A Century in the Making: Ursinus set to perform original “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

by Andrea Magnolo

Ursinus College’s theater department is soon to become the first organization in over 100 years to perform the original version of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Surprisingly enough the script written by T.R. Sullivan in 1887, just happened to fall right into director Professor Scudera’s lap. Upon reading “Jekyll and Hyde Dramatized”, a book by Dr. Martin Dananay, Scudera came across the original script that has not been performed since 1907. Dr. Danahay is an Enlgish professor at Brock University of Canada where he has taken a keen interest in Victorian literature and culture. In all his years spent researching and critiquing the play he has never seen it performed live on stage, until now. Not only will Dr. Danahay be making a trip to see “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, but he will also be giving a lecture during his visit entitled, “Sex and Violence in Jekyll and Hyde” before the Oct. 10^th viewing of the play.

Written in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a story portraying a well respected physician who lives a seemingly double life. Although an upstanding citizen, Dr. Jekyll has been known to be involved in corrupt acts and strange behavior. After developing and drinking a potion Dr. Jekyll is transformed into his counter personality, Mr. Hyde, an ugly deformed man. This dualism is explored throughout the play and the audience is left to decide for themselves whether or not they believe good and evil exists within us all.

The inner struggle Dr. Jekyll faces is something that actress Melanie Stefan explained to me by saying, “The play deals with a truth that I personally feel very strongly about and that is the alter ego inside us all that longs to get out. We all have a Hyde in us”. Melanie has one of the lead roles in the play, acting as Agnes Carew, Dr. Jekyll’s fiancé. Anges is very much in love with Jekyll and becomes concerned when he starts acting odd.

In order to keep as close as possible to the original version of the play, the performers must take a highly melodramatic approach, which is something they all find rather challenging. For an actress like Melanie who is used to realism, she finds it hard, “Maintaining realism yet expressing the high melodrama that the play calls for. The melodrama is a bit difficult as it requires an exaggeration that I am still working to perfect”. Both actors Will Freeman who will star as Inspector Newcome a police officer on the hunt for Hyde and Joshua Aungst as Dr. Lanyon Jekyll’s colleague, are still trying to tackle the English accent. Aungst claims, “Although I have performed with accents numerous times for plays here, the English accent is one of the hardest that I’ve had to use”.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is set to premier in the Lenfest Theater Oct 7^th, 8^th, 9^th and 10^th at 7:30PM. Ticket are $2 for students and senior citizens along with $5 for general admission. Don’t miss this unique performance and a chance to view a play that has not been performed this past century!

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CD Review: Chuck Ragan

by Ellen Bernhard

A few weeks ago, I bought tickets to see the Revival Tour in Philadelphia. No, it was not a religious event fueled by prayers, hymns, and “Amens!” Rather, former Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan and several other artists collaborated for what was a unique and rare opportunity to see several musicians in popular punk and indie bands shed their rock roots and focus on an entirely different genre—folk music, while playing only acoustic instruments and harmonicas.

Together with his wife Jill Ragan, guitarist and harmonica player Chuck Ragan brought the second revival of the Revival Tour to the area. The show was a perfect venue for Chuck Ragan to perform and promote songs off his newest acoustic folk CD, Gold Country, which dropped this past September.

This is not the first time fans of Chuck Ragan have seen his talented mastery of the folk genre. With three other acoustic albums under his belt and several more available only on vinyl or iTunes, Ragan has certainly spent a great deal of time focusing on his post-Hot Water Music solo project, showing fans the diversity of his musical talents. Ragan’s music is not just for fans of his old band, however. His folk projects and CDs would easily fit anywhere in the CD collection of fans of Johnny Cash, for example.

Gold Country is a 13-song compilation of some of Ragan’s most passionate music to date. Every song, in one way or another, radiates a passion for the simpler things in life. “Call me crazy, but all these old ways of living simple are simply fading,” Ragan croons in the album’s first song “For Goodness Sake.”

