Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 64

8 Saciton 4 Chicago TnDone, Thursday Septembef 2. 1982 Loss of WSNS to pay TV is costly to local viewers Lubovitch dancers up to the task By Richard Christiansen C'c at far'jb Lar Lubovitch Dane Company rl nSNSH. 44 aa i II great Chicago television sta- IX ttOVtTl a Chita bey wh mada M4 opanaa mm Tkaaaar at hM a hmm rtmm a at a it -r at iii. mmt I i I riaaaa arv kavma. Uon.

but bad Its better 7 4 i Us wh! AR i i muoern aante, in residence through Sunday tint Murray Theater of the Kavuua festival. moments. ''Under tha aggressive leadership ceo- where hu company is performing strorucly his Ron Alridgo TV-radio cne frai manager Jul Morris, tt station. I I hicft specialised la old renin and older jDovtea, occasionally hosted aucb locally iroducwt IreaU aa While Sox baseball, Klack Hawks hockey, and University of Illinois basketball. also were public affairs pro-Jrrams, telethons, and (or while a feeble I tempt at broadcasting news.

At Its eight, WSNS employed people. But, as Monia. now tl, puts it, "That Uibovitth creates a chain of Interlocking movement, ending and beginning abruptly in pronounced, heavy rhythms. Dramatically lighted by Craig Milter las are all of Lubov itch's dances and executed with superb discipline by the ensemble, the work features striking female solo of spastic action and slow release, danced on Tuesday by Laura Gates. Lubovitch's other two works take off from the music of classics.

"Beau Danube," using Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube" waits, finds four dancers in brightly colored unltards in front of a painted backdrop of Viennese palace gardens. The music begins, a gentle rain of confetti descends and the tightly knit quartet wittily divea, swoops and plunges through the waits In an inventive modern dance tribute to the lovely old schmaltz. "Les Noees" is Lubovitch's version of the dramatic work by Igor Stravinsky. The powerful surge of the peasant wedding rites In Old Russia offers prime opportunity for Lubovitch's Interweaving network of dances, and the company, with Christine Wright and Laird as the young bride and groom, comes through with a bold, vigorous endlessly flowing, ceaseloHily quirky choreography. The most impressive work of the quartet of dances presented for Tuesday's opening night program was "Cavalcade," set to a taped score by Steve Hekh.

It was perf or rived at the end of the evening, partly because it was a grand finale and partly because the company probably would have been too exhausted to carry on. Working from the repetitive cycle of Reich's rhythmic score, Lubovitch has created an organic work that ebbs and flows, meets and parts In a constant whirl of ensemble and individual movement. It's an Inventive, demanding work for its eight dancers, never more so than when John Dayger and Harry Laird blithely skip and shake across the stage in a soft shoe turn for barefoot modern dancers. Treating his dancers like the orange streamers they twirl in the dance's final minutes, Lubovitch sends them swirling and leaping through his cavalcade, like feathery objects tossed by the wind. "NORTH STAR." the evening opener for the fuU company of 10 dancers, is performed to taped organ and choral music by Philip Glass, another contemporary composer who, along with Reich and Laura Dean, writes as If repetition is the soul of inspiration.

Here, pay for what they used to get for free. Moat of the White Sox game that WSNS used to carry are now broadcast by yet another pay-TV station, newly formed WBBS-Ch. 60, and the Black Hawks are soon to go there, too. WBBS, Incidentally, televises no local programming, but allegedly plana to start some soon. Meanwhile, another new station, WFBN-Ch.

66. Is also in the pay-TV business. Its Spectrum service duplicates much of what ON TV broadcasts. The only free TV WFBN airs Is a daily exercise show and a twice-weekly public affairs program, each of which lasts 30 minutes. It is true, as pay-TV zealots are quick to point out, that Chicago still has plenty of free-TV stations, including two major Independents, a big public station and three huge network-owned stations.

But that doesn't mean Chicago has all the Lar Lubovitch dancers performing An impressive work ol ensemble and individual movement. )as before the advent of pay TV." 'Two years ago, Channel 44 became the Shome of the ON TV subscription televt-- sion service. Eighty-eight hours of Its local programming was replaced by ON TV's uncut movies some of them pornographic), sporting events and special productions such as "Everything Goes," a strip gsme show. Although the station continued to broadcast over the publicly owned airwaves, free of charge, its ON TV shows, transmitted via a scrambled sighs), were restricted to those viewers willing and able to pay $21.95 a month and up for the privilege. In short, a large chunk of the public's airwaves was taken way from the general public.

LATE LAST month, the chunk becsme larger. Encouraged by a relaxation of Federal Communications Commission rules, Channel 44 quit broadcasting any free TV. Its ON TV subscription service became a 24-bour-a-day, seven-day-a-week operation. Now, with all of its brogrammlng supplied by California-based Oak Communications, Channel 44 might as well be In Los Angeles. It is a ZiSrts VJk'il i 7Tlfir il 1 1 WTTHltMli laWinmii iihiii mi i sninr "iwifirri wamr i roe i it needs.

ALTHOUGH SPECTRUM and ON TV and several cable-TV services such as HBO are offering remarkably similar programing to their subscribers, free TV still slights Urge, less lucrative, se-gements of the marketplace. For example, there Is no black-oriented station in this heavily black city, and there is little In the way of programming for the elderly, which most of us will become someday. There Is no local equivalent of ABC's single-issue news program "Nlghtline," and heaven knows children are getting little In the way of quality programming. Clearly, there Is much the public needs more than It needs a dozen duplicated airings of "Student Bodies' or "Inside Misty Beethoven." Yet the present trend in television, blessed and fostered by Washington's federal deregulators, favors still more pay programming. We can only hope that pay TV will eventually see fit to use the public's airwaves for at least a little public service.

Encouragingly, ON TV reportedly is planning a 13-hour series about the Vietnam War. As stale as the subject matter sounds, it's at least a sign that the pay TV company is interested in broadcasting more than strip shows. Television has too much power and potential to be used strictly for profit. And the airwaves that supply television's lifeblood belong to all the public, not just those who can fork out a few hundred dollars a year. The demise of WSNS as a free, local TV station is both chilling and sad.

Kurtis documentary local station in geography only. The change has taken a heavy toll Inside the station, The staff is down to 39 people, most of them employed in technical jobs, and a few more are likely to go. The five-person sales staff is gone because there's no more advertising to sell. State-of-the-art cameras and other production equipment are In mothballs, kept only because there's a chance the station may someday resume local production. Morris himself, frustrated that his creative juices are no longer needed, plans to leave; an announcement is expected within two weeks.

"It's just more profitable than conventional television," Morris says of the subscription TV operation. "This is a lot surer and cleaner way for a small station like WSNS to make some money. We were rarely profitable in the year before we went into subscription television. We're not making a lot of money now, but we're making more than we were then." it WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF DO-IT-YOURSELF PRODUCTS ON SALE AT tt GARAGE SALE PRICES OOrWE im SOOW SO VOU WON'T MISS TUB SPgCTACULAr? SAVIMGS ON MOSAIC, VIMYL mm msim mmz liLt, CfcKAMIO, FAIMT AMD TILE. 5fiiE tXNDS EPT.

sssssffii mmzi mzn mssga Hnaaiananajia $ma mm ifSEsss a -inr nm, on Permanently Glazed on Durable, onDacoratbr QUARRY TILE Glazed Mosaic rofwTC Till MORRIS DECLINES to give his opinion about subscription TV and acknowledges that there are some philosophical arguments against it. But he feels strongly that the success of ON TV in Chicago proves that there is a demand for such television and, as a long-time warrior in the marketplace of American lree enterprise, he sees nothing wrong with meeting that demand. Furthermore, Morris says, turning to the human side of the issue, "I personally feel that the people who were let go here are people who are not suffering, because they were competent professionals. Every one of them has moved on to a better job." Perhaps there is a silver lining to this dark cloud, but I'm not so sure. It's troubling to see public property being turned over to private profit seekers.

