Musical Theater

The Arundel Vocal Arts Society will present an eclectic mix of familiar and obscure songs from musical theater Saturday at the Pascal Center for the Performing Arts at Anne Arundel Community College.The program, "A Grand Night for Singing," pays particular tribute to Irving Berlin and includes the work of such other musical theater luminaries as Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Stephen Sondheim, and Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt of "Fantasticks" fame.Under the direction of Glenette Schumacher, the group will sing Berlin tunes from 1911 through 1946, the era in which he penned many of his most popular songs.

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre will begin its 47th season of theater under the stars May 23 with Paul Kelly's "Swing. " The show, which debuted on Broadway in 1999, will open the troupe's season of three musicals at the outdoor theater at 143 Compromise St., across from City Dock. Loaded with great music from the eras of the Lindy Hop to hip-hop, "Swing" will run Thursdays to Sundays through June 15. Summer Garden Theatre president Carolyn Kirby says "Swing" is "not our typical musical, but a celebration of a uniquely American musical phenomenon.

Bounding onto the small stage at Georgetown's Blues Alley, lanky Jason Robert Brown takes command of the piano and whoops out the lyrics, "I started smiling./It's not my style," with the gusto of a rock musician - which he is. A fortnight later, over the phone from his home in Los Angeles, Brown discusses musical theater with the insights of an insider - which he also is. A 1999 Tony Award winner for the score of Parade, Brown recently released his first solo album, Wearing Someone Else's Clothes, and is currently touring with his band, the Caucasian Rhythm Kings.

There was plenty to celebrate when the Howard County Arts Council held its 16th annual Celebration of the Arts. Besides the awards handed out in various categories, there was an announcement that wasn't on the scheduled program for this festive event held Saturday, March 23 at Howard Community College's Smith Theatre. Addressing the well-dressed crowd of arts advocates, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said: "It's time to have a wonderful, state of the art, 21st-century arts center here in Howard County.

Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, the African-American dramatic soprano who had performed in Baltimore, was such a commanding presence on the stage that she was often compared to Adelina Patti, one of the greatest coloratura Italian opera singers of the 19th century. Jones, who sang for presidents and kings and was denied a role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York because she was black, was known throughout her career as "the Black Patti," a name she somewhat despised. Born in Portsmouth, Va., in 1869, the daughter of a former slave and Baptist minister, Jones moved in 1876 with her family to Providence, R.I. She began singing as a child at the Pond Street Baptist Church there and studied at the Providence Academy of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music.

Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre will begin its 47th season of theater under the stars May 23 with Paul Kelly's "Swing. " The show, which debuted on Broadway in 1999, will open the troupe's season of three musicals at the outdoor theater at 143 Compromise St., across from City Dock. Loaded with great music from the eras of the Lindy Hop to hip-hop, "Swing" will run Thursdays to Sundays through June 15. Summer Garden Theatre president Carolyn Kirby says "Swing" is "not our typical musical, but a celebration of a uniquely American musical phenomenon.

She isn't quite 5 feet tall, but Kristin Chenoweth has achieved uncommon stature in show business, thanks to consistently sizzling performances on Broadway, including an indelible portrayal of Glinda in "Wicked"that earned her a Tony nomination, and several television shows. With just the slightest touch of hyperbole, "Glee"actor Chris Colfer neatly expressed Chenoweth's appeal after her guest appearance on that series, telling the Los Angeles Times that "working with Kristin is what I can imagine what a priest would go through if he worked with Jesus.

Young performers ages 8 to 15 are spending their afternoons this week on stage, learning the craft of musical theater and planning their own cabaret-style show. According to the Web site of the Children's The atre of Annapolis, the Kids Cabaret IV workshop fo cuses on musical training, acting tips and movement skills. The culmination of the workshop will be the performance of the participants' own show Friday.

Genevieve BaerSchool: Centennial High School.Hometown: Ellicott City.Age: 17.Genevieve will compete in the National Association of Teachers of Singing regional competition next month in the musical theater category. She won the local singing competition over more than 20 contestants at American University in FebruaryAt school, she has directed and played the lead in a dozen school plays and spring musicals, including "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Guys and Dolls," "Pippin" and "The Foreigner."

