A cappella fans flock to Castle for benefit show

In spite of the name, the nipple-piercers were nowhere to be found. But a crowd of about 100 a cappella groupies turned out anyway for Acappellooza, a performing arts extravaganza to benefit the United Negro College Fund held at the Castle last night. The Community Service Living Learning Program sponsored the performance of Quaker Notes, Off the Beat, The Inspiration, Counterparts, Penny Loafers, Mask & Wig, Penn Singers and Hair: The Musical. Profits from the show, which coordinator and Castle resident Rachana Patel said probably amounted to $800, will be directed to the UNCF in honor of Black History Month. "We wanted to do something for Black History Month," College junior and Castle Resident Advisor Vafa Valapour said. "We thought that it would be important." Patel, a Wharton and Engineering sophomore, said that another reason for the performance was to allow more people to come to the Castle and see what the Community Service Living Learning Program is like. "We never really brought masses of people in here before," Patel said. "We wanted people to get to see what we do." Patel said this program was one of many that the Castle has conducted to open its doors to the campus community. Castle residents were on hand after the hour and a half performance to answer any questions visitors might have about the program. The evening was an entertaining one, laden with a cappella ranging from the U2 and Erasure arrangements of Off the Beat to the energetic '50s style of Penny Loafers to the female melodic blend of Quaker Notes. Counterparts joined in with jazz, and The Inspiration brought the evening to a close with tight-knit harmony. There were, however, some infiltrators at the a cappella extravaganza who brought their instruments with them. Mask & Wig perhaps received the most applause for its performance, although the tone of the evening was momentarilty marred by the audience's slight hissing of an act in which a man was attracted to another man. Penn Singers proved not to need accompaniment as their choral strength on musical numbers surpassed the synthesizer. And the cast of Hair: The Musical proved, with tie-dye and Birkenstocks, that the moon was in the seventh house. Singers and actors alike were pleased with the evening's motley crew of performers. "It's for a great cause," Penn Singers member Leigh Large said. "I thought it was really first-class." And, although this was the a cappella groups' first performance after having been financially disowned by the Student Activities Council, the timing was said to be inconsequential. "We planned this far before SAC ever came into it," Valapour said.