The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 36

WW The Town Talk, Alexandria-Pineville, D-6 Thursday, May 13, 1999 4 l.f -1 I I 'IT I'f i 'k. fc II, I II I HI, i J.V i.v: ilx I -I Fs i V'i 1 Suzy Powell Staff photographer Pas de Trois Dana Johnson (left), Thorn LaCaze (center) and in a performance for schoolchildren on and Heidi Sharpe appear in Pas de Trois, Monday by Ballet Alexandria. Linda Mioton presented in a public performance Sunday is Ballet Alexandria artistic director. Courtesy photo View of tfie Upper Logqia at the Aldobrandini Masterpieces from the Musee Cranet, to be on Villa at Frascati, an oil on canvas, is among exhibit at the Louisiana Arts and Science Center works on exhibit at Treasures of Provence: Saturday, May 1 5, through Monday, Sept. 6.

Treasures from Provence on exhibit through September in Baton Rouge Smithsonian's backrooms hold precious curiosities durable, manageable in size, the National Museum of American History: An Emmy won by Sid Caesar. A gold record earned by Rosemary Clooney. A pocket billiards trophy awarded to Groucho Marx. Nearby hang Dustin Hoffman's red sequin dress from "Tootsie," the red Hawaiian shirt worn by Tom Selleck on "Magnum P.I." and three cream chiffon gowns that once adorned the Supremes. Across the aisle sit John Wayne's makeup kit rugged colors mostly, tans and browns and, 'however disillusioning, two toupees the Duke sported in "True Grit." But asked to show off the neatest items in his collection, Shayt turns to a tall glass-and-metal cabinet full of stamped-steel lunch boxes.

Built from 1958 to 1985 when they were discontinued because kids were hitting each other over the head with them the lunch boxes, he says, are perfect Smithsonian collectibles: icons of daily life. "We're not the hall of fame, the best of the best," Shayt says. "We're the typical of the typical. We collect the full spectrum of human achievement." He opens a drawer containing one of every crayon box ever issued, including a 1958 64-cray-on set with a built-in sharpener, acquired just last year. One drawer down is the Silly Putty collection, including a plastic eggful alleged to have flown on an Apollo mission to the moon.

"The Air and Space Museum is investigating" that claim, Shayt says. Will such items ever see the light of the museum's public floors? "We never say never," Shayt replies. "There are no immediate places for these items, but ideas are always percolating." The needs of thematic exhibitions often determine what is used; a "Happy Days" lunch box, for example, now sits beside Fonzi's leather By Joseph Schuman Associated Press WASHINGTON Nearly everyone's attic has them: heirlooms considered priceless or historical or junk, items that don't quite fit in the living room but stuff you just can't bear to throw away. But with cast-offs like the Bee Gees' silver lame suits, Abraham Lincoln's stovepipe hat and several thousand meteorites, the Smithsonian Institution with more than 141 million items and just a fraction of the space to display them has the rest beat. And if the public floors of its 16 museums are full of classics such as the Hope Diamond and the ruby red slippers from "The Wizard of Oz," many of the real finds are in dust-free, climate-controlled cabinets of the museums' curatorial hideaways or a sprawling storage facility in suburban Maryland.

Consider the following treasures tucked away behind the desk of curator David Shayt at months of FrancoFete '99." Treasures from Provence features 75 French, Flemish, and Dutch landscape paintings from the 17th through 19th centuries with a concentration on early 19th century works of the Provencal school of landscape painting These paintings have never been seen before in the United States. After the exhibition leaves Baton Rouge, it will return to the Musee Granet, in Aix-en-Provence, France. The exhibition will feature a painting by Paul Cezanne, Aix's most renowned artist, titled The Rocks at Chateau Noir. It depicts a famous landmark in Aix-en-Provence. Robert Rosenblum, art historian and NYU professor, will present a lecture to complement the exhibition on May 22.

