`The Colored Museum' Is Packed With Insight And Humor

There's no better way of calling our attention to the arrival of Black History Month than the performance of the 1986 off-Broadway hit, ``The Colored Museum,'' which airs on PBS' ``Great Performances'' at 10 p.m. tomorrow on KCTS-TV.

``The Colored Museum'' was written by George C. Wolfe and it's success surely must have influenced Keenen Ivory Wayans when he got around to creating ``In Living Color'' for Fox. Wayans' satire is as savage - and as hilarious and to the point - as Wolfe's satire is in his analysis of the black experience in America.

Wolfe approaches the subject through the device of a ``cultural museum'' with a very trendy crowd in the opening scenes, then produces 10 ``artifacts'' or scenes. Some of them pack a real wallop - such as ``Soldier with a Secret'' and ``Symbiosis'' - some are both funny and powerful - like ``The Gospel According to Miss Roj''- and some are downright hilarious and also carry a message.

Chief among the latter are ``The Hairpiece'' (in which two different ``wigs'' - one an Afro, the other straight hair - try to advise their owner which one to wear) and ``The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play.'' The latter, a real high point of the program, is a wicked send-up of ``Raisin in the Sun.''

The show ends with Phyllis Yvonne Stickney's monologue, ``The Party,'' which sums up some of what it means to be black today. The terrific cast also includes Reggie Montgomery (a great Miss Roj), Danitra Vance (from ``Saturday Night Live''), blues singer Linda Hopkins, Suzanne Douglas, Vickilyn Reynolds, Pamala Tyson, Kevin Jackson, Victor Love, Frederick Moore, Troy Powell, Victor Mack, Loretta Devine, and Tommy Hollis. They're all fine and this is a ``Great Performances'' that truly deserves that title.

Celebration: It's time to celebrate George Burns' recent 95th birthday, which CBS does at 10 p.m. tomorrow on KIRO-TV. It's part love fest (lots of entertainers saying how much they love Burns), part a chance to see some nifty old film and TV clips with Burns and his great partner, Gracie Allen. Best of all, Burns does a couple of turns himself to prove he's still got it at 95. Guest highlights are provided by Ben Vereen, Rita Rudner and Ann-Margret.

Newcomer: Young comedian Monica Piper is nicely showcased in ``No, Monica, Just You,'' a half-hour comedy special Showtime airs at 10 p.m. tomorrow on cable, with repeats Feb. 6, 9, 17 and 22. Piper is pleasantly low-key and if she's reminiscent of any other comic it would be Elayne Boosler. The show also has the benefit of a great opening that spoofs old black-and-white thrillers.

Switch: At the last minute, KCTS-TV pulled the promised ``Blackadder'' episodes scheduled for Monday night - all set during World War I and humorously scathing in their analysis of how that war was carried out - for fear their black anti-war humor might offend some viewers. What timidity! There are probably an equal number of Channel 9 viewers offended by war who would have relished the episodes. Channel 9 has no immediate plans for rescheduling the series of six half-hours.

Video notes: Cable's A&E channel repeats a powerful 1987 British TV movie, ``Sweet as You Are,'' as powerful a cinematic treatment of the AIDS problem as any seen on TV, tonight at 6 and 10. . . . John Ritter has a guest spot on NBC's ``Cosby'' at 8 tonight on KING-TV. . . . Cable's Disney Channel repeats its new TV movie, ``Bejeweled,'' co-starring Emma Samms and Denis Lawson, at 10 tonight. While this British co-production is masquerading as madcap mystery, it is more often than not merely juvenile. . . . The Disney Channel airs an Elvis Presley special, ``Elvis: Center Stage,'' at 9 p.m. tomorrow, the first program in a year of programming dedicated to The King. . . .

Cable's Discovery Channel begins airing a series called ``Incredibly Strange Film Show,'' an examination of low-budget films and their creators, at 8 p.m. Saturday. . . . HBO airs a comedy special comprised of portions from previous Robert Townsend specials at 10 p.m. Saturday on cable. . . . PBS is offering some income-tax advice via ``Taxbreak '91'' at 11 a.m. Sunday on KTPS-TV. . . . KCTS-TV's ``Upon Reflection'' has an interview with newsman Daniel Schorr at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. . . . NBC's new TV-oriented comedy series, ``Sunday Best,'' premieres at 7 p.m. Sunday on KING-TV. . . . Several local rap groups will be performing, via music videos, on ``Inner City,'' airing at 8:30 p.m. Saturdays on cable's Public Access Channel 29.

John Voorhees' column appears Sunday, Monday and Thursday in The Times.