arts
Highs and lows abound in show
By MICHAEL ROSS DOMINICIS
Collegian Arts Writer
When the house lights dimmed
suddenly last Friday evening in the
Eisenhower Auditorium, many pa
trons were stranded without seats,
which led to confusion. Thus began
the Artists Series, Center for the
Performing Arts' presentation of
Brigadoon.
play review
While hiking in a forest in the High
lands of Scotland, two Americans
discover the magical village Briga
doon, which only appears once ev
ery 100 years. Fiona, a villager,
falls hopelessly in love with an awe
struck American named Tommy.
Fiona soon learns, however, that
her young love will not trade his
contemporary New York City life
style for 18th-century Scottish vil
lage culture.
Yet a brief visit to the United
States makes Tommy eager to re
turn to the sleepy, rustic town. He
again travels to Scotland only to
find that the mystical village has
once again vanished. Distraught,
the heartbroken Tommy finally
sees the image of one of Briga
doon's citizens. "Anything's possi-
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The Stabilizers, hero seen in a vintage photo, were first formed in 1982. Their new Ilne•up will finish recording an
album with CBS Records this week. Richard Nevens, the band's keyboardist and songwriter, graduated from the
University in 1982 with a degree in electrical engineering.
The Stabilizers:
By MARIA SAWKA
Collegian Arts Writer
It's a typical rags-to-the-brink-of-riches story. A
young man pursues higher education at a large univer
sity, gets a degree in a high-demand technical field,
then leaves it all behind to become a pop star. A pop
star?
This is the story of. Richard Nevens, a 1982 University
gr4duate with a bachelor's degree in electrical engi
neering. He's a synthesizer wiz, who, along with his
musical partner Dave Christianson (who front an
ensemble collectively known as The Stabilizers), land
ed a big recording contract with CBS Records last
August.
band profile
In May 1982, Nevens got an engineering job in Erie.
In January 1985, The Stabilizers debuted. This four
piece band was the second incarnation of The Stabiliz
ers. Nevens formed the first band while he was a
student at the University. The Penn State Stabilizers
fizzled, but the Erie Stabilizers are going somewhere.
They started to build momentum with a homemade
single, "Underground," that had been recorded on
Nevens' four-track recorder. Later, a second single,
"Tyranny," began to climb the charts on an Erie radio
station, ranking as high as number seven.
A friend took a tape of "'Tyranny" to Rick James'
production company in New York, and then to CBS
Records. CBS producer Denny Diante heard the tape
and flew to Erie to see the band. Diante liked what he
saw, but told the band that they needed more material.
Rich and Dave provided exactly that, sending him the
song "Pull Me Down."
Nevens and Christianson hooked *up with Manage
ment 3 in Los Angeles via Diante. Larry Marks of
Management 3 became their manager, and he nego
tiated with CBS. On August 23, Nevens got a phone call
from Marks telling him that CBS had signed them. "He
called me at work," Rich said, on the phone from Los
ble when you're in love," the
villager says and leads Tommy off
to be reunited with his love.
Brightly colored costumes and
beautifully crafted, functional sets
made this production a spectacle
indeed; however, something was
missing. While the actors seemed to
know the mechanics of their roles,
the cast lacked the spirit and vitali
ty essential for a worthwhile theat
rical presentation.
Tommy, played by Bobby Smith,
was technically adequate in his
stage portrayal, but his voice
lacked convincing energy. The mes
sage Smith sent to the audience was
simply not strong enough, especial
ly when his character met the girl
of his dreams.
Elizabeth N. Walsh as Fiona was
one of the highlights of this produc
tion. Her characterization of the
innocent villager who only awakens
every 100 years became more likea
ble as the play progressed. She had
a sweet-sounding, lilting singing
voice appropriate to her part, and
her dedication to her role was re
freshing.
Jeff, played by Rick Sabatini,
supplied the comic relief. His low
key sarcasm supplied some much
needed laughter. Sabatini's charac
terization, though, became monoto
nous as the show progressed since
his portrayal was played on only
band cuts album
Erie
Angeles. "I said, 'l'm out of here!' Me and Dave got
drunk that night "
Nevens and Christianson were the only members of
the band signed by CBS to that album contract, which
provides an option for six more records in five years.
Nevens plays keyboards and writes the music, while
Christianson does the vocals and lyrics. Nevens isn't
bothered by their lack of a permanent backing band.
"Our music is kind of techno. I record most of the
keyboards. Dave and me do all the writing."
The Stabilizers began recording their first album
last October in Los Angeles, and Diante is producing it.
Diante is using studio musicans for the album, includ
ing Robbie Buchanan on additional keyboards (who
has played with Scritti Politti), John Robinson on
drums (he played on Michael Jackson's Thriller), and
well known studio bass guitarist Nathan East. "We lay
down the sound, and if he (Diante) says it needs this or
that, he brings in the guys."
