Randy Skinner

In 1980, Randy Skinner was plucked from the chorus -- that is, from his career as a dancer -- to take a daunting role as assistant to the celebrated director-choreographer Gower Champion ("Carnival," "Hello, Dolly!") for the original "42nd Street" on Broadway.

In 1980, Randy Skinner was plucked from the chorus -- that is, from his career as a dancer -- to take a daunting role as assistant to the celebrated director-choreographer Gower Champion ("Carnival," "Hello, Dolly!") for the original "42nd Street" on Broadway.

Charlie Venegas of San Bernardino won the four-lap scratch main event in the weekly speedway motorcycle program Friday in front of 4,315 at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Robert Pfetzing of Tustin was second, Brad Oxley of San Juan Capistrano third and Steve Lucero of Riverside fourth. Shawn McConnell of Brea won the eight-lap handicap main event. Pfetzing was second, Lucero was third, Randy Skinner was fourth and Walt Farnum was fifth.

Gary Hicks of Riverside won the four-lap scratch main event of the weekly speedway motorcycle racing program Friday at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Shawn McConnell of Brea was second, Robert Pfetzing of Orange was third, and Mike Faria of Apple Valley finished fourth. Don Odom of Redondo Beach won the eight-lap handicap main, and Billy Hamill of Monrovia finished second. Hicks finished third and Pfetzing finished fourth.

Tony Briggs of Dana Point, racing for the first time in three years, won the handicap main event of the weekly speedway motorcycle program Friday night in the Orange County fairgrounds at Costa Mesa. Before a crowd of 7,143, Briggs defeated Mark Dwyer of Riverside and Lance King of Van Nuys. Son of four-time world speedway champion Barry Briggs, Tony Briggs broke his neck in a British Speedway League race three years ago and hadn't competed since.

John Cook of Auburn, Calif., won his first scratch main event of the year Friday night at the weekly speedway motorcycle races at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Cook, competing in front of a crowd of 4,183, defeated three other riders in the four-lap race. Keith Crisco of Whittier was second, Steve Lucero of Riverside third and Robert Pfetzing of Garden Grove fourth. Ed Castro of Ojai won the five-lap handicap main.

It's nice to have "Hello, Dolly!" back, even if she's not quite where she belongs. Long Beach Civic Light Opera's revival of this grand old feel-good show is billed as "the first multiracial production." So the spectacle is even more idealized than before: whites and blacks mingle as in a soft-drink commercial, and they even pair up--which goes beyond the commercial norm. Everyone blissfully disregards racial barriers. Well, maybe not all the barriers: The Asians here remain in the chorus.

It's nice to have "Hello, Dolly!" back, even if she's not quite where she belongs. Long Beach Civic Light Opera's revival of this grand old feel-good show is billed as "the first multiracial production." So the spectacle is even more idealized than before: whites and blacks mingle, like in a soft-drink commercial, and even pair up--which goes beyond the commercial norm. Everyone blissfully disregards racial barriers. Well, maybe not all the barriers: the Asians here remain in the chorus.

To borrow a lyric from its most famous song, let's see how bewitched, bothered and bewildered we are by the Long Beach Civic Light Opera revival of Rodgers and Hart's "Pal Joey." A couple of scenes in the second act qualify as bewitching. "Den of Iniquity" is a seriously steamy bedroom duet between rich lady Vera Simpson (Dixie Carter) and her younger lover Joey (Peter Reardon). From my well-positioned seat, I could almost see the sweat.

Ed Castro represents the working class at the weekly speedway racing events at the Costa Mesa Fairgrounds. The 40-year-old single father of three toils 40 hours a week as a mechanic, putting aside just enough money to keep his weekend hobby going. At the Coors Light Spring Classic Saturday night, Castro surprised many by holding off former world individual champion Billy Hamill to win the eight-lap handicap main event. "He was all over me like a rash," Castro said.

It's a feel-good bonanza: The boys get the girls, the boys help out their old Army general and everyone gets infused with holiday spirit to the strains of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas." Such warmth of feeling is a key reason the 1954 movie "White Christmas" remains a seasonal staple and a fond part of many people's memories.