The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 23

B4 FRIDAY, MAY 13, 2005 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM SUSAN GUYETT'S TALK OF OUR TOWN BIRTHDAYS OF NOTE PEOPLE Eminem to help fix 8 Mile Road 1 brick at a time IMA shop better than new Eminem, who grew up on both sides of 8 Mile Road, is helping revitalize the highway he made famous in a hit song and film. The 32-year-old rapper, born Marshall Mathers III, has autographed 30 bricks from the recently demolished De 0 Indiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt (above) will turn 43, ana state Rep. Greg Porter, D-lndian-apolis, will turn 50 on Saturday. Fran Harman is delighted new customers are discovering the Better Than New Shop at the Indianapolis Museum of Art after its more than 30 years in business. Local thrift store aficionados have long made the store a regular stop, but the museum's recent reopening has introduced a whole new group of customers to the small shop off 38th Street.

Harman, who was president of the museum's Alliance when the shop opened in the mid-1970s, is one of many volunteers, and probably the longest tenured. Current Alliance President Pat Ritz says the shop, housed in a two-story, red-brick, Regency-style building, has contributed close to $2 million to the IMA. More than 100 customers stopped by each day last weekend during the museum's reopening to check out the china, jewelry, crystal, silver, antiques, clothing and books for sale. The basement of the former home of J.K. Lilly III and his wife, Jean Heller, is now a gallery that sells sketches, prints, paintings and posters.

Most of the items are donated by friends of the museum, so high-quality merchandise is often available. You never know what you'll find, but some special items include bolts of upholstery fabric, antique linens and Oriental rugs. Check out www.ima-art.org for details on the hours of operation. troit Artillery Armory on 8 Mue uaK 1'arx. One brick was auctioned last month, and the rest are to be auctioned on eBay within the next month.

Proceeds will be split between Eminem's charity, the Marshall Mathers Foundation, and the Eight Mile Boulevard Associatioa The association, a coalition of 13 cities, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties and several businesses, asked Eminem to sign the bricks. It plans to use its share of the auction proceeds for revitalization efforts along 8 Mile. lit 1 it VVmM Eminem fir ma Susan Guyrtt The Star Treasure hunt Volunteer Fran Harman is introducing a new generation of shoppers to the Indianapolis Museum of Art's Better Than New Shop. WRTV'S GRACE TRAHAN PROMOTES HEART HEALTH IN MOM'S HONOR Look for Grace Trahan, the morningmidday anchor at WRTV (Channel 6), in the June issue of Glamour Eminem grew up Detroit ana warren cities divided by 8 Mile Road as well as Roseville and St. Clair Shores.

He now lives in Rochester Hills in a 29-room, mansion. Professor brings different look to 'Gilligan' lineup "Gilligan's Island" is getting a little diversity. Tiy-E Muhammad, 35, a psychology and human sexuality professor from Atlanta, donned a dress shirt and some slacks as one of the rivals in the role of the "Professor" in the upcoming second installment of TBS' "The Real Gilligan's Island," which premieres June 8. "A black person on 'Gilligan's Island? I think the only other time they had a black person on there was the Globetrotters," Muhammad told The Associated Press Wednesday. (The Harlem Globetrotters visited the island in a 1981 TV movie.) In the reality-show take on the '60s stranded-on-an-uncharted-island sitcom, two real-life versions of the "Gilligan's Island" crew live together in a village reminiscent of the CBS show and battle each other in challenges.

The other Professor is Andrew J. Schuler, an assistant environmental engineering professor at Duke University. A year older Actress Beatrice Arthur is 83. Singer Stevie Wonder is 55. Basketball player Dennis Rodman is 44.

Star news services Got a tip? Send ideas, tips and rumors to be checked out to Susan Guyett at (317) 444-6067 or write to her at WHO WILL HAVE THE LAST ROW LAUGH? One of the brassiest and most reasonably priced parties surrounding the Indianapolis 500 is the Last Row Party. This year's roast of the drivers who will start the race from the final three positions will be at 5:30 p.m. May 27 Carburetion Day at the Brickyard Crossing Inn. Bob Jenkins will emcee. Folks who care about anniversaries should note this is the party's 33rd year.

This year, tickets are again $33, and proceeds will benefit the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation's scholarship program. Drivers Mario Andretti, Gary Bettenhausen, Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford, Tom Sneva and Al Unser have all taken their licks through the years. The back row trio (who won't be known until qualifications are finished) will get special jackets and checks for 31, 32 and 33 cents. Call Debbie Ford at (317) 472-3952 for ticket 1 magazine. She's one of 25 television anchors from across the nation who participated in the National Wear Red Day, part of a women's heart health initiative.

