Back Room

"Real life isn't always so neat and tidy," a character says near the beginning of "The Back Room" at Fell's Point Corner Theatre.It's a lesson that goes unlearned in this Baltimore Playwrights Festival entry by first-time playwright Michael Leicht, a 24-year-old Johns Hopkins University student.All of the conflicts in the play are resolved so tidily, their resolution seems like a fantasy. And while some of the more admirable scenes in "The Back Room" are fantasy sequences -- in one, a doctor becomes a circus ringmaster; in another, a dead man rises from his coffin to crack a few jokes -- fantasy does not seem to be the playwright's intention for the final scenes.

The chicanery in the Maryland House of Delegates' Judiciary Committee last week was shameful ("Gun bill advances to floor of House," March 30). We watched the vote count on Eastern Shore Republican Del. Michael Smigiel's amendment to hold criminals responsible for their violent acts with firearms. What we saw was abandonment of any pretext of democratic process and a conscious choice by lawmakers to protect criminals over law-abiding citizens. It was shameful. Delegate Smigiel's amendment would have toughened the penalties for criminals using guns in violent crimes, and it should have been a no-brainer.

Aiming to keep its customers and their dollars away from its warehouse club competitors, the Basics grocery chain is taking the Employees Only sign off its back-room door and inviting customers into the former storage area to buy bulk goods at wholesale prices.Many other grocery chains have started warehouse pricing programs, including "power alleys" such as the center aisles at many Giant Food stores, but Basics is apparently the first sizable chain in the United States to use its back room for that purpose.

For British rockers Editors, platinum status in their home country came at a creeping pace. Debut album The Back Room dropped in July of last year in the U.K. but took six months to peak at No. 2. To get it there, the band inked a licensing deal with Sony BMG, toured perpetually and pounded British radio with single after single. Though The Back Room came out stateside in March of this year and generated plenty of buzz, it might need even more muscle to crack the Top 10 here. Guitarist Chris Urbanowicz doesn't know whether he and his other three band mates have it in them.

Two masked men robbed a North Laurel fast-food restaurant Tuesday night, forcing six people into a back room and stealing an undisclosed amount of money.Police said the robbers went up to counter at Roy Rogers on the 10000 block of Washington Blvd. armed with handguns and forced four employees into a back room, where they stole the money. Two customers were also forced into the back room. Employees called police after the robbers fled.Police reported the employees were not injured.POLICE LOG* North Laurel: 10000 block of U.S. 1: A lock was broken Sunday night at Lenny's Towing and Storage.

Aiming to keep its customers and their dollars away from its warehouse club competitors, the Basics grocery chain is taking the Employees Only sign off its back-room door and inviting customers into the former storage area to buy bulk goods at wholesale prices.Many other grocery chains have started warehouse pricing programs, including "power alleys" such as the centeraisles at many Giant Food stores, but Basics is apparently the first sizable chain in the United States to use its back room for that purpose.

I have a friend who drives from Washington, D.C., to South Baltimore to buy his shoes.When he gets to the shoe store, he walks inside, past the shoes on display, and goes to the back room. In the back room, my friend tells me, they have shoe bargains that would make you gasp.My friend could buy his shoes anywhere (he's a lawyer and, therefore, filthy rich), but he gladly drives an hour for a bargain.After much wheedling on my part, my friend gave me the name and address of the shoe store.

A masked man who implied that he had a weapon robbed a beauty supply store and its employees Tuesday after herding them into a back room, county police said.A man walked into the Sally Beauty Supply store in the 7900 block of Crain Highway about 7: 45 p.m. and demanded money, keeping one hand in the waistband of his trousers, implying that he had a weapon, police said.An employee gave the man an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register and the man ordered the employee and three others into a back room where he demanded more money, police said.

A Payless ShoeSource in Annapolis was robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash Wednesday by two men, police said.Just after 8 p.m., the men entered the store in the 2300 block of Forest Drive. The first man told the manager he had a gun and ordered her to put the money from the cash register in a shopping bag.The second man ordered another employee to the back room, where he forced her to lie face down while he searched the room, according to police.The first man took the manager to the back room and made her lie next to the other employee.

Westminster City Police arrested a 38-year-old man and charged him with the attempted rape of a woman in the first block of E. Main St. yesterday.Police said a man went into a shop in downtown Westminster about 12:45 p.m. and told a female employee he was there to pick up a child's swing for a nearby store run by a local rescue mission. The employee said she was not familiar with a swing being donated, but said there were some coats in the back room to be donated to the mission store. She went to a back room to obtain the articles and was followed by the man, police said.