This exhibition will run concurrently with the Degas and New Orleans exhibition at the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Canadian reunions of the Congres Mondial Acadien in the Acadiana region of Louisiana both only an hour away from Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge and Aix-en-Provence, France, are sister cities. The jumelage, or twinning, of these two cities, came about in 1987 from the efforts of volunteers from Louisiana's French cultural organizations. Aix-en-Provence was seen as the ideal sister for Baton Rouge because of the many similarities between the two such as spicy cuisine, major universities and music festivals. BATON ROUGE The Louisiana Arts and Science Center, along with the State of Louisiana and the City of Baton Rouge, will present Treasures from Provence: Masterpieces from the Musee Granet, Saturday, May 15, through Sept.

6, in conjunction with Louisiana's FrancoFete '99 and Baton Rouge's Bonne Fete 300 celebrations. The exhibition will feature 17th through 19th century French, Flemish, and Dutch paintings with a concentration on early 19th century works of the Provencal school of landscape painting. Included are works by Jean-Antoine Constantin, who has been called the father of the Provencal-landscape school, and a number of his famous adherents, including Emile Loubon and Francois-Marius Granet, for whom the Musee Granet in Aix-en-Provence, France, is named. A special feature of the exhibition is a painting from the latter part of the 19th century by Paul Cezanne, Aix's most renowned artist. "The exhibit will include works never before seen in the United States," said Carol Gikas, executive director of the Louisiana Arts and Science Center.

"The paintings reflect the beauty of the South of France. It is our pleasure to display an exhibition of this magnitude and significance at LASC." Lt. Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who has encouraged Louisiana communities to host special events during 1999 to commemorate the state's French heritage, said that Treasures from Provence "not only enhances the image of Louisiana as a cultural destination, it adds to the variety of opportunities the State will offer during the summer (i 4CM -Jilt ft LfVfeVL. ljr tit "9 ft.

hi Jt'J All photos courtesy of Cirque du Soleil 1 14 1 4 'i Soleil i L-J I 1 If Call today for a FREE 111 II consultation. i by July tion titled "Journey of Man." Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, the film will open in late 1999 or early 2000. Ticket information Tickets for Alegria may be purchased in advance by calling (888) 566-7469 or (228) 386-7777. Ticket prices are $40 for adults and $25 for children 12 and under, plus tax. Performances are at 8 p.m.

on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and at 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The theater will be Berlin, Dusseldorf, Vienna, London, Hamburg Stuttgart, Antwerp, Zurich and Frankfurt. Amsterdam became the site of Cirque du Soleil's European head office.

By 1997, a new Montreal head office, the Studio, was inaugurated. Today, all Cirque shows are created and produced there. A second permanent show titled was presented in 1998 at a new theater at Bellagio in Las Vegas. This was Cirque du Soleil's first aquatic show. It has also re-staged Saltimbanco and has inaugurated another resident show, La Nouba, at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.

A new production is being created in Montreal this year. Also this year, the Alegria production takes up permanent residence in Mississippi. Cirque du Soleil will release its first large format IMAX produce shows. Next, Cirque du Soleil joined Circus Knie to stage shows in more than 60 sites in Switzerland. That same year, Cirque made its Las Vegas debut with a year-long engagement under a Big Top at the Mirage Hotel.

The show generated so much interest that Cirque returned the following year, to stay. It added a monument to its repertoire of shows: Saltimbanco. By 1993, Cirque du Soleil moved into a theater built to its specifications in Las Vegas, at Treasure Island at The Mirage. A 10-year contract was signed to stage Mystere, a gigantic production. Alegria began its North American tour in 1995.

That same year, Saltimbanco was performed in Europe. Cirque's white Big Top with seating for 2,500 spectators made its first stop in Amsterdam, followed by Munich, Continued from D-l Francisco and Santa Monica. In 1989 Miami, Chicago and Phoenix became part of the tour. Montreal was the setting in 1990 for Nouvelle Experience, the world premiere of a new production in a new, 2,500 seat Big Top. Nouvelle Experience shattered previous ticket sales records.

By the end of a 19-month, 13-city tour of Canada and the United States, the show was seen by 1.3 million spectators. At the same time, Cirque du Soleil made its first appearance in Europe, staging Cirque Reinvente in London and Paris. Japan was introduced to Cirque du Soleil in 1992. There the program was Fascination, a collage of the best acts from past dark on Tuesdays. QUTCK TRIM" Lose Pay Less 4434111 800-422-6838 5615 Jackson Street Suite 102 4.