Last Wednesday marked the season five finale of the HULU show “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and in classic “Handmaid’s Tale” fashion they left off on another cliffhanger. 

For those who have not watched the show, don’t. If for some reason you want to watch the show, stop after season three or four and your life will be better for it. The only people left watching the show are those who started it when it was still good and are too invested in the characters’ lives to stop. Trust me when I say that we wish the show would just end, but its creators are trying their hardest to stretch our attention across multiple seasons. The show, much like “Grey’s Anatomy,” is a prime example of a show that could have ended seasons ago and the story still makes sense. Sometimes you can only milk so much of that cow. 

Based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, the story is set in a dystopian future where the birth rate has plummeted due to environmental issues. The only logical idea was to strip women of all their rights, collect all the fertile women and assign them to the wealthier, higher class commanders and their wives. Once a month, they perform acts of “consensual rape” to provide children to their household or risk being sent to the colonies to clean up toxic waste. We follow Offred, whose real name is June, who is the handmaid assigned to the Waterford house. She is the character we see the world through as she tries to make sense of the world she is in and explain to us what life was like before. 

Dystopian futures aren’t pretty, and the show creators really make sure to make that obvious. The show is successful in drawing up a corrupt dystopian society accompanied by eerie music and fear of being snatched off the street at any point. The present day is shot through a blue, depressing hue while the past is seen through a brighter light to show how great the characters’ lives were. 

The problem with the show begins with the end of season one. The show follows the book up until this point, then the book ends and the writers have full creative liberty. There are some interesting plot points that are intriguing and have accidental consequences that the writers exploit, but at some point the show has to end. 

Season five starts with June dealing with the consequences of her actions from last season, as it begins to affect the lives around her. It was a rough start to the season and just shows how different season five has become from what the show originally used to be. Rewatching past episodes makes it obvious how the quality of the show has decreased.

June’s voice overs are a melancholy poem as they express how she is feeling at the moment. But they disappear and we are left with extreme closeups of her sinister face without any context. This feeling of hope and comfort from the voice overs seems as if it has disappeared forever, but by the time episode eight came around the show miraculously made up for this lack of hope. It is not entirely clear if the show creators made the first few episodes poor on purpose, but it was comforting to see some good television at the end of the season. It was definitely a shocking watch when I got to the later episodes. 

That’s not to say the show is bad, as Elisabeth Moss and Samira Wiley put phenomenal work into their roles. Yvonne Strahovski and Joseph Finnes also portray everyone’s least favorite couple effortlessly, while Madeline Brewer and Ann Dowd have this weird mother-daughter relationship that is heartbreaking. Because of these actors, the show manages to have a sick hold on us veteran viewers. The overall content of the show causes us so much pain and suffering. The show will give us something so satisfying and then take it away from us by doing some other sick action. 

For once, I am interested to see how the show will take the cliffhanger. Three of five seasons have successfully made great episodes off of the cruel plot decision. Let’s just hope that in season six June will finally catch a break and that will be the finale of the drawn-out television show. But we don’t get nice things in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” only if it is under his eye.

In Oct. 2006, the New Jersey emo rock band My Chemical Romance (MCR) released their third studio album “The Black Parade.” It is a rock opera that tells an enrapturing story over the course of its fourteen tracks and is widely considered to be the band’s magnum opus by both fans and critics alike.

The band consisted of lead vocalist Gerard Way, bassist Mikey Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero and drummer Bob Bryer. After the critical and commercial success of their 2004 album “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” the band wanted their next project to be something anthemic and timeless and in doing so they exceeded all expectations. 

The overarching story of the album revolves around the cynical lead character known as “The Patient” suffering from cancer as he reminisces on the past events leading up to his death. The mix of rock genres help to create a grand theatrical backdrop for its listeners to be pulled into. 

The opening track “The End” starts off somber with a heart rate monitor being heard beeping. Gerard Way takes on the role of the patient in a hospital room as he remembers being an outsider to the world around him. Eventually the track ascends into a crescendo of vocal harmonies and guitar riffs with heavy influence from older rock opera projects such as Pink Floyd’s 1979 album “The Wall.”

What immediately follows is the track “Dead!” which opens with a heart monitor going flatline and a widely upbeat guitar solo to create a purposefully contrasting mood as the patient has just received news that he will die in two weeks. The track “This Is How I Disappear” follows the patient recollecting on his past enlistment in war. 

