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PHOENIX, Page FivePark Slope Night Life SceneEmerges On Seventh AvenueBY JOHN BLACKMOREIs the commute into Manhattan necessary for an evening%u2019s entertainment? It may not be. At least in Park Slope there is the beginnings of a night life scene that for some people is a reasonable alternative to Manhattan. In recent months, there%u2019s been a proliferation of coffee houses, pubs, and bistros along Park Slope%u2019s Seventh Ave. that areworth sampling. We did just that the other night, and this is what wefound:We first visited Krannie%u2019s Nook, at 786 Union St. which just opened two weeks ago. The Nook turns out to be vast, with black painted walls reaching over 20 feet to a huge skylight, which serves as fly-space for the platform stage. The place seems to have excellent prospects for theatre, and theatre is what owner Dan Kransdorf has in mind. The first dramatic presentation at the nook will be %u201c Uptaught,%u201d a series of skits satirizing the educational establishment, to open February 23.The coffee house is open every evening; Thursday through Saturday are live-entertainment nights, when folk, jazz, rock music and occasional plays are presented. During the remainder of the week old movies are shown. We saw the original %u201c Topper%u201d with Cary Grant, which was a treat. There is a 50-cent cover charge at the door, and a wide selection of reasonably priced teas, coffee, sandwiches and desserts are available. The menu includes, among other things, the widest selection of dry cereals we have ever encountered (our choice, Rice Krispies).Right next door, at 782 Union St., is the Mongoose CommunityCenter which runs a coffee house during the weekends. The Mongoose, which is over two years old, offers events and entertainments that reflect a community and political orientation, these include music, puppet theatre, poetry, and for the intrepid, midnight hikes. Sadly, we were unable to visit the Mongoose,for that night%u2019s event was a reading of women%u2019s poetry, and no men were allowed.The Mongoose is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. We%u2019re told that the Mongoose is an excellent place to pick up information on political activities in and around Park Slope. The center is also the home for the Park Slope People Against the War.We next stopped by The Machine Cafe, on First St. at Seventh Ave. First opened four years ago as the We Three, The Machine has a warm, quiet atmosphere, an excellent place to talk, eat, or play chess. The Machine advertises the largest selection of teas available, and is also noted for good, moderately-priced dinners and snacks. Folk music is occasionally presented, and musicians are encouraged to take the floor. The Machine is open daily from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. and remains open until 2 a.m. on weekend nightsIf this selection isn%u2019t diverse enough, you won%u2019t have to wait long for more. Two more coffee houses are opening on Seventh Ave. later this winter.For a gutsier night on the town, there is always the large selection of bars, pubs, and bistros evident on nearly every block along Seventh Ave. Most are working class bars representing the various ethnic groups of the neighborhood, predominantly Irish. If you go in for St. Patrick%u2019s Day pub crawls, Seventh Ave. is highly recommended. You%u2019ll find high cheer, good wit, a fight or two, and insome places free corned beef and other snacks. One has to pay for the green beer, however.Boerum Hill Theatre Association:In the past two years a few Manhattan style puts have opened. Most notable is the Iron Horse on Seventh Ave. at First St., which isa cozy little place with a RinkyTink piano and cronies who get into singing along. Short films are shown periodically, food is served, and no cover is charged at the door. Good, cheap McSorley%u2019s ale is available.A most interesting new disco opened about a year ago in the loft above Dixon%u2019s Bicycle Shop just down from Seventh Ave. on Union St. Although it was not open on our visit, we%u2019re told that Dixon%u2019sPalace, as its called, is a lively discotheque with a convivial, innovative atmosphere. Entertainments, including dancers, drummers, and singers, are presented from time to time. The music is predominantly rock-soul with an island flavor. Dixon%u2019s Palace is open on weekend evenings.If you want to hobnob with Methodist Hospital nurses, Slope kids home from college, or Pete Hammill%u2019s cronies, go to the Coach Inn. This Seventh Ave. establishment has always been the %u201c nice place to go if you really must hang out at a bar.