ofp
Wedding Ring, the story of a couple
who meet, marry, have a child and
divorce, all in a boxing ring. The pro-
duction is part of Playscape '98,
Heartlande's annual festival of new
plays, during which four additional
new plays will enjoy
staged readings.
the belly of a whale trying to become
a real boy. $10 pavilion/$5 lawn.
(248) 645-6666.
The Art Ste
Pewabic Pottery presents its
annual Pewabic Students,
The Wedding
Faculty and Staff
Ring will be
Exhibition of the
performed 8
ceramic arts
p.m. Thurs-
"" through Sept.
day, Aug. 6;
5. The opening
Fridays, Aug.
A 1941
reception, 6-8
7 and 14; Sat- Chrysler Newport Dual
p.m. Friday, July
urdays, Aug.
Cowl Phaeton will be among - the more than
31, features a
8 and 15; and 250 exotic autos shown at the Meadow Brook
poetry reading by
Hall Concours D'Elegance.
Sunday, Aug.
Janice Kulyk
9, at Meadow
Keefer, who will
Brook Theatre. $15/$10. For a sched-
read from her recent book Married to
ule of staged readings, call (248) 988-
the Sea. 10125 E. Jefferson Ave.,
1094. For tickets, call (248) 377-
Detroit. (313) 822-0954.
3300.
Royal Oak Goes "Buggy" with a
The British community theater
variety of insect-oriented arts and
group The Company of Ten performs
foods throughout the stores, galleries
playwright Alan Ayckbourn's farce
and restaurants of downtown Royal
How the Other Half Loves at the
Oak Aug. 1-31. In addition to a
Stagecrafters' Baldwin Theatre 8 p.m.
plethora of bug art, bug cookies,
Friday and Saturday; Aug. 7-8; and 2
candies, toys, artwork and more,
p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9. The play simul-
pop artist Naniel Cascardo will
taneously reveals the lives of two cou-
be painting colorful insect
ples dwelling in different domiciles —
murals on the walls and win-
one fashionably decorated and the
dows of the city.
other shabbily lower-middle class. $8.
415 S. Lafayette, Royal Oak. (248)
541-6430.
Neal Okin Gets Mortified
IV hen Neal Okin left
Michigan seven years
ago, he was a rocker.
This week, he returns
as a swinger, still a serious musician
but having much more fun.
Okin had been the trumpet player
for a band formed with college
friends, Captain Dave and the Psy-
chedelic Lounge Cats. Members
thought pure '90s sounds would
bring them success in San Francisco.
Instead, Okin learned that Cali-
fornia audiences were pushing the
musical clock back in favor of the
big band sounds of the '40s and '50s,
and he started his own group.
It's been four years since he
changed his name in addition to his
style. The new Morty Okin, now
also a composer, leads the group
called the New Morty Show.
His band's appearance tonight at
the Millstreet Entry in Pontiac fol-
YThatnot
7 4eirrlfly
PUP
Freedom rings at Greenfield Village
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday,
Aug. 1-2, with a Celebration of
Emancipation. The struggles, the tri-
umphs and the long road to freedom
are the focus of a commemorative
look into the lives of African Ameri-
cans throughout our nation's history.
Discover Michigan's connection to the
Underground Railroad, visit a Civil
War encampment, learn about the
time-honored tradition of quilt-mak-
ing and listen to the authentic sounds
of traditional music. 20900 Oak-wood
Blvd., Dearborn. S12.50
adults/S11.50 seniors/57.50 children
5-12/free under 4. (313) 271-1620.
American Family Theatre's Broad-
way for Kids brings the family classic
Pinocchio to Meadow Brook Musical
Festival noon Monday, Aug. 3. In a
live musical theater production,
Gepetto's irresistible puppet-son trav-
els from a carnival to Candvland to
The Charles H. Wright Museum
of African American History
presents a two-part exhibition,
Detroit's Black Bottom and
Paradise Valley: Help Us Collect
Your Past and Juke Joint, run-
ning through Oct. 25.
"Detroit's Black Bottom and
Paradise Valley" seeks to examine and
collect information about the area cen-
tered around Hastings Street, Gratiot,
Russell, St. Antoine and Adams during
the 1920s-1940s. Predominately a busi-
ness area during the day and a hotbed
of entertainment ar night, Black Bot-
tom and Paradise Valley were home to
businesses like Gold Drug Store.
"Juke Joint" depicts through a series
of vignettes the rural Southern culture
of a bygone era with the re-creation of
"Little Grocery" in Washington, N.C.,
by day serving sodas and ice cream
floats and by .night serving as a social
spot where neighbors could drink and
dance to the jukebox. 315 E. Warren
Ave., Detroit. S5 adults/53 children.
(313) 494-5800.
The New Marty Show:
Neal (Marty) Okin is on trumpet.
lows engagements at San Francisco
clubs, Disney World and the New
York-New York Hotel and Casino in
Las Vegas as well as a scene in the
Francis Ford Coppola film Jack, star-
ring Robin Williams.
Since releasing a CD, Mortyfied!
(Slimstyle Records), he's been invited
to appear on the Jerry Lewis
Telethon and the new Disney cruise
ship.
"This group went way beyond my
expectations, and I feel so lucky,--
said Okin, 28, who is on his first
national tour. "Swinc, is just Going
well right now."
Okin, who celebrated his bar
mitzvah at Adat Shalom, developed
his musical interests through family.
His father, Bernie, performed with
the Detroit Concert Band and
taught instrumental music. His
mother, Lucy, played the piano for
fun. His grandmother, the late
Gertrude Okin of Cleveland, intro-
duced him to swing recordings.
"I decided I wanted to be a pro-
fessional musician while I was still
attending Groves High School," said
Okin, who studied music at Eastern
Michigan University.
"I started playing drums when I
was 8, but that only lasted a week. I
switched to trumpet and loved it for
being the most versatile instrument."
After performing with different
San Francisco bands while working
as a bank teller, Okin quit his day
job to devote more time to music
and now works with vocalists Vice
Grip and Kat Starr,
pianist John Quam,
• drummer Kevin
Stevens, guitarist
-•- ‘ • ' David Metzner, bassist
Tom Beyer, tenor saxo-
phonist David Muro-
take, baritone saxo-
phonist Tom Griesser
and trombonist Van
Hughes.
Okin hasn't forgot-
ten his rock beginning
and rolls that into each
performance. "Some
people from Metallica
started coming to our
shows, and the lead guitar player had
us entertain at a Christmas parry. A
couple of us were Metallica fans so
we decided to swing up one of their
songs, 'Mr. Sandman.' It went over
very well and is on the CD."
— Suzanne Chessler
The New Morty Show performs
at 9 p.m. Friday, July 31, at
Millstreet Entry, 65 East Huron,
Pontiac. (248) 333-2362. The
group will be on the "Jerry
Lewis Telethon" at 10 a.m.
Monday, Sept. 7.
1
7/ 31
1998
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