I am not one to be speechless. I am naturally pretty chatty, and I always have my two cents (or three or four) to add to almost any discussion, particularly conversations about Broadway. When I visited the Bernard Jacobs Theatre over spring break to see the first Broadway revival of “Parade,” I was speechless.
Fellow anime watchers may agree that the show “Your Lie in April” brings a different, sad, yet wholesome take on anime.
Shippensburg University is taking submissions for the 45th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition, sponsored by the SU Minds@Work Conference. SU students can submit up to five pieces of art to participate in a “real world” juried art competition, with a cash prize of $2,500. The categories this year are ceramics, digital fine art printing, drawing, graphic design, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture.
Many great “Persona” games have been released throughout the years, but the game I’m going to be talking about holds a special place in my heart: “Persona 5 Royal.”
If you ask any gamer their opinion on video game adaptations, you'll probably get some strong opinions on uniquely terrible movies like “Hitman” (2007), the “Resident Evil” series (2002-2016) or Angelina Jolie’s short stint as Lara Croft (2001-2003). 2016 was a good year for painfully bad adaptations, sporting “Assassin’s Creed,” “Ratchet & Clank,” “Warcraft” and the final “Resident Evil” chapter, creatively named “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.” The TV market hasn’t had as many entries, but it’s had its own fumbles with “Halo” (2022) or “The Witcher” (2019-2023). Recently however, there’s been a surge of good adaptations of beloved games, including 2019’s “Detective Pikachu,” “Sonic The Hedgehog” (2020) and its sequel (2022), and “Arcane: League of Legends” (2021). Each has its own issues, but on the whole, they are great adaptations. Luckily for us, this trend seems to be continuing, evidenced by what has been a nearly flawless adaptation of developer Naughty Dog’s magnum opus “The Last of Us.”
On Saturday, the SU Concert Choir held a cabaret to raise money for their upcoming trip abroad. The musical acts included students from SU’s Concert Choir and Marching Band.
The Luhrs Center hosted the World-Famous Harlem Gospel Choir on Feb. 23 in the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center. The group has toured the world for over two decades and is one of the most known gospel choirs in the country today. The choir has its rootsin the black churches of Harlem. According to the group’s biography, “out of the hardship and trials of slavery, this unique musical tradition came to be, and forever changed music as we know it.” Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll all have roots from black gospel music.
On Feb. 22, students and faculty gathered in the CUB MPR to listen to the spoken word of Maria James-Thiaw, a 1996 Shippensburg University alumna. James-Thiaw is the founder of the Reclaim Artist Collective, which promotes art to marginalized groups.
I recently watched “The Hate U Give,” directed by George Tillman Jr. and starring Amandla Stenberg, who plays Starr Carter. It is based on a book by Angie Thomas and was released on Sept. 7, 2018. This movie caught my attention because it is about a teenage girl who deals with racism and police brutality. She witnesses her African American friend, Kahlil Harris, played by Algee Smith, being murdered by the police. The movie shows the double life of Starr; she lived in a poor neighborhood, but she went to a fancy prep school. Starr couldn’t be too “hood” in the prep school, but she couldn’t be too “white” at home.
The PAGE Center presented “The Vagina Monologues” in McFeely’s Cafe on Feb. 17 and 18. “The Vagina Monologues” is a play written by Eve Ensler based on real interviews she conducted with more than 200 women.
The Reflector, Shippensburg University’s on-campus literary journal, held its annual Post-Love Open Mic on Thursday, Feb. 16, in Stewart Hall. Attendees were encouraged to share their work about love, heartbreak and everything in between.
The heart of Harlem made its appearance in Shippensburg on Thursday, Feb. 9, in Stewart Hall for the annual “Live at Apollo” event hosted by Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) and Residence Hall Association (RHA). A celebration of black history and talent, this event featured various student performances in true Apollo fashion.
Since the Broadway shutdown, my musical intake has been pretty subpar. The last show I saw on Broadway was “Beetlejuice” in February 2020. And the last show I saw on tour was in December 2021. So, of course, I was thrilled to see “Anastasia” was making it to Luhrs, and seeing it live truly reminded me why I love musical theatre.
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and in this household, that means doing skincare, eating chocolate and watching comfort shows. One of them happens to be “Jane the Virgin.”
1. “Valentine” by Laufey - Do you remember when you had your first valentine? Laufey is on cloud nine in this tune, singing, “‘Cause I think I’ve fallen in love this time / I blinked and suddenly I had a Valentine.” Her smooth, jazzy vocals make this a perfect love song to play for anyone you’re head over heels about!
The Doo Wop Project brought doo-wop classics and “DooWopified” hits to Luhrs Performing Arts Center Thursday night.
Shippensburg University has seen various art exhibitions come through its arts program. From unconventional ceramics to kitsch-based sculptures to bold performance pieces, SU is no stranger to provoking artworks. However, Kauffman Gallery’s newest exhibit “Contemporary Classics,” is a different breed of art than what small-town Shippensburg has previously experienced. The exhibit, which is comprised of various works from different artists, comes from the eminent New York group Gallery Henoch. These artists’ works focus on different varieties of photorealism and trompe l’oeil techniques to create a refined and truly memorable exhibit.
2022 gave us many things to be grateful for, and among them is how writers have captured the ability to convey aggressive women in TV and film. Past portrayals of violence in films like “American Psycho,” “The Shining,” and “Joker” have fostered the idea that aggression is exclusively a male trait. However, as women challenge male violence both on screen and in real life, new films and TV series have begun to reflect this unabashedly.
Coming out of a book slump can be difficult, especially if you have not read in a few months — or longer. You may not have the motivation to read, choose to do another hobby that does not take up as much energy, etc. Selecting the right book is crucial because going for the wrong one could just make you more prone to not reading. Picking up something exciting allows a reader to feel that spark again. “Caraval” by Stephanie Garber is that spark.
Season 2 of the anime series “Demon Slayer” has been released on Netflix. As a long-time fan of the series, I was ecstatic to find the preview for it on Netflix’s home screen.
