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Chingy's ‘Right Thurr’ wm a. m. m... j PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK Music artist Chingy perfoms a shortened set in front of a packed crowd in the Russell House on Wednesday night. The performance was cut short by the building’s fire alarm going off. Ragtime CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 deliver dialogue, but not very often. And although the play has a strong message about racism and discrimination in America, that message — as well as the plot — are always second to the real star of the play, the ragtime songs. Particularly strong players include Tateh (Chip Stubbs) and Mother (Laurel Posey). Tateh is entirely convincing as a Latvian immigrant, and performs all of his songs admirably—especial ly his opener “Journey On” with Mother and Father (Jimmy Moon). Mother is the most sympa thetic character in the play, and Ms. Posey imbues the charac ter with the mix of strength and uncertainty that the role calls for. But the production’s strongest scenes still belong to -Coalhouse and Sarah. It is im possible not to be moved when they sing the love song “Sarah Brown Eyes.” Before the show, the vice president of Workshop Theatre’s Board of Trustees in formed the audience that USC has purchased the theater’s land. They are raising capital, hoping to move into a larger building, and they do not know how many more seasons they will have at their current loca tion. Make sure that you make the trip out to see “Ragtime” in the next week, because it may be your last chance to see Workshop Theatre do so much with very little. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor((ihotmail.com Crystal reprises role as Oscar host for 67th annual show BY ANTHONY BREZNICAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. - Billy Crystal is planning a reunion with Oscar. ' The star of “City Slickers” and “Throw Momma from the Train” said Wednesday he has signed on to' host the Academy Awards for the eighth time. “Hello boys,” Crystal said at a news confer ence at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after leaping astride two enormous stat ues of the Oscar figurine. “I’m really excited about com ing back,” Crystal said about re suming his hosting job for the first time in three years. “I’ve had a nice, long sleep.” He declined to offer any early speculation about who may win this year’s top awards. “I don’t go to the movies,” he deadpanned. “Have you seen what they’ve become?” Crystal, who often launches the Oscar ceremony with a song-and dance number poking fun at the top nominees, has won Emmys for his Oscar-hosting performances in 1991,1992 and 1998. Like the late Bob Hope, who hosted the show 18 times, Crystal is a favorite of TV critics who praise his easygoing style as master of ceremonies Crystal last hosted and the touch of class the Oscars In 2000. he brings along with This will be his eighth the laughs, time hosting. Since he last host photo special to ed in 2000, when the gamecock “American Beauty” was the best-picture winner, two other comedians have handled the responsibility: Whoopi Goldberg once and Steve Martin twice. The upcoming Oscar show on Feb. 29, 2004, will mark another collaboration between Crystal and movie producer Joe Roth, who is overseeing the telecast. They pre viously worked together on the 2001 comedy “America’s Sweethearts.” Roth told reporters that wh he agreed to produce the 76th Academy Awards, Crystal was “the one and only call to make.” Crystal said he has one tradi tion whenever he appears at the Oscars: He carries a toothbrush in his jacket pocket. As a child growing up on Long Island, the 55-year-old said he’d re hearse Oscar speeches in the bath room mirror while holding his toothbrush like an award. “I always carry it” while host ing, Crystal said. “It’s not the one I grew up with as a kid - I’m do ing better than that — but it’s a great remembrance to not forget where your love of performing started.” Harry Potter ads appeal to people of every age BY HILLEL ITALIE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK - The ad shows a tattooed biker, scowling and shag gy-haired, against a harsh back drop of blue and black. “Flying cars. Fire Whiskey. Death Eaters,” reads the caption above the picture. At the bottom, next to the catch phrase “We all have our reasons. What’s yours?” comes the real pitch: “There’s some pretty tough stuff in Harry Potter — bad guys so bad they’re called Death Eaters. That’s one of the wicked reasons even bikers think Harry Potter is cool enough to ride with them.” Having already conquered the children’s market, Scholastic, Inc., the