Babes In Arms is a hit at opening night in the A.R.C
by Jermaine Hardy
features co-editor
This past Wednesday Behrend’s
Spring Musical “Babes In Arms”
opened in the new Athletic and
Recreation Center. Presented by the
Penn State Behrend Studio Theatre
and the Music Department, the play
focuses on the mayhem that takes
place amongst a group of college age
would be actors at a summer theatre
in New England. The students get
tired of the demanding conditions
under their producer Seymour
Fleming played by Dan Schiesser,
and decide to produce their own play,
which they call “The Review.”
Kicking off with the comical
narration of “The Press Agent,”
played by Michael Kupniewski, the
play takes us back stage at the
summer theatre, where we are
introduced character by character to
the theatre’s cast as they tell the
audience about their acting
aspirations. This smooth opening
then leads into the first musical
number and theme song, “Babes In
Arms." On first note of the melodic
harmony displayed by the actors and
orchestra, the audience is grabbed.
Chico’s Traveler’s Inn:
a nice place with a great taste
i
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Outside of Chico’s Traveler’s Inn located on Main street in Fairview
by Karl Benacci
features co-editor
Nut long ago, I had the opportu
nity to have dinner at Chico’s
Traveler's Inn, which is located on
Main Street, in Fairview. A few of
my friends and I decided to get a
quick bite to eat before seeing a
movie, so we chose Chico’s, for my
friend said that they served their
food in a quick fashion.
When I entered the restaurant, I
Have you gone on a road trip lately?
If so, this is your last chance to write about it and send your entry to
behrcolls@aol.com no later than Tuesday, April 17/ to be considered
for winning $250.
Cruisin 4 C aih
v Contest Rules
Any Behrend student can submit a 300-500 word story about a road trip they have taken since the end of the
spring 2000 semester. The trip must be more than 150 miles from the original location. A photo must accompany
entry with sufficient proof that the trip was made. Insufficient proof will lessen chances to win contest. If more
than one student took part in the road trip, only the student submitting the story is eligible, unless all members
send name in with entry. If more than one student name appears on entry, prize will be divided amongst the
students who entered. Send in entries as soon as possible to ensure publication in the Beacon. Only entries
appearing in the Beacon will be voted on. Beacon members are ineligible and will vote on the winner.
Setting a high-energy mood for the
play, the theme song is soon
interrupted by the theatre’s owner,
Fleming, (Dan Schisser) who gives
the actors the usual orders not to have
fun while working for him. Reacting
to the pressures put upon them by
Fleming, the cast exposes to the
audience their plans to produce their
own play. Although it is no secret to
Fleming, we soon find that their plans
don’t receive much support from
him. The production of their play, as
the actors advocate, will be a means
of not only enjoying some creative
freedom but also of helping Bunny
Brown (Rebecca Wolford), assistant
to Fleming to reclaim ownership of
the summer theatre, since her father
lost it as he owed debt to Fleming.
It becomes extra difficult for the
actors’ plans to be carried out, as the
cast has to take their time and devote
work to the production of Fleming’s
latest project, “The Deep North,”
which brings in big time playwright
and director, Lee Calhoun played by
Stephen Merritt. As the southern.
“Yankee Hating," arrogant
playwright and director, Merritt
brings much life to the character. He
does a good job of counterparting
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noticed that there were three basic sec
tions, which were the bar and two res
taurant sections (smoking and non
smoking). My party and I chose to sit
in the non-smoking section, which had
a nice atmosphere to it, however, we
could hear the people in the bar yell
ing and making strange noises.
After viewing the menu, I decided
to order a basket of chicken fingers
and french fries, which was served in
no time at all. Overall, the meal was
pretty decent. The chicken fingers
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Cast of “Babes In Arms” displays finale at opening night in the ARC
Fleming’s character, as both are the
comedic villains in the play.
While under the guidance of both
a tyrannical producer and director, it
becomes nearly impossible for the
summer theatre’s cast to work on
both projects simultaneously. When
show dates for the production of “The
Deep North” conflict with the
scheduled dates for “The Review,”
the actors become frustrated. As they
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PHOTO BY NEIL MAKADIA
were good and the french fries (which
came in a huge quantity) were also
tasty. However, the best part was that
my party and I only spent around a
half an hour in the restaurant. Upon
paying the check (the cost of my meal
was approximately six dollars), my
party and I left for our movie. Al
though it may not be the most refined
restaurant, Chico’s Travelers Inn is a
nice place to go for a tasty meal. I give
Chico’s Traveler’s Inn *** stars.
look to present their show on a special
date in order to impress another big
time producer, Steven Edwards
(Michael Stephenson), who is set to
visit the theatre for one day to view
“The Deep North,” the gang faces the
troublesome task of either convincing
the unsympathetic Fleming to let
their show go on, or find another way
to go about doing it on their own.
With much comedy being spurred
Behrend’s Foreign Film Festival features
the Oscar Winning ‘All About My Mother’
by Mark Benko
staff writer
On Tuesday, March 27, Penn
State Erie, the Behrend College
will present the film All About My
Mother, a searing unforgettable
slice of life directed by Pedro
Almodovar and starring Antonia
San Juan and Cecilia Roth. The
film will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the
Reed Union Building Lecture Hall.
This will be the first film shown
in the Women’s 2000 -2001 For
eign Film Series, and what a way
to start. Winner of the 1999 Best
Foreign Film Academy Award this
one-of-a-kind roller coaster ride of
emotion, tragedy, and most of all,
irony, is filled with remarkably
controversial characters.
