Volume 31, No.21
February 18, 2000
Contact: Terry Day (570) 662-4844
tday@mnsfld.edu           

A Forum For Fun

    One of the most raucous romps of ribald revelry comes alive with the Mansfield University production of "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, February 24-27.
     The hilarious musical is the first Broadway production to boast music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The writers, Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, based the two-act play on the earthy works of Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus, who lived about 200 years before Christ.
     "A Funny Thing…" contains "vintage Sondheim" and is generally considered the funniest book ever written for a Broadway musical.
     The plot of "A Funny Thing . . ." revolves around Pseudolus, a slave who will do almost anything to gain his freedom. When Pseudolus is left in charge of his owner’s young son who has fallen madly in love with a beautiful courtesan, the fun begins. The boy promises Pseudolus his freedom if he can arrange a marriage before his father returns.
     Pseudolus readily agrees and begins conniving, taking the zany cast of characters through a barrage of farcical shenanigans that keeps the audience in stitches. "A Funny Thing.. ." is considered one of the great Broadway musicals, keeping alive the wacky exuberance and earthy humor of vaudeville and burlesque traditions.
     The MU production is designed and directed by Michael Crum, theatre professor. Musical director and pit conductor is Youngsuk Kim, professor of music.
     Pseudolus is played by Nathan Miller, a communication and theatre major from Horseheads, NY. Paul Hahn, a vocal performance major from New Providence, NJ, plays Hero and Marie York, psychology and human resource management major from Mansfield, PA plays Philia.
     The cast also includes Joe Tamanini, music education major from New Columbia, PA as Senex; Shannon Niver, music major from Elmira, NY as Domina; Timothy Mulroy, marketing major from York, PA, as Hysterium; Dick Feil, Mansfield, PA, as Erronius; Adam Snyder, theatre and broadcasting major from Selinsgrove, PA as Miles Gloriosus; and Joel Shade, music education major from Lock Haven, PA as Lycus.
     Curtain time is 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday with a matinee performance Sunday at 2 p.m. in Straughn Auditorium. There is no reserve seating. Tickets are $5, $4 for senior citizens and $2 for MU students with ID and are at the door. For information call x4781.

Capitol Performance

     The MU Symphony Orchestra has been selected to perform at the State Capitol east wing in Harrisburg on March 2 as part of "Music In Our Schools" Month. It is the first university ensemble to receive an invitation from the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association to perform at the State Capitol.
     The noon concert in Harrisburg is part of the Orchestra's annual spring tour, which will also include a noon concert at the Lycoming College Clark Chapel, Williamsport on February 25. Hanover High School will also host the Orchestra on Wednesday, March 1.
     The Orchestra, under the direction of Kenneth Sarch, is comprised of music department students and community musicians. They will perform music by Mozart, Haydn, Cimerosa, Bizet, Copland, Bock, and Rimsky-Korsakoff during their concerts.

Triple Treat

     The NOMMO Dance Group returns to Mansfield University to perform on Friday, February 18, 7 p.m. in Steadman Theatre.
     Born out of what two Penn State students felt was a lack of meaningful representation of blacks in their theatre arts department, the troupe has been delighting audiences with their combination of dance, theatre and music since 1985.
     Now with more than 30 members the NOMMO Dance Group’s performances focus on integrating the art forms of dance, theatre and music to reflect the culture and traditions of Africans and African-Americans. The group’s performances not only entertain but educate. Last year at Mansfield several members of the audience were invited on stage to learn some of the dance movements.
     The NOMMO Dance Group’s performance is free and open to the public. It is part of the university’s month long African-American Arts Festival 2000.

