Wonks wistful for 'West Wing'

As NBC's "The West Wing" (8 tonight, WPXI) ends its seven-year run today, policy wonks and fans of quality drama alike will bid the series goodbye.

At a January news conference, star Kristin Chenoweth recalled being quizzed by former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor about which candidate would win the show's recent election. Series regular Bradley Whitford recalled his own encounter with a Washington power broker.

"Alan Greenspan once said to me, with that face that is just trained not to express anything, he said that he was really upset that when our Fed chairman died, nobody cared," Whitford said. "It wasn't even the 'A' story."

Martin Sheen, who starred as President Jed Bartlet, said he was proud the series showed American viewers the hard work done by government employees.

"If the show had any effect on the country at all, I think it was a positive one for all public servants," Sheen said.

Executive producer John Wells, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, agreed.

"Nobility doesn't make for good ink. ... It's not news," Wells said. "People I've met in both Democratic and Republican administrations are people I deeply admire. ... If we showed anybody that's what a lot of the people actually are in public service, then I think we did something good."

-- Rob Owen,
Post-Gazette TV editor

Mentor honored

Kids should be kids while they have the chance, but when they step onto a professional stage, they have to be professionals. Cute only gets you so far.

That's the secret behind one of the most successful directorships in Pittsburgh, Christine Jordanoff's 20 years (and counting) running the Children's Festival Chorus. The singers, ages 8-15, give their own concerts, but she also vigorously prepares them to perform with the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Symphony and Mendelssohn Choir in mainstage productions and concerts.

"She is strict, but she is encouraging," says Sharon Wolf, executive director of the chorus. "The focus of the program is to provide the best education for the children. But what the CFC also provides is a top children's choir to the local groups, and that has been Christine's influence."

Jordanoff's two decades of success are being celebrated Saturday with the premiere of Lynn Purse's "Fibonacci, What a Notion!" at North Allegheny High School. It's the Festival Chorus' spring concert. To mark her anniversary, more than 50 choir alumni are expected to take part. Call 412-281-4790.

-- Andrew Druckenbrod,
Post-Gazette classical music critic

Peace prize

A video game promoting Middle East peace and designed by two Carnegie Mellon University graduate students has won the inaugural "Games and Public Diplomacy" award from the University of Southern California.

The game, called "PeaceMaker," beat out three other games Monday for the $5,000 award from the USC Center on Public Diplomacy. Eric Brown and Asi Burak, students from CMU's Entertainment Technology Center are developing it.

-- Tim McNulty, Post-Gazette pop culture writer