Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 10, 1992 TAG: 9201090382
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
`ANNIE' WILL STEAL YOUR HEART
Hold on to your heart: Annie's coming to town!Little Orphan Annie was born 68 years ago in Harold Gray's labor room. The comic strip artist created the chubby-cheeked, red-haired ragamuffin that American newspaper readers have loved ever since.
In 1977, Annie came to life. Written by Thomas Meehan with music and lyrics by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, "Annie" stole seven Tony awards following its Broadway debut. The musical comedy was an instant hit.
Since then, the play has been performed in theaters across America, as well as in 18 foreign countries. Everywhere it plays, audiences react similarly - with laughter, tears and lots of applause.
Set during the Great Depression in 1933, Annie escapes from the orphanage and finds friends in the outside world: a stray dog named Sandy and a billionaire benefactor named Daddy Warbucks. Together, the mismatched threesome creates one of the happiest endings in theatrical history.
National Touring Musicals will present one performance of "Annie" on Thursday in Burruss Hall on the Virginia Tech campus. The show is part of the Virginia Tech Union's Broadway Series. Curtain time is at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets, available at the box office in Squires Student Center, are $16 for adults, $8 for children under 12, $13 for Tech faculty and staff and $5 for Tech students. For reservations, call the box office weekdays between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at 231-5615.
\ LOVE HIM TENOR: Tenor Gary Fulsebakke will sing for you Saturday at 8 p.m. in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. A performer with the Kansas City Lyric Opera, Opera Roanoke and the Kansas city, Roanoke and Lynchburg symphonies, Fulsebakke has established a name for himself locally through his work with the vocal trio Trittico.
Fulsebakke's recital Saturday will feature "La Bonne Chanson" by Gabriel Faure and "Sieben Fruhe Lieder" by Alban Berg. In addition, he will sing some romantic Italian songs and American contemporary songs.
An adjunct professor of music at Radford University, Fulsebakke also teaches at Liberty University and Roanoke College.
Admission to the recital is free. For more information, call Radford's music department at 831-5177.
\ MALL OF FAME: "Going to the Mall," a new song written by Radford University piano professor David Phillips, is the featured piece in Clarity James' solo recital Monday.
James, a mezzo soprano who teaches voice at Radford, said the piece is a "funny and poignant" tribute to the local New River Valley Mall.
Other selections on the program include "Light My Light" and "Kindertotenlieder." James will sing a variety of works by John Alden Carpenter, Gustav Mahler, Gaetano Donizetti, Francis Poulenc and John Jacob Niles. Caryl Conger will accompany on piano.
Before joining the music staff at Radford two years ago, James performed as a concert and opera singer in the United States and Europe. She has sung with the New York City Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony and the Virginia Opera Association, to name a few.
James' recital will begin at 8 p.m. Monday in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children and free for Radford students.
\ ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE, DANCE: Carol Ann Crawford has danced from Paris to Moscow.
Now she's dancing in Blacksburg.
Crawford, recently appointed coordinator of the Black Cultural Center at Virginia Tech, was a ballet dancer with the noted Dance Theatre of Harlem. She danced professionally with the troupe for 10 years, touring such countries as Japan, Australia, Israel and South America. She also appeared in a number of nationally televised performances, including "Creole Giselle" hosted by Bill Cosby and "60 Minutes" with Ed Bradley.
Most recently, Crawford has been involved in lecturing and teaching. She currently is organizing a series of ballet classes for children and adults at Virginia Tech.
Classes for ages 3 and up start Jan. 18 in room 104 of the Performing Arts Building. A fundamentals class on ballet and dance will be offered for children, ages 3 to 6, from 9 to 9:40 a.m. each Saturday. Youths, ages 7 to 12, will have ballet instruction from 9:45 to 11 a.m. Teens and adults will meet from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Tuition for all classes is $20 per month with a one-time registration and insurance fee of $15. The single-class fee is $6.
For more information, call Crawford at 552-7502.
Donna Alvis-Banks is an editorial assistant in the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.