APRIL 16, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

ENTERTAINMENT

Chorus goes back to high school-but cuts class

Rock-n-Roll Remembered

North Coast Men's Chorus

Reviewed by Kevin Beaney

It was difficult to compete with the weather outside-the Blizzard of '93 had just skirted Cleveland-but the North Coast Men's Chorus followed the time-honored tradition of "the show must go on" and held their concert on March 13 at Lakewood High School.

This was a far different approach than the Chorus' traditional tuxedoed concert. First of all, the room was a small, cafeteriatype arrangement. The Chorus members, dressed in the white-T-shirt-with-rolledup-sleeve-and-jeans uniform of the 60s, were mingling with the crowd before the show got underway. The audience, which braved the weather, and filled the room to at least half capacity, got to purchase popcorn for 10 cents and coffee for 20 cents. Then the school bell rang and everyone assumed their places-audience to the tables and couches, Chorus to the risers in a corner of the room.

The program was a nostalgic sampling of the rock 'n roll music people grew up with or sang when they thought no one was listening. The three acts covered the 50s, the 60s, and the 70s-80s (not as much doowop material in those devoid decades), and were cleverly broken up with typical school announcements and door prize awards. Each act had selections performed by the eightman Coastliners and by the full Chorus, who went through period costume changes at each intermission.

As you might expect, the group camped the show up for all it was worth. When a medley of Supremes' hits was about to begin, cardboard hair-dos were donned, looking a little more like early Marlo Thomas than early Diana Ross, but the audience appreciated the fashion statement. The most fun was had with the genderbending words of so many of these girlgets-boy confections. Neil Sedaka's 60s hit became "Calendar Boys" enlivened with life-sized posters of scantily-clad male hunks. And how could you sing "These Boots are Made for Walkin' without pantomime, "Leader of the Pack" without including the vrrooom-vrrooom of the motorcycle, "Beat It" without waving a glove, or "Material Girl" without tossing money?

Sitting through this offbeat and ground breaking adventure, I felt the program was just too much. The wealth of cute, singable pop tunes across four decades is staggering, and I'm sure the Chorus found it difficult to whittle the selections down to a manageable quantity. Unfortunately it was not manageable enough. A number of the songs were not rehearsed adequately, with missed cues, forgotten words, and off-pitch melody.

Most of this could be overlooked in the informal cafeteria setting, made more informal by the small devoted crowd, so perhaps it was okay and could be chalked up as an experiment. I suspect that part of the problem was the Chorus being distracted with the impending challenge of its next project in June, a full scale musical production of Puttin' on the Ritz.

The evening featured several different soloists stepping forward accompanied by the Chorus or the Coastliners. I must report that many of these individual members lacked the sonority or range to meet the demands of the music. Even the Coastliners, two men each in four voices, could not match the range of Elton John when they performed "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

Some arrangements were hauntingly beautiful, such as "Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling,” “If,” and “Kokomo.” The faster-paced numbers sung by the full

group didn't sit as well with me; I had visions of a "Rock's Greatest Hits by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir" album.

The piano accompaniment of Christopher Toth and Randy Fisher was augmented with uncredited (female!) musicians playing bass guitar and percussion. The combo added just the right touch throughout, and easily adapted to the beat of each decade's music. The Chorus also proved the fashion point that blue denim weathers well as a pan generational clothing choice, despite all the shirt styles of the rock decades.

HYPNOTHERAPY

Holistic Approach Utilizing Hypnosis & Imagery Integrating MIND....BODY....SPIRIT

Stress Release Smoking Cessation Weight Issues Fears/Phobias Depression/Trauma

Sexual Dysfunction

Inner Child Work

Co-Dependency Issues

Memory Enhancement

Healing Imagery Regressions

RONA M. LEVIN Certified Hypnotherapist

Self-Esteem Relationships Motivation Coping Skills Abuse Issues

(216) 751-4802

Janet Kious R.N. ACSW

Licensed Independent Social Worker

Specializing in the Treatment of Incest Survivors, Panic Attacks, Phobias & Dissociative Disorders.

6803 Mayfield Rd

Mayfield Heights

(216) 321-7441

12537 Cedar Rd. Cleveland Heights

London $235 Paris $250

JP Travel

"Discounted International Travel."

Geneva/Zurich $330 Barcelona/Lisbon $365 Berlin/Munich $345

Ams/Bru/Fra $315 Madrid/Vienna$335

Rome/Milan $250

Athens $390

Fares are o/w based on R/T. Taxes $6.-$43. Restrictions apply. *Spring Fares 4/1-5/31. *Summer rates are available. *Discounted rates to Africa, The Orient, Pacific, So. America. *Discounted First/Business Class Travel.

216/591-9355

Monday-Friday 9am-6pm

BIG FUN

Things You

Don't Need But Gotta Have.

• If We Don't

Have It.

It Ain't Cool.

•

Everything

You Wanted

And Less.

Gotta get

to...

BIG FUN

on Coventry

Original Dime Store

Gags & Novelties

Unique Party Favors

• Nerdabilla

• Photo Booth

HOUR SERVICE

MATCH-UP

WOMEN

Women Meet Women

Through this Unique, totally Discrete Confidential Service, operated by a Woman

Serving the Cleveland Area since 1989 Send for FREE DETAILS Mailed Discreetly

1827 Coventry Road

Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 216-371-4386

SMALL PRICES

-Presse print

COMPUTER INFO BOX 15755 PITTSBURGH, PA 15244

Name

Address

City

State.

Zip.