Enid

The grounds of Ruxton's historic Tyrconnell Mansion were in the pink for the fourth-annual "Tea at Tyrconnell." Huge hot pink and orange sculptures dotted the patio, while fuchsia streamers fluttered in the breeze under two tents. And by early evening, many of the 700 guests had a pink glow, courtesy of the sun, cha-cha-cha rum punch or a combination of the two. Or maybe it was the knowledge that the Sunday soiree had raised more than $70,000 for AIDS Action Baltimore. Basking among the beautiful people: Joe Platerote, event chair; Amy Lowenstein, Jayme Gilden, Barbara Stern, Stephen Tancibok, Karen and Paul Winicki, event committee members; Lynda Dee, board president of AIDS Action Baltimore; Ken Eggrel, Joe Myers and Tom Holden, board members; Eileen Hotz, WBFF-TV news assistant; Stuart Ortel, Stone Hill Designs owner; Mike Aquino, Strategic Resource Group; Charlie Reid, partner of Brown Investment Advisory; Gino Cardinale, owner of City Caf; Enid Feinberg, partner with State of the Art Design; Patrick Onley, free-lance TV writer and producer; Heshi Zinman, HIV manager with DuPont Pharmaceuticals; Purvey Bennett, AT&T data circuit designer; Curt Decker, D.C. disability lobbyist; and Ken Davies, partner with Wright, Constable & Skeen.

A prominent Baltimore funeral home has filed a $41 million defamation lawsuit against WJZ, claiming that an investigative report wrongly accused the firm of mishandling a veteran's burial, and was largely based on the widow's dreams. The suit also claims that WJZ reporter Suzanne Collins refused to grant officials at March Funeral Homes West Inc. enough time to refute the contentions of Enid Costley before the Oct. 11, 1999 broadcast, despite repeated pleas. The suit, filed last Friday by Baltimore lawyer Walter Nathan Malloy Jr., charges that WJZ "published an irresponsible piece of sensational journalism that was wretched with false statements."

The production of "The Mystery of Irma Vep" running at Everyman Theatre has a portrait that drips blood, an Egyptian sarcophagus, hidden passages out of which characters unexpectedly pop, a mad woman in the dungeon and such deliberately tongue-in-cheek dialogue as, "He killed the wrong wolf!" As outlandish as the onstage antics might seem, they can't hold a snuffed-out candle to the frenzied activity taking place backstage. Three dressers and a stagehand conduct a carefully choreographed dance that allows the show's two actors to make up to 50 full costume changes during each performance, complete with Victorian-era petticoats, wigs, false teeth and top hats - often in two seconds or less.

NEW YORK // AS A TEENAGER, NATALIE JOY Johnson suffered a double-whammy of rejection. First, the Baltimore School for the Arts turned her down. Then, as a freshman at Mount Hebron High School, she didn't even make the cut for a production of Godspell. At that point, many kids would have given up on acting. Not Natalie. Perseverance -- and talent -- won out. Now the bubbly, driven actress is making her debut on Broadway, appearing in one of the season's hot new musicals, Legally Blonde, and "living the dream," as she puts it. "It's funny," says Johnson, 29. "I guess things happen for a reason."

The annual marathon telephone campaign of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore raised nearly $600,000 yesterday toward its 1993 campaign goal of $22.5 million.At the close of the 13th annual effort, $585,536 had been pledged -- short of last year's $820,000, but termed "very good in this economic climate" by Super Phone Day co-chairman Enid Brecker.About $17 million of The Associated's goal has already been met, Ms. Brecker said, noting, "We're further ahead in the campaign this year than last year, so we had fewer phone calls to make."

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theater company in residence at Howard Community College, has received five Helen Hayes Award nominations. Kasi Campbell, associate artistic director of Rep Stage and adjunct faculty member at the college, was nominated for Outstanding Direction, Resident Play for her work in the area premiere last year of "The Lonesome West" by Martin McDonagh. "The Mystery of Irma Vep," another play directed by Campbell, garnered four nominations. Bruce Nelson, adjunct faculty at the college, was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play for his portrayal of Lady Enid, Nicodemus, Pev Amri, Alcazar and Victor the Wolf in the play.

Tara Correa-McMullen, 16, a teen actress who portrayed a former gang member in the TV show Judging Amy, was shot to death amid gang violence Oct. 21 as she stood outside an apartment complex in Inglewood, Calif. Two men with her were wounded. No suspects have been identified in the shooting, which is believed to be gang-related, police said. After filming her first movie, Rebound, which was released this summer, Ms. Correa-McMullen won a recurring role on Judging Amy as a former gang member named Graciela.

Ethnic America to be topicTowson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1710 Dulaney Valley Road, will conduct a series of services about ethnic America at 10 a.m. on Sundays in August.Native American issues and traditional values will be discussed this Sunday by Bob Gajdys, a Mohawk who is director of the Community Assistance Network in Essex.Rose Robinson, a Hopi from Arizona, will discuss "Native America after 500 years" on Aug. 9.A Latin American series begins Aug. 16, followed by a talk on "liberation theology Aug. 23 and a discussion of Euro-American relations Aug. 30.Information: 825-6045.

Washington's Shakespeare Theatre returns to the work of the 18th-century German writer Friedrich Schiller with "Don Carlos," currently in previews and opening Monday. Like Schiller's "Mary Stuart," which the theater produced a decade ago, "Don Carlos" is a historical drama. It's based on the tragic life of the son of King Philip II of Spain. Director Michael Kahn calls it a play as complex as the work of Shakespeare. Playing the title role is Robert Sella, who starred in "Angels in America" at the Mechanic Theatre and last appeared at the Shakespeare Theatre in "Mourning Becomes Electra."

A city circuit court judge has dismissed seven of eight charges in a defamation lawsuit filed last year by March Funeral Homes West Inc., against WJZ-TV. The suit arose from a pair of stories broadcast by CBS-owned WJZ (Channel 13) in October 1999 about a grieving woman's fears that her late husband's casket had been improperly handled at the gravesite. The funeral home, at the time a significant advertiser on the station, claimed the stories by reporters Suzanne Collins and Alex Demetrick blamed March for work done by a veterans cemetery staff.