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Hrs M - W 10:30 - 6:30 TH. F 10:30 - 7:30 SAT 10:30 - 6:30 SUN 1 2 - 5 Hrs w ill be extended lo r holiday season.C la y t h in g sPorcelain tea cups available in pig, cat, dog and others by Tom Hatton price . . . $24THE CLAY POTPARK S L O P E %u2022 B R O O K L Y N 162 7th /VE (718) 788K>564PHoo'. fixSinging V-r The 'Blues' Makes For AGospel Performance To RememberBY DREW BAILEYMahlia Jackson%u2019s enormous influence on generations of vocalists bears testimony to her long-standing reputation as one of the greatest and most prominent interpreters of that most cherished of American art forms, gospel music. Her rise to prominence was even more profound in light of the fact that she managed to succeed at a time when blues and jazz was reaching the peak of its ascendency. Her devotion to gospel singing contains a hidden irony, as her story is very much a story of the blues.This balance of the ideologies manifested in gospel and blues traditions is reverently portratyed in %u201cBlues for A Gospel Queen,%u201d presented by the Billy Holiday Theater. %u201cBlues for a Gospel Queen%u201d presents the story of Mahalia Jackson in the various stages of her life.The show opens with the mature Mahalia, played skillfully by Kathi Walker, flashing back on her life and the influences which shaped it. The young Mahalia, played by Oner Cole, was portrayed as an effervescent, outgoing personality, subject to parallel influences, her wild, unpredictable brother, Chafalaya and her Aunt Duke, a solemn icon of religious faith. These two forces battle for her allegiance, and ultimately the church wins her eternal faith.This early scene makes a point about how secular influences, so much a part of her life, were not permitted to sway her own faith or the path she chose for herself. As the story proceeds, depicting her early struggle to survive in Chicago in the 30s, her failed marriages, and her triumph in spreading the gospel throughout the nation, it becomes clear that Mahalia was a woman devoted to her faith and values in the face of adversity and at the height of her success.Kathi Walker is gracefully majestic as Mahalia Jackson. She possesses a young, taut voice that is both powerful and controlled. In such classics as %u201cIn the Upper Room,%u201d %u201cThis Little Light of Mine,%u201d and %u201cWe Shall Overcome,%u201d she captures the essence of Mahalia in her presence and delivery. Walker has able support from The Voices of Power %u2014 Gary Anglin, Germaine Hunter and Gwendolyn Roberts-Frost %u2014 a vocal trio whose energetic harmonies captured the excitement and power of a full choir.%u201cBlues for a Gospel Queen%u201d is not simply a gospel review, nor is it a series of vignettes aimed at ennobling the values of religious faith. The book by Don Evans is athoughtfully constructed model of a woman%u2019s life, steadfast in its purpose yet no less afflicted by pain and suffering. Mahalia expressed her blues versus gospel thoughts this way: %u201c When I was a girl, I washed dishes, scrubbed floors, bent over a washtub, just to keep my family alive. I knew the blues, but there%u2019s despair in the blues; I sang God%u2019s music because it gave me hope. I still need the hope and happiness God%u2019s music brings. I find it a personal triumph over every handicap, a solution to every problem. A path to peace.%u201d Fine acting, a witty script, lively choreography, sensitive music by John Lewis and powerful singing make %u201c Blues for a Gospel Queen%u201d a wonderful experience. The work celebrates a story that should be told more often, it is certain well worth the hearing.%u201cBlues for Gospel Queen%u201d runs through November 30 at the Billie Holiday Theater, 1368 Fulton Street. Performances are Wednesday-Saturday, at 8pm, Saturday at 3pm and Sunday at 4pm. Tickets are $6 on Wednesday and Saturday afternoon, $8 Thursday and $15 Friday-Sunday. For more information, call 857-6363.Mobile Theater Tours%u201cSometimes the theater has to come to you,%u201d states Matthew Paris, assistant supervisor of recreation for the Parks Department, explaining the idea behind the Brooklyn Theater Ensemble, which brings Brooklyn authors, directors and actors to locations throughout the borough. The Ensemble%u2019s current tour stops at the Brooklyn Heights lib rary on November 22, at 12:30pm, for a free performance of %u201cWhere O Where Has Lady Celia Gone,%u201d by Sol Offsey and two one-act plays by Paris, %u201cNixon In Love%u201d and %u201cBreakfast at Midnight.%u201dOffsey describes his %u201cLady Delia%u201d as %u201ca tale of ultimate degeneracy on an unnamed island.%u201d Paris explains %u201cNixon%u201d and %u201c Breakfast\about Nixon and a fortune teller, the other a loving memory of the %u2018old Dubrow%u2019s bunch%u2019.%u201d%u201cWe want to do plays nobody has done,%u201d Paris adds, %u201cworks that mirror Brooklyn%u2019s fantastical nature and reach audiences that no one has come to meet. %u201dThe library is located at Cadman Plaza West and Clinton St. For more information on this and other performances, or on the Ensemble, call 258-5367.VISIT OUR WINE BOUTIQUED. Scotto WinesImported & DomesticFine Wines and LiquorsFREE LOCAL DELIVERYC om e in and browse in ourCalifornia Wine Room\the LARGEST assortment ofboutique wines in the city!Try our wonderful house wines at irresistable prices:Beringer '81 C abernet Sauvignon $7.99 750 m i (Knight's Valley)Clos D u Bois '8 5 Sauvignon Blanc Bandiera Z infandel '81Bandiera W ild flo w e r R ed/W hite6 .99 750 m l.2 .99 750 m l.4 .99 15 lGreat Case Prices on Whole or Assorted Wines ,Come in to check out our several other unadvertised s3 1 8 C o u r t S t r e e t TR5-5530Page 22, THE PHOENIX, November 13, 1986