Nevens expects to finish the album this week, and
then The Stabilizers will pack up to go on tour. But the
tour plan depends on how well the record sells. If it
takes off, then CBS has the option of pulling the duo
back into the studio immediately to start recording
their next album.
If that happens, there will be no time to support a
major tour. There may be only showcase dates. "A lot
of it depends on how the first single goes," Nevens said.
There is, of course, the obligatory video to consider.
The video for "Tyranny" will be shot in Los Angeles by
director Joseph Perez. It will be Perez's first try at a
music video. The Stabilizers may fly to Rome to shoot a
video for "Found Rome," another possible single.
The Stabilizers have not yet signed a deal for the
publishing rights to their songs. "Our manager's
holding out for the best deal," Nevens said. Paramount
Pictures is interested in having the duo write a song for
the upconiing Tom Cruise movie Top Gun. Things are
definitely looking up for the group. "We're really just
taking the first step," Nevens said. "If it doesn't
happen, it's back to engineering, I guess."
"I'd like to come back to Penn State. We could do
something at Rec Hall. When I was there, I saw shows
all the time. When you go back and play where you first
started, then it's all worth it," he concluded.
one level and lacked spice and en
thusiasm.
The show.was the most enjoyable
when the cast performed together.
Everyone worked together most
effectively to capture the quaint,
friendly atmosphere of the village.
The energy level hit an all-time
high during the grand dance num
bers, which were sharply choreo
graphed and well rehearsed by the
ensemble. A lively example was
"I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean,"
one of the more famous Alan Jay
Lerner and Frederick Loewe selec
tions. With Tim Syverson as the
stereotypical Scotsman, Charlie, in
the lead, the number was sung and
performed effectively.
One of the more tender moments
of the play came during the ballad
"Almost Like Being in Love." In
this touching song, the lead charac
ters explore their inner most feel
ings for each other.
The second act began much like
the first, because the lights came
down so fast that many patrons
were again left at the ends of the
aisles as they looked for their seats.
This disorganization disrupted the
audience's orientation to the
onstage action.
The chase scene in the second act
is probably among the most dra
matic ever staged. One of the vil
lagers has vowed to leave
Brigadoon, which means everyone
in the enchanted community will
perish. In an effort to prevent the
troublemaker from ruining their
utopia, the citizens hunt him down
• with the utmost urgency.
Actors climbed up and down high
platforms and literally flew through
the air in an attempt to catch the
misguided man. The fight sequence
within the scene was so real that at
one moment, when one of the char
acters hit his head against a rocky
hillside, I expected to see blood.
With its unbelievable tension and
energy, the fight was among the
most effective theatrical maneu
vers I have ever seen. The energy
level peaked then quickly fell as
they found the hunted man dead.
Scene changes were handled well
since the set consisted of two hill
sides and some play area located
downstage. One of the small
mounds had a path leading up over
it while the other had a living quar
ter nestled deep within the land
scape. When it was time to change
the scene, the actors simply
grabbed a piece of the mobile set
and turned it around to reveal a new
background. Voila!
• Another plus of the production
involved the actors' bows. Each
characterization was carried out
through the end as the actors ac
knowledged the audience but kept
within the text of their established
roles.
WPSU lists
new music
The following records make up
WPSU's Top 20 for the week end
ing Jan. 29. Tonight at 8 p.m., 91.1
FM will present the Top 20 Count
down.
i:4i.~:+:.Jr ~,:.~
i':
w" :"^..
1. "Bring On The Dancing
Horses Echo and the Bunnymen
2. "Close to Me" The Cure
3. "Happy Boy" The Bolshoi
4. "Cities In Dust" —. Siouxsie
and the Banshees
5. "Primitive Painters" Felt
6. "Rich" Lloyd Cole and the
Commotions
7. "Just Like Honey"
and Mary Chain
8. "MTV Get Off The Air"
Dead Kennedys
9. "Gimme Some Lovin' "
The Rose of Avalanche
Awards .honor year
By RICHARD DE ATLEY
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES Harry Bela
fonte, honored at the American Music
Awards for his role in the charity
recording "We Are the World," said
"art is not only supposed to show life
as it is, it's also supposed to show life
as it should be."
The 13th annual awards, held Mon
day at the Shrine Auditorium, made
special recognition of music's year of
charity, honoring the organizers of
USA for Africa, Live Aid, Band-Aid
and Farm Aid.
Bruce Springsteen won three tro
phies, and nine other artists or groups
netted two awards each during the
three-hour live show broadcast by
ABC.
The program ended with a special
first anniversary performance of
"We Are the World," which has
raised $44 million.
