The Post-Star from Glens Falls, New York • 47

VT 51 aim The Posf-Sfor, 792-331 Features fdfor: Mar'onne Comfort Copy Editor: Beverly Foster E7Sunday. June 26, 1988 P-- Best Bets By Troy Burns In Gaslight's footlights Park's performers wouldn't trade their summer jobs for anyone else's Browsing By Steve Barnes I It I.J. A 1 (If 1 fhki Mil' I 11 UN? singer, musician and juggler. After five years as a singing ringmaster for the Ringling Brothers and Bar-num and Bailey Circus, Wells wanted a change. Now he is a skating juggler in the ice show.

"I love'doing it, performing. As long asyit pay Sv the bills and I can make4noney, I'll do it. "It's a challenge always trying to do better. And I get to bring people happiness. It's what I do." And though he could not be more different from Wells, 17-year-old Patrick Nysveen has almost the same reasons for performing.

As one of the eight members of the "Sunshine Express" song-and-dance troupe, Nysveen takes to the Gaslight Opera House stage four times a day, seven days a week, just like the rest of the performers. Sunshine Express performs two distinct shows, each one twice a day. The shows are a half-hour of high energy, five-part harmony singing and choreography. Whether there is an audience of five or 500, they perform. "Why did I join this group?" repeated Nysveen.

"Well, I'll tell you. I have two very good reasons. One, I come from this little bitty podunk town and I could've worked in a gas station or in McDonald's. So this is much better than that. And I'm still in high school I'm going to be a senior in the fall so this is great experience for someone my age.

"And when I go back home I tell all my friends that I sang and danced in New York for the summer and of course when all of them think of New York they think of New York City I don't tell them any different and they are just floored! And besides, I love performing I'll probably go to college for one of the arts or another it's great, sort of like being on your own but still having the supervision" of Sunshine manager Chris Corbett. Corbett.6, has been with Sunshine Express' parent company, American Entertainment Produc I III si I'll. -r 1 4 of the ice show at Gaslight Village, Staff Intern "I just can't imagine myself doing 'normal' jobs," said Nancy Schwarz. "I guess I love perform ing too much." That love for show business is the common thread that ties together all of this year Gaslight Village performers. Whether it's a 17- year-old singer from Oklahoma or a Chaplinesque Argentinian skater who has been in the business for 45 years, whether it's just a summer job or a career, they all perform because they love it and in varying degrees because they feel a need to perform.

"I tried business school," con fessed Ms. Schwarz, a featured skater with Ron Urban's Interna tional Ice Review at Gaslight it wasn't for me. So I decided that Xwould skate until I couldh't anymore "The time to do it is when you're young, continued Ms. ischwarz, who is 21. And I still really enjoy it no, I love it." Ms.

Schwarz, of Atlantic City, N.J., and her partner, Robert Hastings III from Saratoga Springs, make up the "adagio" team in the ice show. Adagio, explained Ms. Schwarz, is a different type of pairs skating. Adagio teams focus on lifts and spins instead of the jumps and throws of traditional pairs skating. Eight other skaters complete the ice show's cast.

For several of the young skaters, the show is a summer job: "I like it, it's fun, but it's not part bf my future," said 19-year-old Jennifer Stevens. For Esteban Italiano, known as "Little Lito" in the show, skating has been his life. Italiano, who skated for "Disney on Ice" and "Holiday on Ice" for 21 years, is a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Little Lito is the comic relief of the show. Dressed like Charlie Chaplin, Little Lito does slapstick, falls down, skates on one leg and interacts with the audience.

"I'm supposed to be semi-retired," Italiano said. "But I keep skating." Italiano said the audience keeps him going, even in his semi-retirement. "With a good audience, your ego is very happy. Your body maybe no, but your ego, yes. "As long as they want me," he said, "I will continue to work.

If I see someone laugh, I never stop. Laughter is spontaneous applause sometimes isn't, it's forced but laughter is spontaneous. When I see one little boy laugh, I know I am making the world better." At one point during his Little Lito act, Italiano pretends to be a clumsy skater, appearing as if he is going to fall off the rink. As with anything else, the rule holds true that to appear to be bad at something, you actually have to be an expert; Italiano's mastery of the ice is clear. The same applies to his comedy, which looks deceptively easy and natural.

But "every single movement of his is carefully planned," Rich Tenace says of Italiano. Tenace. who is the park announcer and unofficial stage manager of the outdoor stage, is also the park clown. Corky. Italiano "is an absolute master of comic timing." said Tenace.

"I've learned an awful lot from him." Learning is something that continues among the performers. The younger entertainers, whether they are just starting out in their profession or performing as an avocation on the side, have a wealth of older, more experienced talent to help them polish their skills. Consider Bob Wells, who has performed all over the world as a Mil t-it 1 1' fit 'txt 1 ft i ft I'll Hi-lit in rehearsal. (Paul Walsh photo) to Chris Corbett's hysterical Elvis impersonation on "Teddy Bear. You want to laugh at them because they're doing crazy things on stage, but they're too good.

