The Minneapolis Star from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 42

The Minneapolis Star Friday, May 23, 1980 4D Weekend TTTOOO 00 1 0 0 0 0 QO Valleyfair's Corkscrew pulls out stops on fun park panic Some riders disagree. "Where's the throw-up bags?" yelled Davie Hlggin from the loading dock. As the cars snake forward, notice the giant rollerskate-like wheels; one gripping the round rail on each of three sides. Yup. That's all there is between you and puree of you.

Notice also the drainage holes in each seat. Access to it Is included in the overall Valleyfair admission price, $8.25 for 12 years and over, $7.25 for children and senior citizens, children 3 and under free. Considering the lines which form for this monster, visitors might get their jollies on it sooner if they take advantage of the "starlight" price. After 5 p.m., admission is $6 for all ages. MAKE IT A REAL HOLD AY Our Best Rooms i tan 1 SiVA Only $25 Per Night Memoridl Weekend Friday, May 23 thru Monday, May 26, Limited to First 75 Reservations Only! Skip the driving hassle and expon- Ri-lax in mir All-wwihor wonderland.

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52, BROOKLYN PARK. MN 55428 612566-8865 By KARIN WINEGAR Minneapolis Star Staff Writer Adrenalin junkies will love the Corkscrew, a sadomasochistic 21st century roller coaster now doing loop de loops at Valleyfair in Shak-opee. The Corkscrew is $2.8 million worth of fear. It's an ice blue spine of track curving up to 85 feet high over the Valleyfair grounds and ponds, supported by thick white pylons. There are certain requirements for riding it.

For instance, you must be at least 48 inches tall. It also helps If you have no bosom, because the padded V-bar that snaps down on your chest like the arm of a high-tech mousetrap is not designed for rounder contours. It would also be useful to know whether you have a history of heart disease, acrophobia, dizziness or are otherwise allergic to acute terror. The Corkscrew could become a new rite of passage for, say, the Marine Corps or an admission test for teen gangs, as In, "Betcha aint tough enough to ride the Corkscrew 10 times with your eyes open!" Riders are stripped of their cameras, loose purses, locked in four to a car, facing forward, and moved slowly clockwise onto the course. The car clacks tortuously up a steep hill with the ominous sound of something like Vincent Price tightening the rack.

It then makes a screaming ascent into the first loop, swirls around it so fast change doesn't even leave the pockets, then executes a sideways dash (at this point you have Just time to wonder, "How does this thing hang on to the and three more vertiginous loops. That's it. The whole experience Is very smooth and takes 90 seconds to cover 1,900 feet of track. If It took longer, even the hardiest might lose composure, cookies and heart control. As it is, it would not be surprising to see medical personnel installed at the disembarkation point within a week of the opening.

The Corkscrew can handle 1,400 riders per hour up to 12 hours a day. It's enough to make the Flume and the Wild Ralls, the former stars of the amusement park, rust scarlet with shame. The Valleyfair Corkscrew Is one of more than two dozen nationwide now satisfying Americans' Insatiable need to pay money to be scared witless. Valleyfair employees say Its speeds range from 30 to 50 miles per hour, considerately within the national speed limit, but considerably outside the limit of nerve for many folks. It is perhaps in a bad location; the loading dock, up which visitors are herded like cattle in a chute, lies well Into the park.

That means in all likelihood riders have eaten something before committing themselves to the loops. The more cavalier riders may even drink beer before lining up. Mistake. "It's not like your tummy goes to your throat," says Kim de la Huerta, a Valleyfair group sales employee. "It's a more spatial feeling.

I loved it. I asked to go again." jervinq FOOD COCKTAILS i 1 You will thorouthlv eniov thp warm Hininir Star Photo by Jack Glllls An upside-down ride on the Corkscrew at Valleyfair atmosphere at the Bungalow Inn. The ideal spot for an appetizing noon lunch or a leisurely evening dinner. Our friendly waitresses make you feel right at home. Remember, for superb, relaxed dining it's the Bungalow Inn, in Crystal.