“The Sharpest Lives” follows the patient’s downward spiral as nothing in life seems to matter and he would rather live his last remaining days on edge. The album’s story and atmosphere becomes much more sinister with its rooted emo rock and pop punk instrumentals.

“Welcome to the Black Parade” is the main focal highlight of the track list and is unarguably the most famous song in MCR’s musical catalog with its iconic opening piano melody. In the song the patient recollects his earliest memory of his father taking him to see a parade in the city. The titular black parade is symbolic not only of the most optimistic memory that the patient has before dying but also passage into the afterlife without fear of being forgotten. 

“I Don’t Love You” is a soul crushing ballad about the patient’s past heartbreak from a relationship earlier in his life and the anger that comes with it. The next track is “House of Wolves” where the patient is dragged into hell and made ashamed of his past sins in life and the guilt that comes with it. “Cancer” uses a more simplistic piano melody to touch upon the patient’s experience in chemotherapy. 

The album also incorporates many outside elements and sampling. The track “Mama” features the guest vocals of actress Liza Minneli playing the character Mother War who is the patient’s inner representation of societal ills. The harrowing “Sleep” uses a sampled recording of Gerard Way explaining the night terrors he experienced while the band recorded the album at Paramour Mansion.

Another highly iconic MCR song is “Teenagers” which takes a detour into the patient’s innate mockery of adults who fear the next generation of teens whom they raise. The album raps up with the final two tracks “Disenchanted” and “Famous Last Words” which leave the demise of the patient and the meaning of his life up to interpretation. One more bonus track included is “Blood” which touches on the doctors attempting to resuscitate the dying patient in a tongue-and-cheek manner.

The album and its music has remained a cornerstone of a generation. MCR has recently reunited for a tour from May of 2022 to March of 2023 after a two year delay from the COVID-19 pandemic. The story within “The Black Parade” and the overall atmosphere and musical production is nothing short of flawless.

On Oct. 31 the University of Maine history department held their second symposium talk, still following the theme of food in history. This talk was presented by Dr. Chelsea Davis, a lecturer of British History at Missouri State. Her talk titled “The Contradictions of ‘Civilizing’ Consumption: Colonial Wine in Britain’s Imperial Project” followed a chapter from her doctoral dissertation on the British imperial countries of South Africa and Australia integrating colonial wine into the global market. 

Davis began her talk on the colonial wine market with a comparison between colonial wine to the finer European wines. The colonial wine market did not compare in revenue in the two countries to other goods that were produced in the area such as wheat and wool. Colonial wine was seen as an economic gamble. Davis’s thesis asked why there was pressure on the colonies for viticulture. She found that wine promoted colonial improvement and was universally accepted.

South Africa and Australia shared similar climate and growing conditions to that of southern European wine producers. South Africa produced the most wine while Australia was viewed as this ideal colony that was a slave-free, convict-free Christian colony. Roman antiquity fueled the idea of wine as culturally superior. Priests would spread the consumption of wine as well as bring wine grapes with them on their missions to inhibit the production of wine. French Huguenots would have a bible in one hand and a wine stalk in the other. As a result, wine was shaped as a good thing as it stemmed from diversity and Christianity. 

“Culturally revered as an integral beverage by the Romans and Greeks, Britain subserved to this ideal,” Davis said.

Wine was not viewed as a hard liquor in England, unlike gin or whiskey. Wine was viewed as a table food and enjoyed by everyone. The English saw wine as a solution for social and moral improvement. Combined with an increase in print and publication, the benefits of wine spread through England and her colonies. Life was benefited by wine; it could even increase one’s social status. 

“Characters of the people are analogous to their wines,” Davis said. 

Davis mentions James Busby, an Australian wine producer who marketed wine to be a good thing, calling the wine vine a symbol of a happy land. Wine was used primarily as a medicinal tool, more specifically brandy wine But Davis found this civilizing tool to be riddled with contradictions when it came to the non-white population.

Wine directed toward the non-white population was used as a control tactic. It would be given to the aboriginals by colonists. If they spit the wine out, the colonists believed that these people rejected civilization. They would then turn these people into alcoholics. The Hottentot system was put in place in the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa., a system that planters would abuse. Instead of paying their workers in money, they would pay them in wine and have them drink their money away. It was a way of control and racist assumptions about the ethnic groups’ ability to consume wine. The planters could use their drunkenness as an excuse to abuse their workers, even though they supplied their workers with the wine. As a result, a new class formed: the drunk class.

