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Lincoln bar scene:
One facelift, one farewell
his week marks a new begin
ning for one of Lincoln’s clas
sic drinking establishments,
_and the end for one of its most
progressive.
W.C.’s recently completed some
major remodeling, and bar owners
Jim and Peg Kopetka are planning a
little party to celebrate the new look.
But for fans of The Edge, there is
little cause for celebration. This week
end will be the last for the post-mod
ern dance club, manager Steve Pope
said.
Renovations at W.C.’s, 1228 P St.,
have been going on for about three
months, Peg Kopetka said. Improve
ments include increased seating, six
new pool tables, a new dart board
area, new bathrooms, another big
screen television, a new four-sided
bar with comfy bar stools and a stage.
“The bar is still the same comfort
able place; it’s just better,” Jim
Kopetka said.
Peg Kopetka agreed.
“We still have all the old wood
work, the comfortable feeling,” she
said. “And of course, we still have
peanut shells on the floor.”
The new stage will allow the 12
year-old bar to bring in local bands a
few times a month. The stage was put
to use on Wednesday night when Lie
Awake played a free show to com
memorate the
bar’s grand re
opening.
“We had a
great turnout,
and we’re hop
ing it will hap
pen again on
Friday,” she
said.
Lie Awake will play again at 9:30
Friday night. The cover is $3.
As for The Edge, after this week
end it is gone, Pope said.
The bar ran into financial difficul
ties that had to do with poor local
music support and some bad plan
ning, he said.
“Rob (Fensler, the owner) booked
too many bands,” Pope said. “The last
show, the Bad Brains one, made this
necessary. Turnout was poor, and that
was the end.”
Fensler had a goal when he opened
The Edge, first at 227 N. Ninth St. —
about a year ago — and then when the
bar moved to 1118 O St. in July, Pope
said.
“Rob had an idea to build up the
music scene in Lincoln,” he said. “But
nobody was interested in doing it his
way. He should have realized that
sooner.”
Pope said the move to the new
location also probably hurt the bar.
“Things probably would have
worked out financially if we had stayed
in the old building,” he said.
After The Edge closes, Pope said
he planned to buy the bar. He will
close it for remodeling, then re-open
in about a month.
The new place will concentrate on
being more of a dance club, with occa
sional live acts, he said.
But it won’t be The Edge.
1 wasn’t a regular at the bar, but 1
always admired its attempt to improve
the Lincoln music scene.
The owners, managers and Ernie
— the public relations guy — worked
hard to provide music lovers of all
ages with some alternatives.
It was a nice effort.
Mainelli is a senior news-editorial major
and the Daily Nebraskan Arts & Entertain
ment editor.
By Anne Steyer
Senior Reporter
mmm uuno
rjl
m hose people following the red brick
M road to the Lied Center this weekend
M will be transported to a time of magic,
M munchkins and the Emerald City.
The Royal Shakespeare Company presents 1 he
Wizard of Oz” on Friday and Saturday on the Lied
Center stage.
Based on the book by L. Frank Baum, which was
first published in 1900, the story follows the fantasy
travels of a young Kansan named Dorothy. She and her
small terrier Toto are transported to the magical land of
Oz in the swirls of a raging tornado.
Once there she meets munchkins, witches, and the
talking Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion. Dorothy and her
friends embark on a yellow brick road journey to the
Emerald City to ask the wonderful Wizard ofOz to grant
their wishes. Their experiences together fill the story with
laughter, rollicking adventure and more than a little
danger.
Joan Grayson, spokesperson for the show’s produc
tion company, said the Royal Shakespeare Company
decided in 1982 that the MGM film classic “The
Wizard of Oz” would make a wonderful stage
show. From that idea, she said, came this “visual,
musical and theatrical” creation.
“What the stage play does is evoke memo- c c
ries of the film,” Grayson said. “Some of
the lines are verbatim from the film ver
sion.” Atsftw ~ *
Special effects, spectacular sets
transform stage into magical Oz
transform
stage into magical Uz
The dialogue isn’t the only thing the audience will find familiar
about the stage show. It includes all the songs from the original
Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg musical score, made famous by
. Judy Garland and company in the 1939 theatrical version.
* x Songs include the Oscar-winning favorite “Somewhere
Over the Rainbow,” and other notables such as “The
Yellow Brick Road,” “Ding,Dong! The Witch is
Dead,” “If I Only Had a Brain” and “We’re Off to
See the Wizard.”
In addition, Grayson said, the stage show
incorporates the song-and-dance number
“The Jitter Bug,” which was filmed, but
cut from the final screen version. The
film footage of the number was inad
vertently destroyed, so it could not
be restored on the videocassette
reissue. Part of the number,
| caught by a crew member’s
video camera, is presented
in an epilogue on the an
niversary video release.
Grayson said he has
heard various expla
nations as to why
the number was
—t included in
le film, but
See oz on 10
Brian Shellito/DN
!
..