Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Oak Yearbook / INSTANO Yearbook (Indiana, PA)

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A Slice Of Entertainment Conti. The cast makes Simpson ' s job easy, as they carry out each scene with the utmost profes- sionalism. It is difficult to sin- gle out any one performance since every cast member was a vital part of the plot. Every performer had to be exception- al due to the liming involved and the nature of the dialogue and action. Special attention, however, must go to Matt Giehl. He not only played Chancbise. but he appeared at the hotel Coq d Or as Poche. Giehl ' s two characters played in scenes so close to each other that it seemed impossible for him to have time to change costumes, let alone shift to a totally different personality. A Flea in Her Ear was an entertaining and hilarious way to spend an evening. The laughter in the theater didn ' t stop during the play and proba- bl continued even aftcruards with thoughts of this funoush funny comedy. A tragedy in the form of a musical comedy. Although what most of us would consider comedv was not found fre- quently in theater-B -The Grove ' s production of Good from February 26-28 and March 3-7, there were some humorous moments. But the humor was in a very tragic sense, as the audience watched the life of John Hadler, played by Mathew Giehl, being taken over b) the Nazi part in Hi- tler ' s Germany. The show was based on Hai- der ' s thoughts and feelings as he gradualK became involved in the Nazi regime. We wit- nessed the demise of his mar- riage to Helen, convincingK portrayed by Lisa Campbell, and an affair with a young stu- dent named Anne, played b Natalie Wolf. These and other cast members gave great per- formances, including an espe- cially comedic performance by Hitler, played by Andrew Manuel. One of the interesting as- pects of the pla was the use of music of offset Haider ' s thoughts. When his marriage was failing and when he was having the affair, a backup band and a vocalist broke into a song which would amplify his feelings. But as Haider began to slip further away, there was one force that tried to bring him back to reality, his friend Mau- rice, portrayed by Ian Gal- lanar. As soon as Haider began to drift into his thoughts and the music, Maurice was always there to try to bring him out of it. Unfortunately, Maurice was a Jew and their strong friend- ship dwindled into the tyranny of the Nazis. Overall, the play seemed to move at a slower pace than the other TBTG performances this year, but the slow, calculated movement of the show seemed appropriate for the subject matter. The show provided an interesting character study and an opportunity to learn more about about Nazi Germans — not just what it did physicalK to others, but the mental ef- fects it had on those who were drawn b its power into the regime. If a night of simple, fun en- tertainment was what you needed to prepare for the last grueling weeks of the semester, Theater-By-The-Grove ' s Dames At Sea might have been just the ticket you were looking for. Dames offered no hidden meanings, no complex charac- terizations and no underlying morals. But it was just this lack of depth which makes the mu- sical so enjoyable. According to director Bar- bara Blackledge, the show was meant to be a playful parody of those lavish 1930 ' s musicals with swarms of chorus girls, glittering sets and costumes and glamorous stars. Indeed the plot resembled those of the majority of this genre of musi- cal: a small-town girl with big dreams goes to Broadway for her big break, falls in love, and eventually gets her chance at stardom. But these inten- tionally simple plots, designed to help alleviate the worries of the depression era, left room for the other ingredients of the show to shine through. The show ' s plot centers around the making of a musi- cal entitled, appropriately

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( bnslupher I t-e Previous page: Top left Barwick. Ren- shaw, and Surtasky in The Birthday Party Botlom f r Caught In the act in A Flea In Her Ear Center A Flea In Her Far brightened evenings in November with a unique humor. This page: Top left: Surtasky, as McCann. contemplates life in The Birthday Parly Top Right: Kevin Rcnshaw as the mysterious gangster m The Birthday Parly Middle: Meg and Petey played by Avril Barwick and Bill Marlinak SotMm n i(. Goldberg tries to convince Petev to return to his old life ( hnslophcr ice Christopher ice siophcr l.cc Christopher Lee

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Photos by Carl Fakin, Zanne and Douglas Macek enough, Dames at Sea . Hen- nesey, the director of this fi- nancially troubled show, played by John Hindman, tries to keep the show together by appeasing its star, Mona Kent, played by Lisa A. Hulriman. Hurliman was terrifically arro- gant as this pompous and pam- pered star, and Hindman. whose lines were mostly Imiil- ed to the constant nagging and complaining about the state of his show, typified the image of the frazzled director with the ever-present cigar. Ruby, portrayed by Robin Biega, is a naive, innocent girl who is virtually ignored by ev- eryone but the smug but wise Joan, played by Natalie Wolf. Joan has been around the the- ater business for years, and is able to recognize real talent such as Ruby ' s while holding contempt for aging, mediocre stars such as Mona. Through Joan ' s help, Ruby gets a chorus part in the show. The plot carries on in a pre- dictable manner as a sailor and aspiring composer named Dick wanders into Ruby ' s life. They i rvMi 7 fall in love immediately and sing one of Dick ' s composi- tions, titled It ' s You. Dick, boyishly portrayed by Michael John Marra, is practically as naive as Ruby, and is overcome by the interest of Mona Kent when she wants to include one of his songs in her show. Ruby ' s jealousy of Mona ' s attention to Dick carries on through much of the show, while more optimistic numbers take place such as Choo-Choo Honeymoon, performed by Joan and another sailor named Lucky, played by Walt McCready. This was one of the most enjoyable numbers as is any scene in which McCready is involved. His facial expres- sions, comic flair and great dancing were a definite stand- out in the show, and he played them to the hilt in the flash- back number Singapore Sue. Meanwhile, Hennesey is having problems of his own His theater is about to be turned into a roller rink on the opening night of the show. Dick saves the day as he volun- teers to save the show and then must convince the Captain, played by Brian Pedaci, to let the cast perform the show in his ship. Kent of course, can ' t limit herself to her renewed relation- ship with the captain, and when Ruby sees Mona kissing Dick, she breaks into Raining in My Heart, a love song complimented by beautiful choreography and effective lighting. Everything ends up in Ru- by ' s favor after Joan plots the downfall of Mona Kent after the opening number and Ruby must take her place. Biega was charming as the optimistic star-to-be who emerges in full bloom when she lakes Mona ' s place in a glitter-filled produc- tion number called Star Tar. Every aspect of Dames at Sea was enjoyable — the cast was equally and expertly adept as singers, dancers and actors, and the choreography is simple but effective. - Dana Smith This page Top Rub gets her chance in ihc spoilight Bottom IcftlYic casl of Dames Bottom center: Ruby and Dick find love. Bottom right: The Swastika overshadows all in Good . Prcvioui page: Top left: The Na is take lime out for revelry Top right: The soldiers sing of their hopes Bot- tom left: Love blossoms in Nazi Ger- many. Bottom r i . Sailors are caught loafing on deck in Dames