New York City:

NEW YORK — It has been amusing to read recently that
.. only beacon of hope in the Reichmann fiasco is the
property the family owns in central Manhattan.

Gary
Bannerman

When New York was on the
brink of financial collapse 15
years ago, and every press story
focused on debt, decay, over-
crowding, crumbling public facili-
ties, crime, impoverished schools,
crippled health-care systems and
assorted other calamities, major
property owners evacuated, The
Reichmanns, and Asian investors
were quick to buy.

Their profits have been
astronomical. Despite her much-
overstated problems, the Big Ap-
ple remains the heart of global fi-
nance, and the most vital energy
source for just about every other
human activity.

it has not been fashionable for
a generation to express affection
for New York. Instead, one is
obligated to complain about
crowds, muggings, rude taxi
drivers, stagnating garbage and
high prices.

We assume that thase who
dislike the prices never have
visited the urban centres of
Europe, Scandinavia and Asia.

We have made New York a
regular stop since the first experi-
ence as a wide-eyed teenager. It is
acity of maximums: the best and
worst of anything you care to
mention.

It is never boring. Every step of
any walk becomes a multi-sensory
exercise.

We found ourselves last week
amid a sea of Democrats, in
Manhattan for the Democratic
Natienal Convention. Hote!s were
festooned with red, white and blue
banners, poster-sized photos of
the party’s past heroes and actors
decked out in Uncle Sam
costumes.

The New York Hilton seemed
inordinately proud of a giant
styrofoam model of the White
House, parked just inside the
main entrance.

The New York Police Depart-
ment had an opportunity to dem-
onstrate its latest mission:
billboards on every facade pro-
claim, ““THE BEAT COP IS
BACK.”

Everywhere we went, policemen
were visible, frequently engaged in
conversations with passers-by. As
we walked from the Guggenheim
Art Gallery, two or three miles
within Central Park en route to
The Plaza Hotel, we must have
seen 50 officers. They were more

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abundant at Times Square.

To monitor the political con-
vention, the police set up mobile
headquarters next to the major
hotels. A trailer the size of a large
moving van set up next to the
Hilton.

We sidled up to a group of two
dozen uniformed policemen, ask-
ing one what was going on.

The constable cheerfully ex-
plained. When he learned where
we were from, he said he had a
girlfriend in Vancouver. He said
she was a rock star, and he was
not surprised when we gave a
blank look in response to the
name of her band.

He then pulled out his wallet.
He teafed through some pictures.
Expecting to see the girlfriend, we
were surprised to see 2 photo of a
clown,

“*That’s my other job,”’ he said.

“Lentertain children.’’

When I complimented him, he
added: *‘It takes a genius to know
a genius.’”

No one had taught this chap
that New York policemen are
supposed to be rude, vulgar and
indifferent.

ILis a great year on Broadway.

Not since Marvin Hamlisch’s A
Chorus Line or the triumphant
production of Aanie, over a de-
cade ago, has the Great White
Way skirted with artistic immor-
tality.

“The British Invasion’’ has
been humiliating: not just the
Lloyd Webber ensemble (Cats,
Evita, Phantom et. al.) but Les
Miserables, Miss Saigon, The
Secret Garden and many dramatic
hits.

Modest Broadway hits of recent
years, including City of Angels
and Grand Hotel, have been
overwhelmed by the powerful ex-
ports from the West End of Lon-
don.

This summer, the Broadway ex-
citement is infectious, Last year’s
smash The Will Rogers Follies is
still packing ther in.

We've heard glowing reports
about the musicals Five Guys
Named Moe, Falsettos and the
Frank Loesser revival, The Most
Happy Fella.

We saw three of this year’s sen-
sations: the other Loesser revival,
Guys and Dolls; Jelly's Last Jam
and Crazy for You.

Among the non-musicals, the
list is led by an Irish import,
Dancing at Lughnasa (the Tony
Award best play); Conversations
With My Father starring Judd
Hirsch; and a pair of Neil Simon
hits, Jake's Women, starring Alan

Drivers guilty of drinking

RECENT CONVICTIONS in
North Shore courts have
resulted in fines and penalties,
including a driving suspension,
for drinking and driving related
offences:

NORTH VANCOUVER:
David Charles Hives, 39, Gen-
eral Delivery, Bowen Island
(over .08, $900 fine); John

) fours
in’ Tennis Tig,
nk ato. )

Walter Ross, 45, 940 Beaumont
Dr., North Vancouver (| over
-08, $600 fine).

WEST VANCOUVER:
Richard Geoffrey Bates, 44,
Bowen Bay, Bowen Island
(over .08, $360 fine): James
Peter Macauley, 32, no fixed
address (breathalyser refusal,
$600 fine).

Sunday, July 19, 1992 - North Shore News - 9

Alda, and the 1991 Tony winner,
Lost in Yonkers, .

Leading international magazines
have proclaimed that a5 many as
five New York shows will domi-
nate the 1993 London thearre
scene.

ft is hard to imagine a musical
better than Crazy for You. Its
creators started with 15 Gershwin
standards and four recently
discovered songs. The story and
choreography followed.

We will say no more about this
magnificent production. 11 is the
show of the year on Broadway,
the 1992°Tony award winner and
destined to grace stages every-
where.

But Gregory Hines’ nine years
of dedication to an idea, a $5-
million gamble and superstar tal-
ent is definitely the most impor-
tant theatrical event and artistic
achievement: Jelly’s Last Jam has
already earned a truckload of
awards (including Hines’ personal
Tony) and sold out houses.
Scalpers linger near the doorway
of the Virginia Theatre.

It immortalizes New Orleans
native Ferdinand ‘‘Jelly Roll’
Morton, a jazz great who did
everything ke could to deny his
black ancestry, frequently offen-
ding his dearest friends.

By his cwn definition, he was
“‘creole,’” more French than Afri-
can.

The stage show demolishes this
delusion, and Morton's selfish ar-

a multi-sensory experience

rogance. Yet Broadway has now
put The Jelly Roll in step with
Armstrong, Ellington, Basie, and
the greatest names in the evolution
of jazz.

Earlier this year. a Time Maga-
zine feature puzzled over the
paradox on Broadway. It pro-
claimed landmark box-office and
creative success, but it quoted
worried financial people. They
claimed that the economics are in
a precarious state.

There are several dark theatres,
awaiting new productions.
Perhaps a sign in the window of
one of the newest and largest fa-
cilities tells another story. The
Minskoff Theatre is on Shubert
Alley, just of f Times Square.

It explains that the show Metro,
featuring a huge cast imported
from Warsaw, Paland, closed
April 26.

It advises people holding tickets
where they might obtain a refund.
We were left to guess how much
producer Wiktor Kubiak and the
theatre might have lost.

This is also part of the perpetu-
ally exciting New York story.

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