News

WORCESTER, Mass. – Bartlett Sher ’81, director of the award-winning musical, The Light on the Piazza, will discuss “Theatrical Spaces: Imaginative, Moral, Commercial, and Human” with Professor Steve Vineberg on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. in the Rehm Library at the College of the Holy Cross. The question and answer event is free and open to the public.

Winner of six Tony Awards, five Drama Desk Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards, The Light on the Piazza is the work of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas. Set in 1953, it tells the story of an American mother and daughter traveling through Italy — the daughter’s romance with a Florentine man and the mother’s determined efforts to keep them apart. The musical was produced at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle and the Goodman Theatre in Chicago before opening on Broadway in April under the auspices of the Lincoln Center Theater. The musical is currently running in the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York.

Sher has served as artistic director of the Intiman Theatre since 2000. His many credits include Nickel and Dimed, The Dying Gaul and The Servant of Two Masters. Sher’s staging of Cymbeline, the first American Shakespearean production seen at the Royal Shakespeare Company, earned him the prestigious Joe A. Callaway Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.

In the summer issue of Holy Cross Magazine, Sher, who will also talk in several classes, credited his involvement in theater at Holy Cross with helping to make him a successful director. “Much of what I learned at Holy Cross I put to use every day,” he said.

The event is sponsored by the department of theatre.

WORCESTER, Mass. – To mark the 320th birthday of Domenico Scarlatti (Oct. 26, 1685 – July 23, 1757), the music department at the College of the Holy Cross will present a free concert of his sonatas for Baroque violin and harpsichord. The concert, part of the Holy Cross Chamber Series, will be Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. in the Brooks Concert Hall.

Holy Cross professor of music Carol Lieberman and Mark Kroll will perform three sonatas for violin and harpsichord, and Kroll will perform seven harpsichord sonatas.

Professor Lieberman has been one of the leading exponents of Baroque violin performance for the past two decades, and is equally well known for her performances of the literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. She has toured throughout North and South America and Europe, and the scope of her versatility can be seen by her performances of the complete Bach Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord in such cities as Lisbon, Madrid, Rome, Boston and San Francisco, and her many premieres of 20th Century works. She is co-director of the Holy Cross Chamber Players, and violinist of the Early Music Ensemble of Boston and The Lieberman/Kroll Duo.

In addition to his concert performances, Kroll is a noted authority on performance practice and period instruments. He is a proponent of the harpsichord music of the 20th and 21st centuries and has premiered, commissioned and recorded many new works. As a conductor, he has directed both orchestral and vocal ensembles, and served as the Artistic Director of Opera New England. In 1991 he was a visiting lecturer at the University of Padua, Italy and in 1993 he served as Professor at the Conservatory of Music in Würzburg, Germany. He has conducted master classes in the music academies of Warsaw, Krakow and Ljubljana and the Athens Conservatory in Greece. Kroll is Professor Emeritus at Boston University, where for 25 years he was professor and chair of the department of historical performance.

Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples on Oct. 26, 1685 – the same year as his most famous contemporary, Johann Sebastian Bach. He traveled with his composer father to Florence in 1702, seeking employment in the service of Prince Ferdinand de Medici. While there they met the renowned keyboard instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori, who was experimenting with the hammer action of his “gravicembalo col pian e forte,” ancestor of what was to become the modern piano.

By 1724 he was developing the keyboard style – with extensive use of virtuoso techniques, including crossing the hands, rapid repeated notes and leaps of more than an octave – that rendered him one of the greatest keyboard composers of the Baroque.

Scarlatti spent the last 28 years of his life at the Spanish court, and composed most of the 555 harpsichord sonatas for the princess Maria Barbara.

Although many people are familiar with Scarlatti’s harpsichord sonatas, he is not usually associated with the violin. Scarlatti may not have been widely celebrated beyond the Spanish and Portuguese courts that he served, but his music became famous following his death.

For further information, call the music department events line at 508-793-3528.

WORCESTER, Mass. – New York Times columnist David Brooks will deliver the annual Condé Nast Lecture on Media, Ethics and Values on Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom at the College of the Holy Cross. The title of the talk is “Media and Character.” The talk is free and open to the public.

Brooks will speak about the importance of character in the new economy and how the media speaks about it. “In the information age, a person’s cultural capital is more important in determining success than finance capital. What matters most is motivation, habits, discipline and flexibility — in a word, character,” he said.

Brooks’ column on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times began in September 2003. He is a weekly political commentator on National Public Radio and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He is author of The New York Times bestseller BoBos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There (Simon & Schuster, 2000), On Paradise Drive (Simon & Schuster, 2004), and the Atlantic Monthly article, “The Organization Kids” about this generation’s Princeton students. Previously, Brooks had been a senior editor at The Weekly Standard and a contributing editor at Newsweek and the Atlantic Monthly.

Previous speakers in the series include David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker; Matthew Rose, reporter for the Wall Street Journal; Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation; and Peter Steinfels, columnist for The New York Times.

The lecture is made possible by a gift from Condé Nast Publications, coordinated by the company’s former president and CEO Steve Florio, parent of graduates from the classes of 2000 and 2003.

