Handsome

Last night's concert by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Meyerhoff Hall may have found a solution to the aging of the symphonic audience. Before the concert began, this listener and several friends noticed an unusual number of teen-age girls in the lobby. And one had to wonder if the reason for their appearance was the piano soloist, Stephen Prutsman.Prutsman, a recent graduate of the Peabody Conservatory who has won prizes in several important international competitions, greatly resembles the young Mikhail Baryshnikov -- except that he is taller, blonder and may have even bluer eyes.

Families that flay together can't stay together for long. That's just one of life's painful little lessons conveyed to searing effect in "August: Osage County," the 2008 Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play by Tracy Letts now receiving its Baltimore premiere under the happiest of circumstances - the inauguration of much-anticipated Everyman Theatre on West Fayette Street. The vibrant production provides a fitting display for the handsome new facility, where the Empire, Palace and Town theaters once operated.

St. Paul, Minnesota. -- I have decided I am not going to see the movie version of ''The Bridges of Madison County.''Not just because it is an egregiously written book. There are plenty of egregiously written books around; purists sniff at this one just because it sold so dang many. I've never read the whole thing, just a magazine excerpt, but it struck me as the sort of thing Rod McKuen might do with prose if he had had a lot of caffeine.No, I'm not going to see the movie version of ''Bridges'' because I don't think I can take another movie version of right-person, wrong-time passion.

Though it's been open since last fall, you might not have heard of The Americana , a handsome two-story bar and restaurant in Canton. But with its brunch menu and sports-ready clientele, Sunday's divisional game may be the time to check it out. The Americana replaced Clutch, which ostentatiously billed itself as "Baltimore's premier sports bar," with a low-key attitude. For decor, the owners have peppered the bar with some vintage knick-knacks and framed covers of the Saturday Evening Post.

Were William Shakespeare, the most famous English writer, to reappear on the streets today, chances are no one would have a clue who he was. That's because, 400 years after his death, our impressions of what the Bard really looked like remain wedded to a few images created years after his death, in an outmoded style that makes it hard to even imagine the author of the great comedies and tragedies as a flesh-and-blood human being. So this week's unveiling, in London, of a hitherto unknown portrait of Shakespeare - painted during his lifetime, then squirreled away for centuries in the private collection of an aristocratic family who had no idea what they had - comes as a revelation.

On a typical night, the crowd at Clyde's - and it is usually a crowd - includes families with young children, business people in shirts and ties gathered around an opened laptop, couples on dates and loud multigenerational gatherings. The stools around the long, handsome bar are all taken, and people are standing alongside, drinks in hand, talking. No wonder Clyde's was recently named by the Zagat guide as the most popular restaurant in the Baltimore region. This wood-paneled all-American restaurant, part of a chain with 13 locations from Northern Virginia to Maryland (including the next-door Tomato Palace, which opened in 1993)

"Handsome Is: Adventures with Saul Bellow," by Harriet Wasserman. Fromm Iternational. $23.95. 194 pages.Ignorance may not be bliss, but it has its advantages. Despite my weakness for literary gossip, I had somehow managed to miss the end, just last year, of the 25-year professional relationship between Saul Bellow and his agent, Harriet Wasserman. So I read bemusedly and unbiasedly through "Handsome Is," wondering why anyone would choose to turn what is essentially a longish Vanity Fair piece into a shortish book.

25 years ago Senior citizens in Carroll County will soon have a place to go, similar in many ways to the youth-run counseling and recreation center that opened early this month in the old county jail. The project to provide local services for the elderly received approval last week from the State Commission on Aging when it OK'ed a $25,000 grant request from the county Bureau of Mental Health. -- Democratic Advocate, Dec. 20, 1971.75 years ago Let those who would hide themselves to the woods, fields and roadsides to gather Christmas greens be reminded that there is a state law, enacted in 1918, which makes it a misdemeanor for anyone to cut or in any way injure any tree or shrubbery without the written consent or personal direction of the owner.

DIARY-OF-A-GINGER-TOM-CAT .BLOGSPOT.COM What's the point? -- Ferdinand the ginger cat has a blog. He says he "sits on many fences and has many stories to tell." Ferdinand, affectionately known as Ferdi, has proclaimed himself the most handsome ginger cat in the world and wants to share his diary with the world. If you've ever wanted an inkling of what's going on in the mind of your four-legged, light-footed, suave, feline friends, you may just find the answer here. Ferdi gives a detailed account of everything from his inner thoughts to his relationship with his human housemates.

The first thing you notice about the Naval Academy Glee Club's production of the musical "1776" is a marvelous set that evokes Philadelphia's Independence Hall to a fare-thee-well.With banners from the original 13 colonies hanging in Mahan Hall, the setting for a musical account of the 2nd Continental Congress' adoption of the Declaration of Independence couldn't be more apt.The second thing you notice is that stage director Lois Evans and music director Barry Talley have found some very talented Mids and that they populate every corner of the stage.

