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Show EA Dog-Eared Tale Should Be Hauled Off on a Gurney Miniseries Filmed at Old By Michael Kuchwara THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — “Sylvia” is the labored love story of a man andhis dog. Notjust any dog,buta large, part-Labrador,partpoodle female that latches onto a man in Central Park. Andnotjust any man — this being a play by WASP chronicler A.R. Gurney — but a troubled white Anglo-Saxon Protestant who finds himself somewhere “between the first hint of retirement andthe first whiff of the nursing home.” The whimsical canine comedy, which opened Tuesday at off-Broadway’s Manhattan Theater Club, is an odd duck — to mix creature metaphors. It works best whenthetitle characteris offstage. Gurneyis not a gimmicky writer, but he uses one here, with diminishing results. Sylvia — the dog — is played by the shaggy-haired blondactress Sarah Jessica Parker. Parker, dressed for muchof the eveningin a baggy gray sweater, blue jeans and kneepads, is a game performer. She mimesall types of doggie antics. She scratches. She sniffs. She turns “hey, hey, hey” into a kind of watchdog warning. Sylvia also converses S.L. Hospital B Continued from E-1 this fall. Based on the recent SidneySheldonbestseller, “Nothing Lasts Forever’’ explores the professional and personal crises of three young female doctors at a San Francisco hospital The film stars Shields, Vanessa Williams and Gail O'Grady of TV's acclaimed cop series “NYPDBlue.” plus a host of TV actors — Chris Noth (“Law and Order”), Gerald McRaney (‘‘Ma- Hospital above Salt Lake City’s Avenues neighborhood. Most of the movie's action takes place around the hospital, although scenesalso have been shot at the Salt Lake Art Center, Spanky's pool hall, Fuggles restaurant, the American Towers condominiums anda Victorian-era house on Capitol Hill Noth Heading South: Despite working 12-hour days, the cast has found time to explore Salt Lake City when away from the set. Shields has been spotted working out at the Deseret Gym and partying at the Manhattan Club downtown, and Williamshas been shopping atthe outlet stores in Park City. Noth is planning a trip to Moab. The filmmakers chose to shoot the miniseries, budgeted at about $8 million, in Salt Lake City instead ofthe Bay areato cut costs. Through the wonders of computers, the Salt Lake City backdrop will be erased in the editing room and replaced by the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge “This is a very beautiful city,” producer Vanessa Greenesays almost apologetically. ‘I'd like to use [Salt Lake], but I can’t. I have to coverit up.” The makers of “Nothing Lasts Forever” are thrilled with the 65year-old abandoned Veterans Hospital above 12th Avenue, which has become hometo the crew's production offices. Setconstruction crews have remodeled the cavernous building to add a children’s ward, nursing stations, an emergency room, an operating room, a cafeteria and a maternity ward. It took a construction crew three weeks to erect an elaborate fake-brick facade on the front of the building with “Embarcadero County Hospital” etched above the doorway. “It'll probably be onscreen about three seconds,” sighs production designer Diane Millett, gazing fondly at her short-lived plastic-and-Styrofoam creation. In “Nothing Lasts Forever,” Gail O’Grady is a by-the-rules doctor whose moralcode is challenged when anelderly cancer patient, played by Lloyd Bridges, asks her to euthanize him. When he rewrites his will to leave $1 million to her, O’Grady’s character is charged with murder. Meanwhile, Brooke Shields’ doctor is struggling with a series of ill-fated relationships while trying to stand up to her domineering surgeon father, And Vanessa Williams plays a tough, emotionally guarded doctor whose no-nonsense demeanor is shakenbya troubled boy's plight. “It's the story of three women struggling to survive in the world of medicine,"’ says Bender,the director. “I wouldn't limit it by calling it a soap opera. The characters aren't black and white — there's a lot of shades of gray in all of them.” Shadesof gray ornot, will viewers find these three gorgeous actresses credible as doctors? Greene, the producer, hopes so. “You can't not make these women beautiful,” she says. ‘But we try not to make them glamorous.” Onthis day, extras in white lab coats and green scrubs mill around the hospital grounds as Benderpreparesforhis next shot, a scene in which a cocky, womanizing doctor played by Chris Noth chases down a fellow doctor (Williams) outside the hospital and asks her for a date. Bender shoots about a dozen takes before a sudden hailstorm sends everyone scurrying inside, A few minuteslater, Williamsis unwindingin her trailer as her 2year-old son, Devin, plays at her feet. Williams is composed and gracious, and looks barely older than the 20-year-old who shot to fame, and controversy,as thefirst black Miss America 12 years ago. “There's a lot of twists and drama and sex and . all the stuff that's in a Sidney Sheldon novel," Williams says of the miniseries that brought her from her native New York for seven weeks of filming. Lynn R. TohnsonThe Salt Lake Tribune Actor Lloyd Bridges,left, technical adviser Steve Allred on the set of “Nothing Lasts Forever,” being filmed in Salt Lake. “Based on the celebrity value, a lot of people will judge it as just another medical miniseries, since the medical themeseemsto be hot with ‘ER’ and ‘Chicago Hope,’ ” she continues. ‘But the reason we wereall attracted to this particular projectis that the writing is so non-miniseries and non-clichéd.”’ Williamsis that rare performer who can sing and act with equal ease. She has a thriving career as a hit-making pop diva andarrives in Utah on the heels of her wellreceived run in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” on Broadway. Next year she hopesto breakinto feature films. “After coming off a Broadway musical, being a doctor is probably the furthest away from singing and dancing.It’s nice to have that range,” shesays. ‘“‘I liked the character after I read the script. She's definitely got some meat.” Twenty minuteslater in a nearby trailer, Chris Noth is waking from a short nap. Running a hand through his rumpled brownhair, he eases himself into a chair and stifles a yawn. Noth’s heart-on-his-sleeve doctor in ‘Nothing Lasts Forever” is a far ery from Mike Logan, the enigmatic cop he played for the last five seasons on ‘Law and Order.” Noth recently left the series, which he believes has peaked. “T wanted to do something completely different,” Noth says by way of explanation. ‘‘You read a lot of TV scripts and this one had a certain reality base to it. The character's a lot of fun. He's extraordinarily attracted to [Williams’ doctor] and he makes no bones about showingit.” Went on Rounds: To prepare for their roles, Noth and Shields spent a dayat the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, where they went on rounds with doctors and Shields watched a baby being born “T got to clean the babyoff, and hold it and weigh it and measure it and check her muscles and give her oxygen,” Shields says during aninterview in hertrailer. “The mother was wonderfulto let me be involved. It was oneof the most incredible things I've ever witnessed in mylife.” In person, Shields exudesa natural, unaffected sweetness. She wearslittle makeup, and her hair, so famously coiffed in photos, is straight, unstyled. As she speaks, Shields removes her white lab coat and flops on a couch in the tiny trailer, where Agassi, wearing black jeans and a white longsleeved T-shirt, is watching TV There is a knock at the door: A Bigger Isn’t Better For Smokey’s production assistant, at Shields’ request,is delivering a 12-pack of Mountain Dew for Agassi ‘Mountain Dew addict,” she explains, returning to the interview. It’s only noon, but Shields already has finished shooting her day's scenes. The couple plan to spend the afternoon exploring the mountains near Park City before Agassi returns to Las Vegas to train for the French Open. “It's beautiful,” Shields says of Utah. “I haven’t had enough time off to be able to investigate. We sort of come in and take over a city and it can be obtrusive, but everybody's very congenial and kind. I feel personally at home.” Like Williams, Shields comes to Utah after a season on Broadway as the tough-talking Rizzo in “Grease,” an experience she speaks of fondly. And,like Williams, whoalso wasthrustinto the spotlight at a relatively young age, Shields has weathered wellpublicized personalcrises to extend a career many thought might have fizzled years ago. “T can attribute a lot of the comfort and confidence thatI feel as an actress to having survived,” she says. “I've been around for a longtime butI’ve got a ways to go. I feel like I'm just beginning my career.” And with that, Shields politely excuses herself. There will be more scenes to shoot tomorrow, but for now, she and Agassi only have a few hours together, and the rental car is outside and the mountains are waiting. ® Factory. Closeouts @ Mismatched Sets alameee} beerrllana) eR De 2424 Deerme Orem Ce URncn TTS oe ae He plays three former, the hilarious Derek Smith. roles, including a macho dog-lover with a pooch named Bowser, a haughty Manhattan matron and a marriage counselor of indeterminate gender. husThere is one delicious bit: one by one, dog, band and wife start singing “Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye,” a haunting Cole Porter love song. The moment produces a loony wistfulness that Gurney must have wanted to permeate the whole evening 1993. Then Koelsch saw warning signs on the horizon, beginning with declining Christmas sales that year. In 1994, he put the shop up for sale. Koelsch claimed rumors spread by independent