
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 15, 1995                   TAG: 9509150035
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: STACY JONES
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THE TIP OFF

PARTY WITH THE ANIMALS: That's the tag line the State Fair of Virginia is using to entice the public. West Virginia used ``E-I-E-I-GO!'', so from a PR standpoint I think Virginia wins. What to do after you get there? Pretty much what you do every year - eat, drink, play carnival games and go for rides. Musically, the fair has variety: Kool and the Gang on opening night, Soul For Real, Sawyer Brown, Kathy Mattea, and Immature. Blackstone, a magician, and the comedian Gallagher round out the line-up. The State Fair begins Thursday and runs through Oct. 1. Tickets are $10 in advance, $13 at the gate. Discounts are available for seniors and the disabled. Call 804-228-3200.

EXISTENTIAL ANGST: Is heaven full of angels? Is hell rife with flames? Or does the after-life more closely resemble Albert Brooks' ``Defending Your Life?'' Another take on the subject, Jean-Paul Sartre's ``No Exit,'' will be presented by Virginia Tech University Theatre. The play follows the main characters as they arrive in what they perceive to be the after-life. They play the games learned from life and soon realize the games will never end. They find no exit from the lives they have led or from each other. After all, ``Hell is just other people,'' according to Sartre. The production opens Monday and runs through Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Virginia Tech Performing Arts Building, room 204. Admission is free. Call 231-5200.

BONAFIDE BLUES: Of all the establishments in Roanoke, the Iroquois' speakeasy ambiance may be the most effective for jazz. Wednesday the Salem Avenue club lets musician Murali Coryell put this theory to the test. Coryell, the son of celebrated jazzster Larry Coryell, will perform a mix of jazz and blues. The area band 3rd Degree will open the 9 p.m. show. Admission is $5. Call 982-8979.

HONOR THY NEIGHBOR: Photographer and former journalist David Spear did exactly that when he started documenting the lives of his neighbors, the Neugents, in 1988. His black-and-white photographs provide a close-up portrait of the daily rituals and relationships of the tobacco-farm family. An exhibit of his work opens Tuesday at the Hollins College Art Gallery. Spear, who lives next door to the Neugents in Rockingham County, N.C., said he chose such a project because ``their story is as important as anybody's.'' Spear's work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museum of Fine Art in Houston. Admission is free. Call 362-6000.

MEMORY LANE: They just don't make music like they used to...which may be good news to some people. For others, the the big band sound is the only thing that gets their feet a tappin'. A quick fix can be found Monday at the Salem Civic Center, where the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra will provide some swing. Tickets are $35, $20 and $15. Call 375-3004.

DYNAMIC DUO: Two women with stellar local reputations in the field of classical music will take the stage Saturday at 8 p.m. in Olin Theater at Roanoke College. Soprano Marianne Sandborg and pianist Rebecca Wallenborn will perform works by Mozart, Copland, Carissimi and Strozzi, plus selections from ``Les Miserables'' and ``Cats.'' Sandborg is a resident artist/teaching assistant at Roanoke College and has performed with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and Opera Roanoke. Wallenborn is an instructor with the Preparatory Division of Music at Hollins College and has performed with the Audubon Quartet. Admission is free. Call 375-2333.

by CNB