Revue prepares to open tonight amid controversy
By NOREEN GILLESPIE
News Writer
The Keenan Revue will take to a bigger stage than O'Laughlin Auditorium this weekend, as the Saint Mary's student body prepares to voice their opinion over the controversial variety show in a ballot initiative in Monday's student body president election.
The pending vote, however, has not put a damper on the efforts of the show's organizers, who displayed their antics onstage Wednesday night in their final dress rehearsal before the production opens tonight. As the men of Keenan mocked everything from boy bands to South Bend's brother-sister news team to The Observer, it was clear that any pending threat the show could be moved off Saint Mary's campus was not weighing on their minds.
"Compared to past years, the show is considerably tamer," said Chris Martin, the Revue's producer. "[Moving off-campus] isn't really a concern. If we're voted off campus, the show's still going to go on."
The controversy over the Revue's future on campus was evident in the production's opening monologue, as the hosts joked openly onstage about "paying through the nose" for the use of O'Laughlin and then being subject to heavy scrutiny over what they were permitted to perform. Thanking both Saint Mary's and Board of Governance in jest, the men of Keenan Hall forewarned the audience that the show isn't for viewers "under the age of 18."
While most skits made the final cut, the "Saturday Night Live" style humor still generated some concerns from the censorship board, comprised of representatives from Keenan Hall, ResLife, and Saint Mary's. While Saint Mary's student body president Crissie Renner sat visibly amused during Wednesday's dress rehearsal, she did have to pull the plug on one Saint Mary's joke early in the program.
Regardless, Renner said, the overall show is done in good taste.
"I laughed," she admitted. "It's appropriate and funny. I'm thankful that Keenan has been so cooperative, and at the same time, they haven't lost their humor."
Father Gary Chamberland, rector of Keenan Hall, said that the censorship board is extremely important to the production, and the board does take into consideration the type of humor that is being presented to the audience.
"What is most important is the guys at Keenan get an idea of what people who are not guys in Keenan might find offensive," he said. "Saint Mary's has been kind enough to host us for 21 years, and recently expressed concerns. We're trying to work with them."
The show's producers teamed up with Board of Governance early this year to conduct a student poll in the dining hall to gage student opinion towards the Revue. Because results showed that 93 percent of students polled approved of the Revue on campus, the show's organizers believe that Monday's results will reflect their initial tallies.
"A minority is so vocal," Martin said. "Even if one percent of the campus thinks it's offensive, they're going to get the news. There's nothing wrong with [the Revue] at all. If you don't like it, don't go."
The results of Monday's initiative will be tallied and presented to the administration by the Board of Governance, but do not have any substantial power to remove the Revue from campus.
The initiative is at the request of Saint Mary's administration, who requested that the Board assist them in measuring students' feelings towards the Revue. It is merely a different means of assessing student's opinion, Renner said.
"This is not a vote, and there is no finality in it," Renner said. "There were a lot of people who wanted to have a voice in this and didn't [in the survey]."
For the meantime, however, the show's organizers do not feel any additional pressure to keep the show "toned down" to stay on campus going into the weekend.
"I just want people to laugh," said Revue director Grant Gholson. "If it's done perfectly and no one laughs, that's worse than if it's not done perfectly and people laugh."
All News Stories for Thursday, February 1, 2001
