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

Sun-Sentinel, Thursday, March 11, 1993 3E ARTSENTERTAINMENT PAT CURRY On Radio Another month, more of the same ratings TOM JICHA TV Radio Writer Vf newscast has a bigger audience than any of the 11 p.m. news programs on the network affiliates, according to Arbitron. At 11, Arbitron has WPLG the leader, followed closely by WTVJ with WCIX well back. Nielsen doesn't give WSVN a rating strong enough to even place it second. It has WPLG on top, with WTVJ next.

WSVN follows, then WCIX. While all the ratings news for WCIX seems to be gloomy, there are a couple of silver linings. Because signal deficiencies make it disproportionately stronger in Dade, it has suffered than the other stations from disruptions caused by Hurricane Andrew. Despite this, WCIX had several all-time-high ratings performances, including late news. This achievement is even more noteworthy because last February, WCIX's late news benefited from two weeks of Olympics lead-ins.

WTVJ's poor performance in Arbitron also must be looked at with a suspicious eye. WTVJ doesn't subscribe to Arbitron. Is it a coincidence that its Arbitron's ratings are precipitously lower in almost every time period than they are in Nielsen? A cynic might raise a chicken-and-egg question: Does WTVJ not subscribe because it does so poorly or does it do so poorly because it does not Geraldo) and WTVJ. The margins, however, are another story. Arbitron has WSVN breathing down on WPLG and gives Geraldo more than double the audience of WTVJ news.

Nielsen gives WPLG a strong lead and has the other three in a fairly close race. p.m. WPLG and WSVN still run one-two, but Arbitron puts WCIX ahead of WTVJ by the scantest margins. Nielsen disagrees. It has WTVJ third by a comfortable margin.

p.m. No disputes here. ABC's Peter Jennings runs away from the field; WSVN's local news is second by a wide margin in Arbitron, just barely in Nielsen NBC's Tom Bro-kaw is next and CBS' Dan Rather trails. p.m. Wheel of Fortune on WPLG steamrolls everything else.

Arbitron gives Inside Edition on WSVN a decisive hold on second place but Nielsen puts it in a tie with A Current Affair on WTVJ. Star Trek: The Next Generation on WCIX follows. p.m. WPLG has another runaway winner in both books with Jeopardy. Arbitron has WSVN's 7:30 clearly second with Entertainment Tonight on WTVJ third.

Nielsen reverses this order, with ET well ahead of 7:30. Star Trek remains a good distance away. Late news WSVN's 10 p.m. The February ratings period results for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market follow a familiar pattern. Arbitron and Nielsen have such wildly divergent reports that you could almost conclude they were sampling different cities thousands of miles apart.

One conclusion that can be drawn from February is that WPLG-Ch. 10 does as well in the late news time period without Ann Bishop as it did with her. Bishop reduced her workload at the end of 1992. February was the first sweeps month she was off the 11 p.m. newscast, replaced by Diane Magnum as Dwight Lauderdale's co-anchor.

On the surface, it might seem WPLG does even better without Bishop at 11 p.m. The 11 p.m. ratings were up slightly from February 1992 but the raw numbers must carry an asterisk. The Feb. 10 Oprah Winfrey interview with Michael Jackson produced Super Bowl-like ratings for ABC and the lead-in provided by that special helped WPLG's late news draw an audience twice the usual size.

Remove that night from the mix and WPLG is right about where it was a year ago with Bishop. WPLG wins almost every news time period in one book or the other, more often than not in both. It also is the market leader in the overall sign-on-to-sign-off category. The following is a summary of where the stations stand in relation to each other, according to each of the books, in the time periods most important to local stations. 6-7 a.m.

The day starts with a ridiculous discrepancy. Arbitron gives WSVN-Ch. 7 a substantial advantage, with WPLG second and WTVJ third. Nielsen puts WTVJ comfortably ahead with the other two tied for second. WCIX is far back in both books.

