Published on Friday, November 17, 1995
© 1995 The Arizona Republic

Byline: MICHAEL CLANCY AND DOLORES TROPIANO, The Arizona Republic

Arizona Opera's Salome, in the midst of four performances in downtown Phoenix, features the erotic Dance of the Seven Veils, which -- in at least the Thursday and Saturday performances by Deborah Raymond -- features nudity. Raymond's counterpart in the title role, Nina Warren-Smith, who performs in tonight's and Sunday's shows, has chosen not to strip but, rather, to wear a body stocking. According to Arizona Opera's Monica Barrows, the opera had expected, and received, several calls during its Tucson run from people objecting to nudity. But on Wednesday, there was a call objecting not to the nudity, but the lack thereof. The caller, Barrows said, had attended a Warren-Smith show and insisted that nudity was crucial during the dance. She wants her money back.
GET THE WAITER: Yep, that was Dennis Farina, one of the stars of the current hit movie Get Shorty, dining at Marco Polo Supper Club at Shea and Pima on Tuesday night. He has a home in the neighborhood. . . . We hear Merle Haggard knocked 'em dead last weekend at Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion, where he performed in a firefighters benefit. Reader Rose Waters, who says Haggard has helped out Valley charities before, said the show ''was awesome.'' . . . The crew of the current Atlantis space-shuttle mission, will be in the Valley for the MicroAge Fiesta Bowl Parade on Dec. 30. Ken Cameron, James Halsell, Chris Hadfield, Jerry Ross and William McArthur will participate, as have their colleagues in six previous years.
EDITOR EXITING: Phoenix Home and Garden editor Mary Chesterfield is leaving the position at the end the year. Lila Harnett, co-publisher and one of the mag's founders, will take over. ''Mary came in and did a wonderful job for us. Now that she wants to move on, I think it is a wonderful time to take a look at the area's changing nature and reflect it,'' she said. . . . American Indian Art Magazine, a quarterly published in Scottsdale, celebrates 20 years with its Winter 1995 issue. Owner Mary Hamilton has been with the magazine almost the entire time. Designer Marcia Sewell has been on the staff 18 years, and editor Roanne Goldfein has been on board 17 years.
JOKE ON FIFE: Good line from KEZ Radio's Beth McDonald, who emceed the Downtown Phoenix Partnership's second annual DREAMR Awards luncheon Wednesday. She joked that Gov. Fife Symington would have been there but was busy repainting the Mercado. . . . For an investigative report on home-health-care workers, Dateline NBC outfitted a Scottsdale apartment with hidden cameras. The resulting footage, which airs at 8 tonight on Channel 12 (KPNX), shows local workers administering medicine incorrectly, arriving late, leaving early, sleeping on the job and stealing. . . . CBS will be in downtown Phoenix on Monday to film Richard Donley Fox's Christmas tree at the Rosson House. The news segment, which features ornament designer Christopher Radko, will air on the morning of Christmas Eve. Thirty of Fox's rarest Radko ornaments (valued at $500 to $1,500 each) will be on display at Phoenix Art Museum's gift shop during December. . . . What do you do after losing a 63-minute, triple-overtime basketball game? Chow down on a big hunk of red meat, that's what. Charles Barkley and his party of six, as well as Jerry Colangelo and his new baseball manager, Buck Showalter, dined late Wednesday at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse on Camelback.

Color photos (2)

1) Dennis Farina 2) Richard Donley Fox