RUST COMMENTARY: BROADWAY IS ALIVE AND WELL

It's a small world. My wife WENDY and I spent last weekend in New York City after a newspaper meeting in Newark, N.J., Thursday P.M. and all day Friday.

Friday night we attended the Tony Award winning play BARRYMORE...the one man show starring CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER of "The Sound of Music" movie fame.

At intermission I turned to the couple next to me who came in after the lights had lowered. I said...either you're TOM EAGLETON or look amazingly like him. It turned out to be the former U. S. Senator from Missouri (one of our regular columnists) who's been in the news recently. First as a witness in the $145 million St. Louis Rams lawsuit against the N.F.L. Eagleton was the President of FANS Inc. which raised millions of dollars and a key witness.

He also is one of the attorneys representating the gambling industry which is testifying against the lawsuit in front of the Mo Supreme Court as to the constitutionality of the non floating riverboat casinos located 1,000 feet or less from the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Eagleton asked about the health of JOHN BLUE (former Missourian editor) and we discussed also some of the recent news reporting of another one of our columnists JACK STAPELTON, JR. To my surprise, Eagleton had been keeping up with the growth of our newspaper group.

Truly, as Barrymore in the play...Eagleton is aging gracefully with more openness of wit and observations than in his younger more politically restrained years.

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Wendy and I made it a weekend of escapeism as we also saw the preview production of the new soon to be a hit musical "THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL". Performed to a packed house which responded with enthusiastic spontaneity throughout the performance and gave a well deserved standing ovation at the end. This play will be around and touring for years.

After that matinee performance we saw "CHICAGO" the acclaimed BOB FOSSE inspired dance dominated musical hit of the year. Our third play in two days...all different and all enjoyable.

We elected to fly back late Sunday so we could take in last year's Tony Award dominating musical "The TITANIC". To my surprise...this was the most emotional as one could share the feelings of being on a sinking ship with choices of who goes and who stays. A well written production with no distracting big name stars but solid performances all around. A lesson in history and attitudes.

Unique sets and transitions. All in all Broadway is alive with many other plays set to open in the next 2 weeks. My only regret is that as I like drama...there's few dramas currently succeeding on Broadway.

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To stay in the theater mode, Wendy and I saw "FOREVER...PATSY CLINE" the previous weekend in Chicago where we had gone to be in attendance at the annual Inland Press Association Convention.

I serve on two national newspaper boards and they always manage to have back to back meetings, so between these two events and the additional thoughts needed for our new acquisitions, I've been a little out of pocket recently.

The PATSY CLINE production was good but not of the calibur of the previous mentioned four productions.

Former U.S. Senator BOB DOLE spoke at the Inland meeting and displayed his quick wit and humor. He spoke on the subject of integrity but also displayed his kind heart and rambling speaking style which is not conducive to winning debates or making his points have the desired impact.

Things are heating up in all areas of the media field as rapid technological changes give one little time to relax.

But that's what makes life challenging. The changes and opportunities they bring.

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Columnist JACK STAPELTON...in his most recent news letter listed the following Show Me data:

1) In Missouri the number of families on welfare has declined from 91,000 in the last three years to 66,274.

2) That 13.9% of Missouri's population is without health insurance;

3) That the St. Louis light rail system (Metro link) which has a basic fare of $1.00 loses 80 cents on every passenger "and has been so successful it is losing money by the bushelsful". Plans are underway to see if St. Louis residents will double sales tax payments allocated for transportation to bail out the system and allow expansion.

And don't think...along with more outstate money to help with the mostly self imposed cost of failed desegregation-education efforts...that the urban areas aren't eyeing the Missouri state revenue pool.

~Gary Rust is president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.