March Events OPENERS

PANOV’S DANCE DIRECTIONS



The Royal Ballet of Flanders, under the general direction of dancer and choreographer Valery Panov, makes its local debut this month in McFarlin Auditorium. Sponsored by the International Theatrical Arts Society (TITAS), the program will also mark the first Dallas appearance of the choreography of Panov, whom critic Clive Barnes dubbed “one of the few great male dancers in the world.”

The company’s Dallas program consists of George Balanchine’s signature Allegro Brillante, a 13-min-ute virtuoso piece, and Jiri Kylian’s The Sunken Cathedral, which is also in the Dallas Ballet’s repertory. The Tchaikovsky and Debussy scores will set the stage for two works by Panov himself, both set to Russian music.

The first will be the pas de deux from his War and Peace, a full-length ballet based on Tolstoy’s novel; the second will be the Sacre du Printemps, set to the revolutionary Stravinsky score.

March 14 at 8 p.m. at McFarlin Auditorium, SMU. Tickets $25-$5; available at Central Ticket Agency. 528-5273, metro 429-1181.

-Willard Spiegelman



THE REAL STOPPARD



Every Tom Stoppard play is as much about language-its treacherousness and its saving grace-as it is about anything else. No modern playwright dances through the dictionary more adroitly or delightfully, nor with such purpose. This month, Dallas audiences can dance right along with Britain’s golden boy (and Broadway’s darling) as the Majestic Broadway Series presents The Real Thing, Stoppard’s latest victory and possibly his warmest play to date.

Henry, a playwright and our hero, considers himself the last romantic, and it seems perhaps he is. His wife finds him overly sensitive. His daughter thinks his last play was sappy. But Annie, his friend’s wife, finds him irresistible, and in one brazen pounce, the two find passion, then love-or something like it.

Reflecting the ease of modern romance, this potential disaster is resolved early on in the simple changing of a set; Henry and Annie move in together, and everyone is relatively happy. But where another play might end, this one takes up. Passion and love are as precarious as the words Henry uses to try to hold them, and Annie, after all, is only human. She, too, has an affair, which seems potentially ruinous to their relationship only because Henry wants to talk about it. But Henry wants to talk about everything, as does Stoppard. Fortunately, Stop-pard talks with force and makes words fly. In the end, they allow Henry-and the audience-to come a bit closer to that elusive real thing.

March 5-20 at the Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm. Wed-Sat at 8 p.m.. Sun at 2:30 p.m. Tickets $27.50-$20.50 Fri & Sat; $21.50-$19.50 Wed, Thur & Sun; available at Ticketron outlets. 265-0789.

-Tim Allis



CANVASSING LATE-MODERNS



Until he closed his Toronto gallery in 1978, David Mir-vish had been one of the leading dealers in American abstract art for more than 15 years. Not incidentally, Mir-vish was also one of the world’s leading collectors of such art, assembling a private collection that now totals more than 500 objects and is still growing.

For the first exhibit that the Fort Worth Art Museum’s new senior curator, Diane Upright, has organized, she has reached into this impressive collection and pulled out 32 paintings by eight artists who, taken together, represent a high achievement in late-modern American painting.

The artists include Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Robert Motherwell, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Larry Boons, Frank Stella and Canadian artist Jack Bush. All practiced a reductive kind of art in which one or more of the qualities traditionally associated with painting were eliminated. Frankenthaler and Louis, for example, broke the monopoly of the brush by staining canvases with thinned acrylic paints, creating works in which canvas and color were united in a new and striking way. Noland’s painted stripes and targets raised the question of how little a painting could depict and still be a painting.

Some of the canvases are very large. Each artist is represented by at least one painting that measures 20 feet on a side, plus a group of related smaller works. They are strikingly handsome objects that will be at their best in the clean, well-lighted spaces of the Fort Worth Art Museum.

The show serves as a further signal of the direction that the museum will be taking under its new director, E.A. Carmean Jr. When he arrived last year, Carmean announced that the museum would henceforth be concentrating its resources and attention on acquiring and exhibiting what he termed “classical modern art”-that is, paintings and sculpture from cubism to American abstract art of the Fifties and Sixties.

March 10-May 7 at the Fort Worth Art Museum, 1309 Montgomery, Fort Worth. Tue 10-9, Wed-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5. (817) 738-9215.

-Ken Barrow



D’s Openers include this month’s theater, music, film, sports, art, dance, enlightenment and recreation events, as well as a list of the top nightlife establishments in Dallas. These listings are updated and supplemented each month. They have nothing whatsoever to do with paid advertising.

All events listings should be addressed to the Openers editor and must be received at least two months before publication.

