BOOK REVIEW: A Wrinkle In Time

Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me was almost a homage to Madeleine L’Engle’s A WRINKLE IN TIME. It has been years since I read this classic and thought that it was time for a return read. It was even better reading it as an adult. So no matter your age or if it has been years since you travelled with Meg Murry, her small brother, and their friend, Calvin to rescue Mr. Murry, you might want to give it a try.

Meg, her mother, and brother, Charles Wallace first meet Mrs. Whatsit on a dark and stormy night. Charles Wallace seems to understand this unusual visitor and later that night takes Meg and Calvin to meet two other women, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Witch.  The three beings explain that they are there to take the children to find Meg and Charles Wallace’s father. What follows is an exciting journey through the galaxy.

One thing that I like about a L’Engle book is that she never talks down to her readers. Mrs. Who has problems with putting her ideas into words so almost all of her conversation is made up of quotes: Shakespeare, the Bible, ancient Greek and Latin through French and several Native American tongues. Sometimes a translation is given, but it is taken for granted that the reader will pick up on the message.

I also like that L’Engle is a moral author. Her Christian values are obvious in the fight between light and dark. Mrs. Whatsit points out to a frightened Meg that God chooses the weak to do great things and that she has one thing in her that evil does not understand...love. This is an idea that also worked for Harry Potter.

A WRINKLE IN TIME has been around long enough to be considered a classic. It is a fantasy tale with some depth, full of thoughts that will stay with you long after the last page is read.

EVENT REVIEW: Bald Eagle Area High School Drama Club Fundraiser

The Bald Eagle Area High School Drama Club held their annual fundraiser, A Dessert Cabaret, last Saturday. This is one of the ways that the students gather the money for their trip to see a show on Broadway. If you look carefully, you can find the word “fun” in fundraiser. ( Did you find it?) The word is appropriate; it was truly a fun evening.

Walking into the high school cafeteria was enough to set the mood for the evening. Club advisors, Eric Brinser and Lindsey Allison, as well as several parents were at the door welcoming people and making us feel very much at home. The cafeteria had been transformed into a fancy dessert bar, with tempting displays of cookies, cupcakes, etc in addition to an area holding choices of beverages. It took all of my willpower to wait until all of my gang arrived.

The table decorations had been designed and executed by members of the drama club. Each table showcased one of the eighteen plays that Mr. Brinser and Ms Allison had done with the club over the past years. It was fun to walk around and try to guess the play represented. It was easy to find Beauty and the Beast and The Matchmaker, but I had more trouble finding Leaving Iowa. The audience was asked to drop their loose change into a provided cup to vote for the best display.The student whose table had the most votes had his or her trip to New York paid for. It was a clever way to raise money and made for a very festive venue for the entertainment to come.

Drama Club president, Cody Mandell and vice president, Meghan Shiels acted as MC’s for the evening and much could be said about the poise of these young people. It is not easy to keep control of an energetic, enthusiastic group of drama students, but everything seemed to be under control.

One thing that the evening lacked was a program of some type. I would love to give credit where credit is due of the performers, but I would only mention the names that I am familiar with and that would be grossly unfair to some faces that were new to me. Naturally it was a mixed bag of talents.

The acoustics in the cafeteria are not the best and I had problems hearing at times especially during some of the improv skits. That was not as big of a problem as it could have been though. It was fun watching young people having fun and really enjoying their interactions with their peers. One thing that stood out to this old drama coach is that these kids are taking some good, basic classes in theatre.

The evening raised over $500 to be shared by the students toward their trip to see Les Miserables. The winner of the tabletop contest was Fulton Lucas for his representation of The Secret Garden.

If you would like to support these budding  thespians, please save the following dates: January 31st and February 1st will be their production of James and the Giant Peach, and April 24th-26th will be their spring musical Shrek. To say that I am eagerly waiting to see who gets cast in this one would be an understatement. It should be fun.