STUDENT SCENE

The MU Forensic team continued its fantastic season by winning the Geneva College Tournament on February 12. Mansfield topped an 11-team field to bring home the sweepstakes trophy. Leading the way was Darren DeVoue who took the pentathlon award for top overall performer by finishing first in dramatic interpretation, second in prose interpretation and poetry interpretation and sixth in persuasive speech. He also combined with Carl Madonna to finish fourth in dramatic duo interpretation. Madonna teamed with Kari Weller to finish second in dramatic duo and individually took third in persuasive speaking and fourth in poetry interpretation to finish fourth in the pentathlon standings. Weller added a fourth place finish in prose interpretation to the team’s effort. Heather Borden captured top honors in informative speaking and fourth place in extemporaneous speaking. Karen Holgate finished second in dramatic interpretation, third in prose interpretation and fifth in prose interpretation. Under the direction of Sharon Carrish, Communication and Theatre, the team competes at the Pennsylvania State Championships at Grove City this weekend.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• The new state-of-the-art campus voicemail system should be fully operational on Monday, February 21. Call x4834 with any questions about the conversion. The old system will stay on line to answer calls until February 24.
• The annual MU spring blood drive will be held Wednesday, February 23 in Manser North Dining Hall. The goal is 145 units. The American Red Cross needs all types of blood, with a critical need for O-positive and O-negative. Anyone who is at least 17 years old, weighs at least 105 pounds and is in general good health can donate. For further information about donating blood call 1-800-GIVE LIFE.
• There will be a campus-wide electrical power outage Sunday, March 5, 8 a.m.- noon. Several outages scheduled during the semester have had to be cancelled due to cold weather. The temperature must be over 40 degrees during the time of the scheduled outage.
• The Harrisburg Internship Semester (THIS) offers an outstanding opportunity for a student to earn 15 credits while working with state legislators and agencies in the state capitol this fall. The program provides a $5,500 stipend. Interested students should submit a letter of interest, two letters of recommendation from faculty, a writing sample and an up-to-date ER to Richard Feil, 405 South Hall. Call x4773 for more information.
• The MU Wellness committee is presenting the program "What do you have to lose?: keys to weight loss." The program starts Feb. 21 in 201 Elliott Hall, Noon-1 p.m. and lasts nine weeks. Enrollment is limited to 20 people. Call x4481 for more information.
• The Center for Lifelong Learning is offering a Business and Professional Writing Workshop on Saturday, Feb. 19 and 26, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.in Belknap Hall. Instructed by Thomas Murphy, the cost is $150. Call x4851 to register or for more information.
• North Hall receives prominent mention in the introduction of Planning For A New Generation Of Public Library Buildings, a new book by Gerard McCabe, published by Greenwood Press. The introduction reads "Among other interesting academic libraries visited was Mansfield University of Pennsylvania's very progressive and handsome renovation of a late 19^th century campus building. Librarians traveling in or near north central Pennsylvania or central New York, will find it most worthwhile to visit Mansfield to see the furniture and equipment, which are state-of-the art and should be of interest."
• The RATS group wishes to send a special note of thanks to two campus groups:--to everyone in Information Technology on campus who made sure that Mansfield University successfully negotiated Y2K without problems. We know that this meant some people spent New Year's Eve on the job, and gave significant time to take care of our interests. We want you to know the campus is grateful. The recent ice storm meant extra hours and effort for an enormous number of  people on the grounds crew, in maintenance, in the boiler room, in the electrical staff and more. Thank you for the time--early and late--and all the work you went to to make the campus as safe as possible for all of us to drive and walk. We appreciate you.

SPORTS UPDATE

     Bloomsburg University rebounded to defeat Mansfield 80-74 in overtime Wednesday in PSAC Eastern Division matchup.
     Tommy Harvey scored a team-high 24 points, drilling seven three-pointers, and added eight rebounds and five assists. Damar Lopez and Lorne Creighton each had 14 points.
     Creighton tied a school-record with seven blocked shots and scored a career-high 16 points as Mansfield rallied from a 13-point second half deficit to defeat visiting Edinboro University, 83-78 Saturday afternoon. Lopez scored a game-high 24 points on nine of 13 shooting from the field, and added six assists and five rebounds. Harvey had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Creighton made seven of his 10 shots from the field en route to his career high and added seven rebounds.
     The Mansfield University women's basketball team took an 11-point lead in the first half, but Bloomsburg University recovered for a 71-61 PSAC win Wednesday evening.
     Jennifer Nichols scored 16 points, hitting four of her seven three-pointers. Allyson Buss had 14 points with five assists, while Lynelle Mosely had 13 points behind three three-pointers and four assists.
     Mansfield fell at powerful Pitt-Johnstown University, 85-35 Saturday afternoon. Nichols scored a team-high eight points.
     The indoor track and field team competed in the Cornell University Can-Am Invitational Saturday.
     Travis Boyer had the top finish for the men's team - placing fifth in the high jump with a leap of 5'11.25. Kyle Kintner finished 10th in the pole vault.
     Kim Carman placed seventh in the pole vault and 12th in the high jump for the Mountie women's team.

LIBRARY LISTINGS

These bestsellers are now on the shelves at North Hall:

Timeline by Michael Crichton
Have A Nice Day! By Mick Foley

THE BOTTOM LINE

"A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special."
--Nelson Mandela