Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 28, 1993 TAG: 9309010260
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN SEWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: JUPITER FARMS, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Shooting finished last month for her role in a Burt Reynolds TV movie, ``The Man From Left Field,'' and after some concert dates in Nashville, Texas and Michigan, she's off to California for filming this July of Rob Reiner's movie, ``North.''
``You do so many concert dates in a row, and then when you come to do this, it's more like a vacation than working,'' she said between scenes at Reynolds' production studios in rural Palm Beach County.
McEntire, who played a single mother ``who talks like I talk'' and didn't have a heavy load of lines to memorize, savored ``the great location'' and ``laid-back'' atmosphere during filming of the CBS movie Reynolds directed while playing the title role.
Doing the TV movie was very different from a concert tour, in which everything is timed to the minute, she said. Instead, her main challenge is to ``chill out'' and stay ready to be called for her scenes.
The country-music powerhouse, who's been dabbling in movies and television for several years, sees her acting career as a sidelight that brings her to the attention of even more people.
``What we've been doing is trying to make the right contacts to do the movies that are appealing to me in the sense of family entertainment. That's the Reba side of it. And on the professional side of it, it's the opportunity to be able to broaden the image of Reba McEntire,'' she said.
As the Oklahoma native, who grew up on her father's rodeo circuit, has moved beyond the singing cowgirl who first made the country charts in 1976, she's helped take country music along with her.
Country music is the nation's fastest-growing form, and McEntire's knack for turning topics such as wife abuse, teen suicide, elderly neglect and, frequently, women breaking free of stereotypical roles, into hit songs has helped lure new listeners.
``Oh, it's just getting bigger all the time,'' she said. ``I'd say 50 percent of my audiences today didn't listen to country music two years ago; or if they did, they didn't listen much.''
Sophisticated stage shows and music that tells current stories have helped give country music ``a hipness, and relatability.''
``I really like to sing songs that women can relate to, but I've found that men can relate to them, too. ... Basically, it's songs about everyday people's everyday problems,'' she said.
McEntire, whose latest album, ``It's Your Call,'' quickly made not just country charts but overall music charts, noted that country, rock and other pop artists now compete for much of the same audience.
``I think what has really gotten the people in my age group, who listened to the music that I listened to in the '70s - Eagles, Three Dog Night, Chicago - that's pretty much what a lot of country music is today. It's the easy-listening rock music. So the fans of that era have come over to the country music side.''
With their widening audience and the increased variety of music, McEntire and the large new wave of female country stars, and male stars such as Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus and Vince Gill (with whom McEntire duets on the hit ``The Heart Won't Lie'') sometimes hear that they've forgotten their country roots. And they sometimes respond that they're growing along with country music.
Meanwhile, she plans to keep to her prolific recording schedule. ``It's Your Call,'' which follows her third-straight platinum-plus album, is her 20th album - and her schedule of 125 concerts a year while trying to do ``two or three films'' a year.
McEntire, who plays varied acting roles in her music videos, wants to make a TV movie that expands upon the story of the wife and mother in her song and video, ``Is There Life Out There?'' The script wasn't ready this year during her normal May-June ``hiatus,'' so she was delighted when she got the call from Reynolds, with whom she worked in an episode of the television series ``Evening Shade.''
She hopes to work with different directors and actors to learn more in each role, but McEntire, who with her husband-manager Narvel Blackstock has a 3-year-old son Shelby, doesn't expect acting to ever overshadow her music career.
``I'm not a full-fledged actress. Burt tells me I'm not bad at it, and I'm thrilled with that,'' she said, laughing. ``I don't have any plans to leave my music.''
by CNB