Paragon

With its current production of John Patrick's "The Curious Savage," Paragon Theatre is offering food for thought at its Trifles Restaurant location in Crownsville. Patrick's protagonist in the character-driven dark comedy is wealthy widow Ethel Savage, who has been placed in an asylum known as the Cloisters by three greedy stepchildren eager to get their hands on a $10 million inheritance. Ethel gleefully manipulates these despicable characters as she lends encouragement to the gentle eccentrics living at the asylum, and goes about convincing the Cloisters staff of her mental health.

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Ken Ludwig's comedy "Lend Me a Tenor" will open tomorrow and run on weekends through March 12 at Paragon Theatre, tucked away at 1397 Generals Highway in Crownsville at Trifles Restaurant. This 65-seat dinner theater offers full-service dining with a choice of three appetizers and entrees as well as dessert and coffee. Bar service is also available in this attractive setting with cuisine that reflects an exotic mix of cultures. Most important, the room works well for the enjoyment of intimate theater.

By now, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is so familiar, it can be tough to breathe new life into it - especially for a fledgling community theater. But that's what veteran local director Barry Feinstein has attempted, and mostly achieved, at Paragon Theatre. Feinstein's primary tool is speed. But there's more to his use of overlapping dialogue and simultaneous action than an effort to fast-forward through Miller's script. When weary salesman Willy Loman and his wife Linda talk over each other, they do so because they've said the same things so often, they're no longer listening.

Paragon Theatre Company has a tough name to live up to. And, judging from its debut production in its new Baltimore home, this latest addition to the local community theater scene has a ways to go. Not that Paragon's production of Lost in Yonkers is anything to be ashamed of. But it's not particularly distinguished, either. And distinction would appear to be mandatory if Paragon hopes to come close to filling its 300-plus seats. Although Neil Simon won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Lost in Yonkers, the play has always suffered from an opening scene overburdened with exposition.

Paragon's current production of the Ken Ludwig farce "Moon Over Buffalo" might become as successful as last winter's staging of the author's "Lend Me a Tenor," though that didn't happen on opening weekend. But "Moon," though it might not be as strong a play, it has its share of hilarious moments, along with a comfortable, familiar feel. With a little work, this "Moon" could shine brightly at Paragon's Trifles Restaurant in Crownsville. Set in 1953, the plot concerns down-on-their-luck middle-aged actors George and Charlotte Hay, who have returned to the stage doing repertory "Cyrano" and "Private Lives" in a run-down Buffalo theater managed by Charlotte's mother, Ethel.

Since its founding in the summer of 1998, Paragon Theatre has offered uncommon shows on its compact stage at Trifles Restaurant in Crownsville - a 65-seat venue with full-service dining. With the latest production, Paragon is continuing its tradition of bringing unfamiliar plays to its audiences - even when the playwright is the prodigious Neil Simon. The show is Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning 27th play, "Lost in Yonkers," a work that has rarely been done in Anne Arundel County. Following his autobiographical trilogy of "Brighton Beach Memoirs," "Biloxi Blues" and "Broadway Bound," Simon's "Yonkers" also has that kind of storytelling tone.

Paragon presents `Lost in Yonkers' There's a new community theater in town. The Paragon Theatre Company has moved from Crownsville to the site of the former movie theater at 9 W. 25th St. Paragon's inaugural production in its new home, Neil Simon's 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning Lost in Yonkers, opens tomorrow. The account of two boys sent to live with their tyrannical grandmother during World War II was Paragon's final show in Crownsville last spring. Herman Kemper, who established the theater in 1998, directs the production, which features his son, Greg (the theater's co-founder)

Eye care chain opens office in Columbia Crossing Eye Care Centers of America has opened a Doctor's VisionWorld in Columbia Crossing. The office provides eye exams, sells frames and contact lenses, and treats eye diseases. Patients may schedule appointments or receive service on a walk-in basis. Eye Care Centers of America owns and operates more than 365 offices. Technology consulting firm has expanded operations The Ellicott City-based Paragon Computer Services/Paragon Smart Technologies has expanded into an adjoining building.

The death of a controversial professor prompts his college to hire an expensive detective in Brad Rogers' A Certain Mystery, Paragon Theatre Company's debut offering in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. Rogers, who is also making his festival debut, is an attorney who serves as program manager of 1,000 Friends of Maryland, a statewide group that pushes for smart growth. A Certain Mystery, which opens tomorrow, is co-directed by Roy Hammond and Sherrionne Brown. The cast is headed by Gordon Embry, in the role of the detective, and also includes Debbie Bennett, Leo Knight, Denis L. Latkowski and Adam Roffman.

