ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996                   TAG: 9606070017
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1    EDITION: METRO 
COLUMN: the tipoff
SOURCE: ALMENAH HUGHES

THE TIPOFF

BARD IN THE BIG APPLE: Shakespeare lovers won't want to miss Showtimers' performance of ``I Hate Hamlet,'' the (hee-hee) "haunting" tale of a young actor renting an apartment in NYC that was once the dwelling of John Barrymore. The actor is preparing to play Hamlet; Barrymore haunts him. The show runs tonight through June 26 at the Showtimers Studio, McVitty Road, off Virginia 419, Roanoke. For times and ticket costs, call 774-2660.

THE BARD IS BACK: Original songs will lend both gaiety and sadness to the second annual Roanoke Valley Shakespeare Festival's production of "Twelfth Night." The show, in Virginia Western Community College's Whitman Auditorium, runs June 14, 15, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m.; June 16 and 23 at 2 p.m. Call 384-6946.

TALE TELLERS: Mary Carter Smith, Kathy Coleman, Gwynn Ramsey and Aransas will be among the lineup of nationally known and local storytellers spinning yarns Saturday at Roanoke County's Green Hill Park, starting at 10 a.m. Beginning at 8 a.m. that same day, more than 100 dealers will ply their wares as part of the second annual Blue Ridge Storytelling Festival and Antique & Collectibles Show.

There'll be a children's competition, an open-mike tent and storytelling workshops. Admission costs $4 for adults, $2 for children 6-17. Children 5 and under get in free. Call 387-6086.

BEACH BASH: Oldies but goldies - including General Johnson and the Chairman of the Board, the Band of Oz, Dink Perry and the Breeze Band, Billy Scott and the Profitts and Clarence Carter - will help you imagine there's sand in your sandals, starting Saturday at noon at Wayside Park in Stuart. Tickets for the Patrick County Jaycees' 15th annual beach festival, on sale at Ticketmaster, cost $12. 50 in advance, $15 at the gate.

WET WARS: Good and evil will collide on the Little River Saturday and Sunday in "The Backwater Buccaneers." The melodramatic season opener for Zion Lutheran Church's outreach ministry will start at 8 p.m. in the church's Oak Grove Pavilion.

There is no admission charge, but free will donations will be appreciated, with proceeds benefiting the Floyd Rescue Squad, Woman's Resource Center, Floyd Volunteer Fire Departments, Christmas for All, Medical Charities of Floyd and New River Community Action Emergency Services. The pavilion is located at Virginia 615 and 693 in Floyd. Call 745-2096.

SCHOOL'S REALLY OUT: Sunday will be the last chance for William Fleming Colonels from the classes of 1933-1961 and others who wax nostalgic to visit the former high school - now Breckinridge Middle School - before it's gutted for renovations. The Homecoming and Last Walk Celebration will be held 2-5 p.m. For more information, call 366-0222.

OPERATIFF: Metropolitan Opera star Mary Costa, aka the voice of Disney's Sleeping Beauty, will be the featured guest June 15 for Opera Roanoke's opening night celebration of "Candide" in Roanoke College's Olin Hall. A cocktail buffet will begin at 6:30 p.m.; the Leonard Bernstein opera will be performed at 8, followed by desserts and coffee at a meet-the-cast reception. Opera Roanoke's final production of the 1995-96 season also will be performed June 17, 19 and 21. Call 982-2742.

SIGNING OF THE TIMES: "1776," a musical history about the frailties and foibles surrounding signing the Declaration of Independence, will run June 14 through July 20 at the Cherry Tree Playhouse in Boonsboro Shopping Center, Lynchburg. Tickets cost $10. Call (804) 384-4577.

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