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Button Theatre plans debut with Godspell
on July 13
By
Kristie Kraber
Special to GwinnettForum.com
DULUTH, Ga., July 3, 2007 -- Gwinnett County now has a new choice
for professional, live theater in Button
Theatre. Its aim is to be a "Destination Theater,"
and offer affordable, quality musicals and plays that can be enjoyed
by all ages.
Button Theatre's premier production will be Godspell, the well-known
Broadway musical written by John-Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz.
Godspell presents a whimsical view of Jesus and his followers re-enacting
parables and scenes from the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Director
of this presentation will be I.J. Rosenblum, with musical direction
by B.J. Brown and choreography by Kristie Krabe.
Performances are scheduled for July 13 through August 5 at the
Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts and can be purchased
by visiting the Button Theatre website, www.buttontheatre.com,
or calling 770-831-0591. Show times are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and tickets will be $15. For more
information about Button Theatre please visit the website or email
info@buttontheatre.com.
C. Rosenblum |
The theatre came about as Celia Rosenblum and Mary Carolyn Conti
were sitting in traffic on Interstate 285 heading for a rehearsal
in Atlanta. They bemoaned the fact that there weren't more places
to perform in Gwinnett County. So in June 2006, along with I.J.
Rosenblum, they set out to make that happen.
Conti |
Mary Carolyn Conti, who lives in Lawrenceville, went to Northside
School of Performing Arts in Atlanta before attending Fordham University
in New York where she received a BA in theatre arts. While in New
York, she worked in production in several theaters, including off
Broadway, and studied acting under Tony Award Winning Director Michael
Mayer.
I.J. Rosenblum |
I.J. Rosenblum graduated from Ithaca College with a BA in drama.
He worked briefly in New York City at the off-Broadway Primary Stages
before moving to Atlanta. He has been with the Atlanta Lyric Theatre
as an Assistant Stage Manager. He supervised the design and construction
of the Byer's Studio Theatre and was in stage and production for
over 50 events.
Celia Rosenblum graduated with a BA in theatre arts from Hunter
College in New York, and has performed in productions in New Jersey,
New York, California and Georgia. She also has five years teaching
in after-school theatre programs and theatre camps. The Rosenblums
reside in Sugar Hill.
I.J. Rosenblum says: "As one of the fastest growing counties
in Georgia with over 750,000 residents, I found it odd that there
were so few places to see professional theater in Gwinnett County.
We are looking to fill that void with Button Theatre." He adds:
"Our goal for the next few years is to present three to five
musicals or plays at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center and at
the Jacquelyn Casey Hudgens Fine Arts Center, both located at The
Gwinnett Center. We want to showcase local, professional talent
and engage a full orchestra for the musicals."
Button Theatre is also committed to nurturing creative potential
through children's theater classes and cultivating local talent
through workshops for actors and technicians. Mary Carolyn Conti
says: "Not only will we offer after school acting programs
and beginning classes, but we are excited to also offer Master Class
opportunities for professionals to come together and share their
knowledge of not only performance, but designing, directing and
tech."
Lumpkin concert perfect way to begin patriotic
week
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
JULY 3, 2007 -- We got the patriotic week off with a big bang Sunday
night when a surprise invitation from a friend came to hear the
Gainesville Symphony Orchestra at a concert in Lumpkin County.
Brack |
We didn't know what we were getting into, though we found that
most everyone attending did not either, for it was a first time
event. And unlike some first time events, this one came off without
a hitch.
We were told initially that it would be in a big barn, and yes,
that worried us a bit. We knew of rain predicted by Sunday, and
thinking of the heat of the week, those could be a problem. Or so
we thought.
But we had never seen a barn in the middle of a big farm like this
one. It was about a mile off the main road, as a fresh, blacktopped
asphalted drive took us right up to the barn at the Cottrell Ranch.
It was enormous, with a capacity of about 500, and we found it air-conditioned!
(The Cottrells are in the manufacturing of auto-hauling trailers,
we learned, in Gainesville.)
There were about 50 tables, each seated for eight, inside the high-ceiling
barn. Time we arrived, we felt the excitement of the evening, as
people buzzed around greeting one another. Among the first people
we shook hands with was Sen. Johnny Isakson. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle
was also there, as well as many local politicians. Former state
tourism director Bill Hardman, and his wife, Helen, were among the
organizers, whom we spotted immediately on arrival. Hardman is one
of the mainstays of organizing about anything in Lumpkin County,
we understand. He may be the reason that the Dahlonega area gets
so much publicity these days.
We also spotted others with Gwinnett connections, including Gerald
Lord and Dick and Phylecia Wilson (who now live near Cornelia.)
