Last year, sophomores Matthew Nguyen and Lucy Suo saw a need in the South Bend community to provide assistance with adult education. They responded by offering their time to tutor literacy students in the program one-on-one.Now, Nguyen said, the pair is working to establish a sanctioned club by next semester for students in the tri-campus community to volunteer within the adult education sphere.“We recognized that there was so much help needed, and the teachers just didn’t have enough hands,” Nguyen said. “There’s like, one teacher for every 20 students. And if you can imagine in a classroom of adults, they’re all at different levels. It was literally a mess, but it was a good mess.” Nguyen and Suo volunteer through the Adult Education department within the South Bend Community School Corporation. Suo said the department’s lack of student tutors ultimately drove her and Nguyen to recruit more volunteers.“We realized this would be a good opportunity for not just Notre Dame students to help out, but also to build a bridge with South Bend directly, because these are people within South Bend who need our help,” Suo said. Nguyen said many students enrolled in the adult education program also deal with poverty, and view the program as a support system, amplifying the importance of volunteers. Nguyen and Suo are currently reaching out to students who would like to be involved in the club, which they are naming Adult Education Alliance. Suo spoke to the pair’s goals to have a buddy system once they have an ample amount of student volunteers.“We hope to have one student paired with a student at ‘Ad Ed,’ and hopefully they can form a relationship, not just educational but more personal,” Suo said. In addition to adult literacy classes, the program hosts classes on high school equivalency, family literacy and English language learning. The English language learning courses result in immigrants from a variety of ethnic backgrounds enrolling in the program, Nguyen said. To acknowledge the cultural diversity of the enrolled students, Nguyen expressed his hopes for the club to put on a cultural event where students in the program can share an aspect of their culture.“[The students] have so much to offer from their hometown, because they’re always visiting back to Japan or Africa or wherever they’re from … this would give them the opportunity to tell about their home,” Nguyen said. Suo also said she supports the possibility of a cultural event, as it would allow adult students to share their talents. “A lot of [the students] have talents that we don’t know about at first,” she said. “One Japanese student we met makes origami while another woman presents her ceramics at art fairs. We just want a showcase where people can show their skills.”Adult Education Alliance as an educational experience for both parties, Suo said. “It’s a really special opportunity to form relationships one-on-one, and they just don’t learn from you — you learn from them, too,” Suo said. Tags: adult education, City of South Bend, South Bend Community School Corporation
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Saint Mary’s students studying abroad at John Cabot University in Rome for the spring semester will be sent home, vice president for student affairs Linda Timm announced early Saturday morning in a campus-wide email.The announcement follows a report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the State Department, escalating the advisory against non-essential travel for Italy to a Warning Level 3 as coronavirus continues to spread throughout the country.This statement was made just hours after Notre Dame announced the suspension of the University’s Rome program, and ordered the return of the 106 students studying there.“With the safety of our students as our highest priority, this has prompted Saint Mary’s officials to make the difficult but necessary decision to bring all students from Rome for the remainder of the semester,” Timm said in the email.The students were notified of these changes on Friday evening, Timm said in the email.Upon returning to the U.S., the students will complete their academic semester from home, via “remote learning established by John Cabot University,” and will not return to campus.“Out of an abundance of caution, and consistent with protocols established by the CDC, those returning are required to stay home for 14 days and receive a physician’s clearance prior to campus visit,” Timm said.The College is monitoring the status of all countries, and Timm said officials are prepared to take “additional and immediate action,” as needed.“Our students from the Rome Program will be disappointed by this news,” she said. “Please keep them in your prayers and be supportive of them during this time of transition.”This is an ongoing report.Tags: CDC, coronavirus, John Cabot University, Linda Timm, Rome, study abroad
Image by Darren McGee / Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.ALBANY — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made a rare acknowledgment of a misstep in his response to COVID-19 on Wednesday as he acknowledged an earlier statewide mask mandate could have made a “dramatic difference” in the fight against the coronavirus this spring.Cuomo, who has gained acclaim from his party as COVID-19 infection rates have declined in New York, offered the misstep as an example of a lesson for other states in an appearance on public radio.Cuomo’s executive order effective April 17 required all individuals over two years old to wear a face covering — if medically tolerable — when in public and unable to maintain social distance. By that time, several other states had announced less-restrictive mandates or advisories: New Jersey required workers and customers to wear cloth face coverings starting April 10, and an April 10 directive in Utah urged residents to wear coverings when social distancing isn’t possible.