Page 538 - Demo

LETS PUT ON A SHOW!VLOG* is producing the \this fall. Onstage, backstage & offstage volunteers needed A u d itio n s and signups are as follows: Thurs. & Fri., Sept. 4 & 5, 8 pm-11 pm;Sat. Sept. 6, 4 pm-11 pm.1st Presbyterian Church, 12 W. 12th St.%u2014Side door or call 2 1 2 -24 3-6 28T%u2018 The Village Light Opera Croup is a 52 year old, volunteer,non-profit communit\\ theatre group producing musicals,operetta & light opera.T T 5 T E S S T IS Cinem a* o %u00ab ( nsy sto io e %u00bb x G ( s r |%u2122 Vi S9b rO%u2019O.Danny DeVitoJudge Reinhold,Bette M idler%u201c RuthlessPeople%u201dRated R2 2 0 .4 .5 -4 5 , 7 :3 5 ,9 :2 5 H eld OverNew York is CrazyAbout%u2018The Gods MustBe Crazy%u201d%u201cIt's an AsbsoluteJoy%u201d - Joel Siegel2, 3:55, 5:50, 7:50. 9:50 Reted PGCall TheaterforCorrect ScheduleCall TheaterforCorrect Schedule314 F IA T B U S H a t 7%u00bbh A V E ,P A R K S L O P E -..(718)636 0171t n j i n c i n e m a4 4 i n 1 HILL TWIN265 COURT STREET, BROOKLYN 596-9113%u201cNothing InCommon%u201dFri & Sal 5:30. 7 40. 10 S un 510. 7,20, 9:30 M on-T hurs 7:20 9 30%u201cStand By Me%u201dF ri & Sat 3:45, 5:20, 7, 8:40, 10:20 Sun 2:45, 4:30, 6.15, 8, 9:40 M on-T hurs 6. 7:45, 9:30%u201cFlight ot the Navigator%u2019F ri S al S un 1, 2:35%u201cGreat Mouse Detective%u201dFri & S al 1, 2:20. S u n 1pmH O N P A I E T LTDFINE WINE & SPIRITSfift StVENTH AVI bnwHN BERKELEY A UNIONM ONDA'i Sa t u r d a y1 0 a m Y p n t (718) 8 5 7 -7 0 08(IPOMpi lltt( |(KaI dtllVLRV dilivtRV tE%u00abk:xic^-%u00abXi1 NysVIA Ops'Ptoplc ARE COMMQ hftck R) BftOoUw WT never Icfi.*If you dQn%u2019t read The PHOENIXevery week, you%u2019re missing the Best of Brownstone BrooklynTo S ubscribe: Send, $12.50 fo r One Year)to The P hoenix 395 A tla n tic Ave., B rooklyn, 11217Shakespeare !rs The Park !s A GoodVersion O f The Street Smart BardBY RENEE SILVERMANThe New York Shakespeare Festival%u2019s Romeo and Juliet presented an offbeat m arriage of Shakespearean lyricism and Spanish slang; of Veronese aristocrats and leather-clad, sunglass sporting musicians at Prospect Park on Friday, August 29. Although flawed, this ambitious interpretation neither strayed too far from the original so as to enrage purists nor ignored the sheer exuberance of out-of-door, free theatre with an audience as diverse as the company%u2019s own international cast.From the play%u2019s onset, it was clear that each element of this production aimed to unite the clasic with the contemporary. The set %u2014 little more than two winding staircases with a balcony on top and covered with pastel-colored squares %u2014 suggested 14th century Italian architecture but with 20th century color sense. The cast of Black, White, Hispanic, Arab, and Oriental actors remained true to the original text but also interjected greetings and asides in their own native tongues. And of course, Romeo and Juliet fell in love at first sight at the masked ball.This ball, however, resembled a chic Manhattan halloween party %u2014 Romeo wore a white satin harlequin outfit with black pompom buttons, the nurse bared her midriff and sported a Carmen Mirandaturban covered with plastic fruit. Death made his appearance in skeleton costume and danced along with the other guests to the Pointer Sisters song, %u201cFire.%u201dThe set, the cast, the costumes and the music all worked together to balance classic and pop cultures. Unfortuntaely, not every actor (most notably Koji Okamura asRomeo) could achieve the same balance in his or her performance. The great exception to this was Regina Taylor as Juliet. Taylor made for an exciting and dynamic heroine. She was thoroughly comfortable with the demands of Shakespearean prose and was as charming as she was believable.The only thing not believable about the bouncy, black Juliet was that she would fall in love or die for this particular Romeo. Lacking Ms. Taylor%u2019s playfulness and fluency, Okamura exhausted the audience withFrom th e play's onset, it wasclear th at each elem en t o f thisproduction aim e d to unite th econtem porary w ith the classic.hand-wringing histrionics. His Romeo is more of a wimp than an impetuous, strongwilled lover. Tybalt, played by Michael Rivera, and Mercutio, performed by Rene Moreno, offered us characters more in keeping with the entire sensibility of the interpretation, while Ivonne Coll tended to overact her part as the hot-blooded,Hispanic nurse.Yet despite flawed performances, this is a production worth seeing even if it means braving a nippy, late-summer evening. Estelle Parsons%u2019 vision of Romeo and Juliet is more than a fun, street-smart update of the tragedy. Rather, she succeeds in making the play compelling for todays%u2019 audience by reminding us that the issues of irrational hatred that brought about the lovers%u2019 doom are all too contemporary.f Cocktails %u2022 Steaks %u2022 ChopsSeafood %u2022 Catering %u2022All BakingDone on PremisesO n ly 2 blocks fro m the B rooklyn A cadem y o f M usicO p en 7 d ays%u2014 5 :3 0 a m -M id n ig h t: F ri.. S