Theatrical Scene
SAT., JANUARY 3, 1981
THE CAROLINA TIKES -7
NEW YORK Con Edison
and the Black Theatre Alliance
are sponsoring the first New
York Ciry Energy Conserva
tion Conference for Non
profit Theatres, to be held in
early 1981. Participants will
include companies from
BTA's 68-member alliance,
BTA neighbors on Theatre
Row on 42nd Street, members
from The Off-Off Broadway
Theatre and the Association of
Hispanic Artists.
c Speaking at the recent Im
age Awards in Hollywood,
Geradine Green, president of
the Bevery Hills-Hollywood
Branch NAACP gave good
reason why the NBC-TV's air
ing of "Beulah Land" was so
vigorously deplored by blacks.
"Palmerstown, USA," which
captured an Image, was
cancelled from the fall
schedule, she pointed out, as
was the CBS show, "Paris'
which starred James Earl
Jones as a detective and land
ed Jones an Image as best :"
tor in a dramatic series. Irene
Cara copped the best motion
picture actress award for her
work in MGM's "Fame,"
which also won the best pic
ture Image.
France Joli, a 17-year-old
Canadian pop singer who
achieved international acclaim
with her hit single "Come To
Me," completes the final sing
ing tracks for her second
album on the next "Big Blue
Marble!' segment, the ITT
award-winning TV show for
youngsters whose "Dear Pen
Pal" animated segment has
matched two million children
worldwide.
"Sophisticated Ladies," the
musical based on the life and
times of Duke Ellington,
received scathing reviews after
opening tryout in Philly. One
reviewer said "there are too
many songs, often in indigesti
ble bunches that slight classics.
There are also too many, too
similar dances, too many
ensemble finales dissipating
the effect of solid solo turns;
And too much noise." Also:
"Dialogue is non-existent.
Hines (Gregory), as host, ut
ters occasional perplexing
sentences attributed to Ell
ington." What's more, a legal
notice appearing in trade
publications gives notice the
name "Sophisticated Ladies"
is patented by Barrington
Management Corporation of
Barrington, IL, a show mak
ing personal appearance tours
since 1979.
Who pays attention to the
film.'' critics? The Sidney
Poitier-directed "Stir Crazy,"
with Richard Pryor and Gene
Wilder, the film that opened
to five unfavorable reviews in
NYC, brought in $8,731,197
its first three days in 813
theatres. And "POpeye"
opened to seven unfavorable
reviews, but brought in
$6,310,520 its first three days
in 109 locations.
- -
Tragedy of John Lennon
has'tnany celebrities checking
up on their security. Teddy
Pendergrass recalls a woman
coming at him with a knife on
stage in New York a few years
ago. Other entertainers
remember close calls from
weirdos. Many have always
traveled with full-time
bodyguards and some who
didn't are now checking out
security measures.
A new play about the life of
Marian Anderson by
Shauneille Perry will be pro
duced by the Henry Street Set
tlement Louis Abrons Arts for
Living Center, possibly in
January.
Hazel Bryant's Richard
Allen Center for Culture and
Art will present "Fly
Blackbird," the spirited
musical about the struggle for
civil rights that won the Obie
Award for Best Musical in
1962, will run from January 27
through February 8.
.
The Negro Ensemble Com
pany's latest production is
"Zooman and the Sign," a
contemporary portrait of
violence in the black ghetto by
Charles Fuller. Giancarlo
Esposito gives one of the
season's most striking perfor
mances as a teenage black
preying senselessly on blacks
and whites alike, a neglected,
angry unrestrained street
youth.
James Earl Jones, now star
ring on Broadway in "A
Lesson From Aloes," is also
looking for another TV series.
He feels his "Paris" detective
series on CBS-TV failed
because it was confined to
one-hour episodes in which
there was time only to set out a
crime and reveal who did it
not to delve into reasons for
the crime or even the expertise
involved in solving it.
.
Jack's Nest Southern Kit
chen, on Third Avenue near
23rd St., held a memory
celebration last month. Also
featured was an art exhibit by
Sam Berland, featuring his
caricatures of famous per
sonalities who have enjoyed
the soul food at Jack's Nest.
A potential surprise for the
Phoenix Theatre's 1980-81
season is a work introducing a
witty and exciting Trinidadian
playwright, Mustapha
Matura, who lives in London
and examines with pointed
irony the conflicts in his native
country.
Bryant Gumbel, the sport
scaster who seems never to be
off NBC-TV, says the man he
respects most, after his late
father, is Andy Young. "He is
successful. He speaks his
mind. He is poised under
pressure. He articulates his
thoughts. He is not someone
who cries in the night or finds
ghosts in the closet. He never
minimizes injustices but never
over-emphasizes them either."