Set in present day Spain,
Almodovar takes us through an ex
ploration of heartbroken maternal
anguish and triumph that truly will
Lennys Redondo ‘falls in love’
with her campus away from home
by Kristin Grudowski
staff writer
Imagine living in another country
for eighteen years, and then moving
about twelve hours away from every
thing and everyone who you had ever
known. That is exactly what Lennys
Redondo did when she moved from
Puerto Rico to Erie, Pennsylvania,
three years ago.
Redondo moved to Erie after vis
iting Behrend and falling in love with
the campus and the people that occu
pied it as well. She enrolled as a Me
chanical Engineering student, and was
accepted at University Park last year.
She decided to stay here at Behrend
because of the friendships she had
made and because of her appreciation
for the faculty-student relationships.
Another aspect of Redondo’s deci
sion to attend Behrend was her
mother’s approval of the campus and
the idea of her daughter leaving the
island to pursue a further education.
Families in Puerto Rico are structured
in a much more intimate manner when
compared to the modern American
family. Redondo also noted the dif
ferences in U.S. and Puerto Rico’s
cultures. “The people here are more
liberal and U.S. culture is more re
laxed,” Redondo said, continuing, “at
home, our culture is based on respect
and is much more conservative.”
Food preferences in Puerto Rico
and the U.S. also differ. While the
U.S. is home to hot dogs and ham
burgers, Puerto Ricans prefer “biftec
con arroz y habichuela con amarillos,”
that is, Redondo’s favorite food from
home. In case you are interested in
the English equivalent, it is beefsteak,
from the mayhem at the summer
theatre, the play wouldn’t be
complete without the various
romantic subplots. Stories of love are
contributed to the play with the main
characters Valentine White (Thad
Esak), “The Review’s” playwright
and director, and Susie Ward (Mary
Beaumont.) The love struggle
proceeds as Susie attempts to win the
love of Valentine but is belittled by
him as he confesses to her that she is
too young. The battle for Val’slove
becomes even more intense when Val
becomes infatuated with famous
actress Jenifer Owen, who comes on
the scene as “The Deep North’s” star.
Other love games take place amongst
characters Gus Field (Leo Hanley)
and Terry Thompson (Andrea
Rodriguez) who are the bad boy and
bad girl of the play. The intertwined
working of plot and subplot was
gracefully performed by all the actors
and actresses. The overall story line
written by George Oppenheimer is an
intricate and interesting one given
much justice by the cast who
performed it.
On the musical note the
performance was just as impressive.
With remarkable renditions of tunes
Antonia San Juan as Agrado and Cecilia Roth as Manuela
be remembered and talked about
for some time to come. Hats off to
the Office of Student affairs for
sponsoring it.
This film is for adults. It contains
brilliantly acted frank portrayals of
with onions, rice and beans. Redondo
also noted the differences in the legal
drinking ages of the countries. “I miss
being of age, because the age at home
is 18 and here it is 21.”
Another major differences between
Redondo’s home and the U.S. is the
weather. In Puerto Rico it is around
85 degrees in December, while we
huddle closer together to conserve
body heat to protect ourselves from
temperatures below freezing. It was
not until Redondo came to Behrend
that she came in contact with such
conditions. Her freshman year also
marks her first experience with snow.
“It was amazing, and I was so excited.
My friends and I had a snowball fight,
and then we used garbage bags to go
sledding down a hill on campus,”
Redondo stated.
It is easy to see that the Puerto Rico
native has effortlessly adapted to not
only the changes in culture and
weather, but also to Behrend itself.
like “My Funny Valentine," “I Wish
I Were In Love Again,” “Where or
When” and more, the audience's ears
are sure to be pleased. The orchestra
made up of Behrend students and
directed by Dr. Daniel Barnard and
Dr. Gary Viebranz provided a
musical score that was totally on
point.
All that goes into good theatre
production was present including
superb lighting by technicians Amber
Foster, Sam Roodman and Brittany
Hess, sound by Adam Gaines and set
construction by Theatre 184
(Troubled Youth With Power Tools).
The production staff as a whole did a
great job of replicating a real
theatrical atmosphere in the Athletic
and Recreation Center. The audience
is sure to forget that they are sitting
in a basketball court. The overall
show is one 1 strongly recommend
for all to go see. The remaining
performance schedule for Babes in
Anns in the Athletic and Recreation
Center consists of the following dates
and times: March 23, & 24 at 8:00
and March 25 at 2:30 pm. Tickets
are on sale the R. 11.8 Desk.
PHOTO BY TERESA ISASI
about every kind of sexuality one
can think of, without any vulgar
ity. This is untinted straight on re
alism that is not always pretty, but
is unrelentingly honest.
Redondo is a member of ASME
(American Society of Mechanical
Engineers), the Behrend tennis team
and a sister of Theta Phi Alpha.
Redondo’s future plans include
graduating from Behrend in the spring
of 2003, and attending graduate
school to become more familiar with
Aerospace Engineering. Although
she hopes to work for NASA some
day, there won’t be any trips to the
moon planned just yet because
Redondo is more interested in design
ing the spacecrafts.
Similar to how some have difficul
ties adjusting to a new school, adjust
ing to another country and culture can
also be difficult. Redondo has proven
to be successful in both transitions.
“If I had to do it again, I would,” she
commented on moving to Erie. “At
tending school in the U.S. is a very
different experience. I am on my own,
and I matured quickly because of the
distance between my family and I.”