Monday, May 1, 2023

Monday, May 1, 2023

Odom Jr. performs at McKnight Center

Accompanied by a pianist, guitarist and percussionist, Leslie Odom Jr. took the stage Friday at the McKnight Center to uproarious applause. The songs began immediately, starting the night off with the Hamilton classic of “Wait for It.”

After that, Odom brought out his own “Winter Song.” He then took a turn, singing both in French and English for “Autumn Leaves.”

Odom then went on with several Nat King Cole songs, including “Mona Lisa,”

“Straighten

Up and Fly

Right,” “Un-

forgettable” and “When I Fall In Love.”

Next on the list was “L.O.V.E,” which Odom dang in multiple languages including French, Spanish, Italian and even Japanese.

Odom then moved on to his “favorite” song of the night, a rendition of “The Sunny Side of the Street.” Odom took the mic and spoke briefly.

“I still find,” Odom said, “So many reasons a day to smile.”

Odom then sang a slow “If you just smile” with a smooth bass solo by Eric England nestled inside the Nat King Cole song.

See Odom Jr. on 5

‘Free rein of creativity’

‘Godspell’ brought Bible stories to the modern day

Locke Theatre was packed. Focused on retelling stories from the bible in a modern setting, the show brought an air of understanding to the old stories.

The show allowed the actors to make a connection with the audience and ease themselves into their role.

Only two of the actors had named roles, Thess Holloway who played John The Baptist and Judas, and Dakota Norman, who played Jesus.

As the lights dimmed, actors flooded the Vivia Locke stage, bickering and fighting about religion, until John the Baptist stepped out of the audience.

The theatre department at OSU put together a revised version of “Godspell” on Thursday and the Vivia

“Besides Jesus, Judas and John,” Halloway said, “Everyone else in the cast is a disciple, a follower... In the revised script, they just play themselves. They are their own role.”

On the playbill, the actors and actresses were credited with their own

names, which allowed them to bring their own personalities and personal twists into the roles and the musical itself, with some pop-culture references such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s catchphrases and hints at other musical productions slipped in.

“For the most part, we got to have free rein of creativity of what we created on stage,” Halloway said.

“So, for many of the choices made by the actors and actresses on stage, they were not necessarily given directions. They were thoughts that came to mind in the rehearsal process that just made it through to the show. It’s that personable area of Godspell.”

See Godspell on 6

Cowgirls split doubleheader against Texas Tech

Parker Gerl Staff Reporter

The Cowgirls got back in the win column for the first time in two weeks.

On Saturday, No. 7 OSU split a doubleheader in Lubbock against Texas Tech -- a 10-1 win, and a 4-3 loss. OSU now sits 40-9 overall, 9-5 in Big 12 play.

In recent weeks, the Cowgirls couldn’t get hits with runners on base.

Morgyn Wynne and Micaela Wark helped break through.

In game one, with two runners on in the top of the third inning, Wynne crushed a three-run homer to left field to give OSU a 3-0 lead. Right after, Cheyenne Factor walked, Wark matched Wynne with a homer of her own, this one for two runs.

It was a five-run inning for OSU, more than it scored in the three-game series against Texas a week ago.

Kelly Maxwell got the start against the Red Raiders (31-20, 5-12)

and pitched five innings and dished out nine strikeouts before Ivy Rosenberry entered the game and retired the final three batters. The Cowgirls finished the opening contest with 11 hits and nine RBI, seemingly returning to form after a

rough two-week hitting output. They went on to win 10-1 in six innings, grabbing their first win since April 15 and snapping a five-game skid. Roughly thirty minutes later, game two was underway.

See Cowgirls on 3

Carson Toulouse

OSU students put on Godspell play in Locke Theatre in Seretean Center.

Luke Tolbert

Cowgirls beat slump.

Isaac Terry Staff Reporter

Isaac Terry Staff Reporter

Students from OSU Native American Student Association participated in its annual Honoring Ceremony on Saturday in the Student Union.

All photos by Carson Toulouse

Cowgirls...

In extra innings, Texas Tech responded to the run-rule loss with a hard-fought victory.

It knocked off OSU 4-3 in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Cowgirls led 3-0, as their first run was plated in the top of the third inning on Rachel Becker’s sacrifice fly that allowed Claire Timm to score. An inning later, Timm hit an RBI single to center field that was followed by pitcher Lexy Kilfoyl’s RBI single.

