Thursday, November 2,1995
Heathen Valley:
by Michelle R. Gruendl
Copy Editor
“Poor folks have poor ways"
was the phrase that rang through
my head repeatedly while
watching the dress rehearsal of
“Heathen Valley” last night A
definite must see, it portrayed
poor, simple Appalacian folk
Powder: Humanity surpasses technology
by Ryan Bogart
Collegian Staff
The film "Powder" may
not get a great review from the
big names in Hollywood, but I've
formed my own opinion. Sean
Patrick Flannery plays Jeremy
Reed (Powder), the teenager
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who have gone astray from
religion.
In an effort to find God, a
bishop (Tracy D. Lee) goes to the
valley in the mountains to “save
souls”. He takes with him
Stams (Mike Rush) and Billy
Cobb (Bond Davis).
Stams, bom in a town close to
whom all his life has been hidden
by his grandparents on a
farm. He is different than normal
boys his age. He is an albino
with no hair and great energetic
powers. At birth, his mother was
struck by lightening and died,
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Entertainment
A story of simple people
Heathen Valley, is an ex-convict
janitor that becomes “learned”
through the teachings of Billy, an
orphan schooled by the bishop’s
church. Stams is ordained
Deacon and acts as a guide for the
journey into the mountains.
When they arrive, they meet
Cora (Diane Hardner), Juba
(Rebecca Wolford) and Harlan
(Robert Connick). Harlan, who
is plagued with witches and
ghostly visions, has just shot his
cousin Daniel in retailiation for
Daniel shooting his wife/sister
Margaret and his children. Cora
is trying to persuade Harlan to
give her their child Jean while
Juba, the midwife, is preparing
Daniel for burial.
The bishop is bold, confident
of his religion and duty in life,
something that the people in the
valley can't understand. Stam
acts as mediator, who tries to
bridge the gap between the
bishop and the people.
Left in charge of the
missionary in Heathen Valley,
Starns deals with “converting”
the people by his own simple
ways of understanding Christian
religion. He “civilizes” each
character using their own
personalities and ways of life, and
as a result, the comunity prospers
economically and spiritually the
best way they know how for
three years.
Unfortunately, the bishop is
not satisfied with the changes he
sees. He doesn’t view life as
Stams and the people of Heathen
Valley do, and as a consequence.
thus causing Powder to be bom
forcibly.
When he is bom, his
father is ashamed and leaves the
hospital crying, "he's not my
son." This comes back to haunt
Powder. When his grandfather
dies, Powder’s whole life
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A night at tha Theatre: Heathen Valley opens tonight. It
is a free preview for Behrend students. It runs November 3,4,
9,12 and 11 at 8 p.m. and November 5 and 12 at 2:30 p.m.
things change.
The story is told through the
eyes of Billy as a means to make
sense of his life, to figure out
what went wrong in the valley he
came to know as home. It leaves
the audience without an answer.
Tony Elliot, the director, replied,
“It’s open ended. It leaves you
with questions, that’s the idea.
It’s something to think about,
something to discuss afterwards.
I don’t think the character who
has the final lines knows how to
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changes. Jessica Caldwell, a
psychologist from a mentally
handicapped boys' school, takes
him from the only place he
knows is home.
The movie is set in a
typical, small town in Texas,
where everyone knows each
other, which becomes the biggest
problem for Powder. His first day
in public school was a mentally
crushing experience. Students
blatantly stopped in the hallways
to look at him. This created a
path lined with curious teens. He
gets picked on, as any other
"weird" kid in high school might,
but the viewers tend to feel sorry
for him.
Science class becomes a
disaster when the science teacher,
played by Jeff Goldblum, turns
on an atomic generator. The
electricity streams toward
Powder, lifting him several feet
off of his chair. Goldblum saves
him by smashing the generator
causing Powder to crash to the
floor. This only adds to the
humiliation which he goes
through.
Powder has an amazing
effect on people when he touches
them. Goldblum says he feels
like he's eighteen again, after he
touches Powder to see if he's
alright. This touch changes
people forever.
He is all energy and this
mystery is slowly unraveled
throughout the movie, Goldblum
feel at that moment.”
A powerful, touching and
thought provoking play, the cast
portrays their characters with
passion and feeling. Robert
Connick expressed his feelings of
portraying Harlan. “It’s just fun
to be able to go up and act crazy
in front of everybody and not
have worry about anything.”
The fall production begins
tonight at 8 p.m. Admission is
$5 for the general public and $3
for students.
becomes his best friend when he
informs Powder of Einstein's
theory of energy- "all matter is
made up of energy, thus the
higher IQ, the more energy one
possesses; Powder is all energy."
He takes an IQ test and scores off
the record, the highest ever
recorded in human kind.
Goldblum teaches him how to
shake hands, something which
his grandparents never did for fear
of touching him.
He has the power of
reading people's thoughts and
emotions. Lance Hendrikson
plays the sheriff in the small
town, and his wife is on her death
bed. Powder comes to relay the
message that she wants to tell
him before she passes. Which is
that Hendikson and his son must
resolve their arguing and make
up. Through Powder, the sheriff
and his son make up which
enables the sheriffs wife to rest
peacefully.
This film is very
touching because Powder heals
everyone and their problems
throughout the film.
Emotionally, he has power to
change people's lives forever
which he does several times.
Goldblum said it best... "It is
clear that technology has
surpasses humanity. Powder is
the human of the future. We have
a chance to have humanity
surpass technology." Go see this
film!
Po n e 9