The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 67

EDITOR: LINDA CAGNETTI, 353-1011 TlIK CINCINNATI KNQlJIRIvfl SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, SECTION vS-x i A case study in concessions old and new BY JIM DeBROSSE The Cincinnati Enquirer Sitting in the dark where no one can watch them, they gorge themselves on the junkiest junk foods, indulging habits that will never see the light of day. They dig deep into tubs of greasy popcorn and cram fistfuls of the stuff into their open mouths. ular FDA Yellow No. 5), partially hydrogenated soybean oil (instead of butter), emulsifiers, anti-caking agents and something called Carnauba Wax (found in "Nerds" candy). Even so, there are bargains out there, and a growing variety of junk-food treats, for those willing to explore the Cincinnati scene.

One thing Lobby Gourmets won't find in local theaters is buttered popcorn. The pi iii wu.iijiiiiiii iip tmm. JLtupMii i ii. jjj. im.iBiII.j.im M.

um ami in ,1 unuaiu unnnmni i mniiwiwui 1 1 1 i i ft I I I If it" 1 i v. II I i 1 I frmi: I I tmuv Ik ri "Swi' A wj They smoosh Jujy-fruits between thumb and forefinger, one piece at a time, then bite them in half before chewing. They devour red licorice sticks not one or even two at a time, but in clusters of five or six or more by golly, the way red licorice sticks were meant to be eaten. "They" are the Lobby Gourmets. The moviegoers who go to movies not just for the film, but for the goodies at the concession stand.

Alas, these are not easy times for Lobby Gourmets. They're pay oily fluid poured over buckets these days is called "Golden Flavoring," a concoction of soybean oil and artificial colors and flavors that approximate the real thing. Movie houses across the country abandoned butter in the late 1970s, mostly because of cost. "It's three times as expensive. It's like gold," says Bruce Sherlock, district manager for Blevins Popcorn, a concessions supplier based in Louisville.

it's harder to keep real butter because lie Htm- ill. 0 HY The Cincinnati EnquirerJim Callaway Michelle Pressley and Brian McKee serve up concessions at Kenwood Cinema. of the spoilage. Popcorn and soda account for 80 of all movie concession sales. But true Lobby Gourmets always check out the candy case first, where the real eating adventures lie.

Most area theaters stock the popular standards Twiz-zlers, Raisinettes, Goobers, Junior Mints, Sno-Caps, Milk (Please see LOBBY, Page F-8) ing higher prices than ev er before. In Midwestern theaters, the average concession-stand splurge is now $2.84 or more than the price of a first-run matinee, according to the National Association of Concessionaires. Meanwhile, the list of ingredients in many lobby delights are beginning to read like a chemistry handbookartificial flavors and colors (including the ever-pop- The Cincinnati EnquirerJim Callaway Moviegoer Doug Dix gets head start on his popcorn. Popcorn: the good, the bad and the oily 13 odLj 4 hy The Movies. If this were a wine, it would be a pretentious California cabernet.

Big corn flavor, heavily seasoned, with a slightly burnt aftertaste that grows more cloying with every mouthful. Made fresh daily in the lobby. Skywalk (USA Cinemas). Not bad, just not as good as the others. Lacks corn taste, which is surprising since it's popped fresh daily in the lobby.

Gold Circle (General Cinemas). Dry, flavorless, sticks to molars. One comment: "It doesn't taste like anything." But more nutritional value, we suppose, than cardboard. Regal. Heavy, heavy on the peanut oil.

Bring a dipstick. JIM DeBROSSE your molars. Crunch it and it's gone." Warning: Freshness may vary. Holiday Amusement owners of the Westwood, Mount Lookout and seven other area theaters, pop their corn at the Acme Drive-In and ship it out. Emery.

Not as tender as the Westwood, but evenly popped and with a fresh corn taste. Ever so lightly salted. Also the best buy (45 ounces for 85 cents). Made fresh daily in the lobby. Springdale (Showcase Cinemas).

This was a suprise, since we expected a giant movie chain like Showcase to serve Styro-foam in buckets. Large kernels with good crunch and taste, but more oil than we cared for. Warning: popped upstairs, sometimes days in advance, and stored in bags. Baseball and hot dogs. Skiing and hot chocolate.

Movies and You got it. Popcorn the perfect snack to feed your face while your mind and eyes feast on the silver screen. No wrappers to tear off, no boxes to dig into. Just place hand firmly in bucket, return to mouth and chew, chew, chew. The Enquirer recently assembled a panel of five "popcorn experts" all from within its very own Tempo department and tested samples from seven Cincinnati theaters.

Here are the extremely unscientific results. Westwood (Holiday Amusement The best of the lot light, tender, with just enough salt to let the corn flavor come through. One comment: "Doesn't stick to Kenwood Cinemas employee Lori Young fluffs the popcorn before the big rush. Road trip boosts audience, morale for orchestra jii. 1 I 'A if "JP in cash to go.

To deli owner Leo Steiner, that meant prime publicity he couldn't have bought for 10 times that amount. And he knew it. "As far as I'm concerned, those guys (the robbers) were stupid," Steiner crowed to a local TV news crew. "They left me the pastrami and corned beef." Only in New York. The CSO had little to beef about at Carnegie.

