6 I The Behrend Beacon Friday, April 17, 2009
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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A LOOK .47 . It'oRLD of MUSIC, FROM TFil.
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OBSCURE TO THE OBSCENE, THE NEW AND THE oLD
The Hot 8
NEW ORLEANS' BRASS BAND ADDS
SOME CAJUN SPICE TO BEHREND
continued from page 1
and formed what became Hot 8. - The hand remained relatively
unknown until after the events following Hurricane Katrina.
According to the Logan Series pamphlet, the "Hot 8 Brass
Band was propelled to international prominence after appearing
in When the Levees Broke'," a documentary on Hurricane Kat-
"I had seen them in Spike Lee's movie,' says Viebranz.
Shortly after he saw the movie, Viebranz says that he received
an email informing him that the band was under professional
management and that they were definitely ready to perform at
venues (such as the Logan Series).
Like all of New Orleans, Hot had its share of tragedy in the
aftermath of the devastating hurricane. In addition to losing a
lot of business in an economically and violence-stricken New
Orleans, original drummer Dinerral Shavers was shot and killed
in late 2t H )ti while driving with his wife and child in the city. Two
other members of the hand also lost their lives due to violence
on the city streets. According to their ‘vehpage, "The Hot S Brass
Band has recommitted itself to bringing people together through
their unique brand of music to celebrate, to heal and to learn"
as a response to all of their unfortunate setbacks. Pete says that
the message they want to get across is "in the music."
"Determination. Perseverance. We've been through so
much," recollects Pete. ''We've lost four members. The strength
of the music kept us playing." Samuel Cyrus, snare drummer,
says he continues to play because he loves the music. "I grew
up around it, like everyday. Where we come from, you grow up
with hands playing at the church. What we got," states Cyrus,
"is brewed from gospel and marches. I mean, the hands played
church songs," laughed Cyrus.
The hand also expresses the ability to overcome any adversity.
Newest member and trumpteer. Terrell Batiste. lost his legs and
is confined to a wheel chair. That doesn't stop him from doing
what he loves. "I've always wanted to play with the Hot H. They
were well-known. [Former member) Jerome came to my house
for a family visit. - expressed Batiste. He mentioned that it was
this quality - big, interconnected families - that helped to pro
duce some of Hot B's fan base. "I played baritone, but I taught
myself to play trumpet because Hot 8 needed a trumpet player."
Batiste explains that "in the chair, you can do what you wanna
do. I wanted to share the culture. [This chair) won't stop me.
It's deeper than just playing music. What I'm doing," he says,
"what I'm doing is showing that anyone can get up here and
play. You don't have to be the best of the best.-
When it comes to the executive decision. Dr. Gary Viebranz
holds most of the responsibility of who gets to perform in the
Logan Series. While "the decision is mostly mine," says
Viebranz, "the advisory board still reviews the selections I make.
From !et: :o ng:11 Jon Pal Brooks Raymond Whams and Wendell Stewar
From time to time, Nlrs. Logan will provide some input on who
I've picked out, but she mostly stays out of Ithe decision mak
ingl."
Professors like Viebranz and Dr. Jason Bishop. who teach
many of the music classes on campus will often require their
students to attend such performances. According to Viebranz,
the "whole series ties together with our music program."
The actual performance, which drew in more than 300 atten
dees, incorporated not only the hip-hop and jazz style they're
known for, but singing as well. The majority of the vocals came
from tenor sax player. Wendell Stewart, but everyone in the I lot
8 has their part. The show opened with "Rock with the Hot 8,"
a remix of a Snoop Dogg classic. Stewart, who spent an equal
amount of time both playing and singing, coaxed the audience
into joining the chorus with catchy phrases. "Bourbon Street
Parade" showed off the marching hand roots of the group, fea
turing the trumpet players and drummers. "Fly Away." one such
instance of the blend of gospel and march, featured the often re
peated refrain of "Gloria, fly away, oh Gloria. " I'll fly away in
the mornin' When I die, hallelujah, by-and-by, I'll fly away."
