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Arts
Arts

'Heroes and Saints' production premieres tonight in Moore Theater

By Michael A> Posey | February 20, 1996

A dramatic cast and crew of students will begin a week-long series of performances of Cherrie Moraga's award-winning drama "Heroes and Saints" in the Moore Theatre of the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts tonight. The production dedicated to the late Cesar Chavez, the founder and long-time supporter of the United Farm Workers of America, focuses on the effects of pesticides in a small Mexican-American farm community. In the fictitious small town in California called McLaughlin, several children are born with crippling birth defects and handicaps which residents in the community attribute to pesticides used on the surrounding crops. The story follows the plight of the farm workers in the community who have become convinced that the pesticides used on the fruit in the area and chemical presence in the local water supply have contributed significantly to a high level of premature cancer deaths and other maladies that plague their children. After repeated attempts to dissuade growers to stop using these pesticides, the farmers resort to extreme means to show their disgust.

Arts

DHMC to study pregnant smokers

By Jodi Priselac | February 15, 1996

Dartmouth Medical School will use a $230,000 grant it received last week to test a novel approach to helping pregnant women quit smoking. Dr. Judith Frank and Dr. Douglas Hoffman will direct the two-year project which will test the levels of the nicotine metabolite, cotinine in pregnant women. "The cotinine level is the measure of your smoking," Hoffman said.

Arts

Newell mystifies film

By Amir Katz | February 15, 1996

Family values, the romance of the Old West and Celtic mysticism add up to "Into the West," a delightful film about two young boys and their magical horse showing tonight in Loew Auditorium. "Into the West," was directed by Mike Newell and written by Jim Sheridan, who has proven skillful in bringing diverse views of Ireland to the screen in such films as "The Field," "My Left Foot" and "In the Name of the Father." This film enters the world of the "travelers," or Celtic gypsies. Gabriel Byrne plays the role of Papa Riley, a man who was once King of the Travelers, but who has since renounced this title and settled down in a housing project in Dublin following the death of his wife. Now all he can do is drink, mourn, and dwell on the past.

Arts

Scorsese scores in film starring DeNiro

By Amir Katz | February 14, 1996

What do you get when you take Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, the Mob and director Martin Scorsese and put them all in a blender? The result is "Casino," an ambitious three-hour chronicle of the decadence of 1970s Las Vegas that will be showing tonight in Spaulding as part of the Film Society's ongoing series on auteurs. "Casino" follows the actions of Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a mob-connected gambler, played by De Niro operating a Las Vegas casino in 1970s Las Vegas. He falls hard for and marries Ginger McKenna, a showgirl played by Sharon Stone, but her gold-digging nature ultimately sends them both on a downward spiral. Joe Pesci portrays Nicky Santaro, a childhood friend of Ace's who comes to Las Vegas a "made man" with his own personal agenda. While on the one hand, "Casino" is a portrayal of the people involved in the gambling business, it is also an attempt in a broader fashion to tell the story of Las Vegas as an entity, focusing on murder, cheating, greed and lust in a way that is unwavering Scorsese. Janet Maslin of The New York Times calls the film's culminating scene "a riotous, terrible meltdown that makes for one of the most scorching episodes Mr. Scorsese has ever filmed." Scorsese comes from the first generation of American directors who were aware of their identities as auteurs.

Arts

Tori Amos crows sensitive tunes

By James M> Hunnicutt | February 14, 1996

Amidst a recent deluge of talented female artists such as Alanis Morissette and Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos stands out as a deeply sensitive and able minstrel whose stirring ballads have sent her to the top of the charts. "Boys for Pele" is Amos' third solo album, following 1994's "Under the Pink" and 1991's "Little Earthquakes." "Boys for Pele" is more daring and provocative than her past works, and it will certainly please not only her loyal fans, but also those unfamiliar with her music. "Boys for Pele," possesses a compelling maturity and uniqueness of style.