Host Diana Ross asked as many of
the 45 original "We Are the World"
pefformers as were pre'sent to join
her on stage for the song.
Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie,
Belafonte, Kim Carnes, Stevie Won
der and others who created the song
Jan. 28, 1985, sang the finale with
Ross and Elizabeth Taylor.
Special awards of appreciation
were given to Belafonte, Irish rocker
Bob Geldof and country singer Willie
Nelson, who organized USA for Afri
ca, Live Aid, Band-Aid and Farm Aid,
respectively.
Jackson, Quincy Jones, promoter
Ken Kragen and Richie each received
a special award for their roles in "We
Are the World."
Two other highlights brought tears
to the eyes of many in the audience.
Rick Nelson's teen-age twin sons,
Gunnar and Matthew, sang "Be Still"
and paid tribute to their father, who
was killed with six others in a plane
crash New Year's Eve.
"By far his most important contri
bution was that he made rock 'n' roll
acceptable to millions of people who
would have otherwise stayed away,"
Matthew said.
Teddy Pendergrass, partially par
alyzed in a car accident four years
ago, received a standing ovation for
Pictured here are Rick Sabatini (portraying Jeff Douglas, an American lost
In the Scottish Highlands) and Judy Walstrum (as Meg Brockie). The two
were part of the cast of characters in Lerner and Loewe's musical,
Brlgadoon, , whlch was performed last Friday in Eisenhower Auditorium as
part of the Artists Series, Center for the Performing Arts.
week's
top 20
10. "September Gurls"
Bangles
11. "This Is England"
Clash
12. "Can Your Pussy Do The
Dog" The Cramps •
13. "American Heavy Metal
Weekend" The Circle Jerks
14. "Come With Me" The Mad
Daddy's
15. "Bottom Line"
Dynamite
16. "Grandmother's Footsteps"
New Model Army
17. "Dreamer"
sons
Jesus
18. "Twin Cadillac Valentine"
The Screaming Blue Messiahs
19. "Date With A Vampyre"
The Screaming Tribesman
20. "If There's A Heaven
Above" Love and Rockets
Singer Whitney Houston won favorite single in the soul rhythm and blues
category Monday night at the 13th annual American Music Awards.
his first solo performance since the
accident. He sang "Love 4-2."
Springsteen won favorite male vo
calist, album and male video artist in
the pop-rock category for music and
videos from his Born in the USA
album. The awards capped his year. :
long success with a world tour that
helped boost the 18-month-old LP's
sales to nearly 12 million domestical
ly.
Willie Nelson won two awards as a
solo artist and another two as a
member of the country supergroup,
Highwayman, which includes Nelson,
Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings
and Johnny Cash.
Also winning two awards each were
newcomer Whitney Houston, hard
rocking Huey Lewis and the News,
The Daily Collegian
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 1986
Jam top ten
is compiled
The following records compose
WPSU's Jam top 10. The list is com
piled by call-in votes and requests
taken all week.
The
The
1.) "Your Smile"
gela
2.) "Force M.D.'s Meet the Fat
Boys" The Force M.D.'s and the
Fat Boys
3.) "Rock Me Amadeus" Falco
4.) "Affection" TaMara & the
Seen
Big Audio
5.) "Tender Love" The Force
6.) "Can You Feel the Beat" Lisa
Lisa & Cult Jam
Toxic Rea-
7.) "Do the Baby"
'gan
8.) "P.S.K. (What Does It Mean?)"
Scholly D.
9.) "Eight Arms to Hold You"
The Goon Squad
10.) "Color of Success"
Day
of charity
soul queen Aretha Franklin, country
singer Crystal Gayle, veteran coun
try group Alabama, funk group Kool
and the Gang, and Wonder.
Miss Houston, with the most nomi
nations at six, won favorite single for
"You Give Good Love" and favorite
video single for "Saving All My Love
for You," both in the soul-rhythm
and-blues category.
In the country category, Willie Nel
son.was named favorite male vocalist
and won for favorite single, "For
giving You Is Easy."
Former Beatle Paul McCartney
received an Award of Merit.
"I'd like to thank very specially
George, Ringo and Julian's dad,
John," McCartney said, accepting
the award in London.
Renee & An-
Melissa Mor-
Morris
University offers Italian summer
By LYNN WAGNER
Collegian Arts Writer
When you say that you're going to
Todi, the words don't rumble out with
as much gusto as if you were to say
Rome. But this little town, centrally
located in the Umbria region of Italy,
has as much to offer as foreign towns
with far more glorious sounding
names.
Cultural Heritage and Italy Today
is a unique summer study program
set in Todi, Italy, a small hilltop
community with a population of 6,000.
The program is jointly sponsored by
the department of Spanish, Italian
and Portugese, the department of art
history and the School of Visual Arts.