Musical theater -- The Bay Theatre Company will present A Man of No Importance at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 13 at 275 West St., Annapolis. The show is about the people of an Irish town and how they deal with life and love. The doors open 20 minutes before the start of the show. The cost is $22, and $17 for seniors and students with valid identification. Group rates are available. Free parking is available at the West Garrett garage. Information: 410-268-1333.

An anniversary qualifies as a good time to throw yourself a party. That's what the Red Branch Theatre Company is doing to mark its fifth season. Its two-night cabaret program on Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16, is a chance for the Columbia-based company to musically look back on past shows and also look forward to the shows ahead. "I think we were always a small company with lofty goals," said Managing Director Tiffany Underwood Holmes. "We've done a lot of really good theater in the past five years and brought things that were new and exciting to the area.

Mel Brooks' "The Producers" is a good show about a bad show. Based on his own 1968 movie, this Tony Award-winning 2001 Broadway musical remains as cheerfully vulgar as ever in the entertaining production by Silhouette Stages. Where appalling taste is concerned, it would be difficult to top a tune called "Springtime for Hitler. " The show's ingeniously lowbrow premise is that a struggling producer realizes it's possible to make more money from a flop than a hit. All he needs is a clever accountant who knows how to cook the books.

When William A. Martin arrived at the Peabody Institute to work on a master's degree in 2001, he was of two minds, thinking about a performance career and a teaching one. You could say he was also of two voices. "He was a 'bari-tenor' when he started out," said Stanley Cornett, Martin's teacher at Peabody. "He had a beautiful, rich voice with a deep resonance to it. " Once Martin moved firmly from baritone to tenor, he faced another dichotomy - whether to focus on opera or music theater.

An ambitious bookworm in my youth, I once started Victor Hugo's Les Miserables . It was on a recommended-reading list. I ground to a halt a few pages in and discarded the recommended-reading list. I have never seen the musical and have never consciously listened to any of the tunes. And now, as you are already surmising, I intend to give the movie a miss.  I've had a warning from TheMattWalshBlog : "  I cried tears of blissful joy when Russell Crowe threw himself off a bridge at the end because it meant he'd finally stop singing.

Barbara Cook approaches a song from the inside out, judging the weight of each measure, the point behind each word in a lyric. So when she sings, she starts from a place where there's nothing but truth. No artifice, no exaggeration, no self-aggrandizing flourish. Small wonder that Cook, who gives a concert at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall this Saturday, a week after turning 85, remains one of the most treasured vocal artists of our time. The years may have shaved some brightness and some top notes from her silvery soprano, but the glow remains as enveloping as ever.

Musical workshop for teens The Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre is accepting applications for its teen workshop. It explores drama and vocal skills, monologues, cold readings, audition techniques and various styles of dance. Through theater games, scene work, movement, improvisation and imagination, participants will gain a better understanding of the art of musical theater. The session runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 6-10 with a final rehearsal 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Aug. 13. The workshop culminates in a Broadway-style musical revue with final performances at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 14-15.

Cultivate your imagination when Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa., becomes a child's garden of delights filled with activities during its Fabulous Fun Days for Families. Sunday through April 17, entertainment encompassing musical theater, a four-hand piano performance and sing-alongs with children's songwriters is in store to chase away the winter doldrums and welcome the warmth of spring.Fabulous Fun Days spins into action Sunday with two performances of ``Charlotte's Web,'' 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wilbur is a pig with a problem.

She isn't quite 5 feet tall, but Kristin Chenoweth has achieved uncommon stature in show business, thanks to consistently sizzling performances on Broadway, including an indelible portrayal of Glinda in "Wicked"that earned her a Tony nomination, and several television shows. With just the slightest touch of hyperbole, "Glee"actor Chris Colfer neatly expressed Chenoweth's appeal after her guest appearance on that series, telling the Los Angeles Times that "working with Kristin is what I can imagine what a priest would go through if he worked with Jesus.

Last September was the first time since its beginnings in 1974 that the community theater group September Song went "dark. " It was a heart-breaking decision for Joan Eichhorn, producer, but a necessary one. Financially-strapped after its sponsoring organization decided to part ways, September Song held a musical revue as a fundraiser, instead of a full-fledged production. "It is so grossly expensive to put on musical theater," Eichhorn said. "We had no choice but to go dark.