Arts

Pinkas, pianist-in-residence, bridges teaching and performance

By Sara Burch | February 13, 1996

Music Professor Sally Pinkas, the Hopkins Center's pianist-in-residence, has been bridging the academic and performance aspects of piano at the College since 1985. Her job has two components -- teaching piano to her 12 students and preparing for a variety of solo, concerto and chamber music performances. The two facets of her job have become symbiotic. "My students get to see me practice what I preach when I perform," Pinkas said. Pinkas fosters strong, personal relationships with each of her students and said she tries to get to know them one-on-one. "My students are exerting intellectual, physical and emotional work," she said.

Arts

'Spiv' force-feeds flashy culture

By James M> Hunnicutt | February 12, 1996

Chock-full of street slang, flashy images and cool computer interfaces, the new World Wide Web page titled "Spiv" should appeal to the MTV crowd for which it was designed. Released last month by the Turner Entertainment Company, based in Atlanta, Georgia, the Spiv home page focuses on the pop culture that teenagers like, at least according to the perception of contemporary media. Touting claims such as "You will never communicate the same way again" and calling itself "The Halley's Comet of Web sites," Spiv possesses the spurious braggadocio often heard escaping the mouths of wise-guy high school kids. By the same token, Spiv also offers a healthy amount of news and commentary pertaining to the pop culture those same Web-surfing high school kids enjoy. What is worst about Spiv's childish and anachronistic nature is its overwhelming self-consciousness.

Arts

Landmark Welsh genre film will show tonight

By Josephine Huang | February 8, 1996

"Coming Up Roses," a wonderful import from the United Kingdom packed with great humor and warmth, will be playing at Loew Auditorium tonight as part of the series on "New Celtic Cinema." American-born, British-raised director Stephen Bayley's quirky film has the distinction of being the first Welsh film ever.

Arts

O'Shea '96 pushes for better Hanover relations

By Jonathan A. Lee | February 8, 1996

Citing a need to create more positive interaction between the students of the College, the College administration and the town of Hanover, Tom O'Shea '96 is trying to create a Hanover Community Relations Board. O'Shea, the Administrative Intern at Safety and Security, has been working side-by-side on this project with his mentor, Proctor Bob McEwen. The board, which is expected to include Dartmouth students, College administrators, faculty members and community leaders, will hold its first meeting on Feb.

Arts

Latin music symposium begins

By Barry Kral | February 8, 1996

It has been said Americans know surprisingly little of the various cultures present in their own hemisphere, as past and present-day European music, literature and art dominate Americans' knowledge of foreign lifestyles. Common stereotypes often neglect the vast cultural achievements attained just a few latitude lines to the south.

Arts

'Love Streams' is last work by late director

By Aurora Leute | February 7, 1996

Some films truly exemplify the powerful visions of their directors -- such as one showing tonight, which will break through all of its viewers' preconceived constructions. The late John Cassavetes' final film, "Love Streams" (1984), will play tonight in Loew Auditorium as part of the Film Society's 'Auteurs' Series. Although he is more well known for his appearances in "The Dirty Dozen," "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Fury," for example, he made eleven films independently and earned his place among American auteurs. His first film, "Shadows," made in 1960, an improvisation with dialogue, was hailed as a film manifesto by the New York independent film scene.

Arts

Capitol Steps parody U.S. politics

By Jeffrey Beyer | February 5, 1996

With the New Hampshire primaries a little over two weeks away -- and as if the American political system isn't enough of a joke already -- the Capitol Steps, critically acclaimed as the nation's premiere musical political satirists, will appear in Spaulding Auditorium of the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts tonight at 8 p.m. Composed of 17 former congressional staffers from all across the political spectrum, the Capitol Steps make political satire an art form.

Arts

Hanover benches offer a place to sit and a bit of history

By Lillie Ng | February 1, 1996

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Have you thought of showing your loved one how much you care by having their name engraved on a bench? Three years ago, William and Peter Brine gave donations to the Hanover Improvement Society to have their wives' names, Ann and Karen Brine, placed on a bench. "It was a surprise," Ann Brine said.

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