48 Hours

Joyce Rudolph

So, you’re faced with a free weekend and haven’t made any plans. Well,

sit back, relax and listen to some of the suggestions we can make for

you.

If you’ve got kids, Burbank should be the first stop on your list.

Chuck E. Cheese restaurant opened Tuesday at 930 N. San Fernando Blvd.,

in the Kmart shopping center. What a great family attraction to add to

this community.

We celebrated my niece Rochelle’s 11th birthday party at the Valencia

location. It’s great because there’s a stage show with Chuck E.’s

friends. The characters, installed with robotic gadgetry, move, blink

their eyes and play musical instruments to a prerecorded audio tape. That

kept my infant nephew Robert charmed for hours.

Then, there’s the pizza. Being our family’s official pizza

afficionado, I highly recommend the pepperoni, and the tasty cheese

topping here is the only one Rochelle will eat.

The new Burbank restaurant offers an updated stage show, different

than others in the area, says General Manager Kyle Floyd, a six-year

veteran of the parent company CEC Entertainment, Inc.

Chuck E. is the only robotic character on stage and the movements are

more lifelike, Kyle says, and Chuck E.’s friends are animated and

projected on TV monitors.

The Blue Screen at the Burbank location is also a new concept. Kyle

says kids can get in front of the screen and their image becomes part of

the animation projected on the TV monitors.

Also at Burbank’s location is a new control panel that allows kids to

pan the sky cams (overhead cameras) around the restaurant. Kids can

zoom-in on their parents at their table and on their friends in the game

room.

Of course, Burbank also offers the Chuck E. Cheese’s signature

activities -- video games, kiddie rides and the sky tubes, which are

strong enough to hold adults, Kyle tells me.

Aside from providing a popular family attraction, the restaurant is

increasing employment opportunities in town. Kyle has hired between 30

and 40 Burbank and Burroughs high school students to work part time. They

are trained to run the birthday parties, fix the games and don mascot

costumes to greet guests.

“For many, it’s their first job,” Kyle says. “It’s a great training

program. It gives them a chance to develop a good work ethic. It takes a

right attitude to clean up behind people. They are also creating people

skills, which prepares them for almost any job down the road.”

Kyle complimented Burbank on the high number of well-mannered teens he

was able to choose from. He had between 60 and 70 applicants, and most

were great candidates. He has kept many on a list to be called at a later

time.

The restaurant’s specialty is homemade pizza and prices range from

under $5 for an individual pie a mom and child can split to a $19 supreme

with 12 slices. It also has a salad bar featuring a huge selection of

fresh veggie toppings, sandwiches and bread sticks.

Admission is free. For party package information and reservations,

call the Birthday Line at 841-3453. Hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday

through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday. Today because of the

New Year’s Day holiday, the restaurant hours will be from 10 a.m. to 6

p.m. The regular hours resume on Sunday.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Kids can interact with Elmo software at Zany Brainy

Zany Brainy in Glendale is offering youngsters 3 to 5 a close-up look

at the new Elmo Animation software “The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland”

at 2 p.m. today and Sunday.

Friday is the kickoff for a Pokemon Play Weekend. Beginning at 7 p.m.,

ages 8 to 13 can join in the Pokemon card playing fun. Starting at 2 p.m.

Jan. 8 and 9, ages 4 and older can continue Pokemon play, get a free Mew

card and create their own Pokemon players. There’s no need to bring your

own cards.

Later this month, Curious George fans can meet the famous book

character at 11 a.m. on Jan. 22.

Zany Brainy is at 201 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. For information, call

243-5077.

Early morning walk eases resolution to keep fit

Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge welcomes early risers to

usher in the year 2000 with a morning walk. Robin Sease will help others

keep to their New Year’s resolution to keep fit by conducting the 8 a.m.

walk along 1/5 miles of hiking trails in Descanso Gardens. Hot coffee and

a snack will precede the exercise. Cost is $18 and $13 for guild members.

Admission to the gardens is $5 adults; $3 seniors and students; $1 ages 5

to 12; and under 5 free.

Viennese New Year’s celebration re-created by Pasadena Symphony

Montrose resident Jorge Mester leads the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra

in a re-creation of the world famous Viennese New Year’s celebration at 8

tonight at the Pasadena Civic.

“Salute to Vienna” is inspired by Vienna’s world famous

Neujahrskonzert, which is televised each year to an estimated 1.2 billion

viewers around the world and hosted by veteran broadcaster Walter

Cronkite.

The concert at the Pasadena Civic will celebrate the life and musical

works of Johann Strauss Jr., Vienna’s own “Waltz King.” The repertoire

will feature favorite Strauss waltzes, polkas and marches, under the

baton of musical director/conductor Mester.

