S.R.O.!!

EAGLE'S NEST SHOW LOUNGE Metra's Rovin' Reporter, Mike McCarthy, visits Muskegon.

Larry Ruhl has only managed the Eagle's Nest in Muskegon for six months, but in that time he has turned it into the hottest show lounge in the Midwest. Larry, a native of Muskegon, spent the previous two years in Atlanta helping a friend establish a club called the Celebrity Room.

Until this year Saugatuck was the only small town along Lake Michigan where gays could collectively enjoy good crowds and entertainment. Now, just an hour north, the Eagle's Nest will host a wide variety of shows to large, enthusiastic audiences every weekend all summer long.

Fortunately, I was in town for one of the monthly Gala weekends. These shows feature local talent on the last Friday and Saturday of each month. I hadn't any idea beforehand that the quality of the comedy, impersonations and other routines would be so impressive. The performers found themselves spending half their energy collecting gifts from fans in the audience! During this show I had the pleasure of sharing my table with a Muskegon businessman, his eighty-year-old mother, and a clown (professional, that is); a fun group to say the least.

In addition to the monthly Galas, the Eagle's nest presents its "Starlets" night every first Friday of the month. These special evenings provide a showcase for new names in female impersonatin from all over Michigan and Ohio.

Visitors to the Muskegon area will find a

pleasurable evening at 3236 Hoyt Street, whether enjoying the shows and disco upstairs at the Eagle's Nest or taking in bartenders Jack and Mark's non-stop joke and story telling at the friendly cruise bar in the cellar, Down Under.

The following is a schedule of the weekend entertainment Larry Ruhl has cooked up for June and July. Highlighting this summer's attractions are the Barry Christy Troupe, and "Unique" in an encore performance. On July 4 Larry out does himself completely by presenting Las Vegas' hottest professional. male strippers in sizzling performances guaranteed to spark balls o' fire. Tickets at the door for the 4th of July performance will be squeezing room only, so get your tickets early! June 26, Friday: Gala Spectacular (featuring Mickey Martin)

June 27, Saturday: Gala Spectacular July 3, Friday: Starlets Night July 4, Saturday: Pro Male Strippers direct from Las Vegas

Love

Dally

Me 28th

Dagger

July 19, Sunday: Unique performs. Very popular all-female band.

July 31, Friday: Midsummer Gala

For bookings, or more information concerning any of the above shows please contact Larry Ruhl at (616) 8654.

The Eagle's Nest is located at 3236 Hoyt St. in Muskegon Heights, Michigan.

A Nite With Twyla Tharp

BY ANTHONY SERRASCO

where the party was held. It proved to be one of the most unique social events this writer had ever attended. Not only did the part provide a delightful diversion for the dancers and audience alike, but it provided an opportunity for the present writer to get one of the dancers aside and gain a more intimate view of what it must be like to travel with this dedicated troupe.

With a name like "Twyla Tharp Dancers" you have to be good. During the week of May 23 the Music Hall of Downtown Detroit presented the Twyla Tharp Dancers of New York. Although they were not as traditional as The Jodfrey Ballet (the sensational group doing a concurrent performance at the Ford Theatre) the Twyla Tharp dancers present their-audience with a varied and entertaining routine tha mixes the grace of the traditional ballet with the more abstract presentation of modern dance. The performance openes with nonchalant strolling music circa 1908. The dancers disappear on one side of the stage and reappear on the other as their exaggerated turns and loose movements suggest to the audience a mood of elegance and ease. Later in the performance the tone takes oon a more intense mood as the dancers deal with themes of violence and aggression in a set of dances entitled "Short Stories." Here the music takes on vocal lyrics such as "You can't stop the lover boy" as all the dancers (male and female alike) toy with one another and tease one another with flirtatious glances which grow more and more obvious until finally the dancers are exchanging partners and exchanging touches behind the backs of their supposed partners. The music moves on to lyrics which speak of "Tonight in Jungle Land" as the dancers move into the even more intense violence of the urban jungle. With all subtity abandoned, the dancers begin to portray fist fights over one another. In a conversation later, one dancer ex plained that "Twyla (Twyla Tharp is a real person... the writer of the dance routine) never gave an actual story line for 'Short Storie'." The dancer goes on to explain that his particular character is based on street people in New York... "People I see and how they relate to their women."

Adhering to a tradition that goes back a number of years, some of the staff persons at the Music Hall had arranged a very elaborate party for the dancers and many members of the Detroit artistic community after the performance. The party featured a live band on one floor, disco tunes on another and lots of food and drinks. Several hundred people (including dancers, painters, sculptors, photographers and many others) jammed into the artists loft

Bill (the dancer I spoke with) is twenty-nine years old and has been performing since he was sixteen. He has already created three dances for The Jodfrey Ballet company and was planning to view their performance the following Sunday evening. When I asked Bill what he hoped to be doing ten years from now he responded "dancing with the same amount of energy I have now. That would be really rare ...but it's what I want." He went on to say that he would very much enjoy being able to continue creating dances. The dance "Bomfallera' (which was the first creation he offered to the Jodfrey Company) was about "Growingup as a dancer. It includes children reciting rhymes and singing. Growing up as a dancer ... I don't know... a lot of different feeling." Bill describes the Twyla Tharp troupe as "a big family. An ensemble has to be loving. There has to be a lot of consideration for one another and a lot of trust for one another. We do some things out there on stage that are fairly dangerous. You have to be confident of the skill of the person who' doing them with you." Bill went on to explain that members of the group don't spend a great deal of time together when they aren't working because "you have to be away from one another for a little while." He explained that there was little romantic involvement" among members of the group although there is one married couple. "One married couple out of fifteen is enough" he offered.

From Detroit the Twyla Tharp Dancers went on to Hartford and then to New York. At two o'clock in the morning this party showed no signs of dying down. Bill was headed back in as this writer was departing. It occurred to me that this young man, like others in his profession was very talented and dedicated. I hoped that he would find an opportunity to enjoy the music and laughter without thinking of dance for a few hours.

Dolly Dagger Nude Entertainer of the Year

A good turn out for Memorial Day Picnic presented by A.S.P. Photo Mike Ray

TENDED

A night with Twyla Tharp's Dance. (see article). Photo Sheffick

METRA MAGAZINE 19