awards.

Last year, McCulough's production of The House of Blue Leaves was a national finalist with The Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival. He holds the MFA degree in directing from The University of Memphis. In Florida, he is a member of the Board of Directors for the Florida Theatre Conference and the Florida Association of Theatre Educators. McCulough is teaching directing and auditioning courses at UNL this year, as well as directing last semester's production of The Lion in Winter and The Last Night of Ballyhoo with Nebraska Rep this summer.

Visions of the Prairie: The Great Plains at the Dawn of the Millennium

A new exhibition, Visions of the Prairie: The Great Plains at the Dawn of the Millennium, opens March 7 at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden.

This special exhibition, which runs through April 30, consists of 32 recent works by 14 contemporary artists strongly engaged with the distinctive nature of the Great Plains in their creative processes. These include paintings, photography, graphic media, and mixed media that reflect diverse aesthetic responses to different facets of the plains environment. This exhibition marks a special cooperative effort between the Sheldon and the Great Plains Art Collection.

During the 20th century, artists of the region have captured many aspects of the alteration of the Great Plains in their artistic visions. Among the many such changes influencing artists are the nearly complete transformation of the natural prairie into an agricultural and industrial landscape, increasing efforts to preserve pockets of the natural prairie in the face of such alteration, sharpening of visual tension between rural areas and the relentless expansion of urban areas. The new millennium has presented contemporary artists with an opportunity to reflect on the past and present of the region in which we live and to consider the qualities that contribute to its enduring, yet still evolving character.

Artists represented in the invitational exhibition are Tom Bartek, Stephen Dinsmore, Terry Evans, Michael J. Flecky, Marcia Goldenstein, Harold D. Holoun, Keith Jacobshagen, Karen Kunc, Christina L. McPhee, Deborah J. Murphy, Ernest Ochsner, Larry Schwarm, John C. Spence, and George Tuck. All have attained regional or national recognition for their work and also have demonstrated an ongoing engagement with subject matter derived from life experiences in the plains environment.

Because most of the artists live and work in urban communities, it is perhaps not surprising that some examples of their work focus on the urbanized edges of the plains region. Most, however, draw upon the rural landscape with its vast spaces and ever shifting conditions in creating their art.

Martha H. Kennedy, curator of this special exhibition and the Great Plains Art Collection, will present a gallery talk on the exhibition at 12:15 p.m. on March 15, as part of Sheldon's "Wednesday Walks" series. A public reception for the artists will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. March 23 in the Great Hall, and is cosponsored by Sheldon, the Nebraska Art Association, and the Friends of the Center for Great Plains Studies.

Tumbleweeds Roll Into Ross Theater

Adding an Oscar nomination for best actress to her already long list of awards ­ including a Golden Globe Award for best actress ­ Janet McTeer's tour-de-force performance as a feisty, if foundering, southern hellion in Tumbleweeds, opening March 2 at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater, is not to be missed.

A road movie about the unconventional love between a single mother (McTeer) and her wise-beyond-her-years daughter (Kimberly Brown), Tumbleweeds tells a familiar story but with freshness and an ongoing sense of discovery, thanks to McTeer's unstoppable Dixie-fried charm.

Also showing is a short feature, From Morning On I Waited Yesterday by Wiebke von Carolsfeld. In From Morning . . . , Lina is obsessed with an attractive young man who works in a store across the street. Eventually, she asks him for a small favor, and the two embark on an unlikely affair. From the state of being a distant observer, the short-lived and emotional affair takes Lina to a place from which she can look at herself and her own body with new tenderness and understanding.

Tumbleweeds is showing March 2 through 4 and March 9 through 12. Screenings are at 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays; at 1, 3:15, 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Saturdays; and at 2:30, 4:45, 7 and 9:15 p.m. on Sunday.

Violist Potter's Recital Presents Works by Living Nebraska Composers

The School of Music presents faculty violist Clark Potter in a recital of pieces for viola written by living Nebraska composers at 3 p.m. March 5 at Kimball Hall. Admission is free.

About a year ago, Potter began approaching composers about the project, but the idea was generated earlier when two composers brought pieces to him. The first surprise came when he was approached by UNL astrophysicist Martin Gaskell who is a fine amateur musician and composer.

"Martin had composed a concerto for viola and orchestra in 1974 which had never been performed. I asked him to bring it by sometime, which he did, and the two of us read through the piece with Martin at the piano," said Potter.

Gaskell then offered to write a piano part based on the orchestral score, and the possibility of a performance was born.

About that time, Randy Snyder, composer-in-residence at UNL, presented Potter with a solo viola piece called "December Music."

"I probably should have quit right then and there, but I got this crazy idea to feature the music of other composers from around the state as well," Potter said. In the end, Potter had asked eight other composers to either write a piece for the program or submit a viola piece already written. He could have asked other composers as well, but he was afraid they might all respond positively. "I feel badly that I couldn't ask others to participate, but I didn't want to kill off both myself and the audience," Potter joked.