“Colonial states actively made decisions on who should drink wine and what types. It was a tool of economic and social entrapment,” Davis said.

Influenced by this idea to improve civilization, the colonial wine industry was contaminated by contradictions that were ignored as the market grew in popularity in the world. South Africa is ranked No. 5 in wine production while Australia is No. 8. It’s once again another example of the dark side of globalization. The talk was incredibly informative about this niche topic that had influenced in more than one way the markets and the production of the world.

The next History Symposium Talk will not be a part of the food series, but will be held on Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. in Barrows Hall Hill Auditorium. It is called “The October 1943 Rescue of Jews from Denmark: Networks and Motives of the Rescuers” and is presented by Professor Therkel Stræde.

Be on the lookout for more history presentations on the UMaine History departments webpage.

On Friday Oct. 14, Skyline Drive pulled together their members for a performance on the IMRC stage at the University of Maine. The performance was a part of UMaine’s monthly local music concert series. Alongside them were Milk St. and Gunshot Glitter. In an exclusive and entertaining interview with Skyline Drive the band expressed their goals as well as what the future looks like for them. 

Skyline Drive was first composed of bassist Jacob Wall,  guitarist Joe Leonard and drummer Adam Chenier. The three formed the band two years ago, toward the end of 2020 at a party in the Ave apartment complex. Chenier was playing his bass when Wall overheard him. Wall invited him to a jam session with Leonard where Chenier played the drums. Wall secretly held an audition not knowing that the other two shared the same idea he had about creating a band. It just worked out. Lead singer/lyricist Ben Daigneault joined last September, completing the band at four. 

What proved to be surprising was the ideology behind their conception. 

“Play what everyone wants to hear, not what we want to play,” Wall said. 

This may seem counter intuitive, since musicians usually play what they want to play regardless of what is popular. However, it’s important for the band to appeal to their audience the most.

 “Collective consciousness of the band [is] … something that fits us,” Wall said.

Skyline Drive has been writing their own songs for about a year now. They began by performing covers of songs, which was fun for a while, but now they feel that they want to make their own thing. They said that their lyrics are ambiguous on purpose because they want the music to invoke emotion in their audience. The songs are open to interpretation since they don’t intend for audience members to have one shared experience. 

“When you are playing a cover song people judge how it sounds. But when it is your original songs it’s a lot more pressure. It’s good pressure but it’s a lot. I like to spread the emotion of the song through the words,” Daigneault said. 

He also commented on the feeling that he gets when the audience is singing his lyrics back to him. He said that it is unreal to experience. 

Skyline Drive also commented on the struggles that came from writing and being in the band itself.

“Definitely writing and being creative is a tough part of it,” Wall said.

 Likewise, the band is spread out across multiple states, so they have had to pass up on some opportunities. The time that they can get together and work is sacred and calculated to be effective. A lot of sacrifices allowed them to be where they are now. The band credits their organization to their manager Aiden Leavitt.

“A very integral part of our operation is Aiden and how he manages us. When we first started he didn’t know how to do it; now he is managing multiple bands,” Wall said.

Currently the band is working on an EP that will be released sometime next year. The project is still in the making but they want to have some big Orono names join in on the fun. 

“We have the songs, [and we are] probably going to record them this weekend. [It is a] nice creative outlet to have,” Leonard said.

The band will be dropping teasers of the album throughout the year once they finish the mixing and mastering of their EP. They can be found primarily on Instagram at Skyline_Drive, where they release their performance dates. The troupe proved to be a warm hospitable bunch that together created a radiant chemistry. Be on the lookout for Skyline Drive.

3/5 stars

In 2019, Faber & Faber published a compilation of collected lyrics from Shaun Ryder. The book, “Wrote For Luck,” which is 90 pages long, spans Ryder’s 40-year career with strategically-picked lyrics from his well-known songs. Ryder provides his own commentary on the meaning behind each song. Readers get a look at the creative mind of a man who lived through the Madchester music scene and the La Hacienda at its peak popularity.The book also provides insight into his well-meant and genuinely symbolic lyrics. In all honesty, it is a strange choice in terms of format. But after finishing the book, it is clear why Faber & Faber chose to publish Ryder’s lyrics and voice together. 

