Press and Sun-Bulletin from Binghamton, New York • 8

The Sunday Press Abby 5C Bombeck. 2C Datebook 4C 13C Robin's 10C 8.9C Binghamton, N.Y., Nov. 30, 1980 Imaginative monsters star in new puppet theater show Theater Review 1 Vf. 1 i -r' ters. Starry Night Puppet Theater has been in business for more than six years and has grown skillful in often creating life-size creatures to populate its fantasies.

They may not have a Big Bird, which a boy in the audience loudly and often called for, but the other characters in the show, particularly that fuzzy yellow ball, have just as winning personalities. The puppeteers, all dressed in black, are seen on stage. When they work with the larger puppets, one almost forget the puppeteers are there. But when they work with the smaller creationslike little birds and worms, the bulk of the puppeteers overshadows the creatures. This form of puppetry is becoming more popular, but the audience needs a bit imagination than it does for the more puppet shows where the puppeteers work hidden behind a screen.

The Thing in My Closet doesn't have either the polish or the substance of previous Starry Night productions, but it is an amusing diversion for the kids. With a tighter script and a swifter pace, the show could be substantially improved. Starry Night will be touring with the show for the next several weeks, with stops in schools in Corning, Niagara Falls and Long Island. Hacha said the show will also be added to the repertoire of summer programs done in area parks. By GENE GREY Benign and imaginative monsters are the stars of the latest Starry Night Puppet Theater production, The Thing in My Closet.

The locally based puppet theater performed the show yesterday afternoon at Roberson Center in Binghamton after open-inf the new show about a month ago for three sellout performances at the Cider Mill Playhouse in Endicott. More than 300 youngsters and parents crowded the Sears-Harkness Theater for the 50-minute show. Unlike the company's previous show, The Griffin and the Minor Canon, the new show has no plot to speak of and no great, moral lesson to teach. It is simply a good time, featuring some weird-looking characters. The Thing in" My Closet, written and directed by Chris Crane, is a series of five sketches.

Most of them are done in a mild slapstick style. The hero of the sketch Tightrope is a yellow, fuzzy ball with one eye, two arms and two legs. The hero is forced to walk a tightrope by the show's a large gray mass with a blue face in the middle of his large stomach. The two characters also appear in a sketch called Hot Peppers. The two routines could benefit from a faster-paced presentation and less repetition.

In The Sandwich, the big creature tries to make a meal out of two slices of bread, a worm and a butterfly. Once Upon an Egg briefly tells the story of a little girl who sits on a big egg, much to the annoyance of her parents, whom the audience sees only as legs hanging from a clothesline. A cute little bird-like animal finally emerges from the egg. The title sketch faced that common fear of childhood: The suspicion that there is something lurking in the closet. It turns out to be a big brown shaggy thing who is almost as scared of the little girl who discovers him as she is of him.

The script was cleverly done in simple rhymes that the young audience could easily understand. Jan Hacha, producer of the Starry Night Puppet Theater, said the show was specifically designed for pre-school and elementary school children. Much of the show has no dialogue, making do with sound effects and word-like noises from the puppets. Only the final skit uses dialogue. The skits are cleverly done by the three puppeteers who play all the show's charac Kelly, left, hatches a strange little monster in The Thing in My Closet and Other Short Topics.

into the sewers of Jaws' 'Alligator' cariies suspense Movie review Teague does have a fatal flaw an undue fondness for gore. There are a lot of severed limbs that give this movie a well-deserved Rf ating. Leave the kiddies and some of the adults at home for this one. There are, indeed, many people who won't want to see Alligator. But given a chance, this movie could become something big.

Jaws made us afraid to go the beach. Alligator may make us afraid to walk near the sewer. urban alligator. Beyond that, Alligator was given some fine casting. The leads Robert Forster as a cop whose been around and Robin Riker as a reptile expert who hasn't are excellent.

Even better are cameo roles like Dean Jagger as a doddering chemical mogul and Henry Silva as a great white hunter. And beyond all that, there is Teague's dazzling visual sense. Give the man a flashlight-lit chase through a sewer system and he can make it an awesome moment. The finale is particularly powerful. And he helped finance that film by writing the scripts for cheapies like Piranha and Battle Beyond the Stars and now Alligator.

Those first two films generally escaped notice, but Alligator may be different. This time, Sayles' script was handed over to an excellent director, Lewis Teague. The script is, indeed, a good one. It leaves room for lots of tense action. It also has surprising bursts of humor and characterization and other things you never expected in a movie about a long time.

It's well-acted, powerfully directed and as doubtful as this sounds intelligently written. I told you that you wouldn't believe it. So let me backtrack a moment. Imagine that there's someone who puts, himself through medical school by working as a hit man. Now you're starting to understands young guy named John Sayles.

This year, he came out with personal film called Return of the Secaucus' Seven, which he wrote and directed. Critics raved, calling it perceptive, moving, humorous. ghetto-dwellers and rich folks alike. And now the big surprise. i This is are you ready for this? an excellent movie.

Alligator, which is playing at the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City, is one of the happiest surprises to show up in a 'J 'J" fit ft I I it i I I Ji if .1 1 1 1 if i V- is i( FM, By MIKE HUGHES Gannett News Service You're not going to believe this one, but stick with me. It's important. There's a new movie that tells about a baby alligator that is flushed down the toilet, eats chemically treated dogs in the sewer and grows to enormous size. There's more. The 'gator eventually becomes 30 or 40 feet long and weighs a ton.

