Backstage

Since the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra wrapped up its Summer MusicFest July 14, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall has been filled with different sounds -- hammering, scraping, refinishing, and a lot of talk about such things as lagging supports and the upstream side of attenuators. For the fourth year in a row, the hall has been undergoing renovations aimed at improving conditions for music-making and upgrading backstage facilities for musicians. There is still one more summer to go in this $10 million project.

"GUYS AND DOLLS," a musical about gangsters and love, is being presented by pupils of North Carroll Middle School at 7 p.m. tomorrow and Friday at the school's Clendaniel Gym. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children. This is the junior version of the Broadway musical, a story that circulates among a religious mission center, New York sewers and Havana, with gangsters rolling dice, lovin' and leavin', and wanting more than their shallow lifestyle of gambling and raids by police. The leading roles are beautifully sung by Chris Gillyard as Sky Masterson, Jennifer Spears as Sarah Brown, and Kristi Hawver as Miss Adelaide, in a cast of 52 dancers, singers and a clarinet band.

MORE THAN 20 YEARS after owners began modernizing the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, they are seeking funds to complete the last major phase of the project, expansion of the backstage facilities. The nonprofit Lyric Foundation, owner of the 106-year-old, 2,564-seat theater on Mount Royal Avenue, is seeking $2 million from the Maryland General Assembly this spring to help fund a $5 million to $6 million reconstruction of the stage area. Other funds will be sought from public and private sources, including the city of Baltimore.

LOS ANGELES -- Aaron Sorkin is sitting in a dark bungalow office on the back lot of Warner Bros. studios on a brilliant, white-hot, late-summer afternoon, smoking Merit cigarettes and worrying. He's worrying about how Rob Lowe should play a scene for the much-anticipated White House drama debuting next month on NBC, "The West Wing." He's worrying about some of the harsher things he said about ABC president Jamie Tarses last year when his groundbreaking sitcom "Sports Night" was struggling to find an audience.

Lauryn Hill may be one of the biggest stars in popular music at the moment, but there's something decidedly small-scale about the live show she brought to Washington on Tuesday.Instead of opting for one night at a more arena-sized venue, Hill decided to play three shows at the more intimate DAR Constitution Hall (the final, sold-out performance is this evening). Rather than dazzle her audience with a splashy stage design, she took a low-key approach to the visuals, decorating the stage with just some prop school lockers (it was the "Miseducation" tour, after all)

Carroll Players. "Exit the Body." 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 2 at VFW Post 467 in Westminster. Needed are four women, 30s to 50s; one woman, late teens to 20s; three men, 30s to 50s; two men, 20s-30s. Be prepared to read from the script. Technical people and backstage help also needed. Call 410-876-2220.Columbia Community Players. Thornton Wilder's "Skin of Our Teeth." 7 p.m. Sunday and next Monday at Faulkner Ridge Neighborhood Center in Columbia. More than 30 cast members needed.

Keeping a show on the road is hard work!That's what the Yak learned after taking a backstage tour of the New York traveling production of "The Wizard of Oz."When it comes to costumes, it takes a wardrobe wizard with lots of help to keep the lion groomed, the ruby slippers sparkling and those pesky wings staying on the flying monkeys.Here are some neat Yak facts about these cool costumes:The lion's curl: It's human hair that makes the lion's mane so curly - and it gets a perm treatment to keep the curl.

On a sopping Sunday in April, after months of meticulous planning, Animal Planet's cameras are ready to roll at the Baltimore County Kennel Club's annual dog show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds.Like at any other dog show, pointers, retrievers, setters and spaniels parade before a judge, "sparkling" to applause. But on this day, special commentators are at ringside: former Olympians Donna de Varona and Wendy Hilliard, and international dog expert Wayne Cavanaugh. They're here to cover the dog show the way the Olympics are covered: by showcasing the event's elite athleticism, suspense and backstage pathos.

Backstage at Center StageTake a peek behind the scenes, meet professional actors and learn how sets are created when Center Stage lifts the curtains on behind-the-scenes magic from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. "Backstage at Center Stage" includes backstage tours, light and sound demonstrations, technical exhibitions and door prizes. Visitors to the historic 110,000 square-foot building at 700 N. Calvert St. can also have their picture taken in costume and participate in an auction of costumes and props from past productions.

What band demands pre-washed, lint-free white hand and bath towels backstage at every concert?Ask a visitor yesterday to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's "On Tour" traveling exhibit at Eastpoint Mall in Dundalk.The answer will come back: Megadeth.The request is written on the band's contract rider, a document outlining backstage desires of touring bands. Several contract riders from R.E.M. (tabbouleh, recyclable trash receptacles) to the Rolling Stones (tequila, scotch, vodka, etc.)