at. till 2ant5 1 5 A rlantir A ve (at 3rd A ve.) %u2022 6 2 5 -0 8 8 3 0 9 8 4Free LancePhotographsThe P h o e n ix is s e e kin g s k ille d p h o to g ra p h e rs to a c c e p t fre e lance a s s ig n m e n ts .T o m ake an appointm ent toshow your p o rtfo lio and joinour Free Lance R oster, callNews K ditor, af643-1240.STARRED: QAn exhibition of photographs of life in tsrooKiyns w o iiu - famous Sfarreff City, 1974-85SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7THROUGH SEPTEMBER 29Mon, W ed, Thurs, & Fri., 10am-5pm/Sat., 11am-6pm/Sun, 1pm-6pm/closed Tuesdays.THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM .200 EASTERN PARKWAY%u00a3 n h ib itio n m a d e p o s s ib le in p a r t b y a g ra n t fro m S ta rre tt City, m a n a g e d b y G re n a d ie r R e a lty C o rpArt TakesFREE JAZZ STUDIES: The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music is offering a series of free introductory jazz workshops and classes, including: Jazz Theory I, II; Improvisational Skills; Improvisational Rhythms I, II; Jazz Workshop I, II; Jazz History; Guitar Workshop; Orchestration Arranging; Big Band Workshop. The Conservatory is at 58 Seventh Avenue. Register now. For information, call 723-6221.HEIGHTS COUNTRY GIRL: The Heights Players will perform %u201cThe Country Girl%u201d by Clifford Odets, directed by John Kelly. Performances will be held September 5-20, Friday and Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 2pm. Admission is $7 or TDF voucher at 26 Willow Place. For information, call 237-2752.ROTUNDA PIN-UPS: The Rotunda Gallery at the Brooklyn War memorial will reopen for the 1986-87 season on September 23 with an exhibition titled %u201cPin-Ups,%u201d socalled because all of the works in the exhibit are displayed without frames. The artists in the exhibition are: Peter Nagy, Jessica Diamond, Dina Helal, Cyrilla Mozenter, and Michael Ross. The exhibit will close on November 1. The gallery is at Cadman Plaza West and Orange Street. For information, call 875-4031.FRINGE SONATA: BACA Downtown will open its 1986-87 theater season with %u201cMink Sonata%u201d by Allan Havis, in BACA%u2019s Fringe Series. %u201cMink Sonata%u201d is an examination of filial lust in modern-day Manhattan; it will be performed by Victoria Boothby, Randy Phillips, and Gordana Rashovich on September 12,13,19 and 20 at 8pm, at 111 Willoughby Street. Admission is $8 or TDF voucher plus $3. For information, call 596-2222.WOODWORK AT CLAY: The Clay Pot Gallery will show hardwood furniture by artist/woodworker John Bickel from September 7-October 16 in its Park Slope space. Among the works which will be onUi&piCS^ ID cl CIIV.11 J OJIU n u iH u t %u2019 Vonlrchair, winner of the 1985 Daphne Finalist Award. The Clay Pot is at 162 Seventh Avenue. For information, call 788-6564.PARRIES PIX OF PARK: The Prospect Park Boat House will open an exhibition of photographs by Prospect Park employees,%u201cParkies Views of Prospect Park,%u201d on September 27, running through December. Gallery hours through October 15 are Wednesday-Sunday, llam-4:45pm. Use the entrance at Empire Boulevard and Flatbush Avenue. For information, call 287-3559.OUTDOOR ART SHOW: Artists, photographers, craftspersons and sculptors will show their work at the All Communities Arts 21st Annual Outdoor Art Show on September 7,14, 21 and 28. The show will take place along Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay. For information, call 338-2043.STARRETT PIX: The Brooklyn Museum will open an exhibition Sept. 7 of approximately 80 black and white photographs of life in the huge Starrett City complex in Brooklyn, titled %u201cStarrett: City Within a City.%u201d The photos are mostly taken from the Starrett Sun, and will be on display through September 29. The exhibit is made possible by a grant from Robert C. Rosenberg. The Museum is at 200 Eastern Parkway. For information, call 638-5000.WILLENSKY BROOKLYN: Elliot Willensky, architect, author, vice-chairman of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and Borough Historian of Brooklyn will give a talk on %u201cWriting Brooklyn,%u201d about his new book %u201cWhen Brooklyn Was the World: 1920-1957.%u201d The talk will be 6-8pm on September 17 at the Municipal Art Society, 457 Madison Avenue, in Manhattan. Admission is free, but reservations are needed.For information, call (212) 935-3960.OUTDOOR ART SHOW: AH Communities Arts will hold its Annual Fall Outdoor Art Show on September 7,14, 21 and 28 on Emmons and Ocean Avenues. The show is juried, and ribbons will be awarded to those works judged the best. The hours are from 12-8pm. For information, call 338-2043.TRICKLE MELTDOWN: Meltdown Performing Arts will present its new production %u201cThe 'h * 'nk ! %u00b0 \h v P trn n -wyn Rucker and Rick Russon, at Sideshows by the Seashore on September 12,13,14,19, 20 and 21 at 8pm. Sideshows by tin Seashore is at the Coney Island Boardwalk and West 12th Street. Admission is $4. For information, call 372-5159.wornPage 28, THE PH OENIX, Septem ber 4, 1986