South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 77

Sun-Sentinel, Thursday, December 2. 1993 3E ARTSENTERTAINMENT Farrell's delivery stiff in second week of 'Darrow' December is filled with dates to hear chamber music By JACK ZINK Theater Writer Clarence Darrow, the 1974 drama Clarence Darrow by David Rintels about the famous de One-man play about the early 20th century trial lawyer, written and directed by David Rintels, starring Mike Farrell. Tuesdays through Sundays through Dec. 19 at the Parker Playhouse, Holiday Park, Fort Lauderdale. Also, Dec.

21-Jan. 2 at the Royal Poinci-ana Playhouse, 70 Poinciana Plaza, Palm Beach. Tickets Call Ticketmaster, 966-3309 (Palm Beach) 523-3309 (Broward) 358-5885 (Dade). fense attorney, is a curious struggle for actor Mike Farrell. The one-man play opened at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale this week.

Now, with the show in just its second week of its winter tour, Farrell has yet to find a common cases of labor strife. Farrell carefully sketches the vignettes of Darrow's defenses. Darrow represented Eugene V. Debs in the wake of a strike against the Pullman railroad; he exposed horrible conditions faced by Pennsylvania coal min-ers; he won acquittal for a union boss, accused of murdering Iowa's governor; and he convinced a pair of work; ers to admit to the bombing of a Angeles newspaper. The play's second act includes a brief cross examination of William Jennings Bryan during the Tennessee "Monkey Trial" and row's description of the Leopold and Loeb "thrill murder." At the moment, Farrell's deter-; mined attempts at a folksy character- ization drift toward a monotone, in turn masking Darrow's passion and eloquence.

While that's entirely Farrell's problem, it is partly director Rintels' doing because he has kept the actor under a tight rein. Rintels needs to give a little as director in order for his script to get back anything at all from either side of the proscenium. Farrell is not far from flesh and bone. He needs to create dimension by injecting some variety to his rhythm, and project all that vocally with a solid push from the diaphragm instead of taxing his throat, which turns reedy. Darrow's life story is played out on a simple set dominated by a judge's bench, witness box and lawyer's table.

On one side is an office desk setting, on the other a rocking chair and a bookcase for the few at-home recollections. The playing areas are lighted warmly by Eileen D. Thomas. Farrell shifts among the locales, addressing wives and business partners, opposing lawyers and skittish witnesses as the map of Darrow's life unfolds. This is an effective script device when molded to the actor's body language and delivery.

Author Rintels, who also directs this revival, appears more intent on trying to shape Farrell without yielding any of the material. The result is stilted; the additional characters never fully materialize in our minds' eyes. The story begins in Kinsman, Ohio, where Darrow was born and, he tells Farrell ground between the historical figure and the man himself. Farrell's Clarence Darrow is mostly the former, a first-person lecture with a mild charm of its own. Trouble is, it peaks early and labors to hold the audience's attention for too long after.

It's a metered performance, of calculated inflections and pauses and gestures. us, began his law practice drawing up contracts for local farmers' sales of horses. Darrow moved to Chicago where he quickly became successful, working for the city for several years and then for a railroad company. Darrow's fame was born, however, when he shifted to defending union men in MUSEUM GETS MOVABLE FEAST lon features vintage stained glass, frosted mirrors, beaded chandeliers'' and ceiling fans. Also re-installed will" be the original tables, chairs and lor stools.

7 The ornate, solid Honduras mahoga: ny cabinetry of the Agora Restaurant was handcarved in Philadelphia around 1896. The wood is supported by eight onyx columns and capitals covered in gold leaf. The columns are po- citinnoH Vwhinri a SO-font nnvx bar. The Museum of Art is transporting an end-of- the-century restaurant from New York to Boca for a dining room. It is said that art nurtures the aesthetic soul.

But for the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the gift of an elegant period interior will delight the eye, while providing food for thought and palate. Soon to be dismantled at its New ROGERT HURLBURT Art Writer lie "It is, by its very design, a work of -art to be valued and treasured," says Roger Selby, Boca Raton Museum rector. "At the same time, as a tioning restaurant at the Museum Center, guests can enjoy its artistic and decorative Victorian grandeur as they dine." Preliminary plans call for the Agora Restaurant to be assembled into a dining facility to be -located near the new museum's mas-' sive atrium. In the midst of the first phase of construction, the Museum Center will be to, Mkmm mi iMlifir tl- 1 1-fii V- By TIM SMITH Music Writer December is always ripe with Messiah's. But in addition to Handel's beloved oratorio, there will be an abundance of chamber music in the days ahead.

Two organizations devoted to this art form will open their seasons. Friends of Chamber Music of Miami presents the Cho-Liang LinWilliam De RosaLe Jian Trio, a relatively new ensemble of notable young talents, at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The series continues with the Ying Quartet and guest clarinetist Todd Levy (an exceptional New World Symphony alumnus) on Feb. 10, the Tokyo String Quartet Feb.

24, the Emerson String Quartet March 24, the American String Quartet March 29, and the Bergonzi String Quartet with guest pianist Ivan Davis May 5. All concerts except the Ying Quartet will be at the University of Miami's Gusman Hall. The Ying performance will be at the Lincoln Theatre in Miami Beach. Call 1-305-372-2975. Broward's Friends of Chamber Music opens its 13th season at 2 p.m.

Dec. 12 with the American Chamber Players. Works featuring violin, viola, cello, horn and piano in various combinations will be performed. The series also offers the Lydian String Quartet on Jan. 9 (matinee), the Shanghai String Quartet Jan.

19 (evening), the Colorado String Quartet Feb. 3 (evening), the Orion String Quartet Feb. 13 (matinee), the Yuval Trio March 30 (evening), and the Takacs String Quartet April 10 (matinee). All concerts are at Bailey Hall, Broward Community College, Davie. Matinees are at 2 p.m., evening performances at 8.

Call 1-305-474-1392. Here is a sampling of the many other chamber music offerings on the December calendar: The Brentano String Quartet performs at 8 p.m. Monday at Olympic Heights High School, 20101 Lyons Road, Boca Raton, part of Florida Atlantic University's annual chamber music series. Call 1-407-367-3737. The Beaux Arts Trio, which still has one original member (pianist Menahem Pressler), will open the 15th annual Distinguished Artists Series at Temple Beth El, 333 SW Fourth Boca Raton, at 8:15 p.m.

Dec. 15. Call 1-407-391-8600. The American String Quartet, presented by the Regional Arts Foundation, will give two concerts at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach featuring winners of the 1993 Van Cliburn Piano Competition. At 8 p.m.

Dec. 21, Simone Pedroni will join the ensemble for Franck's Piano Quintet. At 2 p.m. Dec. 22, Valery Kuleshov will be featured in Schumann's Piano Quartet.

tCall 1-407-832-SHOW or 1-800-KRAVIS-l. I holiday fare Handel's Messiah has been performed at least once already this season, but there are 'more opportunities to hear the work. I Bass-baritone Dean Peterson heads a I quartet of vocal soloists in the oratorio at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, 5555 N. Federal I Highway, Fort Lauderdale.

Brian Trevor Jwill conduct the Concert Choir. Call 1-305-J491-1103. J. William Stephenson will lead a I Messiah featuring combined choral forces from throughout the area at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, 401 SE 15th Fort Lauderdale.

Call 1-305-462-16200. I While those performances will be abridged, the Florida Philharmonic will again present the oratorio in its rarely heard 'complete form at 8 p.m. Dec. 10 at FAU Auditorium in Boca Raton, Dec. 11 at Gusman Center in Miami and Dec.

13 at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. The Philharmonic Chorus will be joined by a solo quartet that includes soprano Joyce Guyer land tenor Jorge Antonio Pita. Call 1-800-226-11812. The Hallelujah from Messiah will be on annual holiday program by Florida's I Singing Sons Boychoir, which also will sing Bach's Advent-themed Wachet Aul cantata. Performances are at 8 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday at Second Presbyterian Church, 1400 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale. Call 11-305-563-2697. TODAY'S MAIN EVENTS -Music LAURA NYRO Is scheduled to sing at 9 p.m. at Stephen Talkhouse, 618 Collins Miami Beach.

ITZHAK PERLMAN, violinist, performs with pianist Samuel Sanders at 8 p.m. at Broward Center, '201 SW Fifth Fort Lauderdale. Call 523-6118 (Broward), 532-3491 (Dade) or Tlcketmaster at 523-3309 In Broward; 966-3309 In Palm Beach; 358-! 5885 In Dade. Tlcketmaster assesses a service charge all GALLERY CAMINO REAL 608 Banyan Trail, I Boca Raton. Opening reception 7 p.m.

for "Constructions," by Tom Wesselman. 10:30 a.m.-!5:30 p.m. 1-407-241-1608. i FRIDAY IN SHOWTIME The Rolling Stones, 60 feet tall on screen, arrive at the Blockbuster IMAX Theater, at 700 Banyan Trail, between Glades and Yamato roads, east of Military Trail, in Boca Raton. The arts complex will include 50,000 I square feet of art, crafts and photogra-; phy galleries, an art school, a fine-arts library, photographic workshops sculpture gardens and a 700-seat theater.

In addition, there will be a vintage- automobile museum and a "Great Gal- lery" to showcase large-work exhibM -tor York City location and transported en bloc to Boca Raton is an exquisite turn-of-the-century restaurant. The architectural setting will be reconstructed at the new home of the Boca Raton Museum to be called the Museum Center slated for completion in 1995. Called the Agora Restaurant, the Victorian-style renaissance revival interior was donated by George and Paul Gorra. The dining roomice-cream parlor, complete with murals, will become a functioning restaurant at the Museum Center. Capable of accommodating 100 guests per sitting, the culinary sa tions or serve up to 1,000 guests for formal dining event.

For information, call Melodie Shutej director of communications, at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, 801 Palmetto Park Road, 1-407-392-2500. i ii'iinn nil- A 20-foot onyx bar is a highlight of the Agora restaurant in New York. No flak as WIOD starts fund-raiser TOP 20 TV SHOWS Last year, I was nice enough to promote the annual WIOD (AM 610) fund-raising drive for Camillus House, and people got mad at me. Go figure. If you remember, listeners called a toll-free number and for a $20 donation, they got their choice of several items, including T-shirts.

I suggested that they give Camillus House the $20 and have the station send the T-shirts to the Miami homeless shelter. To me, it was a thoughtful gesture, yet the on-air hosts took offense. Maybe they think homeless people aren't good enough to wear their shirts. Or maybe it was my alternate idea of using a Rick and Suds shirt to clean up cat vomit. It's a tossup.

PAT CURRY Radio Writer 1 Prime-time ratings as compiled by the A.C. Nielsen Co. for Nov. 22-28. Top 20 listings include the week's ranking, with rating for the week, sea-son-to-date rankings in parentheses, and total homes are.

An in parentheses denotes one-time-only presentation. A rating measures the percentage of the nation's 93.1 million TV homes. Each ratings point represents 942,000 households. 1. (1) 60 Minutes, CBS, 21.4, 20.2 million homes 2.

(1) Home Improvement, ABC, 19.6, 18.5 3. (X) Movie of the Week: Home Alone, NBC, 19.1, 18.0 4. (3) Roseanne, ABC, 18.1, 17.1 5. ABC Sunday Night Movie: There Are No Children Here 17.8, 16.8 6. NBC Sunday Night Movie: Bonanza: The Return 17.6, 16.6 7.

(10) Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 17.5, 16.5 8. (8) Murphy Brown, CBS, 15.1, 14.2 9. (8) Grace Under Fire, ABC, 15.0, 14.1 10. (16) Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, CBS, 14.7, 13.9 11.

