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Road crews, drivers get no holiday break
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The plays being run on the field this weekend at the inaugural Chick-fil-A College Kickoff game between Clemson and Alabama likely will lack the attention to detail being given the impressive downtown traffic plan devised for Saturday’s event. The Georgia Department of Transportation, you see, is continuing its interstate construction projects over Labor Day weekend.
“The last thing we wanted was that caravan coming down I-20 from Birmingham to encounter a mess,” Atlanta Sports Council communications vice president Eric Oberman told Buzz on Monday. “We’re hoping that this game becomes an annual event in Atlanta. We want people to have fun and enjoy themselves while they’re here.”
Translation: “Fun” does not equal spending the weekend idling in an interstate parking lot.
Fans are being urged to leave early for the 8 p.m. kickoff (game day activities will run all day downtown) or take MARTA into the downtown area. Locals who know alternative routes are being urged to use their vehicular inventiveness to get to the game as well.
Also, thanks to modern technology, each person who purchased a ticket for the sold-out legendary matchup should receive an e-mail advisory about the traffic conditions as well. Similar outreach is being performed in South Carolina and Alabama.
The DOT also has aided the effort by posting updates and advisories on its interstate message boards this week. Adding to the potential for gridlock: This weekend’s Atlanta Falcons game and the annual DragonCon comics convention booked for the very busy downtown area. Personally? Buzz tries to avoid ticking off those people who annually dress as Klingons and walk around downtown with large battle weapons.
TUESDAY NIGHT’S KICKOFF AT MANUEL’S DELAYED
Atlanta author Paul Hemphill is postponing Tuesday night’s much-anticipated Manuel’s Tavern launch party for his fascinating new history of the Auburn University football program, “A Tiger Walk Through History: The Complete Story of Auburn Football From 1892 to the Tuberville Era” ($39.95, Pebble Hill Books).
Hemphill has been recently undergoing chemotherapy treatments as he battles cancer. The former Atlanta Journal columnist was admitted to the hospital over the weekend after he experienced a strong reaction following his latest treatment.
But Hemphill assures us that once he’s up to it, the signing and launch party with his many admirers will be rescheduled.
We’re also pleased to report that Hemphill hasn’t lost his trademark sense of humor. When asked for comment, Hemphill had the Alabama school’s famous battle cry, “War Eagle,” e-mailed to Buzz Central.
‘GOLDEN GIRLS LIVE!’
This could be the kookiest fund-raiser of the year. Tonight, Atlanta playwright and actor Topher Payne and his thespian friends will present “The Golden Girls Live!” at Onstage Atlanta at 2597 North Decatur Road in Decatur. Did we mention that Payne, Greg Morris, DeWayne Morgan and Joey Ellington will all be in wigs, heels and painstakingly recreated frocks from the 1980s NBC sitcom, stitched by Atlanta costume designer Jane Kroessig? Payne has adapted two scripts for the stage originally penned by “Golden Girls” creator Susan Harris.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from tonight and Wednesday’s 8 p.m. performances will go to Atlanta Cotillion, an annual fund-raiser for AID Atlanta. Which means everyone involved is working for free.
“For years, I’ve been told that I’m the Bea Arthur in my group of friends,” Payne told us Monday. “I thought, ‘Let’s make some money off that!’ The frightening thing is that in drag as Bea Arthur I’m more mannish than I am dressed as myself.”
So how did Payne’s pal and Atlanta actor Morris land Rue McClannahan’s coveted signature role of Blanche Devereaux? Replied Payne: “How do you not cast Greg Morris as Blanche? The only major difference is now he’s acting trampy and wearing sling backs.”
Tickets: 404-289-2673.
BRAXTON ADDED TO ‘DANCING’
Part-time Alpharetta resident Toni Braxton will be among the gyrating celebs in the next edition of the inexplicably popular ABC reality show “Dancing With the Stars,” set to premiere Sept. 22. Other participants booked for the show include daytime diva Susan Lucci, former N’Sync member Lance Bass, celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, retired NFL star Warren Sapp and 82-year-old former “Mary Tyler Moore Show” actress Cloris Leachman. Here’s hoping viewers aren’t inadvertently treated to a nationally televised hip fracture.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Valerie Simpson of Ashford and Simpson is 62. Jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis (right) is 48. Drummer Adrian Young of No Doubt is 39. Actress Melissa McCarthy (“Samantha Who?”) is 38. Actor Macaulay Culkin is 28.
OVERSCENE
One-time MTV “Laguna Beach” reality TV fixture Kristin Cavallari and an unidentified gentleman dining on sushi and snapper at Shout in Midtown. We’re told the pair did not imbibe during the visit. Sigh.
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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