Arts & Leisure

Lycoming College presents classic thriller 'Wait Until Dark'

Blackmail, mystery and murder are key ingredients in "Wait Until Dark," the second show of the Lycoming College Theatre season. Performances will be at 8 p.m. Nov. 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, with a special Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Nov. 23 in the Mary L. Welch Theatre.
Frederick Knott's spine-tingling tale revolves around Susy Hendrix, a young, blind woman, who becomes involved in a psychological game of cat-and-mouse with a trio of sinister con men. Trapped in her Greenwich Village apartment, Susy is taunted and tricked by the men in efforts to obtain a treasure they believe Susy possesses. However, Susy has a few tricks up her sleeve as she uses her sightlessness to defend herself and even manages to turn darkness into a weapon.
The play first appeared on Broadway in 1966 with Robert Duvall as the relentless thug Harry Roat and became an immediate hit, running for a record 374 performances. Audiences still could not get enough of this story, so a very popular film version starring Audrey Hepburn was released in 1967.
Knott wrote several other highly successful plays, including the classic "Dial M for Murder" that also was adapted into a film starring Grace Kelly. With a talent for suspense comparable to Hitchcock's, Knott has written a play that will send you on a roller coaster ride of chills and thrills and will leave you clutching your neighbor. Don't miss this classic thriller.
Larissa Redington from Northumberland appears as Susy Hendrix, the role played by Audrey Hepburn. Also appearing in the show are David C. Monti from Lodi, N.J.; Thomas Courtney from Butler, N.J.; Geoffrey Hicks from Gloucester, N.J.; Rick Ashenfalder from Nazareth.; Becky Herd from Bath.; Nick Nastasi from Little Egg Harbor, N.J.; and John Andzulis from Athens.
Lycoming faculty member David Murray Jaffe directs, with scenery designed by Robert Graham, lighting by Becky Hardy and costumes designed by senior Wesley Speary from Liberty.
For ticket information, contact the box office (570) 321-4048 or visit the Lycoming College website, www.lycoming.edu/boxoffice.

All aboard for Murder Ahoy!
By Kate A. Griffith

For a night filled with mystery, fun and good food, set sail with Custom Taylored Productions’ "Murder Ahoy!" at 6:30 p.m. Nov 14 - 16 at the Genetti.

According to Director Bob Taylor, the murder mystery dinner theater takes place on the "Titan" cruise ship, which will take theatergoers on a voyage into history to view the wreckage and grave of the most sought after ship in history, the Titanic.

The production’s social director, Ethan Denny and "the almost captain" Smitty Smith take a group of unlikely passengers on the journey. The passengers span the gamut with Blake Witherspoon, a wealthy snob and his fiance, Daisy Cline to Zach Mitchell, "an inventor hoping to turn the world upside down with his new devices" to Tara Dawn Depue, "a down-home antique dealer who’s got more relatives than anyone can possibly count."

Taylor, who has been doing theater for more than 25 years – directing about 20 shows and acting in more than 140 – said he’s working with a cast of familiar actors. "I’m acting with a core group of highly professional people and friends of mine," he explained.

Taylor invites the audience of "Murder Ahoy!" to test its Titanic trivia, complete a crossword puzzle, look for clues and bid on Titanic wreckage while solving "whodunit."

Taylor said this is the fourth dinner theater production he’s done at the Genetti. "The last one I did was ‘Murder on a Broadway Limited,’ and it went over really well," he said, explaining that the show was sold out.

Taylor has worked with the Milton Theater of the Arts, the Valley Players of Selinsgrove and the Community Theatre League, and he has done productions at Lycoming College and the Community Arts Center. He said he hopes to start holding dinner theater productions several times in a 100-mile radius of Williamsport. He said he also is available to set up productions as fund-raisers. "I do all the work; all they have to do is provide the food and the balance of the money is theirs," he explained. He said he could even do productions for Christmas parties. "If you’re going to have a dinner anyway, why not have a show to go with it?" he suggested.

The cast of "Murder Ahoy!" will mingle with the audience as they eat their dinners, enabling theatergoers to interact with them to help solve the mystery. Taylor said he’s been known to give some audience members a little fake cash to bribe the actors for information that will lead them to solve the mystery.

The person who figures out whodunit and why will win a prize from the Genetti.

