Hippodrome

Play `Annie' performance Little orphan Annie comes to the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, 12 N. Eutaw St., at 8 tonight. Tickets are $25-$65. Information: 410-547-SEAT or go to france-merrickpac.com. FYI Susan Reimer is off today. Her column does not appear.

Theatrical superstition holds that green is an unlucky color, but in Wicked -- the musical about a green-skinned girl and the Emerald City -- green is definitely the color of luck, as well as money. Wicked seems to mint money in every town it plays and, judging from the slick touring production at the Hippodrome, Baltimore should prove no exception. Wicked runs through Feb. 18 at the Hippodrome, 12 N. Eutaw St. Tickets are $36-$82. 410-547-SEAT or BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com

IS THE restoration of Baltimore's Hippodrome Theater in trouble -- or just a pawn that Gov. Parris N. Glendening keeps using against antagonists like Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke?Late last month, the governor withheld a $1.8 million capital budget allocation for planning the Hippodrome's transformation into a performing arts center. Citing "unanswered questions," the governor asked for firmer cost figures and details about city plans to revitalize the vicinity of the theater at Eutaw and Fayette streets.

Developers want to build a 20-story apartment tower with a swimming pool, restaurants, plaza and fountain facing the renovated Hippodrome Theater as part of a $350 million revitalization of the west side of downtown.The proposal by A & R Development Corp. and Southern Management Corp. would create shops and outdoor cafes where patrons could relax before and after shows at the vaudeville-era theater, which is slated to be renovated and reopened."Our vision is to extend the city's night life beyond the Inner Harbor and really enliven the west side of downtown," said Tony Rodgers, development manager for the Baltimore development firm.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening has agreed to spend $1.8 million in design funds to restore the historic Hippodrome Theater in downtown Baltimore.But the governor said he wants details about how the project fits into the city's ambitious west-side redevelopment effort and assurances that the state will not be left subsidizing the theater operation.The governor withheld state funds for the second phase of the design work this year after projected theater renovation costs jumped from $35 million to $53 million.

Developers want to build a 20-story apartment tower with a swimming pool, restaurants, plaza and fountain facing the renovated Hippodrome Theater as part of a $350 million revitalization of the west side of downtown.The proposal by A & R Development Corp. and Southern Management Corp. would create shops and outdoor cafes where patrons could relax before and after shows at the vaudeville-era theater, which is slated to be renovated and reopened."Our vision is to extend the city's night life beyond the Inner Harbor and really enliven the west side of downtown," said Tony Rodgers, development manager for the Baltimore development company.

THE OLD TAILOR DOESN'T HAVE THE heart to throw away the winter coats, suits, summer dresses and trousers left behind by those who abandoned the city. Wrapped in cellophane, the garments hang from a dusty clothes carousel that stopped spinning long ago in his North Eutaw Street shop. The three-piece, pin-striped disco suit, the 1960s Gidget petticoat and the cotton seersucker dresses -- the styles of the clothing reveal when their owners left.Over the past 50 years, Sam Boulmetis watched the downtown shopping crowd thin through the front window of his tailor shop as one out of every three Baltimoreans -- 300,000 in all -- found a ribbon of new highway beckoning them to the suburbs.

EFFORTS TO transform Baltimore's Hippodrome Theater into a $53 million performing arts center have moved ahead on several fronts this fall, as state officials approved a financing plan for the project and endorsed a proposal to give the building national landmark status.Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced that he would support funding for the project during a speech last week at the annual convention of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.The next step will occur during the Maryland General Assembly session that begins in January, when legislators will be asked to appropriate $11.5 million for the project, a key element in a $350 million revitalization effort for downtown Baltimore's west side.

THE UNIVERSITY of Maryland, Baltimore, has occupied the same site since 1807 as the founding campus of the University of Maryland.With new buildings and programs, the university has played a pivotal role in the rebirth of the west side of downtown. But problems crying out for urban renewal lie between the eastern borders of our campus and downtown.Our neighborhood's complete rebirth is not possible without more redevelopment. And that will only occur with investment in projects that serve as catalysts, such as the Hippodrome Theater.

LATELY, I'VE BEEN listening to some of Baltimore's leading citizens tout the idea of renovating Eutaw Street's Hippodrome Theatre as a home for big touring musicals -- the "Phantoms," "Ragtimes" and "Lion Kings."Almost in the same breath, these downtown boosters have been running down our current playhouse, the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre. Some suggested it would be demolished. After all, the former Hamburger building is now being razed at Charles and Fayette.While standing in that dank and potentially glorious Hippodrome auditorium -- even with its ruined plaster and peeling paint it's a knockout -- I got a different kind of wintertime chill.