It eludes SWAT teams and the National Guard, crashes through the sidewalk and roams the city. There's more. 1 The 'gator keeps; going, gobbling Yule cards show signs of the times WASHINGTON (AP) Three years ago Santa virtually quit the tennis court to straddle a moped for delivery of his Christmas gifts. This year, the jolly -emissary from the North Pole has, not only returned to tennis, but he's swinging five-irons and burning up the road runner's circuit. That, in brief, is an overview of one phase of trends in this year's Christmas greeting cards.

Lest anyone think of Santa solely as a sports biiff, he has also taken to digital computers and satellite communications. Inevitably, the message he transmits is one of "Season's Greetings." These are among the findings of a survey by the National Association of Greeting Card Publishers, a 55-mem-ber association of the major greeting card publishers in the United States, with headquarters in Washington, DC. 'Greeting cards do reflect life-styfes," said Norman S. Halliday, executive vice president of the publishers' association. "Sometimes these styles are cyclical like the return of interest in tennis.

Events like the Wimbledon and the U.S. Tennis Open, with their extensive media coverage, stimulate mass interest in given sports. This also pertains to media coverage of golf championships and road-running races like the New York, Boston and San Francisco marathons. "Tennis, golf and marathon running, unlike professional football or baseball, are participant events for a vast number of people throughout the country. These sports have become a way of life for thousands of amateur athletes.

Thus, these lifestyles are reflected in Christmas greeting cards." Halliday noted that the increasing use of computer systems, data processing and satellite communication has firmly implanted Santa in these areas. The country's search for energy sources is also reflected in this year's cards. One portrays an offshore oil-drilling rig topped with a Christmas tree. Another shows Santa rowing a boatload of gifts to the drilling crews. America's zest for the culinary arts is depicted in many cards that are almost redolent of the sugar, spice and herbs of holiday seasonings.

One such is an imaginative Christmas tree fashioned from a big pot. Chinese wok, pepper mill, wire whisks, loaf pan. rolling pin, food processor, baking and souffle dishes, espresso pot and spaghetti machine. Halliday reports that the traditional religious themes of Madonna and Child, the nativity and the Wise Men at the manger continue unabated in their popularity. -at a.

1 Sii VMM 4 I KEITH HITCHENS PHOTOS fi t- I it Festive mood The elegant Ukrainian setting, left, and the Scandinavian ornament, above, are part of the Christmas Forest at Roberson Center for the Arts and Sciences at 30 Front Binghamton. The exhibit, which opened yesterday, wi!" continue through Dec. 31. Hours are: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

How- can you explain Thanksgiving to a turkey? Andy Smith tional Thanksgiving feast consists of cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie and turkey." "Turkey!" screamed Oscar. "You mean all the guys they were murdered and then eaten?" uh, suppose that's probably what happened," I said weakly. "I mean, I 'couldn't say for sure, but "Murderer!" cried Oscar. "Cannibal! You call this horrible thing Thanksgiving? Just what are we supposed to be thankful for?" ''You should be thankful it only comes once a year," I said. Oscar became violent and tried to peck me to death.

I had to rap him sharply across the beak. Calm down," I said. It a tradition. It's been going on for hundreds of years. And don't look at me like that it wasn't my idea." "Oh, it wasn't," said Oscar, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"And what did you have for Thanksgiving?" "Gee, a ham sandwich or something would have been fine with me," I said. "Only I eat with my family, and we have the, uh, traditional meal." "Maybe you had Mom," said Oscar. "Or Uncle Ned. Or little Mary Jo. How could you do such a thing?" "Gosh, I just figured that you guys knew about it." "Well, we didn't," said Oscar.

"Only next year we will, because I'm going to make sure of that. And next year, buddy, you're not going to have such an easy time getting your so-cailed Thanksgiving dinner. We turkeys are no turkeys!" And be stalked off into the woods. Well, maybe next vear we can all have roast beef for Thanksgiving dinner as long as we don't let the cows in on th secret. "Well, Oscar, I think they went to be, well you know.

Processed. They went to be processed," "What do you mean "Oscar, why don't we just have a little of this nice feed grain here and just forget about the whole thing, OK?" "What do you mean "Oscar, have you ever heard of Thanksgiving?" Oscar hadn't. I guess they try and keep that sort of information away from turkeys, and I can't really blame them. Anyway, I told Oscar all about how the Pilgrims landed in the Mayflower, how they were cold and hungry and might have starved if the Indians hadn't helped them. "That's beautiful.

Andy," Oscar told "Just beautiful. But what does that have to do with me?" "You see," I said slowly, "The tradi Thanksgiving is a joyous holiday for almost everyone. But Hke anything else, the true meaning of the holiday all depends on your point of view. At least, that's what I tried to explain to Oscar. Oscar is the sole turkey survivor of the Happy Holiday Turkey Farm.

It seems he had sqmehow wandered off into the woods during the turkey roundup two weeks ago, and when he finally got back into his pen, everyone was gone. At fi: it. he was glad to see me. "Hev," he said. "Where is every-bciiy? The place was packed until a fe ago.

and all of a sudden everyone left on this big truck. I tried to run and catch up with the others, but it late. What happened?" "Did those bums go to Florida or something tithout me? I bet that's it. isn't it? It's starting to get chilly and they went down to Florida." "Well, Oscar, no, that's not it. They didn't go to Florida." "California, then." "Ahhh, no.

Not California." "Well, where did they go?" "Oscar, why don't you just sit aown for a minute." I found out turkeys don't know how to sit down. "You see, the others went to Cleveland." "Cleveland? Why would anyone go toClevetenc?".