Credit card notations: MC/MasterCard, V/Visa, AE/American Express, DC/Diners Club, CB/Carte Blanche. “All credit cards’ Indicates that all five cards are accepted.



ART



Alexandra Hogua. A profound feeling for natural forms and natural forces mark the paintings of this Texas regionalist, whose work is as powerful and expressive today (he has recently completed a series of large paintings of the Big Bend region) as it was 50 years ago. Through March 17 at the Dallas Museum of Art. 1717 N Harwood. Tue. Wed. Fri & Sat 10-5; Thur 10-9; Sun noon-5. 922-0220

American Glass Masters. Six “rugged individualists” who have developed new styles and techniques of working with this beautiful material show their latest work. March 8-30 at Human Arts Gallery, the Quadrangle, 2800 Routh, Suite 150. Mon-Sat 10-5:30. 748-3948

Arle Van Selm. Totemlike figures dominate these colorful, expressionistic canvases by one of the best-known and most popular artists in the area. March 16-April 20 at Edith Baker Gallery, 5950 Royal Lane. Tue-Sat 10-5. 361-8336.

Bernardo Cavallino. A strange, solitary genius whose delicate and subtle paintings display a keen sense of drama, Cavallino was famous in his own time and place-17th-century Naples- but died young and was all but forgotten until recently. About 50 of his 85 known works have been assembled for this show. Through March 23 at the Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie, Fort Worth. Tue-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5. (817) 332-8451.



Old West Figures



Luis Jimenez of El Paso has created a series of heroic fiberglass sculptures of vaqueros, Indians, settlers and other figures of the Old West for public parks in Houston, Albuquerque and Fargo, North Dakota. Formed from fiberglass and painted in custom-car metal-flake colors, they combine the verve of low-rider automobiles with the drama of Mexican mural painting in what the artist himself likes to call “a publicly accessible American art.” For the latest in its one-artist Concentrations exhibitions, the Dallas Museum of Art is bringing to town two of Jimenez’s flashiest works, Sod Buster and Progress II, for display in the museum’s sculpture garden. Through March 31 at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood. Tue, Fri & Sat 10-5; Thur 10-9; Sun noon-5. 922-0220.



Jack Boynton. Boynton practices a kind of Texas surrealism, making assemblages and watercolors in which surprising juxtapositions occur and anything is liable to turn up. including the kitchen sink. March 16-April 20 at Gallery One, 4935 Byers, Fort Worth. Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat 10-2. (817) 737-9566.

Lone Star Regionalism. Neglected and scorned during the years when abstraction reigned supreme, the group of Dallas-area painters that dominated Texas art during the Thirties and Forties is finally subjected to an extensive and searching examination. Through March 17 at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N Harwood. Tue, Wed, Fri & Sat 10-5; Thur 10-9; Sun noon-5.922-0220.

Luis Melendez. This 18th-century Spanish artist transformed humble objects into clear and monumental still-life paintings that influenced, among others, Goya and Manet. March 22-May 19 at Meadows Museum. Meadows School of the Arts, SMU. Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5. 692-2516.

Mall Art. Art objects, all smaller than a mailbox and signed, sealed, stamped and sent from around the globe, are the subject of this continuing survey. Through June 30 at Modern Realism Gallery, 1903 McMillan, Room No. 1. Wed 6-9 pm. 827-0376.

Martin Delabano. One of the most talented young artists in the area continues his investigation of myth and mystery in works that seem more like eerie visions than painting and sculpture. March 2-28 at DW Gallery, 3200 Main. Tue-Sat 11-5. 939-0045.

Richard H. Kern. This exhibit examines the scientist-explorer whose meticulous illustrations documented many a report on the early Southwest, as well as the artist who made beautiful drawings simply for his own pleasure. March 8-April 28 at the Amon Carter Museum, 3501 Camp Bowie, Fort Worth. Tue-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5:30. (817) 738-1933.

Texas Sculpture Symposium. The largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Texas sculpture ever shown has been assembled for the fifth biennial Texas Sculpture Symposium, being held March 21-23 in the downtown Sheraton Inn. Works by some 125 artists will be installed at sites throughout the Central Business District, from City Hall Plaza to the grounds of the Belo Mansion. Other works will be on display at Connemara, a 72-acre park in Piano. Works will remain on display March 1-June 15. Call 692-0615 for information.