Any number of arts organizations in Baltimore have come and gone over the decades, while the Young Victorian Theatre Company keeps chugging along, to the appreciation of Gilbert and Sullivan fans throughout the area. The troupe's 39th season opens this weekend with The Pirates of Penzance, which gently skewers social class distinctions, inept and blustery military and police, and slavish devotion to duty. The libretto finds Gilbert in particularly witty form. Sullivan's score is full of charm and sophistication, reaching a height of cleverness in an Act 1 number that combines a waltz for the operetta's love couple with a different tune and meter for lady choristers chattering away in counterpoint.

Let's just get it out of the way - American Idol star Taylor Hicks delivers a perfectly acceptable performance as Teen Angel in the touring production of Grease that just hand-jived its way into the Hippodrome Theatre. It's true that Hicks hams it up so much, he should be served with a jar of mustard. He turns his back to the audience and wiggles his butt, he rolls his eyes skyward like one of Raphael's winged cherubs, and he even gets off a few licks on his harmonica. But subtlety isn't necessarily an asset in performing a role as inherently kitsch as Teen Angel.

Anna M. Susie, a former tap-dancer who performed at the Hippodrome Theatre during the 1930s and later worked for the Archdiocese of Baltimore at the Catholic Center, died Saturday of heart failure at St. Martin's Home in Catonsville. She was 89. Anna Marie Witt, the youngest of seven, was born and raised on Eastern Avenue near Patterson Park. Her father, a German immigrant, died when she was 4, and a decade later, she left school to help support her family when she took a job as a seamstress at I.C. Isaacs in Baltimore's garment district.

Baltimore's fall 2008 arts scene unfolds in venues all over the metro area, from the Recher Theatre in Towson to the Lyric Opera House downtown, from the Charles Street to the Hippodrome on Eutaw Street. And it encompasses a little bit of everything, from the cutting-edge plays of Theatre Project to the melodic sounds of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. Looking to laugh? Try the Charles' Preston Sturges retrospective, showcasing the films of one of the true masters of screwball comedy.

Olive Waxter Hippodrome Foundation director Since January 2005, Olive Waxter has been director of the Hippodrome Foundation. The mission of this nonprofit partner of the Hippodrome Theatre is to increase access through education and outreach programs. The foundation has a free summer theater camp each year for kids interested in performing arts. Waxter says, "Their smiles take up half their faces" when they attend. Waxter lives in Baltimore City. 1. A mini-car My SUV drives me crazy, since I only really need it once a week or so. Gas prices are a killer.

Blast! The lowdown -- Blast! mixes drum-line style and brass with choreographed movement and lighting to produce its half-marching band, half-musical shows. Originally the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps, James Mason reinvented the group as Blast! and went on to win Emmy and Tony awards. The Lyric Opera House hosts this hybrid show tomorrow and Saturday. If you go -- Shows are 8 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. The Lyric is at 140 W. Mount Royal Ave. Tickets are $45-$65.

Next season, more customers at the Hippodrome Theatre may be wearing mittens clipped to their coat sleeves. The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center (which houses the Hippodrome) always makes sure that a certain number of the shows it books each year is suitable for middle-school students and teens. But for the first time, its subscription series will include two musicals geared specifically toward elementary-school children. The 2008-2009 season is scheduled to be unveiled at a news conference this morning.

After more than a year wearing a prominent "for sale" tag, the theatrical company that manages the Hippodrome Theatre has been sold to a New York investment company, which promises to expand its stage offerings. The sale to Key Brand Entertainment for $90.4 million allows Live Nation Inc. to focus more on its core business, concert and festival promotion. In the deal yesterday, Live Nation sold its theatrical assets in North America, including Broadway Across America, the operator of the Hippodrome.

Dave Koz and Friends: A Smooth Jazz Christmas makes its way to the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center on Monday. For this 10th anniversary tour, saxophonist Koz will perform tracks from his 2003 album Saxophonic, featuring the single "Honey-Dipped." Singer-songwriter and guitarist Jonathan Butler will perform his fusion of classical, gospel and jazz. The concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $45-$68. The Hippodrome is at 12 N. Eutaw St. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticketmaster.

Hairspray, you're timeless to me. I've seen six renditions of the Tony Award-winning musical -- twice on Broadway, twice last summer in a movie theater and twice during national tours -- and each time, I'm more beguiled than the last. If You Go Hairspray continues through Sunday at the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, 12 N. Eutaw St. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m., 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets $26-$71. Call 410-547-7328 or go to france-merrickpac.