Lebanon Valley College - Quittapahilla Yearbook (Annville, PA)

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Above left: Finch (Bob Schalkoff) and Frump (Kevin Biddle); Above right: Finch (Bob Schalkoff) ponders his next step; left: Smitty (Laura Pence) and Frump (Kevin Biddle) have a clash; below left: Miss Jones (Kathleen Ryan) introduces Finch to Mr. Gatch (Doug Nyce); below right: Finch and Twimble (LeRoy Whitehead) discuss their future plans in business- 21

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' How To Succeed In Business ' Success In LVC Little Theater By MARY LOU KELSEY For The Daily News ANNVILLE — How to apply for a |0b. How to advance from the mailroom. How to avoid petty friends. How to dictate memorandum. How to succeed in business without really trying. Those are the problems that J. Pierrpont Finch tackles as he makes his leap from window washer to the mailroom to vice president to the boardroom in the delightful early 60s musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Try- ing. Finch follows a simple self-help book in his climb to success. The Lebanon Valley College cast follows a Pulitzer Prize winning script by Abe Burrows that cleverly captures that bygone era when men were men and women were secretaries, work was in the city and home was in the suburbs. I vaguely remember those days, but I keep refreshed by watching old Doris Day movies and Dick Van Dyke reruns. Sitting in the audience this week and watching the past unfold, I couldn ' t help letting out a few chuckles and making a few smug, We ' ve come a long way, baby comments to myself. I even went so far as to imagine what might have happened if director Lisa Russoniello had switched a few roles and made the women executives and the men the secretaries, but I decided to get off my feminist high horse and see the beauty of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The musical is bright, fun, intelligent and a chroni- cle of what some men probably consider the good old days. The wit, the music and the script don ' t have to stand the test of time. They are all bright, fun and highly enjoyable. The play is musical history. Besides, I am sure the women in the cast prob- ably thought it was all a myth. Today ' s younger generation couldn ' t possibly believe those days ever existed. Little do they know. J. Pierrpont Finch Is a brash young man with a vision. He envisions himself out of his window washer uniform and Into a three-button suit. His goal is to be the proud holder of the key to the ex- ecutive bathroom and the key to the boardroom. He envisions having all tfie trappings — a secretary, a wife and a home in the suburbs. He also envisions having It all yesterday. There will be no waiting around for J. Pierrpont Finch. If he weren ' t such a likeable guy you might resent him. The boss ' s boob of a nephew certainly does. His vision of how to succeed In business without real- ly trying is making constant phone calls to his mother. He doesn ' t even bother following the book. Rosemary, an office secretary, believes in J. Pierrpont Finch. She spots him immediately and decides that he is a secretary ' s dream — a hus- band. She tells the secretaries pool that she would love living in New Rochelle keeping his din- ner warm while he goes up the executive ladder. Meanwhile, her prince charming is following every step in the book while apparently doing everything the company way. Everyone seems to be putty in his hands. Actually it Isn ' t hard to make putty out of most of the people In the com- pany. The ditzy president knows little of what goes on. He is content to have his affair with the voluptous Heddy La Rue and allow Smitty, his secretary, to run the business. The rest of the executives follow his actions, 20 Review and if it weren ' t for the secretaries I doubt a single wicket would come out of the World Wide Wicket Co. (Well, I guess some things never change.) Finch has no trouble making his way to the top. He even beats his jealous co-workers at their own game, but his exuberance may be his defeat with Rosemary, who almost gives up on him until the secretary pool pleads with her. Don ' t Cinderella, darling, don ' t give up the prince Rosemary remains steadfast. Her prince stumbles a bit almost causing World Wide Wicket disaster, but in the end, just as the book tells him, he comes out smelling like a rose. The songs are quite catchy and quite familiar, although the last time you heard them was prob- ably on Muzak, which is a shame. I have always enjoyed the numbers, Brotherhood of Man, How to Succeed and I Believe In You. The direction was sound and tight and although the pace could have been a bit crisper, the show ran smoothly. Shows of this era call for a great deal of set changes which seem to eat up the clock and keep the audience waiting. This was not a fault of the cast. It is just the nature of that type of musical and the audience has to be a bit patient. The cast was talented and what ' s more they seemed to be having a great time. Robert Schalkoff as J. Pierrpont Finch captured the role In the true style of the man who originated it — Bobby Morse. He had a sense of style and mischievousness that warmed the audience im- mediately. Chad Saylor as J. 8. Bigley, the boss, took the role In hand and ran with it. Kevin Biddle as the nephew drew on all his comic talents and his ability to infuse those he works with that spark of energy needed for a college cast. In the secretarial pool Laura Pence shone as Smitty, the boss ' s efficient secretary. Kristi Cheney played a perfectly dedicated Rosemary and Maria C. DeMario was a comical knockout as Hedy La Rue. How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was a good vehicle for the Lebanon Valley cast. If you want to know how to succeed you are in luck. The musical will be performed next Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Little Theater at Lebanon Valley College.

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Commuters: Fact and Fallacy It was come to my attention that a few people on campus believe that com- muters cannot live as fulfilling a college career as residents. This is a fallacy and it is time to introduce these people to the breed of college students known as the commuters. Upon interviewing several LVC commuters, one significant reason for their decision to commute was constantly expressed. What was the reason? The fact that they can save money. Even after allowances are made for gas and other automotive expenses, LVC commuters can still save $2000 more a year in college expenses than do residents. As one senior commuter from Palmyra stated, I pay $3000 a year less than residents. However, I receive the same education. Although the financial savings are a definite advantage, several disadvan- tages do exist in the lives of the commuters. A minor yet irritating disadvan- tage is the daily drive to and from college. The drive itself, most commuters agree, is not the main irritation; the real annoyance is the wasted time spent concentrating on the road. While residents are still sleeping or eating bread- fast, most commuters are getting ready to drive to school. Veteran com- muters have tried to solve this problem of wasted time by studying in the car, but deep concentration on subject matter can make the commuter a hazard to fellow drivers. An extra annoyance is the winter weather. Armed with ice scrapers, commuters must now awaken ten minutes earlier to make it to that morning class on time. Seasoned commuters realize that the best way to avoid the morning ice is to avoid those eight o ' clock morning classes whenever possible. A related drawback is the lack of information about cancelled classes. While commuters have access to radio stations when classes are cancelled due to inclement weather, unlike resident students, they do not have access to WLVC and announcements made in the college center. When a class is cancelled for reasons other than inclement weather, residents notify each other by word of mouth. Commuters are not so lucky. As one commuter ex- claimed, There is nothing more frustrating than traveling twenty minutes on a rainy morning to find out that your class has been cancelled. Another difficulty is the times at which club meetings are scheduled. For example, most campus clubs hold their meetings in the evening, a conve- nient time for most students. However, this can be an immediate barrier for commuters. Unless one has a night class, this means another trip to the col- lege campus. In the words of one junior commuter, By eight or nine o ' clock in the evening you have just settled in. You do not feel like making a thirty to forty minute round trip to the college and back home again. This feeling is especially strong if the weather is bad. But, if you want to participate in the activity, you have to make the trip. One final barrier is the possibility of family distractions. Altough living at home usually helps, family members can also be a hinderance. Some com- muters suggested that the reason they commute is the privacy offered in their own homes, but this privacy has its own interruptions. For example one sophomore commuter complained of her four-year-old sister ' s playing hide-and-seek while she(the student)was trying to study. Or the freshman who related that his mother constantly comes into his room to see if he is studying. One senior commented, By the end of the fall semester of the sophomore year, every commuter should have his her family trained. In other words, the family should learn when to check in on the student, when to leave him alone ... 22