Royal rumb! ow quickly they forget. Six months after the tragic death of Princess Diana in a Paris tunnel — and the subsequent firestorm over the media’s coverage of celebrity in general and the royals in particular — the press is back at the alter of the Windsors. _ And this time it’s not some face- less press organization a half-world away — it’s right in our own back- yard. Pick up a newspaper or turn on the television and chances are you’ve read, or heard, breathless accounts of the Three Princes ski trip to British Columbia. To be sure, Charles, William and Harry on vacation wili be of great interest to Canadian royal watchers, of which there are many. 6 - Friday, March 20, 1998 — North Shore News north shore news ings give Lower Mainland news editors the idea that all things royal are of all that much interest. Because, quite frankly, they aren’t. Australia, a country that shares lineage with Canada, is considering cutting all official ties to the monar- chy. Likewise, Britain itself has wit- nessed recent spirited debate on what role the royals should play. Suspect behavior of certain royals aside, the real reason the British monarchy has lost much of its lustre is that it is an outdated anachro- nism best left for the history books. The Three Princes are coming. That’s great. Hope they enjoy the skiing. Let’s just not stop the world so we can watch every move they make. -Pove "a8 she, obviously prejudiced against children by This fact, however, should not mailbox _ Bs rty, not kids, is the big thief Tam writing in response to Roscmary Roberts’ “Stop young thief” in the March 1 issue of the North Shore News. "*’ Stop picking on kids. It’s enough that kids must contend with poverty, which continues to rise; it’s enough that more and more kids cannot have a parent to go home to after school or te be with on weekends, Christmas schoo! holidays, school spring breaks, and summer months because more and more parents have to work harder at fighting against the " declining disposable family income. - | Surely, the last thing anyone needs is ignorant people such her unjusti- fied accusation of a kid for the theft of her son’s belongings from 2.locker at the Karen Magnussen wave pool, and her holier-than-chou attitude toward the kid’s parents. “Perhaps she would ponder on this: when something of hers is stolen, consider what has been taken. If it is something essential such as food or clothing, it was -likely taken out of nced rather than out of greed. -And regardless of who did the taking, in her heart she could.do the giving and hope the item(s) taken was/were . sufficient to meet a need. : <. Wfshe must vent, if she must blame, please aim her blame at those who take from every family’s earnings, those who cause the rising poverty, those who take choice away from the . act of stealing food and clothing. In any case, stop picking on kids. Thank you. Julie Dixon North Vancouver MAILBOX POLICY - LETTERS to the editor must be legible (preferably type- * written) and include your name, full address and telephone number.Duc to space constraints the North Shore News cannot publish all letters. Published letters may be edited. | north shore ‘Excrse Tax Act is pudlished each Wednesday. Feiday and Suwtay by North Shote Free Press Lid and dstnbuted 10 every daor on the North ‘Shore, Canada Post Canadian Pubbcations Mail ‘Sales Product Agreement No 0087236. EEE MERZERRUES Tecob| $08 CVIBON 985-2131 (101) x Barbara Ema Jonathan Distribution Manager 986-1337 (124) 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday} The North Shore News is published by North Shore Free Press Ltd., Publisher Pete: Speck, from 1139 Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver, B.C., V7M 2H4 Pee re er ae rare Bell Creative Services 995-2131 Wa” Anything goes except overt sex W.B. Yeats (yes, the poet) said that for persons of a profound nature there were only two sub- jects worthy of serious consid- eration: Sex and death. So let’s talk about onc. of them. You guess which. Let's just say that before we consummate the marriage of words on the issue, what gave birth to rhe idea was witnessing last Saturday night’s pertor- mance at the Centennial Theatre of North Shore Light Opera Society’s 50th anniversary production, Anything Goes. You've read the reviews by sharper critics, but my own capsule comment is: Worth far more than the price for three or four excellently done numbers alone. The book, written by Guy Bolton and the witty P.G. Wodchouse, now seems a bit creaky at age 63 — which I share with it, since I am two months , older than its first production. Wodchouse, who wrote it in a hotel in Le Touquet, complained in a letter: “I'm having a devil ef a time with Anything Goes. 1 can't get hold of Guy or the composer, Cole Porter. What has become of Porter, Heaven knows. Last heard of at Heidelberg.” Well, Heaven knows the rest is musi- cal history, including the title song, “You’re the Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and more. But some of the funny tines last Saturday were spoken without the nec- PETER SPECK Publisher erty Peters Photography Manager 985-2131 (160) } rr] Comptro 985-215 (193) Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press tid. All rights teserved. VIEWPOINT essary verve and/or were lost on the audience; a gangster (plaved by Damon Calderwood) masquerading as a pries: was morc of a titillating shock in 1934, as was the nororicty of gangsters; and even our extremely hip . North Shore audiences might not all be aware that Reno Sweeny (Jo- Ann Pezzaro) and her Angels satirized the Canadian-born evange- list Aimee Semple McPherson, a lady who welded sexiness to the Scriptures. T must add that I cringed at the opening scene, when the press photographer snapped celebs with a lousy little box Brownic. Arrergghh! Authenticity, please! Quick, props department, round up an old Speed Graphic. Try borrowing one from my old col- league, retired Vancouver Sun photog- rapher Raiph Bower, a longtime North Vancouver resident, or from the Sten’s own mini-museum. Ah, burt the music, the dancing ... delightful. The women steal this show, starting with the fine musical director, Wendy Stuart. Bonnie (Cheryl Murray) and Hope Harcourt (Leslie Hopps) are gor- geous — and they sing, too. | drooled, with disgusting political incorrectness. As for Miss Pezzaro, she is so top- notch, so polished, so professional chat you wonder how we can keep her in lit- tle old Vancouver. She’s a niajor-lea- guer. The slickest combination of the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number. VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca mothy Managing Editor 985-213 (116) lene Ti Trix] Agrios Manager Promotions Manager 980-0511 (166) 985-2131 (218) 985-2131 (105) internet- http://www.nsnews.com HOU! REFRESHING TOSEEA Kid WHO FREFERS A G00D BOOK OVER A COMPUTER SCREEN. evening is her duct with the equally smooth Mitchell Mackay, who is a mas- ter at portraying upper-crust twits, in this instance Sir Evelyn Oakleigh. Their . “Let's Misbehave” number is executed with silky drollness and acrobatic per- * fection. CS And now to the theme of this col- * umn, with no space left to expand on it. Just this: Folks, it was more fun — and artistically far superior — when stage, film and popular music winked, hinted at and saucily suggested that we “misbe- have.” When the misbehavics became graphic and in-your-face — and it’s amazing what's thrust in your face these days — the fun and the friskiness col- lapsed along with the art. Sex, as a piece a of mechanical engineering, is really “ye v quite repulsively off-putting. . a Vil cake illusion, which is muck more ME ZL durable. I’m hoping to see Anything x SN Goes again. It deserves to be a sell-out — and, at 20 bucks, it’s a bargain too. I repeat: The McCreary question- naire is an intrusive exploitation and objectification of children, treating them like anthropological specimens to be studied by “experts.” . It’s unnecessary and its defence by West Vancouver school trustees Erica Bell-Lowther and Jean Ferguson is utterly hollow. Make them explain what use it really is at Tuesday night’s board mecting. ; The board has had the sense to revis- a it its earlier decision. Last chance. Be “y there. 885-2131 ° d 980-0511 vA 985-6982 986-6222 985-2131 . Ly 986-1337 / : 985-1435 : ry 985-2104 : iN 985-3227 “ Michael Becker - News Editor 985-2131 (114) Aartew McCredie - Sparts/Community Editor 985-2131 (147)