A bar in Perry, Fla., admitted yesterday that one of its waitresses ordered a black Maryland legislator to a back room before he could be served. The admission by the owner of the Perry Package Store & Lounge was made in an agreement with Florida prosecutors in response to a complaint filed by Maryland Del. Talmadge Branch, who was traveling in Florida this month. Under the agreement, the bar owner will avoid prosecution on state criminal charges, but he and the waitress must pay fines of $500 each and write letters of apology to Branch.

TAMPA, Fla. - The hot topic around Super Bowl XXXV is Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis, but the hot property is defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. With Coach Lewis about to participate in the best chess matchup of his life against New York Giants coach Jim Fassel on Sunday in Super Bowl XXXV, three teams - Cleveland, Buffalo and Detroit - want to interview him about their head coaching positions. Teams are supposed to wait until after the Ravens' season ends Sunday to begin courting Lewis, but two highly ranked Ravens officials said yesterday that Lewis and the Bills are each their No. 1 choices and want to make the deal happen.

"Real life isn't always so neat and tidy," a character says near the beginning of "The Back Room" at Fell's Point Corner Theatre.It's a lesson that goes unlearned in this Baltimore Playwrights Festival entry by first-time playwright Michael Leicht, a 24-year-old Johns Hopkins University student.All of the conflicts in the play are resolved so tidily, their resolution seems like a fantasy. And while some of the more admirable scenes in "The Back Room" are fantasy sequences -- in one, a doctor becomes a circus ringmaster; in another, a dead man rises from his coffin to crack a few jokes -- fantasy does not seem to be the playwright's intention for the final scenes.

Calvin, Joan, Oscar, Anne, Ralph, Donna, Marc, Oleg, Paloma and Liz were there, and so was Alli Russel.A stylish woman of a certain age, Russel came to the opening of the new Loehmann's in Timonium yesterday in search of a periwinkle gown for her granddaughter's wedding. "I've been a customer at Loehmann's for more than 30 years, more than 30 years. My husband was still living," she said.Russel never patronized the original Loehmann's, founded by Frieda Loehmann 76 years ago in Brooklyn, but she doesn't think this slicker, brighter, more accessible store is what Frieda had in mind.

A masked man who implied that he had a weapon robbed a beauty supply store and its employees Tuesday after herding them into a back room, county police said.A man walked into the Sally Beauty Supply store in the 7900 block of Crain Highway about 7: 45 p.m. and demanded money, keeping one hand in the waistband of his trousers, implying that he had a weapon, police said.An employee gave the man an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register and the man ordered the employee and three others into a back room where he demanded more money, police said.

A Payless ShoeSource in Annapolis was robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash Wednesday by two men, police said.Just after 8 p.m., the men entered the store in the 2300 block of Forest Drive. The first man told the manager he had a gun and ordered her to put the money from the cash register in a shopping bag.The second man ordered another employee to the back room, where he forced her to lie face down while he searched the room, according to police.The first man took the manager to the back room and made her lie next to the other employee.

Two men, one of them armed with an automatic handgun, robbed a Jessup motel of nearly $200 Tuesday night, police said.The men walked into the office of the Parkway Inn, in the 7900 block of Clark Road, just before midnight. They asked the night clerk for a room. When the clerk gave them a registration form, one of the men pulled out a handgun and demanded money, police said.The second man went behind the counter and took money from the cash register. He then forced the clerk into a back room and told her to stay there until he and his accomplice had left, police said.

For British rockers Editors, platinum status in their home country came at a creeping pace. Debut album The Back Room dropped in July of last year in the U.K. but took six months to peak at No. 2. To get it there, the band inked a licensing deal with Sony BMG, toured perpetually and pounded British radio with single after single. Though The Back Room came out stateside in March of this year and generated plenty of buzz, it might need even more muscle to crack the Top 10 here. Guitarist Chris Urbanowicz doesn't know whether he and his other three band mates have it in them.

Westminster City Police arrested a 38-year-old man and charged him with the attempted rape of a woman in the first block of E. Main St. yesterday.Police said a man went into a shop in downtown Westminster about 12:45 p.m. and told a female employee he was there to pick up a child's swing for a nearby store run by a local rescue mission. The employee said she was not familiar with a swing being donated, but said there were some coats in the back room to be donated to the mission store. She went to a back room to obtain the articles and was followed by the man, police said.

Two men, one of them armed with an automatic handgun, robbed a Jessup motel of nearly $200 Tuesday night, police said.The men walked into the office of the Parkway Inn, in the 7900 block of Clark Road, just before midnight. They asked the night clerk for a room. When the clerk gave them a registration form, one of the men pulled out a handgun and demanded money, police said.The second man went behind the counter and took money from the cash register. He then forced the clerk into a back room and told her to stay there until he and his accomplice had left, police said.