Tuesday, April 7, 1998
Renovated Royce Hall enjoys encore
MUSIC: John Lithgow, Paul Reiser host evening filled with stars,
patrons
By Nerissa Pacio
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
This week, students might just see busy workers replacing the
trampled grass of the Royce quad with fresh green sod. While April
remains too early for the heavy-footed crowds of the Los Angeles
Times Book Fair and long past the drying summer droughts, on
Saturday the grass seemed due for yet another death and
resurrection.
With giant tents planted over the campus green, the UCLA arts
community celebrated the grand reopening of Royce Hall with a
black-tie, moonlit benefit dinner and a star-sprinkled gala.
And like the huge stretches of green that greet the brick steps
of Royce, the even larger trademark two-towered building, which
closed its doors four years ago for seismic renovations, seemed
finally due for its own rebirth.
Hosted by "Third Rock from the Sun’s" John Lithgow and "Mad
About You’s" Paul Reiser, the evening, titled "Encore: Celebrate
the Return," showed that the $75 to $500 tickets purchased largely
by UCLA benefactors would make the attendees’ time (and large sums
of donated money) worthwhile.
Actors Carol Burnett, also a UCLA alumna, and Sidney Poitier
made their appearances as did pop musicians Don Henley, Paul Simon
and Stevie Wonder. Classical flutists James and Jeanne Galway each
performed a set of their favorite hits to help raise $1.5 million
for UCLA’s arts programs.
Also dispersed through the program were highlights and tributes
to four long-time UCLA supporters: philanthropist and singer Ginny
Mancini, chairman emeritus of Universal Studios Inc. Lew Wasserman,
former president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust Harold
Williams, and legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.
Despite the glittering reflections radiating from every corner,
from the silver platters balanced on the fingertips of hors
d’oeuvres waiters to the glimmer of sequined dresses of older
patrons searching for their pricey seats, the performers managed to
keep the evening youthfully enjoyable with off-beat audience
participation.
Beginning with Lithgow’s humorous garnering of audience applause
after unexpectedly performing a speech from "Henry V" and Wonder’s
request for attendees to bellow "You are the Sunshine in my Life,"
some songs even spurred audience members in the balcony to stand on
their seats and shake their hips. Though these eager participants
appeared as the student minority, the rest of the crowd seemed
satisfied with clapping their hands and swaying their black-tied
necks to the beat.
Galway started off the night’s musical samplings by performing a
set of light springtime flute pieces, including a Doppler Rondo
duet with his wife Jeanne. Galway ended his set with the fast-paced
"Flight of the Bumblebee" where he showcased his expertise by
executing potentially tangling finger work in a song that sounded
like one amazingly extended breath.
Following Galway’s light-spirited music, Reiser delivered an
equally light-hearted short stand-up act. Incorporating jokes about
UCLA and Los Angeles – appropriately before introducing Los Angeles
Mayor Richard Riordan – Reiser joked, "Yeah, It’s great that Royce
is in the heart of UCLA. But funny enough, before the earthquake,
it used to be in the heart of USC!"
Don Henley claimed the stage as the first of the three pop
artists to perform. As a former member of the ’70s folk-rock group
The Eagles, Henley brought along another former Eagles member to
accompany him on guitar.
Singing three love songs in his characteristically gruff but
full voice, Henley gave audience members ideas for songs they might
use on their wedding day including a ballad from his latest album
"For My Wedding," his old hit "Heart of the Matter," and "Best of
my Love."
Ironically, he ended his set with a song "Shredding the
Documents" about a man slipping into dementia due to the pressures
of the time. Henley jokingly introduced this song as the theme song
of Washington D.C. these days.
Simon took the stage as the third musical act of the evening.
While technical problems plagued the performances beginning with
Simon, causing the distraction of sound men running back stage
every few minutes, Simon remained relaxed and on key singing in his
baseball cap and jeans.
Though his musical did not fare well on Broadway, the song from
"Cape Man" that he chose to sing as his opener was well-received
with the Royce crowd. He swayed and smiled while playing his
acoustic guitar to two additional folksy songs before ending his
set.
As the most charismatic and entertaining performer of the
evening, Stevie Wonder was led to the grand piano center stage.
Though his sequined shirt glistened in the spotlight peeking out
from his violet suit, Wonder’s smile shone even brighter. Beginning
with an improv jazz intro, Wonder sang straight into a love ballad,
gyrating his head bellowing "My Chere Amour."
Moving over to the keyboards, Wonder demanded audience
participation asking the men to sing "You" and the women to follow
with "are the sunshine of my life." Laughing as he played, Wonder
said, "Men, you sound so weak!"
He broke up his set with a small reflection on Martin Luther
King Jr. Day recalling: "Today is the day Dr. Martin Luther King
was assassinated. And maybe that’s why it rained today in L.A." To
this, he performed a combination of the American national anthem
and the Black national anthem on the harmonica, standing up
mid-song as he became moved by his echoing notes.
Though the audience assumed the night had ended, Wonder revealed
his enthusiasm for performance and entertainment by calling Simon
and Henley onstage for two last encore pieces. While Wonder
searched for the correct key on the piano, Simon led the trio into
a modified Simon and Garfunkel revival as the crowd swayed to a
jazzier version of "Mrs. Robinson."
Even Simon and Henley thought the night had ended as they left
stage once again, but Wonder just didn’t want to go home, leading
the music right into the flow of the jazzy, foot-stomping
"Superstition." "Where are they? Paul? Don?" Wonder asked as he
played. Returning for the last time, Simon and Henley and even
Lithgow and Reiser came to the stage each grabbing a percussion
instrument to shake to the beat of Wonder’s lead.
With two extra all-star songs and a night filled with extra
glitter and glam, it was a night appropriately titled
"Encore."JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin
Stevie Wonder performs at Royce Hall during the re-opening
celebration Saturday night.