From the looks of the crowd, the new bar on the corner of Thames and Bond streets will have a lot better luck than its predecessor, DuClaw Brewing Company . On two recent Thursday nights, Bond Street Social - which doubles as restaurant, lounge and upscale sports bar - was teeming. Its two bars were so busy it was hard to find a stool or even sneak in to order a drink. DuClaw closed nearly two years ago over sluggish business. But the owners of Bond Street - a group that includes investors in Mad River Grille and Philadelphia's Ladder 15 - have either run into a better business climate, or have simply successfully attracted a young, urban professional crowd.

The north side of Cross Street Market has long outpaced the south side. MaGerks, Ryleigh's, the Stalking Horse and the 8x10 have made the north side a viable and attractive destination. But the south side has been lacking a bona fide anchor establishment to help spur activity. Now it has one. Social Pub & Pie opened in late July in the first block of East Cross Street, and the block already feels safer and more solid. Social Pub & Pie — as in pizza pie — is a double-wide.

How do you solve a problem like Baltimore's new Irish pubs? The last two I've reviewed — Delia Foley's and Finnegan's Wake — have disappointed. They have all the bells and whistles of a Chuck E. Cheese's: Wings! Arcade games! Delirious young people running around! And just as much originality. They are rudderless, exhibiting none of the rich character and history their neighborhoods are known for. Liam Flynn's Ale House has found a way to do the Irish pub right. This new bar from the former manager of the Pint-Size Pub is everything these other bars are not: original, personable, chill and, most notably, respectful of its city's long and rich nightlife history.

"Level, a small plates lounge" is the formal name of a terrific little restaurant in the heart of Annapolis. Open since October 2009, Level hasn't been exactly languishing in obscurity; multiple awards and commendations have come its way, and it's earned them. There are wonderful things to eat here: a Cuban pork spring roll that we ordered, ate like maniacs, and ordered again; handmade gnocchi in a plate-licking mustard-and-garlic sauce; a simple satay featuring grilled Gunpowder bison, served with an agave marinade.

Morris and Sandra Hill sit atop a corporate ladder fashioned from their own family tree. The couple has helped build Baltimore Behavioral Health Inc. into a $17 million enterprise. Two of Sandra Hill's children have jobs paying six-figure salaries, and her son-in-law is the chief doctor. The family, which holds six of eight seats on the nonprofit's board of directors, has enjoyed rising personal income while serving Baltimore's plentiful supply of drug abusers under a taxpayer-funded system intended to help those beset by psychiatric problems.

Baltimore-area hospital CEOs and presidents boast seven-figure salaries, club and gym memberships, and paid financial planning and tax services as part of compensation packages from their nonprofit employers. Nearly a dozen hospitals cover country club dues for top executives. Carroll Hospital, in reporting the compensation to the IRS, disclosed that it requires its chief executive officer to be a member of the exclusive local clubs "to facilitate hospital interaction with the community" and because of the "potential for donors.

Despite the presence of a lovely leading lady and an impossibly handsome co-lead, the most dazzling star of the quixotic Bella is actually New York City. Director Alejandro Monteverde presents the melting pot that is 21st-century Manhattan with an infectious vibrancy that makes you want to partake in the Big Apple's colorful ebullience. If only that vitality carried over to the film's wispy script, which Monteverde wrote with Patrick Million and Leo Severino. Like they say, there's not much "there" there to this tale of two co-workers, haunted by very different tragedies, who come together on a fateful day and change each other's lives forever.

The first time he hits the ice on a Saturday night in early autumn in Hershey, Pa., there is this brief pause, a collective gasp, really, as if the air is being sucked out of this hangar of a building.You expect to see a gangly teen-ager, not some football player in hockey skates. But here he is, No. 88, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound rock skipping along the ice. The fans like that and begin to fill the Hersheypark Arena with applause. They have come to see a preseason game between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers, but they have been drawn by curiosity, to see if this kid paid millions has the goods.

Baltimore area hospital CEOs and presidents boast seven-figure salaries, club and gym memberships, and paid financial planning and tax services as part of compensation packages from their nonprofit employers. Nearly a dozen hospitals covered country club dues for top executives. Carroll Hospital, in reporting the compensation to the IRS, disclosed that it requires its CEO to be a member of the exclusive local clubs "to facilitate hospital interaction with the community" and because of the "potential for donors.

Were William Shakespeare, the most famous English writer, to reappear on the streets today, chances are no one would have a clue who he was. That's because, 400 years after his death, our impressions of what the Bard really looked like remain wedded to a few images created years after his death, in an outmoded style that makes it hard to even imagine the author of the great comedies and tragedies as a flesh-and-blood human being. So this week's unveiling, in London, of a hitherto unknown portrait of Shakespeare - painted during his lifetime, then squirreled away for centuries in the private collection of an aristocratic family who had no idea what they had - comes as a revelation.