The Red Raiders quickly countered with a threerun inning to tie it up.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Demi Elder reached home on an OSU throwing error before Alanna Barraza crushed an RBI double

to left field. Arriana Villa, Texas Tech’s eventual hero, then capped it off with an RBI single.

Four innings later, with runners on first and second, Villa drove a ball by Timm’s glove at third that scored Barraza from second, giving the Red Raiders their first win over the Cowgirls since 2018.

“Played defense, hit the ball extremely well,” OSU coach Kenny Gajewski said in a postgame video on the OSU Cowgirl Softball Twitter account. “Then we came out in that second game like we’re a totally different team. Left runners on base, missed opportunities, really poor at-bats, really poor defense. And that’s what gets you beat in this conference; gets you beat anywhere.”

Continued from 1 sports.ed@ocolly.

Chase Davis

The Cowgirls picked up their first win in almost two weeks in the first game of a doubleheader against Texas Tech, but the offense struggled again in a loss in game two.

Los Angeles Rams select OSU safety Jason Taylor II in seventh round of NFL Draft

Taylor II spent five seasons in Stillwater, racking up 138 solo tackles

and eight interceptions, including six in 2022-23. He makes the transition from OSU to the NFL after earning a First Team All-Big 12 selection and serving as one of the Cowboys’ team captains last season.

He impressed at the NFL Combine in March, as he posted a 43-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot-9 broad jump and a 4.50-second 40-yard dash.

Taylor II is the second Cowboy selected in this year’s draft, joining

defensive lineman Tyler Lacy, who was selected in the fourth round with the 130th pick.

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Odom Jr. ...

Odom took a moment to talk about “One Night in Miami,” a recent film where he played Sam Cooke. Odom himself wrote and performed the song “Speak Now” for the film and performed it during his evening event. Right after, he also performed Sam Cooke’s famous “A Change is Gonna Come”, a song also featured in the film. To build up to it, guitarist and musical director Steven Walker played a long guitar solo to bring the energy in.

Shortly after, Odom performed other Sam Cooke songs, starting with “Bring It On Home to Me”, but sliding right into “You Send Me.” The lights then turned all onto Odom as he sang Bob Dylan’s “Forever

Young” without an accompaniment. He then kicked the Hamilton flair once more, flying into “Dear Theodosia” and “The Room Where It Happened,” even making a jab at how he’s glad to be in person and not online for the concert.

“[I’m] so glad to be in the room,” Odom said, “and not in the Zoom.”

At the end of the night, people leaped to their feet and cheered as Odom left, but not for long as he soon returned to sing an encore song from the musical “Rent” called “Without You.” Odom didn’t leave the stage again without saying some words.

“Every artist spends their whole life,” Odom said at one point, “trying to get back to the point where their heart first opened up.”

Continued from 1 news.ed@ocolly.com

Carson Toulouse

An Evening with Leslie Odom Jr. in the McKnight Center.

Godspell...

Continued from 1

The audience played a big part in the show. Throughout several points, characters left the stage and ran into the audience, where they would spend some time and go back to the stage or had entire moments acting off stage as they watched what was happening on stage. At one point, the musical told

the story of Lazarus by plucking an audience member out of the crowd and pulling him up onto the stage to read off massive cardboard cue cards.

Norman said the unique thing about the show was the fact they found the core of the story and leveled it down to compassion, humor, optimism, love and community so the story would be for everybody.

“We got to be so hands-on with this show,” Norman said. “It’s been around since the 70s, it gets done every single year, people love the songs,

it’s iconic, but what’s so beautiful about it is that within the script, it’s pretty open. There’s room for ideas in the script or whatever joke you think. Our rehearsal process was us making the show. It’s ours, it’s almost like we’re not doing someone else’s show, it’s us doing our show.”

Devon Hunt, the director of “Godspell,” was also happy with how the night turned out.

“I think the cast just really knocked it out of the park,” Hunt said. “They did great. I’m excited [for the

rest of the productions.]”

Godspell went on for three more shows, the last being on Sunday.

