‘Little Women’

Review: In ‘Little Women,’ life thrives in simpler pleasures: Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 11

Louisa May Alcott’s semi-autobiographical 1869 novel became an instant hit, as were its sequels, and through generations, got handed down, especially through mother-to-daughter lines … The “why” behind the ongoing lives of Jo, Beth, Meg, Amy and Marmee is fit only for a longer discussion, and also not relevant to the “what” and “how” UA grad directing student Elizabeth Kirkland brought to such familiar material for the Allen Bales Theatre.

‘Merry Wives of Windsor’

UA’s modernized ‘Merry Wives of Windsor’ influenced by ‘Dirty Dancing’: Tuscaloosa News – Nov. 12

In Shakespeare’s day, comedy meant “not everyone dies, and there’s a marriage or two at the end.” His characters, characteristics and situations would have rung just as contemporary for audiences as topical references in a late-night comic’s routine. Urging the failing, aging, bombastic knight Falstaff 400 years forward required stylized tweaking, said Seth Panitch, who’s directing the “Dirty Dancing”-influenced adaptation of “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” opening Tuesday in The University of Alabama’s Marian Gallaway Theatre.

Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith

Mississippi Senator’s ‘public hanging’ remark draws backlash before runoff: New York Times – Nov. 12

With her arm around a cattle rancher, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican of Mississippi, drew laughter and applause at a recent campaign event when she gushed about how highly she thought of him: “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.” … Paul Reed, a University of Alabama professor who specializes in the sociolinguistic history of Southern and Appalachian English varieties, said that the phrase first appeared in written works in the United States in the mid-1800s and that its usage peaked during the civil rights era in the 20th century.
Las Vegas News – Nov. 12
WRAL (Durham, North Carolina) – Nov. 12
Hattiesburg American – Nov. 14
WMPN-FM/Mississippi Public Radio – Nov. 15

Alumni Panel

Criminal justice department to host alumni panel: Crimson White – Nov. 13

The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice will host an Alumni Career Forum that will focus on private industry careers.

The Future of Conservatism

George Hawley, professor from The University of Alabama, lectures on Trump and the future of conservatism: Red and Black (Athens, Georgia) – Nov. 14

Less than a week after the 2018 midterm elections in Georgia, University of Alabama professor George Hawley, who also researches elections and political parties, held a lecture Nov. 12 on the future of the conservative movement in America in the Miller Learning Center at the University of Georgia. At the beginning of his lecture, he answered the title of his talk, “Does the conservative movement have a future?”

Arts Council of Tuscaloosa

Dance Alabama! benefits from art grant: Crimson White – Nov. 15

For her first semester, Erin Delamer had the opportunity to use Dance Alabama! as a creative outlet for her talent. The campus organization was a recent benefactor of a series of grants given by the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa.

Active Shootings

Trump’s inadequate response to the Tree of Life shooting: Pitt News – Nov. 15

Incidents of mass shootings are undoubtedly on the rise. The most recent, at Thousand Oaks Bar and Grille in California on Nov. 2, resulted in a dozen people dead in the 307th mass shooting this year alone … In most accounts, the shooter doesn’t make it past the incident of the crime to see justice. Adam Lankford, an associate professor of criminal justice at The University of Alabama, carried out a study at the New York City Police Department, accounting for the statistics of active shootings between 1966 and 2010.

Polling Places

Alabama’s ‘liberal’ 30-foot campaign-free restriction outside polling places could soon change: Al.com – Nov. 17

The activity outside the front door of an Alabama polling place on Election Day can be annoying, and sometimes intimidating … Said Richard Fording, a political science professor at the University of Alabama: “It is an interesting dilemma because it requires balancing the right to free speech with the right to vote without being harassed or intimidated. As the political climate becomes more contentious, I suspect some people are legitimately concerned about being left alone.”