Ryder was the lead singer of the 1980s Manchester band Happy Mondays and is currently the front man of Black Grape. Happy Mondays’ heyday was fueled by the hype that came from La Hacienda. La Hacienda was a nightclub created by television presenter and record producer Tony Wilson. It was the place of drug consumption and the so-called birth of rave culture. Happy Mondays stood in the middle of this success; they were chief executors of mischief and swagger. They didn’t produce the best music but Wilson saw something in Ryder’s lyrics. Wilson believed in Ryder enough to call him this generation’s W.B. Yeats. 

Much of Ryder’s lyrics refer to the essence of the party scene as well as the band members’ approach to life. They did not care what they did; they told the media what they truly thought and kept no secrets. 

Their first few songs are iffy. You can see the lack of creativity in their early lyrics with rather basic statements that are only used to make a catchy song. “Kuff Dam” was a reference to a pornographic movie and “Tart Tart” was about living in a low-income area, singing about drugs and the people in the artists’ lives. Ryder writes that these two songs were when he could sense the potential the band had. 

What is interesting about the book “Wrote for Luck” is its shift in tone. 12 pages in, there is a change in the quality of Ryder’s lyrics. He goes from extreme descriptions of sex to commenting on the changing city and society. 

“By the time of ‘24 Hour Party People’ I had really begun to find my voice, and I was writing about our lives and the things that were happening around me and to me, rather than trying to write about what you should write about,” Ryder said.

There is still a sense of immaturity that can be found within his lyrics but rather for shock value or entertainment, there is a sense of meaning that Ryder is trying to express. It shows his growth as an artist. 

“Wrote For Luck” is no “I’ll be Your Mirror,” but compared to the nearly 600-page lyric collection of Lou Reed, the short read describes what life was like within the party scene of the 80s. It was worth the read just to learn about how Ryder viewed his juvenile song lyrics and the progress he made to better himself and his art. 

“Wrote For Luck” can be found on Amazon and other online bookstores.

4.5/5 stars

On May 27, 2022, the rock band Just Mustard released their second album “Heat Under.” The hauntingly beautiful dream pop album is simple, yet it has a powerful impact on the listener. We are no longer paying attention to just the vocals, but to the all-accompanying rhythms that make the band unique. It develops a sound so stringent and mechanized that you forget that it is a five piece band. With a darker tone than their first album “Wednesday,” Just Mustard finds the right amount of strength to gain the attention of weary listeners. The 45-minute and 15-second album shows listeners that music is about the minute details: the parts that go unnoticed but can make a listener obsessed with the sound it makes.

Originating from Dundalk, Ireland, Just Mustard combines the Celtic sounds of the region with singer Katie Bell’s hypnotizing soprano that creates an alternative rock album similar to that of the Cocteau Twins and the eerie goth rock of The Cure. Not to mention the essence of Slowdive, Bell’s voice is fainter but her wispyness fits perfectly with the accompanying psychedelic and synthetic guitars. They scream and wail sounds of machines and horror. It sends the listener into an altered state, as if we are grieving for something we did not lose. From the first listen, Rob Clarke’s bassline resembles an army marching and carries the music through the album. It is a sharp and powerful beat that can be felt in the chest. David Noonan’s guitar and accompanying vocals match perfectly with Bell’s, expressing the frustration that is locked within all of us. The song “Deaf,” which is off their first album, is a prime example of Noonan’s shocking voice. 

“Heat Under” begins strong with the song “23,” which makes for an impactful opener that introduces the listener to the band. It is soothing and sweet with a hint of sadness behind it. “I Am You” describes how you sometimes mimic someone that you idolize in hope of gaining their attention. The sadness peaks at “Blue Chalk” but the album itself climaxes at the seemingly musically-complex “Mirror,” which expresses lyrics of not recognizing oneself, and connects back to the message of  “I Am You.” The album ultimately ends with the song “River,” which reflects on past mistakes.

This album is interesting because it can be played as ambient music, but beware because it will make itself known and eventually gain the listener’s attention. Its sorrowful message and dreary sound may not be for everyone, but the album has potential to help skyrocket Just Mustard into popularity. Its range of sadness to anger to hope is a piece of work that many artists such as The Cure and Bauhaus have been expressing for years. Now it is time for the younger generation to express their emotions amongst the greats. For the best listening experience of “Heat Under,” I recommend using headphones and letting the album lead you to a place of longing and curiosity.

