Rags To Riches

In the continuing debate over the distribution of wealth and income -- the richest 1 percent of American families control more wealth than the bottom 90 percent -- one school of thought says findings like this, however extreme, do not present a true picture.In this view these data are flawed because they are snapshots of a moment and fail to reflect the constant ebb and flow of fortunes.Even if the raw numbers are accurate, these economists say, the portrait fails to capture the amazing fluidity of American society.

Last weekend, the film "The Great Gatsby" was reported to have earned a whopping $51 million, according to Business Insider. Just prior to its release, however, many critics ripped the film for distorting the classic novel on which it is based with over-the-top production, including 3-D images and a modern soundtrack produced by Jay-Z. This is the third time that one of the most well-known flawed heroes of 20th century fiction has had his story told on the big screen. But unlike its B-movie 1949 adaptation or drab 1974 version starring Robert Redford, this film explodes with excess - just as Jay Gatsby had intended with his mansion parties on the West Egg. It also gives audiences yet another chance to analyze the one-time Bolton Hill resident F. Scott Fitzgerald's version of the Great American Novel, this time as told through the lens of director Baz Luhrmann.

Elmont, N.Y. -- At the start of this week, the Belmont Stakes was looking a bit bedraggled and seriously in need of some oomph. The oomph arrived in three-time Grade I-winning filly Rags to Riches, a femme fatale who will take on the biggest, strongest 3-year-olds in the country Saturday. Her trainer, Todd Pletcher, said she has everything she needs to do it, too, from an outstanding pedigree to a beautiful head and "keen, smart eye." "She's a really, really wonderful filly," said Pletcher, who was at Belmont Park yesterday for the post-position draw.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Throw Big Brown a curveball and he tends to hit it out of the park. He won the Kentucky Derby from the No. 20 post, a feat accomplished by just one other. When he drew a middle post for the Preakness, the question was: How will he respond to getting dirt in his face? His answer was to win going away. Now, in the Belmont Stakes comes another test. Can Big Brown win the Triple Crown while starting on the rail? Yesterday, Big Brown drew the No. 1 post for Saturday's Belmont and was installed as the 2-5 favorite.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The race was barely a second old when jockey John Velazquez felt his heart grow cold. His mount, Rags to Riches, had stumbled out of the starting gate for the 139th Belmont Stakes. "Please don't get hurt. Please don't pull off a shoe," Velazquez was thinking. The jockey could have relaxed. The filly was just giving the colts a chance - a head start in the 1 1/2 -mile endurance test she was bred for. Rags to Riches was on her way to history. Covering the route in 2 minutes, 28.74 seconds, including the last quarter-mile in 23.8 seconds, she beat the favorite Curlin by a generous head in a pulsating, side-by-side duel to the finish.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Todd Pletcher couldn't sleep, so at 3 a.m. yesterday, he turned on the television and watched a replay of ABC's coverage of the Belmont Stakes. For Pletcher, it was a Sunday morning dream. Only the day before, his horse Rags to Riches became the first filly in 102 years to win the third leg of the Triple Crown. "It's still sinking in," he said hours after watching the rerun. "It's kind of an amazing win. When you look at the historical significance of it -- 102 years is a long time.

In Musical Artists Theater's current production of Rags to Riches, we are transported to New York City as it may have existed 100 years ago. This NYC vision is the creation of playwright, lyricist and director Michael Hulett, assisted by his wife, Ruth Hulett, who serves as music director, costume designer and voice coach. For the production, which opened last weekend at the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts' Studio Theater, Hulett reworked a play that he originally completed more than 20 years ago. Having been requested to write original songs for an old-fashioned melodrama, this award-winning playwright chose to write words for Scott Joplin's singable, syncopated melodies.

BELMONT, N.Y. -- The last time a horse who was unraced as a 2-year-old won the Belmont Stakes was 1918. You can look it up. But Johren, who won that day, could have company by tonight if Curlin can stand up to the punishing, 1 1/2 -mile "Test of the Champion." Curlin's trainer, Steve Asmussen, took his colt to the main Belmont Park track at 6:30 a.m. yesterday for his last warm-up for the Grade I, $1 million endurance test. Then, with prayer beads attached, but hidden from view on his belt, he told a large crowd of reporters that he's taking nothing for granted.

WORLD Pope shares Mideast misgivings As Italians converge on Rome to protest the war in Iraq, President Bush received a more subtle but pointed message yesterday about America's Mideast policy in his first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict urged the president to pursue a "regional and negotiated" solution to the violent crises engulfing the Middle East, and voiced alarm about "the worrying situation in Iraq." pg 23a 10 Iraqi soldiers killed A suicide bomber killed 10 Iraqi soldiers and wounded 30 others yesterday when he drove a truck packed with explosives into an army headquarters in a town south of Baghdad, the unit's commander said.

