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By Judy Reynolds.S-* U_w-v * JinV ^;,r t- * 4 J' ■^ »Put on your traveling shoes and step with us, through the looking-glass into the wonderful land of The Mad Hatter■ v A ' t-which opens tonight as Scottsdale’s only teen night spot. Ron lt;3agg, one of the youthful owners, .will give us an officialguided tour to the-wonderland where Alice and her friends‘ # % •* romp to the tunes of great-sounding groups.Opening under the strict requirements of a-recently-enacted city ordinance, The Mad Hatter owners foresee no ‘ real problems in complying with the law but do realize that “we’re whollyat the mercy of the City of Scottsdale.” Realizing The Mad Matter is treading on thin ground in functioning under the yet-to-be-tested ordinance, the group has taken all precautions it can think of to .follow the law while at the same’ time offering a teens willcorfie to dance and enjoy themselves. EMOTIONS ran high in getting the ordinance governing .teen dance halls passed after many Tempe, residents waged war on the Fifth Estate, a teen dance ha],ljn northern Tempe. Scottsdale citizens wanted to be sure theyjvould ;have no “Fifth Estate situation in Scottsdale.” -Gagg says one advantage of The Mad Hatter location on . 75th St. just south of McDowell Rd. is that there is no residential area nearby where teens coming and going to The ‘ Mad .Hatter would be a-problem; All of the land surrounding the half is private vacant lots,, a, church and a shopping center. * '’ -r“The church is au Eor us. jHiey actuall^uisedJo o\vn this ‘ building. They want to see us get a good place~gbing where nice kids will want to come,” Gagg says. -AS FOR other restrictions . . . “everything is really for our best interests and the city’s,” Gagg agrees. • If any trouble does arise, Gagg foresees it coming from the clashing ,of What he refers to as “long-hair” and “football player” groups.All The Mad Hatter can do, as Gagg\sees it, js to offer teens in the area , “a nice ' place to come Jo . with the best sound system in Arizona. That’s what they want — to hear good music the way it should sound. With our sound systemwe can do anything ,want to.”JfN ADDITION to the sound system, The Mad Hatter., owners have installed coin-operated pool tables and game ™txiac!iines~whiclrmaytensed^ during theweekv'afnb”^htfance charge. , M. V The decor of IWMad Hatter follows the Alice in Wonder--land-theme-with-unusually_welhd6ne-murals-and-dther-decor-=_ atiops depicting Alice’s; adventures and friends.Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday night The Nazz, a former Phoenix group now playing at the Cheetah in Los Angeles, ^ and two local groups, the Twentieth .Century Zoo and the Fold; will play at the Mad Hatter grand opening. Teens be-tween^the - ages of--15-and -20- are-welcome .......--/i : ;; _BUSTERRONOFF“has finally don6“has finally done it—. - booked what should tlirn out to be. good, diversified entertainment into the \Phoenix Star Theatre. It’s hoped Bonoff has worked out some of the sound and acoustical problems of the city’s theater-in-the-round that have become-sick-jokes known only to those folks who pay good money to hear what —toi^often“Uiimed~o;urto~be:parrofa'‘perfornTance7'-Marilyn Michaels starts off the season 'Monday night in “Funny Girl.” Here’s hoping Mr. Bonoff will utilize that round stage well. It can be done. Just ask anyone who’s seen a show in southern California’s Melodyland or Carousel.
Newspaper Details
Scottsdale Progress
Scottsdale, Arizona, US
Fri, Jan 05, 1968
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Olav S.
NO 04 Jan 2022
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Scottsdale Progress