7-9 a.m. Good Morning, America is a clear leader, Arbitron and Nielsen agree. Arbitron has WSVN decisively second while Nielsen has WSVN and WTVJ in a tie for second. Again, WCIX is not a factor. 5-6 p.m.

This is an area of agreement, to a point. WPLG is No. 1, followed by WSVN, WCIX (which counters news on the competition with 'The World' goes round at Poinciana THEATER REVIEW Majic to fund Habitat house When Hurricane Andrew hit, sister stations of Majic (WMXJ, FM 102.7) in Indianapolis raised $112,000 for the Majic Children's Fund. What better gift could a child get than a home to replace the one destroyed by the hurricane? This spring, staff and listeners of Majic will help build a Habitat for Humanity house in Goulds, Majic promotions director Linda Danoff said. With its $30,000 donation, Majic is the first radio station to fund a Habitat house in Florida.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that builds homes for low-income families, using volunteer labor and donated materials whenever possible. "We felt we wanted to direct some funds to fully help a family," Danoff said. "Habitat is a wonderful organization that really does help people in need in our community." Majic plans a promotion to recruit volunteers to work on the house, and others in the 41-house site, on May 1-2. "Our listeners are great people," Danoff said. "Many are skilled professionals who wanted to help, but didn't know how.

We're just going to direct their energies." Dirk Holkeboer, executive director of Miami Habitat, said Habitat rules don't require a person to be displaced by the hurricane to qualify for a house, but since community residents get priority, the Majic house probably will go to a hurricane victim. "The fact is, anybody in that community has been seriously affected by the storm," said Holkeboer, whose own house in Country Walk was severely damaged. HOT 105 news With the exodus of news director Stephanie Bromfield from HOT 105 (WHQT, FM 105.1), Lisa Campbell, morning co-host on Coast (WFLC, FM 97.3), is filling in on mornings with Malo (Brad Edwards). General manager Bob Green said the move is temporary while a replacement is found for Bromfield. Green denied the comments of WIOD (AM 610) midday host Neil Rogers on Monday that Malo has been fired.

"That's absolutely untrue," Green said. "Malo's been doing a great job. We're real happy with him." WFTL fallout In the wake of the on-air resignation of AVFTL (AM 1400) morning show host Norm Kent last Friday, the line-up has shifted even more. Here's the schedule, and, as always, write these names and times in pencil: Joyce Kaufman now is on from 4 to 8 a.m. Program director Steve Kane joins her at 7 for "Breakfast with Steve and Joyce," and then takes over on his own until 11 a.m.

Gary Daniels airs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by Al Rantel from 2 to 4 p.m. From 4 to 6 p.m., Rantel is joined by Rick Sei-Merman, who then goes solo from 6 to 8 p.m. Craig Worthing keeps his shift from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Al Knight, who left WFTL a couple of months ago, returns in the midnight to 4 a.m. slot. Overnighter Pat Stevens now is doing just her Dateless and Desperate show from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturdays. Pat Hurley has taken over Saturdays from 11 a.m.

to 2 p.m., replacing the Larry Kent show. Soupy Sales subs on WRMF Veteran comedian Soupy Sales chairs morning show on WRMF (FM 97.9) next week while host Kevin Kitchens takes to the slopes in Steamboat Springs for the station's annual ski trip. Sales will air from 6 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday. The World Goes 'Round Musical revue of songs from Broadway and movie musicals by John Kander and Fred Ebb, from Cabaret and Chicago to New York, New York.

Curtain 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 7 p.m. Sundays; 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays. Through March 21 at Royal Poinciana Playhouse, 70 Royal Poinciana Plaza, Palm Beach.

Also March 23 through April 1 1 at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE Eighth Fort Lauderdale. Tickets $35 to $37.50 in Palm Beach; $32.50 to $36 in Fort Lauderdale. Call Tick-etmaster, 966-3309 (Palm Beach) 523-3309 (Broward), 358-5885 (Dade) i i X- By JACK ZINK Theater Writer Somewhere in the middle of the revue The World Goes 'Round, two sloppy ladies sing the question "Whatever happened to class?" The joke's on them, because class radiates all 'round the show itself. The off-Broadway pocket musical with music by the songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb has been beefed up for the road, and arrived in South Florida this week at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. It's also got style and sass.