Besides, they're fun. After the glitz of Ron Urban's very Vegas, very '80s ice show, vou move outside and confront a iarge fake horse. Wait a minute: they don't have horses in Vegas, do they? And why is there a horse if there is an armored car? And a space shuttle ride? And then there's this woman named "Princess Randa" or something like that, who has "skills honed from ancient Egyptian traditions," who juggles things like boxes and tubes with her feet. Then there's these shooting galleries very Old West and even a house marked "Mystery." And modern-day rides that use very un-gaslight things, like centrifugal force and plastic. This is a theme park? Plural, maybe.

Ah, what the heck. It's all a whole lot of fun. WHIPPLE CITY DAYS, arts and crafts, food, a chair splinting demonstration and a chicken barbecue are some of the many events scheduled for today, starting at 10 a.m., in the town of Greenwich. "DANCE AND PHOTOGRAPHY: THE FUGITIVE GESTURE," presentation with William Ewing, curator and author, and photographers Lynn Davis, Lois Greenfield and Jack Mitchell. Also, a performance by dancer Jeanne Brescianni and contemporary performer Daniel Esralow, 1 to 4 p.m.

Fieldhouse Dance Theater, Skid- more College, Saratoga Springs, CADY-LAVEN FINE ART, art exhibit featuring local sculptor, Eric Nelson, painter Pheobe Stone and sculptor Victoria Palermo, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Cady-Laven Fine Art, Bolton Landing. STRAWBERRY SOCIAL, to 4 p.m.. Middle Granville Presbyterian Church, Middle Granville. DE LYONGALLERY, new ex hibit of regional artists' works, 1 p.m.

to 5 p.m., de Lyon Gallery, 75 Main Cambridge. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DANCE, three exhibits, "The Fugitive Gesture: Masterpieces of Dance Photography 1849 to the Pre "Ballet for a City and a Na tion: Forty Years of the New York City Ballet "Shaping the Amen can Dance Dream: The Founders," noon to 4 p.m., National Museum of Dance, Saratoga Springs "ALL ABOARD: RAILROAD IMAGES FROM THE PERMA NENT COLLECTION," paintings and drawings depicting American railroading, noon to 5 p.m., Albany Institute of History Art, 125 Washington Albany. "SEND US A LADY PHYSI CIAN: WOMEN DOCTORS IN AMERICA, 1835-1920," this exhibition focuses on efforts that allowed 19th-century women to enter the American medical profession, State Museum, Empire State Plaza, Albany. "RECALLING THE PAST: PAINTINGS FROM LOCAL COLLECTIONS," four photographers Willis T. White, Frederick D.

Burt, Mary R. Sanford and an unknown artist in an exhibition which focuses on the first quarter of the 20th-century, 1 to 5 p.m., Benn ington Museum, West Main Street Bennington, Vt. "NORMAN ROCKWELL'S AMERICA," paintings and drawings by the famous illustrator, 1 to 5 D.m.. Bennington Museum, West Main Street, Bennington, Vt. "ART OF THE EYE," A collec tion of works by 24 contemporary American artists with such visual impairments as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, monocular vision detached retina, cataract, color deficiency and total blindness, Em pire State Plaza.

Albany. "NATIVE PEOPLES OF NEW YORK," accurate and up-to-date recreation of prehistoric life in the Northeast. Empire State Plaza Albany. Food CHICKEN BARBECUE, 11:30 a.m Ashlar Lodge 584 Greenwich. PANCAKE BREAKFAST, 8 to 11 a.m., William J.

Varney American Legion Post, Lake Avenue, Lake Luzerne. Music TRIAGE, trio of musicians specializing in concerts combining operatic, light classical and Broadway literature, 2:30 p.m.. Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, Vt. NEW PERFORMERS SHOWCASE, series of new performers including Glens Falls native Chris Blackburn, Caffe Lena. 45 Phila Saratoga Springs.

BOB DYLAN, with special guests The Alarm, 8:15 p.m., Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), Saratoga Springs. Theater "ANNIE GET YOUR GUN," 2 and 7 p.m., Mac-Hayden Theatre, Route 203. Chatham. "THE FANTASTICKS," Live at the Lakehouse, Washington Park. Albany.

"BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR," staged by the Heritage Artist, 2 and 7 p.m., Cohoes Music Hall, 58 Remsen Cohoes. "I'M NOT RAPPAPORT," Lake George Dinner Theatre, 6:30 in. dinner and 8:15 m. show. Ho day Inn, Route 9.

Lake George. "CROSSING NIAGARA," Dorset Theatre Festival, Dorset, Vt. Hi M'-l, j. it' mm. it i i I Paige Carroll, choreographer It's a theme By Steve Barnes Staff Intern Gaslight Village has a theme rHcis It rWsn't want to limit itself to any one particular period.

so it nas Dits ana pieces irum me last two centuries, despite the specific period-sounding name. OK, the name. The words "Gaslight Village" bring to mind the 1890s or the early 1900s. when they actually had gas streetlights. Then you walk through the gates and hear 1940s Big Band music.

