Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 2, 1993 TAG: 9309020166
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
General Johnson (that's his name, not his rank) and his legendary band, The Chairmen of the Board, will march into Blacksburg this weekend for a show at Eat at Joe's Cafe International. It's Saturday, starting at 10 p.m., at the restaurant on Jackson Street.
Best known for its 1969 gold record, "Give Me Just a Little More Time," the group has produced other classics over the years: "Pay to the Piper," "Dangling on a String," "Everything's Tuesday."
Johnson, the songwriter of the group, has written a number of hits for other bands. "Want Ads," "Stick Up" and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" were all million-selling singles for Honey Cone. In 1970, Johnson's Grammy Award-winning song, "Patches," launched Clarence Carter's career.
A Norfolk native, Johnson sings lead vocals for The Chairmen of the Board. Danny Woods of Atlanta is the second lead singer and Ken Knox of Detroit is the saxophonist.
In recent years, the trio has led the beach music industry with records produced on Surfside Records, a label founded by Johnson and his business agent. Some popular releases include "On the Beach," "A Piece of Candy," "I'd Rather Be in Carolina," "Loverboy" and "Carolina Girls."
The Chairmen of the Board's newest release, "Boy Toy," is from the compilation album, "Better Late Than Never." The album also features Joe Pope and the Tams, The Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose and The Showmen. Johnson wrote and produced the entire album.
Tickets for Saturday's performance at Eat at Joe's Cafe International are on sale at the restaurant and at The Record Exchange on North Main Street in Blacksburg. Advance tickets are $10. Admission at the door is $12.
\ TIME'S A WASTIN': If you haven't seen the community production of "Oklahoma!" yet, make tracks for Radford University's Preston Auditorium.
The musical comedy continues with performances tonight and Saturday at 8. The last show is at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic is the second production of the New River Arts Council's Summer Musical Enterprise. Last year's debut production, "The Music Man," was a big success.
"Oklahoma!" features a cast of talented children and adults from all over the New River Valley. They act, they dance and they sing all those familiar tunes: "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," "Surry with the Fringe on Top," "I Cain't Say No," etc., etc., etc.
Admission to the play is $7 for adults or $3 for students and senior citizens. If you want to buy an "Oklahoma!" T-shirt, bring an additional $12.
\ TIME'S A WASTIN' II: The 23rd season of the valley's only outdoor drama, "The Long Way Home," is drawing to a close. The last performance is Saturday.
Written by Earl Hobson Smith, the drama is a true story of Mary Draper Ingles' 850-mile escape through the wilderness following her capture in 1755 by Shawnee warriors. It is re-enacted each summer at the Ingles Homestead Amphitheater in Radford, the site of Ingles' home and burial ground.
Members of the Mary Draper Ingles Society will attend tonight's performance. They, along with alumni from Radford University and Virginia Tech, will be recognized. On Saturday, a special closing performance is planned.
Curtain time is at 8:30 p.m., but you'll want to come early for the walk along the Ingles Ferry Trail at 7 p.m. and the grounds tour at 8 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults and $3.50 for children 12. Preferred seating is $1 extra.
To get to the amphitheater from I-81, take Exit 105 onto Virginia 232. To get there from Radford, drive west on Norwood Street to First Street (Virginia 232).
\ FIVE ALIVE! Brass Dominion, a quintet made up of faculty members from Virginia Tech and Radford University, will perform in concerts Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in Squires Recital Salon at Tech's student center. The concerts mark the opening of the University Chamber Music series.
Musicians in the quintet are Allen Bachelder, Dayl Burnett, Mark Camphouse, Wally Easter and Russ Wolz. Joining them as guest musicians are Kim Daniels, a Radford University student, and Virginia Tech students Marvin McNeill, Pat Driscoll and Kristine Mendoza.
The program features works from the Renaissance to the 20th century with pieces by Dukas, Poulenc, Dvorak, Reigger and Brahms.
Tickets, available at the box office in Squires Student Center, are $7 for adults or $5 for students and senior citizens.
\ OH, THE ABSURDITY OF IT ALL: This year, Virginia Tech's Theatre Arts-University Theatre will focus on Samuel Barclay Beckett, the Irish-born playwright who used his talents to depict man's inanity. The season starts with a workshop production of Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape," a one-person show featuring P.A. Distler, an Alumni Distinguished Professor and director of Tech's Division of Performing Arts.
Distler plays the role of Krapp, a man who observes his 69th birthday by dictating his annual self-assessment. As is typical of Beckett's work, this play is simultaneously funny, pathetic, absurd and poignant.
David Johnson, also a faculty member in the theater arts department, is the director.
"Krapp's Last Tape" opens Tuesday and runs through Thursday in Squires Studio Theatre. Curtain time is at 8 each evening.
Admission is free.
by CNB