Trahan got involved in memory of her mom, Mary Trahan, who died after a stroke in 1999. "Before she died, she made me promise to take care of my health. And so, as a tribute to her, I do whatever I can to inform other women about the importance of taking care of themselves," Tra- Grace Trahan han said in a statement Khan, Isleys to play free show Cab ride: smile and style CENTER STAGE "Cabfare for the Common Man" When: Through June 5. 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m.

Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays Where: Phoenix Theatre, 749 N. Park Ave. Tickets: $22.50 for ages 25 and older, $12 for ages 24 and younger. Info: (317) 635-7529 Bottom line: Hail it.

Black Expo Summer Celebration shows 35th Anniversary Party Featuring: Morris Day the Time, Mint Condition When: 7 p.m. July IS Where: Sagamore Ballroom, Indiana Convention Center, 100 S. Capitol Ave. Tickets: $40, or $35 if bought in advance Music Heritage Festival I Featuring: Stephanie Mills, Cameo, Ashford Simpson, Keith Sweat When: 7:30 p.m. July 16 Where: Conseco Fieldhouse, 125 S.

Pennsylvania St Tickets: $39.99 and $37.99 Music Heritage Festival Featuring: Isley Brothers and Chaka Khan, plus Bootsy Collins as host When: 7 p.m. July 17 Where: American Legion Mall, 700 N. Meridian St Tickets: Admission is free. For more information about these events, call Ticketmaster at (317) 239-5151 or visit www.indianablackexpo.com. "Rent-A-Boyfriend, Ltd." Fifteen minutes of sparkling repartee later, the "loaner" has become "a keeper." The medium becomes more than the message when a couple finds that having one's life overtaken by television is more than a "remote" possibility.

In the play that lends its name to the production, a man takes a freewheeling cab ride through his own life. The meter's running, but still it's the journey not the destination that matters. Director Bryan Fonseca has tapped six seasoned actors to give these well-crafted vignettes the casting they deserve. The actors play the material with ease, confidence and evident fondness against Fonseca's winning canopied turntable set. The cast shows proven versatility, stepping, as it does, through roles, each with varying requirements and challenges.

Timing is impeccable. Emotional connection to the material is palpable. Control and delivery never falters. "Cabfare" is a funny, well-writtea well-directed and well-acted play that mirrors life in a way that delivers insights along with the laughs. Hail it.

Call Star reporter Nick Crews at (317) 444-6078. By David Lindquist david.lindquistigjiridystar.com A strong '80s thread runs through the concert lineup for this year's edition of Indiana Black Expo's Summer Celebration. Chaka Khan, Morris Day the Time, Stephanie Mills, Cameo, Ashford Simpson and Keith Sweat all prominent hit-makers during the Ronald Reagan presidential era will perform at midsummer shows announced Thursday. The Isley Brothers, who have recorded hit songs in every decade from the 1950s to the current one, also will appear. Summer Celebration, scheduled July 7-17, debuted in 1970.

"With this being our 35th anniversary, we wanted to make sure that we had a lineup that was memorable," said Alpha Garrett, communications director for Indiana Black Expo. Three concerts will be presented on consecutive nights, beginning with Summer Celebration's 35th Anniversary Party on July 15 at the Indiana Convention Center. Morris Day the Time, plus opening act Mint Condition, will play the party. Four of the acts Mills, Cameo, Ashford Simpson and Sweat will perform July 16 at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Isleys, Khan and special host Boot-sy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic fame will appear July 17 at the traditional free concert on American Legion MalL Summer Celebration annually attracts more than 300,000 and has an estimated local economic impact of $34 million.

A health fair and consumer exhibitions Well-crafted vignettes speed through the crooked and bumpy backstreets of love and relationships. By Kick Crews nick.crewsindystar.com There's a new play Yellow Cab bright with a meter running that's ticking off laughs instead of miles. And if you're at the curb waiting for a show to take you places, you'll want to hail it because not only will it get you where you want to go, but the ride is riotously fun besides. It's "Cabfare for the Common Man," which runs in its world premier through June 5 on the Phoenix Theatre's Mainstage the latest installment in the Phoenix's "summer of fun" series of comedy. "Cabfare" is a sprightly scattershot and lighthearted romantic comedy.

