'f‘i ■ HM iki'Ni ) Hl’ H. 1 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
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers