First-time author at 90 dreams of Oscars

By Talia Denicoff
Posted on May 15, 2017

Seven years ago, Frances Chavarria of Rockville, Md., wrote her first novel, inspired by the 35 years she lived in Costa Rica. But discouraged after an editor criticized it, she put the manuscript away until a friend convinced her to dust if off and self-publish the book.This spring, Chavarria became a published author — at the age of 90.Chavarria’s novel, Let Us Dream of... READ MORE

Beauty and the Beast enchants at Toby’s

By Rebekah Alcalde
Posted on May 05, 2017

The tale may be “old as time,” but Beauty and the Beast has seen plenty of new life lately. With the new Disney live-action film setting box office records in movie theaters, fans can get a similar, but more fleshed-out, experience of the musical from the stage version currently at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia.It features all the beloved original songs from the... READ MORE

Little-known Fire Museum is a real gem

By Carol Sorgen
Posted on April 28, 2017

Thanks to the late Stephen G. Heaver’s fascination with firefighting apparatus (the term fire fighters use for their customized vehicles), Baltimore has the distinction of housing the third largest fire museum in the United States. Located in Lutherville, the Fire Museum of Maryland, founded in 1971, is a leader in preserving, restoring and interpreting the history of the urban fire... READ MORE

Dance with grace comes from experience

By Carol Sorgen
Posted on April 27, 2017

Their legs may not extend as high or their pliés be as deep, but older dancers bring a depth to their performance that younger dancers cannot. That’s the view of Torens Johnson, producer of this year’s “Ageless Grace” dance concert, to be held Sunday, May 7 at the Creative Alliance at The Patterson.​Dance Baltimore, a nonprofit arts organization directed by Cheryl ... READ MORE

Putting on a show for charity

By Carol Sorgen
Posted on April 21, 2017

Judy Kahl, Jody Duke, and Deb Wilson rehearse for the Paint and Powder Club’s upcoming performance on June 2 and 3. The club, which was founded in 1893 and puts on shows to benefit charity, is thought to be the oldest of its kind in the United States.Photo by Jason SaulerBaltimore has many nicknames, including the “city of firsts,” with such claims to fame as the first... READ MORE

Funny? Serious? ‘Well’ is hard to describe

By Michael Toscano
Posted on April 18, 2017

Well, now. How to describe Well — the quirky, perspective-shifting, serio-comic play from New York actor and writer Lisa Kron? That, as they say in the theater, is the question.  online pharmacy sinequan for sale no prescription What you see at 1st Stage, a non-profit theater in Tysons, Va., may depend on what you bring into the theater with you.It’s a mother-daughter... READ MORE

Venus Theatre focuses on women writers

By Robert Friedman
Posted on April 07, 2017

Deborah Randall says her audiences have an “immersion experience” at the Venus Theatre in Laurel, and this could include, as it recently did, sharing a dinner being cooked up on stage.In Soft Revolution, a play about Afghans in Australia, Venus founder-director Randall felt the recent production needed a sign of authenticity, so a pot of Kabuli palaw, the Afghan national dish,... READ MORE

Novels help heal war’s trauma

By Robert Friedman
Posted on April 03, 2017

For Ellicott City resident Tom Glenn, 80, “Not to write would be to accept damnation. If I gave up writing, my spiritual life would come to an end. I would be a husk, and cease to be a human being.”For Glenn, you see, writing is not only a compulsion — “I’ve been writing since I was 6 years old” — but also a therapy. It eases the post-traumatic... READ MORE

Local writer imagines a Baltimore suburb

By Laura Bogart
Posted on March 28, 2017

St. Bart’s Way could be any affluent suburb in America: rich with the histories — and the secrets — of the families who believe that their opulent homes with well-manicured lawns, and the high-powered jobs that keep the lights on, will somehow protect them from the seedier side of life. online pharmacy amitriptyline buy with best prices today in the USA However, this... READ MORE

Shifting shapes at renovated Center Stage

By Dan Collins
Posted on March 27, 2017

Those coming to Center Stage to see award-winning playwright Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of The White Snake, an ancient Chinese fable, may expect to see dazzling lights and remarkable transformations on the Head Theater stage. But they will also be surrounded by the transformations wrought by the theater’s recent $28 million renovation.The entrance, the lobby, the box office,... READ MORE