Tag: Grace Whitman ’22
Look How Far We’ve Come, Providence College
by John Downey '23 on May 6, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Look How Far We’ve Come, Providence College
Quinn XCII Performs at PC’s 2022 Spring Concert
By Grace Whitman ’22
Two years ago, the Providence College student body was excited to return to campus after spring break to see Two Friends and Matoma perform at Spring Concert 2020, but the world had other plans. Yet throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Friar community showed resilience and perseverance, making it possible for Spring Concert to return to campus for the first time in three years last Saturday, April 30.
This year’s concert took place in Peterson Recreation Center and was headlined by Quinn XCII and featured opener DJ Clockwork. It was the most-attended Spring Concert in PC’s history, a testament to how the campus community is truly soaking in every in-person moment of this school year. As Quinn XCII sings, “This is All We’ve Ever Wanted, Look How Far We’ve Come.”
BOP’s Entertainment committee, chaired by Gracie Higgins ’22, has been working tirelessly all year to make Spring Concert happen after receiving some pushback from the administration related to safety concerns. Higgins said of the concert, “It’s absolutely incredible, as it’s the first Spring Concert that anyone on the Board has worked because of COVID-19. It has been incredible to watch it come into place behind the scenes, something that none of us had been able to experience before from this angle.”
Quinn XCII got his start on SoundCloud and achieved more mainstream success with his songs like “Love Me Less” with MAX, “Stacy,” and “Stay Next to Me” featuring Chelsea Cutler, who performed at PC in January 2019.
When asked why the board selected Quinn XCII for Spring Concert, Higgins said, “We chose him because he is a fun, up-and-coming artist and one that a variety of students will enjoy regardless of their music taste. He also embodies a lot of Providence College’s values such as loving one another, enjoying yourself, and having a good time.”
The doors to Peterson opened at 7 P.M., and students filed in over the course of the next two hours until Quinn XCII hit the stage. He played for over an hour, performing some of his most well–known songs and repping a number 22 PC Hockey jersey. During his set, he mentioned that he has a strong connection to Rhode Island: he wrote his newest album, Change of Scenery II, in Newport last year.
PC’s campus has not had a “normal” spring semester since 2019, so with this year’s seniors graduating, Spring Concert and other second-semester campus traditions stood to be forgotten if they did not take place this year. As Higgins pointed out, “Spring Concert was on the verge of being lost entirely as a tradition for PC. As a senior this year and not having one since I was a freshman, if there wasn’t one this year, it might have been lost as a tradition.”
It is all about the scenery along the route, so to the Class of 2022, and the rest of the student body, enjoy the last few weeks of the year—and enjoy another day in paradise.
A Course in Girlbossing and Curious George
by John Downey '23 on April 22, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
A Course in Girlbossing and Curious George
Six Gents Delights With Another Hilarious Show
By Grace Whitman ’22
After postponing their Thursday, March 30 show, Six Gents was back and better than ever on Monday, April 11. Given that the group also moved the show from its typical 11 p.m.. start, to an hour earlier at 10 p.m., it should come as no surprise that the Angell Blackfriars Theatre was almost completely filled with students eager to see Providence College’s best—and only—sketch comedy group deliver a highly-anticipated performance.
The packed house made for the perfect opportunity for the club to introduce their three new gents. To do so, the group headed to Hogwarts. However, because the sorting hat was unavailable, Jack Grosso ’22 filled in and determined the characteristics that new gents Trish Nee ’23, Santi Najarro Cano ’24, and Dom Dasilva ’24 would bring to the club by placing his hands on their heads and “reading their minds.”
After this hilarious opening, the first full skit of the night commenced. Titled “Da Boyz,” it saw Dasilva and Abbie O’Connell ’22 play husband and wife. Dasilva and some of his guy friends “watched football” at the couple’s home—and by watching football, viewers soon realized, they meant doing things that were very decidedly not watching football, such as making plans to attend a Big Time Rush concert, discussing how to perfect charcuterie boards, and debating whether they were team Cassie or Maddie from Euphoria. Aidan Benjamin ’23 told O’Connell that she needed to get her hearing checked when she questioned what they were actually talking about, but at the end of the skit, she caught them red handed, having a dance party.
