Benedictine College - Raven Yearbook (Atchison, KS)

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Central 'figure in the irrposing Passion Play presented by members of St. Benedict's and Sacred Heart parishes and the college is that of the Christus, here portrayed by the Rev. Mark Merwick, O.S.B. Several college actors may be observed hiding behind the false shrubbery at the left. The Play's he Thing TWO stellar productions complete the roster of dramatic productions offered by St. Benedict's college this year. What was lacking in quantity, however, was more than replaced by quality. The names of the two productions, Murder in the Cathedral and T he Passion and Death of Our Lord, will give the reader an inkling of their quality. Combine this W.th the knowledge that the directors were the Rev. Maurus Kennedy, O. S.B., director of dramatics, and Sister Benedicta Howe, O.S.B., director of dramatics at Mount St. Scholastica College, that the Twin Col- lege Players contributed to the casts and every- one will be apprised of the excellent quality with which they were presented. Robert Sheldon, yf1,7, portrayed the character of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Other members of the cast from St. Benedict's were Paul Wentworth, Maurice Nugent, Karl Kappel, Francis Donnelly, john Van Rheen, james Gronstal, Henry Gardner, and William Curtin. Bob Sheldon, without a doubt the out- standing actor, portrayed the role of Thomas a Becket with such vividness and reality that even his spiritual struggles and temptations were clearly revealed to the audience. He portrayed an archbishop in the throes of bitter temptations- the desire for pleasure, power, compromise, and, most agonizing of all, the sin of spiritual pride- but rising in his greatness above them all. The consensus among those who have witnessed a great many of the college productions is that it was the greatest play ever produced by the Twin College Players. The abbey a Cappella choir, under the direc- tion of the Rev. Anselm Llewellyn, O.S.B., formed a musical background to the drama. The choir has spent years in perfecting its technique and its contribution to the play added greatly to the atmospheric effectiveness of this play with the twelfth century setting. Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot has been presented in London and New York before large audiences. Elio 's masterpiece utilizes a medium which has been practically a lost art. He used poetic drama to tell the tragic story of Thomas a Becket, his trials, his temptations, and his martyrdom. Costumes, historically accurate and in keeping with the scenes, were correct in every detail in accordance with the raiment of the period. The production was staged January 25th and 26th in Atchison and February 26th and 27th in the Municipal Auditorium of Kansas City, Missouri, scoring a tremendous hit in both cities. Page 22

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Lf page 57 A Cappella Choir, first row, left to right-Basil Finken, james Hoge, Brendan Downey, Bernard Gervais, Hugh DeMar, Eugene Dehner. Top row-Anselm Llewellyn, Gerard Nathe, Andrew Dean, Jerome Koval, Gabriel LaRocque, Leonard Nowacek, Timothy Fry. On the last concert of the year, May 29, the orchestra will perform a symphony composed by the Rev. Andrew Green, O.S.B., formerly head of the department of music. The soloist again will be Eugene Drimmel, who will play the Bruch Violin concerto in G minor. Besides these public appearances the orchestra also gave bi-Weekly half-hour concerts broadcast- ed over the local ratio station KVAK. Classical pieces, interspersed with songs, novelties and overtures, were featured on the air waves. In no small measure is the credit for the orchestra's success due to Prof. McKenzie. His sparkling personality and recognized musician- ship has endeared him in the memory of those who came into contact with him as a conductor and as a teacher of violin and theory. Professor Herbert Krumme demonstrated his organ virtu- osity at a recital on the Orgatron in january. Throughout the year his students in piano have shown his teaching ability. The sound-proof broadcasting studio, a re- juvenated room in the refectory building, housed the orchestra in its broadcasts and practices. It was also the scene of the bi-weekly Musical Variety programs, serving as an outlet for the talent of the student musicians. Frequently ap- pearing as soloists were Vic Barbieri, accordion, Joe Crookshanks, trumpet, Eugene Drimmel, violin, Bruce Kettenbeil, trumpet and French horn, Archie Lang, clarinet and tenor, Raymond Miller, tenor, Jack Roche, tenor, and Clinton Page 21 Rev. Maurus Kennedy, O.S.B. ing, Head of Music and Dramatics Departments Simmons, trombone. Archie Lang, Chicago soph- omore, was featured in a program of popular songs twice a week throughout the year over sta- tion KVAK. The influence of the college swing band, the Ravens of Rhythm, led by Vic Barbieri, was felt in the surrounding territory. This year proved to be most successful for the jivers. They had several long public engagements, and also crashed into the students' hearts in providing the lively tunes for the press dance, the Head- line Hop.

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The Twin College Players' stellar production of this year was T. S. EIiot's Murder in the Cathedral presented in Febru- ary on the Mount St. Scholastica and Kansas City Municipal Auditorium stages. In this scene we see Robert Sheldon, '37, in the leading role surrounded by the chorus and tempters. The Passion and Death of Our Lord, enjoy- ing a prestige gained for it last year, lived up to its fame as the most stirring dramatic produc- tion of the year. The Rev. Mark Merwick, O. S.B., pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Atchison, again played the role of The Christus and far outshadowed everyone in the cast with his por- trayal. The musical background for this year's pro- duction Was furnished by the college symphony orchestra, with mood and atmospheric music by a mixed chorus, composed of students and choice local singers. The use of the orchestra and mixed chorus was an innovation this year and greatly enhanced the beauty and value of the entire production. Students of the college co-operated with Catho- lic laymen and women of Atchison in oifering the Passion Play. Mrs. Harry Roche played the part of the Blessed Virgin. joseph Bach, soph- omore, presented Peter and Karl Kappel, fresh- man, was cast as judas. William Curtin, fresh- man, portrayed Saul of T arsus. Francis Don- nelly, junior, as John and Maurice Nugent, fresh- man, as Nicodemus also turned in credible per- , formances. The Rev. Maurus Kennedy, O.S.B., was in charge of production and the play was presented March I5tl1, I7th, and 19th in the col- lege auditorium to packed houses. Amateur Night took a new lease on life this year when the word 'amateur' was defined so that Page 23 Robert Sheldon in a close-up as Archbishop Thomas a Becket. .i 2 I l u lr