Soloists are soprano Anna Maria Pammer and tenor Otoniel Gonzaga from

the Vienna State Opera performing operetta excerpts and light arias.

Members of the San Diego Ballet in costume will perform the Viennese

Waltzes on stage.

A New Year’s celebration continues after the concert with a gala

reception featuring a taste of Sacher torte, the original Imperial torte

flown in from Vienna and a glass of sparkling wine. A cash bar will be

open all evening.

Tickets are $45 to $70 and are available through Ticketmaster agencies

by calling (213) 365-3500. Tickets for the post-concert Viennese

reception are $35 and are available at the Pasadena Civic box office, 300

E. Green St., Pasadena.

THEATER ARTS

‘You Can’t Take It With You’ at Glendale Centre Theatre

The comedy, “You Can’t Take It With You,” by Moss Hart and George S.

Kaufman, opened this week at the Glendale Centre Theatre.

Winner of the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Best Play and the 1938 Academy

Award for Best Motion Picture, this was the first time a production had

been awarded both these prizes.

The play is at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays with a 2 p.m.

matinee on Saturdays. Tickets range from $14 to $16. It continues through

Feb. 12.

For tickets, call 244-8481. Glendale Centre Theatre is at 324 N.

Orange St., Glendale.

‘Twelfth Dog Night’ continues at Falcon Theatre

The Troubadour Theatre Company is producing “Twelfth Dog Night,” a

madcap combination of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and the rock ‘n’ roll

of the ‘70s pop band 3 Dog Night, at The Falcon Theatre in Burbank.

Songs such as “Joy to the World,” “One is the Loneliest Number,” and

“Just an Old Fashioned Love Song,” help tell the tale of Shakespeare’s

star-crossed lovers and their entourage of comic buffoons.

The Falcon stage will be filled with slapstick comedy appropriate for

the whole family. There will be actors on stilts, trampolines and

scaffolds, clowns, musicians who sing and dance and trip and flip their

way through this tale.

Tickets are $12. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2

p.m. Sunday. The production continues through Jan. 16. The Falcon Theater

is at 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. There is free on-site parking. For

tickets, call 955-8101.

Las Vegas-style show at Beyond the Stars Palace

Beyond the Stars Palace in Glendale is offering a unique dinner

theater production with music and dancing from around the world

Wednesdays through Sundays.

“Russian Extreme” features 26 famed Russian dancers in colorful

costumes in addition to daring circus acts, slapstick magicians, clowns

and audience participation.

Music in the show, spans the gamut from techno, jazz, Latin, ambient,

modern Jewish dance and even an African number with the “I Dream of

Jeannie” theme laced throughout. Another favorite number include a modern

dance version of “Back in the USSR.”

For dinner, there is an array of appetizers such as smoked fish and

meats, caviar, sushi, dolma, liver pate, vegetarian dishes and salads.

Entrees include baked salmon in a pastry shell, Saltimbocca, Chicken

Kiev, Beef Stroganoff and others. A variety of desserts is offered and a

full bar. After the show, dancing to a live band continues until 2 a.m.

Prices range from $48 to $75, which covers the food, show, dancing,

tax and tip. Valet parking is available.

For reservations, call 500-0151. Beyond the Stars Palace is at 417 1/2

N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Shows start at 8 p.m. Wedneday through

Saturday. On Sunday, doors open at 5 p.m. The palace is taking

reservations for New Year’s Eve.

ART EXHIBITS

Artists and interior designers have combined their works in a special

exhibit at the Boddy House of Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge

through Sunday.

Interior designers have festively decorated rooms of the Boddy House

for the holidays and matched paintings of local artists to enhance the

each room.

The show features more than 80 paintings by 34 artists. All the

artists are members of the Descanso Gardens Guild, a volunteer support

group of the facility. Twenty-five percent of the sales go to the guild

to support the gardens.

The Boddy House is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Descanso Gardens is

open every day from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults; $3

seniors and students; $1 ages 5 to 12; and 5 and under free. Descanso

Gardens is at 1418 Descanso Drive in La Canada Flintridge. For

information, call 952-4401.

LIVE MUSIC

Eat dinner at Jax, a jazz joint

Jax Bar and Grill is a supper club and jazz joint. Today its Jim

Szlzagyi and Sunday Dead Ringer takes the spotlight. Jax has live

entertainment from 8 p.m. to midnight on Mondays; 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Tuesdays through Thursdays; 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays;

and 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. on Sundays. Dinner is served until 1 a.m.

Happy Hour jazz is Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jax

is at 339 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. For information, call 500-1604.

If you have press releases for the 48 Hours column, please call

features editor Joyce Rudolph at 637-3241 or fax them to 241-1975.