Condé Nast publishes numerous magazines including The New Yorker, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit and Gourmet. Condé Nast Publications mission stresses its commitment “to journalistic integrity, influential reporting and superior design.”

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Fenwick Theatre and the theatre department at the College of the Holy Cross will present Frank Wedekind’s 1891 tragedy Spring Awakening on November 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. in Fenwick Theatre (O’Kane Hall) at the College of the Holy Cross. The production is directed by Margarett Perry ’86, now a professional New York-based director. Ms. Perry and her husband, the writer/actor Brian Dykstra have adapted their version of the play from a variety of translations as well as the original German text. Their adaptation was developed at the Lark Play Development Center in New York. Tickets are $7 for members of the Holy Cross community and $10 for the general public.

Wedekind’s extremely controversial play marked the beginnings of theatrical Expressionism. It was also roundly condemned and banned for decades. The show was not performed in an unexpurgated version in English until 1972. Potent and affecting, the play is a chronicle of adolescence and sexual awakening in a society that suppresses information out of a need to preserve the moral order. Wedekind challenged the moral code of the Victorian age, and over a century later, society still struggles with the same issues. As the religious right is threatened by the perceived decay of “family values,” it works diligently to protect its children from societal permissiveness. Perry and Dykstra set their adaptation in 1953 America, when American youth were caught in the conflict between Eisenhower respectability and self-satisfaction, and their own inchoate longings stirred up by a new sense of freedom, a volatile mixture that would explode only a year later with the discovery of rock ’n’ roll.

Perry received her MFA in directing from Southern Methodist University, and is currently serving as a guest lecturer at Holy Cross, teaching both acting and directing. Perry most recently directed the critically-acclaimed, off-Broadway production, Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone; The Retreat From Moscow at the Human Race Theatre Company in Dayton, Ohio; and Welcome To Arroyo’s at The Lark, Queens Theatre in the Park and the New York Hip Hop Theater Festival. Perry recently left her position as producing director of Access Theater, where for five years she directed, produced, and developed world premieres of new plays. She now serves as an artistic fellow at The Lark Play Development Center where she produces the Playwright’s Workshop with renowned playwright Arthur Kopit.

Another notable “guest artist” is involved with the production. Until this fall, Daniel Schap was a student at Loyola University New Orleans, a sister Jesuit college to Holy Cross. When Hurricane Katrina rendered Loyola unable to function for their fall semester, Holy Cross joined other Jesuit colleges across the nation in enrolling displaced students. Schap is one of Loyola students now studying at Holy Cross. After participating in open auditions, Schap, a sophomore, was cast as the second male lead in Spring Awakening, joining a cast of 23 Holy Cross students.

The set and lights are designed by William J. Rynders, professor in the theatre department, and costumes by Kurt S. Hultgren, costume designer in the theatre department.

For more information or for press tickets, please contact Joe Mader in the theatre department at 508-793-3490 or jmader@holycross.edu.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The following films will be shown in Stein Hall, Room 116 at the College of the Holy Cross. All films are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Promise by Margarethe von Trotta
Oct. 12: Showing at 8 p.m.

Das Boot by Wolfgang Petersen
Part I: Nov. 8: Showing at 8 p.m.
Part II: Nov. 16: Showing at 8 p.m.

Winter Sleepers by Tom Twyker
Dec. 6: Showing at 8 p.m.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Karen Baldwin ’85 was a Phi Beta Kappa pre-med student at Holy Cross with an avid interest in theatre and story-telling. Her post-graduate life took several dramatic twists and turns, including the decision not to pursue a medical career, to reach her current position: award-winning Hollywood movie producer.

Karen and her husband Howard Baldwin (former owner of the Hartford Whalers and Pittsburgh Penguins hockey teams) are the team behind many successful and critically-acclaimed films, including the Oscar-winning Ray, about the life of Ray Charles and starring Jamie Foxx.

The Baldwins will visit Worcester and the campus of Holy Cross on Friday, October 14. During a day of discussions and special programs, they’ll meet with students in the prebusiness program as well as students and members of the faculty in the theatre department.

At 2:45 p.m., they will conduct a question-and-answer session preceding a free screening of Ray in Kimball Theatre at Holy Cross. The Q&A and screening are open to the public free of charge.

Karen Baldwin began her career in the field of professional sports as the Assistant All-Star coordinator for the 1986 NHL All Star game hosted by the Hartford Whalers and went on to write and co-host her own local sports-oriented talk show, “Ahead of the Game.”

A move to Los Angeles with her husband in the 1990s provided her the opportunity to pursue acting. Her credits include roles in Blue Grass, Spellbinder, Sudden Death and Eyewitness to a Murder, as well as numerous other film and television guest appearances. Her attention then turned to writing, and she created several concepts for films and had them produced. Among her writing credits are Redline, Hot, Eyewitness to a Murder, Seeing Red and Sudden Death.

