We Are... Not What the Media Thinks.

I purposely waited until after Thanksgiving break to complete this assignment, because I knew that being away from State College would allow me to clear my head about the scandal. Back home in Virginia, I didn’t think much about the situation – no one really asked me about it. As I re-read my writing from class, I don’t feel as involved or upset about it anymore. I still have my opinions about what happened, but I have come to a point of realization. I understand now that we don’t know all the facts, so it is not possible for me to form a legitimate and informed opinion about the scandal itself. However, my anger mostly stems from the media’s portrayal of the university.

Personally, I believe the media has been the worst part of this whole scandal. Not only has it made the whole situation worse, it also has left a lot of people misinformed. Many people that had talked to me via the Internet when the scandal first broke were convinced that Joe Paterno had committed the crime or that he was the one who walked in on Sandusky in the locker room. From what is said in the grand jury report, Coach Paterno was only told of the incident. Because of his supposed lack of action, the Board of Trustees fired him after he announced his retirement effective the end of the season.

The night he was fired I could not voice my feelings in words. It was completely unexplainable the emotions I felt. My father attended Penn State, so I have grown up knowing who Joe Paterno is. I was the little girl dressed in the cheerleading outfits and the Penn State apparel. I watched Paterno coach football games each fall on television. Penn State had a perfect image in my eyes; having it tarnished was almost unreal. When I found out he was fired, I was angry and sad – filled with many different emotions. I knew Downtown would be crazy, so I went to the riots.

Contrary to what the media published, most of the kids downtown were there to watch the few crazy students. Yes, a van was flipped over, and yes, fireworks were shot and light poles were shaken. The riot wasn’t just a Penn State thing; riots happen everywhere. I remember a local university near where I live rioting after they lost a March Madness Final Four basketball game. Similar shenanigans occurred, and the police used pepper spray, like they did here. However, I’m not saying that the riot is something Penn State students should be proud of, but I don’t think it should be such a big focus.

On the night of the riot and the following days, clips of the event were on repeat on every news station. No one could get enough. Every newscaster was criticizing the behavior and generalizing it to make it seem that every Penn State student participated. The candlelight vigil, however, didn’t seem to make it on the news. I think that is what upsets me the most. The media is only out there to make money, so they have no probably sharing only the bad side of situations. They made the actions of one man and a few, stupid college students seem like the actions of an entire university. I just hope that people, including future employers, understand that those people don’t define Penn State.

In the Heights (event)

Back home, I always attended the many touring Broadway performances that ended up in the local theatre. When I found out that In the Heights was to be showing here at Penn State, I was ecstatic. So, on October 18, 2011, I went out with my floormate to see the musical. The first thing I noticed was how poorly designed the Eisenhower theatre was! There was no middle aisle in the orchestra section, so there was no escaping to the restroom in the middle of the performance.

However, this was not a problem for me, because our seats were located on the end of a row. As the lights dimmed, a man came out and welcomed us to the show, mentioning that one of the members of the ensemble was a graduate of Penn State. The set was a section of a street in New York City, with a little bodega, owned by the main character Usnavi. The opening number, performed by Usnavi, uses a mixture of many different types of music, including rap, hip-hop, and latino. I was very impressed with how well the different varieties of music were integrated. The entire show used a mixture of the Spanish and English language. Thankfully, I took Spanish in high school, so I was able to understand most everything that was said in the language. However, the show did a really good job about making the language understandable even for non-Spanish speakers. Almost all of the songs contained a little bit of Spanish, but by using the context and the emotion of the actor, almost anyone could figure out what the Spanish words meant.

One of the best things about this show was the amount of energy each and every cast member had. The show was constantly moving, and not once did I feel bored or like the show was dragging. The cast had a lot of impact on the energetic mood. I could tell every performer loved what they were doing and was having a blast. My absolute favorite character was Sonny, the cousin of Usnavi. Sonny is a young boy who works in Usnavi’s bodega. He was hilarious the entire performance. Perhaps I enjoyed Sonny so much because both the character and the actor, Robert Ramirez, reminded me of someone I knew. However, his comedic timing was perfect. I especially enjoyed the scene where he asked out Vanessa for Usnavi.

Overall, this musical was one of the best I have seen. Compared to the Broadway musicals that I have seen in New York City, this version of In The Heights was spot on. Everything from the set to the acting was right on key and absolutely wonderful. It felt like I was in New York throughout the whole performance. Every one of those actors had the potential to be on Broadway. I would highly recommend the show for anyone, especially if you love theatre.

"Another Show"

Throughout my life, I have been exposed to the many aspects of theatre. I’ve seen more performances than I can count. I’ve participated in many shows, both on stage and backstage. Because of this, going to see Kiss Me, Kate with our class was not a big deal to me. Honestly, I probably would have gone to see the show on my own. I have seen many different varieties of live theatre, from high school productions to local theatre to Broadway. Each is unique in its own way. Obviously, Kiss Me, Kate did not compare in scale to a full Broadway performance. However, the show was, in fact, one of the better college performances I have seen. I had high expectations for the show, simply because I knew that Penn State had a fairly good theatre program.

The show lived up to my expectations. The set was creative, and it looked very professional. The cast was phenomenal. I looked through the program and saw that seniors played the four lead roles, so I attribute their talent to how long they have been studying to earn this role. I only had one problem with this show – it was very long. Perhaps I was just tired, but towards the end of the second act, the play just seemed to drag on. Mostly, it is not the company’s fault for the length, just the author of the original musical.

I am a big fan of almost every musical. I absolutely love music, so watching characters express their feelings through song makes sense to me. Some of my favorite musicals include Grease, Wicked, Cinderella, Singin’ In the Rain, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. I like all types of musicals – ranging from recent hits to old classics. While I had never seen Kiss Me, Kate before, I knew it was a popular musical from around the 1940s. Overall, it was pretty much like I expected. It was mostly a love story, with some funny scenes in between.

Though I was unsure as to how I would feel about the musical numbers, I was pleasantly surprised. I have never been a big fan of songs from older musicals, because I tend to prefer the big spectacle of modern musical. However, one number from Kiss Me, Kate caught my eye. I really loved “Too Darn Hot.” It was very enjoyable and a great opening number for the second act. Everything, from the red lights to the jazzy music to the intense dancing, is exactly why I love theatre. The energy from the actors filled the theatre, and it really showed through their performance.

I have not read or seen Taming of the Shrew, but I did have a general knowledge of the play. I had seen movies that were loosely based off of Shakespeare’s work, so I knew the general plot of it. Knowing the general plot of the play definitely helped me understand the plot of Kiss Me, Kate a lot more clearly. It was also funny being able to pick out the similarities between the two shows.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time seeing Kiss Me, Kate. Now that I have a general idea of the quality of Penn State’s theatre, I think I will definitely attend more of their shows in the future.