It's visible mostly through choreographer Susan Stroman's imaginative and usually sexy dance routines, which put in motion director Scott Ellis' dramatic ideas as well as amplifying the production's vivid instrumental and vocal settings. Kander and Ebb's world is a smoky, bluesy, come-hither place where vamps and studs reign, usually kicking dirt in the faces of lonely hearts. It's the land of All That Jazz, Cabaret, Mr. Cellophane, How Lucky Can You Get and New York, New York, to name just a few. In a few weeks, it moves to Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, where its fine quintet of singer-dancers will probably scorch a few more eyeballs.

The revue is a sensation for true modern musical theater buffs who enjoy the clever, intense, dark side of Broadway's pizazz. And it's a flamboyant example of Stroman's choreography, which blossomed in the big time last year with Crazy for You. Without a full appreciation for the show's cabaret origins, or a "listen up" attitude toward the often-complex music and lyrics, some audiences are going to stumble away bothered instead of bewitched. That's because many of these songs, made famous by Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Gwen Verdon, Joel Grey and likewise star ilk, have been recast into entirely 5 yy new settings often less gaudy but much more ornate. Most audiences will have trouble remembering some tunes, though their failure to make the pop charts doesn't make them any less interesting.

For instance, Valerie Wright and John Ruess turn Arthur in the Afternoon from the semi-flop musical The Act into a sizzling boudoir epic. Other far-flung tunes with related themes are blended into double and triple settings, like extended scenic medleys The Grass Is Always Greener from Woman of the Year, We Can Make It from The Rink and Maybe This Time from the movie-only version of Cabaret comprise one. The cast also includes statuesque Marin Mazzie, belter Shelley Dickinson and chameleonlike Joel Blum in too many showcase numbers to mention. What they aren't given directly by Stroman and director Ellis, they are backed up with a seven-piece band that performs splendid new instrumental treatments on composer Kander's musical library. Kander's Valerie Wright adds pizazz to her version of All That Jazz.

high-profile vamps, riffs and cliched ornaments are loaded into arrangements that deliver rat-tat-tat musical punches with rotating solos on piano, flute, guitar, saxophone, clarinet and horns instead of relying on big-finish vocal haymakers. The World Goes Round is performed on a set that consists of a cou ple of walls that represent pages in a dictionary. The key words are passion, emotion, hope, melody, lyric, etc. The set has the look of a complex but tightly fitting puzzle, which is echoed in the music itself. Even the novelty tune Sara Lee, about the supermarket baked goods, is a crafty musical obsession.

Chamber Ensemble members begin new series miliato, who made his Metropolitan Opera debut last month in Verdi's 11 trovatore. The tenor also has sung at the New York City Opera and at major houses throughout Europe. This column appears every two weeks. Write to Pat Curry, Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Speaking of La Boheme, Joseph II-lick will give a lecture on the opera at 7 p.m. March 21 at Philharmonic Hall, 1430 N. Federal Highway, Fort tW' )fv Lauderdale- Illick Lf VWjar'J is the Greater Mi- I Wrf I ami Opera's artistic Orff's Carmina Burana at 8:15 p.m. March 22 at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. The ever-popular cantata, based on decidedly secular Latin texts from the 12th century, will be presented in the center's intimate Amaturo Theater.

Members of the Florida Singing Sons Boychoir will participate. A two-piano reduction of the orchestral score will be played by Jeffri Bantz and Chris Lobdell, complemented by University of Miami percussionists. Tickets are $12 to $20. Call 1-305-462-0222. First Presbyterian Church, 401 SE 15th Fort Lauderdale, will be host to two visiting ensembles in free concerts.