Karen and Howard Baldwin subsequently formed Baldwin/Cohen Entertainment with Richard Cohen, where she became involved with the development and producing end of the business and served as Vice President of Creative Affairs. During her tenure at Baldwin/Cohen, she helped develop and produce films such as Sudden Death, Resurrection, Gideon and Mystery, Alaska.

Due to the death of partner Richard Cohen, the Baldwins then formed a partnership with Philip Anschutz to create Crusader Entertainment. As Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs for Crusader, Karen Baldwin was involved with the day-to-day running of the company as well as the development and production of eight films in three years: Joshua, Children on Their Birthdays, A Sound of Thunder, Game of Their Lives, Danny Deckchair, Swimming Upstream, Ray and Sahara.

In 2004, the Baldwins formed their own independent development and production company, Baldwin Entertainment Group.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross will hold its fifth annual Relay for Disaster Relief on Oct. 14 at 5:30 p.m. at the Hart Track. Proceeds from the relay will be donated to “Stand By You,” Holy Cross’ coordinated show of financial, physical, and spiritual support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In previous years, the proceeds from the relay were donated to the Sept. 11 relief effort. Last year, more than 350 students, faculty and staff took part in the event. This year, the goal is to bring together more than 500 members of the Holy Cross community. The relay is also open to members of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium.

Other initiatives to help the hurricane victims are being developed, including plans to participate in trips to help rebuild and otherwise physically assist in affected areas.

The relay schedule of events follows:

5:30 p.m. Registration
6:30 p.m. Opening Ceremony
7 p.m. Relay Start

WORCESTER, Mass. – Organist Brett Maguire will perform a concert on Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel at the College of the Holy Cross. As part of the Holy Cross Chapel Artists Series, Maguire will perform works by Baroque composers and Brahms, Mendelssohn and Lionel Rogg. The concert is free and open to the public. St. Joseph Chapel is handicapped accessible.

Maguire, the 2002 Organ Scholar at Holy Cross, is the First Prize and Prize of the Audience winner of the 2005 Andre Marchal International Organ Competition, Biarritz, France. He is the first American to ever win this prestigious competition.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Damon Linker, Ph.D. in political science, will give a talk titled “Theocons at War” on Oct. 24 at 4 p.m. in Rehm Library of Smith Hall at the College of the Holy Cross. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The talk will address religion in the campaign of 2004. “Theocons at War” tells the story of a group of largely Catholic religious conservatives who have been working for the last few decades – off the radar of the mainstream media – to roll back secular liberalism and fashion a theocratic governing philosophy for the United States. Linker will tell their story and evaluate the group’s impact on American politics.

Linker is the former editor of First Things, a magazine that covers religious and cultural issues and moral questions confronting Americans today. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, First Things, Commentary, The Review of Metaphysics, National Review, and The Review of Politics. He was a visiting assistant professor in the department of political science at Brigham Young University from 1998-2000.

His first book, The Theocons, will be published by Doubleday in fall 2006.

The lecture is sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holden resident Frederick J. Murphy of the religious studies department at the College of the Holy Cross has just published his sixth book An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels (Abingdon Press).

An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels introduces readers to the four Gospels by discussing the variety of ways in which the Gosepls are studied, describing their historical, cultural and literary contexts, and analyzing each biblical gospel in depth. In addition, the book goes beyond biblical sources by surveying gospels outside the Bible. All gospels were written a generation or more after the death of Jesus, so the book also explains how historians attempt to study the historical Jesus. Also, there is a chapter on why Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were chosen for inclusion in the Bible, to the exclusion of others.

A member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1983, Murphy served as the Joseph Visiting Professor at Boston College, a one-year endowed chair, during the 2004-2005 academic year. He is an adjunct professor at Anna Maria College and has taught at Harvard Divinity School and Assumption College. He is a frequent lecturer in parishes throughout the Worcester Diocese.

Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, a master’s degree in religion and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian origins from Harvard University. He also studied at the Weston School of Theology and the University of London.

He is the recipient of the 2001 Distinguished Teaching Award, in recognition of his dedication to teaching at Holy Cross.

WORCESTER, Mass. – Chris Lowney, author of the critically-acclaimed book A Vanished World: Medieval Spain’s Golden Age of Enlightenment (Free Press, 2005), will give a talk at the College of the Holy Cross on Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom. The talk is free and open to the public.

All Class of 2009 students who entered Holy Cross this fall were to have read A Vanished World over the summer. The book is a history of Spain and the complex interactions among Jews, Muslims and Christians.

In a starred review, Publishers Weekly said, “This bold and compassionate articulation of medieval Spanish history, with its complex interactions among Jews, Muslims and Christians, speaks directly to contemporary international crises … This engrossing and illuminating book deserves the attention of a wide public.”

Lowney is the author of Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World (Loyola Press, 2003). He lives in New York, where he is special assistant to the president of the Catholic Medical Mission Board, the leading U.S.-based Catholic charity providing health-care programs to the world’s people. He has traveled to Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and India to help launch CMMB’s major initiatives targeted at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.

At least 20 percent of Lowney’s royalties from the U.S. editions of his works are donated to charities providing education and health care to impoverished children in the developing world.