Meadow Wind is a second-year psychology student at the University of Maine. She has lived in many places but has lived in Rumford, Maine the longest. 

“It’s a small, rural town surrounded by plenty of hiking trails and home to the ski resort Black Mountain,” Wind said.

The shift from small-town life to a campus of 10,000 students has been an interesting change for her. What she finds most challenging of all is the transportation system. 

“The transportation system in this area is horrible. Now that I have a car, it’s easy to get around, but without one it was difficult to enjoy the area, given that there’s not much to do unless you travel to Bangor. With that being said, I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff to do in Orono that I just haven’t done,” Wind said.

She mentions that she was not as involved on campus last year as much as she wanted to be. 

“I’m trying to get more involved this year. I’ve joined a few clubs and try to go to many on-campus events, including sporting events,” Wind said. She feels that the school offers plenty for students to get involved. 

Wind studying psychology at UMaine stems from the fact that she wants to become a psychiatrist.

“I chose to pursue psychology as my major because I am very interested in learning about how people’s minds work, as well as what treatment looks like for those who are struggling with mental illness,” Wind said.

The life of a psychology student can be stressful, and now that this is her second year, Wind has begun to experience the workload that comes with studying this type of science. 

“As a psychology major, who is also in the Honors College, I spend most of my time reading and writing papers. Although, now that I have a lot of my foundational classes out of the way, I am taking more science-based classes that will have more of a variety of assignments,” Wind said. 

Wind’s rigorous course load might look intense, but her passion for her major helps her during her studying.

“I enjoy learning information that is seemingly ‘common sense’ but actually isn’t. I enjoy learning about stereotypes and how to combat them in day-to-day life. Additionally, I am excited to begin to learn deeper science behind the brain and how to do good research,” Wind said. Her passion for both people and science will serve her well in her future career.

However, Wind’s passion for science isn’t the only thing helping her get through her classes.

“I combat stress by keeping extremely organized. Last year, I created a combined syllabus for all of my classes so that I knew exactly what was expected of me and due each day. This helped my brain not stress about forgetting to turn something in. I keep a planner on me at all times as well, just so that I can refer to what my daily schedule looks like,” Wind said. 

Wind’s organization strategy goes well with her journaling hobby, which helps reduce stress for her as well. 

When she has the time away from her busy schedule, Wind can be found decompressing by going to the gym and reading.

This time at UMaine will teach Wind valuable skills, both for her mental health and in her career. She has found useful ways of reducing stress and anxiety in her personal life as well as learned how to effectively disregard biases in her field. Students like Wind will help make the field of psychology exceptional and progressive. There is no doubt that Wind will be someone to watch once she graduates.

On April 14 in the Cyrus Pavilion Theater, students of the University of Maine’s School of Performing Arts division of Theater and Dance took to the stage for the production of “Six Dead Queens and An Inflatable Henry.” The play is about the wives of King Henry VIII of England taking place in the shared bedroom of the past queens’ afterlife. The way the play was directed made it feel like you were watching a slumber party. 

“While it includes many references to the lives of the women and their marriages to Henry, it’s a fictional scenario and one designed to entertain more than educate,” Angela Bonacasa said, the director of the performance.

From the opening scene, audience members know that they’re not in for a typical play. 

The play is about each of the Queens competing over who was the “superior queen,” but unbeknownst to them they each shared similar flaws that reveal themselves as the play progresses. They each try their hardest to argue how loyal they were to the king. They realized ultimately that the problem was not them but Henry. The show ends with a powerful statement as they each get a chance to, literally, deflate their husband, giving them the revenge that they all sought. It was an interesting representation of feminism and raised the question: “ladies…is he really worth it?” 

“People can expect something very, very different!” Bonacasa said. “The show runs a little over an hour, and hits the ground running. Some moments of the show border on farce, while others are heartfelt and tender. One moment there is singing and dancing, and in the next there is a swordfight. It changes direction constantly and keeps the viewer wondering what to expect next.” 

She was not wrong. To the keen listener and the culturally aware, the dialogue sprinkles in suggestive puns and innuendos. The line “quick on the draw” was followed by the cast pulling prop guns. 