THEATER



Batteries Not Included. Subtitled “A Musical with No Love Songs for Four Characters,” this new work satirizes the advertising business. It is directed by James Ham-merstein (the son of Oscar Hammerstein), who co-wrote the show with David Curtis, Alice Whitfield and Ralph Affoumado, March 7 31 at New Arts Theater. 702 Rosa at Market in the West End Warehouse District. Tue-Fri at 8 pm. Sat at 5 & 9 pm, Sun at 2:30 & 7:30 pm. Tickets $15 Fri at 8 & Sat at 9; $12.50 Tue-Thur, Sat at 5 & Sun. 761-9064.

Chicago. Times are hot in gangster-era Chicago, and so is this musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb of “Cabaret” fame Showgirls and lough guys strut their stuff in a style indelibly defined by the musical’s original choreographer and director, Bob Fosse. Feb 27-April 16 at Stage West, 821 W Vickery, Fort Worth. Wed & Thur at 8 pm, Fri & Sat at 8:30 pm, Tickets $10 Sat; $9 Fri; $8 Wed, Thur & Sun. (817) 332-6238.

Courtship and Valentine’s Day. Author, playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote (“Tender Mercies,” “To Kill a Mockingbird”) renders turn-ofthe-century romance in a small Gulf Coast town in these related one-act plays. “Courtship” was presented successfully last year at the renowned Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theater of Louisville; “Valentine’s Day” is a premiere. Feb 27-April 7 at Stage #1, Greenville Avenue Theater, 2914 Greenville. Tue-Sun at 7:30 pm. Tickets $12.50 Fri & Sat; $10 Tue-Thur & Sun. 760-9542.

Good. Where lies evil, and what does it take to stir it from its sleep? Such are the questions posed by this complex, taunting drama by the late C.P. Taylor about a would-be Nazi. March 5-31 at the Dallas Theater Center’s Frank Lloyd Wright Theater, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. Tue-Thur at 8 pm, Fri at 8:30 pm, Sat at 4 & 8:30 pm, Sun at 2:30 & 7:30 pm. Tickets $15 & $14 Fri & Sat evening; $12.50 & $11 Tue-Thur, Sat matinee & Sun. 526-8857

Sophisticated Ladles. Homage to the Duke is paid in full in this review of Ellington’s glorious music, including “Take the A Train,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and “Mood Indigo.” The staging, sets and costumes are said to be elaborate and exciting. A rabble-rouser, by all reports. March 26-31 at the Majestic Theater, 1925 Elm. Wed-Fri at 8 pm, Sat at 2:30 & 8 pm, Sun at 2:30 & 7 pm. Tickets $26 50-$21 50 Fri & Sat; $21 50-$19.50 Wed, Thur & Sun; available at Ticketron outlets. 2650789



MUSIC



Academy of Ancient Music. Founded by Christopher Hogwood in 1972. this London-based ensemble has made several renowned recordings of 18th-century music, including Handel’s “Messiah’ and the complete symphonies of Mozart. This month, it comes to Dallas to participate in SMU’s celebration of J.S Bach’s 300th birthday, performing the Wedding Cantata, BWV 202 (with soprano Emma Kirby), the Orchestral Suite No. 2 and selections from Handel’s Water Music. Mar 22 at 8:15 pm at McFarlin Auditorium, SMU. Tickets $8. 265-0789

Brookhaven College. Pianist Peter Nero appears in concert March 12 at 8 pm at the Brookhaven Performance Hall, 3939 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch. Tickets $10-$9 620-4118.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Feb 28 & March 2: John Nelson conducts sopranos Arlene Auger and Patricia Schuman, mezzo-soprano Janice Taylor, tenor David Gordon, bass Charles Nelson and the Dallas Symphony Chorus in J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor. March 8 & 9: James Rives-Jones conducts a concert featuring Haydn’s Symphony No 92 (“Oxford”), Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin Suite and two works for piano and orchestra (J.S. Bach’s Concerto in D minor and Richard Strauss’ Burlesque) with soloist Andras Schiff March 14 & 16: Jerzy Semkow conducts an all-orchestral concert including Mozart’s Symphony No 36 (“Linz”) and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. March 21 & 23: Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos conducts Roger’s Variations and Fugue on a theme of Mozart, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4 (with soloist Michel Block) and Weinberger’s Polka and Fugue from “Schwanda.” March 28 & 30 Efrem Kurtz conducts Beethoven’s Prometheus Overture and Violin Concerto (with soloist Uto Ughi) and Prokofiev’s Symphony No 6. All concerts at 8:15 pm at Fair Park Music Hall; free pre-concert lecture at 7 pm on Feb28& Mar 2 Tickets $16-$6. 692-0203.

Dallas Symphony SuperPopa. March 1: Kirk Trevor performs March 15; Ferrante and teicher perform March29. Mitch Miller performs. All concerts of 8 pm of Fair Park Music Hall. Tickets $20-59, 692-0203.



