by Erin Franklin | Jun 7, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
TPAC’s latest production in its all-star summer lineup is Waitress, the musical based off the hit 2007 film of the same name. Two-time Tony Award nominee and six-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles brings the narrative to life with an engaging, upbeat soundtrack that will make you laugh, cry, smile and everything in-between. Desi Oakley leads the cast as Jenna, a waitress at the local southern diner who has a propensity for making delicious, unique pies, and who also finds herself unexpectedly pregnant while in an abusive marriage with her husband Earl. Waitress is definitely a musical driven by vocal performance rather than dance (unlike last season’s American in Paris, which featured ballerinas in the lead roles and was driven more towards dance rather than acting and singing). Oakley’s vocal performance is outstanding, and she is by far the star of the show. Her rendition of “She Used to Be Mine” is especially good. Charity Angél Dawson plays Jenna’s cheeky coworker/best friend Becky, and Lenne Klingaman plays awkward Dawn, another fellow waitress and friend at the diner. However, Jeremy Morse nearly steals the show as Ogie, Dawn’s first love interest and future husband. Morse’s long rendition of “Never Getting Rid of Me” is sure to delight, getting the crowd laughing after emotionally-taxing scenes between Jenna and Earl. Waitress is raw, depicting the ups and downs of life without hesitation, and it is a show more geared towards adults than young families with children. It does have some coarse language and deals with heavy themes such as abusive marriage and adultery. In each scene that Ogie and Dawn appear, however, they lighten the mood;...
by Erin Franklin | May 29, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
For the first time in school history in a singular academic year, three athletic programs earned national NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Awards. The NCAA releases the APR results in May, with the Lipscomb Bisons as a whole being recognized for their high APR. In addition, the men and women’s golf teams and the women’s basketball team were each recognized for their outstanding academic achievement, as they were among the top 10 percent of teams in the country in the multi-year Academic Process Rate (APR) for the 2017-18 academic year. Each of these three programs secured perfect 1,000 multiyear APR scores from their scores during the 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years. For each academic term, APR measures student-athletes eligibility and retention. All teams must reach a score of 930 to qualify for the postseason and can face penalties for low scores. Last year, men’s and women’s golf were honored with the Public Recognition Award, given to the top-10 percent of programs in the nation. Women’s basketball has received the most APR awards, earning eight. Visit the NCAA APR’s website for a complete history of Lipscomb’s APRs, as well as other NCAA team reports. TEAM 2016-2017 Baseball 973 Men’s Basketball 986 Men’s Cross Country 989 Men’s Golf 1000 Men’s Soccer 982 Men’s Tennis 974 Men’s Track 980 Softball 996 Women’s Basketball 1000 Women’s Cross Country 993 Women’s Golf 1000 Women’s Soccer 988 Women’s Tennis 973 Women’s Track 990 Women’s Volleyball 989 Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Erin Franklin | May 6, 2018 | Galleries
For its 127th session, Lipscomb University celebrated its newest graduates by awarding over 800 degrees, including the first contemporary music degree, in Allen Arena on Saturday afternoon. President Randy Lowry awarded the students with their diplomas and recognized three exceptional students who were graduating: Presley Russell, Tammy Brown and Jazgul Orozova. “For four years, Lipscomb wasn’t just a place I would go to class and chapel; Lipscomb has become my home and my family,” Orozova wrote. “I was welcomed into this community by people who have walked with me, prayed with me and mentored me. I want to go back to Moldova and invest back . . . I want to work with children who think they cannot achieve great things in life because they do not have a mom or a dad.” Photos by...
by Erin Franklin | May 6, 2018 | News Slider
For its 127th session, Lipscomb University celebrated its newest graduates by awarding over 800 degrees, including the first contemporary music degree, in Allen Arena on Saturday afternoon. President Randy Lowry awarded the students with their diplomas and recognized three exceptional students who were graduating: Presley Russell, Tammy Brown and Jazgul Orozova. “Something happens in our lives and we’re touched; we’re motivated, and you just take the initiative to do it,” Lowry said, referring to these special graduates. Orozova, a graduating student who grew up in an orphanage in Moldova, penned a letter, which Lowry read on stage during the ceremony. “For four years, Lipscomb wasn’t just a place I would go to class and chapel; Lipscomb has become my home and my family,” Orozova wrote. “I was welcomed into this community by people who have walked with me, prayed with me and mentored me. I want to go back to Moldova and invest back . . . I want to work with children who think they cannot achieve great things in life because they do not have a mom or a dad. “I want to thank my Lipscomb and Nashville family for giving me a place to belong, a place to learn and grow, to be equipped and to mark this world in my own way.” In addition to these three graduates, Caleb Heronimus, a Management: Entrepreneurship major, received the Stephen Lee Marsh Christian Example Award. The award is presented to the “senior student who plans to pursue a secular vocation and whose Christ-like spirit and behavior while a student at Lipscomb has demonstrated a propensity to continue throughout life...
by Erin Franklin | Apr 27, 2018 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
Less than 10 days after speaking at Lipscomb’s annual Imagine event, journalist Tom Brokaw has been accused of sexual harassment by two women — former Middle East correspondent Linda Vester, and another woman, who worked as a production assistant in the 1990s. Brokaw released a statement through NBC News concerning the allegations: “I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC. The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda’s allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her at that time or any other.” University spokesperson Kim Chaudoin spoke on behalf of Lipscomb, stating, “We do not have first-hand knowledge of the allegations against Mr. Brokaw, and will not comment on them.” Vester told Variety and The Washington Post the harassment took place in NBC offices in Denver and New York in the 1990s. The longtime anchor of “Nightly News,” Brokaw reportedly made unwanted advances toward her on two separate occasions. Vester was in her 20s, and stated that the unwanted advances from Brokaw included a forcible attempt to kiss her. According to the Post, the other woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said Brokaw “acted inappropriately toward her in the ’90s, when she was a young production assistant and he was an anchor. He said no such incident happened.” Last Tuesday, on April 17, Brokaw was the featured speaker at Lipscomb’s Imagine event, where a record $23 million gift to the College of Business from an anonymous group of donors was announced. Senior journalism major Lindsey Nance, along with SGA...