Potter was also concerned the recital might seem awfully stuffy if only classical music was represented, so included in the number of composers approached were two jazz composers, one folk artist, and one pop musician. The folk musician, well-known fiddler Deborah Greenblatt of Avoca, Neb., submitted a piece called Out of Fiddle, Out of My Mind. This piece will be performed with a small combo, including the viola and voices.

As it turns out, at least five composers will have works presented on the recital. The other pieces planned so far are Ballad and Variation by University of Nebraska at Omaha composer Kenton Bales and Vignettes for Viola and Percussion by Nebraska Wesleyan University composer and violist Jean Henderson. Another piece is supposedly on its way, Potter hopes, though he is very pleased that the pieces submitted so far represent a wide variety of styles. "Literally, this recital features something for everybody."

However, the one to glean the most from the project may be Potter himself. "The work has been great fun, and the composers have been wonderful. There is nothing quite like putting together a piece with the composer right there to offer suggestions and encouragement. I can't exactly do that with Bach and Beethoven."

Other performers on the recital are Nicole Narboni, piano; Rich Jones, percussion; Rusty White, bass; and Rick Brening, guitar.

Poncho Sanchez will be performing on March 11 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts. Photo Courtesy of the Berkeley Agency.

Grammy-winner Poncho Sanchez Brings Latin Jazz to Lied

Latin music is not a new phenomenon, but with its current surge of popularity, new audiences around the world are discovering the excitement of this musical style. Legendary groups like the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, and others who paved the way for these new Latin stars, are deservedly sharing the spotlight of this Latin craze. Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band will perform at 8 p.m. March 11 in the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

His style is called Latin jazz, but Sanchez' music defies most labels. Sanchez has spent his life deliberately blurring the lines between traditional jazz music and the diverse sounds of mambo, cha-cha, rhumba, salsa and soul. For Sanchez, this music is a natural extension of his early musical influences, which includes Latin greats such as Tito Puente and Cal Tjader, jazz legends such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and even soul king James Brown. Whatever you want to call their music, the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band brings the house down with their smoking interpretations of jazz and Latin classics, as well as original material. The group has earned three Grammy nominations and legions of fans around the world.

Sanchez won a Grammy for his latest work on Feb. 23.

One of the world's preeminent musicians on the conga, Sanchez formed the Latin Jazz Band in 1982 and is its musical backbone. Known for its tight arrangements and blazing improvisations, the octet consists of saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bass and piano, backed up by Sanchez and two other percussionists.

Like most Latin bands, percussion is the heart of the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band. In a typical performance the audience will be treated to an exciting variety of percussion instruments including timbales, cowbells, shakers and bongos.

Because he has so thoroughly mastered Afro-Cuban music, many people have been surprised to learn that Sanchez isn't Cuban or Puerto Rican, but is a Mexican-American raised in the Southwest. As Sanchez states, "If you feel Latin jazz in your heart and love it as much as I do, it doesn't matter where you're from."

Pre-performance talks begin 55 and 30 minutes prior to curtain in the Lied's Steinhart room.

Tickets are $32, $28 and $24, half-price for students. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 for ticket availability.

Legendary Lear, Iliad Staged by Aquila Theatre Company

Classic theater enthusiasts will have a rare treat as the acclaimed Aquila Theatre Company performs two legendary works as part of the Lied Center season. Aquila will perform Homer's The Iliad at the Johnny Carson Theater at 8 p.m. March 6 and 8. Shakespeare's tragic King Lear will be presented at 8 p.m. March 7 in Kimball Hall.

The Iliad is based on book one of Homer's epic poem of the same name. This ancient tale includes gods and mortals, heroes and villians, love and war, and is considered one of the greatest stories ever written.

King Lear, dealing with the salvation of an aging king through the love of his daughter, has been considered one of Shakespeare's finest tragedies since its debut in 1606.

Tickets for The Iliad are $22 for and tickets for King Lear are $26 and $22; student tickets are half-price.

Ross Theater Benefit Sale April 28-29

A cavalcade of high-quality merchandise at bargain prices can be found at the Golden Oldies & Other Treasures Sale from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 28-29 at Christ United Methodist Church, 4530 A St. The sale is sponsored by the Friends of the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater.

Your tax-deductible donation of good quality items for the sale will help the Friends of the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater maintain an exceptional film program. Items needed include: art objects, seasonal items, jewelry, books, toys, tools, china, crystal, furs, collectibles, furniture, electronics and antiques. Each item should be valued at $10 or more.

Your items can be picked up or dropped off. Call 486-4496, 423-6559 or 489-7814 to make arrangements.

A Spin on the Kennedy Dynasty Takes Theatrix Stage

Theatrix opens its second spring production March 2, staging The House of Yes by Wendy MacLeod, at 7:30 p.m. Other performances begin at 7:30 p.m. March 3 and 4, and 10 p.m. March 4 in Howell Theatre. Admission is $4 at the door

The House of Yes depicts people who have never heard the word "no." It focuses on a family that has cut itself off from the rest of the world and are living by the rules they've invented. Marty's much anticipated Thanksgiving arrival goes awry when his fiancee accompanies him home for the holiday. His engagement is a threat to the family and a greater threat to his twin sister, Jackie-O, who's recently released from a mental institution. To add to the mishaps the younger brother, Anthony, has dropped out of Princeton and their mother has problems handling any of the play's events.

