Fairy Godmother

While Commissioning Week may mark the unofficial start of summer for some locals, the season begins for downtown theater lovers with tonight's debut at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre. The outdoor theater across from City Dock on the site of a colonial blacksmith shop is celebrating its 40th season of presenting three shows under the stars from Thursdays to Sundays through Labor Day. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella opens tonight and runs through June 24 followed by Urinetown The Musical in July.

With a well-rehearsed and thoroughly professional cast of 40 - children ages 5 to 14 - Talent Machine Company's production of "Cinderella" opened last weekend in Annapolis. Founder Bobbi Smith managed to bring some new twists to the old tale, and her sister, Vicki Smith, created some lively choreography. Sets and costumes reflected hours of behind-the-scenes volunteer work, especially the skills of the talented Scott couple - Jerry on sets and Linda on costumes. All the elements for another Talent Machine hit were there - except for the full house of families, friends and fans that the effort deserved.

If you want to watch interesting TV tonight, you'd better have, get, or visit someone who subscribes to, cable. Broadcast TV tonight is sort of like obesity. It's a big waist.* "Cinderella . . . Frozen in Time" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- Dorothy Hamill stars in this new, on-ice staging of the fairy tale classic, which features Lloyd Bridges as the narrator and includes a few twists. Instead of losing a glass slipper, for example, Ms. Hamill's Cinderella is attacked suddenly and cracked in the knee with a club.

WHAT DO island-dwelling millionaire wannabes on TV have in common with millionaire royalty? Entertainment value, of course. We armchair viewers do love our soap operas, especially if they are "reality-based." The royals -- who long ago proved they have a flair for the dramatic -- are making a splash this summer, led by Prince William. The media sharks are betting on his coming of age and proclaiming him the best thing since ... Diana, his mother. He's got her good looks and shy smile; his preference for privacy is poignant.

Once upon a time, a starry-eyed young couple fell in love and got married. To save money, they rented a tiny apartment with barely room for two, except for the basement, which they intended to use as a bedroom. They placed their mattress on a plywood island near the furnace, water heater and racks of clothing, and resolved to clean up . . . or something . . . as soon as they returned from their honeymoon.Unbeknown to them, their friend and fairy godmother, designer Cheryl Duvall, could not bear to allow the newlyweds to return to the basement as it was. As a surprise wedding gift, she and six friends from Duvall/Hendricks, an architectural and design firm, pooled resources, and talents, and spent four weeknights and one Saturday waging a successful battle against the basement uglies.

Wildlife system's 99th birthday The National Wildlife Refuge System is celebrating its 99th birthday, and you're invited to the party this weekend at the Patuxent Research Refuge National Wildlife Visitor Center in Laurel. Activities include a presentation of wild animals (including hawks and owls) by the Scales and Tails group, interactive entertainment by the singing duo Magpie, and craft-making. Weather permitting, there will be tram tours and nature hikes. The tram tours will go through the different habitats at the center - forests, wetlands and meadows.

They watched Vanna White play a statue that came to life, so why not Olivia Newton-John as a living, breathing mannequin?Suffice it to say we're not talking "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw. "A Mom for Christmas," an NBC movie that will be on Channel 2 (WMAR) at 9 o'clock tonight, is a too-sweet cupful of tinsel-strength holiday froth made from a bit of "Cinderella," a -- of "Pinocchio" and a spoonful of "Mary Poppins."Jessica's mother died when the girl was 3. When her fairy godmother spots the lonely preteen, played by Juliet Sorcey, wandering a department store, she grants the child's wish for a Mom for the holidays, bringing a mannequin to life but only until midnight on Christmas.

There are sadly unfulfilled folks who sneer at sentiment and sweetness, fantasy and fairy tale. They're not crazy about simple, lovely melodies, either. They'd rather face a root canal than something like Cendrillon, Jules Massenet's luminous, understated operatic version of the Cinderella story. They just don't know what's good for them. Last week, the Peabody Opera Theatre presented a production of Cendrillon that reveled in its sentimental, fantastical, simple loveliness. Housed in Erhard Rom's pretty set, seemingly inspired by the colors and patterns of vintage Tiffany lamps, and featuring storybook costumes by Mary Bova, the staging had the right look for such magical business.

As reported Feb. 5, 1958, in The Sun: The Howard County Historical Society made its formal debut last night when the society's four newly elected officers and a panel of three guest speakers appeared before a group of about 50 people at the Ellicott City Courthouse. After listening to the speakers, comments from the floor and a compromise decision as to the price of admittance to the new society, a membership of 31 was finally recruited (cash on the barrel). Benjamin Mellor Jr., treasurer, collected $2 from each of the 16 people admitting them to membership in the county society, and $8 from 15 people admitting them to joint membership in both the county society and the Maryland Historical Society.

Magic aboard the busThe Magic School Bus will be in Baltimore today at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the public is invited to take a tour.Known to scores of children who have read the books and watched the PBS television series, the celebrated bus is on a cross-country tour from New York to Seattle, Wash. Along the way the bus will make about 20 stops at libraries, museums, book stores and festivals.Mayor Kurt Schmoke is expected to be on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning before the bus opens to the public and students from area elementary schools.