The play also saw the Queens comment on contemporary British royal life, such as the marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, as well as Meghan Markle entering the royal family. 

Each Queen had a different personality that was portrayed spectacularly by each actor, but all of them were the same loyal, love-sick spoiled woman corrupted by the burden of baring an heir. Delaney McFaden’s portrayal of Anne of Cleaves, a lesser known queen, stole the show with her facial expressions of agony and disgust. Her body language was perfect as she managed to capture the frustration behind the late monarch.

One of the most powerful scenes of the show was the representation of the two queens that got beheaded. The lights went dim and Anne Boylen and Katherine Howard, performed by Emma Ouellette and Katie Brayson, got on the bed and began to narrate the events that lead to their beheading. 

“I could not be more proud of the result,” Bonacasa said.

“We began rehearsals in early March, starting with the musical and vocal aspects, and then moving into the script and scene work shortly after,” Bonacasa said. “Conversations about the sets, costumes and other design elements had been in discussions for several months before that, and the actual construction/creation began in mid March as well.”

This practice was prevalent in the performance. The actors were well-rehearsed in their roles. Each queen spoke in a specific European accent quite well. Certain scenes called for a musical interlude where the instruments were performed by the actors. The choreography for the sword fights and little dancing scenes were also quite good. 

The set was also beautiful. The minimalist lighting was well done, and it created a perfect ambiance of a royal bedroom to set the mood whenever one of the Queens went off on a tangent. Likewise, the costumes were impeccably done. The dresses fit each actor’s character and helped the audience understand the ladies in them. These details brought the whole show together, making it very entertaining and worth seeing. 

“Participation in the School of Performing Arts theater[’s] shows is available to anyone,” Bonacasa said. “There are a number of non-majors who participate in the shows, either as actors through the audition process, or on the tech side running lights, costume crew or any of the many roles that involve putting a production together. Auditions are usually held each semester for all the shows that will be performed. Those interested can check out the School of Performing Arts website or reach out to the theater office.” 

4.5/5 Stars

On March 11, 2022, Amazon Prime’s original television series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” concluded its fourth season. The long awaited season four, which was postponed due to the 

COVID-19 pandemic, saw the character Miriam “Midge” Maisel, portrayed by Rachel Brosnahan, attempt to make her way in the comedy business again after the embarrassment she faced since being fired from singer Shy Baldwin’s tour. Much like the disappointment Midge faced, audiences were exactly pleased with the third season. However, after a slow start to season four, the show’s creators pulled audiences back into the chaos and mayhem that is the daily life of Midge.

To summarize the first three seasons, Midge is a 1950s Jewish housewife living in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. After a rough divorce from her husband, she finds she has a knack for comedy. With her manager Susie Meyerson, played by Alex Borstein, they cruise the comedy circuit trying to make it big in the business. The main storyline of season four is focused on Midge reentering the comedy realm, and this time she is working in a stable position as the Master of Ceremonies for a failing Burlesque show. In some ways, this was her way of getting her life back on track. Of course, there were a few bumps in the road. Midge has to deal with her parents disapproval and a mysterious journalist called L. Roy Dunham’s constant negative illustrations of her routine.

The season saw the cast deliver hilarious performances, really showcasing how these actors know their characters inside and out. It is the supporting cast’s side story shenanigans that sprinkle in the right amount of comedy to make the show special. Michael Zegan returns as Joel Maisel, Midge’s former husband, as he becomes successful in his new nightclub business. Tony Shalhoub returns as Midge’s perfectionist father Abe Weissman, and Marin Hinkle returns as Rose Weissman, her mother. Hinkle’s character has found success this season as a matchmaker, at the cost of disrupting the boundaries of fellow Manhattan matchmakers. Jane Lynch reprises her role as rival comedian Sophie Lennon, who has gone mad. Finally, fan favorite Luke Kirby takes his wonderful depiction of famed comedian Lenny Bruce closer and closer to the fate that we all know is coming. In the final episode, he delivers a shocking talk to Midge and the viewers that leaves both of their fates up in the air for now. 

Borstein shines as Susie. She is trying to establish her own managerial company and is finding it harder than she expected to be. Borstein shows her range as an actress this season, as she shows a new, emotional side to Susie. Borstein’s monologue in episode two is incredibly moving and powerful, and is definitely worthy of another Emmy nomination. 

