The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 53

Inside Aitn Landers, Miss Manners, the comics, crossword, bridge column and astrology forecast can be found on Pages E6-7. Television listings are on Page E5. its minimi wiiuu imniiiiu '-mm The Beacon Journal Thursday, January 15, 1998 In LA. id on lie vera 'Ally5 0- Jl t.7"7 jf i l. Fox show has aura of success, if not the numbers in the ratings Pasadena, How long does it take for perception to become reality? In the case of Fox's Ally McBeal, the process is moving faster than a Hollywood lawyer pursuing a headline-making client The 4-month-old series is not even among prime time's 60 most Rock Hall tcilks.

classical? Panel, separate concert explore pop influence By Elaine Guregian Beacon Journal music writer Something odd is up when you leave the auditorium after a concert by members of the i Cleveland Orchestra and someone onstage murmurs "Elvis has left the building." And something new is going on when the orchestra approaches the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to organize a panel discussion called "Pop Music's Influence on Classical" There were no ivory towers on Tuesday night, only the glass one at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Greg Yanow, a music critic for the Wall Street Journal, presided over a panel discussion that included composers John Adams and Christopher Rouse, who is having a world premiere by the Cleveland Orchestra tonight; John Rockwell, a former music critic soon to be editor of the New York Times Arts and Leisure section; and the Rock Hall's education director, Bob Santelli. Rockwell got right to the point when he observed that rock music is seen as a threat to classical music not because it's popular, but because it has stolen the attention of ticket buyers. Though Adams, who is one of the more successful of current classical composers, said he has no interest in going platinum, most managements of symphony orchestra feel more strongly about replenishing and expanding their audiences. Adams and Rouse were brought onto the panel because they have shown themselves to be sympathetic to popular trends See Pop, Page E2 Mark Dawklziak popular series, yet it's being hailed as the breakout hit of the season.

Where is the evidence in favor of this rookie drama about a young Boston lawyer (the title 11 CP Nil, 1 fit i ii i character played by Calista Flockhart)? Well, Fox executives cite booming demographic numbers attractive to the network's youth-obsessed advertisers. They pull out stacks and stacks of ecstatic reviews. They point to magazine covers featuring the faces of Flockhart and her co-stars. They mention that Ally McBeal is outperforming the series that precedes it on the Monday schedule, the ailing Melrose Place. They crow about nominations for People's Choice and Golden Globe awards.

They argue that the 9-10 p.m. Ally draws slightly higher ratings than the 10-11 p.m. legal drama on ABC, The Practice. No question, there is the semblance of success around Ally See 4ALLY Page E2 FOX Ally McBeal cast members (clockwise, from top left) Courtney Thorne-Smith, Gil Bellows, Calista Flockhart, Jane Krakowski, Peter MacNicol, Lisa Nicole Carson and Greg Germann. V'.

TV neophytes have big dreams, little money Coble Truesdell possibility, if an agreement can be Canal Communications in Akron trying to expand weekly prograinniing with forum R.D. Heidenfels reached with another production company, but Burgess said no details have been worked out At the same time, Michael Holly, Adams, who will co-host the new series with Larry Alltop. "This will be a place for guests to come on and tell what they're all about" Guests could range from local artists to politicians, Webb-Adams said, in a format that will include talk and performances. Canal also appeared ready to announce a weekday morning show, but Burgess dropped that plan at the last minute. A live Akron sports telecast is also a The organization plans to add a second weekly half-hour television program, The Akron Community Circle Forum, at 5 pm Wednesdays beginning Feb.

11; the program will precede Canal's weekly Akron-Canton newscast which began in September. Both shows appear on Time Warner Cable Channel 48. "There is a lot of talent in the Akron area that people just dont know about" said Jill Webb- A group trying to launch a low-power television station in Akron continues to dream big dreams. But what it really needs is someone with deep pockets who shares the dream. Canal Communications headed by activist the Rev.

Raymond Burgess, could point to some advances at a community meeting and news conference in Akron with about 25 people Tuesday night who joined Canal as a news anchor, has See TV, Page E2 Trilogy takes realistic look at urban life Virtual Devotion' blends farce, seriousness By Russ Musarra Beacon Journal theater critic In the year 2525, if man is still alive, he'll likely be a giant head who sits in front of a cathode-ray tube and has no need for arms and legs, according to Zager and Evans' 1969 pop single, In the Year 2525. Cleveland playwright Eric Coble didn't look that far into the future when he wrote Virtual Devotion. He calls his comedy "a view of America of next week." And in that view, Coble sees a society that is so busy on the Internet that it doesn't notice the Second Coming. Literally. Jesus Christ shows up at a temporary employment agency and everyone is too busy to notice, Coble said as he and director Roger Truesdell prepared for the play's world premiere at 8 p.m.

tomorrow at Dobama Theatre in Cleveland Heights. The story follows a day in the life of four characters. Pete, America's most popular televangelist (played by Bernie Canepari), experiences a crisis early in the day that causes him to question his beliefs. Anne, a young telemarketer for the Happy Halo Ministry for Children (played by Maryjo Mace Woodburn), gets entangled in her own crisis when her fund-raising See Cqble, Page E2 the numbers. The ticket won $23,500.

Said Golembiewski's widow, "Andy, you S.O.B., you even paid for your own funeral" Cleaning up Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks says "things got even worse" after she kicked a cocaine habit in the 1980s. She tells People magazine she gained weight became addicted to a powerful tranquilizer and barely remembers her 1989 solo tour. into California's Monterey Bay. According to the laws of Colorado, where Denver lived, the singer's estimated $20 million estate is to be divided equally among his three children. This day in history In 1919, a 2 million-gallon tank of molasses burst and flooded parts of Boston, claiming 21 lives.

See, sweets are bad for your health! Honk if you want to live Average number of hours truckers sleep, according to a survey by Men's Health mag: 52. The final word In a recent interview OJ. Simpson said, "If I did kill my wife, it would have been because I loved her very much." In a related story, O.J. has started a new job writing greeting cards. Co nan O'Brien Edited by Mickey Porter from Beacon Journal wire services.

with her old band, which Monday was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ef Fame. This day in music I960 No. 1 Billboard hit: Running Bear, Johnny Preston. The singer was a protege of J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, a DJ who wrote this song before his death in a 1959 plane crash that also claimed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.

Bumpermania Keep Honking, I'm Reloading The sporting news At 37 John Elway will be the second-oldest quarterback to start in the Super Bowl. Baltimore's Johnny Unitas was 2V4 months older in Super Bowl V. Will-power John Denver didnt leave a will before his death on Oct 12, when the small plane he was piloting crashed OFTEN FORGOTTEN RULES OF ENGLISH Avoid alliteration. Always. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

Avoid cliches like the plague. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. Contractions aren't necessary. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. Dont be redundant; dont use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. Who needs rhetorical questions? -New York Times Handy Andy The last deathbed utterance of Pittsburgh tavern owner Anthony J. Golembiewski, 83, was "one, six, nine, five." Family members were puzzled, but one decided to buy a lottery ticket with i 1 Nicks "I missed out on a bunch of my really great years," laments Nicks, 49. In 93, she underwent a 45-day detox and at one point was diagnosed with the Epstein virus, which, she says, was related to silicone breast implants. Nicks had the implants removed and with her health restored, she lost 30 pounds before reuniting last year.