U.S. publisher of J.K. Rowling’s multimillion-selling series, is tar geting adults, ages 18 to 35. Potter ads featuring bikers, skateboard ers and couch potatoes will appear in Rolling Stone and other maga zines throughout October. “We felt we needed to think out of the box and reach out to read ers who would not normally pick up a copy of Harry Potter unless somebody placed it in their hands,” Barbara Marcus, presi dent of Scholastic Children’s Books, told The Associated Press on Tuesday, a day before the pub lisher was to officially announce the new campaign. Besides Rolling Stone, the pro motions also will run in US Weekly, Outside Magazine and Time Out New York, the only one of the four magazines in which Scholastic has advertised before. The image is new, but Marcus says the covers of the Potter books will not be changed. “We think the covers are great,” nounced print run of 9.3 million and approaches the 11.3 million hardcover total of Potter IV, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” published three years ago. And grown-ups have long been an important market for the Potter books, with a consumer study re leased in 2000 showing that 43 per cent of purchases were made by iviaxuuo oajo. just want the ad campaign to pique the interest of adult readers enough so that they pick up the books.” Rival publish ers say they have never heard of a “We just want the ad campaign to pique the interest of adult readers enough so that they picl up the books.” BARBARA MARCUS PRESIDENT OF SCHOLASTIC CHILDREN’S BOOKS “But there’s i6 i strong 18 to 35 demo [ graphic that may not have come into contact with Harry, peo UUUUiCll & UUU1V uc ing advertised in such a way, but praise Scholastic for doing so. “It sounds very funny and witty,” says Lisa Holton, senior vice pres ident and publisher of Disney’s children’s books division. “I think it’s fabulous Scholastic is going after that audience.... A lot of us, I would think, are rooting for Scholastic to do really well.” Statistics released Tuesday by Scholastic make you wonder how many readers are left to reach. Sales for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth of a planned seven Potter books by Rowling, have reached 11 million just three months after publica tion. That well exceeds the an pic W 11V_/ pi \_>u ably don’t have children,” Marcus says. “What we’re saying is: Harry Potter is for someone who likes to shop, likes to read gossip columns, likes to have fun with their books.’” One ad shows a dark-eyed wom an wearing a sheer, sleeveless dress and shopping for shoes. “There are some pretty styl' things in Harry Potter — inv.j 5* bility cloaks, i.e., the only item that goes with everything in a girl’s closet,” the caption reads. “That’s just one of the fabulous reasons so many fashionistas are totally cool with being seen toting Harry Potter.” 46th Grammy Awards to return to Los Angeles LOS ANGELES (AP) - After shifting to the Big Apple, the Grammy Awards are coming back to the City of Angels. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences an nounced Tuesday that its 46th an nual ceremony honoring the best of music will take place at the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 8. Mayor James Hahn said the an nouncement was “great news for our City of Angels and reaffirms our place as the entertainment capital of the world.” The Grammys, which once fre quently bounced back and forth ’S' , * between the two cities, settled in Los Angeles for four consecutive years, from 1998-2002. That was due in part to Michael Greene, the former head of the Grammy orga nization. He had a much-publi cized feud with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who had accused Greene of unleashing.a stream of obscenities at a mayoral staffer in 1998. Within days of current Mayor Michael Broomberg’s 2001 elec tion, Greene began talks to return the show to New York, and the ceremony took place in Madison Square Garden last February. Greene himself has since stepped down amid investigations of alleged sexual harassment, even though the Grammy organization said he was cleared at " wrongdoing. , Current Grammy chief Neil Portnow said in a statement he was “delighted” that the show is back in Los Angeles. Along with an economic boost, the Grammys also bring a month long series of festivities before the telecast that includes perfor mances, exhibits, workshops and educational events. CBS will telecast the Grammy Awards live. Nominees were to be announced Dec. 4 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. October-6,8,15,20, 22,&27 (7-9 pm) Brought to you by. Pre-Professional Advising 803-777-5581 *Ca? to Regsterby October 1st