SPOTLIGHT: Singers bringing Disney songs to revue

Nonsense words like "supercalafrajalisticexpialadoshus" and "chim-chim cheree" will mingle with directions to "let your conscience be your guide" and to "wish upon a star" in the 90-minute show. Lend Us Your Ears, which opens tonight in Houston Hall Auditorium, is a revue of music spanning the history of Walt Disney movies, and the show will be followed by a presentation Mickey Mouse's Christmas Carol, an animated film. Familiar tunes and light-hearted presentation will send students on a trip through their childhoods, bringing back memories with songs from classics like 101 Dalmations and more modern productions including The Little Mermaid. College junior Jon Bing said the simple, familiar music would attract a large audience, not just for nostalgia reasons but also because it is easy to comprehend. "Penn has so many different avant garde things where you have to think about what the author's trying to say," he said. "With this, people can just hum along and know exactly what Penn Singers is saying." The show's finale, borrowed from the Epcot Center American Pavilion, will be the culmination of the show's upbeat theme, presenting a patriotic message in a style that College senior Erin O'Brien called "pure and perfect camp." But Penn Singers President Jeffrey Hammond said the music's simplicity was a problem for the group, which is accustomed to performing challenging arrangements with four-part harmonies. "All the Disney music is pointed so that when you're 12 and you know a little piano, you can play it," said the College and Wharton senior. "It's all in the key of C." The show is an ensemble piece, in which all the singers work together and get equal credit in the show. The Penn Singers' spring show, on the other hand, is usually an operetta, in which performers are separated into leads and chorus. Members of the 40-person group said the ensemble style makes the show fun to produce, and they hope the audience will be caught up in the spirit of fun. "Part of the attraction of Penn Singers is people can see we're having a good time," said Bing. "People can tell that we all happen to be friends." Performers also said they are enjoying singing the Disney pieces, expressing the nasty sentiments of 101 Dalmation's Cruella de Ville and the cheerful rebellion of Peter Pan's "I Won't Grow Up." "I like the choice of music a lot," said College junior Tom Carter. "It gives you a chance to sing ]Disney music[ when you're in college." Lend Us Your Ears opens tonight at 8 p.m. in Houston Hall Auditorium. Tickets are $4 for the Thursday night show and $5 for the Friday and Saturday shows. Children's tickets are half price.

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