Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 34

Tempo 2 Section 2 Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, September 4. 1974 Tower rq? 1 Ticker QC; By Aaron Gold I Arts at large Tiddler9 plays a different tune on a Red roof Berlin, East Germany IT MIGHT have been Prokofiev's "War and Peace," or Heme's "The Young Lord," but it turned out to be "Fiddler on the Roof and I'm not a bit sorry. In Walter Selsenstein's brilliant 1971 produc THE WORST PART OF TAKING two-week vacatioei my first is the frustration of not being able to report to you, "on a day-to-day basis, all of the rumors, juicy gossip and exciting events that I encounter. So, I stored them all up and now, before I bust ABC-TV announced they had the 'broadcast rights to "Cabaret" with Lixa MlnneUl and Joel Grey and starring Dustte Hoffmaa and Steve McQueen. Then along came CBS saying It negotiated with "Papillon" producer Robert Dorfman, and it now has the TV rights to the big box office grosser.

Check TV Week sometime in 1976. John Denver has been set for an Oct 4 concert at the Stadium. And Eileen HerUe and Werner Hemperer in "The Great Sebastians" follow "Status Quo Vadis" into the Ivanhoe Oct. 15. P.

R. CHIEF MARY EDGREN the latest and about the 10th to be let go as part of the Madison Square Garden Hotels' economy cutback at the Arlington Park and O'Hare International Towers. As tipped in the Aug. 14 Tower Ticker channel 7's Bob Kennedy will cohost ABC-TV's A.M. evidence but everyone in me spacious theater could bear perfectly.

The technical apparatus places almost all American theater in the background. Valeri Lewenthal's unit set is a solidly built oriental puzzle that springs open like a magician's magic box. Closed, it depicts the exterior of Tezey's house, but each section of the wall is covered with carvings in relief. Like the added arch which frames the action and the stylized rear backdrop, the gingerbread mural depicts daily life in the little farm community during the waning days of the The Chagall "Fiddler" who plays his violin on the roof tops gets much more work in this production. Using Yiddish folk songs from a 1966 Berlin collection, Selsenstcin makes him into a Brechtan balladeer who introduces each scene and comments musically on its significance.

This one-man Greek chorus further increases our sense of the work as a social and political dler" opened In Detroit In the mid-1960s that Tevye was stragiht out of a Sholem Aleichem story, that the action took place in Russia during the 1905 revolt and that rebellion against tradition was one of its main themes. But American musicals are treated first and foremost as entertainment, and the Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick musical was no exception. It never would have oc-cured to those of us in the audience that first night that we might have been witnessing the birth of a work of art that deserves comparison with the "Marriage of Figaro" and' "Carmen" and which should be presented in the same theater with those two standard works. SELSENSTEIN takes "Fiddler" very seriously, indeed. The production that I saw on a quick trip behind the Iron Curtain last week put the Broadway version to shame in most respects.

The Komische Oper company is composed entirely of actors-singers. Not a microphone was in The choreography is far more Russian-oriented than the Jerome Bobbin's original. Those students in the tavern erupt into an enormously energetic dance sequence with Cossack claps and kicks. And before Tzeitel marries her tailor, she dances a liquid Georgian circle around the stage without a trace of foot movement. THERE IS no qoestion that it all works.

With every detail in its place, Tevye and his daughters emerge as a vital and necessary part of our musical as well as literary culture. Like Beaumarchais, they are human beings who sing as easily as they speak. As in the original, the police destruction of the wedding feast came as a brutal shock. For an outsider it had an ironic dimension. Not an hour before I had gotten off the elevated train under surveillance of guards on an overhead catwalk with machine guns ready.

And other border police had held my passport so long that I missed the overture. tion here at the Oper, the prize- winning musical seemed every bit an opera. By Thomas Willis Music Citto American musical productions, like American audiences, don't usually take themselves seriously. One knew when "Fid- '4 fa LsJ.a CMk fnr Officials Fonda Peters Klemperer Bridge Tani triumphs on three wishes well-rounded girl 'America which goes into competition with NBC's Today show, in January. Kennedy will be joined by New York newsman Bill Beutel, Washington newsman WTOP Doug Lewellyn, and Stephanie Edwards, currently Ralph Storey's cohostess on an L.A.

talk show. Kennedy's local replacement hasn't been decided on as yet, but one thing for certain, is that he'll only have to do the a. m. show because the Kennedy at Night slot is being dumped. ATIV it.

Mi' i mm W1 Sill By Leonard Ernst "CLOSE your eyes, make a wish, and if you've been a good person, it will come true." Every birthday kid has heard that. Only a smart bridge player can make the words fit the occasion. John Tani made not one wish, but three on a hand from the master's pairs during the North Suburban Sectional held over Labor Day weekend at the O'Hare Inn. South deals. Neither side vulnerable.

