- LIONS EYE - May 1, 1998 =z Lnter tainment ‘Antigone’ Receives Rave Reviews From All Over By Aaron Mixson The reviews are in. Antigone was all the rave since its opening night April 17 . Local critics, even critics as far away as Cecil County, Maryland have given great reviews. Dr. Patricia Robinson and Dr. Lydia Ekinopoulous wrote this modern adaptation of Sophocles’ classic for the opening inauguration of the Penn State-Delco Repertory Theater and turned down paying propositions from other repertory companies . In a way this free production of Antigone is a gift to the Y-100 Feztival May 6 Green Day Mighty Mighty Bosstones Ben Folds Five Wyclef Jean And More! Delco enjoys a taste of the Caribbean. University . Most of the players and crew in rhw production began by taking Dr. Robinson’s Free Acting Seminar instructed through the fall semester . Others had experience from high school . Players such as Ron Hill (Lieutenant Liatris), Bonnie Grant (Eurydice), Chris Riddenhour (The Chorus), and Alex James (Haemon) contributed their proffesional expirence to the Delco Repertory Company . Next semester look for more plays by the Delco Repertory Company. Mediocrity Rules The cast of Antigone takes a bow during a well deserved applause from the audience. Has Philly Killed the Radio Stars? ‘By James Conzoy To quote the Beastie Boys, “Mom, what are they giving me?” That's the question I ask every time I turn on the radio. And the answer seems to be a Fesounding, “Crap!” : It's obvious that radio in the Philadelphia area is dead, but we are either too brainwashed to notice or too lazy to do much about it. This all occurred to me today as I drove to school. Sick of hearing Third Eye Blind and their various aliases — ~ Matchbox: 20, Marcy’s Playground, et al. (come on, have you ever seen them in the same room together?) on my radio “staples,” 1 did what any red- blooded American would do in that situation...I hit the scan button. To my horror it stopped on Q102, the ugly relative no one likes to talk about of the Philadelphia radio market. Well, I thought I'd give it a chance and see if they had stopped calling it the “new” Q102 after the decade it’s been on the air. And to my delight I was promised news of an upcoming “superstar concert” heading for the area. “Finally, America, the wait is over,” the voice announced, and I sat poised at the edge of my seat. But no, it wasn’t the upcoming Pearl Jam spectacle or the Beastie Boys world tour, it was, God help us, The Spice Girls! After I regained consciousness and dug my car. out-of the ditch, I realized I don’t want to be their lover, and I certainly don’t want to live in a Spiceworld any longer. But instead of taking my own life with a broken CD, I changed the station to what I thought was my only safe haven in this post- DRE world, Y100. But once again, my car was filled with the sounds of mediocrity. This time it was the Wallflowers covering “Hero.” David Bowie must be turning ‘in his grave. Wait, he’s alive? Well, this might kill him off. Maybe the state of radio in Philadelphia isn’t as bad as I'm making it out, but where's the variety? It’s either mainstream pop or hip-hop. Then there's Q102. God only knows what they're thinking. But what's the difference between Power 99 and Philly 103.9, or between Y100 and Maxx 95.7? Nothing “other than their giveaways, and therein lies the problem. Where's the “alternative” acts like Ani DiFranco and Modest Mouse? Or the “electronic” acts like Roni Size or Propellerheads? What about the Hip- Hop acts like DJ Shadow or the Invisibl Scratch Picklz? Radio is dead. But we can resurrect it. I call for a ban of the mundane. Turn off your radios, demand good music, go to your windows and scream, “I’m mad as...” (sorry, I got a little off track). To quote the Wallflowers (sorry, Mr. Bowie), “We can be heroes, if just for one day.” New Performing Arts Center Drains Needed Money By Christine Heffernan I believe the new Performing Arts Center planned for the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia would be a good idea if that were an institution the city desperately needed. However, I see nothing wrong with the current Academy of Music. Is it that the current building isn’t extravagant enough to attract tourists? On April 16, 1998, officials unveiled architect Rafael Vinoly’s design of the new Performing Arts Center for the year 2001. The structure is estimated to cost $245 million. The structure is expected to consist of a giant, glass barrel-vault structure that rises 150 feet in the air with two concert halls, a garden café, restaurants, shops, an education center, and recording studios and offices within it. It will be located at Broad and Spruce Street. At first the new structure was estimated to cost $203 million. Therefore, between 18 months ago and now, the budget increased $42 million with immediate approval. This approval took place according to Mayor Rendell “because we decided we weren't going to give Philadelphia anything but the best.” He continued . to say, “It revives the notion that elegance and grandeur should be central to city life and civic buildings.” I have a hard time fathoming the idea that the city of Philadelphia couldn’t use their budget funds for other necessities to improve the life of the city’s residents as a means to revive elegance. PSU’s Urban Education program teaches students that the inner city schools have high crime rates, lack adequate staffing, and lack school supplies (books, paper, pens, etc.) for each student. Student teachers experience the impoverished urban schools of Philadelphia while they recall their childhood suburban schools didn’t have equipment or staffing problems. City officials should show interest in improving the educational system within inner city schools to prove to the residents that children’s best interests are a priority and not the interests of tourists or those already employed. Studies show that high crime among inner city schools occurs due to lack of employment in particular areas of the city that desperately need jobs. The budget for building the Performing Arts Center could be used to build businesses in areas of the city that would alleviate unemployment rates as well ‘as give children opportunities if they choose to finish school. Furthermore, there are areas of the city that need immediate housing assistance. Some abandoned buildings are left open for drug trafficking and unsupervised playgrounds for local children. Or, there are actively used buildings that are in need of inspection but are overlooked by city officials. The city didn’t guarantee residents that building structures would no longer fall on residents or commuters. We hear daily the tale of a sign fell on passersby, but do we hear proposals of how to avoid future infractions, no. The city should be more concerned about improving city structures that are in desperate need of repair or destruction not in need of a more stylish look. Indeed, Paul Played it all. Officials of Philadelphia tend to be more concerned about improving institutions and areas that tourists attend rather than the areas beyond that house the residents. Residents should be outraged that their taxes are paying for this new center. They should also be upset that their cries for improved city conditions ion their areas are ignored because of lack of fund, but funds were found to build a new Performing Arts Center. City officials are not unaware of the need for improving abandoned structures or the educational system but they lack the effort found in the new center. Officials funded $10 million to improve the educational system but there wasn’t an extra $42 million added to it. Urban children will still be ranked lower in comparison to suburban children if city officials will not take an immediate risk of increasing the amount of funding in order to get back professionals in the long run. School performance correlates tremendously on the amount of wealth applied to breed better test scores. Are the officials of Philadelphia ignorant to the long time goal of investment in the educational system or did they estimate more revenue from tourists with the performing Arts Center than the schools?
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