Macbeth

South Carroll residents are criticizing as unsafe and impractical a 25-year-old plan to use "connector" roads to ease traffic congestion in the county's most heavily populated area. The proposed roads, which would run parallel to Routes 26 or 32, Eldersburg's major arteries, could increase traffic in their neighborhoods, draw commercial vehicles onto residential streets and threaten the safety of children, residents said. The Freedom Area Citizens' Council has organized a discussion with the county commissioners and their planning staff on the issue of connector roads tomorrow night in Eldersburg.

South Carroll residents are criticizing as unsafe and impractical a 25-year-old plan to use "connector" roads to ease traffic congestion in the county's most heavily populated area. The proposed roads, which would run parallel to Routes 26 or 32, Eldersburg's major arteries, could increase traffic in their neighborhoods, draw commercial vehicles onto residential streets and threaten the safety of children, residents said. The Freedom Area Citizens' Council has organized a discussion with the county commissioners and their planning staff on the issue of connector roads tomorrow night in Eldersburg.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Baltimore City Northern District Arrest: Dwayne Vanlandingham, 20, of the 6100 block of MacBeth Drive was arrested Wednesday at his home by members of the Warrant Apprehension Task Force on a charge of attempted murder in the July 23 shooting of David Ferguson, 42, on a basketball court in the 5900 block of Chinquapin Parkway. Also arrested -- and charged with hindering police and obstruction of justice -- was Vanlandingham's father, Richard Partlow, also of the MacBeth Drive address.

The truth, Oscar Wilde said, is rarely pure and never simple. The same can be said of Katerina Ismailova, the complex character who drives Dmitri Shostakovich's operatic masterwork, Lady Macbeth of Mtsesnk. In freeing herself from a mundane existence as a rich merchant's wife, she discovers new passions inside her, leading to catastrophe for herself and others. There's no mistaking the bad things that result -- three murders, for a start -- but it's impossible to think of Katerina as a clear-cut case of evil, which is one reason why she will never lose her fascination.

Three murders, a couple of floggings and sexual assaults, a suicide and the most X-rated music -- yes, music -- in all of opera. Even some late-night cable TV shows pale next to Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the brilliant creation by Dmitri Shostakovich that incensed Josef Stalin and caused the composer to be labeled an "enemy of the people." The work, which will be performed for the first time by the Baltimore Opera Company as part of the Vivat! St. Petersburg festival, can still raise eyebrows and earlobes, but few operagoers these days end up siding with Stalin.

Impersonating 50 different characters' voices, all created by Matt Groening - from Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa to Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Krusty the Clown, Apu, Itchy and Scratchy - Miller indeed does The Simpsons doing Macbeth. And somehow he manages to retain 85 percent of Shakespeare's original writing. Homer, of course, stars in the title role, with Marge in the role of Lady Macbeth. Miller, a Toronto-based actor and writer, sought to honor the brilliance of Simpsons creator Groening and Shakespeare with this venture.

Shakespeare is again almost daily cultural news. In the last couple of years, books, productions and films have been coming out at a rapid pace. This flurry makes a statement: Shakespeare is relevant for our time; he matters to us now. Some of the books I found concerned performing Shakespeare for the 21st-century stage, such as Wesley Van Tassel's superbly professional Clues to Acting Shakespeare (Allworth Press, 208 pages, $16.95). Others attempted biography, despite the continuing scarcity of solid facts, such as Garry O'Connor's William Shakespeare: A Popular Life (Applause Books, 320 pages, $27.95)

SANDYMOUNT Elementary School's fifth-grade class performed a version of Shakespeare's Macbeth last week that offered more entertainment than most audiences would bargain for. It had classic Shakespearean elements such as conniving friends, sword fights, and dramatic death scenes. Witches brewed entrails (cooked spaghetti) and thumbs (hot dogs), tongue of dog (bologna), and an eyeball (fake) in their cauldron and chanted "Double, double, toil and trouble." There also were elaborate costumes and ominous sets.

Adrian Danzig's face can say a lot, especially when he's got his mouth gaped so far open it might harbor bears. The cavernous mouth, the squinty eyes, the whole look is about what you'd expect from a man standing on stage with firecrackers exploding in his kilt. Physical and emotional danger are things many performers try to bring to the stage or screen and fewer manage. The 500 Clown troupe would have you experience the imminence of catastrophe, things unraveling, characters in deepening toil and trouble.

Making merry with `Macbeth' Macbeth is rarely thought of as a laughing matter, but the Chicago troupe 500 Clown will do its best to change that perception when its signature piece, 500 Clown Macbeth, makes its Baltimore debut at the Creative Alliance tomorrow. Despite the title, the audience-interactive show is performed by just three clowns - Molly Brennan, Adrian Danzig and Paul Kalina - each of whom yearns to play Macbeth. They end up competing not only with each other, but with everything from beepers to falling scenery.