NORTH A 8 A 4 A 6 4 AQ742 LY THE DALI LAMA OF TIBET has requested Chicago attorney Luis Kutner's legal services on behalf of his Tibetan people. Mlkis Theodorakis, the popular Greek composer and conductor, has cancelled his Oct. 4 Arie Crown date. Chris Millionaires Club Carson will open The Sensory, a discotheque with food, Oct. 1 on the site of what used to be Ruggles at 233 E.

Erie St. Van Gordon Sauter plans to devote all of his efforts to on the air reporting for Ch. 2, in addition to anchoring the 5 p. m. news, so the station will soon announce a new news director.

And you can bet he'll be chosen from within the ranks. THE HIGHLIGHT of my vacation was a quick trip to St. Louis to see Robert Preston, Bernadette Peters and Lisa Kirk in "Mack and Mabel." The Jerry Herman-Michael Stewart musical based on director, Mack' Sennett's stormy love life with comedienne Mabel Normand, is as brilliant and innovative an adult musical as I've ever seen. Miss Kirk stops the show in the second act with an explosive tap routine a la Eleanor Powell and Ann Miller that displays her shapely figure and sensational singing voice. And Preston is letter perfect as Sennett.

But it's Miss Peters who steals your heart and some of Preston's thunder every time she wrinkles her nose, rolls her eyes, or sings a song; especially "Time Heals Everything" which I predict will be the show's hit tune. Director-choreographer Gower Champion deserved the standing ovation given the show by the opening night Municipal One of the many Miss Americas who has parlayed her title into fame and fortune in the entertain EAST 'A 7 5 J87S2 9 3 2 1 WEST 4 42 1 5 K87S K8 Continued from first Tempo page "We can't police it," says Marks. The pageant does not permit anything "obviously engineered," but he adds: "If it's a ndrmal thing for a kid to do, why not?" Jewish contestants are rare, black representatives even rarer. Bess Myerson, Miss America of 1945, is the only Jewish woman to win the title and Lenora Slaughter, the woman who ran the pageant with an iron hand for 32 years, once acknowledged that blacks were prohibited from participating in the pageant by an unwritten rule which was followed until the mid-1950s. Pageant officials deny such a rule, unwritten or otherwise, existed.

Recently, officials say, they have re-emphasized to local and state sponsors that the pageant is open to women of any "race, color or creed." One state, Wyoming, got the message loud and clear. Its representative in this year's pageant is Cheryl Johnson, a 20-year-old black woman from Cheyenne, who says she's got a good chance to win the title. "They don't want to admit it but the country is ready for a black Miss America," Miss Wyoming says. The pageant follows strict rules governing the press during the week of the national pageant. Hostesses, assigned by the national pageant to each contestant, are present during each press interview.

They are allowed to censor any remark or discontinue any interview "which may cause embarrassment to a contestant or state chaperone." Live radio broadcasts and telephone interviews are prohibited. Contestants are warned long before they go to Atlantic City to avoid "way-out styles." Gowns with "a little fullness in the skirt" rather than sheath or backless dresses are recommended. One-piece bathing suits with straps are required. The pageant, of course, has come a long way from the rigidly run, shellaced beehive hairdo and three-inch spike heel shoes era of the 1950s and 1960s. Says George Cavalier, producer of the pageant: "What we're trying to do is to make the pageant as relevant as possible." Cavalier was responsible for bringing rock and more popular music to the long sedate pageant.

Professional entertainers, both black and white, began to appear with contestants during the show and pantsuits, halter dresses and other contemporary styles all have been allowed in recent years. Cavalier even succeeded in doing away with the Miss America banner which was placed on the new queen each year. "It looked like something you put on a prize hereford," explains Cavalier, a platinum-haired, 27-year veteran of the pageant. "THIS YEAR, WE'RE dumping the robe which trailed behind Miss America as she walked down the runway after her coronation," says Cavalier. "It was hokey." Following this more contemporary image, pageant officials also point with pride to the fact that today's contestants are older and more mature and intelligent.

This is a sensitive area, as few want to imply that previous queens were "dumb." made the waiting bid of one diamond. When partner showed spades after the heart overcall, she reasoned that the double fit in the black suits and wealth of controls were enough for a small slam. Without dallying, she bid it. Tani didn't see the dummy-of his dreams. Declarer started with possible heart and diamond losers before even thinking about the trump situation.

Remembering past birthdays, the 26 -year -old computers system analyst made his first wish: West holds the trump king. On this basis, he won the opening with dummy's ace, played a spade to his jack, finessed dummy's queen of trumps, and cashed the trump ace. WHEN West held fast to the trump king, Tani felt his wish had only been partially fulfilled. So he tried a second West must hold at least three more spades. Closing his eyes mentally, that is Tani played the queen and two more spades.

West had to follow and a relieved declarer pitched the losing heart from dummy. Now the third wish: West orginally started with only two hearts and the king of diamonds. Wish completed, Tani ruffed a heart to eliminate West's second heart and put his opponent in with the master trump. Down to diamonds only, West had no choice but to lead a low one. Tani held his breath as he let it ride around to his queen to claim one of the most wishful slams of all time.

ment business, Lee Ann Meriwether was 19 when she won the 1954 pageant. She appears as a costar in the Barnaby Jones TV series. Mrs. J. Benjamin Brick, chairman of the hostess committee for the pageant puts it this way: "It's because of the age in which we live Children todty grow up faster.

