THE 1995-1996 SEASON UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Zubin Mehta, conductor Alan Menken won numerous awards for Little Shop of Horrors, the highest- grossing Off-Broadway show ever, which ran for five years at the Orpheum Theatre. Thursday, April 18, 8:00 pm Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor Dear Worthy Editor was a mu- sical based on the letters in a col- umn that ran in The Jewish. Daily Forward. Produced in 1987 as part of the American Music The- atre Festival in Philadelphia at the Zellerbach Theatre, The Ap- Don Quixote (Variations based on Cervantes) prenticeship of Duddy Kravitz was a musical comedy about Montreal's Jewish ghetto in the '40s. With composing the dominant force in his career over recent years, Menken feels ready to per- form again. Last year, he starred in a TV special presenting the music from Pocahontas. Next year, he hopes to complete a record album. "I'd like to bring under one um- brella the pretty substantial cat- alogue of material that now has built up," said Menken, who en- tertained in Detroit some years ago in a show that featured ma- terial he had written for "Sesame Street." "It will be the same type of al- bum that has been done by Billy Joel and Elton John and Paul Si- mon. There's an investment in time for that, and I've been putting it off because my sched- ule is such a monster. "I consider the album very im- portant because it would add an- other aspect to my artistry and would bring me to the attention of people in another way." El Beauty and the Beast runs March 19-April 28 at the Ma- sonic Temple Theatre. Perfor- mances start at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Matinees are at 2 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. Sundays; and 1 p.m. Wednes day, April 3. Tickets are $16-60. For information, call (313) 832 2232. See the Attractions page in to- day's eIN Entertainment for more about Beauty and the Beast and a preview on Alan Menken and Tim Rice's King David. R. Strauss Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in e minor, Op. 64 Philips Educational Presentation Steven Moore Whiting, Assistant Professor of Musicology, "Classics Reheard," fourth in a series in which Professor Whiting discusses the concert repertoire, Michigan "There is no question that this remarkably virtuosic ensemble has earned a special place among the world's greatest orchestras." Chicago Tribune League, Koessler Library, 7:00 pm. Made possible by a gift from JPEinc./Paideia. 313.764.2538 The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Outside the 313 area code, call 1.800.221.1229 University Musical Society of the University of Michigan Burton Memorial Tower Ann Arbor, Ml 48109-1270