NEWS
By Phil Greenfield | July 20, 2007
Hello, Dolly! was a big hit on Broadway in the 1960s, shedding its light on the Great White Way alongside the likes of Mame, Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof. But while the latter three get trotted out regularly by theater companies, Dolly's appearances are less frequent. Jerry Herman's musical score, after all, is more modest than the others, and the show's dramatics less riveting. But the story of Dolly Levi, the irrepressible matchmaker who overcomes loneliness and loss to take New York by storm, is a charmer.
NEWS
By Mary Johnson | July 22, 1999
Expect a "42nd Street" paved with talent when the young cast of Talent Machine Company dances in July 29 for a three-weekend run at St. John's College. Talent Machine is known for imaginative choreography and high-voltage energy -- exactly what this show needs.This musical began life as a 1933 Busby Berkeley movie. Berkeley was known for his imaginative filming of elaborate Hollywood production numbers. Twenty-seven years later, another legendary dance man -- Gower Champion, a choreographer, director and dancer -- revived it on Broadway.
NEWS
By Mary Johnson | June 17, 1999
School is out, and the Talent Machine Company, with its 60-member cast of youngsters ages 4 to 18, will inaugurate vacation time for everyone with a show to delight audiences young in age and/or spirit: "The Wiz," upbeat and energetic, opens tomorrow.The company's second summer show -- "42nd Street" -- will open July 23, with actors ages 12 to 20.The Talent Machine Company is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to developing children's performance skills and self-esteem.Formed 11 years ago by professionally trained dancer, choreographer and master teacher Bobbi Smith, TMC has produced a string of hits including "Singin' in the Rain," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "The Wizard of Oz," and last season's "Peter Pan" and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."
NEWS
By Melinda Rice | August 10, 1998
It was 1898.That year, photographs using artificial light sources were taken for the first time, the United States fought Spain over Cuba in the Spanish-American War, and Sadie Howard was born Aug. 1 in Washington, D.C.That child -- now Sadie Lipscomb and a resident of Edgewater -- turned 100 several days ago.A widow who has outlived three of her five children, she has lived in Anne Arundel County for about one-fourth of her long life.She has 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
NEWS
By Mary Johnson | January 13, 1998
The opening celebration of the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts on Saturday turned into north county's version of "Field of Dreams." "If you build it they will come," said the voice in the movie. And come they did.More than 1,000 people packed the old Brooklyn Park High School auditorium on Hammonds Lane for a lengthy -- the first half lasted two hours -- program of speeches, singing and dancing organized by Wayne Shipley.Democratic Del. Joan Cadden, whose district includes the high school, was joined by Republican County Executive John G. Gary, State Sen. Philip C. Jimeno, a Brooklyn Park Democrat; Del. Michael W. Burns, a Glen Burnie Republican, and Democratic state Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein.
NEWS
By Phil Greenfield | June 11, 1998
No one in these parts gets kids to sing and hoof like director-choreographer Bobbi Smith, so when her Talent Machine Company announces its summer season at Key Auditorium on the campus of St. John's College, theater cognoscenti take notice.Her youngest stars, 14 and younger, begin the Talent Machine season June 18 through 21 with "Newstarz Express," an original musical revue of hits from Broadway, Disney films and the pop charts. Tickets for this high-stepping, energized show are $8.From June 26 through July 12, Talent Machine will present the magical musical "Peter Pan," which has enchanted theatergoers since Mary Martin opened it on Broadway more than four decades ago.Anyone who remembers the torrential aquatic effects of Bobbi Smith's "Singin' in the Rain" put on a few years back knows that large-scale effects are a Talent Machine specialty.
NEWS
January 8, 1998
The Chesapeake Center for the Performing Arts has scheduled its opening performance at 7 p.m. Saturday in its new home at the former Brooklyn Park High School, 200 Hammonds Lane. The event, "Celebration," will feature visual and performing arts.Jay Kishor will perform on the sitar, while local high school students will present a one-act play, "This is a Test." Also performing will be the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis, Sons of the Severn, The Royal Knights Jazz Band, the Gospel Praise Dance Group and Talent Machine.
NEWS
By Phil Greenfield | July 30, 1998
It's only July, and already this has been an uncommonly good summer for theater in Annapolis.We've had a colorful "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and an impressive "Midsummer Night's Dream" from the Summer Garden Theatre. A deft version of "Little Shop of Horrors" still runs at the Chesapeake Music Hall.In the provinces, the Pasadena Theatre Company's "Steel Magnolias" at Anne Arundel Community College tugs nicely at the heartstrings, despite some uneven characterization. And let's not forget Second Star's "Carousel," which had me blubbering in Bowie back in June.
NEWS
By Judith Green | December 11, 1997
On a recent Saturday morning at Buddy's Late Night in Parole, five little elves went through their paces, singing and dancing for an audience of families stuffing themselves on scrambled eggs, french toast fingers, sausage, juice, cereal, fruit and pastries.When the music stopped and the adults carried away their offspring to the mall for Christmas shopping, the elves -- as well as the reindeer, the mouse, the bear, Raggedy Ann and Frosty the Snowman -- turned into the cleanup crew.They bused tables, stacked chairs and gathered colored streamers from the stage floor.
NEWS
By Phil Greenfield | December 18, 1997
As I watched Talent Machine's "Santa's Frosty Follies" on Saturday night at St. John's College, I was overwhelmed by the numbers.Forty-five young people ages 3 to 19. Two full acts bulging at the seams with 27 production numbers, many of them sporting multiple songs, each requiring its own choreography and staging.Costume changes? Don't ask. I lost count about a third of the way through Act I."Follies," suffice to say, is a Christmas vaudeville show mounted on the largest possible scale.It's bright, pizzazzy, high-kicking stuff.