Eastfield College. Dizzy Gillespie and Quartet appear in concert, March 9 at 7:30 & 9:30 pm at the Performance Hall, Eastfield College, 3737 Motley Dr. Mesquite. Tickets $10-$8. 324-7185.

Fort Worth Opera. Mar 1 & 3: Mark D Flint conducts and Albert Takazauckas directs a new production ot Stephen Paulus’ 1982 blockbuster based on James M Cain’s novel of the same name, “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” with soprano Maryanne Telese. baritone Nicholas Karousatos and tenor Michael Myers Fri at 8 pm and Sun at 2:30 pm at Tarrant County Convention Center Theater. 1111 Houston. Fort Worth Tickets $30-$5.429-1181. Mar 14 & 15: The U.S. premiere of Handel’s “Agnppina” features mezzo-soprano Margaret Jane Wray in the title role, with George Del Gobbo conducting and Ken Cazan directing. Thur & Fri at 8 pm at the Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie. Fort Worth. Tickets $7.50. (817) 731-0833.

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. March 8 & 9 Henry Mancini conducts a pops concert at 8 pm’at Tarrant County Convention Center Theater. 1111 Houston. Fort Worth. Tickets $18-$10 429-1181. March 12: Guitarist Eliot Fisk performs Vivaldi’s Concerto in D and Ponce’s Concierto del Sur with the Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra under conductor John Giordano in a concert also featuring Boccherini’s Symphony in A and Ginas-tera’s Vanationes Concertantes at 8 pm at Ed Landreth Auditorium. University at Cantey, TCU, Fort Worth. Tickets $12-$8. 926-8831. March 23 & 24 Pianist Annie Fischer performs Beethoven’s Concerto No. 5 in E flat (“Emperor”) and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor in a concert conducted by John Giordano. Sat at 8 pm & Sun at 3 pm at Tarrant County Convention Center Theater, 1111 Houston, Fort Worth. Tickets $15-$5. 335-9000.



DANCE



Dallas Ballet. Flemmmg Flindt’s staging of Bournon-villes great ’La Sylphide,” probably the oldest ballet still danced as a staple in the modern repertory, tells the story of a young Scot who falls in love with a wood sprite. March 21-23 at 8 pm & March 24 at 2 pm at the Maiestic Theater, 1925 Elm. Tickets $25-$5; available at Ticketron outlets. 744-4430.

Dancers Unlimited Repertory Company. Four works are presented in a March program that features the first use of live music by the DURC. They include the premiere of a work by MTV choreographer Kenneth Green, as yet untitled; Lauri Darley Hughes’s “After the Fire”; and the Dallas premiere of Bill Evans Tin Tal.” March 14-16 at 8 pm at the Plaza Theater, Snider Plaza. Tickets$27$13. 742-7821.



ENUGHTENMENT



The Dallas Institute. This month, the Institute presents a variety of seminars and workshops. March f. Poetry reading by Dallas poet Robert Trammell on “Europe, the Fire Book” at 8 pm. March 2: Poet Gerald Burns leads a poetry seminar entitled “Obscurity in Verse.” Sat 9 am-noon & 2-4 pm March 6: Robert Romanyshyn lectures on “Meditation on Nuclear Fire” at 7:30 pm. March 13: “The Blank Wall,” an exhibition of architectural mistakes in cities across the country, opens in the San Jacinto Building lobby. March 14 & 15: “Dallas Spaces-Human Places,” a workshop at the Dallas Central Library auditorium, is presented by street-life expert William “Holly” Whyte. Thur & Fri 2-5 pm. March 22: William Burtord presents a lecture entitled “On Luxury” at 7:30 pm. March 23 & 24: “On Luxury,” a seminar led by William Burtord. explores the effects of luxury and its place in Dallas life. Sat & Sun 9:30 am-noon & 2-4 pm; tuition $60. Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and are at The Dallas Institute. 2719 Routh 698-9090

SMU Women’s Symposium. The 20th Annual Sym posium has as its theme “Shaping America Forces and Counterforces of Change.” Principal speakers include Anne Armstrong, former Cabinet-level counselor to the president and ambassador to Great Britian, now chair-woman of the Advisory Committee for the Center for International and Strategic Policy; and economist Lester Thurow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, author of “The Zero Sum Economy.” March 12 & 13 at Umphrey Lee Student Center, SMU. hckets $30; in-cludes lectures, workshops and meals. 692-2720.

