Dolly

It's time to schedule another exciting evening of music and dance performed by the dramatic players at Hammond High School. This winter they are presenting the classic musical "Hello, Dolly." Come and hear Heather Perkins, Thespian successor to Carol Channing and Barbara Streisand, belt out tunes as the irrepressible Dolly Levi in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn.The 50-odd ensemble promises an enchanting evening featuring Ian Kennedy as Horace Vandergelder, Shari Harris as Irene Malloy, Jeannean Roberts as Minnie Fay, Evan Samuels as Barnaby, Andrew Wiles as Cornelius, Chris Nelson as Ambrose, Julie Schroeder as Ermengarde and Josselyn Essey as Ernestina.

Dolly Diana Gilmore-Wolle, an artist and former Baltimore police officer, died of cancer Monday at her Westminster home. She was 61. Born Dolly Diana Bass in Baltimore and raised in Pikesville and Catonsville, she attended Bais Yaakov School for Girls and earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education from what is now Towson University. She bred and trained German shepherds before joining the city police force and being assigned to the Eastern District. For several years in the 1970s, she worked in the Officer Friendly program and used a dog puppet to instruct children in safety rules and not to speak to strangers.

Washington--Spend 30 minutes with Dolly Parton, and two words come to mind: Too much.Too much hair, too much makeup, too much cleavage, too much giggling, too much smiling, too much enthusiasm.Too much Dolly.Which is just fine with Ms. Parton, who has used her love of excess to become to country music what Liberace was to classical piano. Her voice alone probably would have earned her fame in Nashville, where she's been a staple for more than three decades. But it's the big hair, huge chest, gaudy clothes and acres-across smile that have moved her beyond pop-star status to pop icon.

Dolores J. "Dolly" Sherwood, a special education English teacher and department head at Old Mill High School for three decades, died of breast cancer Monday at her Severna Park home. She was 59. She was born Dolores Joan Pascal in St. Louis, and raised in Catonsville where her family had moved in 1947. After graduating from Catonsville High School, she earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Baltimore. Mrs. Sherwood had planned to become a lawyer, but a dean at the University of Baltimore - where she was a pre-law student - suggested she try teaching.

Dolly Parton is so good-hearted and beams with such amiability and country-morning charm that the temptation to sit back, shut up and simply bask in her screen presence is all but overwhelming."

We spent an enjoyable evening at Hammond High's production of "Hello, Dolly!" starring Heather Perkins as the irrepressible Dolly. As usual for the drama department, this was an ambitious production with two acts, seven scenes and 13 songs.It was the cat's meow!Many of us have seen the movie musical with Barbra Streisand, and a few of us were lucky enough to see Carol Channing in the title role on stage, so Ms. Perkins' performance would be compared to some of the best performances around.

FAIR HILL - -Bridesmaid no more. Moon Dolly came into the $30,000 Valentine Memorial hurdle stakes, the feature at Saturday's annual Fair Hill Races, with four consecutive seconds in races in Florida, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Back home in Maryland, she halted the frustration with a game victory. Trained in Monkton by Tom Voss, the 8-year-old daughter of Kris S. challenged pacemaker Jellyberry in the deep stretch and prevailed by a head in 4 minutes, 15 3/5 seconds for the 2 1/4 miles.

Dolly Parton tries to go the way of Farrah Fawcett in "Wild Texas Wind," at 9 tonight on WMAR-TV (Channel 2). She's looking to revitalize her acting career and has chosen the black, blue and battered route that brought Fawcett back in "The Burning Bed" in 1984.This is news to you only if you have missed the supermarket checkout lines where, for the past two months -- on the cover of almost any tabloid that would have her -- Parton has appeared in a photo taken from a scene in which she is badly beaten.

Dolly Parton was country pop when country pop wasn't cool. Back when Nashville still seemed like hicksville to a lot of radio listeners, Parton proved that a country singer could easily top the pop charts -- provided she had the right material. And thanks to crossover classics like "Here You Come Again," "Islands in the Stream" and "9 to 5," Parton had it in spades.Yet in some ways, Parton's pop success has done her more harm than good. Parton met the mainstream on its own terms, playing down the Tennessee mountain spunk that marked her work with Porter Waggoner, and while that helped make her a superstar, it also cost her some of her credibility with the country crowd.

Hello, Dolly! was a big hit on Broadway in the 1960s, shedding its light on the Great White Way alongside the likes of Mame, Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof. But while the latter three get trotted out regularly by theater companies, Dolly's appearances are less frequent. Jerry Herman's musical score, after all, is more modest than the others, and the show's dramatics less riveting. But the story of Dolly Levi, the irrepressible matchmaker who overcomes loneliness and loss to take New York by storm, is a charmer.