The Paw Print
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Sitting in anticipation for the most recent theatrical production, I take my seat to the left of the CHS Auditorium opening night. This places me closer to the live orchestra than the actual stage. The theatre begins to crowd to about half-house, and I convene with an old friend before the lights dim, the crowd silences, and the stage illuminates. The orchestra fills the air with the tunes of Heindorf and Willson, lulling the audience to a sudden hush.
The opening scenes feature an overcast of characters. A few are recognisably new to the art, yet the main few are most certainly not novice. Professor Hill is our “Music Man” for the night; with an alpha stride and the confidence of a stallion Reese Sheldahl takes over the stage whenever he is present. The local librarian grasps our attention as well, and the homely and empathetic nature is easy to digest; as Marian is emulated expertly by Natalie Renk.
After lots and lots of trouble the plot is established, with Hill traveling from town to town promising a children’s symphony, yet never delivering. However, as this is a musical, he is held up by a love for the local librarian. (Spoilers ahead!) He eventually is arrested for not having a license after he and Marian hook up. It is left open to interpretation how it ends, but despite Hill ending in chains, the cheer of the courtroom suggests a nice outcome to the otherwise bleak situation.
The accompaniment of the live “pit orchestra” was a welcome addition to the production. The well-conducted soundtrack only added to the immersion of the already spectacular storytelling. At times I forgot that I was in an auditorium, as I was so enveloped within the tale being told. Expertly played and long rehearsed, I can only hope the orchestra can become a regular addition to any and all stories we have the pleasure of being put on for our enjoyment.
The supporting roles were tolerable and did serve their purpose well. The lack of involvement was a tad off, however. Though it is a musical, the lack of interaction in the back and midground was sad to see. Often these characters were just standing around not doing anything. This hurt the stage presence of those in the foreground an unfortunate amount.
All in all, taking into consideration the acting, music, story representation, and overall experience, the Paw Print gives the recent production of Music Man a 9/10. The experience should be a standard to improve upon for all Helena theatre programs. Though some flaws were present, the pure brilliance and talent of the actors was captivating and made that night one to recall for years to come. We highly recommend either looking online for our theatre’s production, watching the old 1960’s version for retrospective, or aiding the theatre program in their next act, despite whatever trouble we may end up in.
Turning Hate into Love
October 5, 2018, Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate, an art exhibition at the Holter Museum of Art, opened for its 10 year anniversary showing. The exhibit displays diverse work of 46 artists who transformed thousands of anti-Semitic and racist books into uplifting artwork. The exhibition is sponsored by the Montana Human Rights Network (MHRN).
In 2003, MHRN came into possession of over 4,000 anti-Semitic and racist books that had been used to fund a Montana hate group. Katie Knight, a head curator of the art installation,explained that “In 2004, the Montana Human Rights Network sent out 500 books all over the country to research organizations, libraries, and groups that tracked the activities of White supremacists. They still had left 360 books, so they tried to figure out what to do with all these books. A high school student, the son of one the directors, had an idea of turning them into art, and that’s where this whole show began.”
Some of the artists are well known, while other artists are not as well known. Yet they all contributed art that was either made from the pages of the books, or that fight social injustices condoned by the books.
Some artists featured in this exhibit are Cathy Weber, Corwrin Clairmont, Jane Waggoner Deschner, Jack Daws,Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Neal Ambrose-Smith. Each one of their pieces are diverse and bear witness to the consequences of bigotry. They tell personal stories of what they have experienced, juxtapose to the books, collaborate with other people, and/or layer beauty over horror.
Other artists are also allowed to contribute art to the exhibition as long as they are entering books that they made filled with content that seeks justice, love, and healing. The only things that limit entries are the size of the work and that the work does not support white supremacists.
Katie Knight expressed calmly “I hope that it is an opportunity for people to have a dialogue about our history and our future and who we are and what kind of people we want to be. The whole question of how we open our hearts to each other. I also really hope this exhibition helps people make a choice in favor of defending human rights and not just human rights the rights of the living planet.”
There will also be a series of events that go along with the exhibition. The link to find out the dates of the events is: https://mhrn.org/events/ .
The event will for sure change many people’s minds and hearts, and help people to be able to make a choice to be in favor of defending not just human rights but of the rights of the living planet we call home.
Inherit the Wind Excitement
Bruins get ready we have a roller coaster coming at you in the form of the play Inherit The Wind performed by both Capital High Thespians and Helena High Thespians! This screenplay was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee in the 1950’s and is a provocative and thought-inducing piece.
The piece is focused mostly on the Scopes V. Monkey Trial of 1925. This trial was against John Scopes, a high school substitute teacher, for violating Tennessee’s Butler Act. The act made it illegal to teach students in a school setting about evolution, for it contradicts religious beliefs. The play will show a fresh look at religion and its counterpart of science.
One female lead--a junior hailing from Capital High School--Emma Coble, says “This play forces people to think about their right to think.” Coble believes the audience will like her character, Rachel, because she acts as a visual representation of the audience's thoughts. Another lead from Capital, Seth Lang, who plays Henry Drummond, thinks this play will be good for the audience because it will allow all viewers to reflect on how often they follow ideas blindly.
The play is showing November 8th through the 12th in the CHS auditorium. The cast and crew all agree that $7 is a small price to pay for such a mind opening experience. See you there, Bruins!
