‘Throbbing’ with meaning
Emily Hoferer
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Erika Breese
The Xavier Player’s production of Paula Vogel’s “Hot ‘n
Throbbing” is the most controversial yet meaningful play in their line-up
this season.
Freshman Kelli Brinker takes on the tough role of Charlene, a single mother
divorced from her abusive husband, played wonderfully by Zach Berger.
Charlene is stressed out—not only are her tumultuous teenage kids, Leslie Ann played by sophomore Abby Booth and Calvin played by junior Jeff Meinert, causing her a headache, but she’s also close to deadline on her screenplay. Charlene is no Oscar winning screenwriter; however her screenplays are considered women’s erotica.
Director Erin Bukowski cleverly staged the scenes of Charlene and her crumbling family between steamy scenes with a male and female voiceover. These voiceovers, particularly the female’s, act out Charlene’s screenplays in the beginning, but soon come to represent her and her husband Clyde as the tension between them builds. This was delicately done and it really helped set the tone of the play.
The play is intense from start to finish, with a subtle mix of humor, but from the opening lines the audience can literally feel the tension in the character of Charlene. Brinker did a wonderful job of capturing the vulnerability and struggle in her life.
However, the actor who stole the show was Zach Berger. Immediately the audience wants to hate him because he beats his wife. As his dialogue with Charlene carries the play we see that he is a tortured soul, and I came close to sympathizing with him (but not quite). It’s hard to play someone who is mean, but it’s even harder to play their complexities, and Berger did great in this play.
It also takes a brave woman to pole dance and strip in front of people for a part, and freshman Lauren Yadlowsky did a great job. This girl is more than just the physicality of the part, she is also a wonderful actress and broke my heart by the end of the play. Senior Byron Bryson had the challenge of playing many small characters in his role as the male voiceover and he did very well.
Booth, who played the energetic and sometimes obnoxious Leslie Ann, bothered me throughout the play, but my views on her changed at the end (which I’m not going to dare reveal here). Meinert inserted lots of innocence and youth into his performance as Calvin.
Good performances aside, the play itself stands as a solid written work that explores taboo subjects which should be discussed more often. While the promos say that this play raises questions about domestic violence and pornography and if they are related, the play itself makes no direct connection.
Instead, it leaves it open to the audience to see if pornography, and more importantly, our overall sexuality as humans, can harm or better our relationships with others.
My only qualm with the play was that some of the interactions among the characters made me uncomfortable, as it should, but it’s just plain weird if the actress playing Leslie, who is Clyde’s daughter, starts stroking him. It’s hard for the audience to get it out of their heads.
It is my hope that the Players continue to bring more provocative and stirring works to campus, even if they continue to promote pole dancing lessons.
“Hot ‘n Throbbing” will be showing at 7:30 on Feb. 7-10 in the GSC Theatre. Tickets are $3 for students $5 for general admission. The Newswire wants everyone to note that the content of this play is for mature audiences only.
Out of body experience
Emily Hoferer
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Erika Breese
Perhaps this thinker is featured in the nervous system section?
Whether you are into science or not, “Bodies…the Exhibition” at the Cincinnati Museum Center is well worth the price of admission. The exhibit opened Feb. 1 and showcases real human bodies stripped of their skin and displayed in a way to show viewers the complexity of the human body.
There are over 20 bodies positioned and dissected in various ways throughout the exhibit. Some bodies are used to display muscles and tissue just beneath the skin. Others show how the organs in your body are stacked and arranged.
Each of the bodies’ various systems (circulatory, reproductive, etc.) can be examined thoroughly. The most fascinating of these were the nervous system, which examines the brain and the reproductive system, which lead into a display showing the stages of an embryo.
The bodies are polymer preserved (and surprisingly there is no overwhelming stench in the exhibit) and were dissected by medical experts. The bodies are from China and were actually dissected in the 1970s. Each body takes about a year to fully dissect and position.
While this exhibit is overwhelmingly educational, the Archbishop of Cincinnati
has prohibited all Catholic schools from taking field trips to the exhibit.
He explains that the human body should be respected even when it is dead. Since
the exhibit started in 2004, this is the first time that someone from the Catholic
Church has spoken out against it.
It is hard to believe the displays are actual human bodies that used to be alive, but it’s a far superior experience than staring at a plastic dummy in anatomy class. Seeing all of the nerve endings and fibers inside a human just blew my mind. It’s far more complex than I ever imagined.
The display takes about an hour and a half to go through and costs $23. I would recommend going during the week in the late afternoon where there is a parking discount and you can avoid the weekend and school children crowds.
The Cincinnati Museum Center is a pretty neat place by itself, but this is even more reason to go. There is also an Omnimax show, “The Human Body,” which costs an extra $3.
The exhibit will be in Cincinnati until Sept. 1.
Speckled Bird
Brandy Williams
Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor
The Speckled Bird Café is an eclectic blend of bold colors, funky style, delicious coffee and pastries. Located at 1766 Mills on the corner of Mills and Carter, the outside view doesn’t give justice to the whimsical `70s fashioned café patrons are about to enter.
For $8.75 I was able to get the hummingbird, a strawberry, banana and chocolate crepe, with an strawberry Italian soda with whip crème—delicious.
Their menu features an assortment of coffees, teas and pastries, including $6 crepes. Coffee ranges from $1.25 to $4, pastries $1-$3 and during the week they offer reasonably priced soup and sandwiches.
Patrons have the choice of sitting at iron-wrought tables and chairs, wooden church benches or comfy 1970s leather lounge chairs. Polka-dot room dividers hang from the ceiling, giving the small spunky café a sense of privacy. A cool, raised platform gives patrons a window view, comfy chairs and their own personal coffee table.
A large picture of long-beaked birds drinking from a sea of colors adorns the wall, as well as postcards, posters and art containing even more birds engaging in various activities.
The café is open Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight, Saturday 9 a.m. to midnight and Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Speckled Bird Café offers a nice atmosphere to catch up on reading, homework, writing or hanging out with friends. Visit them at http://speckledbirdcafe.com.
Catherine Stahl
Arts & Entertainment Editor
“Hot ‘n Throbbing”
The Players welcome you to see the play everyone is talking about. From 3-4 p.m. on Feb. 7 try some pole dancing lesson in the GSC Studio cost is $3 and includes a free ticket to the show. The Xavier Players are staging Paula Vogel’s play, “Hot ‘n’ Throbbing,” at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 7-10 in the GSC Studio Theater. The central theme of the show revolves around a key question: Which is more obscene: pornography or domestic violence? Tickets to the play are $3 for students, faculty and staff and $5 for all others.
SOA film
The film “On the Line” will be showing at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12 in Logan. The film takes an insider’s look at the people behind the movement to close the SOA/WHINSEC, and the cast includes Martin Sheen, Susan Sarandon and Fr. Roy Bourgeois. Following the film there will be a short discussion focusing on experiences from the trip and the film. The event is open to the public
Homemade cookies
The Italian-American Club will, be selling homemade Valentine’s Day cookies during lunch hours from Feb. 5-8. You can even have your cookies and a personalized note delivered directly to your sweetheart or a secret crush on campus for free on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Cookies will be sold as a pack of three cookies for $3, or two packs for $5.
Late Night Movie
The Late Night Movie for February is “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. The show starts at 11 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7- Saturday, Feb. 9 in the GSC Theatre. The movie is free to students with an All Card.
