Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 69

Call Entertainment: 1-313-222-6610 Sunday, October 18, 1998 Section Detroit Jfvcc Vtc INSIDE Film Wio the Hell Is is the story of a teen making her way in Cuba. Page 11G The List! Page 2G Sound Judgment, Page 6G 7 v. MEET THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE RULERS OF AREA STAGES I -I TYnvfTn cio ft AVrn ni If i ft I V(! it CI "'Ji I 4 i Si iv J. KYLE KEENERDetroit Free Press Five of die most influential figures in Detroit theater. From left Esau Pritchett, Geoffrey Sherman, Leonard Leone, Alan Lichtenstein and David Regal.

or good or evil, through the Fisher in 1961. He also ran the now-gone Riviera and Vest Pocket theaters on the west side. Active in the business today are his five sons: Harry, James, Fred, Joseph and Robert (while daughter Frances is not). D.T.'s theatrical line now extends to several grandchildren who are and the fakes have not survived. We look to blame the Pontiac city officials behind the eviction of the Attic Theatre from the Strand Theatre, a move never justified.

Attic loyalist Jim Moran, imitating a bulldog with a bone, still is pursuing legal action. And one can fault the very audience of memorable plays and lousy ones, an identifiable group of extraordinary individuals has worked with a heavy hand on Detroit's I LAWRENCE DEV1NE Theater theater over the past 30 to 40 years. producers. LEONARD LEONE (1914-): High on anyone's fame list is the Highland Park-born son of immigrant Italian grocers who put Wayne State firmly on the theater map in the United States. In a 40-year career, he set up its theater training program, founded the Hilberry, Bonstelle and Studio theaters and the black theater program.

His programs turned out more than 400 actors, designers, technicians and administrators. Among those he mentored were Lloyd Richards, former dean of the Yale University School of Drama and Tony Meadow Brook Theatre and some of its administrators who encouraged a quarter century of well-meaning pap from a director, Terence Kilburn, who could have given them better. But largely, the best stories are those of individuals who got in the trenches, who took the tickets, counted the house, held the rehearsals, hunted for angels and, by God, got a show onstage. Here are some of those theater hands. The titans of seasons past David T.

Nederlander (i886-i967): The earth father of Detroit theater is the The most pervasive influence belongs to cigar smokers and cussers like crusty David T. Nederlander, David Regal and Alan Lichtenstein. The gentler touches come from artists and humanitarians like Leonard Leone, whose parents named him for Leonardo da Vinci, and Mickey Miners, the Papa Bear of Detroit Youtheatre, who now is seriously ill with his second bout with leukemia. Some critics believe the state of the Detroit-area stage is not in such hot shape these days, what with all the rehab musicals the Fisher-Masonic crowd keeps bringing in. It's as if nobody wants to pay to see a play in which people talk to one another anymore.

If that's today's downside, the up side is a new group of vibrant community players such as Geoffrey Sherman at suburban Meadow Brook Theatre and young Turk Gary Anderson, who is urban-urban. Both directors' achievements are built on good, sensible drama. The villains in this story are few. The swindlers Award-winning director, actors Lily Tom-lin, Jeffrey Tambor, David Regal, Chad Everett, Max Wright, Earl DA Smith, Arthur Beer and scores of others. Now 84, Leone is retired and lives in Berkley with his wife (and high school sweetheart), Berta.

LAlflNIA MQYER (1947-): For nearly 20 years, she was Please see THEATER, Page 9G patriarch of the theatrical family whose far-flung enterprises today include the Fisher and Masonic theaters in Detroit, a string of theaters in New York that includes the historic Palace, and others in a half-dozen major U.S. cities. The Detroit-born showman began a half-century career by taking over the old Detroit Opera House in 1914, operating the prominent Shubert-Lafayette Theatre downtown from 1940 to 1965 and opening LAWRENCE DEVINE'S DETROIT THEATER HALL OF FAME. PAGE 9G Pro Musica's No. 1 Fan Morissettes tour headed to Detroit, and so far the reviews have been good Chelsea's Jeff Daniels calls smart Tleasantville' the best film hes ever made By Terry Lawson Free Press Movie Writer Detroit is a middle stop on a 12-city, small-venue tour for Alanis Morissette, who is doing a quick warm-up jaunt before the Nov.

3 release of her new album, "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie: helsea, is not Pleasantville, USA, but squint your eyes a little and it could be easily mistaken for the small town where the movie "Pleasantville" takes place. The flag still flies in the town Tickets for the success of "Jagged Little Pill," should have squeezed into the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday, when the Ottawa-born singer debuted new songs from her forthcoming album. Morissette showed she still has the stuff and then some. The eager crowd let out a roar when the lights came down and Morissette's newly expanded band opened with an Eastern-style rhythm, the perfect foil for her wide, distinctive vocal range. Among the most memorable new songs, mostly cowritten with Moris-Please see Morissette, Page 4G Alanis Morissette 7:30 p.m.

Monday State Theatre 2115 Woodward, Detroit $28.50 1-313-961-S4S0 State Theatre show on Monday haven't sold as well as expected for the Canadian artist (to learn why, see Page 4G), but reaction to Mor-issette's previous stops on the tour SUSAN TUSADetrott Free Press square, and the town's sole barber sits in his chair in his window, awaiting a midday customer. The primary difference between Chelsea, hometown of actor Jeff Daniels, and Pleasantville, hometown of Mr. Johnson, the soda jerk to whom Daniels bears a decided resemblance, is this: When Chelsea's picturesque, 1950s Main Street comes to its end, there are other real streets and real lives, even a McDonald's, beyond. When Pleasantville's Main Street ends, so does Pleasantville. Please see DANIELS, Page 10G REVIEW OF FRIDAY IN THE FREE PRESS WEEKEND SECTION.

0J has been positive. Here's a review of last week's show at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles: BY FRED SHUSTER Los Angeles Daily News We should have knowni Anyone who entertained doubts about Alanis Morissette's ability to make compelling music after the unprecedented Esther Peters, 91, was in the audience when, Pro Musica launched its first Detroit season in 1928. The organization, which focuses primarily on up-and-coming classical artists, begins its new season Friday at the Detroit Institute of Arts with young violinist Julian Rachlin. Page 7G.