ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606070022
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Out & About
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS BANKS
If you thought Oscar and Felix were flaky, kooky and slightly off-the-wall, wait until you meet Florence and Olive!
These two are, indeed, the odd couple.
Neil Simon's popular comedy, "The Odd Couple," is the latest offering from Playmakers & Company. Eleven years after writing the original script about the neurotically neat Felix and his slobby roommate Oscar, Simon wrote a nearly identical script for female players. In this one, Florence and Olive play Trivial Pursuit (instead of poker) and meet up with the Costazuela brothers (the seors upstairs).
Mike Vaughn is directing this community theater production starring Nora Hansen as Florence and Barbara Simpson as Olive. Vaughn played the role of Oscar 10 years ago in the Christiansburg Community Theatre production of the original version of "The Odd Couple."
"This version is even funnier than the original," Vaughn said. "It is a story of human nature that still rings true today."
Other players include Beth Moody, Terry Goodson, Mary Mainous, Babs Ogliaruso, Mike Ogliaruso and Johnny Loughridge. Karen Glago is the understudy and stage manager.
The play opens tonight and shows weekends through June 23 at Playmakers Playhouse in Blacksburg's University Mall. Curtain time tonight and Saturday is 7:30 and there's a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets, available at the Weight Club in the mall, are $6 for adults or $4 for students and senior citizens. For reservations, 381-1913.
OUT, OUT! It's time once again for outdoor concerts. Let's all say a collective "Yay!"
Michael Mulvaney opens the Summer Arts Festival put on by Virginia Tech and Blacksburg with a free concert tonight on Henderson Hall lawn. It starts at 6 p.m., and you're welcome to bring your own picnic spread.
Mulvaney plays originals and covers on acoustic guitar and harmonica. He's also a soulful singer.
In Pulaski, you can catch the Blacksburg Community Band in the first concert of the season. The group will play for the Summer Concert Series in Jackson Park, starting at 6 tonight.
The events in Jackson Park are sponsored by the Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley and the town of Pulaski. Admission is free, but food will be available if you want to purchase your picnic at the park.
One reminder: Don't forget to bring your lawn chairs and blankets for the outdoor seating.
GOOD GRASS: The John Viers Bluegrass Band and the Appalachian Mountain Girls will bring the good grass to Dublin's New River Community College on Saturday. The monthly jamboree features some fine bluegrass and old-time mountain music.
The live entertainment runs from 7 to 10 p.m. in Edwards Hall. Doors open at 5, however, for jamming and jawing!
Admission is free but donations are accepted to help pay the musicians' traveling expenses.
The college's Division of Arts and Sciences sponsors these community fetes.
CALLING ALL NATURE LOVERS: "Nature Through the Eyes of Children" is the current exhibit at the Museum of Natural History at Virginia Tech. It's up through Father's Day at the site on North Main Street in Blacksburg.
Lynn Hill of Blacksburg said the exhibit was inspired by her trip last year to visit schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
"The Reggio schools are known for their expertise in documenting and representing children's work through an aesthetically pleasing process," Hill said. "The projects that are represented at the museum are examples of this wonderful process of learning in which children joyfully participate in their own education."
Children and teachers from Rainbow Riders Child Care Center, the Virginia Tech Lab School, Blacksburg Day Care and Child Development Center, Blacksburg Middle School, Radford Child Care Center and the Methodist Preschool contributed their work for this project. The New River Valley Association for the Education of Young Children organized it.
Admission to the museum is free, and it's open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1-5 p.m.
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