Taylor said the Genetti Terrace Room will be decorated to make the audience feel like it’s on a ship, and the majority of the cast will be dressed in authentic 1912 – Titanic era – attire. "I just try to make it a really fun evening," he said. "Everyone who comes always has a great time." He stressed that no one is forced to participate in the show.

The ship boards at 6:30 each evening and sails promptly at 7 p.m. For reservations, call the Genetti at 326-6600.

Feast fit for a bird
Plant of the Week
By Lynnette Snyder Sepulveda

Bird watching season is upon us. Flowers have bloomed, leaves have fallen and now berries are revealed. Even if bird watching is not your fancy, berries provide vibrant color for the winter months ahead.

Among trees one of the best options for a bright red berry display are flowering crabapples. Flowering crabapples are wonderful all-season plants. In spring they are covered with an abundance of red, pink or white blossoms. Many varieties also will carry red-tinted foliage to add color during the summer months. In autumn the leaves will change into gorgeous oranges, yellows and reds and brightly colored berries will emerge.

The flowering crabapple should be used mainly as an ornamental tree. Because of its short stature and small leaves it will not fulfill the duties of a shade tree. On the other hand, these qualities make the flowering crabapple ideal for landscaping. Crabapples require full sun and should be planted in an area with plenty of space to grow. Most crabapples maintain an average height of 15 to 20 feet, however they also will spread to approximately that width.
Red is an amazingly difficult color to find in a flowering tree, but in the American masterpiece crabapple it can be found. The American masterpiece holds its striking red flowers extremely well from bud until end of bloom time. Continuing in red in summer, this variety will bear maroon foliage, which is later contrasted in fall with orange-colored fruits. The American masterpiece grows to a height of 25 feet and spreads 18 to 20 feet with a pyramidal form.

For a beautiful feminine pink, Adams crabapple is an excellent choice. This extremely disease-resistant variety produces single pink flowers in spring. New foliage is green with a stunning red tint. In autumn the foliage turns a lovely orange-red and deep red fruits appear. The Adams reaches a height of 25 feet and spreads 20 feet creating a dense, rounded shape.

Pure white flowers can be seen on the Sargent crab in the spring. Providing two spring colors, white flowering crabapples usually bud in pink and then open into pure white flowers. The Sargent carries dark-green lobed foliage during the growing season and in fall produces bright red fruits. A dwarf variety, the Sargent only grows 6 to 8 feet but is a spreader and can reach a width of 12 feet.

— Sepulveda is manager of Snyder's Nursery

The truth about weight loss
By Jesse McKinney

When people first see me, a young man with Cerebral Palsy, few would imagine that besides being a writer, I'm also an NSCA Certified Personal Trainer and a champion wheelchair bodybuilder.

Although my specialty is weight training and bodybuilding, most of my clients are interested in losing weight. As a trainer with the correct knowledge and expertise in weight management and physical fitness, it is amazing and oftentimes humorous to me the dozens of diets and fads that people follow to lose weight. There's everything from juice diets, to celebrity diets, to Thigh Master and Slim Fast. Amidst all this hype and gimmicks, how does one know what really works?
In order to choose the proper weight-loss program and get results, we must first understand how and why our bodies accumulate and dispose off excess fat. Our bodies are perfectly adapted to storing and burning fat based upon how many calories we intake and our level of activity.

If we eat lots of calories and watch television all day our bodies don't use up the calories so this excess source of energy gets stored for future use as fat cells. On the other hand, if we eat moderately and do regular moderate activity, our body uses up the calories and we don't put on fat. However, if someone is already overweight, in order to shed excess fat, they must burn more calories than they intake. In "trainer's" lingo, this is called being in a "negative caloric" state. This is what most diets try to induce.

The reason most diets don't work or stop working is because they don't suggest or incorporate the proper exercise program along with the diet. This is of utmost importance and must be adjusted properly, as the weight is lost.
Another key factor in being successful at weight loss is understanding basal metabolism. Basal metabolism is the amount of energy in calories per day that your body uses just to stay alive. The average man needs at least 1000-1500 calories per day to maintain basic health. For women, it is generally about 200 calories less than this per day. However, this is not always true and dozens of factors like Diabetes, Hypo or Hyperthyroidism, age, and genetic predisposition can cause major fluctuations in basal metabolism.