The friction between fathers and sons is a frequent theme in Arthur Miller's plays, and beginning tomorrow, a real-life father and son will square off in Paragon Theatre's production of Miller's 1949 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Death of a Salesman. Herman Kemper plays the weary, troubled title character, Willy Loman; Greg Kemper plays his son, Biff, and ML Grout is Willy's wife, Linda. Rounding out the cast are Maria-Helena Diaz, Chris Graybill, Leo Knight, Dave Manning and Mark Poremba.

When it comes to Christmas plays, there's rarely much variety. Most of the time, Dickens' A Christmas Carol gets hauled out like the traditional recycled fruitcake. So for those of us who can stomach only so much fruitcake, it was welcome news when Paragon Theatre announced a stage version of Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story. Adapted by Philip Grecian, the play hews closely to the 1983 movie, which was, in turn, adapted from Shepherd's In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, a fictionalized memoir of growing up in 1930s small-town Indiana.

The death of a controversial professor prompts his college to hire an expensive detective in Brad Rogers' A Certain Mystery, Paragon Theatre Company's debut offering in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. Rogers, who is also making his festival debut, is an attorney who serves as program manager of 1,000 Friends of Maryland, a statewide group that pushes for smart growth. A Certain Mystery, which opens tomorrow, is co-directed by Roy Hammond and Sherrionne Brown. The cast is headed by Gordon Embry, in the role of the detective, and also includes Debbie Bennett, Leo Knight, Denis L. Latkowski and Adam Roffman.

Paragon Theatre Company has a tough name to live up to. And, judging from its debut production in its new Baltimore home, this latest addition to the local community theater scene has a ways to go. Not that Paragon's production of Lost in Yonkers is anything to be ashamed of. But it's not particularly distinguished, either. And distinction would appear to be mandatory if Paragon hopes to come close to filling its 300-plus seats. Although Neil Simon won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Lost in Yonkers, the play has always suffered from an opening scene overburdened with exposition.

Paragon presents `Lost in Yonkers' There's a new community theater in town. The Paragon Theatre Company has moved from Crownsville to the site of the former movie theater at 9 W. 25th St. Paragon's inaugural production in its new home, Neil Simon's 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning Lost in Yonkers, opens tomorrow. The account of two boys sent to live with their tyrannical grandmother during World War II was Paragon's final show in Crownsville last spring. Herman Kemper, who established the theater in 1998, directs the production, which features his son, Greg (the theater's co-founder)

The Paragon Theatre had been wrapping up rehearsals for its production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at a Crownsville dinner theater when cast members heard the worst possible news. The owners of Trifles Restaurant - where the group has performed for nearly three years - told the group last month that they intended to sell the business, leaving the troupe scrambling to find a new home. "The actors are very disappointed," said Herman Kemper, who founded the group with his son Gregory Kemper.

PeopleLinda Rogers has been named client services coordinator at Paragon Computer Services Inc., an Ellicott City systems integration firm. She will be responsible for client requests for products and services, and for ensuring quality, efficiency and courtesy in client relations.Nancy Aversa, formerly with Senior Connection's Elder Daycare Center, has been appointed recreation director at Harmony Hall Retirement Community, a division of Lorien Health systems. She will be responsible for developing new programs for the Columbia senior community.

Despite a small number of books criticizing President John F. Kennedy since his assassination, many continue to think of him as an unblemished paragon - a glamorous, intelligent, hard-working chief executive. They like the image of Camelot perpetuated by Kennedy partisans.At least some Americans want the truth about their presidents, though, even when comfortable myths are shattered. That is where Seymour Hersh comes in. His book, "The Dark Side of Camelot" (Little, Brown, 498 pages, $26.95)

Throw two motherless teen-age boys into an apartment with a loopy aunt, a gangster uncle and a vicious grandmother, stir in some great one-liners, and you have Neil Simon at his best. Winner of four Tony awards, including Best Play in 1991, and the Pulitzer Prize, "Lost in Yonkers" is ideally suited to Paragon Theatre's compact stage in Crownsville. Set in 1942 Yonkers, N.Y., the play, which continues through May 20, focuses on teen-agers Jay and Arty and their father, Eddie Kurnitz, who pays his dead wife's medical bills by taking a defense job dealing in scrap metal.

Since its founding in the summer of 1998, Paragon Theatre has offered uncommon shows on its compact stage at Trifles Restaurant in Crownsville - a 65-seat venue with full-service dining. With the latest production, Paragon is continuing its tradition of bringing unfamiliar plays to its audiences - even when the playwright is the prodigious Neil Simon. The show is Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning 27th play, "Lost in Yonkers," a work that has rarely been done in Anne Arundel County. Following his autobiographical trilogy of "Brighton Beach Memoirs," "Biloxi Blues" and "Broadway Bound," Simon's "Yonkers" also has that kind of storytelling tone.