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 ixevVS uz.