Therefore, there is no one perfect diet or exercise program that will work for everyone. Each person is unique and to get the best results, a personalized program designed by a trained professional is the way to go to ensure healthy success. It can be potentially dangerous to begin a diet or exercise program without consulting with a certified personal trainer and/or registered dietician.
On another note, I often find that perfectly healthy attractive women come to me to lose weight. This to me is the result of our society's unrealistic and unhealthy standard of beauty. Biologically speaking, women must have a certain percentage of body fat to maintain a proper menstrual cycle and overall reproductive health. Being overweight or anorexic are equally detrimental to a woman's health. Therefore, I urge my clients to consider losing weight primarily for improving health and to enhance their lifestyle instead of solely to look good or resemble a model or movie star. Be yourself. There's no need to impress others or meet an unrealistic standard.
To those who have tried everything and failed, there is still hope. It just takes time, patience, commitment and proper training to succeed. Anyone who has a specific question, comment or unique problem regarding weight loss can talk to me via E-mail at jesse@jessesstrength.com. This is a free gift from me to the community for the holidays.

— McKinney is a National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Personal Trainer

Health and Fitness at a glance
Fitness Corner
By Eric Wolfe

Should you expect to feel hungry when you are losing weight?

On the contrary, depriving yourself to the point where you feel hungry actually jeopardizes your chances for weight loss success. By skipping meals or eating too little, it’s almost inevitable that you will overeat later.

The lesson: Instead of focusing on how little you can eat, make it a priority to keep yourself from getting hungry. There are plenty of ways to limit your calorie intake without getting hungry.

A few rules of thumb:

* Eat a small meal every three to four hours (rather than three larger meals).

* Choose high-fiber foods such as whole grain breads, fruits and vegetables.

* Drink a lot of water. The standard recommendation is eight glasses a day; if you are working out be sure and drink more.

In addition, not staying adequately hydrated when working out can have dire consequences; we need not look further than the college-level and professional athletes who die from heat stroke each year.

If these cases don’t speak to you (or if they seem like scare tactics), make no mistake: Even partial dehydration can effect your sports performance and your physical condition long after the workout ends. By failing to drink enough drink fluids, you increase your risk for pulled muscles, cramps and delayed recovery times.

The bottom line is drink water and other fluids before, during and after your workouts.

— Wolfe, MBA, CPT, and Ray Stebbins, Certified Personal Trainer, are at the Liberty Health and Fitness Center

The ghosts of holidays past

By Louise Ulmer

If Charles Dickens were alive today he’d be working on his annual Christmas ghost story. Yes, it was traditional back then to write a ghost story for Christmas with which to entertain friends at parties. Why ghosts? I can only guess, but that’s how the great-granddaddy of all Christmas ghost tales came to be born in 1843. Yes, besides Scrooge’s ghostly pals Dickens wrote many more. However, "A Christmas Carol" is the one generations have wanted to hear since then to the point that few writers have tried to compete with it.

Originality Is Everything
Amazingly, Dickens himself complained that the ghost genre was already worn down to a list of cliches even back then. If you have noticed, ghost stories are insufferably lacking in originality. It’s just too easy to make up one, which accounts for why every old house has at least one. Ghosts don’t multiply just at Christmas, alas. Christmas stories come with or without ghosts and they too can suffer from a lack of originality. I mean after 2003 years, it’s hard to come up with a new twist on "It’s better to give than to receive."

Old Themes, New Stories
Hard, but not impossible, and therein lies the challenge and the fun. There are plenty of other themes we can explore around that ancient miracle of love and redemption and the triumph of light over darkness. Even though the message remains the same, there are endless ways of arriving at it and the more personal the better. The important thing is to keep the tradition going.

Not Another One
Do we really need another tale of deathless suspense over whether Santa will make his annual run or Rudolph will recover in time or the lost toy will make it to the right little hands or the odd elf will remain unloved? But then again, what have those stories to do with Christmas at all? You could substitute an Easter bunny or a pumpkin and it’s all the same. That’s not what I mean by original or traditional. Maybe commercial is the word.