Temple Emanu-EI. Temple Emanu-EI’s 29th annual Significant Book Series continues in March with a lecture by author and historian AC Greene, a master of local folklore and Texas tales Greene’s lecture, “The Highland Park Woman,” offers insights on contemporary Texas and the complex men and women who are today’s Texans. March 6 at 10:30 am at Temple Emanu-EI. 8500 Hillcrest. Series tickets $25. 368-3613.

Temple Shalom Arts Forum. The 1985 lecture series begins this month with White House correspondent Lesley Stahl as the featured speaker. Future speakers for the three-part series are Marshall Loeb, managing editor of “Money’ magazine, and author and columnist Art Buchwald. March 20 at 8 pm at Temple Shalom. 6930 Alpha at Hillcrest. Series tickets $26. 661-1810.



RECREATION



Dallas Blooms. The largest display of flowering bulbs outside of Holland will be featured at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society. Walking tours are scheduled to allow visitors to view the 200-plus varieties of spring flowering bulbs in full bloom. March 9-April 15 at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society, 8617 Garland Rd. Mon-Fn 9 am-5 pm, Sat & Sun 1-5 pm; tours offered Wed-Sun Admission free; parking within the Botanical Society $3. 327-8263.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The second annual downtown parade commences at the Kennedy Memorial, proceeds east on Commerce Street, turns south on Har-wood Street and ends at the Farmers Market for presentation of prizes, trophies and traditional Irish refreshments and entertainment March 17 at 1 pm in downtown Dallas.

Trl Delta Charity Antiques Show. The 10th annual art and antiques sale has as its theme “A Salute to Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum,” Proceeds benefit the Charles A Sammons Cancer Center, the Dallas County Heritage Society, the Delta Delta Delta Endowed Scholarship Fund of SMU and the Suicide and Crisis Center March 28-31 at the Dallas Convention Center, west hall Thur-Sat 11 am-930 pm, Sun noon-6 pm. Tickets $4 in advance, $5 at the door 691 0250.



NIGHTLIFE

ENTERTAINMENT/DANCING



Bobbl. The owners of Bobbi must have spent a fortune on mirrored glass But that’s part of the continuing cool North Dallas look Everybody’s so cool at this cool disco, where you’ll find a small dance floor, expensive drinks and an adjoining dining room (1919 Greenville. 824-6509 Mon-Fri 4 pm-2 am, Sat & Sun 6 pm-2 am. Cover varies MC. V, AE.)

No Whar But Texas. This place may be the most laid-back of the big country/western bars. No one seems to care if you can’t dance or drawl But you’ll still find great North Dallas cowboys and cowboyettes here, on and around the huge dance floor (The Corner Shopping Center. 9840 N Central Expwy. 369-3866 Mon-Fri 5 pm-2 am, Sat 7 pm-2 am. Sun6 pm-2 am Cover varies MC, V. AE.)

The Railhead. The one Greenville Avenue pop showroom that never changes has remained a constant with good-but never flashy -pop acts The crowd seems to be getting older (6919 Twin Hills. Daily 5 pm-2 am. Cover varies. All credit cards.)

Rick’s Casablanca. At first glance, you may think you’ve come to one of these old fashioned tropical bars (with perhaps the best ceiling fans in Dallas). But Rick’s is quickly becoming one of the best small clubs to hear good bands, from reggae to rhythm and blues For people who like to get an early start in the week, the place is often crowded on Monday nights. (1919 Greenville. 824-6509 Mon-Fri 4 pm-2 am. Sat & Sun 6 pm-2 am. Cover varies. MC, V, AE.)

RMR’s Fast Tlmes. You’ll love this place-if you’re under 19. The ultimate teen bar in the Dallas area, this converted skating rink is pure bedlam on Saturday night, with nearly 1,000 teeny-boppers packed on the dance floor. There’s also a “juice’ bar that serves nonalcoholic drinks like “virgin pina coladas.” (2609 Oakland, Garland 278-8843 Fri & Sat 8 pm-1 am Cover: $5. No credit cards.)



NIGHTLIFE

DRINKING



The Den. The great all-time dark bar ol Dallas is the place to go for your after-work liaison You can barely see past your own table, and the bartender pours doubles all night at single-drink prices. (The Stoneleigh Hotel, 2927 Maple 871-7111 Mon-Sat 11 am-midnight. Closed Sun. All credit cards.)

The Library. This quiet bar filled with soft couches, |ust down the hall from the lobby of the Melrose Hotel, is the place where seductions begin Spacious and pleasant. with good lighting (hotel bars are notorious for bad track lighting), it’s a place where you can meet for what is called a “non-committal” drink before making your next move (Melrose Hotel. Oak Lawn at Cedar Springs 521-5151 Daily 11:30 am-2 am All credit cards.)