Rodgers And Hammerstein

Time does funny things. When Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro debuted on Broadway in 1947, the allegorical musical was considered experimental, controversial and, at least in monetary terms, a failure. Seen today in a rare revival at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Va., the show seems less daring than prescient. It's not just the passage of time that's responsible for this changed outlook. Granted, a half-century of technological advances and increased audience sophistication have made the musical's stylistic breakthroughs seem much less avant garde.

Midway through its second season, Standing O announced Altar Boyz had to be replaced because of casting problems, leading artistic director Ron Giddings to substitute it with the humorously (and redundantly) titled The Musical of Musicals: The Musical. Having premiered off-Broadway in 2005, Eric Rockwell and Joanne Bogart's parody of five major Broadway composers met Standing O's criteria of introducing recent exceptional theater works to this area. This choice qualified as its funniest show yet - a musical comedy that evokes laughs laced with nostalgia.

When it comes to Rodgers and Hammerstein, audiences may be more apt to think of "raindrops on roses" than race relations. But the theme of race resonates through many of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best-loved shows -- The King and I, Flower Drum Song and, most prominently, South Pacific. Winner of the 1950 Pulitzer Prize, South Pacific is experiencing a resurgence of interest. In addition to the 2001 TV movie starring Glenn Close, there's a new British revival directed by Trevor Nunn as well as an American touring production, which opens a one-week run at the Mechanic Theatre tomorrow.

Some people said Paris Hilton looked as if she was going to burst into tears at the MTV Movie Awards, after comic Sarah Silverman made a joke at Paris' expense from the stage. Oh, please, if you're so fragile why spend your last night of freedom -- for 23 days, anyway -- at the MTV Awards? What about staying home with the Bible? We all know how devoted Miss Hilton is to matters of the spirit. I missed most of the MTV awards, except I did see Cameron Diaz, blond again and dazzling, handing Mike Myers his prize.

Whoops. Only four days till "Christmas Day" and you still "... Need a Little Christmas" -- perhaps even "A New Deal for Christmas"? Or, maybe you're afraid it'll be a "Hard Candy Christmas" because you can't find the right gift for your friend, the theater junkie, the one who can identify the shows these song titles are from. (For everyone else, the answers are below). Here are some suggestions: Photographer Howard Schatz's stunning coffee-table book, In Character: Actors Acting (Bulfinch Press, $50)

Though the hills of Carroll County will never be mistaken for the Austrian Alps, they will come alive with "The Sound of Music" Thursday when Theatre on the Hill performs the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic at Western Maryland College.Proceeds from the show will benefit Shepherd's Staff, a local nonprofit organization that provides Carroll residents with emergency prescriptions, school supplies and other items. The group is hoping to raise $5,000."Each year, we put on three benefit performances for local charities.

An enchanted evening at Towson festival "Some Enchanted Evening: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein," a revue featuring a selection of the Broadway masters' greatest hits, will be presented for three performances this weekend at Towson University's Maryland Arts Festival. Towson alum Tom Wyatt directs a nine-member ensemble - Katie Bowman, Jeff Burch, Mark Geraghty, Allison Miller, David Minges, Bill Molnar, Cynthia Rinaldi, Libby Tomlinson-Gensler and Jennifer Viets - along with a chorus drawn from the Towson University Chorale.

As a holiday treat, Olney Theatre Center is reprising its delightfully imaginative 1994 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella." The only musical Rodgers and Hammerstein created specifically for television, "Cinderella" imparts an encouraging lesson for both adults and children as the Fairy Godmother encourages the title character to follow her dreams.Olney's revival is directed by Carol Graham Lehan, who choreographed the 1994 version. The cast features Erin Dilly as Cinderella, Terri Mazzarella as the Fairy Godmother and Helen Hedman, repeating the role of the Queen.

Aminda Badeau Wilkins, 89, a retired welfare official and the widow of Roy Wilkins, longtime executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, died Saturday at New York University Medical Center after a brief illness. Mrs. Wilkins, who lived in Jamaica, N.Y., retired in 1971 as an assistant commissioner in the New York City Department of Welfare. Mr. Wilkins died in 1981.John Fearnley, 80, a stage manager and director closely identified with the work of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, died of cancer Nov. 29 at his home in Manhattan.

Ronald "Buster" Edwards, 62, one of the masterminds of Britain's "Great Train Robbery" of 1963, was found hanged on Nov. 29 in London, an apparent suicide. He was part of the gang which on Aug. 8, 1963, switched a track signal from green to red near Cheddington, Buckinghamshire, about 40 miles northwest of London. The train stopped, and the gang overwhelmed two crew members, stealing about $7 million in cash. It was the biggest train robbery in British history. He surrendered in 1966 and served nine years of a 15-year sentence.