"His heart grew three sizes that day!"
The timeless stories remain because they were closer to the heart of what Christmas or any holiday is about. The Grinch said it best because the real Christmas has nothing to do with Things and Thingies. Thanks to the Grinch, Santa doesn’t make it with the toys and the feast but Christmas comes anyway when the villagers meet and hold hands and sing carols and welcome the spirit. It has nothing to do with Thingies. It has to do with the size of one’s heart.

Write Your Own Story
This is a plea for the restoration of the tradition to write Christmas stories. The more personal the better. Every family has its own collection and just needs someone to write them down. Don’t wait for something remarkable to happen. Keep the stories and the pictures for your children’s children. You don’t have to be Dickens to just record the true stories in your own life. Take time for the family to share their favorite Christmas stories. Turn off the TV and listen to each other for a change. Have a Dickens party and entertain each other with stories—ghosts or otherwise. The real gift is in the giving of oneself and sharing one’s thoughts. It is my belief that happiness is in the accumulation of all the happy moments gathered throughout a lifetime so the good times deserve to be recorded.

Just do it!
If you should be moved to write a holiday story—truth or fiction—here are a few tips to get you started.

Start with something concrete—a favorite decoration or ornament, a special gift, a photograph, a broken toy, a stained napkin, whatever jogs the memories will do. Note how one memory leads to another, and then connect them until you see a pattern forming, then start writing.

Start with "I," as in "I remember…." Then just let it flow. Don’t stop to correct or edit—just spill it all out. Corrections come later. And that’s why you need to start now: you can revise and polish it right up until time to send out your Christmas cards. What a grand gift that would be—your own story in the tradition of Dickens.

Maybe you can’t do one every year, but one in a lifetime is still a very grand thing.

A time to give thanks: Pilgrim-style
By Melinda L. Wentzel

Thanksgiving is a time-honored day of celebration that we Americans hold near and dear to our hearts. It is a holiday rife with tradition and steeped in historical importance. It is a special time to give thanks for the bounty we now enjoy—the many freedoms, the plentiful food and perhaps for the wealth of opportunity that exists in this land that is like no other. For many of us, it is also a time for personal reflection. We often pause this fourth Thursday in November (or at least we should) to remember for whom and for what we are to give thanks.

Now I may not resemble a Pilgrim in the least, but I am grateful for plenty—for four-wheel drive vehicles, high-powered snow blowers and window defrosters in the dead of winter and for effective deodorant, insect repellant and air conditioners in mid-summer. I’m also especially thankful for wrinkle-resistant clothing, static cling sprays and industrial-strength stain removers that really work. Likewise, I appreciate heavy-duty trash bags that can handle the voluminous amounts of rubbish my family can generate in a week’s time as well as those priceless devices that contain, for the most part, the aroma and mess associated with dirty diapers. What would the Pilgrims have given to possess such luxuries? Probably a decade’s worth of their harvested crops or a plot of land the size of Texas.

I also give thanks daily for cats that are litter box-trained, fish that are quiet and for children who eat neither the fish nor the litter. I am equally grateful for economy-sized Cheerios, Goldfish snacks and buttery-tasting microwave popcorn—staples that my family couldn’t possibly live without. Moreover, I’m quite fond of super-absorbent diapers, no-leak sippy cups and the magnificent shelves in my refrigerator that prevent spills from becoming major catastrophic events. I am also thankful for par five’s with wide, treeless fairways that possess neither an ounce of water nor a grain of sand. Sunny days are nice, too.

Furthermore, I have a wonderful family that accepts the fact that housework is not my forte; nor is cooking. And for that, I am eternally grateful. I have friends who understand that my social calendar has undergone an extreme transformation since the days before children. They don’t take it personally when I choose to spend an afternoon sipping juice boxes with a dozen toddlers instead of sipping suds with them.

We have very kind and accepting neighbors who haven’t banished us even after they discovered that our cars are only washed an average of once annually—whether they need it or not. Nor do they think twice about our strange cats that play fetch and come home to whistles instead of, "Here, kitty kitty!" For these things, I am highly appreciative.

What’s more, I am married to an amazing man who tolerates my incessant questioning throughout movies, accepts my foibles regarding domestic duties and refrains from nagging me about my deplorable lack of follow-through on yard sale projects. He also insists that I fit some "me time" into my schedule each day, since he knows he’ll pay dearly if I don’t. (His mama didn’t raise a fool). And he never questions my credit card balances, especially when they include massages and yoga dues. He realizes, full well, that those things preserve my sanity. Smart man, that guy I married.

