St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 15

3 AUG 5J990 2D ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH SUNDAY, AUGUST 5, 1990 KC Zoo REVIEWS Voters To Decide On $50 Million Renovation Plan Pop Pianist Art Ferrante Goes Solo With Success MUSIC he current zoo is not a distinguished one. It's just on the border of meeting its regulatory requirements. 99 ALBERT P. MAURO.

Dresident of Friends of the Zoo 1 a non-profit booster group. MichaelJordan Chicago Bulls guard His arranging style, which generally opens with a quiet presentation of the main theme and ends in a soaring restatement with all the strings in octave unison, proved effective over and over again: on Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Memory," Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again" and an arrangement of one of his hits, the theme from the movie "The Apartment." On a delightful medley of George M. Cohan songs, he kept alternating the melody with the orchestra, keeping things lively. Credit should go to conductor (and Symphony timpanist) Richard Holmes for keeping the ensemble together through a myriad of tempo changes. On two songs from LLoyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera," Ferrante was alternately tasty and too much.

On "Music of the Night," he used some alternate chord changes, creating new harmonic meanings. But on "Think of Me," he tried to spice up the simple melody by combining both melody and counterpoint. The melody was lost in the shuffle, proving that two hands cannot accomplish what four used to do nicely. On the remainder of his material Friday evening, Ferrante proved that he has learned that lesson. By John Burnes Last year's retirement of long-time piano partner Lou Teicher hasn't affected Art Ferrante's effectiveness, if Friday night's performance is any indication.

The pop pianist winged it solo at the Queeny Pops and turned in an enjoyable, often creative but sometimes overblown performance. Many things were possible with four hands on two pianos, as the hitmaking Ferrante and Teicher used to have in their arsenal. The removal of two of those hands has forced Ferrante to rearrange his charts a bit. One of the nice things about the duet setup was that it afforded counterpoint while the melody was still readily apparent. But with only two hands, Ferrante had to choose between one or the other; it's not possible to be able to do a complete job with both melody and counterpoint at the same time.

His solution proved effective. Sometimes he played the melody and let the orchestra behind him handle the counterpoint, the rest of the time vice versa? That way, he could keep the charm of Ferrante and Teicher with just two hands. Air Time By Josh Lemieux Associated Press Writer KANSAS CITY Today, you see the cats cramped in dark cages and the apes hunched on concrete ledges. But backers of the often-criticized Kansas City Zoo say someday the animals could roam and swing through a habitat that appears so African you'll think you're on a safari. It all depends whether you believe in a plan to renovate the 81-year-old zoo.

A $50 million bond issue goes before Kansas City voters Tuesday to more than double the size of the 80-acre zoo and increase the number of species to 263 from 168. The plan calls for new African and Australian exhibits that would let several species interact as they do in the wild. Supporters say renovation would boost slumping zoo attendance and ensure better care for the animals. Last August, three rare clouded leopards, became overheated and died in a holding box because a zoo keeper forgot to let them out after cleaning their cage. "The current zoo is not a distinguished one," said Albert P.

Mauro, president of Friends of the Zoo, a non-profit booster group. "It's just on the border of meeting its regulatory requirements. It's close to having to spend a lot of money just to stay open." The proposed 90-acre African section envisions safarilike tram, canoe and Land Rover rides overlooking animal kingdoms in forest, grassland and water habitats. "The visitors will suspend their disbelief," said Bob Berkebile, main architect of the master plan. "They will think they are in Africa, even though they know they are not." Terrain surrounding the zoo including woods, rock formations and a lagoon with an island is perfect for the Africa exhibit, said the zoo's director, Ralph Waterhouse.

Planners want to boost educational functions of the zoo with a start-to-finish theme of conservation. An entrance pavilion would acquaint visitors with animals they are about to see. An exit pavilion would teach viewers what steps humans can take to save endangered creatures. "Our assumption is, unless we change our actions, we humans will be the next endangered species," Berkebile said. Plans also call for an expanded, petting zoo of American farm animals; the petting zoo would be geared toward showing children the importance of animal products.

Friends of the zoo are committed to raising $16 million on their own for a 450-capacity theater with a seven-story-high, 100-foot-wide screen. The screen, by Imax Systems Corp. of Canada, would show broad images, such as a rain forest scene from the ground to the treetop canopy. The group projects completing the theater by 1994 the year the new zoo is scheduled to be done if the bond issue passes. Supporters say the zoo would not close during expansion.

Critics of the bond issue, particularly some black groups, say it's the wrong time to add to Kansas City tax bills. Residents of the school district soon are likely to pay a 24 percent property tax increase for teacher salaries. That tax hike has been approved by a federal judge in the city's school desegregation case and awaits action by the School Board. The zoo issue would add about $10 per year to the average Kansas City homeowner's property tax bill. i "It's just a low priority right now, especially when you're talking about public funds," said the Rev.

Nelson Thompson of the Black Agenda Group. Thompson said city tax money should combat more immediate problems such as drugs, crime, housing and health care. Opponents also say the zoo expansion would displace popular gathering areas in Swope Park, one of the largest municipally owned parks in the country. "The planners didn't sit down with the various neighborhood residents," Thompson said. "It appears as though we have an adversarial role, but actually if we were consulted before the fact, then we wouldn't have come out against the plan the way we have." i The park, in southeastern Kansas City, has a renovation plan of its own.

If the zoo bond passes, the park plan envisions moving a boat house, shelters, picnic areas, rugby fields and other areas that would be swallowed by the new zoo. i The park plan still awaits a final vote by the city board of park commissioners. Critics complain that higher-income taxpayers of suburbs in Missouri and Kansas also should pay for the zoo improvements that they will enjoy. Supporters and opponents expect a close vote Tuesday. The issue needs 57 percent to pass.

i Basketball Star Will Visit Ifere About 100 youngsters will learn basketball skills from Michael "Air" Jordan during a clinic at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, at the Matthews-Dickey Boys Club in St. Louis. The youngsters will be chosen from entries at National Supermarkets and St.

Louis Coca-Cola VIP Club stores, said John Hack-ett, a spokesman for Coca-Cola. Jordan, an All-Star guard for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association, will have breakfast with some of the winners prior to the clinic. One-Man Show Is Opportunity To Hear Robust Shakespeare THEATER Bi-State To Lease Space On Laclede's Landing ted a bid until Leary told him. Thomas Sehr, another Bi-State official, said Bi-State would save as much as $300,000 a year by using its own staff to administer insurance claims. Bi-State's headquarters building is nearby, at 707 North First Street.

Redevelopment is in the Trader's Building, but the building is owned by another company. John K. Leary Bi-State executive director, said Purcell bad no role in the negotiations and was unaware that the Trader Building had submit Amid Philip Dennis simple, adequate set, Robinson tells tales of his adventures in our mad world, and manages to work in speeches from 10 Shakespearean plays. The man has a most powerful voice and compelling manner; he obviously relishes performing Shakespeare's words. Robinson was particularly good in the "banished" speech as Romeo, as a drunken Petruchio at his wedding in "The Taming of the Shrew" and a shocked and disbelieving Othello just after "honest" Iago has planted the seed of distrust.

In truth, and God may or may not agree, Robinson is better as Kemp-Kean doing Shakespeare than he is as Kemp-Kean doing Kemp-Kean. Some of Kemp-Kean's monologues are affected and even derivative; some of his long-winded stories miss the mark. On the other hand, it was fun to watch Robinson work in artful impressions of Marlon Brando, Carol Channing, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Stewart. At such moments, Robinson evoked the genius of Robin Williams, who also has been known to switch maniacally from one character to another at the speed of lightning. Must have been the same bolt that speeded Robinson on his journey here.

By Patricia Corrigan Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Darryl Maximilian Robinson brought a bit of the Bard to town Friday night in his one-man show of the same name. Robinson, from Chicago, delivered "A Bit of the Bard" in fine and robust fashion, and cloaked much of his performance in grandeur befitting an admirer of William Shakespeare. The show, which was repeated Saturday and may or may not be on the boards Sunday, was presented by Black Tie Communications at the Utopian Loft, a fourth-floor performance space at 3524 Washington Avenue. Robinson has devised a conceit for the 70-minute show, which he wrote and directed. He takes the part of Sir Richard Drury Kemp-Kean, an engaging actor who is snatched from a performance in 1660 at the summer palace of the King and Queen of Denmark and suddenly dropped into a snow drift in Beaver Creek, in 1987.

"I certainly hope it was not God making critical comment on my performance," Robinson says, as he tells of the strange bolt of lightning that struck him from one century to another. Florissant Youth Cited For Lifesaving Here is the updated lineup of Sunday's TV news shows: ABC's "This Week With David Ambassador Saud Nasir Al-Sabah of Kuwait; Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Vitaly Churkin; Sen. David L. Boren, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee; retired Adm. William Crowe, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the Middle East conflict.

Channel 2, 10:30 a.m. CBS' "Face the Nation With Lesley To be announced. Channel 4, 10:30 a.m. NBC's "Meet the Guests to be announced, on the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Channel 9:30 a.m.

The Bi-State Development Agency's board voted Friday to lease space in a building on Laclede's Landing to house its new insurance claims administration office. Previously, the agency used an outside firm to do that work. The building, the Trader's Building at 800 North Second Street was one of 13 sites in the metropolitan area that were considered, Bi-State officials said. Seven of the buildings were asked to submit bids and Trader's bid was the lowest, officials said. The contract is for three years.

Abstaining from the vote Friday was Thomas W. Purcell, Bi-State's board chairman who also is president of Laclede's Landing Redevelopment Corp. The office of Laclede's Landing of his fellow students from injury while on duty patroling the traffic signal in front of McCurdy School on Lindsay Lane in Florissant. The five safety patrol members to be honored range in age from 9 to 12. More than 300 young people nationwide have been honored since the award program began in 1949.

Robbie Sanders, 12, of Florissant, is among five young people from across the country who will receive a School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Medal Award from the American Automobile Association. The awards will be presented during a ceremony next month in Washington. Robbie is credited with saving four Packieg for school? Don't forget to pack the Post! Order now and get a special student discount! Just because you're away at school doesn't mean you have to miss out on all the news from the St. Louis area! Order a student subscription to the Post-Dispatch the paper that's packed with the latest local news, sports and features every day. Take advantage of the Post's special offer and you'll always know what's happening with the Cardinals, the Blues, area politics and all the local events and entertainment! To begin delivery, please complete the coupon below.

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