The fourth piece on the set list, - Feel Like Funkin' it lip." fea
tured a number of soloists (as did most of their pieces) that
mostly incorporated the tenor sax, trumpets, and trombone. Fre
quently in the sung, Stewart would chant "hey" eight times and
end the phrase in "move yo' body!" which coaxed the audience
into clapping in rhythm. The final piece of the performance, the
classic "Saints Go Marching," featured much vocal progression
and a solo from every instrumentalist in the band. As the solo
went on, Stewart sang along: "mama don't allow no [instrument!
playin' round here. Oh, mama don't allow no 'instrument!
playin' round here. well, we don't care what mama say, we
gonna play that [instruments anyway oh, mama don't allow no
[instrument] playin' round here." The group went out with a
bang in the final measures of this song by breaking out into a
can-can.
Steel Flnn, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, says
that though he needed to see the group in order to write a paper
for his class, "Hot 8 seemed to me like a fun and enjoyable show
to see. For someone like me that isn't big on jazz, I thought the
show was amazing. 'Fly Away' was the one that I loved the most
though."
"We hope these concerts will allow students an opportunity to
broaden their horizons, and appreciate styles of music that may
he unfamiliar to them. Over the course of a year, the Logan Se
ries and other concerts on campus really expose students to a
wide variety of mo•ical 2ci , res and perfoi " • !: p .1
for the last show in the Logan Series, Viebranz says he wanted
to "kick it out in party mode, you know? Go out with a bang."
i' _1
Behrend's spring musical opens and brings
the message of love, sex, and Nazism.
By Jennifer Juncosa
perspectives editor
jdjsl psu.edu
Penn State Behrend's spring
performance of Cc/buret
opened April 16 in the Studio
Theater. The intimate cast of
17, under the direction of
Chrystyna Dail, brings a
provocative and political musi
cal to Behrend.
Cubaret music and lyrics by
John Kander and Fred Ebb and
book by Joe Masteroff, is about
the Kit Kat Klub during the rise
of Hitler. Sally Bowles (Cassie
Kosmal) is a dancer at the Kit
Kat Klub. Clifford Bradshaw
(Darius K. Martin) is a strug
gling writer trying to find inspi
ration in Berlin. During his
stay, Bradshaw stays in an
apartment owned by Fraulein
Schneider (Alanna Stecura).
Schneider is a friend of Herr
Shultz (Michael Bilz), the
owner of a fruit shop.
Another character worth
mentioning was the Master of
Ceremonies (Dr. John Cham
pagne). a flamboyant host that
sings and dances throughout
the performance. He was the
only one of the actors that was
a professor rather than a stu
dent. "I have always been inter-
House of Sand debuts
rounding controversy
By Heather McGovern
stuff writer
hitinsoB4 psu.edu
Behrend's International
Women's Film Series played
The House (Oul! in Reed 117
last Monday. April 13. The
House of Sand is a movie set in
the solitude of northern
Brazil's vast deserts. The plot
entails the portrayal of the de
veloping relationship between
a mother and her daughter as
surrounding events continually
change each others' view
points. The film contained a
few sexually explicit scenes:
however, the adult content was
not the focus of the film and
only a small event within the
plot. This was the last film
played in Reed 117 for the Film
Series.
The story, set in 1910, fol
lows the numerous struggles a
woman from Brazil, Aurea, en
dures throughout her lifetime.
I ler husband, Vasco, leads the
family into the vast, sandy ter
rain of Maranhao to form a
new life. A caravan travels with
Vasco, Aurea and Dona Maria,
her mother; however, the cara
van soon abandons the family
when locals threaten Vasco to
leave the land he paid for. The
family is left to fend for them
selves. but Vasco soon passes
away after an incident of
knocking the front porch roof
down in anger. Aurea is left all
alone to take care of her
mother and the new baby on
the way.
The story unfolds as Dona
Maria ventures beyond their
dune residing house. She dis
covers a settlement, originally
FEATURING THE HYPNOTIC RENAISS
DEUS" BY GREGORIO ALLEGRI
. -
ADMISSION I $5 GEN ERA. :
* PENN STATE STODEN'
ested in the show itself, and the
attempt to perform a musical
that has a political bend to it."
Champagne is an English pro
fessor who typically works
with students in an academic
way. "It was fun to interact
with students in a different
way," he said.
Around the start of the New
Year, Bradshaw goes to the Kit
Kat Klub after getting a recom
mendation from Ernst Ludwig
(Michael Bilz), a German he
meets on a train when coming
to Berlin. While at the Kit Kat
Klub, Bradshaw meets Bowles.
Soon after the start of the New
Year, Bowles shows up at Brad
shaw's apartment saying she
left the club and could be his
inspiration for the book.
