JABlog - Cubicle Death

Monday, February 14, 2005

Follies: MSJ Review
: :
The Monroe Street Journal (MSJ) posted a 'somewhat' positive review of last weekend's show. Admissions Mistake is the song I wrote and Performed:

Follies 2005
A Ross-Tile Takeover
By Brandt Urban, MBA 1
Published: Monday, February 14, 2005
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1

6:30 PM. February 12. Michigan Theatre. Follies 2005 - Ross-Tile Takeover. Besides having my feet stick to the ground from what I hope was spilled soda, I could not have asked for a more enjoyable show.

Sure, a few notes were missed here and there, and there was some questionable operating of the spotlight, but those idiosyncrasies actually contributed to my enjoyment. Why, you ask?

For starters, the show was written, produced, directed, and performed by our classmates. Not that this is new to anyone, but I didn't understand until last night how big Follies really is. Twenty-eight scenes. That's what we saw Saturday and Friday night. I have a hard time doing 28 push-ups let alone coordinating 28 original skits.

Of those 28 scenes there were eight original songs, four commercial parodies, two urination scenes, and countless guest appearances. Now, I would imagine each scene requires a significant amount of planning, rehearsal time, and commitment from the cast and crew. So how much time would it take to put the entire production together? I don't know and I am scared to guess, but for the consulting wannabes still out there looking to hone their case-cracking skills, by all means, send me your calculations.

But more than the amount of time dedicated to the production, I was impressed with how funny the show was. Some of the most memorable scenes include MBA1 Chris Martiniak molesting a printer, MBA2 Adam Nielsen's Alumni Song, the "Desperation, a new fragrance for MBA men" commercial, MBA2 Zachary Emig's portrayal of Donald Trump, and the "Prosthetic Arm for Gunners" skit.

Of course, who will ever forget the parody on "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle"? In my humble opinion, the "Linda and Gautam" skit stole the show. I still can't believe that the Follies team was able to talk the two professors into scarffing down mounds of White Castle Slyders while on a caffeine-induced trip, if you know what I mean. Possibly even more impressive was Gautam's discussion of whether or not a bush is a public good while taking a whiz with one of Ann Arbor's drunken townies (or whoever it was). And yes, if you missed Follies, I'm not making this up, we have it on tape.

Another enjoyable part of the show was discovering how much musical talent our classmates actually have. From "Professor Tom" to "Hard Knock Life" to "Hectic" and "Admissions Mistake", I heard many whispers in the audience of "I didn't know he could do that," or "did you know she could sing like that," or my personal favorite, "man, that's hot." And then there was the finale with MBA1 David Wurster portraying Dean Dolan and leading the company in "Sweet Stephen Ross"...enough said.

As it turns out, Follies is not just a show. It's a tradition. It's something that captures, as much as any one thing can, the spirit of the Ross School of Business.

Monday, February 14, 2005

0 Comments:

About Me

Previous Posts