ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080040
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: The Tipoff
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES
ACOUSTIC ALTERNATIVE: Musician Wendy Bucklew has been compared to such diverse artists as Joan Armatrading, Eddie Vedder, Melissa Etheridge and Janis Joplin. Draw your own conclusions tonight at 9:30 for $3 at the Coffee Pot Barbecue and Grill, Roanoke (774-8256) or at 9:30 p.m. Saturday for free at Confeddy's in downtown Roanoke (343-9746). Bucklew will appear in both performances with Radar Rose.
NUPTIALS AND NECKING: New River Valley Hospice's production of "I Do! I Do!" will help fund the not-for-profit health organization's special programs. Performances are tonight and Saturday at 7:30 in Virginia Tech's Squires Student Center. Tickets to the merry musical about marriage cost $10 for the general public, $8 for students and senior citizens. Call 381-5008.
Harry and Connie's up-and-down marital relationship comes to a comedic standstill when the couple are stranded in an elevator in ``Stuck.'' Mill Mountain Theatre's Centerpiece presentation Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. is free. Bring a lunch or buy one at the theater, if you prefer, to enjoy during the staged reading. Call 342-5792.
Sunday at 2 p.m. will be the Cherry Tree Players' final performance of "Starting Here, Starting Now" at the Cherry Tree Playhouse in Lynchburg. Tickets to the musical review, featuring the romantic songs of Richard Maltby and David Shire, cost $10. Call (804) 384-4577.
Frankenstein, the Phantom of the Opera, Dracula and a cast of other neurotic monsters more prone to biting their nails than a victim's neck make up the cast of "House of Frankenstein!" The comedy horror show will open next Friday at the Playmakers Playhouse in University Mall, Blacksburg. Shows Friday and March 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30 will begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday performances on March 24 and March 31 will start at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $6 for the general public, $4 for students and seniors. Call 382-0154.
DO DROP IN: Saturday's your big chance to "Bop Til 'Ya Drop" - assuming you're a student in grades 6 - 8 and you can bop between 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. Build your own burger, compete in free tournaments for prizes at the Teen Center on Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke. Admission is $3 at the door. Call 772-2058.
SWEET RETREAT: The 38th annual Highland Maple Festival - high in the scenic mountains of Highland County, about a 21/2- hour drive from Roanoke - will start around 7:30 a.m. this Saturday and Sunday and again on March 16 and 17. Escape to the "Switzerland of Virginia" to enjoy crafts, antiques, abundant food and everything you'd probably ever want to know about making maple syrup. Plenty of the sweet stuff will be available for sale to take home, too. Call 468-2550.
MUSEUM MISCELLANY: The Wilderness Road Regional Museum in Newbern will hold a variety of events Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Included will be book signings by Munsey Webb (``Norfolk & Western Railway Company - North Carolina Branch") and Patricia Givens Johnson (``Kentland at Whitethorne: Virginia Tech's Agricultural Farm"); a ham dinner with all the trimmings for $4.50; a training and artillery camp with periodic cannon firings; and enlistments of Confederate re-enactors. Call 674-4835 or 639-0351.
STEER CLEAR: On Sunday, starting at noon, drivers will show their skills in negotiating prescribed courses during the Blue Ridge Region of the Sports Car Club of America's Autocross. Registration at W.B. Clements, corner of Melrose Avenue and 24th Street, Roanoke, is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Seat belts and helmets are required. Call Scott Witt, 345-0171 or Ralph Burr, 362-3687.
INDIGENOUS ART: American Indian artist Kevin Red Star will discuss his works and Native American art in general Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Roanoke College's Olin Hall. A meet-the-artist reception will follow the free lecture by the college's Copenhaver Scholar in Residence, whose style is marked by vivid color (inspired by his mother's beadwork) and liberal use of spatter technique. Call 375-2282.
HERSTORY: Author, linguist and cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson will speak on "Composing a Life" in honor of Women's History Month Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Green Drawing Room at Hollins College. Bateson is president of the Institution for Intercultural Studies, founded by her mother, anthropologist Margaret Meade, and consultant to first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and the royal court of the Netherlands. There is no admission charge. Call 362-6451.
QUESTIONABLE MOTIVES: The Dastardly Deeds Repertory Company's interactive murder mystery will raise funds for The Friends of the Library. The - pardon the pun - biting drama, "Diamonds Are Coal: Shade the Vampire," will start promptly at 7:15 p.m. next Friday at the Roanoke County Library headquarters on Virginia 419. It begs many questions about its cast's motives. Attendees will be encouraged to help solve the mystery. Admission will cost $10 for Friends of the Library members; $12 for the general public; $15 for families. Free baby-sitting will be available. Call 772-7507.
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