Inside Iowa State

January 14, 2005

Filmmaker to discuss documentary on Till murder

University offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 17, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Several events were held this week to mark the birthday of King, a civil rights activist. A community birthday party in remembrance of King will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, at 210 S. Fifth St.

The King observance will continue Tuesday, Jan. 25, in the Memorial Union Sun Room with a lecture by Keith Beauchamp on "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till."

Till was 14 in 1955 when he was beaten, mutilated and shot to death for talking to, and maybe whistling at, a white woman in a local grocery store. His body was tossed into the Tallahatchie River near Money, Miss.

Beauchamp is a filmmaker whose documentary on the Till murder recently was featured on CBS's 60 Minutes. As a result of his work, the U.S. Department of Justice last year reopened the 50-year-old murder case. Following a viewing of the documentary, Beauchamp will lead an audience discussion.

ISU Theatre spring season begins with monologues

A poetic celebration of women (Talking With), a lonely little girl who restores life to her family (The Secret Garden) and a Jewish girl coming of age during the Holocaust (Diary of Anne Frank) are among the ISU Theatre productions this spring.

The Roman comedy Pseudolus will round out the season.

Through a series of monologues, Talking With takes a comedic look at the experiences, perspectives and voices of women, from the actress who threatens to kill her cat if she is not cast to the evangelical snake charmer to the housewife lost in Oz. (7:30 p.m. Jan. 27-29, 2 p.m. Jan. 30, $13, Maintenance Shop)

Diary of Anne Frank, the play about a Jewish girl who recorded her experiences in an Amsterdam attic during the Holocaust, has won virtually every coveted prize in theater, including the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Critics Circle Award. (7:30 p.m. Feb. 25-26 and March 4-5; 2 p.m. Feb. 27 and March 6, $13, Fisher Theater)

Pseudolus, this semester's student-produced play, explores the exploits of the Roman slave Pseudolus, who can win his freedom if he deceives a pimp, reunites young lovers, tricks a slave, wins a bet and helps his master's son -- all in one day. (7:30 p.m. March 24-26, 2 p.m. March 27, $6; Maintenance Shop)

The Secret Garden musical tells the story of orphan Mary Lennox, who wins over her grieving uncle's heart by nursing a garden back to life. (7:30 p.m. April 8-9, 15-16; 2 p.m. April 10 and 17; $18; Fisher Theater)

Tickets are available at the Iowa State Center ticket office, 4-3347.

Symposium features Florence

The department of music will host a symposium on the Italian city of Florence Jan. 28-29 at Tye Hall, Music. There is no admission fee for the events, which begin at 7:30 p.m. both days.

Niccolo Capponi, an authority on the military history of Europe, will give the symposium's opening lecture on Friday. Capponi's topic is "Political, Military and Cultural Implications of the Sack of Rome, 1527."

Musica Antiqua will be featured during a concert Saturday entitled "Music from the Time of the Sack of Rome, 1527."

Where's Bob?

Do you know where university photographer Bob Elbert spotted this sculpture? In a vast spot on a hill.

Answer

University photographer Bob Elbert found the marble sculpture above in the atrium of the Gerdin Business Building. Escalieta I by Manuel Neri is part of University Museums' Art on Campus collection.