Within the playbills, the 20232024 season’s shows were also announced. They are “Airness” by Chelsea Marcantel, “Ride the Cyclone” with lyrics and book by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell Davis, “Macbeth” by Shakespeare, “Duality” choreographed by Jessica Murphy, “Ada and the Engine” by Lauren Gunderson and “May We All” by Brian Kelley.

Carson Toulouse

Godspell hit the Locke Theatre’s stage at the Seretean Center.

A new royal News

2023 Mr. OSU crowned Thursday night

at OSU has been and why, and what current law he would change and why.

Stephanie Landaverde Staff Reporter

Feels good to get the W.

That’s what Cameron Payne, a sophomore in management information systems, said after being crowned the second annual Mr. Oklahoma State University on Thursday night.

Payne ran in last year’s Mr. OSU pageant and placed first runner up.

“It bugged the heck out of me that I took second last year,” Payne said. “So, I wanted to get first.”

The Student Union Activities Board hosted the event and this year there were four contestants, a decrease from the 11 last year.

Contestants competed in three categories: talent, extemporaneous questions and evening wear.

The event started with the contestants performing a dance number. They each had a solo dance part they performed in order of contestant number: Payne first; Chance Green, a senior in agricultural education, second; Cade Claggett, a freshman in multimedia journalism, third; and Temitobe Olopade, a senior in mechanical and aerospace engineering last.

After the opening number, contestants were presented with two extemporaneous questions.

Judges asked Payne what his most impactful experience

Payne said his most impactful experience was his first field training with Army ROTC during his freshman year because he gained perspective on what it is like for those who serve. For his second question, Payne said he believes any soldier with a Purple Heart should be exempt from paying the federal income tax.

“In theory, you pay federal income tax because you pay a fee to be a member of this country, and freedom doesn’t come for free,” Payne said. “But, a Purple Heart means you gave the ultimate sacrifice to your country. So, as a matter of principle, why should you have to pay income tax?”

For their talents, three of the contestants sang. Payne sang “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé. Green sang “Something in the Orange” by Zach Bryan while playing the guitar as well as the harmonica when he was not singing. Claggett sang “Peaches” by Jack Black. Contestant No. 4, Olopade, was the only one to not sing. He performed a magic trick using cards.

Following the talent presentations, there was a 10-minute intermission where audience members could vote for their favorite contestant.

Those who voted were entered in a raffle for a chance to win Beats headphones.

When the pageant resumed, contestants walked in their evening wear while Tatum Shelton, Miss OSU and the master of ceremonies, read each contestant’s answer to the

question: “Why do you deserve to be Mr. OSU?”

After the evening wear portion, Shelton announced the winner of the Beats headphones: Trisa Ostermeier. The awards for contestants were given out next. Payne was crowned, Claggett was awarded first runner up and Olopade won crowd favorite.

Graphic Designers Wanted

future should do it.

Claggett said he thinks as many qualified people as possible should run for Mr. OSU in the future so the best Mr. OSU is crowned.

Korbin Hammer, the 2022 Mr. OSU, said navigating the title as the first Mr. OSU was difficult because there was no set role for him, but those considering running in the

“My biggest piece of advice throughout all of college is if you even have a slight interest in it, just go for it, because you never know what you’re going to like or what you’re going to accomplish,” Hammer said.

The O’Colly Media Group is now hiring Advertising Designers for our ad and marketing departments. Duties include working on layouts, designing ads and assisting marketing department with media campaigns. Must be able to work part-time during the summer. Remote work hours possible. Hours are flexible, we will work around your class schedule. For more information contact Lori@ocolly.com or call 405-744-7355.

Courtesy of SUAB Director of Marketing Haley Monday Cameron Payne, the winner of the 2023 Mr. OSU scholarship pageant, sang “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé for his talent.

Staff

When a celebrity screws up, it takes little to no time for the public to sweep in and make a useless song and dance out of it.

Almost ritualistically, we go through the same process of hating a celebrity, feeling bad for a celebrity, and then forgetting about whatever misdeeds this person did, which is pretty much the same as forgiving them. Sometimes this faux forgiveness is deserved, sometimes it isn’t.

When John Mulaney, one of the best comedians of our era, screwed up, the heavens wept.

Two years have gone by since John Mulaney relapsed into his drug addiction, and now that we’re in the forgiveness phase of his misdeeds, I can at least say that John Mulaney’s new Netflix comedy special, “Baby J,” was a hilarious and thoughtful reflection on this tumultuous phase in his career.

