Midnight. Not a sound from the pavement. Suddenly an explosion of music and lights reveals a larger than life junkyard. Probing car lights tear across the darkened landscape of bottles and boxes, briefly catching the darting image of a running feline. Tonight is the one special night each year when the tribe of Jellicle Cats reunites to celebrate who they are. This is the story of “Cats.”

The Endowment Committee for the Cultural Arts of Fayette County presents an Evening of American Song this Saturday. The program features the vocal talents of Peachtree City residents Bill Killmeier and Cynthia Van Wert with pianist Bill Callaway of Covington. Appearing with these professional performers will be the McIntosh High School Select Girls Chorus under the direction of Dr. Frank Green. The concert, made possible by the support of The Home Source Realtors and Talbot State Bank, will be held at the McIntosh High School Performing Arts Center beginning at 7:00 p.m.

“Glory Road” is the true story of the Texas Western University basketball team being led by coach Don Haskins to the 1966 NCAA championship. The team featured five African American starters, making it the first such team in history to secure the title with its win over the all-white Kentucky Wildcats.

Queen Latifah is not new to the silver screen. She has had minor and major roles in films of varying quality, everything from a winning turn in “Chicago,” to playing a security guard in the incredibly awful “The Cookout.” Her performance in “Last Holiday,” the new film from Wayne Wang, is the best of her career and should lead to more leading roles for her. She proves herself to be a fine actress with endearing charm and beauty. Surrounded by a good script, an excellent supporting cast and a sure handed director, Latifah gives the world the first solid hit of 2006.

*** 1/2

Hoodwinked is Little Red Riding Hood with some new characters that add new excitement to the story. I especially liked that it used other fairy tale characters such as the Three Little Pigs, Fuzzy Wuzzy, and Peter Cottontail remade as Boingo the Bunny. Granny also has a whole new bag, and it’s not filled with goodies-it’s filled with extremes!

The moment has finally arrived for the Frederick Brown, Jr. Amphitheater to announce their series one line up for the 2006 season.

Parade through Fayetteville to take place Monday

The Fayette County Branch of the NAACP and the Fayette County Board of Education will host the Second Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Parade on Monday. The parade is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. going south on Hwy. 85 in downtown Fayetteville. The parade route will then go west on Hwy. 54 and head to Lafayette Trail. According to representatives for the NAACP, last year’s first parade, which was held at Starr’s Mill High School, was an outstanding success with over five hundred participants. As with last year’s event, a post-parade program is planned to take place at F.A. Sams Auditorium, 205 Lafayette Ave., Fayetteville beginning at 11 a.m.

Throughout the month of January, Piedmont Fayette Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Fitness Center is waiving its $50 initiation fee for new members. The Rehabilitation and Fitness Center offers a variety of healthy-living resources for Fayette residents to start living a healthier and happier life.

Touchstone Pictures’ new film “Casanova” tells the story of the legendary lover of the same name.

Apart from his romantic conquests, the real Casanova claims to have acted as a soldier, magician, clergyman, outlaw, inventor, diplomat, writer, musician and lawyer in his 73 years.

It’s the beginning of a brand-new year, and that means a whole array of things to see and do in the Southern Crescent. Plays, concerts, school functions and festivals will rapidly fill calendars with functions for young and old alike. Below is the lineup for a few area groups who want to entertain locals this year.

What is the difference between a good horror movie and a bad one? Why does “Wolf Creek” work, while “House of Wax,” the remake with Paris Hilton, which is basically the same story, stink to high heaven?

With great lineups from The Villages and The Fred, a wide range of community theatre productions, and school plays and concerts abounding, 2005 kept area residents busy.

Since “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary” are among my favorite comedies, my ears perk up whenever I hear the words, “the Farrelly Brothers.” Though they didn’t write or direct “The Ringer,” they helped get it made. It may not be a grand slam of a comedy hit but there are plenty of laughs and even more reasons to see it.

“Memoirs of a Geisha” tells the story of Chiyo, an orphaned girl who, at the age of 9, is separated from her sister and sold to a geisha house as a maid where she is treated cruelly by the head geisha Hatsumomo, who is wildly jealous of Chiyo’s beauty. When Chiyo is taken under the wing of Hatsumomo’s rival, she is transformed into the legendary geisha Sayuri.

Mr. and Mrs. Alger Haselrig of Clinton, Md. announce the engagement of their daughter, Kia Maria Haselrig, to Chinenye Obioma Oparah, son of Dr. and Mrs. Bernard Oparah of Fayetteville.

