The new director of the Miss America Pageant says there will be so many changes in Saturday's production that he fears raised eyebrows among fans of the 67-year-old tradition. But before anyone gasps, Leonard Horn is quick to point out that the swimsuit competition is still in place _ even though he believes there may be other means of proving a young woman's fitness. The winner still will take her stroll down the runway, a much longer runway this time, to the tune of ``There She Is.'' And the show still will feature an elaborate stage production, but new musical director Donald Pippin has created a livelier tempo that's not quite rock 'n' roll but just as spirited. Horn is more concerned about the long-time supporters of the pageant who bought seats even in the lean years when it was weathering attacks from feminists. Some of those supporters have unhappily learned they've been bumped from their box seats to make room for bigwigs representing the eight corporate sponsors and even some high-rollers from Atlantic City casinos. Horn also knocked out a production number and replaced it with video segments showing the finalists being interviewed by the judges. He eliminated a prepared speech each inalist gave in the evening gown competition in favor of asking the women unrehearsed questions. ``It won't be a cutesy question,'' he said. ``It will be sufficiently provocative to elicit an intelligent response which might give us further insight into her ability to articulate under pressure.'' The changes were necessary to keep the pageant up to date and attract the younger, female audience that had stopped watching the show in recent years, Horn said. ``Some people believe the pageant has gotten stale,'' said Horn, who took over when Albert Marks retired last year after 37 years. ``All we're trying to do is give it the vigor it once had ... and reconfirm that it's a positive program that deserves people's respect.'' For the 51 contestants, from the states and the District of Columbia, a week of pageantry and preliminary competitions lead to Saturday night's nationally televised finale. Reaching Atlantic City has been a rocky trip for some contestants. In th District of Columbia, the entire pageant was restaged after national pageant officials found problems with the judging. The original winner, Edwina Richard, became first runner-up and has said, ``I feel like I became a victim.'' In Georgia, the winner, Frances Frazier, has denied accusations she was promised the crown when she was a runner-up the year before. Earlier this year, a former Georgia pageant board member wrote to national officials saying she had firsthand knowledge that blacks were not being given a fair shot at the crown. Miss California not only had to watch in dismay as a defeated contestant loudly denounced the pageant but also had to respond to rumors she suffers from anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder. In the New Jersey state pageant, some contestants grumbled that one of the judges was acquainted with the winner. About 80,000 young women enter local contests that lead to the Miss America Pageant. More than $5 million in cash and tuition scholarships is available this year. Miss America receives at least a $30,000 scholarship and the income from a year of personal appearances. Gary Collins will serve as host of the two-hour special for the seventh year. His wife, 1959 Miss America Mary Ann Mobley, will be co-host. The show airs live on NBC-TV at 10 p.m. EDT Saturday. Performances in the talent category this year will be mainly singing, dancing and playing musical instruments. But there will also be belly dancing, an Irish dance and a gymnastics act. This year's Miss America, Kaye Lani Rae Rafko, won her title in part by performing a Hawaiian-Tahitian dance in a hot-pink costume with a bare midriff. Following preliminary competitions and interviews with the judges, the top 10 finishers will compete for the title before a TV audience estimated at 70 million viewers. Judging the finalists will be Richard Dysart and Blair Underwood of television's ``L.A. Law''; NBC News correspondent Deborah Norville; Miss America 1971 and broadcaster Phyllis George; actor George Peppard; actress Eva Gabor; columnist Dr. Joyce Brothers; Olympic ice skating gold medalist Brian Boitano; movie producer Lili Fini Zanuck; model agency founder Eileen Ford; Parade magazine publisher Walter Anderson, and William Farley, chairman of Farley Industries.
