The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 137

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2004 3J THE PALM BEACH POST THEATER NOTES FALL Continued from 1J Our stormy nights won't put damper on opening nights LARRY McMURTRY iy Wlnegardner. A sequel to Mario Puzo's book, made into legendary movies by Francis Ford Coppola. Random House, November. THE UNFINISHED TWENTY-FIRST NOVEL IN THE AUBREYMATURIN SERIES, by Patrick O'Brien. Three chapters and a facsimile of the manuscript of the last, fragmentary novel by the beloved author of the Napoleonic Wars.

Norton, October. LOOP GROUP, by Larry McMurtry. Two women in late middle age head out on a road trip. Simon Schuster, December. WOLVES EAT DOGS, by Martin Cruz Smith.

Moscow detective Arkady Renko returns to Chernobyl after 18 years. Simon Schuster, November. Loop Group The good news sort of about Hurricane Frances is that it hit at a time when most area theaters were dark or at least ending the run of their productions. Both Florida Stage's summer musical Heaven Help Us! and Palm Beach Dramaworks' successful ff first foray into musicals, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well NONACTION ana Living in rans were scheduled to close Sept 5, so they closed a few performances early, with casts and theaters escaping unscathed from the tempest I "ill Y' it i lb i i I I Hap Ersteln -7 VI 'I 1 I Thc Letter of Truman Capote GREG LOVETTStaff Photograph Florida Stage's summer musical Heaven Help Us! was scheduled to close Sept 5, but closed a few performances early, with casts and theaters escaping unscathed from Hurricane Frances. Pictured: Jodi Stevens.

rules, because my almanac lists Lee as a mere 62. She will be followed by a woman who esuto by GERALD CLARK.E TOO BRIEF A TREAT: The Letters of Truman Capote Guggenheim have an eye for the best modern art, she often slept with or married the artists, which makes her a great, racy subject. Houghton Mifflin, September. MAEVE BRENNAN: Homesick at the New Yorker; An Irish writer In Exile, by Angela Bourke. A biography of the New Yorker writer, the daughter of the first Irish ambassador to America, who suffered a mental breakdown in middle age and died forgotten in a nursing home in 1993.

Counterpoint, October. WOMAN I HAVE DRESSED (AND by Arnold Scaasl. The couturier for Nancy Reagan and Nicole Kidman, reveals, among other things, that Mamie Eisenhower didn't wear a bra. Scribner's, October. THE COMPLETE CARTOONS OF THE NEW YORKER.

A very big book, complete with two CDs, containing more than 68,000 cartoons. My favorite is by James Thurber, which shows one of his indistinct but ratty women on all fours, about to spring at a worried man in a chair. "Sober, Mrs. Tomkins is the personification of virtue," says her husband. Black Dog Leventhal, October.

At the Cuillo Centre, Respect, A Musical Journey of Women, canceled performances but also announced an extension of its run through Oct 17. Better yet the Clematis Street playhouse has added two shows to its lineup to fill out the year. Beginning with previews Nov. 3, opening Nov. 12 and continuing through the month will be Metrano's Accidental Comedy, a one-man show that played the Coconut Grove Playhouse in late 2001, at which time I called it "very funny, often grim, untimate-ly inspiring." It is the true story in monologue form of the comic actor, best-known for playing Lt.

Mauser in the Police Academy movies, who took a header off his roof, broke six vertebrae, became confined to a wheelchair and turned it into a source of humor. Next up, previewing Dec. 7, opening the next night and running through New Year's Eve is Ennio Marchetto, a quick-change artist who works with paper costumes in New Age origami to morph into parodies of beloved cultural icons. What? The Cuillo's Gail Shank says you have to see Marchetto's act to fully understand what he does. It sounds just nutty enough to be entertaining.

Call the Cuillo box office at 835-9226 for reservations. Florida Follies redux: As promised threatened? last season's long-running Florida Follies, which staked its claim to become an annual institution, is indeed returning. It is now called The Great American Florida Follies, perhaps to distinguish it from the Italian Florida Follies. In any event it settles in at Fort Lauderdale's Parker Playhouse on Dec. 15, for a month's run, again celebrating seniors in our area who can still belt out a song and kick their legs high.

Headlining the show through Jan. 2 will be Michele Lee, who starred on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Seesaw and, most recently, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. Movie fans may recall her as Ben Stiller's mother in the recent Along Came Polly. A year ago, the claim was that each of the performers on the show was at least 70, but they must have decided to bend the 1 HIS EXCELLENCY: George Washington, by Joseph J. Ellis.

A new biography by the author of Founding Brothers and winner of a Pulitzer for his biography of Thomas Jefferson. Knopf, October. ALL I DID WAS ASK: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians and Artists, by Terry Gross. The host of the invaluable NPR show Fresh Air offers her first collection of interviews. Hyperion, September.

THE FAMILY: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, by Kitty Kelley. Nobody but its editor knows what's in this book, but based on the author's history, if safe to assume it's not flattering. Dou-bleday, September. WHO THE HELL'S IN IT, by Peter Bogdanovlch. A sequel of sorts to the author's Who the Devil Made It (about directors), this is a grand collection of appreciations and interviews with actors, among them John Cassavetes, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, John Wayne and Stella Adler.

Knopf, September. CHAIN OF COMMAND: THE ROAD FROM 911 TO ABU GHRAIB, by Seymour M. Hersh. The legendary investigative reporter writes the story of the Iraq War. HarperCollins, September.

AMERICAN BRUTUS: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies, by Michael W. Kauffman. An exhaustive examination of the life and character of the only presidential assassin who was a success in his chosen profession. Random House, November. TOO BRIEF A TREAT: The Letters of Truman Capote.

Random House, September. JOHN JAMES AUDUBON: The Making of an American, by Richard Rhodes. A biography of the naturalist and artist constitutes a change of Eace for a noted author of ooks about atomic science and Nazi eugenics. Knopf; October. THE GOURMET COOKBOOK, legendary Kitty Carlisle Hart, the ingenue foil for the Marx Brothers in 1935'sl Night at the Opera, long-running panelist on television's To Tell the Truth and arts activist Earlier this year, the 93-year-old Hart appeared at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre as part of its opening activities.

Even if the Florida Follies is a hard act to follow, the Parker Playhouse is going to try with mentalist Marc Salem, who brings his logic-defying mind-reading act Mind Games, which played six months off-Broadway, Jan. 19-Feb. 6. Only group sales are available now, but dates for individual tickets should be announced soon. When they go on sale, they'll be available by calling Telecharge, at (800) 233-3123.

Kelman memorial on Broadway: Dr. Charles D. Kelman of Boca Raton, who developed the outpatient cataract operation, was a Broadway producer of The Sound of Music, Can-Can and Triumph of Love, and wrote musicals himself, passed away in June. Now, Broadway is remembering him, with a memorial service this Monday at 11:30 am at the St James Theatre. All are welcome, no invitations needed.

hapersteinpbpostcom BEATON IN THE SIXTIES: The Cecil Beaton Diaries as He Wrote Them, 1965-1969 edited by Ruth Relchl. Probably the major cookbook of the year, this collection of recipes from Gourmet magazine encompasses 60 years. Houghton Mifflin, September. BEATON IN THE SIXTIES: The Cecil Beaton Diaries as He Wrote Them, 1965-1969, edited by Hugo Vlckers. The unexpurgated diaries of the great designer and photographer continue dish of the highest order.

Knopf, November. MISTRESS OF MODERNISM: The Life of Peggy Guggenheim, by Mary V. Dear-bom. Not only did Peggy 7 SINGLE TICKETS OTSALE! MAEVE BRENNAN: Homesick at the New Yorker, An Irish writer in Exile 1 Hansel Gretel December I Puritani January Faust February 25-28, 2005 La Boheme April 14,2005 Vocal Competition Winners Concert Sunday, May 1, 2005 at p.m. Family Opera Series Hansel Gretel Saturday, December 11.2004 at La Boheme Look no further than The Post.

We've got the real estate market covered with a new homes section, Real Estate Weekend, on Fridays; our guide to resale homes, Residences, on Sundays; and classified ads every day for homes for sale or rent. Saturday, April 2, 2005 at 1 The Pialm Beach Post PalmBeachPost.com Call 800-926-POST for convenient home delivery. V7G QGVro -vr-n nr, pALM Single Ticket Sales are on: Sat, Sept. 18th and Sun, Sept. 19th to Call Palm Beach Opera Box Office 561-833-7888 fee ra Friday's TGEP is your guide to fun.

New movies. Live music Art events. Festivals. The fun's in The Post every Friday..