Moreover, I am thankful for a daughter who, at times, forgets that she’s a teenager and reminds me of what life was like when she was 11—heavenly. She willingly rescues me from computer glitches, understands that I cannot attend all her sporting events and occasionally thinks of me as someone other than "the merriment-wrecker" or "the nag queen." Priceless treasures by anyone’s standards.

Furthermore, I am indescribably grateful that my twins refrain from inspecting the contents of their diapers, that they have yet to escape from the house or their cribs, and that they stopped biting each other months ago. For these things, even a Pilgrim would rejoice.

Despite the fact that this may have appeared to be an exercise in silliness and amusement, there was some truth to it. Arguably, there is inherent value in discovering for whom and for what we can each offer thanks this season and throughout the year. Be sure to remember and acknowledge the special people and things that make you thankful, pilgrim.

How do you say 'thank you?'
By Betsy Rider

In 1877 John Dean put books, wallpaper and window shades in the window of his insurance agency in Market Square. Within a few years, that modest start had blossomed into "Otto, Chatham and Dean, Booksellers."

In 1905 my father, Jack Roesgen, who was then 18, put on his best (make that only) suit and applied for a job with Horace Y. Otto who had bought out Chatham and Dean. When he applied for the job, he boasted that he had a "vast knowledge of books." He spent the rest of his life laughing at his youthful naiveté. He never went to high school but a neighbor who was a teacher loaned him books that he read voraciously after he got home from the silk mill where he worked for five years. His thirst for reading never diminished and when he died in 1958 his obituary recognized his vast knowledge of books.

In 1908 he answered an ad in a Philadelphia newspaper for a position clerking in the George W. Jacobs Bookstore in downtown Philadelphia. Wearing the same suit, he took a train to Philly, got the job and returned to bring his mother and sister with him to live in the big city. (His father had died when Jack was 2.) He worked there for 10 years and met Margaret Sparks, the young girl who would be my mother, when she took a temporary job in the bookstore during the Christmas season.

When Horace Y. Otto needed a manager, he invited my father to come back to Williamsport at twice the salary he had been making in Philadelphia. For 10 years, he courted my mother by letter and occasional visits. Finally he had saved up enough to buy a house for his new bride and his mother and his sister. He was 39, my mother was 29.

Seven years later, the year I was born, he bought the bookstore, assuming the debts his boss had left following the Great Depression. His debts were hanging over his head until 1958, the year he died.

Through all of the years of running the bookstore and raising his four children (all of whom received a college education) my father saw the faithfulness of his customers pull him through the tight spots. During the depression, when the shelves (the same metal shelves we use today) were full only because every book was face out, he thought of his paying customers as angelic messengers. When my mother and I took over after his death we bonded with the book lovers who kept the store in business and found close friends among them.

When my mother was ready to retire (at 74), my husband left his job as librarian for the Lewisburg FCI in order to keep "the store" in the family for his 10 children to grow up in as his wife had.

All of us feel very, very grateful to God and to this community for the patronage that has kept Otto’s alive for 126 years. And so we want to say "Thanks" with an Open House. Friday, Nov. 21^st, from 4 to 8 p.m., we will have authors of books that celebrate Williamsport and Pennsylvania. Robin Van Auken and Lou Hunsinger, Jr. will be signing their new book "Williamsport: Boomtown on the Susquehanna." Walter Choroszewski will be signing his book, "Pennsylvania, a Photographic Journey." Guy Graybill will be signing "Keystone, a History of Pennsylvania." And Laura Knorr will be signing the book she illustrated, "K is for Keystone, a Pennsylvania Alphabet."

There will be music by Tim Breon and Doug McMinn of the local combo, Captain’s Jazz. And Jeff Gurgoyne, author of "Food Art, Garnishing Made Easy," will be demonstrating his edible art. We also will be giving away a $126 gift certificate that night but you can register now. We sincerely hope all our book lovers will come by so we can say "Thanks."

-- Rider is the owner of Otto's, a Book Lover's Paradise, 107 W. Fourth St., Williamsport.

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