Another memorable sketch was called “Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss.” Written by O’Connell, it follows her as she teaches a few of the other female Gents what it means to gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss. Analisa Pisano ’23 expressed concern that gaslighting someone is a form of bullying, but O’Connell reassured her that as long as she throws up a peace sign and sticks out her tongue while she does it, it is perfectly okay.
The skit “Curious George,” was one that Grosso, who created the sketch, had been wanting to perform since his sophomore year. However, until now, the other gents vetoed it. Grosso played the iconic Man in the Yellow Hat from the beloved PBS Kids show and had the audience in stitches when they realized that Curious George was the man’s imaginary friend and not an actual monkey.
Emma Harrington ’22 stole the show with some improv stand-up comedy. Asking for two volunteers from the audience, stipulating that they must be okay with “being roasted,” her quick wit was truly incredible, with hard-hitters like, “sorry I’m running low on content, just like those socks” and “did you wear that outfit on the first day of middle school?” The chosen audience members were great sports about coming up on stage and helped make the show one to remember.
One of the final skits of the night was based on Harrington’s on-campus job as a resident assistant. The audience watched as in the span of one night, she had three separate groups knock on her door with absolutely bizarre scenarios. The situations were meant to be exaggerations of some of the real problems that RAs have to deal with, but in reality, they were not too far off, which made the entire sketch all the more hilarious. From a fight between roommates about one of them having her boyfriend over too much to there being poop on the dorm stairwell, Harrington saved the day with her special RA skills.
Six Gents’ final show of the year will be on May 4, and, as such, will be Star Wars-themed. Make sure to come down to the Smith Center for the Arts to support the group!
Dear Providence College
by John Downey '23 on April 22, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Dear Providence College,
Today is Going to be a Good Day, and Here’s Why…
Grace Whitman ’22
Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of suicide.
Broadway is back, and the Providence Performing Arts Center is up and running with a long list of hit musicals slated to run at the venue this year.
PC students recently had the opportunity to see one of these shows for themselves. On Wednesday, April 6, the Board of Programmers scheduled a trip to PPAC, located in downtown Providence, for a performance of the six-time Tony award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen.
The show follows Evan Hansen, a high schooler with severe anxiety, and his journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance after his classmate Connor Murphy commits suicide. The show does a great job of sharing how social media affects young adults’ mental health, an issue that has become increasingly dire since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national tour of Dear Evan Hansen boasts a cast with impressive resumes. Stephen Christopher Anthony, who plays the titular character, has had a long career on Broadway. He started out as a cast member of the Book of Mormon in New York, performing in the ensemble and as the understudy for Elder McKinley. In 2018, he became the understudy for Evan Hansen. He soon took over the role full-time on the Dear Evan Hansen national tour. Moreover, Stephanie La Rochelle, who plays Zoe Murphy in the show, appeared in the original Canadian production before joining this tour.
In addition to the actors, the show’s set contributes to the magic of Dear Evan Hansen. At the PPAC performance, hanging projection screens of scrolling social media feeds illuminated a bare stage with few set pieces. With much of the show consisting of characters speaking to one another online, this setup made the actors look like holograms coming out of cell phones, creating an uncanny, innovative effect.
For those who were not able to make it to PPAC for Dear Evan Hansen but are yearning to enjoy live theatre after the pandemic, the Lincoln Center Theater production of My Fair Lady will be at PPAC from May 11 to May 15. This will be the last show at the theater before the end of PC’s spring semester. However, for those who live in the Providence area or are willing to make the trip, more exciting shows are coming to PPAC later in the year: Jersey Boys on June 2 and 3, Mean Girls from Oct. 4 to Oct. 9, and Les Misérables from Nov. 15 to Nov. 20. Additionally, some shows have already been announced for the spring of 2023, including Jagged Little Pill, Hadestown, and Beetlejuice.
