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Photo by Gregory White Hamilton Wright plays more than 30 characters in the solo show "Fully Committed."

SEATTLE -- A Contemporary Theatre will begin preview performances next Friday for "Fully Committed," a one-man comedy featuring local actor R. Hamilton Wright. This well-received send-up of the New York restaurant scene is making its Northwest premiere. The play follows the trials of Sam, an out-of-work actor toiling in the basement of New York's trendiest restaurant. Over the course of the show, Wright plays more than 30 characters as Sam endures rival actors, demanding diners, incompetent coworkers and a temperamental chef. Tickets for preview performances, offered Jan. 25 through Jan. 30, are $16.50. Tickets for the rest of the run -- the end date hasn't been set -- are $24.50 and $29.50, and are available through the ACT ticket office, (206) 292-7676; Ticketmaster, (206) 292-ARTS; or online at www.acttheatre.org. The theater is at Seventh Avenue and Union Street downtown.

Recent snowstorms send snowbirds to Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Arizona's tourism officials are relieved now that winter visitors are flocking to the warmth of the Southwest. "We were waiting with bated breath for the big snowstorms and it has happened in the Midwest and East," says Jean McKnight Guymon, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Our 800 number is overwhelmed with calls. People are coming back to Tucson." Tourism officials had been worried that the recession, concerns about air travel and declines in the stock market would translate into masses of people staying home. Some businesses that cater to winter visitors have been hit by waning interest in rental cars, cruise ship trips and international flights. Those owners and managers say the drop in winter visitor sales revenues is tied to people spending more time closer to home since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Spending is down in Orange County

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- More people visited the theme parks and attractions of Orange County in 2001, but spent less than they did the previous year, a new study shows. The number of visitors increased by 1.2 percent from 2000, despite rainy weather at the start of the year, the sagging economy and the severe drop in travel following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a report prepared for the Anaheim-Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau. Visitors spent about $6.4 billion, down about $100 million from 2000, mainly because of a drop in overnight visitors, according to bureau spokeswoman Elaine Cali. "People are not staying as long or spending quite as much money," Cali says. Tourism was helped by Disney's California Adventure, which opened last February in Anaheim next door to Disneyland, and a major renovation of the Anaheim Convention Center. The new Disney park cost $1.4 billion, which included a new luxury hotel and a shopping and restaurant district called "Downtown Disney." The park drew about 5 million visitors, industry analysts estimate. Other attractions include Knott's Berry farm and historic Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Millennium Wheel could stick around

LONDON (AP) -- It was meant to be in place for just five years. But London's giant Ferris wheel, raised with great fanfare to mark the millennium, has proved so popular that organizers have applied for permission to make it a permanent fixture. The 450-feet-high structure, officially named the British Airways London Eye and located on the south bank of the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament, dwarfs the Big Ben clock tower and is the fourth-tallest structure in the capital. More than 7 million people have ridden on the wheel since it opened to the public in March 2000 and demand remains high for tickets to travel in the wheel's glass pods, which afford an unparalleled view across London. Originally, Lambeth Council in south London granted temporary planning permission for the structure to remain in place for five years. Organizers, including the architects and sponsor British Airways, have now applied to the to make it permanent. They say permanent planning approval will attract investment to improve the wheel as well as local facilities. The $51 million wheel has 32 passenger capsules, each carrying up to 25 people, accommodating up to 15,000 people per day. The trip lasts half an hour.

 
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