The production stars five actors including MFA graduate actress, Amy Johnson as Jackie-O. The rest of the ensemble displays the talent of James Dunn as Marty, Jessica Hutchinson as Lesly, Daniel Keller as Anthony, and Ann Abbott as Mrs. Pascal. The cast is directed by Steven Barth, a senior theatre performance major, with the assistance of Jody Christopherson.

Theatrix is a student-producing organization of the department of theatre arts. Its mission is to encourage theatrical artists to explore and experiment with contemporary, classical, and new material. Through our broad diversity in material and artistic expression, Theatrix hopes to help culturally enrich the lives of members of our university and community.

The Howell Stage Theatre is located on the first floor of the Temple Building. For more information, call 472-2073. Adult language and situations may be depicted.

Wild Horses Returns March 7

Wild Horses, An American Romance, a co-production of the Nebraska ETV Network with South Dakota Public Broadcasting, takes the viewer to five spectacular locations in the American West where humans and horses share a fascinating history.

The one-hour program returns for an encore broadcast on the statewide Nebraska ETV Network at 9 p.m. March 7. Wild Horses also airs on EduCable, at 1 p.m. March 4.

The show tracks the mustang to Montana, South Dakota, Nevada, Texas and Nebraska to explore how the wild horse became a living legend. The horse actually evolved in North America, but vanished from the continent 10,000 years ago ­ a victim of climate change and human hunters. The horse returned to the Americas with the invasion of the Spanish explorers in the 16th century. Some of those animals escaped from or were freed by their masters and became the foundation for the herds of mustangs that still roam the American West today. Over the centuries, more horses have joined these wild bands, with their numbers peaking at an estimated 2 million at the turn of the century.

Wild Horses takes a close look at one herd with strong Spanish bloodlines ­ a small band in the Pryor Mountains of Montana. It looks back at the attempted extermination of the mustang that ended with the crusade of a rancher's wife called Wild Horse Annie and explores the plight of the mustang today as roads, cities, ranches, farms, people and progress invade the wide open spaces.

Statewide Examines Nebraska's Forgotten Primary

Could this be the year Nebraska's presidential primary regains the glory of yesteryear? It's a question that Statewide, the Nebraska ETV Network's weekly magazine series, will examine in-depth on March 10, at 8 p.m. CT/7 p.m. MT.

The series, which includes up-to-the-minute news reports from across the state and other features of interest, repeats Sunday, March 12, at 1:30 p.m. CT/12:30 p.m. MT. Statewide also airs on EduCable* on Sunday, March 12, at 3 p.m. CT/2 p.m. MT.

Statewide correspondent Bill Kelly examines the history of Nebraska's presidential primary, scheduled this year for May 9th. Recent presidential campaigns have tended to overlook Nebraska's primary because the state sends relatively few delegates to the major parties' national conventions, Kelly reports. But in 1968, Nebraska assumed symbolic significance as Richard Nixon and Nelson Rockefeller competed for the Republican nomination while Hubert Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy battled for the Democratic nomination. This year, as both parties again face wide-open nomination races, Kelly reports, Nebraska's primary could attract more attention than usual from candidates and the media.

NEBRASKAland Symphony Airs March 7

Great music, glorious photography and stunning video footage ­ exquisitely choreographed into a dazzling celebration of the state ­ "NEBRASKAland Symphony: The Road Home" is must-see viewing for everyone who calls themselves a Nebraskan. This special broadcast, a joint presentation of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra Association, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the statewide Nebraska ETV Network, airs on Nebraska ETV at 7 p.m. March 7.

Originally presented in February at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, the videotaped production offers Nebraska ETV viewers the best seat in the house for an evening that audience members called "breathtaking."

The collaboration of the three organizations makes possible a rich multimedia experience. The program combines soaring classical music from the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, brilliant landscape photography from the Game and Parks Commission's NEBRASKAland Magazine and an incredible array of video footage from Nebraska ETV's archives, along with dramatic readings from Nebraska authors narrated by Nebraska U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey.

"NEBRASKAland Symphony: The Road Home" is not only a sensory experience, but an emotional one as well. The Lincoln Symphony establishes the emotional context for each stage of a thematic journey ­ The Land, The Dream, Disillusionment and The Road Home ­ with compositions including Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man and Rodeo, Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony and Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings.

Girls' Basketball Finals Telecast on ETV

The best girls' high school basketball teams in Nebraska invade Lincoln to battle it out for the state championships in six different classes with the finals contests telecast live from the Bob Devaney Sports Center on March 4, on the statewide Nebraska ETV Network.

Nebraska High School Girls' Basketball 2000 begins at 9:30 a.m. with the Class C-2 finals. The day-long coverage continues with the Class D-2 championship game at 11:30 a.m. and the Class A title game at 1:30 p.m. The match-ups continue at 5 p.m. with the championship game for Class D-1, followed at 7 p.m. by the Class C-1 final. The Class B championship game concludes the day's action at 9 p.m.

The basketball games also will be "webcast" on the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications' web site at http://net.unl.edu.