So far, there have been 276 movies to open at U.S. box offices this year. Between today and next week there will be an additional 12 films to open.

Keep in mind that I’m writing this article before screening any of the films that arrive right at the end of the year for Oscar consideration, so I may have a different opinion of my “best film of the year” by then. I have selected my top 10 films of 2005 though, based upon what I saw, either in the theater or on DVD.

Christmas is a time families gather together to spend time with one another making memories to be recalled for years to come. It can be the most wonderful or miserable time of any person’s year, and often is both.

Peter Jackson is a masterful director and his name now truly deserves to be mentioned with the greats. He proved it with the amazing “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and he proves it yet again with a remake of “King Kong,” the movie he says inspired him to become a director.

*****

Move over Lion King, there’s a new ape in town!

This is no Mighty Joe Young. This is more incredible than The Incredibles. More swinging than Spiderman. More gigantic than George of the Jungle! More terrific than Tarzan! It’s the one, the only, KING KONG!!!

Visit the 100 Acre Wood where Winnie the Pooh and the rest of the gang will try to find Eeyore's tail in time for the festive Christmas Eve Party. Fayette Coweta Family Theatre, Inc. will put on three more presentations of their children's musical "A Winnie The Pooh Christmas Tail" on Wednesday, Dec. 21. This show was originally presented as a "Dessert Theatre" in Fayetteville on Dec. 3 and 4. Due to the positive response garnered from these first shows, the production will now travel to Peachtree City for three more "show only" performances.

The Newnan Theatre Company will hold its final performances of their 2006 holiday production, “Oliver!” this weekend. The show, which opened December 2, has been so popular that the company has added a matinee performance to this final weekend. “Food Glorious Food” and “Where is Love” are just two of the popular songs you can hear this weekend from Lionel Bart’s lively musical based on Charles Dickens' “Oliver Twist.”

As a child, my father read the complete series of "The Chronicles of Narnia" to me and my siblings. I always loved how C.S. Lewis described such a fantastic world opened through the back of a wardrobe, and as I grew older I was always a bit surprised that there had been no feature films based on the beloved children's story. So when I heard that Douglas Gresham, the step-son of Lewis, was the co-producer on a major motion picture based on "The Chronicles" I was quite excited!

If I read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” as a child, it didn’t stick with me and I didn’t read the other books in the series. I did pick up all seven books before the movie came out last week and finished the first book before I screened the film last Friday. I was very impressed how closely the film stayed to the book and that is exceptionally rare in book to film adaptations. In fact, I was slightly more impressed with this film than I was with the latest Harry Potter film, which I felt was very good.

“The Chronicles of Narnia” is magical.

After their mother sends them away to be safe from the war that’s happening in their country, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy find themselves being taken to live with Mrs. MacReady. She has a personality like poisoned honey. Soon after they get in the house they try to make their new home fun by playing a game of hide and seek. Lucy can’t seem to find a good hiding place til she goes in a room with a mysterious wardrobe. She goes into the wardrobe and finds herself in Narnia, a magical place that is as white as snow!

Southside Theatre Guild presents holiday favorite

Is he really Santa Claus or isn’t he?

That’s the mystery at the center of Southside Theatre Guild’s production of “Miracle on 34th Street,” and the answer, of course, lies in the heart of children and others who are young at heart.

Each year since 2000, the families and members of Heritage Christian Church dust off their best 19th Century clothing and brush up on their British accents as they prepare for their annual Dickens Village. Dickens Village has become one of Fayette County’s most popular holiday attractions with its live stage show, shops, and charming townsfolk that help local residents and even some out of state guests get into the holiday spirit.

I really wanted to avoid “Aeon Flux,” which wasn’t pre-screened for critics and that usually means “P.U.” So, I decided to take in the film “Just Friends,” a romantic comedy set in New Jersey at Christmas.

Originated as a MTV animation series, “Aeon Flux” hit theaters last Friday starring a svelte Charlize Theron. This sci-fi flick takes place 400 years from now after 99 percent of the world’s population has been wiped out by disease.

Jane Austen’s classic novel “Pride and Prejudice” has seen many adaptations and reinventions since it was first published in 1813. The novel portrays life in the rural society of the day and tells the story of a young, headstrong woman, Elizabeth Bennet, and her initial distaste for and eventual love of the proud Mr. Darcy.