Merger
to change
Cablevision
By Joel Strauch
Senior Reporter
An upcoming merger of Cablevision
and Time Warner Corporation will even
tually change services offered to Lin
coln cable subscribers.
Cablevision spokesman RickKielbasa
said Time Warner would own two-thirds
of the company. Time Warner will also
handle the day-to-day management, he
said. Cablevision’s current owner, New
House Broadcasting, will still own part
of the company.
Dick Bates, Cablevision general man
ager, said the merging process had been
under way for quite some time.
The merger should be completed by
April 1, he said, and shouldn’t bring too
many immediate changes for
Cablevision.
“I don’t think it will change the name
or many of the operational procedures,”
Bates said.
Kielbasa said the company might add
some staff inthe short term as Cablevision
took on more duties.
“In the long term, we can look for
ward to the influence of Time Warner in
areas like digital movies and video on
demand,” he said.
“They are also partly owned by US
West, so they have a strong telephone
background as well,” he said.
Bates said Time Warner was ex
tremely aggressive in all new types of
technology for cable today.
“This will give us the capability to get
into some of these businesses that are
offering more advanced services and
equipment,” he said.
The cable industry was on the move,
and it was necessary for Cablevision to
keep up, Bates said.
“The way the industry is advancing
today, and the capital that is required to
stay with it is so high, we had to merge
with a larger business in order to im
prove,” he said.
The merger should give Lincoln resi
dents a greater range of channels and
See CABLE on 13
_
Courtesy of Miramax Films
Dianne Wiest and John Cusack star in Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway.”
‘Bullets Over Broadway’ hits mark
By Chad Johnson
film Critic '
It’s the Roaring ’20s, Broadway is at its
height, the depression has yet to hit and
gangsters lurk behind the scenes. Enter
Woody Allen.
Allen’s comedy is about a struggling
writer, David Shayne (John Cusack). Shane
finally lands a big show on the Great White
Way, but he wants to direct with no com
promises.
As things turn out, the only willing backer
is a local mobster who will back the produc
tion only on the condition that his “goil,”
Olive, gets a major part.
A conflict materializes between the writer
and the fledgling star because she can’t act.
Throughout rehearsals, David is forced to
go through re-writes suggested by Olive’s
bodyguard, Cheech. Cheech turns out to
have a certain talent, and the play improves
***_Ifcgt
Film: “Bullets Over Broadway”
Director: Woody Allen
Stars: John Cusack, Diane Wiest,
Chazz Palminteri
Rated: R
Grade: A
Five Words: Writer compromises art
for gangsters.
with his suggestions. But David cannot
compromise his work, and his loyalties are
called into question.
The cast is brilliant. Jennifer Tilley, Diane
Wiest and Chazz Palminteri all deserve
their Oscar nominations. The edge goes to
Wiest, who portrays a Norma Desmond
like character whose on-stage and off-stage
personae become increasingly blurred
through a bootleg hobgKT&ze.
Allen’s skills as a director are in fine
form. He moves easily from theater scenes
to outdoor shots to shots in clubs that mark
the heights of 1920s excesses.
Considerable credit must be given to co
writer Douglas McGrath. He and Allen
create a snappy dialogue, which contrasts
the artistic styles of the theater people with
the gangster style of Cheech and his boss.
The film is a multi-layered, complex
comedy that keeps viewers’ attention
throughout. You fear that if you are dis
tracted for even a second, you’ll miss some
thing important to the plot.
“Bullets Over Broadway” will show at
the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater Thurs
day through Sunday and March 23-26.
The film took a while to get Lincoln, but
it is well worth the wait.
Association revives orchestra
By Gerry Beltz
Senior Reporter
Jeth Mill has been busy during
his first two months as the execu
tive director of the Lincoln Or
chestra Association, but he has no
olans to slow down.
Mill said he
hit the ground
running when
he arrived in
Lincoln and
has accom
plished a lot in
a very short
period of time.
He was able to
do so because
nf p vnl
WIH teers and board
members who are deeply commit
ted to the orchestra association, he
said.
The association had been hav
ing financial problems, he said,
but its members’ dedication saved
it from being lost.
“The board members could have
easily said ‘We’re not going to try
to resuscitate,”’ Mill said. “Fortu
nately for the community, they
said ‘We won’t let it die.’”
Mil F s first ambition was to calm
the troubled waters of the associa
tion, he said.
“One of the first goals was to
stabilize the situation and be able
to operate on a business-as-usual
basis instead of a crisis mode, and
I think we have succeeded.
“Now that we have the patient
stabilized, we have to get the pa
tient up and walking.”
He now faces the challenge of
bringing in more people and fill
ing more seats at orchestra con
certs.
“The real strength is to build an
audience and to sell more tickets
for our ’95-*96 concert series,” he
said.
“We have to look at other op
portunities our audience members
have and devise a program that
fills the niche in the marketplace.”
Mill said the orchestra hoped to
do that with three offerings: a se
ries of four symphony concerts, a
three-concert chamber orchestra
series and a three-concert pop se
ries.
“While we believe there is some
overlap, what we’re trying to do is
to cater to different musical tastes
and define ourselves as distinct
from other organizations.”
Mill said he was happy with his
new Lincoln home. He previously
worked as the executive director
of the Northeastern Pennsylvania
Philharmonic.
“We (Mill and his wife Donna)
really love it. Lincoln is a very
charming community, and we re
ally enjoy the people and opportu
nities that are here.
“There certainly is a lot to love
about this city... ranging from book
and record stores to motion-pic
ture theaters to cultural activi
ties.”
Two attributes of Lincoln make
it a place where much is possible,
he said.
“The fact that it is a state capi
tal and home of a major university
allows for opportunities here that
one wouldn’t find in cities of simi
lar size,” Mill said.
“I think the most important
thing is the friendliness and open
ness of the people that live here.”
Piper’s antics to lure
children of all ages
From Staff Reports
Audiences can flock to the
Lincoln Community Playhouse
Children’s Theatre, 2500 S. 56
St., to see “The Pied Piper,” start
ing Thursday.
Based on a poem by Robert
Browning, this production is an
original adaptation by Lincoln
resident Ron Zank, who has given
this familiar tale a new twist. The
tale features a piper, a herd of rats
and a town full of concerned citi
zens. The mayor and city coun
cil of Hameln, played by John J.
Snell, Scott Raymond and Tracy
Woodson, refuse to acknowledge
the rat problem and are nearly
ousted by the angry citizens be
fore the Pied Piper, played by
Steve Holliday, comes to the
town’s rescue.
The main question then lies in
the Pied Piper’s motives, and
whether he wants to save the
town or serve himself or both.
This mysterious element should
keep audiences guessing until the
very end of the play.
Original music by Lincoln
musician Cynthia Christensen
will accompany the performance.
Christensen has previously
worked in children’s theater at
the Old Creamery Theatre Com
pany in Garrison, Iowa. She also
directed the playhouse’s Theatre
Arts Academy in the summer of
1994.
The play will be directed by
Linette Nelson-Schwinn,
Children’s Theatre director.
“The Pied Piper” will show
Thursday through Sunday and
March 23-26. Tickets are $ 10 for
adults and $7 for children. Reser
vations are suggested.