A girl 21 today is not the same girl of 21 years ago." MISS AMERICA OF 1974, for example, Rebecca Ann King of Sterling, privately was thought by some to not have been the best-looking contestant in last year's pageant. But she is sharp and appears intelligent and plans to be a lawyer someday. Officials simply say they are looking more today for-a "well-rounded girl." Marks says, "We are not as concerned about how a given girl looks under the glare of the television spotlights on a Saturday night as we are about how she will be received as Miss America on a cold day in Detroit in December before the United Fund." It is no secret that some past Miss Americas might have had a lot going for them in the swimsuit or personality areas, for instance, but much less in other categories. Marks acknowledges, for instance, that Marilyn Van Der- bur, Miss America of 1958, won the title even thd she only had mastered two songs on the organ, "Tenderly" and "Tea for Two." Actress Vera Miles, who was Miss Kansas of 1948 and a runner-up in the Miss America pageant, made no pretense about having talent. She told the press: "I have no talent except to marry and rear children." She lived up to her words.

She had three husbands and four children. Tomorrow: The Preening of Miss America. Opera crowd 10,149 strong because he's taken a musical and turned it into an evening of sheer magic. And Chicago p.r. exec Connie Zonka, whose sister, Patricia Zipprodt designed the costumes, plans on attending the musical's Oct.

6 Broadway opening at the Majestic Theater. THE TONY AWARD WINNING production of "A Moon for the Misbegotten" with Colleen Dewhurst and Jason Robards, will be presented in May as an ABC-TV special. Jose Qulntero will direct the TV adaptation as he did the original production two seasons ago at Academy Playhouse in Lake Forest. Triangle bossman Frank Fried scored a real coup by snaring Paul Anka for ah Oct. 26 Arie Crown concert.

Anka's "You're Having My Baby" is the number one song across the country. HENRY FONDA RECREATES Us critically acclaimed stage portrayal of Clarence Darrow tonight on NBC-TV. Other Wednesday Happenings: Arlo Guthrie at the Quiet Knight; the Moiseyev Dance Company at the Arie Crown; "The Fan-tasticks" at Wisdom Bridge Theater; Otis Rush at the Wise SOUTH A A 3 9 6 1 0 6 5 3 The bidding: South West North East 1 Pass 10 IV 1 4 Pass 6 A Pass Pass Pass Opening lead: 10 of hearts. DEAL OUT the North-South cards to most people, ask what contract they'd like to play, and the almost unanimous answer would be three-no-trump. Quite reasonable.

However Tani and his partner, Charlotte Sturm, reached the not-so-great club slam on aggressive bidding. After Tani opened, Sturm decided not to commit the hand to no-trump immediately and Fools Pub; the Muhal Richard Abrams Sextet at Jazz Medium; the Inner Drive at The Vibes; and the Sonny Rollins Quintet at Jazz Showcase. And the Chicago Fire's quarterback Virgil Carter confided to WBBM's John Huttman that he's allergic to grass and doesn't want to get tackled. That's a good enough reason for being a great passer. Pageant beauties rank high with viewers -ft" movies, including "Devil ful TV and movie career; Bat's Daughter" and "Strang- Cloris Leachman, Miss Chi- ler of the Lee cago 1946, well-known Holly- Meriwether, Miss America wood actress.

1955, who has had a success- Patricia Anstett mm Get a Man With a Gun," "I Feel Pretty," and all songs from "My Fair Lady." Readings from "Joan of Arc" and "Our Town" also have been "dragged across the stage for too many years," he says. Janice Hansen, Miss New Jersey 1944, was one of the more controversial contenders for the Miss America crown. Connected on several occasions with the Syndicate, Miss Hansen was found one day with Anthony Little Lugiel Pisano in a car parked on a New York street. Their bodies were riddled with holes. THOSE WHO watch the Saturday night finals of the Miss America Pageant only see a little more than one MORE PEOPLE watch the Miss America pageant finals than almost any other televised show.

It ranks with the Super Bowl, Richard M. Nixon's resignation from the Presidency, and the Academy Awards for all-time viewer-ship. Illinois has done exceptionally well In the Miss America Pageant. Between 1921-1971, it ranked seventh in the states producing contestants who placed in the top five positions in the national contest, according to a survey of pageant winners. So many contestants have used the same talent material over the years that recently George Cavalier, producer of the pageant, has warned contestants to avoid the songs: "Honey Bun," "You Can't half of the actual show, la Atlantic City, the finals begin at 8:30 p.

m. give the impression of a complete show, several songs and numbers are repeated when TV viewers join the show at 10. The first Miss America, Margaret Gorman of Washington, D. was only 15 years old, 108 pounds, and had measurements of 30-25-32. A number of Miss Americas and contenders for the crown have gone into show business careers.

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