Whoops. Only four days till "Christmas Day" and you still "... Need a Little Christmas" -- perhaps even "A New Deal for Christmas"? Or, maybe you're afraid it'll be a "Hard Candy Christmas" because you can't find the right gift for your friend, the theater junkie, the one who can identify the shows these song titles are from. (For everyone else, the answers are below). Here are some suggestions: Photographer Howard Schatz's stunning coffee-table book, In Character: Actors Acting (Bulfinch Press, $50)

While Commissioning Week may mark the unofficial start of summer for some locals, the season begins for downtown theater lovers with tonight's debut at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre. The outdoor theater across from City Dock on the site of a colonial blacksmith shop is celebrating its 40th season of presenting three shows under the stars from Thursdays to Sundays through Labor Day. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella opens tonight and runs through June 24 followed by Urinetown The Musical in July.

Not only did guest director Cindy Bauchspies help the Arundel Vocal Arts Society bring a warm joyous sound to its spring concert, but her regular job provided the choristers access to a performance venue. The concert was held May 7 at the new Center for the Arts at Severn Run, at least in part thanks to Bauchspies, director of the Annapolis Area Christian School choirs. The Arundel Vocal Arts chorus provided a decidedly festive atmosphere that was enhanced by an appreciative audience.

As the king himself might put it, there's a lot of "etc., etc., etc." in The King and I. Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical works best when it's showcased with all the trimmings. It demands opulence and splendor. And Kenneth Foy's red, gold and black set and Roger Kirk's glittery, silk, Tony Award-winning costumes meet those demands. But at its core, as the title indicates, The King and I is the story of two people - the headstrong king of 1860s Siam (now Thailand) and the equally headstrong British teacher he hires to instruct his children.

Thursday evening, students at Wilde Lake High School performed the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, an inspiring story about courage, love and the importance of family. Maria (Callie Goff) is a young postulant sent to work as a governess for the stern Captain von Trapp (Dean Arscott), who has seven children. In Austria, under the advancing Nazi regime, Maria and the captain fall in love and get married. They are forced to flee the country with the children when the captain is commissioned to be a Nazi officer.

Time does funny things. When Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro debuted on Broadway in 1947, the allegorical musical was considered experimental, controversial and, at least in monetary terms, a failure. Seen today in a rare revival at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Va., the show seems less daring than prescient. It's not just the passage of time that's responsible for this changed outlook. Granted, a half-century of technological advances and increased audience sophistication have made the musical's stylistic breakthroughs seem much less avant garde.

Today in history: Nov. 16In 1776, British troops captured Fort Washington during the American Revolution.In 1864, Union Gen. William T. Sherman and his troops began their "March to the Sea" during the Civil War.In 1885, Canadian rebel Louis Riel was executed for high treason.In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state of the union.In 1933, the United States and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations.In 1959, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music" opened on Broadway.

DALLAS -- Jean Eckart, 72, a Broadway, TV and movie set designer, died of lung cancer Monday.In the 1950s and '60s, she and her husband, William, designed sets for the musicals "The Golden Apple," "Li'l Abner," "She Loves Me" and "Mame."The couple received two Tony nominations.Their film work included "Damn Yankees," "The Pajama Game" and "The Night They Raided Minsky's."They designed the 1957 CBS broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella."In 1959, they were co-producersand designers of "Once Upon a Mattress," starring Carol Burnett.

That the musical State Fair gets lost in the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon is hardly a shock, since it's surrounded by the likes of Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific and The Sound of Music. But despite being one of the runts of the Rodgers and Hammerstein litter, the musical tale of the Frake family's visit to the Iowa State Fair of 1946 - being presented at the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park in a Merely Players production - is not without its charms. The well-scrubbed, all-American story of blue-ribbon boars, liquor-filled mincemeat and love lost and found on the midway by the two Frake siblings is serviceable enough, and the songs, including "It's a Grand Night for Singing," "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "Isn't It Kinda' Fun" aren't slouchy in the least.

That the musical State Fair gets lost in the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon is hardly a shock, since it is surrounded by the likes of Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific and The Sound of Music. But despite being one of the runts of the Rodgers and Hammerstein litter, the musical tale of the Frake family's visit to the Iowa State Fair of 1946 - being presented at the Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park in a Merely Players production - is not without its charms. The well-scrubbed, all-American story of blue-ribbon boars, liquor-filled mincemeat and love lost and found on the midway by the two Frake siblings is serviceable enough, and the songs, including "It's a Grand Night for Singing," "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "Isn't It Kinda' Fun" aren't slouchy in the least.