Theatre Hopkins

Brimming with sex, violence and substance abuse, Andrew Lippa's musical adaptation of Joseph Moncure March's 1920s narrative poem The Wild Party is pretty racy fare for relatively sedate Theatre Hopkins. But Todd Pearthree's direction, choreography and casting imbue The Wild Party with a style that elevates the material above its seamy foundation, without falsely prettifying it. Just watch the ensemble slither across the stage in tightly choreographed unison, displaying a movement vocabulary that can change in a moment from celebratory to predatory.

Plenty of Coward "It was described as vulgar, disgusting, shocking, nauseating, vile, obscene, degenerate, etc., etc." So wrote the late Noel Coward, summing up the critics' reaction to his 1925 comedy, Fallen Angels. The story of two respectable British ladies confronted by past indiscretions may seem considerably less shocking today, but it still brims with Coward's trademark wit. The comedy opens a month-long run at Theatre Hopkins tomorrow. Under Suzanne Pratt's direction, the cast is headed by Laurel Burggraf and Molly Moores and also features Stephen Gaede, Jonas Grey, Jason Hentrich and Lynda McClary.

Thornton Wilder's Our Town is a play that is all too often badly taught. But director John Astin's production at Theatre Hopkins provides a good example of what an inspired teacher can do with this chestnut. The production, which opened last weekend at the Baltimore Museum of Art and moves to Theatre Hopkins tomorrow, reminds you how magnificently moving and innovative a play this is. As much as it is a tale of life in fictitious, turn-of-the-20th-century Grover's Corners, N.H., Our Town also celebrates the sheer joy of theater - the basic art of creating something out of nothing, i.e., populating a bare stage with characters and stories.

At age 73, John Astin has a new career - and it's at his alma mater, back in the town where he was born. Still best known as Gomez Addams, the role he played on ABC's The Addams Family four decades ago, Astin began his career as an actor on and off Broadway. In more recent years he's also been directing, as well as touring his one-man show, Edgar Allan Poe - Once upon a midnight... Beginning tomorrow night, local audiences will be able to see him play the role of the Stage Manager in a production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, under his direction.

Laurlene Pratt, who directed and operated Theatre Hopkins for 15 years, died Saturday at Union Memorial Hospital of complications from pneumonia. She was 91. Mrs. Pratt had a long and distinguished career in the theater and also taught dramatic literature and English on the high school and university level. While teaching English at Forest Park High School in Northwest Baltimore from 1954 to 1969, Mrs. Pratt started a curriculum in theater. Some of her students went on to become leaders on the Broadway stage and in cinema and music.

Todd Pearthree had some nervous moments earlier this spring. He was planning to direct and choreograph the musical Chicago at Theatre Hopkins in June. Then the movie directed by Rob Marshall won the Academy Award and Pearthree was "terrified" he would lose the rights to produce the show. "Till we have those musical scores and the orchestrations in our hands, they can pull it," says Pearthree, whose production somehow slipped in under the wire. He realized how close to the wire he was, however, when the producers of the hit Broadway revival announced a new national tour (which is coming to the Lyric Opera House in October)

You never see the character of Marvin in Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room. But you do see his room. Sheathed in frosted glass, it's smack-dab in the center of the stage at Theatre Hopkins. Inside that room, Marvin has been dying of assorted ailments, from strokes to cancer, for 20 years. Living with illness, and especially, living with those who are ill, are among the central concerns of this very dark comedy in which a caretaker suddenly finds herself in need of care. Cherie Weinert brings great empathy to the role of Bessie, a daughter who has devoted her adult life to caring for her invalid father, Marvin, and his sister, Ruth (Nona Porter)

Scott McPherson's off-Broadway hit, Marvin's Room, is a dark comedy about disease, dying and dysfunctional families. But it's also about compassion and love. Under Suzanne Pratt's direction, this uncommon comedy opens a one-month run at Theatre Hopkins tomorrow. The cast stars Cherie Weinert as Bessie, a middle-aged woman who has spent her adult life taking care of her invalid father and his sister. When Bessie suddenly becomes a patient herself, medical exigencies lead to a reunion with her estranged sister, played by Christine Glazier.

Shakespeare created a number of strong, smart female characters, and Helena in All's Well That Ends Well would appear to be one of them. She goes after what she wants - marriage to a nobleman named Bertram - with unflagging determination and no shortage of stratagems. And, as the title indicates, she gets her prize in the end. Considering the nature of that prize, however, you have to wonder how smart she really is. Bertram is an impudent, spoiled, rich boy who openly disdains lovely Helena, and there's little reason to believe he's had a true change of heart by the final curtain.

Theatre Hopkins kicks off its 81st season tomorrow with William Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well. Under Suzanne Pratt's direction, the comedy stars Molly Moores as clever Helena, the physician's orphaned daughter who relentlessly pursues and eventually wins the man she loves. The cast also features Jim Gallagher, Carol Mason, Robert Riggs and Judy Thornton. Here's the rest of the Theatre Hopkins season: Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room (Feb. 21-March 16), Agatha Christie's Murder on the Nile (April 11-May 4)