“Baby J” isn’t your run-of-the-mill John Mulaney Netflix standup routine. Rather than the laugh-outloud ramblings of a madman we usually get, this one is centralized around Mulaney’s time in rehab and some of the depressingly desperate things he had to do to get by.

When a celebrity relapses or otherwise does something unpleasant in the public eye, their first response is to make comedy out of it. Normally it doesn’t work and is deeply embarrassing for all parties involved.

However, Mulaney clearly seems to be in a better, more mature state of mind

these days, and his performance is greatly benefitted from it. This doesn’t feel like a celebrity begging for your forgiveness, but instead, a man telling his story of rock bottom and making you cry with laughter while doing so.

At the start of the special, it’s immediately noticeable that Mulaney has aged

30

years since his last special in 2019. He’s quieter and a bit drier with his comedy, yet still hilarious. The comedy in this special isn’t quite as good as his best work, however, if you’re a fan of John Mulaney, this won’t disappoint. It’s still hard to ignore the twinge of sadness that lingers behind each bit of his routine. Some

of the stories he tells are delivered brilliantly, but are undeniably sad stories beneath the layer of comedic paint he covers it in. There’s a line toward the end of the special in which Mulaney says something that was intended to be funny but was just genuinely depressing and concerning.

All in all, it’s impossible

to review “Baby J” without reviewing Mulaney and his actions as well. If you view it as a special about a canceled celebrity, it is one of the only good ones. However, viewing it as a special about a recovering drug addict who SEEMS to be doing a lot better, it’s a very personal, touching, and incredibly funny watch.

entertainment.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy of Tribune News Service

John Mulaney releases a new Netflix comedy show two years after he relapsed into his drug addiction.

John Mulaney puts on a hilarious and thoughtful reflection on Netflix show “Baby J”

Michael Clark

Reporter

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Daily Horoscope

Nancy Black

Tribune Content Agency

Linda Black Horoscopes

Today’s Birthday (05/01/23). Dreams can come true this year. Teamwork, coordina tion and consistent efforts win. Epiphanies and profound connections light up your springtime. Jump summer hurdles with your partner, energizing and strengthening your physical performance this autumn. Make a personal upgrade next winter. Listen to your heart.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most chal lenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is an 8 — Nurture health. Keep the current team roster, with Aquarius Pluto retrograde for the next five months. Group decisions could reverse. Do what worked before.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is an 8 — Revise career goals and professional plans over five months, with Pluto retrograde. Long-term projects could seem slowed, delayed or suspended. Envision passion and profit aligning.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is a 7 — Home comforts entice. Review data. Do the background research, with Pluto retrograde. Prepare educational adventures, presentations, conferences, vacations or classes, for after next autumn.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is an 8 — Carefully maintain documents, accounts and files. Secure what you’ve achieved, with Pluto retrograde. Review shared finances, investments, agreements and budgets over five months.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 9 — Monitor budgets. Update routines. Resolve old irritations between you and your partner. Renew your collaboration between now and autumn. Unattended concerns can get expensive.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 7 — Nurture yourself. Refine strategies for your work, fitness and health over the next five months, with Pluto retrograde. Update practices and routines. Consider expert advice.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Consider options. Reflect on your heart’s desire, with Pluto retrograde. Make course corrections over five months to realign with passion, fun and love.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is an 8 — Stick with tested domestic routines and methods, with Pluto retrograde. Research domestic upgrades and make them after October. Review materials, budgets and sources.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is an 8 — Prioritize professional matters. Edit, revise and update. Prepare and polish communications over five months, with Pluto retrograde. Launch a major promotion later in the year.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is a 9 — Explore options. Review finances to conserve resources. Refine routines for efficiency, with Pluto retrograde. Reassess assets to develop what you’ve acquired. Learn from past successes.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8 — Prioritize positive cash flow. The next five months, with Pluto retrograde, are good for healing. Finish old business. Release worn-out baggage. Nurture yourself.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 7 — Plan and practice. Curtail speculation and risk. Reduce stress, relax and recharge, with Pluto retrograde. Enjoy a five-month retreat into private creativity and productivity.

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

Robin Stears

Solution to Saturday’s puzzle

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk