Gina Cargas '14 reviews Red Light Winter playing at the Kitchen Theatre

Cuts to theatre, film, and dance have impacted many programs and different groups. 

Ithaca Shakespeare Company presents The Knight of the Burning Pestle, a revamped version of Beaumont's original. The group confuses, comments on and complicates the audience's relationship to the play, creating an inclusive and entertaining show.

Running on little to no sleep is unfortunately a general fact of life at Cornell, but not one that students embrace happily. A notable exception to this is a group of 15 dedicated students who took part in the 24 Hour Playfest, performed in Schwartz’s Black Box Theater on Saturday. The playfest has become a Schwartz Center tradition conducted every semester, starting in the spring of last year.

My girlfriend and I spent the second half of spring break in New York City, but Thursday was really all we needed. We took a walk through the Met, where I was fascinated by Monet’s “Ice Floes.” Next time you’re there, check it out. At first glance, it’s just a white blur, nondescript and non-engaging — but the longer I stared at it, the more colors I saw, the more detail I discovered. It’s the most beautiful painting I’ve ever seen.

After a few days under the sun searching for seashells in the sands of Sanibel Island, Florida, I returned to my native New York to do what I always do on break: go to the theater with my mom and aunt. Sadly, it was a total bust this time around.

Are you in grave danger? The characters in Hernani are, especially the title character and his lover, Doña Sol. Hernani — given a gender-reversing spin by Bridget Saracino ’11 — is a bandit chased by the authorities, while Doña Sol (Sharisse Taylor) is engaged to marry her uncle, the Duke (Marc Hem Lee ’10). The couple must overcome these obstacles in order to be together in this entertaining and over-the-top melodrama, directed by Katherine Karaus ’10.

Ithaca circa 2008 is certainly not England under Queen Victoria’s rule. In today’s society there are rules, of course, but where are the Victorian manners? We wear polos — not play it — and the extravagant hats of the 19th century just don’t seem to be the style anymore. But more importantly, the language of our lives — short and sweet and slangy as it is — is nothing compared to the ornamented, scathing, elaborate wit of Oscar Wilde’s England. Written over 100 years ago, The Importance of Being Earnest is certainly a product of its times: Its characters talk about fashion and literature and romantic philosophies that we’ve only read about in history books, and they regularly say things like, “How perfectly delightful!”