The Toronto Children's Chorus, directed by Jean Ashworth Bartle, will perform at 4 p.m. Sunday. The group, which has about 80 members between the ages of 9 and 16, will offer selections from its far-ranging repertoire. The chorus also will offer a workshop for local choral singers, young and old, at 1 p.m. Saturday at the church's Fellowship Hall.

The Chattanooga Singers from the University of Tennessee, directed by Glenn Draper, will give a concert at the church at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Again, the music will cover the stylistic waterfront. For more information on the concerts or the workshop, call 1-305-462-7350. Chamber music workshop A weekly chamber music workshop is being organized to offer local musicians and students an opportunity to work on music for string ensembles.

Sessions will be held in a Hallandale studio and coached by Gus Correa, a violinist who played in the New World Symphony for several seasons and currently is a member of the Greater Palm Beach Symphony. Organizer Ira Rachlin anticipates a charge of $5 per person, per session. Music will be provided; participants need only bring a stand. For more information, call 1-305-456-6434. Corigliano Symphony The Florida Philharmonic's performance of John Corigliano's Symphony No.

1, inspired by the AIDS crisis, w3s one of this season's most memorable highlights. Local listeners can relive the experience when WTMI-FM, rebroadcasts a tape of the concert aC8 p.m. Wednesday. The broadcast is part of the nationally-syndicated "Alamo Classical Music Hour," which has introduced the Philharmonic to dozens of communities via radip. By TIM SMITH Music Writer The newly renovated Crest Theatre at the Old School Square in Delray Beach is the site of a new, imaginative music series featuring members of the Pro Arte Chamber Ensemble led by Stuart Gardner.

The next concert is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday, and will feature works from the Baroque era by Bach, Telemann and Stradella, as well as Mozart's major Quartet for flute and strings. Soloists include Florida Philharmonic oboist John Dee and flutist Jeanne Tarrant; violinist Kate Ransom, head of the Harid Conservatory's music division; and New York-based trumpeter Douglas Myers, who will perform on the rarely encountered corno da caccia (hunting horn). Tickets are $15. Seating is limited.

The theater is at 51 N. Swinton on the corner of East Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach. Call 1-407-243-3183. New tenor for 'Boheme' The Palm Beach Opera has announced a change in casting for its production of Puccini's La Boheme that opens Friday. Noted Japanese tenor Taro Ichihara has withdrawn due to illness.

He will be replaced in the role of Rodolfo by Italian tenor Fabrio Ar- TODAY'S MAIN EVENTS IZZY STRADLIN is booked to rock at The Edge, 200 W. Broward Fort Lauderdale. Call 1-305-'525-9333. THE MAVERICKS and opening act Mary Karlzen are booked to rock at 10 p.m. at The Stephen 'Talkhouse, 616 Collins Miami Beach.

Tickets $10. Call 1-305-531-7557. SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, a Jazz concert, is scheduled at 8 p.m. at Riverside Hotel, 620 E. Las Olas Fort Lauderdale.

Tickets are $13. Call 1-305- 524-0805. Theater A COUPLA WHITE CHICKS SITTING AROUND TALKING is scheduled to open at 8 p.m. at Theatre -Company ol Plantation, Jacaranda Square, Sunrise Boulevard and Pine Island Road. Tickets are $12 and $14.

Call 1-305-472-6873. Armiliato Cn ducted that company's production of Verdi's La traviata in January. This lecture is offered in advance of the Palm Beach Opera's Boheme production that will be presented by Fort Lauderdale Opera at the Broward Center March 25 and 26. Tickets to the lecture, sponsored by the Fort Lauderdale Opera Society, are $15. Call 1-305-728-9700 or 1-800-22-OPERA.

A wave of choral music Various choral groups are adding to musical possibilities in the area. The 125-voice Nova University Community Singers, directed by Peggy Joyce Barber, will perform Carl i. FRIDAY IN SHOWTIME More than a million people are expected Sunday -lor "Calle Ocho: Open House," Little Havana's annual celebration of life In Miami..