Eclectic is Valentine mantra

Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show has been scheduled March 23 as part of the Valentine Theatre's 2006-07 season. The show is a mixture of stand-up comedy, music, and observations about life from both Lawrence and "Mama," a character that Lawrence created in the 1960s for The Carol Burnett Show. Depending on her mood, "Mama" has been known to drop such pearls of wisdom as "You shouldn't believe everything you hear in the back of a Chevy" and make a case against human cloning with just two words: Richard Simmons.

From classic rock to classic Broadway, with a 3-D horror film thrown in for good measure, the Valentine Theatre has something for everyone in 2006-07.

It s a real eclectic mix of what we think audiences will enjoy, Valentine artistic director Dale Vivirito says of the restored theater s eighth season.

Returning favorites include the Capital Steps to skewer all things political in October and Pat Dailey, whose beach songs will help to chase away the winter blues in January.

Although tickets will be available for individual performances, the Valentine has organized its season into series of related shows. Each series is generally priced at a discount.

The season generally opens with the annual gala, this year scheduled on Sept. 23 and featuring the Pointer Sisters, the group that made popular such songs as I m So Excited and Slow Hand. Originally a quartet featuring sisters Ruth, Anita, Bonnie, and June Pointer, who died earlier this year, the group now comprises Ruth and Anita Pointer and Ruth s daughter, Issa.

But before audiences can have fun at the gala, they will need to go back to school. Oh wait, that will be fun, too.

On Aug. 18, Late Night Catechism 2 will return Sister to the Valentine to gently poke fun at parochial-school memories as she provides instruction in New Sins for the New Millennium, telling her students, the audience, that sometimes we feel guilty because we are guilty.

Late Night Catechism 2 is part of the Broadway Too! series, which also includes the Capitol Steps on Oct. 29 and Vicki Lawrence and Mama! A Two Woman Show on March 23. The latter features the Emmy Award-winning comedienne and her alter ego from The Carol Burnett Show in an evening of comedy, music, and film clips.

Vivirito says the Capitol Steps is one of the most consistently funny comic acts now touring.

Last year, they came in a day after the Toledo riot, and when they sang The Nazis and the Homeboys Should be Friends, it brought the house down, he says.

As for Lawrence, Vivirito says that in a poll of last season s audiences, she topped the most-requested list.

The Spotlight on Broadway Series will open Nov. 11 and 12 with the first national tour of the Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors. This special production will be performed in the Stranahan Theater.

Man of La Mancha is scheduled Jan. 28, and the Valentine is producing Frank Loesser s Guys & Dolls on June 14-17, 2007.

Also in the series is Jane Eyre on March 2. Presented by John Housman s Acting Company, the show is also on its first national tour and will make its regional debut on the Valentine stage, Vivirito says.

Music fans can look forward to the American Songbook series, opening with the Lettermen and their Spirit of Christmas show on Dec. 16. The series continues with Motown Magic on Jan. 25, a tribute show that spotlights the music of the 4 Tops, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and the Temptations.

The fog rolls in on Feb. 25. The Velvet Fog, that is. Steve March Torme will sing the songs of his father, Mel Torme, in a program called Torme Sings Torme.

Rounding out the American Songbook series will be Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Eric Burdon & the Animals, presenting their trademark blues rock sound on May 19, 2007.

Four distinctive dance productions comprise the International Series, which opens Oct. 20 with the Bayahihan-Philippine National Dance Company, presenting a program based on dances of the islands of Asia. The Russian National Ballet will present Cinderella on Jan. 11; the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble is scheduled Feb. 23; and the series ends March 3 with Les Folies Russes.

Those seeking insights into what goes into making a show may be interested in the Life Long Learning Series. Art historian Mary Wolfe will discuss Fabulous Theater Art: The Early Years of the Valentine on Oct. 11. The evening includes a sneak peak of the mural being painted for the Valentine s Grand Lobby.

Next in the series, Dwight Blocker Bowers, the performing arts curator at the Smithsonian s National Museum of American History, will lecture on Another Op nin , Another Show!: The People who Created the American Musical. The multimedia presentation is scheduled Nov. 8.

The last program in the series takes place on April 20, when Pat Quigley, education director of the Stratford Festival, presents a look at the shows to be performed during the 2007 season in the Ontario city.

Children are not forgotten in the new season. Scheduled are If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books on Nov. 4; The Night Before Christmas: The Whole Story, which has become a Valentine holiday tradition, on Dec. 1-3; and TheatreworksUSA s Seussical: The Musical on Feb. 24.

Two shows didn t fit the categories, so the Valentine created one just for them. The Special Attractions series includes Dailey s show on Jan. 5 and Halloween-week screenings of the classic 3-D horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon on Oct. 27-29. For it, the theater will hand out 3-D glasses.

Season tickets are on sale, with priority seating available through June 15. Tickets for individual shows will be sold closer to the date of the production. Information: 419-242-2787.

Contact Nanciann Cherry at: ncherry@theblade.com or 419-724-613.

Classic rock, big-name country, and old-school soul dominate the lineup of more than 100 artists performing this summer at DTE Energy Music Theatre and the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Detroit.

The season kicks off May 26 with 70s-era rocker Eddie Money and closes Oct. 7 with country icons Clint Black and Dwight Yoakam, both at DTE.

In between is a wide range of acts that includes the Dave Matthews Band (June 6), Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band (June 16), Bruce Springsteen (June 17), Brad Paisley (July 15), Ozzfest (July 19), Anita Baker (July 22), Trisha Yearwood (Aug. 3), Earth Wind and Fire (Aug. 4), Boyz II Men (Aug. 5), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Aug. 8), and Jimmy Buffett (Sept. 12).

A full schedule and ticket prices are available on www.palacenet.com.