We also saw Dahlonega Nuggett's Terrie and Curtis Ellerbee, and
Margo and Jimmy Booth of Dahlonega. Most of the attendees in the
packed house were from the mountain area, we understood.
As people munched away on the picnic fare, soon the orchestra took
their seats. Master of ceremonies for the night was a Norcross neighbor
of ours, Wes Sarginson, an old friend of Hardman's. Soon Sarginson
was introducing Dr. Gregory Pritchard, director of the orchestra.
From the first sounds of the Stars Spangled Banner, the program
was primarily one of patriotic music, presented in a rousing style.
We, and many others, tapped our feet and often were clapping to
the beat of the martial music. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves,
and we suspect, so did most of those in the crowd.
Oh, yes, the weather: about halfway through the concert the skies,
that had been darkening, opened up, giving the area a good rain.
It was timed perfectly, as it let up as the concert closed. The
rain relieved the dry conditions, making the fireworks show which
followed even safer.
Proceeds from the concert benefited Youth Substance Abuse Prevention
and Youth Music Programs through the North Georgia College and State
University Foundation, one of the sponsors.
It was a great way to put us in the right mood for a week of patriotic
thoughts. We would urge the organizers to a repeat of this concert
next year, again on the Sunday night prior to the Fourth! We hope
it becomes a tradition! (And we hope we get invited back once more.)
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today we present a new sponsor, the
Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District. Formed in
mid-2006, Gwinnett Village Community Improvement District (CID),
is a self taxing revitalization district that includes just under
500 commercial property owners with a property value of just under
$1 billion dollars. Gwinnett Village includes the southwestern part
of Gwinnett County including properties along Jimmy Carter Boulevard,
Buford Highway, Indian Trail, Beaver Ruin, Graves, and Singleton
Road. Gwinnett Village is the third CID to be created in Gwinnett
County and is the largest of the 13 CID's in the state. Gwinnett
Village's mission is to improve property values through increased
security, a decrease in traffic congestion, and general improvements
to the curb appeal of the area. For more information visit www.gwinnettvillage.com
or call 770-449-6515.
Shocker
when Iacocca agrees with Michael Moore and Al Gore
Editor, the Forum:
Michael Moore and Al Gore now are the most influential political
film makers of all time. A dynamic duo, Gore and Moore sound an
alarm, as once did Winston Churchill, "The era of procrastination
…is coming to a close. We are entering a period of consequences."
Now for a shocker. Conservatives are actually starting to agree!
Lee Iacocca bluntly states, "Our once-great companies are getting
slaughtered by health care costs." Iacocca asks: "Where
the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder…This
is America, not the damned Titanic." Iacocca, like Gore and
Moore, faces up to inconvenient truths.
Who would agree with Scrooge that Tiny Tim should die to "Decrease
the surplus population?" Conservatives believe in the right
to life. Surely, the persons with compassion for Terri Schiavo would
not pull the plug on Tiny Tim.
Dr. Linda Peeno (my friend, and a member of Semmelweis) testified
in SiCKO that Big Medicine HMOs in America rip off the public, and
let people die.
Could a bipartisan "dream team" bring real reform? Could
business heavyweights like Lee Iacocca team up with Gore and Moore
before it is too late? Frankly, we don't have any choice but to
face the coming storm now.
-- James J. Murtagh, M.D., Atlanta
(James Murtagh spent 20 years as an Intensive
Care Unit physician. Dr. Murtagh is a member of Semmelweis Society
International, and has hosted several Congressional forums on
the Healthcare Integrity Project.)
Commission
to work closely with three CIDs in the county
County officials are working closely with Gwinnett's Community
Improvement Districts (CIDs) to get funding for various transportation
and mobility improvements. Their cooperation and teamwork is expected
to help revitalize declining areas of Gwinnett in addition to improving
transportation.
The Board of Commissioners recently approved agreements between
the state and the Evermore CID for alignment, inter-parcel access
and aesthetic improvements in the U.S. Highway 78 corridor.
In addition, the Gwinnett Place CID will submit two applications
for state Transportation Enhancement grants totaling $2.8 million.
The CID would contribute local match money of $400,000 each to both
a Satellite Boulevard pedestrian and transit connector project and
to a pedestrian mobility project on Pleasant Hill Road. Both projects
would get about a million dollars each in federal funds if approved.
Sidewalks and landscaping along Buford Highway could be funded
by $1 million in federal funds and a $350,000 match from the Gwinnett
Village CID. The idea came out of a multi-modal transportation study
by the Atlanta Regional Commission and is a critical project for
the southern part of Gwinnett County. It will provide sidewalk connectivity
and transit amenities along the heavily traveled Buford Highway
corridor.
County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister notes that Gwinnett
will also apply for two similar state grants. One would help fund
a sidewalk/multi-use path to connect the new Club Drive Park to
existing sidewalks on Pleasant Hill Road. The 2005 SPLOST program
would provide the local match of $125,130 on the $625,650 project.
A second project would provide $1.25 million to restore the Duluth
Depot and rail car exhibit structure at the Southeastern Railway
Museum. The museum would provide the local match of $250,000. No
County funds would be needed.
Norcross
latest Gwinnett City to have history center
Norcross is the county's latest city to have a history center.
The Norcross History Center Inc. was incorporated as a non-profit
entity on June 22 by an action committee.
The group will be seeking City Council support for initial funding
and for temporary space. It anticipates beginning an oral history
project. It anticipates sending to the City a proposal containing
museum requirements by July 11. The NHC expects to lease facilities
at a token $1 per year from the city.
It also plans to elect officers at a coming meeting. For more information,
contact Anne Webb at AWebb25363@aol.com.
Norcross development
evokes memories of earlier housing
EpiCity, a provider of real estate services, and McClure Communities,
have teamed up to create Buchanan Station, the latest new development
in Historic Norcross.
According to Jim LaVallee, vice president of EpiCity, the development
will consist of 18 arts- and-crafts era single-family homes that
will be built on the block bound by Hunter, Kelley, Thrasher, and
West Peachtree Streets in downtown Norcross. Phase I will include
five lots and Phase II will be an additional 13 lots. Lot reservations
are now being taken and home construction will begin by the end
of July.
Tom McClure, vice president of McClure Communities, says: "The
exterior details will include large front porches, decorative brick
and stone work, period columns, and attention to exterior trim detail
to ensure the homes have all the character of a residence built
80 years ago. The interior finishes include 10-foot ceilings, hardwood
floors, and period style trim."
The homes will be priced starting in the upper $400,000 range.
Owners will be able to walk to the shops in Historic Norcross for
shopping and dining.
The subdivision is named for Edward Buchanan, once of Norcross‚
a prominent turn-of-century financier. Mr. Buchanan at one time
traveled in a Pullman car, which would have parked within walking
distance from the subdivision. The rear alley has been named after
Roy Carlyle, the former major league baseball player who still holds
the record for hitting the longest homerun. The alley is approx.
618 feet long, which is the distance of Carlyle's famous hit in
San Francisco, July 4, 1929.
Wok-In Wok-Out
"My husband and I had a very enjoyable eating experience Sunday
for lunch after church. We visited the relatively-new "Wok-In
Wok-Out" restaurant in Lawrenceville, at 860 Duluth Highway.
In a creative atmosphere, you take your bowl to the buffet and put
in whatever ingredients you want (a plethora to choose from) and
then add a sauce (quite a variety) and then let them know what meat.
Then they cook it for you and bring it to your table. It is an all-you-can-eat
place/price so make as many bowls as you'd like. I had two bowls,
one with chicken and bamboo and noodles and squash and asparagus.
My husband had two bowls as well! It was $7.99 for lunch. Their
patio dining will open soon."
-- Cindy Evans, Duluth
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
Gray
v. Sanders took out Georgia's county unit system
Chief Justice Earl Warren once said that the most important judicial
pronouncements of his tenure were not the momentous school-desegregation
decisions, but the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings that compelled states
throughout the nation to reconfigure their electoral processes according
to the principle of "one person, one vote." In Baker v.
Carr (1962), a seminal procedural ruling out of Tennessee, the Supreme
Court held that reapportionment challenges could be brought in federal
court under the "equal protection" clause, despite earlier
suggestions that cases of this kind were "nonjusticiable."
The very first of the Supreme Court's post-Baker decisions on the
merits in a reapportionment suit came as a result of a legal challenge
brought by James Sanders, a voter in Fulton County, that targeted
Georgia's
county unit voting system in its application to elections for
governor, U.S. senator, and other officeholders chosen on a statewide
basis. (James H. Gray, the chair of the State Executive Committee
of the Democratic Party, was among the named defendants, because
the legal challenge focused on the party-run primary elections,
which at that time determined the selection of the state's officeholders.)
The problem with the county unit system, according to Sanders,
was that it gave residents of small counties far more voting power
than residents of more populous counties. Indeed, the imbalance
was so great that rural counties that were home to only one-third
of Georgia's population held a majority of county unit votes in
statewide elections.
In striking down this voting scheme under the "equal protection"
clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Court insisted, in an opinion
by Justice William Douglas, that the American "conception of
political equality . . . can mean only one thing-one person, one
vote."
Eventually, the hyphen
in a name somehow disappears
"Some Americans need hyphens in their names, because only
part of them has come over; but when the whole man has come over,
heart and thought and all, the hyphen drops of its own weight out
of his name. "
-- Former President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).
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