BOP regularly provides discounted PPAC tickets to PC students. Aside from the Dear Evan Hansen trip, they have sponsored outings to shows like Aladdin and The Phantom of the Opera. Notably, however, PPAC also provides student rush tickets. These tickets are available at the Box Office window two hours prior to curtain time and are 50 percent off the regular price with a student ID. Either way, there are sure to be many opportunities for PC students to enjoy live theatre in the near future.
Sincerely,
Me
A Slap in the Face to Filmmakers Sharing Underrepresented Stories
by John Downey '23 on April 8, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
A Slap in the Face to Filmmakers Sharing Underrepresented Stories
A Recap of The 94th Academy Awards
Grace Whitman ’22
Art has the power to tell the stories of people who would otherwise be unrepresented and thus forgotten, and this year’s Academy Awards truly encapsulated this fact.
In 2020, the Academy, the governing body that oversees the Oscars, set new diversity requirements for movies seeking to be nominated for Best Picture. One of the major requirements is that “the film must either feature at least one lead actor or significant supporting actors from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, have at least 30 percent of all actors in secondary and more minor roles from at least two underrepresented groups or include a main storyline centered around an underrepresented group.”
Although these conditions will not become mandated until 2024, this year’s Best Picture perfectly captures the diversification of the Oscars that said conditions are intended to facilitate: Apple TV’s CODA, which is an acronym for Children of Deaf Adults.
CODA is a heartwarming story about a senior in high school named Ruby who is the only member of her immediate family who is hearing. For this reason, Ruby is a key asset to her family’s fishing business, but because of their dependency on her, Ruby struggles to tell them that she wants to study music—something her parents do not see beauty in—instead of working for the family business. A large portion of the film is in American Sign Language, and it truly brings to light the struggles that deaf people face every day.
In addition to CODA’s win for best picture, Troy Kotsur, who plays Ruby’s father in the movie, won Best Supporting Actor. Notably, Kotsur is the first deaf man to win an Academy Award for acting. His win and moving acceptance speech brought the entire audience to their feet with silent applause.
Another major winner of the night was Ariana Dubose for her role of Anita in the newest adaptation of West Side Story. In her acceptance speech as the first openly queer Afro-Latina to win an Oscar for acting, she said, “Now you see why that Anita says, ‘I want to be in America,’ because even in this weary world that we live in, dreams do come true.”
Other notable winners were Billie Eilish and her brother FINNEAS, who won Best Original Song with “No Time to Die,” Jane Campion, who won Best Director for her work on The Power of the Dog, and Disney’s Encanto, which won Best Animated Feature.
Evidently, the films nominated at the Oscars this year were created by empowered filmmakers and actors that were able to tell great stories. Unfortunately, however, their art was overshadowed by Will Smith’s altercation with Chris Rock.
The altercation began after Rock made an offensive joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Pinkett Smith recently found out that she has alopecia—an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss—which led her to shave her head. In an attempt to be humorous, Rock compared her to G.I. Jane. Attendees and viewers at home alike could clearly see Pinkett Smith’s disgust with the joke, followed by Smith walking on stage and slapping Rock across the face. Neither those present at the Oscars nor those at home immediately knew if the incident was staged or authentic.
Later in the evening, the answer to this question became clear. Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in King Richard as the father and coach of famous tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. In his acceptance speech, Smith said, “Love will make you do crazy things” in reference to his earlier altercation with Rock, asserting that he will do anything for the people he loves, just like his character Richard Williams always did for his family.
Overall, while Smith and Rock’s confrontation at the 94th Annual Academy Awards was a bit of a slap in the face to the nominated individuals and projects that aimed to share underrepresented stories, the presence of such individuals and projects marks a promising trend for future Oscars.