“I was the first state in the nation to do masks. I should have done it earlier. I should have done masks earlier,” Cuomo said on WAMC. “That would have made a dramatic difference.” It’s a rare admission for a governor who has said he doesn’t want a “blame game” but has pointed to the federal government’s own failing when asked whether his administration ever erred as it responded to a little-known virus that roiled the state.Despite his acknowledgment Wednesday, Cuomo quickly repeated his central argument that it’s up to the federal government to look out for signs of a global pandemic and quickly come up with clear recommendations.“Most of these issues are not in control of the state,” said Cuomo, who’s the new chair of the National Governors Association.The Cuomo administration says at least 25,270 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in hospitals and nursing homes — an undercount that excludes at least 4,600 deaths of people who likely had COVID-19 in New York City alone.Researchers are still studying why the virus — which may have spread to New York as early as February — took hold so swiftly and fatally in the densely populated metropolis and surrounding states.By the end of March, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials told reporters they were weighing whether to change their recommendations for who should wear masks in light of early research that suggested people without symptoms were spreading COVID-19.Cuomo had expressed initial skepticism about mandating the widespread use of masks, at a time of widespread concern over leaving health care workers bereft.Cuomo claimed Wednesday that he is now aware of those studies.“And by the way, I did the research now,” Cuomo said. “There were articles written in the New England Journal of Medicine that went back to January, February saying there was asymptomatic spread.”Cuomo and New York’s top health official initially downplayed the need for a mask mandate at an April 3 press conference, when The Associated Press asked about New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s call for New Yorkers to wear masks in light of a Singapore study on asymptomatic spread.State health commissioner Howard Zucker said “there’s no clear evidence” to support the use of cloth face masks, or of face coverings in general among the public. And Cuomo — who had at times jabbed at fellow Democrat and political rival de Blasio for his efforts to combat the virus — said face coverings couldn’t hurt unless they provide someone a false sense of security.“But could it hurt?” Cuomo said at the time. “Might it help? I think it’s fair to say, yes, but don’t get a false sense of security that now you don’t have to social distance and you don’t have to take the normal precautions because you’re wearing a bandana.”Cuomo has a book coming out on Oct. 13 about the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and the lessons he’s learned so far. He told reporters earlier Wednesday he’ll make a donation to a “COVID-related entity” with book proceeds, but didn’t disclose further details. Share:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
The Irish Repertory Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for the previously reported world premiere of Transport. With a book and lyrics by Thomas Keneally (Schindler’s List) and music by Larry Kirwan, the show will feature stars including Jessica Grové (A Little Night Music) and Emily Skeggs (Fun Home). Directed by Tony and Oscar winner Tony Walton, the production will begin performances February 7 and run through April 6 on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage. Opening night is set for February 16. View Comments Joing Grové and Skeggs onstage will be Mark Coffin, Patrick Cummings (Jack…), Terry Donnelly (Juno and the Paycock), Sean Gormley (The Weir), Pearl Rhein (Volpone) and Edward Watts (Scandalous). Inspired by a true story, Transport follows the journey of the impoverished Irish women and young girls (the so-called “undesirables”) who were deported on The Whisper, a prison liner, to the Australian penal colonies. Transport transcends time, place and character intertwined with the strong Irish spirit and a shared and enduring humanity. The Transport creative team will include set design by Tony Walton, costume design by Linda Fisher and lighting design by Richard Pilbrow
View Comments Related Shows In addition to Hall, the cast includes Suzanne Bertish, Michael Cumpsty and Morgan Spector. Machinal features set design by Es Devin, lighting design by Jane Cox, costume design by Michael Krass and sound design by Matt Tierney. Star Files Inspired by the infamous 1927 murder trial of Ruth Snyder, Machinal tells the story of a Young Woman who works as a stenographer in the industrial male-dominated world of the 1920s. She finds her only joy in an illicit love affair, but when reality sets in and she must return to her routine existence she’ll go to any lengths to regain her freedom. Suzanne Bertish The Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Machinal, starring Rebecca Hall, will officially open on Broadway on January 16. Directed by Lyndsey Turner, the Sophie Treadwell play will run at the American Airlines Theatre. Show Closed This production ended its run on March 2, 2014 Michael Cumpsty Rebecca Hall Machinal
Dulé Hill Fantasia Barrino Show Closed This production ended its run on June 29, 2014 Lang is a singer-songwriter who has won four Grammy Awards. Her music career spans three decades and includes 12 studio albums, one live album and three greatest hits albums. In 2013, she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Her acting credits include guest appearances on How I Met Your Mother, Ellen, Dharma & Greg, The Roseanne Show and the film Eye of the Beholder. Adriane Lenox View Comments Star Files After Midnight Related Shows Grammy Award winner K.D. Lang makes her Broadway debut February 11 in the Duke Ellington musical After Midnight. She is the second special guest star in the musical revue, directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle, and is taking over from Fantasia Barrino at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Set against a narrative of Langston Hughes’ poetry, After Midnight celebrates Duke Ellington’s years at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club using his original arrangements and performed by a world-class big band of 17 musicians. Lang will co-star with Dule Hill and Tony winner Adriane Lenox.
