ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, July 19, 1996 TAG: 9607190018
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: out & about
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
"Peanut butter. Some psychiatrists say that people who eat peanut butter sandwiches are lonely. I guess they're right. And when you're really lonely the peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth."
- Charlie Brown
Charlie Brown - that lovable loser - and all his precocious pals are waiting for you at Playmakers Playhouse in Blacksburg's University Mall. "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" is Playmakers & Company's 75th community theater production.
Director Robbin Nuckolls has put together a cast of 19 talented and tireless troupers. The children are all local kids who are spending their summer swimming, playing tennis, skating, singing, acting and (best of all) eating lots of peanut butter sandwiches!
Nuckolls said directing the rousing musical has been a fun and challenging process.
"My hat is off to this cast and their wonderful parents," she noted.
Ross Thompson, 10, acts the part of Charlie Brown. A rising fifth-grader at Margaret Beeks Elementary School, Ross sings in the Montgomery County Boychoir.
Christina Longobardi, a 12-year-old seventh-grader at Blacksburg Middle School, plays that strong-willed Lucy, and Lauren Trice, 10, renders an irresistible Snoopy. Lauren will be a fifth- grader at Harding Avenue Elementary School this fall.
Other cast members are Lauren Cook as Marcie, Scott Call as Schroeder, Jayne Lewis as Charlie Brown's little sister Sally, Ashley Hurt as Peppermint Patty, Jason Fields as Franklin and Ben Smith as the ever-hopeful Linus.
Konstantin Brazhnik plays Pig-Pen, Gregory Papillon is Shermy, Matthew Bowles is Rerun, Daphne Tawney is Violet and Gillian Baird is Lucinda.
There are two little red-haired girls in this production - Samantha Kurtz and Anne Thorsen. You'll also be treated to performances by three Woodstocks - Andy Davies, Kathryn Lewis and Ben Papillon.
The play opens tonight and continues each weekend through Aug. 4. Curtain time Friday and Saturday is at 7:30. Sunday matinees begin at 2.
Tickets, available at the Weight Club in the mall, are $8 for adults or $6 for students and senior citizens.
NOTHING'S FINER...than bluegrass in Riner!
Musicians will be toting the fiddles and banjos and mandolins to the Riner Volunteer Fire Department for "Bluegrass Saturday Night," an evening of local music and dancing.
The event runs from 7:30 to 11 Saturday night at the Riner station. Admission is free.
Musicians from all around the area are invited to join in the jamming. Hot dogs and refreshments will be available.
SUMMER FEAST: Swiss chicken casserole, baked ham, garden veggies, sweet melon salad - is your mouth watering yet?
The Wilderness Road Regional Museum in Newbern is where you'll find the big feed Saturday. It's the 16th annual Colonial dinner featuring an all-you-can-eat buffet. You'll find everything from country-cooked green beans with ham hock to exotic baked smearcase (cottage cheese).
Reservations are needed for seatings at 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. Appetizers will be served in the reception room and festively decorated tables will be set up throughout the museum for dinner. If the weather's nice, you might even find a seat on the side porch.
The museum is in Pulaski County's historic district. To make your reservations for Saturday's dinner, call Ann Bailey at 639-0351, Geraldine Mathews at 980-7499 or the museum at 674-4835. Carry-out meals will be available.
The cost is $12.50 for adults. Kids 12 and under eat for half-price. All money raised benefits the museum.
PARK IT! That's right - head over to Pulaski's Jackson Park tonight for an evening of live country music by one of the New River Valley's best local bands, Sierra.
Winner of the July 4 "Battle of the Bands" competition at the New River Valley Fairgrounds, Sierra is a hometown favorite. The group is based in Pulaski.
Tonight's concert begins at 6:30. Admission is free.
Plan a picnic, too. You can buy food at the park. Just bring your blankets and lawn chairs.
FAT'S WHERE IT'S AT: Fat Daddy, the Roanoke-based blues band, is back in the New River Valley by popular demand. The four daddy-o's play tonight and Saturday at Frizbee's in the Blacksburg Holiday Inn.
In addition to doing classics by the likes of B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, the foursome also plays some catchy original material. The band plans to include such originals as "Slick Bottom Shoes," "Cab Driver Blues" and "What Comes Around Goes Around" on their first disc to be recorded later this summer.
The band features Greg "Fat Daddy" Desaulniers on bass guitar, Dan "Bulldog" West on harmonica, Kevin "Killer" Shawver on drums and Barry "Blue" Young on lead guitar. Their singing is as expressive as their middle names.
The music starts at 9:30. A $3 cover charge gets you in at Frizbee's.
Read Out & About online at: http://www.infi.net/roatimes/nrvhome/nrvindex/a&e.html
LENGTH: Medium: 100 linesby CNB