Laughing Their Hearts Out
by John Downey '23 on March 3, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Laughing Their Hearts Out
Six Gents’ Valentine’s Day Show
Grace Whitman ’22
Even though many students stayed up late last Tuesday night for the Providence vs. Villanova Men’s Basketball game, an impressive number of them came to the Smith Center to enjoy the Six Gent’s Valentine’s Day show at 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
For each four shows that they have put on so far this academic year, the Gents wrote mini-acts to fill the transition time between different skits, ranging from mad libs that get the audience involved to some “top trending” Google search questions about each Gent. The Valentine’s Day show was no exception, featuring a few rounds of speed-dating, similar to the Celebrity Dating Show, in which a “mystery Gent” was paired with an audience member and both students were asked questions testing their compatibility and whether they would like to go on a second date. For example, the “contestants” were asked questions like, “what’s the most embarrassing text you’ve ever received?” and “would you be open to relocating to the Chicago suburbs for love?”
One of the night’s crowd-favorite sketches was written by Christina Charie ’25. The skit followed Coach Cooley as he lost Huxley somewhere on campus. “Cooley” (Aidan Benjamin ’23) is frantic about finding Huxley before the next game, but then finds out that Friar Dom let Huxley get hit by the Friar Night Life Shuttle out of spite because Cooley allowed Huxley to steal his spotlight as a new mascot five years ago. The most shocking plot twist, however, came at the end of the skit: “Cooley” and the audience learned that Huxley actually had not gotten hit by the Friar Nite Shuttle—he was just drunk at Brad’s.
Another memorable sketch was 50 Shades of Love. Written by Andy Belotte ’25, it starred Benjamin as Ben, a man hoping to win over a girl named Carla (Analisa Pisano ’23). When Ben is too nervous to shoot his shot with Carla, “Nate Watson” (Belotte) is brought in to give Ben his best tips for winning the girl over. “Watson” explains to Ben that he uses his TikTok fame as a selling point to impress the girls he’d previously struck out with. Abbie O’Connell ’22 enters the scene as Doris Burke. She, like “Watson,” tries to help Ben but fails, as Ben finally builds up the nerve to tell Carla his feelings only for her to confess that her true love is Watson.
The Family Restaurant sketch, written by Emma Harrington ’22, was yet another highlight of the show. It followed Benjamin and Sydney Cahill ’22 on a date at a family restaurant that takes a turn for the worse when they realize that they are in the middle of a Kitchen Nightmares episode starring Gordon Ramsay, played by Harrington in a spot-on impression. Over the course of the skit, the restaurant family and their strong personalities come out of the kitchen, yelling at one another. Pisano’s Italian accent, in particular, left the audience in shambles.
This past week, Six Gents had their spring auditions, so be on the lookout for new members at their next show!
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
by John Downey '23 on February 18, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
A Delightful Parody of the Female Psychological Thriller Genre
Grace Whitman ’22
Everyone has seen the “Let’s Hide Behind the Chainsaws” Geico commercial mocking the fact that people in horror movies often make poor decisions which result in their deaths. Netflix’s new original series, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in Window, pokes fun at that same concept.
The name itself is a ridiculous spoof on several mystery psychological thrillers and their unrealistic plotlines, including The Woman in the Window (2021), The Girl on the Train (2016), and Rebecca (2020). Netflix’s new parody points at familiar plotlines about women attempting to solve a murder on their own and in turn being gaslit and accused of crying wolf.
The eight-episode series follows Anna (Kristen Bell), who has become an alcoholic and ombrophobic—someone with a fear of the rain—following a recent divorce sparked by the death of her daughter on a rainy day. Against her therapist’s recommendations, Anna mixes full bottles of wine with her medications, which leads her to escape her traumatic reality through hallucinations. Across the street from Anna, a new, widowed neighbor Neil (Tom Riley) moves in with his daughter Emma (Samsara Yett). While enjoying a rainy night inside, Anna looks across the street into this neighbor’s window and witnesses Neil’s girlfriend being murdered. After calling 9-1-1 to report the murder, Anna collapses, overcome with her fear of the rain. Her quest to solve the mystery begins, despite being told she is “crazy” and imagining the whole situation.
As a viewer, it is difficult to determine which scenes are fantasies that take place in Anna’s head and which are actual events. This not only creates confusion for viewers, but also leads Anna to question her own sanity, particularly with regard to her capacity for violence, especially in light of how her community and local law enforcement gaslight her.
