Entertainment

Nancy Lee Thompson, a homemaker who enjoyed entertaining family and friends, died Sunday of Alzheimer's disease at her Lutherville home. She was 85. Born in Baltimore, the former Nancy Lee Schenuit was the daughter of Frank G. Schenuit, the founder in 1912 of Schenuit Industries Inc., which manufactured aircraft tires, and Hilda Koester, whose family owned the E.H. Koester Bakery Co., which produced Koester's bread. Mrs. Thompson was raised in Roland Park and spent summers at a family home on Gibson Island.

The dancing days are over at Milan . The Little Italy establishment is now prohibited from allowing or providing live entertainment, including disc jockeys, on its premises. The May 31 decision was made in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City in what amounted to a default hearing. No one representing Milan showed up. Milan's opponents have long claimed that the establishment was a nightclub masquerading as a restaurant, and they have repeatedly pressed the Baltimore City Liquor License Board to take action.

Jodi Fader, a condo owner at Baltimore's Ritz-Carlton Residences at the Inner Harbor, will tell you there's nothing like knocking out a few walls to welcome in a world of light and water views. "We've been watching this property develop for the last 11 years," said Jodi Fader who, along with her husband, Brian, was the first to occupy the ground floor, wrap-around unit. "We made architectural changes to make it more like a home. " In addition to opening rooms off of a main hallway to allow for a more circular flow, she and her husband added wood paneling in the kitchen and great room, chose wide-planked, old wood flooring to contrast with the marble of the entrance hall and kitchen area, wallpapered the dining room with a hand-painted scene of Chinese-inspired birds and foliage, and finally, integrated antique family pieces with her transitional decor.

Only an hour from Ocean City , this location is a one-stop destination for gaming, racing, entertainment and dining. Casino hours: 24 hours a day. Games to play: Table games include craps, roulette, blackjack and other card games. Six types of poker are also available. Slot denominations run from one cent to $25, with more than 1,800 machines offering the latest themes and old favorites. Racing: Live racing season started in April. Entertainment: The casino offers live concerts and music.

The largest crowd in Preakness Stakes history watched the thrilling victory of a horse that's now on a Triple Crown hunt, jammed to pop band Maroon 5 and basked under a Saturday sky whose only clouds were the wispy letters of an advertisement sprayed from a plane. Bettors in the Turfside Terrace, a massive white tent along the home stretch at Pimlico Race Course , watched anxiously as the 137th Preakness ended just as many had predicted - with Derby champ I'll Have Another and also-favored Bodemeister vying for the win. When I'll Have Another surged late to win by a nose - and continued his bid for what would be the first Triple Crown triumph since 1978 - they erupted into cheers, clutching their betting tickets and hugging.

A large swath of downtown Baltimore's west side would become the city's third state-designated arts and entertainment district, and the state's 20th, if Maryland economic development officials approve a city application designed to strengthen the area. The proposed Bromo Tower Arts and Entertainment District is a 117-acre tract that would join districts in Station North and Highlandtown as city areas in which individuals and businesses would be eligible for tax breaks for arts-related activities and investments.

The screams of joy from Monica Lawler could be heard across the cavernous clubhouse at Pimlico shortly after the Kentucky Derby ended Saturday. She and her father, Bob Lawler, put money on No. 19, I'll Have Another, who had just won the first leg of the Triple Crown. Monica bet $6 on the Kentucky-bred horse to finish first, second or third. She picked the horse based solely on its name and quickly headed to the teller to collect $55 in winnings. Her father, who tried a more complex bet involving other horses, didn't take home a dime.

Everyone who has ever sat before a television or movie screen to enjoy the fantasy of "The Wizard of Oz" should plan to see how magical this family favorite becomes onstage at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia. The production brings the beloved characters live and up-close, so that we feel we are traveling the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy and her newfound friends, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. Director David James transfers this 1939 film classic — which was based on the book by L. Frank Baum — to 2012, and dazzles us with a fabulous cast and exciting special effects that include swirling tornadoes that whisk us away from Kansas.

Toward the end of their concert in Philadelphia this month, First Aid Kit addressed the crowd: "We want to try an experiment. " For the past hour, Klara and Johanna Soderberg, the two Swedish sisters who make up the band, had been performing the kind of music that can be best summed up with the word "lovely. " It is Americana by way of Stockholm, pretty ballads and melancholy anecdotes sung in two frail, harmonious voices over quivering basslines. The duo was playing Union Transfer, a cavernous former rail baggage depot and my second stop on a visit to Philly's abundantly rich music scene.

The Maryland Film Festival would transform the historic and long-shuttered Parkway Theatre into a venue for small independent films and concerts under one of three proposals to enliven a key intersection in Baltimore's Charles North neighborhood. Two other developers also hope to restore the former movie palace, where vaudeville acts also once played, and bring in live music, theater and other performances, the Baltimore Development Corp. said Tuesday. The BDC, the city's economic development agency, said it had received three proposals to redevelop the theater at 3 W. North Ave. and adjacent buildings at 1 W. North Ave. and 1820 N. Charles St. in response to a request by the agency in December.