4
Disc jockey Mary Thomas
exited WBLS-FM for a similar
on-air spot at WXLO-FM.
Calendar and Announcements
THOUGHT ABOUT A SUMMER JOB? If
you're a college studeni, you may already by think
ing about your plans for next summer. If so, you
may just be eligible for oneof the statcgovernment
internships which will be available in thirteen dif
ferent state agencies.
Students will work for ten weeks, from June 8 to
August 14, earning $3.12 per hour. In addition to a
forty-hour work week, they will attend seminars to
learn more about state government and how it
works. Most internships are in the Raleigh area, but
some are available across the state.
To be eligible for an internship, a student must
either be attending a North Carolina college,
university, technical institute or community college,
or be a North Carolina resident attending an
equivalent out-of-state institution. -College and
university students must have completed their
sophomore years while community and technical
college students must have completed one year of
study.
The deadline for submitting applications is
February 13. For more information, contact the
Youth Involvement Office, N.C. Department of
Administration, Roonj 115, 112 West Lane St.,
Raleigh, N.C. 27611, 919733-5966.
$1,000 PRIZE OFFERED FOR BEST POEM
will be awarded in the poetry competition spon
sored by the World of Poetry, a quarterly newslet
ter for poets.
Poems of ail styles and on any subject are eligible
to'compete for the grand prize or for 49 other cash
or merchandise awards.
Rules and official entry forms are available from:
World of Poetry, 2431 Stockton Blvd., Dept. N,
Sacramento, California 95817.
VISITOR DESIRED A 72-year-old black man
living in a high rise apartment complex for the
elderly would appreciate a visitor to come once a
week. He is a religious person who enjoys talking.
Contact Volunteer Services Bureau, 809 W. Chapel
Hill Street, Durham.
CHILDREN'S FILM FESTIVAL The festival
features seven children's films especially selected
for children ages 3-12. Parents are welcome to at
tend and make it a family night. The films are
shown in the Carrboro Elementary School
Auditorium and begin at 7 p.m. Admission is 75
per person.
Films to be shown during this month are: "The
Life and Times of Grizzly Adams"-Friday, January
9 and "Shipwreck Island"Friday, January 30.
CHRISTMAS VACATION ENDS Durham
City and County Schools, and North Carolina Cen
tral University resume classes on Monday morning,
January 5.
AUDUBON WILDLIFE FILM SERIES in
Chapel Hill at Guy B. Phillips Junior High School
auditorium on Estes Drive. Tickets will be sold for
any unoccupied seats ten minutes before each 8
p.m. performance. For information in Chapel Hill,
contact Mrs. Robert Broughton, 942-3836 or Mrs.
Robert Utiger, 942-7437; In Durham, Mrs. Charles
Stuart, 286-2760.
Remaining films in the series are: Walter Berlet's
"American Heartland: The Great River Story" on
Wednesday, January 28; and Norm Wakeman's
"Inside Passage to Alaska" on Tuesday, April 7.
AFRICAN STUDIES WORKSHOP Nor
thwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, African
Studies Program, will sponsor two days of discus
sions; on Northwestern's international and African
studies programs as well as general trends in inter
national studies. The workshop will be held from 9
a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday arid Saturday, January
16-17, in Norris University Center, 1999 Sheridan
Road., Evanston. Friday's program will be in
Room 2B; Saturday's in Room 2F.
The workshop is free and open to the public.
Discussion panels will include experts from
academia, business, government and funding agen
cies. Northwestern's Program of African Studies
coordinates teaching and research on Africa. It in
cludes more than 35 faculty members and 150
graduate students from several University depart
ments, who teach and do research on African
peoples, cultures and development.
DURHAM COUNTY SCHOOLS MENUS,
JAN. 5-9: Breakfast: Mon. Cereal, juice, milk;
Tues. Manager's favorite; Wed. Cheese toast,
applesauce, milk; Thurs. Sausage biscuit, orange
slices, milk; Fri. Cheese toast, sliced peaches,
milk.
Lunch: Mon. Sloppy Joe on bun, baked beans,
coleslaw wcarrots, milk; Tues. Baked ham,
pineapple on lettuce, green beans, hot roll, cake
wfrosting, milk; Wed. Pizza, tossed salad, broc
coli, cookie, milk; Thurs. Barbequed chicken,
whipped potatoes, mixed vegetables, hot roll,
apricot crisp, milk; Fri. Hamburger, french fries,
pickle spears, carrot & celery stcks, pudding wtop
ping, milk.
SCIENCE
lit I! W II
When you use saccharin,
do you say, "Ugh, that's bit
ter"? Don't worry, it's not
your mind, it's your genes
that cause things which are
sweet to most people to be
bitter to you. Scientists at
Yale University say that
some people have a more
genetically based sensitivity
to bitterness, especially to
lower saccharin concentrations.