The orchestra attracted a large audience, with 2,675 tickets sold many on a subscription basis, of course in the hall. The actual number of people at the Feb. 6 concert, however, seemed somewhat smaller, by a couple hundred or so. Still, it was a high point for the CSO in recent years at Carnegie Hall. "It certainly would be the culmination of a building process for us," Monder said.

"It has to do with being there over a period of years and presenting highly regarded performances." Carnegie Hall is essentially the mecca of Western art music, which makes a performance there the highlight of most any tour. But there's a lesser-known side to touring. If you want to play in a prince of a city, it seems, you have to kiss a few frogs along the way traveling on a tight (Please see CSO, Page F-4) University, West Point and Brooklyn College before returning to Cincinnati. But why tour at all? Why grapple with the monstrous logistics of moving a 115-member symphonic entourage? Why interrupt a subscription season in Cincinnati's comfortable Music Hall and set out, lock, stock and glockenspiel, for parts east? To CSO General Manager Steven Monder, it's very simple. "We're a world-class, nationally recognized orchestra," Monder said.

"To continue to be such, it is important for us to tour It's important for the morale of our musicians as well." The psychological boost was obvious within hours after the CSO arrived in Manhattan, as musicians quickly flocked to their favorite haunts like Patel-son's music store, Sam Goody's record store and, let's not forget, the Carnegie Deli. That last spot, famous as a setting in Woody Allen's film "Broadway Danny Rose," brings out another motive for touring: publicity. It's a precious commodity in the Big Apple, worth certainly more than the day's take at a deli. A few hours before the CSO arrived in New York, several gun-toting bandits broke into the Carnegie Deli, punched three employees, and ordered $15,000 BY RAY COOKLIS The Cincinnati Enquirer NEW YORK They came. They saw.

And if they didn't quite conquer, they at least held their own. They kept their name in the spotlight. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra returned home this past week from its annual, weeklong East Coast tour with some respectable notices and a busload of experiences, musical and otherwise. It gave performances on six straight days, all with acclaimed American pianist Peter Serkin, playing Brahms' Concerto No. 1, as its big drawing card.

To complete the program, the CSO played either Schoen-berg's tone poem "Pelleas und Melisande" or Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 depending on the preference at each concert locale. The CSO's one night in New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall playing the Schoenberg, naturally was sandwiched by several days of bumpy bus rides to lesser-known venues in the greater New York area. It opened Feb. 4 at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., traveling to Hartford, for a concert the next day.

The CSO then settled into Manhattan's Omni Park Central Hotel, just across Seventh Avenue from Carnegie for the remainder of the trip. After the Carnegie date, it played at Long Island Michael Gielen and pianist Peter Serkin in rehearsal during CSO's East Coast tour. Independent Channel 19 in same league with affiliates RadioTV ji Critic p.m. and 7-8 p.m., according to January ratings by the A.C. Nielsen Co.

Channel 19 is the second most effective station for advertisers to reach a key demographic group, women ages 25-54, from p.m., according to Nielsen. "It's really become a viable competitor," said William R. Kling, vice president for Lawler Ballard Advertising, Cincinnati. Channel 19 doesn't have a Bill Cosby. But when WLWT (Channel 5) televised Cincinnati Reds games last summer, Channel 19 grabbed the chance to air Cosby and the rest of NBC's lineup.

That's one example of the how innovative and aggressive the folks are at the Woodlawn studio. Channel 19's broadcast of the Labor Day fireworks drew 54 of the television audience that night. Its prime-time special about Cincinnati Magazine's "best and worst" will be done again next fall. WXIX just bought the rights to the "Goodwill Games," Ted Turner's Olympic-sized amateur athletic competition in Moscow (July 5-20). Some people might sneer at Channel 19's vault of reruns.

But WXIX has made enough money to pay top dollar for the best network shows headed into syndication (approximately $16,000 an episode to air "Webster" in 1988). "We're not afraid to step up to the auction table and spend money for quality programs," said Jenkins. WXIX also gambles by buying some untested shows, programs offered for syndication either without network exposure or after being canceled by networks Close for Comfort," Expect to see more this year: "Check It Out" with Don Adams, "One Big Family" with Danny Thomas, and "Gidget." "Ten years ago, Channel 19's programming was very similar to what Will has now," Kling said. "They're one of the big boys now." The first thing a visitor to WXIX-TV (Channel 19) sees in the lobby is a plastic model of Godzilla in a glass case. "Zillie," as it is affectionately called by staffers, is not a relic from the early days of Channel 19, when "The Cool Ghoul" hosted Saturday night horror flicks.

The green plastic model is Malrite Communication's traveling trophy, presented to the station which has the best ratings improvement. How appropriate: Channel 19 wins a Godzilla statuette for its monster ratings from 4-8 p.m. In its 18th year, WXIX-TV has come of age. Overall, WXIX averages 11-12 of the television viewing audience. "To do an 11-12 share, when you consider we're an independent, and a UHF, is quite respectable.

Stations in other markets would kill for it," said William Jenkins, WXIX general manager. i Some stations here would kill for Channel 19's share of early-evening viewers. It is first or second in total households from.