In addition to the obvious parodies of similar plotlines found in other psychological thrillers, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in Window also offers some comedic moments that poke fun at mystery movies and their perfectly-timed, ironic scenarios. For example, in The Woman in the Window, Anna Fox has crippling agoraphobia, whereas Anna in The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in Window has ombrophobia—and, of course, it always seems to be raining during intense scenes. This convenient coincidence, paired with the fact that the characters in the two thrillers are both women named Anna, makes for a delightful parody.
The series ends with a cliffhanger, setting the show up perfectly for a second season. However, with that being said, Rachel Ramras, co-creator of the series, has said that “it is a limited series and, in its conception, that’s how it ended. Part of the fun of the ending is that thrilling cliffhanger.” This choice is similar to how Gone Girl leaves viewers wondering what Nick and Amy Dunne’s life will be like in the future, with many questions and no clear answers.
Overall, as affirmed by its long run on Netflix’s Top 10 Chart, this deadpan psychological thriller is a must-watch for its spoof of the thriller genre.
Spotify Controversy: Upholding the Freedom of Speech or Enabling Misinformation?
by John Downey '23 on February 10, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Spotify Controversy: Upholding the Freedom of Speech or Enabling Misinformation?
Joni Mitchell & Neil Young Pull Their Catalogues from the Streaming Service in Protest
Grace Whitman ’22
Joni Mitchell is skating down the river she’s always wished for and away from Spotify.
Following Neil Young’s lead, the artist has officially removed her full discography from the streaming platform. Mitchell and Young are protesting what they feel is Spotify’s active promotion of misinformation about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic, as the streaming service is giving a platform to content creators such as Joe Rogan. In 2020, Spotify bought the rights to Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience for $100 million. The show has featured several controversial guests such as Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Peter McCullough, the latter of whom has claimed that the pandemic was deliberately planned and that the vaccines created to combat it are killing thousands of people. In response, 270 physicians and scientists wrote an open letter to Spotify demanding that the company do more to address misinformation about vaccines and the pandemic on its platform.
Spotify has defended their choice to keep The Joe Rogan Experience on their platform. They believe it is their duty to uphold free speech and allow different viewpoints to be expressed. Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek said, “With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators. We have detailed content policies in place, and we’ve removed over 20,000 podcast episodes related to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. We regret [artists’] decision to remove [their] music from Spotify but hope to welcome [them] back soon.”
Although Spotify has chosen to not censor The Joe Rogan Experience, protests from artists such as Young and Mitchell have led them to add disclaimers to podcast episodes that discuss COVID-19. Press Secretary Jen Psaki praised this move, but also demanded that the streaming giant do even more to limit the platform that they give to misinformation spreaders.
Many Spotify users are following Young and Mitchell’s lead and switching to other streaming platforms in protest. Martha DePoy ’22 is one of these protestors. When asked why she chose to cancel her Spotify subscription, she stated, “I’m switching to Apple Music because while I fully support free speech, I don’t agree with or support the platform Spotify has given to content creators who spread lies for money. If I’m going to pay for a streaming service, I want the music from all my favorite artists including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to be available to me.” With that being said, Rogan’s podcast garners millions of daily listeners, many more than Neil and Mitchell’s works, which presents an enormous financial opportunity for Spotify. This motive for Spotify’s course of action has left artists and music consumers alike wondering what the streaming giant’s mission is: are financial gains more important to the company than the health and safety of listeners?
Recap: The 2022 Golden Globes
by John Downey '23 on January 29, 2022
A&E Co-Editor
Arts & Entertainment
Recap: The 2022 Golden Globes
Controversy Overshadows This Year’s Ceremony
Grace Whitman ’22
In 2021, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the 78th Golden Globes. The pair used their opening monologue to bring to light the lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that selects the nominees and winners for the Golden Globes and also invites new members into the HFPA. At that point, not a single person on the 87-member committee was Black, which had been the case for over two decades.
Since last year’s Golden Globes, the HFPA has inducted 21 new members, including six Black journalists, five Asian journalists, 10 women, six Latinx individuals, and four individuals of Middle Eastern/North African descent. In a statement made after the announcement of the new members, HFPA President Helen Hoehne said, “We are building a new organization, one that is not focused on fulfilling quotas, but instead has diversity and inclusion at its core.”
The new members of the HFPA had immediate voting rights, and their impact was apparent in the 79th annual Golden Globes awards ceremony, which took place on Sunday, Jan. 9. However, the changes were not as well-received as the HFPA had hoped. NBC, which has hosted the Golden Globes for over 25 years, was particularly unimpressed by the seemingly performative nature of the HFPA’s changes: the network refused to air the Globes, leaving them unaired on television. Evidently, the show that was once the hottest ticket and known for kick-starting award season will be required to make additional internal changes before it can regain credibility.
Despite being unaired—as well as the additional challenges of Tom Cruise returning his three Golden Globes in 2021 and Scarlett Johannesson actively urging her fellow actors to boycott the award show in response to the HFPA’s lack of diversity—the Globes went on, though with no red carpet, no musical guests, and no guests or media outlets. Rather, the event primarily focused on the organization’s philanthropy.
The winners were announced on Twitter by the @goldenglobes verified account. The major awards went to The Power of the Dog for Best Motion Picture—Drama and West Side Story for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy. West Side Story, a remake of the 1961 film of the same name, also won for Best Supporting Actress with Ariana DeBose in the role of Anita and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy with Rachel Zegler in the role of Maria Vasquez. The Power of the Dog also won for Best Director with Jane Campion and Best Supporting Actor with Kodi Smit-McPhee in the role of Peter Gordon.
Other individual awards went to Will Smith for his role of Richard Williams in King Richard, Nicole Kidman for her role as Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, and Andrew Garfield for his role of Jonathon Larson in Tick, Tick… Boom! An awards season frontrunner since its release, Tick, Tick… Boom! sees Garfield bring Larson, writer of the Broadway show RENT, back to life and celebrate his incredible impact on musical theater. The film is directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
With regard to the future of the Golden Globes, NBC has expressed that it wants to give the HFPA time to resolve its problems and hopes that it will be possible to broadcast the event in 2023. Hopefully, this boycott will push the HFPA to make further, more meaningful internal changes and facilitate the advancement of inclusion in the entertainment industry.
Recap: Six Gents’ Thanksgiving Show
by The Cowl Editor on December 11, 2021
Arts & Entertainment
Recap: Six Gents’ Thanksgiving Show
Student Performers Make Audience Thankful for Laughter
Grace Whitman ’22
On Tuesday, Nov. 16, Providence College students made the trek down to the Smith Center for the Arts for Six Gents’ second show of the semester, “A Six Gents Thanksgiving.”
Since auditions for the comedy group were held last month, the show started with personal introductions for the new members of the club. Instead of simply introducing them, however, the group performed a skit written in the style of an interrogation. President Sydney Cahill ’22 and Vice President Jack Grosso ’22 led the questioning, trying to figure out if Emma Harrington ’22, Christina Charie ’25 and Andy Belotte ’25 were ready to join the group and determine if they could get Six Gents more funding for their budget. Cahill, Grosso, and audience members discovered that, as a member of Student Congress, Belotte was perfectly positioned to obtain some additional funding from Congress.
One of the most memorable skits was a play on the Lifetime show Dance Moms. On the show, dance teacher Abby Lee Miller regularly ranks her dancers, pyramid-style, based on their performances from the previous weekend. Harrington, who played Abby Lee Miller, ranked Maddie Ziegler (Aidan Benjamin ’23) on the top of the pyramid, per usual, and choreographed an interpretive dance for Maddie and JoJo Siwa (Katie Vennard ’22) to perform inspired by the wreck of the Titanic. When JoJo and Maddie’s moms didn’t approve of the number, Jill Vertes, played by Belotte, thought it could be a perfect opportunity for “her little Kendall.”
