WASHINGTON POST MONDAY, JANUARY 13,1997
For Inauguration Celebration, A Group of Diverse Diversions
By Roxanne Roberts
Washington Post Staff Writer
How's this for diversity?! Elie Wiesel and Elmo, a great
thinker and a great tickle, will help President Clinton celebrate
his second inauguration.
A wide variety of speakers and performers, ranging from
Nobel Peace laureate Wiesel to the fuzzy red Sesame Street
sensation, will appear next weekend at "An American Journey," two
days of free, pre-inauguration festivities that will be presented
on the Mall.
Wiesel, Harvard University professor Cornel West, historian
Ken Burns, actress Whoopi Goldberg, feminist Betty Friedan and
pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton are among the "great thinkers"
scheduled to discuss issues and share their life stories, the
Presidential Inaugural Committee announced yesterday.
"When I first read about it in the paper--the thinkers
talking about some of the big issues and possibilities--I
thought,'That's great,' " Friedan said yesterday. "Then I
thought,"As usual, they're not going to invite women," but they
did. It was women who elected Clinton. I was terribly pleased to
be invited. I think I should have been invited, and I was!"
If Friedan is pleased, Elmo must be tickled. The preschool
icon will share the spotlight with Barney, the famous purple
dinosaur; rhythm and blues singer Chaka Khan; rock band, Little
Feat; folk legends Peter, Paul and Mary; the Count Basie
Orchestra; former Greatful Dead guitarist Bob Weir; the Gay men's
chorus of Washington; television's "Science Guy," Bill Nye;
Nashville Bluegrass; and dozens of singers, dancers and
storytellers.
"What this is intended to do is achieve two goals: to get
people thinking and talking about the American Journey, and how
we've gotten to this historic point, and top give people a really
fun celebration that everyone can enjoy," said David Seldin,
deputy press secretary for the Inaugural Committee.
The speakers and entertainers, selected to appeal to adults
and children, will perform in huge, heated tents on the Mall and
at the Holocaust Memorial Museum and three Smithsonian museums.
The lineup also is intended to generate some excitement for
an inauguration that thus far, sorely lacks the kind of
enthusiasm that greeted Clintons' first inauguration in 1993.
The much-touted "great thinkers," an innovation designed to
create a dialog between leading Americans and the public, is
dear to the hearts of inaugural organizers and Clinton.
The program is not complete, which means that organizers
are doing some last-minute wooing of big name talent. The
Inaugural Committee hinted last month that Oprah Winfree and
Microsoft founder Bill Gates might be a part of the festivities,
but their names have not popped up on list. About six more
speakers to be announced later in the week.
The speakers will be on hand Saturday and Sunday in the
American Journey tent on the Mall and Sunday only at the
Holocaust Memorial Museum. Saturday's lineup includes Burns,
creator of the celebrated "Civil War" and baseball series on
public television actor Avery Brooks performing Paul Robeson"
and actor Laurence Luckinbill portraying Clarence Darrow and
Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Sunday's schedule boasts best-selling author and child and
family expert Brazelton; actor James Whitmore as Will Rogers;
Friedan; Academy Award winning actress Goldberg,who also is
serving as a co-host at the presidential Gala on Sunday night at
USAir Arena; West, author of "Race Matters"; Antonia Hernandez,
president of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education
Fund; Wiesel, winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize; Arvol
Looking Horse, a Native American performer; and Miles Lerman,
chairman of the Holocaust Museum Council.
The mood for the musical performances will be lighter but no
less diverse. Performers will appear in the tents and in the
Baird and Carmichael theaters in the Smithsonian Museums.
Saturday's entertainers include Buckwheat Zydeco; Latin jazz
pianist Eddie Palmieri; Little Feat; Six Nations Women Singers, a
Native American Vocal group; contemporary gospel singer Steven
Curtis Chapman; jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker; singer Chaka Khan;
alternative rock group Better than Ezra; the de Clores Mexican
Folk dance company; the Cambodian American Heritage dance troupe;
Irish musicians Celtic Thunder; Tap America; samba band Carnaval
de San Anto; New Orleans Heritage School of Music Youth Jazz
Orchestra; and 10-year-old singer Ashley Ballard.
Sunday's program includes the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band; the
Count Basie Orchestra; Foxwoods dance troupe, Native American
Dancers; gospel singer Shirley Caeser; folk artists Peter, Paul
and Mary; steel drummers Pan Masters; Nashville Bluegrass;
KanKouran West African Dancers and Drummers; Gay Men's Chorus of
Washington; blues group Cephus and Wiggins; Arvol Looking Horse
and Northern Cree Drummers; John Baptist High School Band; Korean
Drummers Hanulsori; singer Mikala Enriquez; songwriter Lilo
Gonzalez; Preservation Hall Jazz; and former Grateful Dead
guitarist, Bob Weir with Rob Wasserman and some "special"
friends."
In case you haven't heard, this is the last inauguration of
the 20th century, which gives organizers plenty of opportunity to
talk about children and the future of America. There will be a
number of performances designed especially for children at the
Millennium Schoolhouse tent and the Smithsonian Discovery
Theater.
Most of the children's entertainers will appear on Saturday
and Sunday. Performances include the Yelm Prairie Choir;
Parachute express; Bill Nye, the Science Guy; Seseme Street games
with Elmo; Sing Along with Barney, Baby Bop, and BJ; rap group
Save Our Youth; Angels of Praise Children's Gospel Choir;
Nickelodeon; Latin American storytellers Mi Casa Su Casa; Yankee
Doodle Tales; Peter and the Wolf; One Family/One Planet; the Blue
Horizon Dance Company;; Traveling Jack & Co.; Asian Treasure
Bag; Mark Twain Country; Dino Babies; Pueblo Dances; Music and
the Underground Railroad; and Peace Tales.
Organizers are thrilled to have Elmo, and Elmo presumably is
tickled to be part of the party.
"You'd have to ask Elmo that," Seldin deadpanned.