DECORAH, IA (11/21/2013)(readMedia)-- Cydney Roelandt of Davenport, Iowa and Michael Ehrecke, also of Davenport, Iowa, will perform in the Luther College Department for Visual and Performing Arts production of "Cabaret," an award winning 1966 musical based on the play "I Am a Camera."

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15; 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22; and 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23.

Roelandt, the daughter of Bradley and Kelly Roelandt of Long Grove, Iowa, is majoring in theatre/dance at Luther. She is a 2010 graduate of Davenport West High School.

Tickets for the performance are $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under; available at the Luther Ticket Office, telephone (563) 387-1357 or boxoffice@luther.edu, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9-10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and Thursdays 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Luther performance of "Cabaret" will be directed by Jane Hawley, professor of dance, and Bobby Vrtis, assistant professor of theatre.

Upon its premiere, "Cabaret" was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning seven of them, including "Best Musical," "Best Original Score" and "Best Choreography."

"Cabaret" takes place in the 1930's in Berlin as the Nazi party is growing stronger. The plot follows the arrival of a young, American writer named Cliff Bradshaw, who has come to Germany to work on his novel. When visiting the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy cabaret, he meets an English performer, Sally Bowles and the two soon find themselves living together.

Through misadventures in love, work and rapidly changing political landscape of Germany, Cliff and Sally find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy in their hands and watching the struggles of their German landlady and her Jewish suitor at the beginning of the Nazi era.

The story is narrated in part by the omniscient Emcee of the Kit Kat Klub, whose flamboyant and increasingly dark musical numbers serve as a metaphor for the madness and disarray descending upon the world around them.

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DECORAH, IA (11/19/2013)(readMedia)-- Elisabeth Athas of Blue Grass, Iowa, will perform as part of the ensemble in the Luther College Department for Visual and Performing Arts production of "Cabaret," an award winning 1966 musical based on the play "I Am a Camera."

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15; 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22; and 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23.

Athas, the daughter of Mark and Vickie Athas of Blue Grass, is majoring in theatre and management at Luther. She is a 2011 graduate of Davenport West High School.

Tickets for the performance are $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under; available at the Luther Ticket Office, telephone (563) 387-1357 or boxoffice@luther.edu, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9-10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tuesday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and Thursdays 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Luther performance of "Cabaret" will be directed by Jane Hawley, professor of dance, and Bobby Vrtis, assistant professor of theatre.

Upon its premiere, "Cabaret" was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning seven of them, including "Best Musical," "Best Original Score" and "Best Choreography."

"Cabaret" takes place in the 1930's in Berlin as the Nazi party is growing stronger. The plot follows the arrival of a young, American writer named Cliff Bradshaw, who has come to Germany to work on his novel. When visiting the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy cabaret, he meets an English performer, Sally Bowles and the two soon find themselves living together.

Through misadventures in love, work and rapidly changing political landscape of Germany, Cliff and Sally find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy in their hands and watching the struggles of their German landlady and her Jewish suitor at the beginning of the Nazi era.

The story is narrated in part by the omniscient Emcee of the Kit Kat Klub, whose flamboyant and increasingly dark musical numbers serve as a metaphor for the madness and disarray descending upon the world around them.

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PELLA, (11/13/2013)(readMedia)-- Freshmen Emma Simmons, a native of Davenport, and Dionne Riley, a native of Bettendorf, will participate in Central College's theatre production of "Legacy of Light".

"Legacy of Light" is a time-traveling comedy, which intertwines the stories of two female physicists from different eras. The legacies of Emilie du Chatelet, an 18th-century French scientist, and Olivia Hasting Brown, an astronomer in Princeton, N.J., collide in this play about the search for self-discovery, love, motherhood and scientific immortality.

The production, directed by Ann Wilkinson, instructor of theatre, will run Nov. 20-23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kruidenier Theatre at Central College. Cost for general admission is $6. Student and senior citizen tickets are $3, and admission is free with a Central ID. Tickets are available at the Maytag Information Booth, by calling 641-628-9000.

Central College is a residential liberal arts college dedicated to the education of 1,500 undergraduate students. Guided by its ecumenical Christian tradition, the college community engages in vigorous, free, open inquiry in pursuit of academic excellence. Founded in 1853, the college is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America and NCAA Division III athletics.

Central is a recognized leader in study abroad as a result of its international, residential programs. Central College is located in Pella, Iowa, a thriving community of 10,000 two minutes from the state's largest lake and 40 minutes southwest of Des Moines. Please visit the college website at www.central.edu.

In a recent CNN poll, 75 percent of respondents said U.S. House Republicans don't deserve re-election. That could bode poorly for either party next year, when all 435 House seats are up for grabs.

That's because it's likely only a small group of Americans will decide our country's future, says historian and researcher Merrilyn Richardson. Traditionally, only 40 percent of eligible voters turn out for mid-term elections on average, compared with 60 percent for presidential elections.

In the Senate, 33 seats could change, which could tip the balance of power for the subsequent six years.

"Voting is just one of the many privileges too many citizens of the United States take for granted,'' says Richardson, a former editor of Air Force Bases newspapers and author of "You ARE God: The Challenge to Achieve Christ Consciousness in the Modern Era," (www.merrilynrichardson.com). "Many do not believe the rights they have enjoyed their entire lives can be taken away from them, but they are wrong."

It takes actively involved citizens to protect our fragile democracy, Richardson says. The American origin story and its legacy are not only unique to our globe, they're nothing short of miracles and we need to advocate for what we enjoy.

She reviews three inspiring founding U.S. principles.

• The American Revolution has outlasted competing ideologies. Since 1776, many other revolutions have come and gone. That includes the Russian Revolution, which has all but disappeared and left a country with an identity crisis. The Chinese Revolution, which has morphed into something unrecognizable from its original ideology, and the Cuban Revolution, which has proven to be an unsustainable economic burden for its people. Rather than attempt to force an entire country to conform to an unrealistic ideology, the U.S. founding fathers proposed a Bill of Rights that continues to shape the history of the world.

• Individuality, free speech, the right to bear arms and religion are all protected. Enlightened, Western nations have to pay taxes to support religious institutions of which many citizens are not participants; in England it's the Church of England, in Germany it's the Catholic Church. The United States does not make anyone support any church - we can worship and financially support what we choose. This emphasis on individual rights often provides more momentum to our social movements, such as the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street, because people can choose what they support.

• As our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms protect us, it's our duty as stewards of the Constitution to protect freedom. When people say nasty things, it's tempting for some groups to call for the censorship of one's speech. When someone does something barbaric with a gun, even more people call for severe limitations on one's right to bear arms. If living in a free society were easy, more countries would be doing it. There are many countries throughout the world that are experimenting with a free society, including some in the Middle East and North Africa. Egypt, for example, is finding out just how difficult freedom is to maintain. While terrorist groups may seek to fell the system of governing we were fortunate enough to inherit, we also need to make sure domestic efforts to chip away our liberties are not successful.

About Merrilyn Richardson

Merrilyn Richardson received a degree in journalism from Texas Tech University and was editor of Air Force Bases newspapers. At 89, she has spent decades searching for truth and found that studying spiritual subjects provides a basis for understanding our human condition. Her latest book, "You ARE God: The Challenge to Achieve Christ Consciousness in the Modern Era," is a concise glimpse of American history and other events that have affected individuals worldwide. She is a founding member of the Center for Spiritual Living in Midland, Texas. Her two previous books were "Initiation of the Master" and "The Master's Quest, an End to Terrorism."