The world premiere of Extraordinary Extremities, starring Carlo Adinolfi, is now playing at the SoHo Playhouse. Written and directed by Renee Philippi, the off-Broadway solo show will celebrate an official opening on April 13. Extraordinary Extremities Related Shows View Comments Philippi and Aldinolfi both serve as artistic director of Concrete Temple Theatre, and with Philippi as director and writer and Aldinofi as performer and designer, the two share co-creator credits that include Bird Machine, The Whale, Hudson to China and Alberto’s Great Escape. Flinn’s theater credits include music and lyrics for Lysistrata Jones and original music for The Little Dog Laughed. Extraordinary Extremities tells the story of Geppetto, a puppeteer and puppet-maker who recently lose his wife and performing partner. Geppetto attempts to perform solo for the first time, and as things begin to go awry, he finds himself forced to create new scripts, ideas and even limbs. The play, which features an original score by Lewis Flinn, is inspired by an NPR story on Hugh Herr, a biomedical engineer who designs artificial limbs after his own legs were amputated after a climbing accident. Show Closed This production ended its run on April 13, 2014
View Comments Star Files Larry Kramer’s heartbreaking and passionate drama The Normal Heart will lead a small screen revolution on May 25, when a new adaptation directed by Ryan Murphy premieres on HBO. The TV movie features a seriously star-studded cast, including Mark Ruffalo as Ned, Matt Bomer as Felix, Julia Roberts as Emma and Jim Parsons as Tommy. The quartet is making a splash on the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly, which will hit newsstands May 9. “It’s such a rich, important, cool part of American culture,” Ruffalo told EW of the groundbreaking AIDS drama. “It’s as cool as the hippies; it’s as cool as the civil rights movement. It has its heroes. It has its f*cking drama.” The cover also includes a collection of shocking statistics: Did you know 60 percent of young Americans living with HIV today don’t know they’re infected? To find out more, pick up the new issue of EW, then catch The Normal Heart on HBO.
Mark Ruffalo
View Comments Tony winner Patina Miller is having one fabulous year—after concluding her run in the hit Tony-winning revival of Pippin, she’s currently filming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and gearing up to star in CBS’ Madam Secretary. But wait, there’s more! Miller said “I do” to her businessman beau David Mars at a glamorous New York City ceremony on June 14. Miller’s pals Jonathan Groff, Billy Porter, Charl Brown and more Broadway stars were on hand to help her celebrate the big day. Check out these gorgeous shots, via Miller’s Twitter, of the beautiful bride and her new husband. Congratulations, Patina and David! Patina Miller
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We’re going to have wait just that little bit longer to see Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper on the Great White Way. Due to a scheduling conflict, Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man has pushed back its Broadway dates by three weeks. Initially set to begin performances at the Booth Theatre on October 18, the production will now start previews on November 7 and play a limited engagement through February 15. The Tony-winning drama, directed by Scott Ellis, will officially open on December 7. The Elephant Man revolves around the real-life John Merrick, a severely disfigured 19th-century Englishman who struggles to live with dignity. The play premiered on Broadway in 1979 and won three Tony Awards, including Best Play. It was revived in 2002 with Billy Crudup in the lead role. Cooper will be joined in the cast by Patricia Clarkson, Alessandro Nivola, Anthony Heald, Scott Lowell, Kathryn Meisle and Henry Stram as Carr Gomm/Conductor. Show Closed This production ended its run on Feb. 21, 2015 Cooper, Clarkson, Nivola, Lowell and Stram appeared together in the 2012 Williamstown Theatre Festival production of the play, also under the direction of Ellis. A Cooper-led revival was originally on the table for a fall 2013 run.
The Elephant Man Related Shows View Comments