Charm City Stage Door – 02/21/2006

GRAND KNOWING YOU

I hate to start this week's column on a melancholy note, but it is with personal sadness, tempered with excitement that I announce the departure of my dear friend Cassandra Parker from the Hippodrome Theatre. Last night, with the 2^nd Annual Usher Appreciation Party, was Ms. Parker's last as Director of Theatre Services. It has been my great fortune to have known Cassandra for over 2 years, not only in her capacity as head of the volunteer usher program, but as a personal friend. Under her leadership, the Hippodrome opened its doors without a glitch, bringing a new program into being from a few hundred people to a steady staff of over 1,000 volunteers. An exemplar of kindness and compassion, mixed with a straight forward fairness, she is just what such a mammoth undertaking needed to get it going, all the while having the time to meet the individual needs and concerns of her staff, the volunteers, and the patrons of the Hippodrome. The level of service and overall excellence that she expected and stood for was no doubt instrumental in establishing the theatre and getting it such illustrious bookings as The Phantom of the Opera and Disney's The Lion King. I'm sure I join a long list of people who will miss her and wish her well. She leaves the theatre in the more than capable hands of Karen Eske, the new Director of Theatre Services. Karen's replacement as Assistant Director of Theatre Services will be named shortly. While reminiscing about her tenure, Cassandra said, "Obviously, I'm proud of the success of the volunteer program, but the thing that pleases me most is seeing friendships develop among the volunteers that would probably never have happened if it weren't for the program; that the program has been such a positive influence on people's lives. I'm very proud of that." Looking toward the future, she says, "I hope that the theatre continues to develop programming that will reach more types of folks, no matter their background or economic status. As for the program, I hope that in 5 or 10 years when I come back to visit, that I'll still see a lot of the same faces. It would mean a lot knowing that the program would continue to be part of [the ushers'] lives." So, what does the future have in store for Cassandra? Well, she will be moving to San Antonio, Texas to join her husband, Michael Nowicki, where she will do some part-time event planning, and concentrating on finishing the renovation on a house they hope to sell. Oh, and the exciting news? Mr. and Mrs. Nowicki are expecting their first child in August of this year. Congratulations, but not good-bye – here's looking forward to when our paths cross again.

 

ONE DAY MORE (Actually 182)

I am about to open a can of worms here. I have cleared my email to increase the storage space for the avalanche I am sure is coming my way. But (gulp) here goes. I am not happy to read of Les Miserables' return to Broadway for what is billed as a six month engagement to celebrate its becoming the world's longest running musical. (I'm taking bets that it will run at least a year) I'm not going to argue that it still has decades to go before that title is given up by The Fantasticks, but I bet they mean longest running BIG musical. Of course, anyone familiar with Les Miz knows that this BIG musical has actually gotten smaller (maybe they mean "the world's longest running shrinking musical"). It used to clock in at over 3 hours, now the audience is released from its grasp at around 2 hours 45 minutes. It also used to have a bigger cast, and a bigger orchestra. And as anyone who plops down their $100+ to see it at the Broadhurst will see, the set has shrunk, too. Oddly, the cost of seeing this "legend" hasn't shrunken any. No, the reasons I have for not being happy with this are: Haven't we all been duped by the commercials saying Les Miz will be gone forever if you don't see it on tour? What about those of us who shelled out $15 for the commemorative, it-is-never-coming-back Playbill?  The best news of this is that they will not be casting primarily from the final touring cast (the epitome of "calling it in" when it played the Hippodrome a year and a half ago). Let it die before it becomes a joke like the once-glorious Cats. This has "milk the Les Miz fans for even more money" written all over it. The show has played the farewell tour thing longer than Cher. And now we can look forward to the farewell to the farewell production tour.

 

YOU'RE A BIG BOY NOW

I am really looking forward to both The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Altar Boyz at the Hippodrome next season. But am I alone in wondering how two of the smallest shows playing today will work in the comparatively cavernous Hippodrome? Part of the charm of both shows is that they are intimate and keep their audience close. The opposite is usually the case, where shows (The Lion King, Mamma Mia!) have to scale down to fit. Of course, with those shows, no matter how large the Hippodrome is, those shows can only be designed as big as the smallest place they will play. In other words, just because pretty much the Broadway size of a show could fit in Baltimore, it can only be as big as say Boise, Idaho, where the theatre is much smaller. Of course, so far the smaller plays (Say Goodnight, Gracie, Tuesdays with Morrie) don't seem as lost in that huge space as once feared. We'll just have to wait and see. But I'm warning you now; it'll be me you are fighting with in the box office for the up close center orchestra seats!

 

THE ROAD ENDS HERE

The following productions play their final weekends this weekend:

 

Everyman Theatre's The Cripple of Inishmaan ends its acclaimed run on February 26^th. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 410-752-2208 or at www.everymantheatre.org. A Talk Back with the cast is scheduled for after the Thursday, February 23^rd performance, and an audio described performance will be held on Saturday, February 25^th at 8PM.

 

Rep Stage presents FULLY COMMITTED Fridays at 8PM ($21), Saturdays at 2:30PM ($15) and 8PM ($24) and Sundays at 2:30PM ($20) and 7:30PM ($17) through February 26. Student tickets are $12 for any performance (with ID), and group discounts for 6 or more are available. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 410-722-4900 or online at www.howardcc.edu/repstage. 

 

JOURNEY ON

The following productions continue this week end and beyond:

 

Shadow Block Production's Johnny Guitar: The Musical continues its performances this Thursday, with a gala featuring a one-night only performance of the show with its original star, Steve Blanchard (currently the Beast on Broadway) priced at $25.00. Show times this weekend are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8PM. Friday and Saturday's shows are $15.00. The theatre is located at The Drama Learning Center in Columbia, MD. For tickets and information, call 410-997-9352.

 

Spotlighters goes into its third weekend of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, with performances Friday and Saturday at 8PM, Sunday at 2PM. For tickets and more information call 410-752-1225 or go online at www.spotlighters.org/boxoffice.htm. The Talk Back and Reception with the cast and crew originally scheduled for February 12^th , has been rescheduled to follow the Sunday, March 5^th 2PM matinee. Sponsored by the Mystery Loves Company Book Store in Fells Point, the event includes an Agatha Christie character costume contest and light fare. Reservations for this event are encouraged.

 

This week's titles are from: She Loves Me, Les Miserables, Big: The Musical, john and jen, and Ragtime. Thanks for reading! James

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