Gold Side saves the day : Superhero comedy beats Purples fantasy journey

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Saturday night was &8220;a dream come true&8221; for dozens of University of Montevallo students.

Members of the Gold Side won the 89th annual College Night, beating their rivals, the Purples, by 37.5 points.

Unique to Montevallo, the homecoming event pits the two sides against one another each February in an unlikely sport &045;&045; musical theater.

While most schools compete on the gridiron or court for bragging rights, UM students leave it all on the stage, vying to see which side will produce the best original play.

A winner is chosen by a panel of guest judges, who award points in categories such as acting, singing and dance.

This year, the Gold Side won a decisive victory with their heartfelt comedy, The Amazing Adventures of Power Guy and Gary Valor. The spoof tells the story of an arrogant superhero and his loyal sidekick.

Gary Valor dreams of one day being a superhero, but his own insecurities prevent him from leaving his clueless boss. As the story progresses, Gary must come to believe in himself so he can save the town when Power Guy is captured by the evil Professor Poof and Miss Congeniality.

The Purple effort, The Quixoticians, is a fantastical journey through the imagination of a young girl.

Forbidden by her parents to sing in the school choir, the girl is visited by her imaginary friend, Mr. Bangle and his band.

The group takes her around the world &045;&045; the North Pole, Hawaii, London and Paris &045;&045; showing her how to be a great singer.

But as she grows older, she tragically stops believing in her friends and loses her desire to sing.

Brandt Montgomery, student government association president, announced the winner by using a lyric from the Gold show: &8220;It will be a dream come true.&8221;

This year&8217;s College Night productions were held in the McChesney Student Activity Center because of repairs to Palmer Auditorium&8217;s ceiling. The auditorium, home to the last 75 homecomings, was closed after several cracks were found by workers replacing tiles last fall.

The move left UM officials scrambling to turn the arena into a theater, in the middle of basketball season.

&8220;It&8217;s proven to be an unusual year,&8221; said Montgomery. &8220;But College Night still had to occur, and no matter where we go that spirit still goes with us.&8221;