OPEN SUNDAY Out-And-About revives play in excellent style for festival Featuring TINY OVSHAX at the Piano Fri. 8 Sat. Nites BASS LAKE CRYSTAL 53J46M TjE about the need for openness in relationships and he succeeds, although by the end his message is heavily weighted down with paeans to free love and the need to assert gayness. The acting is excellent, with Sue Harrington, Vlckl Goldish and Kathy Lyles all turning in immensely believable portraits. The men, as portrayed by Dusty Stuart and Erich Sheil, are interesting on the surface but display little depth or substantive feelings.

Mick Isackson, Bonnie Lee and Budd 3atterson contribute solid support-tag work. The play, ably directed by Richard Rehse, will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday through June 6 in the Playwright's Center, 2301 E. Franklin Ave. Then, it is on to New York. myerboat ragtime -s Y) "PVirP Ragtime at its best and a gala comedy as XlJj lull well! MARK mm as yur host on the Mississippi steamboat, you'll have an evening of unforgettable joy and nostalgia.

For great Ragtime Piano, Dixieland Banjo, Songs Blues, and laughter, don't miss it. A Bill Fegan Attraction April 3 thru June 15. LIVE at 8 P.M. Frl. and Sun.

Matinee 3 P.M. TICKETS: $5.00 $6.00 Sat. RESERVATIONS: 553-1155 Also ask about special brunch- and dinner theater packages, or overnight room package. RADISSON INN Plymouth rALIM.iN times poignant little comedy that is far more earnest than it should be. Nonetheless, Out-And-About is giving it a solid and entertaining production.

It is about two sets of gay couplesone female and the other male that decide to switch mates In order to get into married student housing at UCLA. They pose for the university as man and wife and when night comes they return to their homosexual preferences. Paul, a free-loving soul, and his current attachment, Eric, an aging, possessive man, make up the male duo, while Chlo and Rae are the women. Chlo and Rae are happy but live awkwardly in the closet of their own construction. Paul and Eric are in the midst of a marital squabble because Paul wants the freedom to physically love whomever he pleases, while Eric prefers a more exclusive relationship.

The ruse works with a minimum of bedroom switching until a nosy neighbor Inadvertently messes up the affairs by informing Chios mother of her whereabouts. In a marvelously funny and touching scene, Mother arrives with an outrageously straight lover and the elaborate coverup crumbles quicker than a windblown house of cards. Bateman is trying to tell us a lot Highway 55 at 1-494 I I I 4 I VI Plymouth. MN (612) 553 1600 Reviewed by PETER AUG HAN Tht Star's Entertainment Editor "Lying in State," on stage at the gay-oriented Out-And-About Theatre, clearly demonstrates how far this theater has come in three years. The play by Lane Bateman was the third and most successful production of Out-And-About's Initial season in 1977.

As most of the theater's early plays did, "Lying in State" flaunted its gayness and relied far more on shock value than reasoned persuasion to lead straight audiences into an acceptance of gayness. It includes male nudity and same-sex kissing and is among the most overtly gay plays Out-And-About has produced. As the theater gained more confidence in its identity and rightful place on the Twin Cities theater scene, it moved away from plays that defensively asserted the presence of gayness and began to produce plays that accepted gayness and dealt with it as a part of a larger world. "The War Widow," "Boy Meets Boy" and "T-Shirts" come to mind. These plays are about people first and gayness second, "Lying in State" is about being gay first and about being human second.

That is why "Lying In State" seems blatant today and why on the surface it seems that this fine theater has taken a step backward rather than forward with this production. But "Lying in State" is not being produced for local consumption only. After a four-weekend run In Minneapolis, it is being taken to New York City for presentation at the National Gay Arts Festival, Out-And-About was asked to present a play that had not been done in New York previously and "Lying in State" was selected. The play Is set in Los Angeles and is an often amusing, some SB Wilson gets help HOLLYWOOD (P)-Fllp Wilson, with a little help fiom Geral-dine, will be co-host of NBC's "The Big Show" with Sarah Purcell June 3. Geraldine is one of Wilson's most popular characterizations.

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