Dinner Theater

Four poets whose work is included in "Fast Talk, Full Volume," a new anthology of poetry by young African-American writers, will participate in a free poetry reading Mar. 1 at Irina's Cafe.Kenneth Carroll, Melvin Lewis, Brian Gilmore and Alan Spears will read selections from the anthology as well as from the body of their own work. The program will begin at 8:30 p.m. and will be followed by an open reading.Irina's Cafe is located at 32nd and Barclay streets in the Charles Village neighborhood; for details, call (410)

Chesapeake Music Hall's production of "A Chorus Line," halfway through a run delighting audiences, owes much of its success to two women: director Sherry Kay, 39, and assistant director Katy McAllister, 31.Both are versatile, tough, hard-working and devoted to the theater.Born in Carroll County, McAllister grew up in Westminster in a show business family: Her father, Lewis McAllister, was a composer, and her mother, Nancy McAllister, a costumer. She majored in theater at the American University in Washington, then became involved in children's theater.

The Paragon Theatre had been wrapping up rehearsals for its production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at a Crownsville dinner theater when cast members heard the worst possible news. The owners of Trifles Restaurant - where the group has performed for nearly three years - told the group last month that they intended to sell the business, leaving the troupe scrambling to find a new home. "The actors are very disappointed," said Herman Kemper, who founded the group with his son Gregory Kemper.

Well, what would you expect a star of "Oklahoma!" to say except, "I guess I'm just a country girl at heart?"But April Haar means it. Starring as Laurey in the 50th anniversary national tour of "Oklahoma!" opening at the Lyric Opera House tonight, the actress claims semi-rural western roots -- Western Maryland, that is.Although born in Panama, where her father was stationed in the Air Force, she grew up in the mountains of West Virginia and Western Maryland -- first in Keyser, W.Va., and from fourth grade on, in Cumberland.

After a successful run of the wildly funny theater happening "Tony and Tina's Wedding" at the Fells Point Cafe (20,000 saw the play), producer Howard Perloff has formed the new Fells Point Cabaret Theatre at the same location, 723 S. Broadway.According to Perloff, the cabaret will be a year-round theater venue offering musicals, comedies and dramas and some original scripts. Local actors from the Baltimore-Washington area will be cast as well as some New York professionals.First on the agenda is an audience participation thriller, "Murder on the Waterfront," a dinner theater package running tonight through New Year's Eve. Thereafter, the show will pick up its regular schedule, playing at 7 p.m. Fridays and 7 and 10:30 p.m. Saturdays, and 3 and 7 p.m. Sundays through March 10.The cost of the dinner theater entertainment is $29.95 a person except for the special New Year's Eve celebration ($75 each)

Rick Stohler has straddled two worlds in his professional life - the theater and the classroom. Those who have seen him perform on stage or teach a room full of third-graders agree that in either arena, Stohler is a star. A resident of Columbia, he developed a passion for performing in high school but decided on a career in education. Stohler taught third grade in Virginia from 1977 to 1983, but the lure of the spotlight drew him to performances at area dinner theaters at night. "I was working morning, noon and night," he said.

Toby Orenstein is once again at the helm of one of her favorite projects - directing the Young Columbians, a singing group formed in 1975 by the founder of Toby's Dinner Theatre when Columbia was still Jim Rouse's baby. Working with talented teens as they interpret tunes that tug on heartstrings never grows old, says the artistic director, who recruited the group's first members to perform for America's bicentennial. But then again, neither does the other work she also cherishes: helping disadvantaged and special-needs children succeed in life by giving them access to the esteem-building lessons bestowed by the theater.

You just can't take too many chances. After all, risk-taking might lead to failure, and failure is unacceptable.That's only one of several cynicisms conveyed by county teens in "The Game of Chance," an original production that takes swipes at pushy parents, materialistic peers and grade-oriented schools.The play is the combined brainchild of Toby Orenstein, owner and operator of Toby's Dinner Theater, local writers, and a score of county high school students who met for several months to develop a script reflecting the teens' concerns.

Like most people preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, Kathy Brown has compiled a lengthy grocery list, four pages worth of everything from turkey to condiments to scouring pads. Brown, the director of Shepherd's Staff, a Westminster charity, will be serving turkey and trimmings to about 500. She hopes, amid the preparations, she won't be going to the food store. Brown is looking for donors to fill her list. Shepherd's Staff, a ministry to the needy in Carroll County, is organizing its 11th annual free Thanksgiving dinner.

Thirty-four years ago, Arnie Hayes took the stage with an acting group from New Windsor for a production of the British farce See How They Run. Hayes will play the same role, the Rev. Arthur Humphrey, again this weekend as he and eight other actors with the Little Community Theatre put on the production at the Carroll Arts Center on Main Street in Westminster. Proceeds from this weekend's performances will benefit the Shepherd's Staff, a nonprofit outreach and support center in Westminster.