And it's troubling to see viewers having to ON TUESDAY, Sept. 24, former WBBM-Ch. 2 anchorman Bill Kurtis will host his first documentary since joining CBS News earlier this year. Called "The Golden Leaf," the 9-to-10 p.m. report will focus on the tobacco industry.

CBS hopes the documentary and similar projects yet to come will help establish Kurtis as a credible, competent newsman with the national audience he now reaches as co-anchor of "The CBS Morning News." WMAQ-Ch. 5 second-string weatherman Jerry Taft has signed a new contract with the NBC-owned station. As part of the deal, he will replace the recently fired Terry Burhans as weather-caster for the 10 p.m. Sunday news program. il fabulous selection of beautiful IC7UGH KILN-FIRED (IAVr: GREAT ON WAUUQ COUNTERS ANO Fl-OOGS.

FICED-ON GLAZE RESISTS SOPATOHES AMO STAINS. CEStSTS SCPATfcHINO COLORS PATTERNS. IDEAL PGR FOVE12S, KITCHENS FOR WALLS, COUNTERS FLOORS BATHS 5 FAMILY ROOMS in any tzoov MMmYm lv- bvjj i ty xniw vh tr rmm 'SHEET Thursday's TV movies 4-4." A-'a." appcox. so. ft Sheets 1W 1J8" LOOK FOR SPeCIALTAGS'' LOOK FOR SOCIAL 1ACS" LOOK 7 p.m.

(3D "Fate Is the Hunter" I.XllllaMBaWWMaTMSI tion of Eric Ambler's novel. 2:30 a.m. CD "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" la isao mtm mm mMmm $mmm mmm tm awzm mm wssm mm tMoBana Glarm Ford Nancy Kwan Rod Tavkx dairy i-rasar ICapt. Savaga imss wmm TTTiii ir amokmumm msm BB8ESS WBm 03 fo-vd Suzanna Ptaahatta Gloria Robart AJoa Jane Fonda Mchaal Sarrazln Susannah YorK I iwacvja oy naipn moon (Original running ma: 106 mlnuM) Until DAAtt Sailor Hed gumma VINYL FLOOR TILES ME 77- i fiwr wmui a p.m. mvv; ji After a routine flight ends in i-f disaster, a company VIP a 013 Jm SELF STICK FOR QUICK P0- IT- Dlracwd by OanW PaMa (Original running Una: 12S nUnulm) (1961) Until 2 a.m.

(BW) Mediocre screen adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's moving drama about a black family's attempt to move into an all-white suburb. 12:10 a.m. CD "Hotel Reserve" Jamaa Mason Harbart Um Olraolad by Lanoa Comfort (Original running ama: 78 minute.) (1946) Until 1:50 a.m. (BW) A guest at a swank resort, accused of being a Nazi I spy, sets a trap for the real spy. Fine, intelligent adapta 9j rfrtend of the accused pilot risks his life to determine 13 Fail FAMOUS BRANDS of PRE- jine cause or ine acaaeni.

(Original running lima: 121 mlnutaa) (1969) Until 4:45 a.m. A marathon dance contest in the 1930s served as a metaphor for America's moral degeneration during the Depression In Horace McCoy's novel; Pollack's film, though graced with some terrific performances, never really captures the original's chilling tone. UJ 11:30 p.mj fJD Rj "A Raisin In Hhe Sun" iWatar Laa Youngar Sktnay PoWar liana Youngar Claudia McNaK iy Ruby Daa 'LOOK FOR SPEC! AL TAGS Glamorous, colors i van union PPr-1STED MAKE sm 40- A SMOOTH TOty LO0IC Foe SPECALlAe ON FLAT GLOSSY mm-. jijjMwtjagjarMHfj lrSTR.TED INSTRUCTION EK- ERT CfOOAT1N3 AOVICe OP MDBAL FOU NNJL CEILI IVKVS SPEClAt-lfcO-S Poa TVe am FLOWS Oi SMOOTH LytCl6fi.F8ST RBO. A.9 -12.

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