The relationship between
Bradshaw and Bowles is not
the only one that grows
throughout the play; Schneider
and Shultz get engaged. But
during the engagement party,
Ludwig reveals he is a Nazi.
Fraulein Kost (Sonia Rosales),
a tenant in Schneider's build
ing with many male visitors,
tells Ludwig that Shultz is a
Jew. Ludwig immediately tells
Schneider that the wedding
can't happen.
established by runaway slaves,
and meets a man named
Massu who offers his own as
sistance. His father, Chico, is a
salt tradesman and offers
Aurea passage with him away
from the sandy dunes. Aurea
anxiously waits to leave with
her daughter when she is old
enough to make the journey.
Sadly, Chico passes away and
her escape from the desert is
foiled. In desperation to find
Chico, Aurea travels for two
days across the desert and runs
House of Sand originally debuted in Portugese
Ml=
Cabaret takes place during
the rise of Hitler. The musical
starts with a light-hearted and
provocative comedy but ends
with the dark reality of his
power. Even though the total
extermination of Jews wasn't
at the start of Hitler's regime,
thousands of Jews were
robbed, beaten, and murdered.
By the second half of the play,
there is no longer light-hearted
comedy; there is the dark real
ity of the tension between the
Jewish and non-Jewish charac
ters.
Just like The Dispute held at
the Studio Theater in spring,
Cabaret was avant-garde. Prior
to the start of the play, the Kit
Kat Klub dancers (Brooke
Barnes, Molly Bonavita, Ashley
Boughner, Esther Laupp, and
Hannah White) were in the au
dience saying things like
"come here often" and "I bet
you've got nice legs." Other
members of the Ensemble
were walking around the stage
saying things like "I call dibs
on the one in the back." The
only other audience participa
tion is if the Master of Cere
monies grabs you and makes
your dance with him on stage
in the beginning of the per-
into a caravan of scientists, as
tronomers to be exact. She
meets Lieutenant Luiz and an
affair unravels during their
short encounter with each
other. Luiz offers an escape
from the desert and Aurea
readily agrees and leaves to
bring her daughter and mother
along for the trip. Upon her re
turn, her house is halfway
filled with sand and Maria and
Dona Maria are missing for a
few hours until finally return
ing to the house. Her escape
formance
The environment of the mu
sical was personal due to the
small space in the Studio The
ater across from the Glenhill
Farm House. The musical was
lit with bright lights in the be
ginning of the play to compli
ment the light comedy.
Towards act two, the lights
were dim and with a tint of red
when talking about Hitler and
the Nazis. Live piano was per
formed throughout the entire
musical, played by the musical
director, Mary Jo Laupp.
When asked why Dale chose
such a dark play she said, "It is
important to examine the hor
rendous aspects of humanity,
to confront them in a artistic
setting, in order to cherish the
beauty in our everyday lives."
Champagne added, "It's a
strange show, it's funny and se
rious at the same time. It's a
show that tries to move you
emotionally and intellectually."
Cabaret opened last night
and will continue to show
through April 24. Tickets are
on sale at the RUB desk.
Tickets are seven dollars for
students and ten dollars for
general admission.
Reed, sur-
subsides
from the desert is foiled as the
caravan leaves before the
ladies return to the scene.
Years pass and the more
Aurea becomes acquainted
with the sandy plains, the less
she considers leaving. Massu
and Aurea make passionate
love in one scene and continue
creating a family together,
which completely roots Aurea
to her sandy paradise. Many
more years pass by and Maria
grows into a beautiful woman,
similar in appearance to her
mother. Luiz returns on duty to
find a missing body from a
plane crash in the area. He dis
covers that Aurea lives there
with her family. Aurea requests
that he take Maria with him so
that she may start a new life
elsewhere. The sandy plains
are no place for a girl like
Maria. She needs the opportu
nity for a new life. Luiz reluc
tantly agrees due to his current
marital status and the mother
and daughter do not reunite
until many years later when
both are old in age.
This foreign film was not my
favorite; however, it was a very
touching story about a mother
and daughter's relationship.
Living in harsh conditions
within the sandy plains of
Brazil is not a luxurious
lifestyle to say the least. The
way each of these women han
dle the situations life throws
their way is remarkable.
Thanks to the International
Women's Film Series,
Behrend students were given
the opportunity to view these
overseas treasures in the com
forts of our own Reed building.