The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 45

The Miami Herald Section Symphony takes bow Rita Moreno: living the American dream New season new faces for orchestra Waters is one of six guest conductors this season replacing Brooks who called it quits several weeks ago in a dispute with management As things stand the somewhat hastily re-arranged line-up more truly reflects its name because most of the guest conductors and soloists have South Florida ties Peter Zazofsky for example a former Miamian and now an internationally renowned violinist will be soloist at the November concerts when Carlos Piantini artistic director of Santo National Theatre conducts In January Ottavio DeRosa music director of the Miami City Ballet will be at the helm In March Jose Serebrier head of the University of Festival Miami will Please turn to SYMPHONY 12D one-woman show last year to Puerto Rico she was greeted like a queen was the return of the hometown she said worst thing about working in Puerto Rico is that I have to return to the United States They love me so much over there they respond with such warmth To act before Latins is like working in a theater full of family members Such warmth such acceptance Moreno is bringing her show to the Coconut Grove Playhouse Saturday at 7:30 Please turn to MORENO 1 7D By NORMA NIURKA Herald Staff Writer She arrived in New York a poor little girl and was awestruck by the Statue of Liberty Since that day Rita Moreno has lived a perfect American Dream say what the cigarette commercial says: Tve come a long way baby quipped the singeractress who has won all four of the most prestigious show business awards: an Oscar an Emmy a Grammy and a Tony No wonder then that when she took her By JAMES ROOS Herald Music Critic The South Florida Symphony moves into its 15th season this weekend with as much music drama back-stage as onstage Concertgoers attending the performances in Fort Lauderdale tonight and Boca Raton Saturday may be surpnsed that the familiar figure on the podium James Brooks the longtime conductor but Willie Anthony Waters artistic director of the Greater Miami Opera Coconut Grove A classic swashbuckler with a pop pedigree By BILL COSFORD Herald Movie Critic The Princess Bride which is a kind of fable for postmodern kiddies and their folks has one of the more unusual pedigrees at least for a swashbuckling fairy tale with full moral(e) decoration from a script by William Goldman who is well known for having written Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Marathon Man and All the Men It was directed by Rob Reiner who made the marvelous rock-doc spoof This is Spinal Tap and the rather more sappy coming-of-age noodle Stand by Me It stars among others Andre the Giant Wallace Shawn (Wally the Midget?) and Mandy Patinkin (he did Daniel for Sidney Lumet but lost the Heartburn role to Jack Nicholson) These are not Disney people they are as unexpected on fantasy terrain as Meathead among the myths which of course is what Reiner is up to here The Princess Bride likely to advance career either this is not auteur turf On the other hand hard to hate a fairy tale in which the wizard sings the praises of mutton-lettuce-and-tomato sandwiches and the evil giant who becomes a good giant is his own worst critic even exercise Please turn to PRINCESS 5D Cary Elwes and Robin Wright are the romantic leads of Princess Someone to Watch Over Me: No thrills By HAL BOEDEKER Herald Staff Writer Hovio noviow Someone to Watch Over Me (R) Near Dark tells of modern-day vampires By BILL COSFORD Herald Movie Critic Near Dark Kathryn rough-house meditation on the nature of modern vampirism takes a few liberties and makes a good many jokes Some of each work and the result is impressive Not always scary not al- ways good but the film does leave its mark as it were Near Dark opens on a shot of a mosquito taking a long drink from a arm the first of many of bloodsucker sight gags and then cuts to the meeting of Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) and Mae (Jenny Wright) farm boy and vampire Each is rather taken by the other Caleb so much that he stalls when Mae demands to be returned home before dawn Mae so much that when she is forced to bite him to get away she finish him off take so much as a snack as a matter of fact Under the rules of game this makes Caleb a kind of unholy apprentice: If he learns to kill for his blood be accepted into extended family of undead If he pals will rip his face off a dilemma and the rest of the film is consumed by solving it Bigelow and writer Eric Red The Hitcher) have trifled with rules largely to good effect Their central conceit is that a band of modem vampires would eschew the old haunted-castle dodge choosing instead the life of nomads in the American Southwest companions include a middle- have the highest praise for Someone to Watch Over Me as a song The ballad is original beautiful and memorable The movie Someone to Watch Over Me is a different matter a handsome but empty romantic thriller with the most passionless love triangle you may ever see Someone plays like a retooled version of Witness sans the child and the Amish atmosphere Claire Gregory (Mimi Rogers) witnesses the murder of one of her oldest friends She can identify the killer described as who's connected" and who remains on the loose To keep this well-connected psychopath away from her the police send Detective Mike Keegan (Tom Berenger) Keegan is from Queens so that means Berenger can lay on a thick Noo Yawk accent to let us know acting Keegan has a down-to-earth wife (Lorraine Bracco) who works on the car and who exchanges dreary Noo Yawk conversation with him They have a young son who smiles as he listens to their Noo Yawk conversation which is acting because the conversation is boring Keegan the protector the to watch over moves into Upper East Side digs and he likes what he sees which is easy to understand because place looks like Versailles and Claire looks like Kelly McGillis (And a problem because it only reminds you how much better Witness was Because the frightened Claire must contend with the well-connected psychopath and she needs comforting and because Keegan likes what he sees you know that a passionate embrace is coming and a torrid kiss too but no No sooner does the movie set up the big romantic scene than it cuts away from it back to house where the wife hears a prowler Mimi Rogers has been quoted as saying she finds scenes to be stupid and embarrassing and Well she need to worry about doing this movie Someone is a romantic wipeout like a vampire movie without the blood The characters simply talk about passion they portray It This is a love story for the conservative age Director Ridley Scott (he did Blade Runner and the original Alien) has an arresting visual style But beneath the gloss are two unsatisfying stories: Please turn to WATCH 5D Please turn to NEAR DARK 7 Tom Berenger: got someone to watch THE 1968 BOATS are in at the five-day Miami Fall Boat Show in the Miami Beach Convention Center starting tonight See Potpourri 15D THE BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX shows off the work of its resident artists Sunday afternoon when its Fall Exhibition opens See Art 13D EAT PAELLA WITH THOUSANDS witness the landing of Spanish conquistadores or watch the folk dances of Latin America These are just a few of this events celebrating Hispanic Heritage miss the complete listing See Potpourri 15D LITTLE SOMETHING TO EASE THE tells the story of a Cuban exile who visits his native land for the first time since the revolution The play previews Thursday at the Colony Theater See Theater 130 ITS A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A STREET PERSON on stage when Marc one-man show Elias opens Thursday at the New Theatre See Theater 13D MONTSERRAT CABALLE one of the great sopranos brings a wealth of Spanish and Italian songs rare Rossini arias a 50th anniversary tribute to Maurice Ravel and more to the Dade County Auditorium Tuesday night See Concerts 13D VINCENTE FERNANDEZ performs Saturday at the James Knight Center See Concerts 13D I.