At the wheel is Los Angeles-based playwright Mark Harvey Levine, who attended the show's preview Thursday. With "Cabfare," Levine delivers eight vignettes that speed through the crooked and bumpy backstreets of modern love and relationships, taking the curves with nary a tire squeal Together the plays none of them longer than 20 minutes suggest something along the lines of a 21st century version of "Love American Style" rewritten by Chekhov. The plays are fun, intelligent, warm, witty and funny. They tell stories. Like chance scenes glimpsed from the back of a speeding cab, each captures momentary insights of life and love, each sparkling like a little jewel or are those raindrops on the back window of the cab that, as Levin suggests, carries us all through life? Some scenes: A couple finds a script on the nightstand that has their every word and actioa First they panic, then take control by penning their own final stage direction: "They kiss.

Lights out." Another couple demonstrates the complicating factors that psychic powers bring to a relationship. What's a kiss between friends? A lot, as it turns out. A woman gets the perfect boyfriend as a birthday present from are other fixtures of the event. Tickets for the Conseco Fieldhouse concert will go on sale at 10 a.m. May 20.

Prices are $39.99 and $37.99. Tickets for the Sagamore Ballroom concert will be $40, or $35 if bought in advance. An on-sale time for these tickets has yet to be determined. Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Smith Hear a nationally known dermatologist present important information about moderate to severe psoriasis and your treatment options.

0 Find out about biologic medicines that can help you manage your psoriasis. Get tips from a prominent relationship therapist on talking to others about your disease and how to live with psoriasis. told the mayor "Bill, I feel just like Dwight Eisenhower on D-Day. I know my troops are out there, but I don't know where." Mr. Smith retired as chairman of Mayflower in 1989.

The Indiana firm was bought by UniGroup in 1995, and its headquarters was moved to Fenton, in 1997. Now, it is known as Mayflower Transit LLC. "During his tenure, Mr. Smith saw Mayflower grow to one of the nation's largest and best-known moving companies," Carl Walter, Mayflower's vice president of marketing, said in a prepared statement. Mr.

Smith's wife, Barbara Jean Lamb Smith, died in 2004. Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday in Second Presbyterian Church, with calling from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday in Leppert Life Story Funeral Home, Nora Chapel. Memorial contributions may be made to the John Burnside Smith Center for Family Life Ministries at Second Presbyterian Church, 7700 N.

Meridian Indianapolis, IN 46260, or to St. Vincent Hospice, 8450 N. Payne Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Call Star reporter Kevin O'Neal at (317) 444-2760. Murders Defense tried to prove client was mentally ill.

From B1 fied that Baer is mentally ill. The prosecution's contention that Baer is putting on an act is a "fairy tale," he said. "It's the kind of thing that you hear from people who believe everything is a conspiracy," Lockwood said. After the verdict, Lock-wood had little comment. "I don't like to lose," he said.

Later, as Baer left the court in shackles, he passed Judge Frederick R. Spencer, who had presided at the trial. Spencer was sitting on a bench in the hallway. Baer looked over at the judge and nodded. "Thank you, your honor," he said.

"Have a good weekend." Call Star reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2750. City took John Smith up on offer to haul equipment. From B1 city leaders, had supported the new dome by having Mayflower buy one of the luxury suites and offered to move the NFL team's equipment to Indiana. When word got out about the talks with Colts owner Bob Irsay, the Maryland Legislature started work on a bill to seize the team through eminent domain. As a result, Mr.

Smith was contacted in the middle of the night and asked to speed up the team's move. "We called Johnny and asked, 'Is the offer still And he said yes," recalled David Frick, a deputy mayor who negotiated with Irsay. Mr. Smith sent moving trucks rushing to Owings Mills, on March 28, 1984. There, in the middle of a snowstorm, they were filled with the team's equipment.

Thursday, Hudnut called from Ukraine to share his memories of Mr. Smith. He recalled that as the trucks headed back to Indiana, Mr. Smith i Get your questions answered in person! WHtRE A i 3 jfe mdif run inui in WHEN Wednesday, June 1,2005 6- 7 pm Registration and Refreshments 7- 8 pm Program 3645 River Crossing Parkway 3MGEN Indianapolis, IN 46240 Wyetll' rfths (317) 705-0000 Mokinii (oiwmtkm brought to you by knqm am) Wyrtti Ptwmuuutkah, in pjtlwnhip with the National Pswiash Foundation. Free parking! Free Refreshments! Walk-Ins Welcome!.