Patti Page sings; museum style
True pop royalty will grace the stage in Waltham this weekend. The one and only Miss Patti Page "The Singing Rage," who sold records as fast as Elvis during the early days of rock-n-roll, will perform hits old and new for three shows. The concert is part of The Reagle Players
Page's rise to fame is the classic rags to rock 'n' roll riches story. Born Clara Ann Fowler in 1927 in Claremore, she was one of 11 children. Her father labored for the railroad. Her mother picked cotton. They all struggled to get by in hard times. So at age 13, when Page went to the local radio station, all she was looking for was a summer job that would pay.
"I thought the radio station could offer me a job in their art department, because that's what I wanted to be, was an artist," says Page. But the program director had seen her sing at a school assembly and suggested that she record a sample tape in their studio instead.
"So I did just that and they never did call me for the art department, but they called me for a singing job," says Page.
That job was as the new "Patti" for the "Patti Page Show" sponsored by Page Milk. A few years later, band manager Jack Rael checked into a Tulsa hotel, turned on the radio, and heard Page's candy cane voice sweetening the air waves. He hooked her up with the Jimmy Joy Band and then Mercury Records, and the rest is rock 'n' roll history.
She hit No. 1 in 1948 with "Confess." Then with winners like "Tennessee Waltz," "That Doggie in the Window," and "All My Love," Page became the best-selling female artist of her day.
Despite her 15 gold records, her own TV shows, and 111 chart hits, Page remains as humble as she is successful.
"Never in a million years" did she expect to become so popular, she says. "And that's probably why the wonderment of it is still there. All of the things that happened to me in my career were not planned. I didn't have that aspiration to be a star."
Today Page continues to record and perform for loyal fans here (and in Asia she's popular with the college crowd). She won a Grammy for her 1998 album, "Live at Carnegie Hall." Her second children's album, "Child of Mine," came out last year. A new gospel album is in the works.
At the Waltham show, a full orchestra will back her still-gleaming voice. Afterward, she heads back to her New Hampshire maple farm where she spends time with her 13 grandchildren.
There her husband puts out a line of syrups and pancake mixes that all bear her name --yet another surprise in the life of Miss Page.
"I never had any aspirations to be a pancake person or a singer," she laughs.
Patti Page performs Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Robinson Theatre in Waltham High School, 617 Lexington St. Tickets are $37, or $35 for seniors and $20 for ages 17 and under. Call 781-891-5600 or visit www.reagleplayers.com.
FASHION MEETS FINE ART -- Forget Milan. Forget the glitterati. Pooh-pooh the Prada. The DeCordova Style 2004 Runway Show presents passes over Paris for one-of-a-kind wearables made by some of the finest area clothing artists.
Now in its 10th year, this glammed-up art event opens next Thursday with a cocktail party fashion show. Swaggering down the runway in everything from elegant evening wraps to skirt suits will be more than the usual dour divas.
"Rather than models, we use gallery directors, fairly well-known Boston artists, trustees, people from the community. They get into it. We don't get people with small personalities," says David Duddy, director of retail operations. "It adds a whole flavor of a big party."
This year's raves include the elaborate, pieced polar fleece coats, hats, and gloves made by Cindy Walsh of Framingham. From Woolwich, Maine, Rebekah Younger presents beautiful, delicate, form-fitting knit ensembles in angelic pastels and rich jewel tones. Boston-based Claudia Mills updates rag-weaving with colorful purses twined together from suede and cotton.
All told, over 30 artists will present everything from jewelry and scarves to full outfits. Prices range from about $60 to $900 (members' discounts apply). So why be here and not in Paris?
"Although this isn't cheap clothing, it's way more affordable than Armani. It's a local event," says Duddy. The exhibition/sale continues through the weekend.
The show is Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in the gallery adjacent to The Store @ DeCordova, 51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln. The exhibition/sale continues through September 26. Exhibition hours are Friday and Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Sunday 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Show tickets are $40. The exhibition is free. Call 781-259-8692 or e-mail thestore@decordova.org.