In the Opera House, sounds of Tin Pan Alley tinkle from Kent Baker's piano. So do '20s and '40s tunes, and even things that sound like Top 40 songs. The Opera House "meller-dramas." a la Dudley Do-Right, complete with villain in black, fair maiden and the good guy in white, are tremendously bad. Of course, that's the intent. The "mellers." that Gaslight jargon are standard vaudeville skits that have been passed through thwarped senses panies in both the United States and Europe, appears as the pleasure-seeking nobleman.

A regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions, Mr. Galbraith sand in last year's gala concert opening the Alice Busch Opera Theater. Bass George Hogan sings the role of Leporello, which he also performed with the Sacramento Opera this season. In the 1989-90 season he will make his Carnegie Hall debut with the opera orchestra of New York as Colonna in "Rienzi." Soprano Bren-da Harris portrays Donna Anna. Her performance of the role has been praised by Peter G.

Davis in New York magazine as "impassion park with lots of themes of humor of resident comedy writers Tim Murphy and Rich Tenace. If you don't groan at least once a minute during the quarter-hour show, the performers feel bad. Murphy even said a groan from the audience is his favorite. Tenace. as Corky the Clown, sometimes heckles from the audience or even goes up on stage.

The cast members improvise all the time and even try to trip each other up. No matter that a "what is a clown doing in a vaudeville skit?" comes to mind. He sets up the jokes. After all. he wrote a lot of them.

Murphy plays the villain, and what an impressive villain he makes. He taunts the audience, gets the best of the bad puns, and even has a death scene to rival Madame Butterfly's, in terms of drama. After the mellers. the Sunshine Express takes the stage, radiating a warmth and good cheer throughout the dim Opera House. Their shows are a delight.

They are good, perfectly stylizing everything from "Hold that Tiger" tions, of Worthington, Ohio, for 11 years. He said he worked in the company's home office for about five years and has spent the other six "on the road" with various company groups such as Sunshine. American Entertainment Productions' groups perform at amusement parks around the country, as well as being part of the regular entertainment on the Carnival Cruise Lines ships. "When I got this said Corbett, I figured I'd give it two years. Now here I am going into my twelfth summer." Corbett is as much involved with the actual performances as the rest of the troupe: he and Nysveen are the male vocalists.

Managers always perform with the groups, he said. "It's company policy. "It's a good company to work for," he continued. "And I still enjoy yes, still, after 11 years. Oh, sure I'm definitely ready to think about settling down, having a wife, kids, a station wagon, a big dog.

I don't plan to do this (perform) for the rest of my life. But it is what I do now and I love it. It may be hard to motivate yourself to get up on stage, but once you're there, you become another person. The energy's infectious the performance is it." "I call people who aren't in show business said Nancy Schwarz. "It's not a negative thing I don't think I'm better than everyone else performers couldn't get along without audiences I love audiences it's like getting a pat on the back every single day for good work.

But I can't see myself doing something Yet." Giovanni" has remained consistently in the repertory since its first performance 200 years ago. A unique blending of irresistible comedy and stark tragedy, "Don Giovanni" has remained consistent-Jy in the repertory since its first performance 200 years ago. "Don Giovanni" is the story of a man obsessed with his next conquest. With the help of his sly and witty servant, Leporello, the attractive nobleman quickly charms and then scandalizes all women he meets. Later the unrepentant lover faces doom when the ghostly statue of the man he killed seeks retribution.

Baritone Robert Galbraitb, who has performed with numerous com 'Don Giovanni' opens summer opera season at Glimmerglass chestras ot muinreai, Mexico City, Vienna, and Helsinki, as well as la Scala, La Fenice, and Monte Carlo Opera. ed and shining." Other members of the cast include Katherine Luna as Donna Elvira, Richard Margison as Ottavio, Carlos Serrano as Masetto, Angela Norton as Zerlina, and Gregory Stapp as theCommendatore. "Don Giovanni" is directed by David Gately. Sets and lighting have been designed by Peter Dean Beck, with costume coordination by Jose Lengson. The opera is Alfredo Bonavera who makes his debut with the company.

Mr. Bonavera, a former assistant to Leonard Bernstein and George Szell at the new York Philharmonic, has conducted the or COOPERSTOWN "Don Giovanni," Mozart's timeless opera about the great seducer Don Juan and his descent into hell, premiered Saturday at the Glimmerglass Opera, opening the the 1988 summer festival season. Additional evening performances will be held on June 29, July 5, 8, with matinees at 2:30 on June 27, July 3, and 10. All will be given in English at the new Alice Busch Opera Theater 8 miles north of Co-operstown on Otsego Lake. 1 The production is being-sponsored, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Often called "the greatest opera ever written, Mozart's "Don Subscription tickets to the entirt 1988 Glimmerglass season as well as single tickets for "Don Giovanni" I are available by mail at P. O. Box 191, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Box of- fice hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday through Saturday, at iOJ Chestnut Street, Cooperstown. Tickets are also available at all Capital District Community Box Of- fices, in Utica at the Stanley The-; ater, in Oneonta at Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts, and in Norwich at Chenango County Council of the Arts. 4 1.