Cinderella

Director Ron Howard and writer Akiva Goldsman have made a specialty of taking chaotic lives and crafting them into sleek and tidy biopics. The team that gave us A Beautiful Mind and now Cinderella Man (opening Friday) have studied the melodramas of Hollywood's Golden Age and realized that audiences respond to clear, decisive lines of action and the calculated release of tension and emotion. These filmmakers know that what they may lose in revelation or insight they gain in pop catharsis and applause.

Rudy Miller wants you to know - up front - that she is not the belle of Cinderella's ball. True, the former TV anchor is performing in Pumpkin Theatre's production of Cinderella. But, she insists, she is playing only a small part. "She's very cautious about overshadowing some of the people in the show who have bigger roles. She's just one of the gang," Pumpkin producer/director Todd Pearthree says of Miller, who has been vice president of marketing and community relations for LifeBridge Health since 1999.

CENTRAL Charles St. improvement group to meet The Charles Street Improvement Association will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Union Memorial Baptist Church, 160 S. Center St., Westminster. Plans will be finalized for a community cleanup day. All members of the community are welcome. Information: 410-871-6373. Winters Mill to offer AP session Wednesday Parents and students who have signed up for Advanced Placement classes at Winters Mill High School for 2005-2006 are invited to attend a "Meet the AP Teachers Night" at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Larry and Teresa Meley are proud of their home rehabilitation job, and they have the before and after pictures to show why. Their journey is documented in a wood-bound album for all to see - a diary of hard work, perseverance and the joy of personal accomplishment. In the spring of 2003, the Meleys embarked on what real estate agents said would be a nearly impossible search. The couple needed more space than their Perry Hall townhouse provided, but they still wanted to stay in the area, near their roots.

Fell's Point Corner Theatre is trying something different for the holidays - a British-style pantomime. "Pantos," as they are called, have nothing to do with mimes (although this one does include some actors in whiteface). Instead, these shows are slapstick comedies based on fairy tales and generally feature a couple of characters played in drag. Cinderella, the panto at Fell's Point Corner, actually originated in California. Written in 1999 by Kate Hawley, with music by Gregg Coffin, it includes topical references - some clearly updated here - ranging from Game Boys to Paris Hilton.

Opera fans have enjoyed a remarkable feast of fresh experiences so far this season served up by the Baltimore Opera Company and Washington National Opera, both presenting an appetizing assortment of works never before staged in this region. Now comes dessert, courtesy of Peabody Opera Theatre, which offers a rare staging of Massenet's Cendrillon. This endearing take on the Cinderella story had a glittering premiere in Paris in 1899 but never worked its way into the standard repertoire.

Soap Boat Derby Create a foam vessel and watch it glide as you compete in the Baltimore Museum of Industry's Soap Boat Derby. The museum is offering an educational and fun-filled day with indoor boat racing, so leave your coats and scarves at the door. On Saturday and Sunday Baltimore Museum of Industry will hold a Soap Boat Derby. BMI is at 1415 Key Highway at Inner Harbor South. Admission is $10, $6 for seniors (60 and older), children and students. Children under 4 and BMI members get in for free.

Clark's Elioak Farm in Ellicott City launched its fall season yesterday with hayrides, animals and an unusual new attraction: an SUV-sized, bright-orange fiberglass pumpkin outfitted with seats and wheels. It was the first time in a decade children were able to climb inside Cinderella's pumpkin coach, which used to carry kids through the now-defunct Enchanted Forest theme park just a few miles from the farm. Back then, the coach was pulled by a small truck that was disguised by cutouts of huge white mice.

Where once they stood alone, now they are united, their faces smiling up from T-shirts and backpacks in small groups like particularly well-coifed members of the Justice League. They hold teas and birthday parties, hold classes in animal husbandry and geography, and have their own color scheme, including a signature paint available at Home Depot. Their influence over fashion is incalculable -- their clothing and accessories are coveted by and reproduced for millions of fans. They are about to launch their own line of personal care products.