A FRIENDLY FESTIVAL --Any festival that includes a sushi stand by Sudbury's Oishii Too, one of the best sushi spots in the area, already gets a star in my book. But the Sudbury Day Festival goes on to offer a full day of entertainment, numerous ethnic food stalls, unusual kid's activities, and an interactive pavilion where you can learn to hula or salsa dance.
The festival began three years ago, when a few residents decided the town needed an event that would create community.
"Sudbury is a place where there are not a lot of sidewalks and the houses are very far apart," says festival committee member Ellen Gitelman. "Also, people from all over the world live here, so the idea was to celebrate the diversity in the town."
Since then the event has grown. "It's a little different than a lot of town days, which usually celebrate just things that are in the town," says Gitelman. "Now it's more of a celebration of the whole area's culture. We draw in people from beyond the town and help them think about the world around them."
Entertainment at this Saturday's festival spans the globe. The day starts off with tienne (tienne McGinley of Cambridge), a Sorbonne-trained, acrobatic clown who tells jokes and plays tuba while balancing on a ladder (you know, just the usual stuff). Celia Ayala y Su Ballet Folklorico Cultural, a Boston-based group, performs Puerto Rican bomba.
Four on the Floor, an acclaimed Cape Breton step dance quartet, will be followed by Great Meadows Morris and Sword, a group of Boston-area teens that specialize in this traditional English dance. Classical Cambodian court dance by Lowell's Angkor Dance Troupe then leads into the ever-energetic Congolese Soukous rhythms of Rumbafrica.
Besides free crafts and interactive events, kids can take part in an educational scavenger hunt for geography facts. Also, $10 buys a passport to the kid's pavilion where they can dig for rare gems, explore the Artic, and more.
Sudbury Day is Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. in Sudbury Center (at Route 27 and Concord Road). Call for parking locations. Admission is free. Rain location: Peter Noyes Elementary School, 280 Old Sudbury Road. Call 978-443-8891 ext. 386 or visit www.sudbury.ma.us/committees/sudburyday.
AFTER-HOURS ART -- In a way, Zullo Gallery's annual "Juried Exhibition," functions as the community theater of fine art.
Just as there are numerous talented actors who pursue theater in their spare time, many of the area's gifted fine artists too have other careers that allow them little canvas time. But all you need is one good piece to get into the "Juried Exhibition."
This year's show presents 46 works mainly by local artists, chosen from more than 160 works submitted. Though some are established artists, like Christopher Barnes of Maine, whose photographic works are also at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, many are part-timers whose work is usually hidden from the public.
"The show gives us such an opportunity to find new people at any point in their career. Some are just starting out. Some are just getting back into it. Others are very talented but don't produce enough work for a solo show," says gallery director Bill Pope.
Most of the pieces are oil or watercolor paintings, but the similarities end here. The paintings run from the bizarre to the sedate and the realistic to the abstract, which makes for a dynamic show.
"It's just a wonderful, exciting show visually to look at. You'll get some really, big wild pieces, and then as you go around the gallery things get quiet and then a little, wonderful piece pokes up," says Pope. "At single-artist shows, it's a more reflective, quiet experience, but at this show it's more like you're entertained."
Among the many artists exhibiting are Michelle Berti, Monica Bushnell, Jeremy McDermott, Susan Termyn, and Marcia Trahan of Medfield, as well as Shelly Eager of Franklin and Sue Gilkey, Sally Hinkley, and Eleanor Holmes of Millis.
The "11th Juried Exhibition" runs from tomorrow through Oct. 31 at Zullo Gallery, 456A Main St. (Route 109), Medfield. Hours are Saturday and Sunday noon-5 p.m. The opening reception is on September 25, 7-9 p.m. Admission is free. Call 508-359-3711.
Please send news of your arts-related events to westarts@globe.com.
