Volume CXXXI, Number 21 April 12, 2002 f

One-acts, music benefit AIDS project
TED REINERT
STAFF WRITER

Audiences will be entertained by a combination of music and drama, and their money will go to a good cause this weekend at a pair of benefit shows for AIDS Project Portland. The benefits will be held in Kresge Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

At Friday night's performance, three of Bowdoin's a cappella groups-the Meddies, Miscellania, and BOCA-will sing, alternating with three one act plays-"The Philadelphia," "Alternative Lifestyles," and "Sure Thing." The finale of the show is a preview of Masque & Gown's upcoming "Hair." The cast of the musical, which will be performed in full April 20-21 and 24-28, will perform the song "Starshine." On Saturday night, the vocal-guitar duo of seniors Jeanne Nicholson and Emily Rizza will replace the Meddies and BOCA.

Senior Lydia Lundgren organized a similar event in high school and decided to do it again at Bowdoin. The Portland organization provides "HIV prevention education, advocacy, and support services," according to their website at www.aidsproject.org. They also maintain a hotline and provide anonymous testing. There will be information tables at the benefits.

"I think it's an important cause, but also one that sometimes lacks a public voice," Lundgren said. The benefits are not connected to Sexual Awareness week; the available stage time just happened to fall on this weekend.

The thespians in the first one act, "The Philadelphia," described their play as "a postmodern theatrical experience exploring the philosophical transmutation of locality employing unconventional methodologies." It has no connection with the Tom Hanks movie "Philadelphia."