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is a perfect show to binge or casually view that will make you laugh out loud at every episode. I’d recommend watching it with subtitles, though, to catch all the comedy, especially since the characters talk fast and over each other. The show was confirmed for a fifth and final season. Audiences can expect to see the final season sometime in 2023.

On Tuesday, April 5, the University of Maine School of Performing Arts congregated at the Minsky Recital Hall for the “Chamber Music” concert. Doors opened at 7:20 p.m. and the event began at 7:30 p.m. It was free to the public, and the performance involved a series of seven small wind and string ensembles. The musical pieces were short, powerful statements of emotion, and it was clear to the audience that the musicians spent hours practicing to perfect the literature that they performed. 

“The Chamber Music performance is a concert presented by student groups who participate in MUO149 and MUP512, otherwise known as Chamber Music Class,” Noreen Silver, the director of the night’s event and instructor of Chamber Music, said. 

“Chamber Music is music performed by small groups—anything from two to eight or nine players—who perform without a conductor, and with only one person playing each part,” Silver said.  

It originated as a form of classical music for groups of musicians that performed in ballrooms or chambers. The music was composed for home consumption rather than for the church or theater. The pieces that were performed on Tuesday reflected that theme of home listening. The songs were soothing and very easy to listen to. Many of the pieces were composed of long, droning notes that accompanied a fast melody. Transitions into different themes and motifs were effortless and graceful.

“Audiences can expect a variety of music by composers from Telemann and Handel, to Ravel and Piazzolla,” Silver said. “Some groups include piano, such as the beautiful Requiem by David Popper for three cellos and piano. The program will start with French music performed on two pianos.” 

The first piano piece was played beautifully. The dual piano players switched back and forth from melody to harmony effortlessly. The literature they performed initially sounded depressing and somber. However, as they got deeper into the performance, the music became hopeful. This was a common theme that all of the group’s songs had embraced. To the listeners the pieces sounded simple, but for the musicians it required intense concentration and dedication toward their piece. 

“Chamber Music demands a high level of competence on an instrument, as well as the ability to work closely with other individuals,” Silver said. “It also develops the skills of studying music scores and listening to others.” 

There was no director on stage, so the students had to listen and watch each other to maintain time and volume. The end result was a beautiful arrangement of music, something that can be enjoyed by everyone and should be heard at least once. What was surprising was how loud a quartet and quintet of flutes could get. The arrangement of the flute performances stirred an array of emotions. Each distinct part could be heard, no one was overpowering the other. Most notably was in the piece, “Suite in A minor,” where the alto flute player and bass flute player harmonized beautifully with their soloist. The soloist maneuvered the complex rhythms with ease creating a beautiful transition back to the group accompaniment.

“What I think separates chamber music from other modes of performance is intimacy,” Jacob Calles, a third-year UMaine student, said. “You have to be completely familiar with the music that all the musicians in the group are playing in a way that isn’t possible in large ensembles. It demands receptiveness and flexibility, skills that are probably essential to playing any kind of music but are difficult to practice outside chamber groups.” 

Calles plays jazz piano, but got into Chamber Music so he could continue playing in small ensembles.

“With piano specifically, balance is a huge challenge,” Calles said. “You’re playing mostly with string and wind instruments that don’t have the pitch or dynamic range of the piano so it’s really easy to under or overplay.” 

The performance that stood out the most was a three cello and piano accompaniment of “Requiem Op. 66.” Much like the flute ensembles, the cellos were each distinct with their parts so much so it was easy to hear the separate melodies. Their articulation was clear and vibrant. There came a part in the piece where after all three cellos were playing different parts of the chord to create a harmony, they all played a line that was monotone to create the effect that only one cello was playing. The reason for this had to be because of the volume. Each cello player was strumming the same soft strong note that caused the powerful bright note of one cello. The result was haunting. It was so distinct that someone who knows nothing about music could recognize the effect that it had on the audience. 

There is one Chamber Music performance each semester. All the performers gave strong performances showing the hard work that they put into their art making the performance worth the hours of complex rhythms and synergy. 

“​​All students in this concert are part of the music program in the School of Performing Arts,” Silver said. “Participation is by audition, and they get involved by contacting me.”

For more information about the Chamber Music performance, you can contact Silver at noreen.silver@maine.edu.