Down River – Nov. 20, 2014
A Little Power in Central PA:
In case you missed it, state lawmakers returned to Harrisburg last week and took care of some housekeeping, namely lining up the leadership pecking order for the state House and Senate in the wake of the November election.
Lo and behold, the mid-state area, not exactly the population center of Pennsylvania, is well represented in those leadership categories.
The biggest change occurred in the state Senate where Centre County’s own Jake Corman displaced Dominic Pileggi, the Senate Majority Leader since 2007.
Corman joined with Clinton County’s relatively newly minted Senator Joe Scarnati of Brockway in engineering the change at the top of the Republican Senate leadership team; Scarnati will stay on as Senate President pro-tem.
One analyst said the change represented growing influence among conservatives in the GOP caucus, the leadership slot moving from suburban Philadelphia to the more politically conservative Centre County.
And state Rep. Mike Hanna (Democrat-Lock Haven) retained his position as Minority Whip in the state House. Hanna had been concerned his slot might be in danger, given that House Democrats collectively didn’t fare well in the Nov. 4 election.
Add it up and Clinton County is represented by the President pro tem in the Senate and the Minority Whip in the House and has what the locals on both sides of the aisle consider a friend in nearby Centre County in Jake Corman from Bellefonte, your new senate Majority Leader.
Now if they all can join with our new governor and get some problems solved, that would be swell.
Fair and Balanced:
No, we’re not talking about Fox News (obviously); we’re referring instead to the well done and well received documentary Happy Valley, the latest creation from director Amir Bar-Lev, the post-Jerry Sandusky scandal offering which had its Pennsylvania premier in Happy Valley last Friday.
The State Theater audience was polite and attentive throughout the showing, gasping a bit when the footage of the unfortunate, heavy handed Joe Paterno firing episode was shown and hissing a bit when NCAA executive director Mark Emmert appeared on screen. And there was applause at the end.
A check of the audience showed a mixed demographic, virtually all white, none in any conspicuous Penn State gear. The only attendee of note Down River spotted was Penn State’s venerable, now-retired radio play-by-play man Fran Fisher. And the only film reference to Clinton County was part of a montage of central Pennsylvania scenes, this one in particular a shot of Fishing Creek meandering through Mill Hall.
Director Bar-Lev was present in the State Theater for a post-showing question-and-answer with theater-goers who came out opening night.
Bar-Lev came across as did his film, reasonable and rational in attempting to deconstruct the storyline following Sandusky’s arrest in November of 2011.
Bar-Lev said his documentary was not a piece of journalism, but rather a piece of art: “The idea of art, I think, is to have you leave the theater wanting to be a better person and you can’t quite put your finger on why.”
He said viewers would have a “slightly different take” on the film, a response he called gratifying. “It’s such a complex story that I don’t think there should be simplistic takeaways of one kind or another.” He called his offering “a conversation starter, not an ender.”
And he challenged the view of one audience member who wasn’t happy with the film’s representation of Matt Sandusky, Jerry Sandusky’s adopted son. The audience member called the younger Sandusky, still living in Centre County, a liar. But Bar-Lev responded, “I think Jerry Sandusky is a liar, not Matt.”
As for the ultimate rendering on the of the Penn State administration role in the Sandusky scandal, Bar-Lev concurred with the Down River view that the truth has yet to come out. If and when it does, he said, don’t look for a sequel to his finely crafted Happy Valley, a provocative thought starter on the Sandusky tragedy.
Wolverine as Ex-BEN Teacher?
For local followers of the theater, you’ll be interested to know dates have been set and the artistic crew lined up for next spring’s Broadway debut of “Fun Home,” the acclaimed musical based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Beech Creek native Alison Bechdel.
Preview date is April 4, opening night April 22 at Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway.
If you read The Record and this column you know the story line: Alison Bechdel’s struggles with her sexuality and her relationship with her father, the late Bruce Bechdel, a Beech Creek funeral director and former English teacher at Bald Eagle-Nittany High School.
The cast for the Broadway production has yet to be announced, but one actor of some acclaim has taken note of the play and the challenge it would present.
Hugh Jackman can’t audition for the part because he is soon to open on Broadway in another play, “The River.” But in a recent New York Times story he noted how the occasional movie star such as Richard Burton would keep going “back to new plays to stay sharp.”
Asked if he would ever consider being a replacement actor in another play, he said there would be one role he would do; that would be, as the Times put it, “the closeted gay father who commits suicide in the musical ‘Fun Home.’” Jackman said he would opt in, calling the role “an astonishing part.”