A NEW MUSICAL featuring the music of Scott Joplin will premiere at 8 p.m. Friday at the Chesapeake Center for Creative Arts in Brooklyn Park. Rags to Riches, described as a "madcap musical melodrama," was written by Baltimore playwright Michael Hulett. It is a production of the Musical Artists Theater, and it is based on the 1890s play From Rags to Riches by Charles A. Taylor. Hulett's works are well-known in theater circles. His play Alexander and his adaptation of The Wind in the Willows have won national playwriting competitions.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Todd Pletcher couldn't sleep, so at 3 a.m. yesterday, he turned on the television and watched a replay of ABC's coverage of the Belmont Stakes. For Pletcher, it was a Sunday morning dream. Only the day before, his horse Rags to Riches became the first filly in 102 years to win the third leg of the Triple Crown. "It's still sinking in," he said hours after watching the rerun. "It's kind of an amazing win. When you look at the historical significance of it -- 102 years is a long time.

WORLD Pope shares Mideast misgivings As Italians converge on Rome to protest the war in Iraq, President Bush received a more subtle but pointed message yesterday about America's Mideast policy in his first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict urged the president to pursue a "regional and negotiated" solution to the violent crises engulfing the Middle East, and voiced alarm about "the worrying situation in Iraq." pg 23a 10 Iraqi soldiers killed A suicide bomber killed 10 Iraqi soldiers and wounded 30 others yesterday when he drove a truck packed with explosives into an army headquarters in a town south of Baghdad, the unit's commander said.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The race was barely a second old when jockey John Velazquez felt his heart grow cold. His mount, Rags to Riches, had stumbled out of the starting gate for the 139th Belmont Stakes. "Please don't get hurt. Please don't pull off a shoe," Velazquez was thinking. The jockey could have relaxed. The filly was just giving the colts a chance - a head start in the 1 1/2 -mile endurance test she was bred for. Rags to Riches was on her way to history. Covering the route in 2 minutes, 28.74 seconds, including the last quarter-mile in 23.8 seconds, she beat the favorite Curlin by a generous head in a pulsating, side-by-side duel to the finish.

BELMONT, N.Y. -- The last time a horse who was unraced as a 2-year-old won the Belmont Stakes was 1918. You can look it up. But Johren, who won that day, could have company by tonight if Curlin can stand up to the punishing, 1 1/2 -mile "Test of the Champion." Curlin's trainer, Steve Asmussen, took his colt to the main Belmont Park track at 6:30 a.m. yesterday for his last warm-up for the Grade I, $1 million endurance test. Then, with prayer beads attached, but hidden from view on his belt, he told a large crowd of reporters that he's taking nothing for granted.

Elmont, N.Y. -- At the start of this week, the Belmont Stakes was looking a bit bedraggled and seriously in need of some oomph. The oomph arrived in three-time Grade I-winning filly Rags to Riches, a femme fatale who will take on the biggest, strongest 3-year-olds in the country Saturday. Her trainer, Todd Pletcher, said she has everything she needs to do it, too, from an outstanding pedigree to a beautiful head and "keen, smart eye." "She's a really, really wonderful filly," said Pletcher, who was at Belmont Park yesterday for the post-position draw.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- With 100,075 fans jamming into Churchill Downs yesterday, Rags to Riches sat off the pace in the Grade I, $500,000 Kentucky Oaks, waiting to make her point. Rags to Riches, the California filly who has been criticized for building her resume against less than the strongest contenders, shut everyone up with her charge down the stretch to victory. With mud flying, the A.P. Indy 3-year-old drew away from the field and beat Octave to the finish by 4 1/4 lengths. "She hadn't been in these conditions before and to be between horses was a concern, but we know she's a very good filly and we were hopeful," said owner Michael Tabor, who won the Kentucky Derby with Thunder Gulch in 1995.

Visitors to the Howard County Center for the Arts' hooked-rug exhibit do not need to bother looking at the floor. The creations are hung on the gallery walls like paintings, displaying a variety of styles -- from geometric patterns to detailed portraits and landscapes -- that show rug hooking can be as expressive as working in other media. "You can get very realistic with them or you can get very abstract with them," said Marie Sugar, an artist from Ellicott City. Her work and rugs by seven others appear in the show Rags to Riches: Eight Contemporary Rug Hooking Artists, on display at the center until Oct. 15. A reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow.

It's awfully tempting to begin a story about Anna Netrebko with "Once upon a time," since there's such a fairy-tale quality to her life. Today, the strikingly beautiful Russian soprano with the limpid sound and richly expressive phrasing is at the forefront of the international music scene, in demand at leading opera houses, lavishly praised for her recordings. She's quite a darling of the press, and not just the musically inclined; Vanity Fair and even Travel & Leisure have taken note.

Visitors to the Howard County Center for the Arts' hooked-rug exhibit do not need to bother looking at the floor. The creations are hung on the gallery walls like paintings, displaying a variety of styles -- from geometric patterns to detailed portraits and landscapes -- that show rug hooking can be as expressive as working in other media. "You can get very realistic with them or you can get very abstract with them," said Marie Sugar, an artist from Ellicott City. Her work and rugs by seven others appear in the show Rags to Riches: Eight Contemporary Rug Hooking Artists, on display at the center until Oct. 15. A reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow.