Entertainment - The McKendree Review

McK Improv Heads Off Campus to Looking Glass Playhouse

17Oct

By Elana MelzerNo Comments

Entertainment

McK Improv Heads Off Campus to Looking Glass Playhouse

By Elana Melzer, Head Producer of McK Radio Title photo: McK Improv flyer for their upcoming show, designed by Madison Bonner. McK Improv will be taking their humor and wit off campus for the first time to the Looking Glass Playhouse on 301 W. St. Louis St. in Lebanon, Ill. for a performance Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. The entry cost will be $5 for general audience and $3 for McKendree students who show their school ID. The McK Improv Club has shown off their skills in the past by having two performances at 1828 Café: one in the fall of 2024 and the other in the spring of 2025. Madison Bonner, a 3rd year at McKendree, got the chance to perform in the spring show. While she had some stage fright being up there for the first time, she mentioned that the practices helped her to build more c...

3Mar

By Catalyst TeamNo Comments

Entertainment

McKendree’s 2025 Catalyst

This year’s student editors are excited to work on Catalyst, McKendree’s student-run undergraduate arts and literary magazine. Catalyst is a way for students to be recognized for their art, short stories, poetry, and creative non-fiction. Catalyst gives students a chance to express their love for art and literature, which originated as a website in 2016, while Catalyst has been a printed magazine for over 30 years, starting in 1991. Submissions for the 2025 Catalyst are due March 21st, so get your art in so the student editors can get to work! With each year comes new excitement and creative students. A past contributor, Sonia Halabi, who read her poem at the Academic Excellence Celebration last year, talked about her experience, saying, “Presenting at AEC was a very beautiful fe...

McKendree Theatre to Perform Night of the Living Dead

25Oct

By Madison RohnNo Comments

Campus Events, Campus News, Entertainment

McKendree Theatre to Perform Night of the Living Dead

By Madison Rohn, Lead Editor Photography by Michelle Magnussen The undead will roam the Hett stage this weekend! McKendree Theatre is performing Night of the Living Dead Live! as their fall play, which will debut this Friday the 25th at 7:30 pm. The play follows six strangers as they try to survive the night in an abandoned farmhouse surrounded by hordes of flesh-eating zombies. The play is a comedic adaptation of the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. The film, directed by George Romero, was one of the first zombie movies and was met with controversy at the time of its release for its realistic horror images, bleak ending and for having a Black protagonist. But since then, the film has become a horror classic and has greatly influenced the zombie genre. The play adaptation a...

Say “Yes, And” to McKendree’s Newest Club!

27Sep

By Madison BonnerNo Comments

Entertainment

Say “Yes, And” to McKendree’s Newest Club!

By Madison Bonner, Writer Photography by Madison Bonner Are you interested in acting but may not want to perform in plays? If so, there’s a new opportunity on campus–Improv Club! Improv is a form of acting that is completely unscripted and created on the spot by actors. Acting without a script challenges you to think on your feet and adapt to different circumstances. This builds confidence and communication skills that can be applied outside of acting. The club provides a laid-back atmosphere where the members can learn while having fun and building relationships on campus. McKendree’s Improv Club was founded by its current president, Dow White. Dow is a sophomore majoring in communication and minoring in political science. On campus he is involved as a chaplain intern for Campus...

3Sep

By Grace GrossNo Comments

Entertainment

Bogey’s Book Club

By: Grace Gross, Lead Editor Photography by Grace Gross and Office of University Communications and Marketing Welcome back to campus, Bearcats! I hope everyone’s summer was warm and fun. Now that we are all back, I want to introduce one of the new features on campus this year: Bogey’s Book Club! You can find Bogey’s Book Club at 1828 Cafe, near Carnegie Hall. It may not be perfect, but it is still a great addition to the McKendree campus! Bogey’s Book Club is a free book library, meaning all the books inside the library are available for anyone to take! You may leave a book for others to enjoy or find yourself a new read. With this project, I hope students and faculty will donate their old textbooks because buying and renting textbooks can be expensive. After you’ve used...

Literary Interest Society Sees Shakespeare in Chicago

1Apr

By Madison RohnNo Comments

Arts, Campus Events, Campus News, Entertainment

Literary Interest Society Sees Shakespeare in Chicago

By Madison Rohn, Lead Editor Photography from Dr. DeWall Cover photo: LIS members at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater Over spring break, members of McKendree’s Literary Interest Society visited Chicago for their annual Shakespeare trip. Literary Interest Society (LIS) is McKendree’s club for book-lovers. Co-President Scarlett Catanzaro described LIS by saying, “I would say the purpose of LIS is to share a common love and passion for literature among students of various backgrounds and fields. LIS offers book lovers the opportunity to read, discuss, and share novels outside of an academic setting, and gives members the chance to make new friends.” One way in which LIS bonds its members is through their annual Shakespeare trip to Chicago. Each spring, English professor and fa...

We Were Shining: McKendree Theatre Tells Story of Women Who Sued Radium Dial

28Feb

By Madison RohnNo Comments

Arts, Campus Events, Campus News, Community Events, Entertainment

We Were Shining: McKendree Theatre Tells Story of Women Who Sued Radium Dial

By Madison Rohn, Lead Editor Photography by Michelle Magnussen “This isn’t a fairy tale, though it starts like one. It’s not a tragedy, though it ends like one.” This line begins the play These Shining Lives, which McKendree Theatre will perform from February 29th to March 3rd. The play, written by Melanie Marnich, tells the compelling true story of Catherine Wolfe Donohue, one of the thousands of women hired by the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois, during the 1920s to paint watch faces with radium. As told in the play, Radium Dial ensured their watch painters that radium was safe, even though the company knew otherwise. After Catherine and her co-workers contracted radium poisoning, they sued the company. Catherine’s eventual legal victory changed worker safety laws in Am...

15Feb

By Isabella BrandNo Comments

Entertainment

Go on a Blind Date With a Book!

By: Isabella Brand Photography collected by Isabella Brand Like many places this type of year, most libraries participate in the festivities of Valentine’s Day. Along with decorating, some libraries take Valentine’s Day to the next step with their own version of a “blind date.” If you have been in Holman Library this month, you may have noticed a decorated table near the couches and the front desk. On the display table was a sign that read “Go on a Blind Date with a Book!” One of our librarians, Kasandra, put up the display on February 4th. The display lasted until the 11th. Students and staff were allowed to pick out a wrapped item on the Valentine’s Day-themed table. These items consisted of puzzles, DVDs, books, and stickers. Some books had a typed description taped on the...

McKendree Theatre Puts Hilarious Spin on Classic Tale

1Nov

By Madison RohnNo Comments

Arts, Campus Events, Campus News, Entertainment

McKendree Theatre Puts Hilarious Spin on Classic Tale

By Madison Rohn, Lead Editor Photos by Michelle Magnussen McKendree theatre’s fall play, Cinderella Waltz by Don Nigro, is a comedic and insightful retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale that will take the stage this weekend. The play breaks down the archetypes of the original fairy tale and shows them in a new way with plot twists and humor for adults. Cinderella Waltz focuses on Rosey Snow as she tries to make sense of her fairy tale world while putting up with her crazy stepmother, stepsisters, and father. All this happens as she encounters a prince, a troll, a possibly homicidal village idiot, and a fairy godmother who sings sailor songs. Left to right: Mrs. Snow (Marin Jalinsky), Regan (Denaysha Jackson), and Goneril (Madison Rohn) make up Rosey's stepfamily. The cas...

15Sep

By Madison RohnNo Comments

Entertainment, Opinion, Perspective

Bearcat at Barbenheimer

By: Madison Rohn, Editor Cover Image received from syfy.com This summer, I participated in the historical event that will go on to define 2023: Barbenheimer! Following the trends, I went with my friends and siblings to see Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer back-to-back on the same day. Both movies were different from my go-to genres of science fiction and fantasy (The Lord of the Rings movies are my favorite), so I was excited to try something new. We started at ten in the morning and went on the day after the movies premiered, so the theater was crowded and the busiest I had seen since COVID-19. I loved seeing all the people who were dressed up, especially all the pink or sparkly Barbie-inspired outfits. Since we were going to be at the theater for fi...