%u201d Decorations are done in exemplary %u201960%u2019s kitsch. The Coach seems to want to be a medieval great hall, a Bavarian bierkeller, and an early American parlor all at the same time. The main attribute of The Coach is its long, bar-drinkers bar, where conversation can actually be heard above the music. Though The Coach does not reflect a %u201c Victorian Air,%u201d as the framed article on the wall proclaims, it is a decent place for a nightcap.A new place that looks promising is Snooky%u2019s Pub, just a few numbers down from The Coach. It hadn%u2019t opened yet when we passed, but we looked in. It appears to be along the line of those Soho and Village %u201c artiste%u201d pubs, like the Buffalo Roadhouse. If so, it will be a welcome addition.So an evening%u2019s night-on-thetown can be had without leaving Park Slope. Music, theatre, politics, masculinity games, pick ups, annebriation can all be shared with your neighbors without traveling to the mob scene across the river. %u2019 ''Wesf Side Story%u2019 Comes GoodBeset by difficulties, the Boerum Hill Theatre Association mounted a workmanlike version of %u201c West Side Story%u201d last Thursday evening that will continue this Thursday through Saturday.Using a combination of some neighborhood people and others who answered ads placed in newspapers, including the PHOENIX, director Richard Delmarle has assembled an interesting and talented cast. Penna Rose%u2019s musical direction is also excellent, as are the voices of Stephen Colantti as Tony, and Lori Hillman as Maria. Their voicesmake up for the fact that Tony wears a puppy-dog expression too often, and Maria, in lovely tones, doesn%u2019t always seem to know how or where to move. Anita, played by Millie Russell, also sings forcefully.Part of the problem may be the fact that the cast has been without a choreographer for weeks. (He split). In a musical that depends so heavily on movement and dancestaging, the choreographer%u2019s direction is crucial. The chorus occasionally manages to surmount this difficulty, as the Jets do in their fine production number,A lic e / A P la y Fo r C h ild re nJane Stanton%u2019s adaptationof %u201cAlice in Wonderland%u201d forthe Brooklyn HeightsTheatre for Children isbilled as having all thecharm and fun of the LewisCarroll novel. The play willbe presented on the nextthree weekends inFebruary, the 10th, 11th,17th, 18th, 24th and 25th,at 2 p.m. in the Alfred T.White Community Center,26 Willow PI. Admission is$ 1.Ed Healy is directing thelarge cast wmcn includesTweedle Dee and TweedleDum, the King and Queen ofHearts, the White Rabbit,and, of course, Alice.The music for thisproduction was composedby Ben Taberski, a newmember of the HeightsPlayers. A three-seasonveteran of the Players,Joyce Zwebenchoreographed the dancing.For reservations call MA5-8875 between 8 p.m. and11 p.m. Tickets may also bereserved at Womrath%u2019sbook store.D id n ' t to T H is x e A R ? ,%u20acnvisit Mk SOUVLAKli1 4 7 A A o N T a & U E . S t .%u2022 <*%u00a3. %u00a3 * + * * & .%u201c Officer Krupke.%u201d Thefight scenes between the Jets and the Sharks are also well-handled, for the most part, as is the knife fight between Bernardo, Riff, and Tony ..Some of the chorus work could use polishing and sharpening, however.The cast has also been missing its set designer for some time, yet in his absence the Boerum Theatre Group makes do with a series ofPrep GamesSt. Francis College will host home basketball games for St. Francis Prep while the Prep Gymnasium is under construction.Remaining St. Francis Prep home games which will be plahed at St. Francis College 180 Remsen St., Brooklyn are: Feb. 16: Holy Cross (Junior Varsity 6:30; Varsity 8:15; Feb. 21: Arch JJishop Molloy (Junior Varsity 6:30; Varsity 8:15).OPEN LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY & WASHINGTON%u2019S BIRTHDAY(Mon. Feb. 12 and Mon. Feb. 19)DINE B? GASLIGHTNow Monday, Tuesday andSaturday evenings.Try it soon.A G E a n dT o ia n e rBrooklyn's Landmark Resfooront W inner o f 372 w h o m sr moopiyn20 annual J hocks mom %u00bbo%u00abo hauHOLIDAY T%u00ab,ongl. 5-5181Magazine open i i 30 am to p pmplatform boxes that were originally supposed to move on casters. Some scenes are played too far back, so that the audience occasionally is subjected to some neck-straining. More center-stage action between the main characters would be welcome.The two rival gangs handle their parts well, though occasionally they do not seem to know exactly where to move next in the dance numbers. Yet Alexander Dube, as Bernardo, leader of the Sharks, moves well on stage and dances beautifully, especially in a dream sequence ballet with his partner, danced as Tony and Maria sing %u201c There%u2019s A Place For Us.%u201d Robert Arpin as Riff, the Jet head man,SAT. ' .'uhtu jwnuuyta Park Slope la n d m a rk since 1910,o ff G ra n d A rm y Plaza LUNCHEONDINNERCOCKTAIL LOUNG Etfw feists B(-T r A r i i s t i r rU f H I l W W a %u25a0 n v i h i i ik t #free p a rk in gclosed M o n d a ysow ned an d o p e ra te d by the M ichel fa m ily346 Flatbush A ve n u e IMF 8-4559handles himself with just the right amount of arrogant grace, and the duets between Tony and Maria are a fine blending of two lovely voices, as they manage to suggest a love that transcends differing ethnic backgrounds.Everyone involved with the production, a difficult one to stage in the first place, has managed to come through the best way they know how. Some delightful moments are provided as the audience is reminded once again of the beautiful Arthur LaurentsLeonard Bernstein score that lurks in the romantic subconscious of us all.%u2014GINA LEBOW1TZiccaddiiR E S TA U R A N TFamous for Our['Overstuffed SandwichesCateringOur Specialtyl*i Ut Plan Your Naxt Partyrr.v.v . %u25a0>..is* montasw mant TK S-I34Q %u2014 n 3-1341 k