The theatre goes dark. The sound of drums permeates the air and the shrieking of witches electrifies the audience. Binghamton University’s presentation of The Crucible opened last weekend with a galvanizing opening and it did not fail to impress through the remainder of the performance. The Puritan fire and passion played out by the actors was cathartic to the point where even I found myself truly hating some of the more vicious characters such as the seductive and conniving Abigail Williams (Laura Potel) and the ignorant and narrow-minded Deputy-Governor Danforth (Austin Tooley). However, perhaps the best performance was given by Jacob Wentlent in his role as John Proctor. His mastery of the many different emotionally charged scenes was moving and allowed the audience to sympathize with one of the few characters in Salem who had any sense at all. The expressive court scenes are reason enough to attend the performance and I was thrilled with the way in which the final scene was performed. I will omit a description of the final scene for those unfamiliar with the play, but it was truly well-done. Having already been familiar with the play, I had wondered what direction the scene would be taken and, thankfully, I was not disappointed.

The stage design, while minimalistic, was eerie and suiting to the feel of the play. Large broken beams were been stood up and metallic looking trees were hung from the ceiling. As part of the audience, I felt that the rather minimalist take on stage design was a nice representation of Puritan ideals, a theme that played a prominent role in the play. The makeup was also done quite well. I left the theatre rather unsure about the ages of the cast because of their talented performances and convincing make up. I even found myself wondering if the performance was really done by a bunch of college students. As a student, I can proudly tell you it was a bunch of college kids on stage. I encourage you all to do what you can to see the play, you won’t be disappointed.

WHRW is giving away Camp Bisco tickets to you and and a friend!

This is Camp Bisco’s Tenth Anniversary and you won’t want to miss it! WIth a three-day lineup including The Disco Biscuits, Wiz Khalifa, Cut Copy, Yeasayer, Skrillex, and over sixty more, as well as daily music workshops, a silent disco, and fire sculptures….the festival is not to be missed! Camp Bisco X will take place at the Indian Lookout Country Club in Mariaville, NY (two hours east of Binghamton) on July 7-9th so be sure to enter every day until the giveaway for your chance to win!
Tickets are available online at http://bit.ly/lblbve
and 1-888-512-SHOW, as well as at all FYE stores in New England and select outlets in New York State.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=247415425274903

Thanks to everyone who listened in for my intrepid first steps into the world of broadcast. Apparently the player on the website didn’t work too well but the fix seems to be to use the online radio in iTunes. Click on “Radio” in the sidebar (it’s under “Apps”) and then go to College/University. Scroll until you find WHRW in the listing. I hope you all enjoyed the show and I look forward to playing music and having one-sided conversations with you all next Saturday.