In the bleak midwinter An assessment of Winter Term arts events

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January is usually treated as a recovery from December. For some it is a time of Puritanical diet and exercise, for others it calls for hibernation. The absence of major holidays (with the exception of Martin Luther King Day) makes January a concern for art connoisseurs in cold and remote climates. How can such a bleak, dead month be rich in art? Yet considering the amount of free time the majority of Middlebury students have during Winter Term, January provides the unique opportunity to finally make the most of that packed arts calendar. But balancing the slopes with the stage can be tricky. The Middlebury Campus has compiled the most compelling art-related events of Winter Term 2008 to motivate you to brave the cold (or unseasonable warm) weather to attend a concert or theatre performance. See the best, skip the rest and enjoy a bit of midwinter art. It's just what the doctor ordered.

what:TAKACS QUARTET
when: JAN. 11
where: CFA CONCERT HALL
why:
The Takacs String Quartet is one of the world's greatest existing string quartets, with a repertoire that ranges from Mozart to Bartok. They received a well-deserved Grammy for their recording of the middle-period Beethoven string quartets. Their last performance here at Middlebury featured an unusual rendering of the Debussy string quartet. On the whole, the Takacs differs from other string quartets, such as the Emerson String Quartet - who performed here last fall - in their attention to expressivity. Even the Takacs' readings of the six Bartok quartets have a certain idiosyncratic Romanticism. For those who attended the Emerson's concert, this one might be of interest as contrast.

what: GIRL TALK
when: JAN. 18
where: McCULLOUGH
why: "Girl Talk," the stage name of mash up disc jockey Gregg Gillis, will perform in McCullough Social Space on Jan. 18. Gillis became by taking sampling to an artful extreme - he "samples" from as many as 12 different songs to create a work of his own. It seems awkward to call "Girl Talk" performance art and perhaps unfair to refer to him as just a great DJ - we'll settle for predicting a good show. Count your lucky stars if you nabbed a ticket - and guard it with your life.

what: ST. CRISPIN'S DAY
when: JAN. 24-26
where: HEPBURN ZOO
why: In contrast to the intensity of "Sweeney Todd," the play "St. Crispin's Day," directed by Alexander Draper '88, takes a lighter, wittier look at bloodshed. Set at the Battle of Agincourt, also the backdrop for Shakespeare's "Henry V," playwright Matt Pepper expostulates on war with a Monty Python-esque persona. "St. Crispin's Day," the day of the Battle of Agincourt, refers also to the "St. Crispin's Day speech," which Henry V delivers to his troops prior to battle. The speech places value on the scars men receive in battle, which can, in old age, remind them of their valorous youth. One can guess that Pepper's play has a principally anti-war message, anticipating the spring production of "Lysistrata."

what: SWEENEY TODD
when: JAN. 25-26
where: CFA CONCERT HALL
why: With Tim Burton's film version of "Sweeney Todd," starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, recently released in theaters, director Douglas Anderson could not have better timing in bringing Steven Sondheim's cult classic to Middlebury. With Ezra Axelrod '08 in the title role and Judith Dry '09 as his sinister accomplice, this production promises to be as suspenseful and provocative as the film version, perhaps even better considering it follows more of Sondheim's original intentions.

what: I'M RIGHT YOU'RE WRONG
when: JAN. 25-26
where: CFA DANCE THEATER
why: The 2007-2008 Dance Company of Middlebury, directed by Tiffany Rhynard presents the multi-media concoction "I'm Right, You're Wrong," which explores an apparent irrationality of conflict in contemporary society. An interactive media interface created by New York-based artist Marlon Barrios Solano incorporates and engages the audience in the performance. The company will go on to perform in the San Francisco Bay area.