Imaginary Friends Play

Cherry Jones and Swoosie Kurtz are sprawled in the VIP lounge for deep-pocketed supporters of the Old Globe Theatre, and quite an irresistibly cushy lounge it is. Clearly the San Diego theater's big donors get more for their money than just good seats and goodwill, judging from the plump eggplant and ruby cushions singing their siren song to Jones and Kurtz. Suddenly, they're horizontal.

Cherry Jones and Swoosie Kurtz are sprawled in the VIP lounge for deep-pocketed supporters of the Old Globe Theatre, and quite an irresistibly cushy lounge it is. Clearly the San Diego theater's big donors get more for their money than just good seats and goodwill, judging from the plump eggplant and ruby cushions singing their siren song to Jones and Kurtz. Suddenly, they're horizontal.

The place Balboa, a grand old-fashioned city park in the tradition of Central Park and Golden Gate, turns into San Diego's collective backyard each weekend. Green lawns fill with sunbathers, hipsters, gay couples, seniors, packs of high schoolers, and families with babies in strollers. The people-watching is divine; there's always someone getting married or some silly sideshow going on from Tarot card readers to puppet shows.

More than 20 years have passed since Marvin Hamlisch was one of the hottest composers for movies and musicals, but he is bidding to become ubiquitous again. In Southern California this weekend he'll appear on two stages at once. More about that in a bit. Hamlisch sizzled in the '70s. He won three Oscars in 1974 for his scores to "The Sting" and "The Way We Were." On Broadway, he triumphed as the composer of "A Chorus Line" and "They're Playing Our Song."

Child counselor Barbara Filippone had just given the first- and second-graders at Cerritos Elementary School a revolutionary idea--that they can say no to a grown-up. The idea was exciting, and for a minute Filippone faced a group of rebels ready to say no to adults for any reason, so she quickly complicated things with a question. "What about when your mom says, 'Susie, you have to clean your room.' Can you say no to her?" Filippone asked. Some children said yes, but most became pensive.