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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2001
Babes In Arms to break in the new Athletic Recreation Center
by Jermaine Hardy
features co-editor
From March 21 to March 25
The Athletic Recreation Center
(ARC) will Host Behrend’s spring
musical, Babes In Arms. Just before
Behrend’s newest “multi-purpose”
space is open for sports and other
activities, it will be broken in as a
theatre for this special production.
“We’re going to celebrate the multi
purpose nature of our campus’ new
Athletic Recreation Center by
turning it into a theatre for much of
the month of March. And Babes In
Arms is the perfect musical to
showcase Behrend’s growing
performance arts programs and to
showcase the diversity and talents of
our students,” said the play’s director
The Hiphopera rocks the Studio Theatre
by Christopher Buchanan
staff writer
Friday February 16, 2001, the As
sociation of Black Collegians and the
National Society of Black Engineers,
student organizations here at Penn
State Behrend, collaborated to cel
ebrate Black History Month with
rhythm and rhyme in a play called
the Hiphopera. This fascinating mu
sical packed the Studio Theater with
numbers exceeding 60 students, fac
ulty, and members of the community.
The Hiphopera is a Hip-Hop mu
sical comprised of Behrend students,
who wrote the entire play them
selves. Although, the first show was
geared toward Black History Month
there was an array of information
that was spun off of he subject. The
cast, which consists of actors
Victoria Anderson, Anthony
Bineyard, Melissa Davis, Jacqueline
Jackson, Lamar Jefferson, Adinah
Juliet, Dale Lamb, Kim Moses,
Gyasi Stewart, and director
Jermaine Hardy, make up a college
campus, which is the setting for a
series of skits about college life.
There was a classroom scene
where the students learned about the
Black Panther’s involvement in the
civil rights movement. It was a scene
in which the students expressed to
their teacher “Dr. Smith” that the his
tory books were not sufficient
enough in the information about Af
rican-American history.
The difficulties of leaving for col
lege are a big issue for most high
school graduates and this was shown
Midnight Bingo keeps Behrend up all night
by Mike Grooms
staff writer
On Friday, February 16,
Behrend held Midnight Bingo for
the second time this semester. The
aroma of freshly popped buttered
popcorn filled the Reed Com
mons. Laughter and chat could be
heard throughout. Many people
like to spend their free time gam
bling. Some
people win big,
some lose big, and
there were no los
ers here. Once stu
dents showed their
school 1.D., every
thing was provided
for them free. The
entertainment,
food, cards, and the
bingo chips were
all free. The stu
dent activity fees
were used to fund
the event
Although it is Ry an R a j nes sits in suspense at Midnight Bingo at the Reed Commons
formally known as
Midnight Bingo, 12:00 a.m. was
not the actual starting time. Be
ginning at 10:30 p.m., over 100
people had taken their seats, and
were preparing to get down to
some serious bingo playing. The
bingo games ended at 1:30 a.m.;
students, both resident and com
muter came out to compete. If stu
dents wore pajamas, they received
a prize automatically, so quite a
few students came wearing their
pajamas in order to guarantee
themselves one of the many fabu
The cast of Babes In Arms rehearses for their performances to take place from March 21 -25 in the Athletic Recreation Center.
in a scene about a high school gradu
ate leaving for college, and trying
to escape his negative friends and
neighborhood. The scene showed
the difficulties the boy went through,
but also gave the positive outcome
of the boy remaining grounded and
pursuing his college education..
There was also a skit about how
males think and talk about females
and how women think and talk about
males. Many college men and
women could relate to these two
skits. The males talked about how
they wanted to have sex and degrade
the women in their lives, while the
positive message came from one of
the males, who expressed that
women should be treated with re
spect, and tried his hardest to con
vince the others. The women talked
about how the males in their lives
were being disrespectful and untrust
worthy. The positive message out
of this scene was that two wrongs
don’t make a right and that being in
dependent as a woman can get you
through the hardest times.
The Hiphopera had a very posi
tive outcome. The turnout in the
Studio Theatre was so impressive
that the collaborating organizations
are planning to schedule several
other performances, which will soon
be advertised. The scenes in the play
gave everybody that attended some
thing to relate to. Although the
Hiphopera came from an African-
American standpoint, it covered is
sues that any race, gender, and creed
can relate to.
lous prizes. In addition to the
various prizes that were being
awarded, the room was full of free
food and beverages! Students
feasted on popcorn, bagels, cook
ies and Ocean spray drinks. Some
of the prizes that were being
awarded were twister games,
Millcreek mall gift certificates,
lamps, Behrend t-shirts and
sweatshirts, water bottles, folding
chairs that would be perfect for
dorm rooms, and many others.
The bingo game was projected
on a big screen. The balls were
tossed around in a machine that re
sembled a lottery ball machine.
The event was organized in a very
professional manner. If you didn’t
know it, you would think you were
at a professional bingo tourna
ment. When the announcer men
tioned speed bingo, the entire
room erupted in cheers. This was
indeed the game of choice, and ob
■,r~)
‘he cast of the Hiphopera displays the “classroom scene” at opening night in the Studio Theatre
viously the most exciting. When
playing speed bingo, like the
name implies, balls are drawn,
and the numbers called at a much
faster pace, so players really have
to be aware of their cards, and pay
close attention to the numbers that
are being called. Pattern bingo
was also popular among the stu
dents. The idea was to get differ
ent patterns on your bingo card,
depending on
the pattern the
announcer dis
plays on the
projector.
Some of the
various pat-
terns used are
diamond,
and
cross,
muting student
Dan Stonski,
who attended
the bingo
event men-
tioned, “ I
come because I think it’s pretty
fun. I had a really good time here
the last time Behrend held this
event. The food is good, and free,
so the price is right. You get good
deals, and the entertainment just
doesn’t come cheaper.” All in all,
the students seemed to be having
a really good time. The event pro
vides an alternative for students
who may usually go out and spend
lots of money, and provides enter
tainment for those who just feel
like relaxing.
i fpc
Co m -
IKY WEINDORF
PHOTO BY BE<
Tony Elliot.
Babes hi Arms ,
originally
presented in New
York in 1936, is a
Musical Comedy
with lyrics by
Lorenz Hart and
«T"~ music by Richard
Rodgers. The play
cuses on the fun,
ustrations and
mancesofagroup
college age
would-be” actors
id actresses at a
mer theatre in
England,
ir tyrannical
oducer works
them so hard that
they never have a chance to display
their own talents. When they decide
to produce their own show on their
own time the mayhem ensues.
With a score of classic tunes like
“My Funny Valentine," "Where or
When," “The Lady is a Tramp," and
“All at Once,” Babes In Anns boast
one of the greatest musical theatre
scores ever written. Along with a
great story the overall show should
make for a great evening of pure
entertainment for the whole family.
The performance schedule for
Babes in Arms in the Athletic-
Recreation Center consists of the
following dates and times: March 21.
22, 23, & 24 at 8:00 and March 25 at
2:30 pm. Tickets go on sale Friday,
March 2, at the R.U.B Desk.
PHOTO BY NEIL MAKADIA