Rather than traveling down major highways, moving at an ultra high speed to get to the end result as quickly as possible, Gold Country takes the back roads—taking its time and carrying on at a much slower, more purposeful and meaningful pace.

Every song bleeds of heartfelt feeling and emotion—Ragan’s raspy voice is in perfect harmony with his acoustic strumming and Jon Gaunt’s breathtaking skills on the violin. The wail of Ragan’s harmonica is something rarely seen in today’s music, but he plays it perfectly—adding it when necessary and never letting it take away from the meaning of the song.

Fellow musicians, many of whom were with Ragan on the Revival tour, join in here and there, adding backing vocals and instrumental talents that give the album great variation to Ragan’s acoustic guitar and harmonica.

Like any journey through winding roads and uncharted territory, Ragan’s album almost stays the full course—but gets slightly off track toward the middle of the track list. “Don’t Say a Word,” isn’t necessarily a bad song, but for my personal tastes, moves at an almost painfully slow pace, standing out from the rest of the tracks in a lackluster way.

Gold Country takes listeners back to the roots of folk—presenting a distinct alternative to what is popular on the airwaves these days. “It definitely feels like a progression to me and I love it; it feels good and it feels natural,” Ragan tells interviewer Jonah Bayer in the Revival Tour’s playbill. Ragan has done more than just bring the Revival Tour back to Philadelphia—he has sparked a new revival of folk music for a younger generation.

Standout Tracks: “Let It Rain,” “Ole Diesel,” “10 West”

Sounds like: Tim Barry – Rivanna Junction, Tom Gabel – Heart Burns, Frank Turner – Love, Ire & Song

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Lamb: The Gospel According to Christ’s BFF?

by Karin

Laughter can come from many different places. It is often times the best medicine on a bad day. We can find laughter in movie, a comedy club, and maybe even a book. Author Christopher Moore’s “Lamb: The Gospel According the Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal”, is a comical book that can provide that dose of medicine we need for a study break or on a bad day.

Christopher Moore is the author of eleven novels including three international best sellers. His fictional style of writing is absurd and comical. His characters are fun and witty and usually have to overcome some sort of unseen ridiculous conflict or unexpected experience. His talent didn’t come until later in life. He decided his good humor could be put to work in making others feel good in writing a book. He sold his first book, “Practical Demonkeeping,” to Disney in 1992 and immediately had a group of followers who did not want to have to wait for his next book, so he immediately went to work on his next genius piece of writing and he wrote, “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.”

In “Lamb,” Christopher Moore uses some actual Bible characters and events and puts his own spin on the idea of Christ’s life. In many ways it is sick and twisted, but the comical value of the book makes it worth it. There is a disclaimer on the title page that reads, “This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actually events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.” In this book Moore takes you on the journey of the middle thirty years of Christ’s life that is left out in theBible and he takes along his best friend, Biff, who has been resurrected to tell the world of Christ’s real story. Biff’s story is filled with events that are controversial to the teaching of the Bible which give it the extra comical edge to make it enjoyable for readers. The story switches back and forth from modern times when Biff was resurrected to the time of Jesus to make it sound as if he is really telling you the story. Characters such as Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, and the promiscuous Mary of Magdala (Maggie) are used to make the novel an interesting read. It uses a combination of sex and disobedience which were clearly not seen from Jesus in the Bible to make it twisted and somewhat controversial.

On christophermoore.com, author Gregory Maguire calls “Lamb,” “hysterical, sexy, and really deeply moving,” and On BookBrowse.com The Philadelphia Inquirer says, “Moore’s storytelling style is reminiscent of Vonnegut,” and USA Today says, "Lamb is...a great idea, and a funny story. So, if you’re a Christopher Moore fan, go out and buy this book." Douglas Adams.” One reader told me, “It’s the funniest book I’ve ever read!”

So if you’re looking for a great read or something to brighten up your mood while studying check out Christopher Moore’s “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff”, or also check out his website, christophermoore.com or some of his other best sellers,“A Dirty Job,” “You Suck,” and his newest novel, “Fool.”

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