competitors, and the emergence of large chain stores, caused a dropin sales. @ Continued from E-1 pop retaileris getting the squeeze from the competition of the large chain stores — the Media Plays, the Blockbusters, the Barnes & Nobles, the Wal-Marts. Small musicretailers are fighting to remain competitive. Some, like Smokey’s, are losing the battle. Stores like Media Play downplay their dominance. There is room for everyone,they say. “First of all, we welcome competition,” said Kathleen Davies, a spokeswoman for Media Play, a subdivision of Musicland Group based in Minneapolis. “In many cases, smaller stores have an advantage. They eanbecreative and makebusiness decisions quickly.” In Denver and Minneapolis, Davies said, small music stores and book stores have held off the charge of the mega-chains. “Niche marketing is still possible,” she said. “In retail these days, the margin for error for us is slim, too. Davies added that customers seem to like the tremendousselection offered by the megastores. “The interesting thing: I have never heard a negative remark by a Media Play shopper.” Since opening on Mother's Day 1981, Smokey’s experienced slow but steady growth, peaking in ‘Last summerall these people were coming in and saying, ‘You’re going out of business,’ ” he said, stroking his short white beard. “No. I wasselling the business. There’s a big difference.” Thefallout persuaded Koelsch not only to stage a going-out-ofbusiness sale. He alsois selling the building, which is sandwiched between an art store, restaurant and bookstore. “There are two things, one being the concept of every otherlittle store stealing my customer base and big chains coming in,” Koelsch said. “My advertising budget can’t compete with the chains. I can see the same thing when Wal-Mart moves into a small town, knocking off smaller businesses. “It hurts,” he said. “This has been a major part of mylife for 14 years. Having to let it go is painful.” George St. John, a musician, has worked at Smokey’s for more than two years. He used to shop there andlisten to the old LPssitting in the back room. “We know the music,” he said. “People who work [in chain stores] are usually ignorant about music. They don’t know anything that isn’t on MTV. Obscurestuffis a problem for them.” Bill Goldsmith, owner of Dis- criminator Records, an all-classical music and audio-equipment store, likewise sees the difference between the big stores and his “niche” store. He plays to his strengths. “Big stores tend to provide for the needs of the mass market,” he said. “Those stores have a huge selection, butit’s not selected. We select each dise and presumeto know abouteach one.” The soft-spoken Goldsmith started Discriminator 12 years ago. Like Smokey’s, Discriminator has limited floor space, which is also crowded with boxesofvinyl records stuffed underCD bins and into available space. “Stores like Media Play try to cover everything, but in a shotgun sort of way,” Goldsmith said, adding that his main competition comes from mail-order record clubs offering a largeinitial purchase of CDsforlittle money. “Weoffera specialized product and a specialized staff that knows all about the productthey're selling,” he said. ‘Usually purchasers [from chain stores] who buy CDslive in anothercity. I'm here in the front ranks trying to find out what people want.” Goldsmith knowswhat the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera are performing and stockshis shelves accordingly. For Smokey’s,the final daywill come near the end of July. Koelsch, not hurting for money. will move to a 320-acre ranch near Wells, Nev. “T will feel a sense ofrelief when let this go,” he said. “I have some time on my hands and some money. I want to do something new with mylife.” emorial i { \ € SALE (Fotertainment é SUPER SPECIALS Centers CENTER Gurneyis a witty, urbane writer and so there can’t help be somefunin the proceedings. 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PATIO NOW OPEN. CHINASTAR 240 SOUTH 1300 EAGT, 503-3000 wee ee ee ee ee eee jor Dad”) and Gregory Harrison (“Trapper John, M.D.”) — in supporting roles. Veteran film and TVstar Lloyd Bridges and Utah child actor T.J. Lowther (he was kidnapped by Kevin Costner in A Perfect World”) also have small but pivotalparts. The cast and crew have been filming since early Mayat the former Veterans Administration ntu: : ow! s reluctant — and eventywith her new owner and his rel all in a drawally combative — wife as if they were ing-room comedy. Actors playin: g children face a difficult task. Actors playing an! imals are in an impossible situation Gurneylets down Parker and herother two co. stars, a wonderfu lly befuddled Charles Kimbrough and the enchanting Blythe Danner There are a lot of obvious attempts at mutt humor.Piddle jokes. Spay. on the ing jokes. Cat jokes Jokes about jumpingup furniture. And tasteless exclamations about dogs in heat. |
