Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 39

Jan. 8, 1986 D5 Kismet comes to Royal Alex stage TORONTO (CP) A $1 -million-plus production of the 1950s Broadway musical Kismet has been announced as a new collaborative project of the Canadian Opera Company and Ed Mir-vish's Royal Alexandra Theatre. The musical, with a cast of about 100, will open a minimum six-week run at the gracious old Alex on June 23. This project fits nicely with the new policy of Mirvish and his son David to mount Cana dian productions in the theatre instead of bringing in British and American shows, as in the past. The opera company's artistic director, Lotfi Mansouri, told a news conference Tuesday that under the plan, the Mirvishes will provide the theatre, box office, theatre staff, marketing, public relations and the subscription base for the show.

The opera company will be responsible for all the production elements, including casting, orchestra, chorus, sets, scenery, costumes, wigs and mukeup, he added. Much of the cast will be drawn from the opera company but Mansouri said it also will look across Canada, to the Unit ed States and abroad for performers, musicians and designers of international reputation. Kismet, which produced such hit songs of the day as Stranger in Paradise and Baubles, Bangles and Beads, opened on Broadway in 1953. Two years later it was transformed into a lavish MGM film directed by Vincente Minnelli. TIIK IIIWIUMIKK MOTOR H0TKI CALGARY HERALD "JU" 1,1 1 I.JI.HI II.UMIIJIIl II 1 Mr JOIN THE PARTY Fri.

and Sat. with "CODA" Rock and Sway to the Top 40 and Mellow Sounds of Today" RIVER COONTR TOTAL EXCITEMENT FROM TOP TO BOTTOM You'll enjoy our two giant indoor waterslides. PLUS Adult pool Kiddies pool Whirlpools Sauna Licensed food bar Associated Press Ivy Austin (left) drew standing ovation Raggedy Ann musical charms Soviet audiences Video Arcade fin 1 If IJ Per Night cWlv 8 Per Night Single or Dbl. Children stay free in their parents' room and Holidays SHERATON CAVATJER BARLOW TRAIL 32nd AVE. N.E., CALGARY, 291-0107 TOLL FREE 1-800-325-3535 A Lm nnSIi IMWIlll! 2 i I Hi Restaurant Beach Bar 718 -8th Ave.

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to 7:30 P.M.) $T95 ONLY per person CHILDREN UNDER 10 HALF PRICE FRIDAY, SATURDAY S-t -t 95 I Or try Calgary's Best Deal on Steak or Lobster MO95 2 DIRECT FROM K0NA, HAWAII THE ISLAND FEELINGS fj rr; 1 l' jj -TO 4 MOSCOW (AP) Muscovites are enchanted by the inaugural visitor in the new U.S. -Soviet cultural exchange program a singing and dancing personification of Raggedy Ann, the rag doll beloved by generations of North American children. The first American theatre troupe to visit the Soviet Union since 1979 is doing eight sold-out performances of a musical based on the Raggedy Ann tales. The official premiere of Rag Dolly was Tuesday night at the Children's Musical Theatre, but about 1,000 Soviet adults and children packed the hall for a Tuesday afternoon performance of the Broadway-style musical, a form of theatre that is rare here. The crowd gave a three-minute standing ovation to Ivy Austin, who plays the red-haired doll, after she sang the title song in Russian.

She also received loud applause for translating occasional words into Russian with dramatic asides. A narrator gave the audience an oral synopsis in Russian before each of the two acts. "We just loved it, loved it!" said Tamara Derevyanshchikova. "I am only unhappy that I don't speak English. I've never seen a musical before, but I can say that I really like this kind of theatre." Her 12-year-old son, Alyosha, said he wanted to see "lots and lots more" American shows.

Members of the 90-member 10W30 i litre tsiie ea 100 Elastic kx. Diapers TODDLER 100 ea 100 Elastic Les Nbonbisposable Gulf: MOTOR 1 I I troupe caused a sensation at intermission when they passed out letters from children in the Albany, N.Y., area and were surrounded by Soviet youngsters eager for American pen pals. Rag Dolly is a production of Albany's Empire State Institute for the Performing Arts. No other troupe has staged it. The musical's book and lyrics are by William Gibson, author of The Miracle Worker.

Joe Rapo-so of Half a Sixpence and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown wrote the music. Producing director Patricia Snyder said she began discussing a visit two years ago with Nata-lya Sats, director of the Moscow Children's Theatre. The deal could not be concluded until the new cultural agreement was signed at the November summit in Geneva between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, replacing one that expired in 1979. Travelling expenses and artists' fees were underwritten by the CBS Broadcast Group and the Soviet government is paying for the stay in Moscow.

Snyder would not say how much the trip cost. All the actors are American, but half the stage crew and 14 of the 20 musicians are Soviet citizens. The Americans say they have had a warm reception. "I haven't been so well taken care of since I left my mother," Raposo said. video and performance art during the 1970s.

Prior to her recent studies in Europe, she was curator of the Musee d'art contemporain in Montreal and taught contemporary art and art history at universities and colleges in Quebec. Her articles on art criticism and art history have been widely published. In 1983, she was a participant in the arts administration program of the Banff Centre School of Management. I i GULF OIL WINDSHIELD WASHER tfl Antifreezer Liquid litre Jug ea GENERIC DIAPERS Chinese Revue set for Jan. 13 The Chinese Magic Revue of Taiwan, originally scheduled to appear at the Jack Singer Hall Dec.

3, will be staged in Calgary Monday, Jan. 13. Acrobats, dancers, jugglers, trick cyclists and magicians will perform in colorful costumes in this family show from Taiwan. This is the 10th international tour of the company, which also presents Chinese Action Opera, Korean drummers, sword-swallowing, Thai dance, Kung-Fu and Chi-Kung demonstrations and Chinese comedy in the fast- paced review. Tickets purchased for the Dec.

3 performance will be honored. More tickets are available at BASS outlets, by calling 266- 8888, or at the Centre's box office. All ticket-holders are requested to note the early starting time of 7 p.m. Phillips Gallery names new curator UNICURE SHAMPOO Or Conditioner Professional, 33 Bonus 600 mL Bottle ea GENERIC DIAPERS 1 100 mL Pump assorted gi eaU I COLGATE TOOTHPASTE r-i v. ea Manon Blanchette has been appointed curator of the Walter Phillips Gallery of the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts.

She succeeds Lome Falk, who Ls now a freelance curator based in Montreal. She has been assistant curator of the Phillips Gallery for the past five months. Blanchette recently was at the Sorbonne in Paris, doing doctoral research into mythical languages and the use of masks in.