Growing up, most students probably watched Bill Nye the Science Guy’s videos on rolling TV carts in elementary school and smart boards as they grew older to learn about science topics ranging from the phases of matter to static electricity. The next skit played on the idea that as students grow up, Bill Nye, played by Benjamin, has some mature topics to teach them about in the new and improved Bill Nye the Science Guy program.
Six Gents was originally created to serve as a Saturday Night Live-style sketch group so, for the Thanksgiving show, Cahill and Analisa Pisano ’23 paid homage to the show by doing a Weekend Update skit pretending to be Michael Che and Colin Jost. In the fictional news program, the hosts cracked some jokes about Dean Sears’ emails and “new Ray.” They also brought in special guest Grosso to play a game of Taylor Swift Trivia. With Red (Taylor’s Version) recently released, Pisano and Cahill asked Grosso to finish the lyrics of her songs. He was able to nail “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “You Belong with Me,” but the crowd let out an enthusiastic “boo” when he didn’t know the lyrics to “All Too Well.”
In between each of the skits, Six Gents members asked the audience for words to substitute for blanks in a story before reading aloud in a game of Mad Libs. When asked for a store, “PC Mart” was thrown out, and some funny nouns included “Jake Gyllenhal” and “bowling ball.” To wrap up the show, the gents read the hilariously random mad lib that the audience created together.
Students looking for more laughs were able to enjoy Six Gents Holiday show last night, and the group is sure to have more amazing performances next semester.
Album Review: Ed Sheeran’s “=”
by The Cowl Editor on November 18, 2021
Arts & Entertainment
Album Review: Ed Sheeran’s “=”
The British Superstar is Back and “Ed”-er Than Ever
Grace Whitman ’22
Ed Sheeran’s album “=” was released on Oct. 29 and showcases a new chapter in the British singer’s life. Sheeran has always been a poetic storyteller, and this album clearly shows how he has matured as a person.
Amid COVID-19, his wife Cherry Seaborn gave birth to their daughter Lyra and the new father stepped away from music and the spotlight for over a year. He also went dark on social media. While the emotional growth he experienced during this time is certainly evident on “=,” his musical growth is not as clear. Indeed, the record’s tracks consistently have a predictable sound.
“=” is Sheeran’s fourth album with a mathematical symbol as a title, following “+,” “x,” and “÷”. With themes of marriage and parenthood consistent throughout, one may interpret the title “=” to be a nod to how Sheeran feels content and at peace with the place he is at in his life.
The album starts with a reflective song, “Tides,” on which Sheeran shares how his perspective on life has changed. He sings, “I have grown up, I am a father now/Everything has changed but I am still the same somehow.” With the use of tides as a metaphor for the changes that have occurred in his life, this song sets the tone for the rest of the album and would be the perfect song to open up a stadium concert.
The singles from the album are “Bad Habits,” “Shivers,” and “Visiting Hours.” “Bad Habits” is one of the most popular songs on the radio right now, but its sound is extremely predictable and seems to have been meticulously crafted to be a radio song. Notably, with regard to both the lyrical content and sound of the song, “Shivers” is very similar to “Bad Habits,” evidencing Sheeran’s lack of musical growth on “=.”
Nonetheless, Sheeran is still arguably one of the greatest songwriters of the generation. Some of his most beloved songs are emotional ballads that are not released solely for radio streams. For instance, “Visiting Hours,” a tearjerker like “Supermarket Flowers” from his album “÷,” was written as a way to grieve after the death of his close musical mentor Michael Gudinski. The built harmony within the song reveals the magnitude of pain Sheeran experienced in the aftermath of Gudinski’s death and the lyrics express his desperate wish for heaven to have visiting hours.
Other notable tracks off the album include “Overpass Graffiti,” a song about an old love that, like graffiti, will never fade, and “2step,” a hip-hop track similar to several songs from his No.6 Collaboration Project that includes several rap verses.
Overall, throughout “=,” Sheeran reflects on becoming a husband and a father and experiencing loss. As made apparent through both his lyrics and the emotion conveyed through his voice, this album is an altogether cohesive project that gives fans a deeper glimpse into Sheeran’s life.