The benefits of such a collaboration
will give students who apply a chance
to experience Italy in many different
ways.
"It's a broad-based cultural lan
guage program," said Alfred Triolo,
associate professor of Italian.
The nine to 10-credit summer pro
gram requires students to take a
course in Italian language (with cred
it applied toward either Italian 1,2,3,
or 399) as well as Art History 297,
Survey of Italian Art and Architec
ture, which will explore ancient, Re
naissance, and modern art on site in
Todi and surrounding areas. In addi
tion students may elect to take either
Art 297, an art practicum, or Italian
(ZOO)
ROCKS
TONIGHT
At The
BREWERY
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Gene HackmanlAlly Sheedy
TWICE IN A LIFETIME A
NIGHTLY: 7:45, 9:45
WED. MATINEE: 1:45 only
Michael Douglas & Kathleen Turner
THE JEWEL OF THE NILE PO
NIGHTLY: 8:00, 10:00
WED. MATINEE: 2:00 only
MI3MITMMgMFI
Sylvester Stallone
His Greatest Challenge
ROCKY IV PO
NIGHTLY: 8:00, 10:00
127 S. Fraser 238-6005
Michael Douglas In
Sir Richard Attenborough's
A CHORUS LINE PC1.13
NIGHTLY: 7:50, 10:00
A CHORUS LINE vo.i3
NIGHTLY: 9:15
101 DALMATIANS 0
NIGHTLY: 7:15
READ IT.
You'll find notional and in
ternational news, academici
related editorial copy and
valuable advertising.
497, which explores contemporary
Italian culture.
Professor Triolo says of Todi," The
town itself is an artist colony. That
adds, I think, to the artistic aspect of
it (the program)."
Students who choose the arts prac-,
ticum course can study drawing,
sculpture, ceramics or graphic de
sign. A local artist, Rossano Cervinni,
from the city of Perugia, will teach
the graphic arts component.
University faculty will also be tea
ching in Todi and all the courses,
except the Italian language class, will
be taught in English. Vincent Virgul
ti, an instructor of Spanish and Ital
ian at Ogontz Campus, will teach the
language component of Cultural Heri
tage and Italy Today as well as the
course on contemporary culture.
It was through the efforts of Virgul
ti that the Todi program got started,
making it the first study abroad pro
gram initiated at a Commonwealth
campus to be approved by the Office
of Education Abroad Programs.
Virgulti visited Todi while studying
at the University of Perugia on a
Fulbright Scholarship two years ago.
One of the reasons Todi was chosen as
the program site is that its size makes
it "a practical place where students
can control their environment," Vir
gulti said.
Triolo pointed out another advan
tage of a small town: "It's not going
to be mobbed by tourists in the sum-.
The
State
College
Downtown
Business
Association
presents
Winter
Dollar
Days
starting
tomorrow
Jan. 30
through
Saturday
Feb. 1
Check out your
favorite
downtown stores
for some of the
greatest prices
of the year
Look for the
D.B.A's color
advertising
section in
tomorrow's
Daily Collegian.
Ad sponsored by D.B.A
- -
- • ',"Aiti'k'lo44',
kiniuLitako
The small town of Todi, Italy is pictured above. It is less than two hours from
Rome, and Is a unique environment where students may experience Italian art
and culture. Cultural Heritage and Italy Today is one of the University's study
abroad programs to be offered this summer.
mer." Yet, Triolo adds, Todi is close
to the big cities of Italy. Midway
between Florence and Rome, it is
only about an hour and a half from
Rome.
Perhaps the best advantage of Cul- versity program. In other words, all
tural Heritage and Italy Today is that that really matters is that the student
it is promoted as a program open to is serious about having the experi
students at all levels, Virgulti em- ence."
phasized. Credits earned can be ap
plied to degree requirements, BDR's
or electives. Since there are no pre
requisites, all students of any semes
ter, regardless of major can apply.
Beginning graduate students, engi-
The Sisters of Alpha Phi
Sorority would like to thank
the following people for
making this year's "Ski for
Heart" a great success . . .
Tussey Mountain Ski Area
✓ V
! Nautilus Human Performance Center V
V
✓ The Gingerbread Man
V
✓ Nittany Hot Springs V
✓ and V
Mr. Joe Paterno
V V
✓0154.325 vo
10*****-11011-MlOllO-8010-WWWWWWW
01 le ililikatell* hititthr
01le WM* 3intillinx
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„ •
neering students and science majors
as well as art and art history majors
have already applied.
"We're looking for serious stu
dents," said Triolo. "It's an all-Uni-
The program is small, accommo
dating up to 20 students. Applications
are still being accepted. Contact the
Department of Spanish," Italian and
Portugese at 865-4252. Deadline for
applications is March 14.
Coca-Cola
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