(7) NFL Monday Night Football, ABC, 14.6, 13.8 12. (13) NBC Monday Night Movie: Beyond Suspicion 14.4, 13.6 13. (17) Northern Exposure, CBS, 14.0, 13.2 14. Full House, ABC, 13.8, 13.0 14. (13) 20-20, ABC, 13.8, 13.0 16.

(20) Dave's World, CBS, 13.7, 12.9 17. (20) Fresh Prince of Bel Air, NBC, 13.4, 12.6 17. (18) Love and War, CBS, 13.4, 12.6 19. Evening Shade, CBS, 13.3, 12.5 20. (11) CBS Sunday Movie: Indiana Jones: Last Crusade 13.2, 12.4 20.

CBS Tuesday Movie: Nurses on the Line 13.2, 12.4 20. Rescue: 91 1. CBS, 13.2, 12.4 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS myriad services to AIDS patients. You can buy all these delightful items, except the coffee mug, at area Peaches stores. Or you can order them by calling 1-800-852-0006.

Everything is $20, except the $7 mug and the calendar, which at $2.99 is a great deal if you can stand to look at Neil Rogers' cigar-chomping face superimposed on the Mona Lisa. Better yet, I'll give you the unsolicited calendar WIOD sent me. Autographed even. The first $20 check, made out to Camillus House, gets it. I'll match it with a donation to my favorite charity, Habitat for Humanity of Broward, and send you a handcrafted house pin.

You'll get three goodies a calendar, a pin and the best gift of all, the knowledge that you've helped two good causes. Happy holidays, everybody. VVBZT adds comedy, teens' hosts WBZT (AM 1290) in Palm Beach County has added two hosts to its lineup. Veteran radio personality Joey Reynolds has taken over morning drive from 6 to 9 weekdays, replacing a satellite sports show with his brand of "comedy with a conscience." "We've sort of let him loose a little bit, and he seems to be having a good time," station manager Lee Strasser said. "I think he's going to be fine, and it's exciting for us to have something live in the mornings." And Jennifer Hawkins, 15, has jumped ship from WPBR (AM 1340) to host a Sunday morning talk show from 9 to 10 discussing issues of local and national importance from a young person's perspective.

Irish-American hour on WEAT The radio cultural mix expanded a notch on Nov. 21 with the airing of an Irish-American show from 8 to 9 a.m. Sundays on WEAT (AM 850) in West Palm Beach. Host Emmett Downes buys airtime for the show, which he says includes an eclectic play list of Irish music "I play from the Commitments to the Chieftains" the occasional guest and bits of information about Celtic heritage. Human House talks health care Human House host Arnie Marks and his guests this week will discuss the impact of the new Florida Health Care Reform Act, its relationship to the president's national health care plan, and how both will affect mental health care.

The show airs at 5 p.m. Sunday, on WFTL (AM 1400). So, at the risk of incurring another round of vicious attacks on my character (not to mention my hair), I'm once again announcing WIOD's annual fund-raiser. Last year's campaign raised $154,000, and there's every indication that this year's promotion will surpass that figure. This year, there are more items to choose from.

There are not only the "best of" cassettes and CDs for talk hosts Neil Rogers and Rick and Suds, but also a Randi Rhodes video, described as a WIOD documentary made by Randi and her eternal fiance, Jim. There's a South Florida Morning News coffee mug, a WIOD 1994 calendar that defaces famous paintings with the faces of WIOD personalities, and more T-shirts. Do whatever you want with them, I'm staying out of it this year. Another new item is the Neil Rogers Unplugged collection of parody songs and bits he hasn't aired because the station hasn't completely lost its mind yet. It will be sold to adults only.

Proceeds from that recording will benefit Fort Lauderdale's Center One, which provides CrmiW inn Ctitortninmonf Broward: 523-5463 Maim tJeacnuaae: yju-otoo 712S 7770 7110 M7160 Music Top 10 Soap Updates Today In Music Movie Charts Concert Line 7133 Book Reviews 7280 All Entertainment 7090 Kl Video Review 7142.