Troupe

You can't beat Bob Fosse. The dance moves created by the late, legendary Broadway choreographer are so definitive that their interpretations by local choreographer Lori Struss are reason enough to see "Chicago," now being revived by Columbia's Silhouette Stages. The production, which runs at Slayton House until the end of the weekend, has more to offer than spiffy dance moves, however. There's also some fine acting, powerful singing and a story that's, well, pretty strange, but nonetheless interesting and very provocative.

Last September was the first time since its beginnings in 1974 that the community theater group September Song went "dark. " It was a heart-breaking decision for Joan Eichhorn, producer, but a necessary one. Financially-strapped after its sponsoring organization decided to part ways, September Song held a musical revue as a fundraiser, instead of a full-fledged production. "It is so grossly expensive to put on musical theater," Eichhorn said. "We had no choice but to go dark.

The Annapolis Middle School Dance Company next year will become the state's first middle school to perform in a college football bowl game when it takes the field at halftime of the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 3. The 12-member dance company will be among 1,000 student performers in the sporting event known for its halftime entertainment. The Orange Bowl game will be played at the 75,000-seat Sun Life Stadium, which is also the home of the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins. "We are very proud and excited to represent our school and all of the dancers in our country," Annapolis Middle dance company director Kendra Smith said in a statement Friday.

Three years ago, he was a 26-year-old college dropout cleaning carpets at the Social Security complex in Woodlawn. There, toiling away in the wee hours, Jonte Hall vowed to give basketball one last shot. The Harlem Globetrotters are glad he did. On Saturday, Hall will perform with the 'Trotters, the game's celebrated barnstormers, at the Verizon Center in Washington (1 p.m.). Billed as "Too Tall" Hall for his height (5-foot-2), he's the smallest player ever to suit up for the Globetrotters in their 86-year history.

Abby Trader, 22, of Anneslie, used to perform in competitions as a member of the Rebounders Gymnastics Club in Timonium. This week, though, the University of Maryland student and daughter of Anneslie residents Chuck and Miriam Trader is performing on a slightly larger stage — on national television as a member of the Gymkana team on the NBC television show "America's Got Talent. " And the stakes are slightly higher: $1 million. Gymkana was slated to be one of 12 acts competing on the talent show on Tuesday, Aug. 29. After that performance, votes from viewers via phone and the Internet would determine if the team made it into the top 10 round.

On Sunday, March 13, 2005, THELMA TROUPE, of Decatur, formerly of Baltimore, MD. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Linda Troupe. She is survived by her sons, Charles A. Troupe and his wife, Kelly of Annapolis, MD and R. Bruce Troupe and his partner, Jason Bovey of Decatur, GA; daughter, Jane Troupe of Palm Harbor, FL; granddaughter, Karen Yiengst and her husband, Tom; great-granddaughter, Rachael Yiengst. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the American Diabetes Association.

The joke began simple enough: "One hundred eighty-five gorillas walk into a bar. The bartender says, 'Sorry, we don't serve your kind here.'" Members of the Severna Park High School Improv Team stood beneath bright lights, and one by one each stepped forward and offered the best think-fast punch line. "Awww, we heard the Monkees were playing. " "What? But you served Darwin. " "But all we want is a little vine. " The exercise capped a two-hour practice of wisecracks and wit, puns and ploys designed to fine-tune the budding comedy skills of a group that regularly stages on-campus shows, often requesting material from their audiences.

It's a little-known fact now, but when the musical "Chicago" made its Broadway debut in 1975, it wasn't much of a hit, running less than a thousand performances. It only became a smash musical and movie when it was revived decades later. That's because it was way ahead of its time, said Conni Ross, who is co-directing a revival of the play for Columbia's Silhouette Stages that opens Friday, May 24. "In the director's notes, one of the things I wrote was, 'This show is as relevant now as it was when it was written,' " said Ross, who is sharing directorial duties with her frequent collaborator Debbie Mobley.

Stephanie M. Troupe, a retired real estate agent, died Monday of respiratory illness at Stella Maris Hospice. The Rodgers Forge resident was 69.Services for Mrs. Troupe were being held today at St. David's Episcopal Church, 4700 Roland Ave.The former Stephanie Murphy was a native of Baltimore. She was a granddaughter of Ned Hanlon, manager of the pennant-winning Orioles of the 1890s.She is survived by her husband, Baker Hull Troupe; four sons, James Patrick Graham IV of Annapolis, Michael Hanlon Graham and Daniel Kelly Graham, both of Baltimore, and Stephen Murphy Graham of Columbia; three brothers, Clarke Murphy Jr. and E. Hanlon Murphy, both of Baltimore, and John T. Murphy II of Charlotte, N.C.; two sisters, Jane M. Kearns of Milwaukee and Celestine M. Hoffman of Wyckoff, N.J.; and eight grandchildren.

A GROUP OF student actors is using its talents to help teen-agers deal with the social pressures and sometimes-harsh cultural realities of today's world. The troupe, FoolProof Improvisational Theatre, tackles issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, date rape and child abuse. On Thursday, eight members of the troupe, consisting of Carroll County teen-agers, performed at Freedom Community Center in Eldersburg for the Lions clubs of Taylorsville and Eldersburg, and the Knights of Columbus of Eldersburg.

As the thunderous sound of Irish hard shoes dancing filled the room, Teresa Eade sat on a stool in the corner, watching intently. The 15-year-old sophomore at South Carroll High School was recovering from a concussion she received over the weekend playing dodge ball, but that didn't prevent her from participating in the first half of the rehearsal at Teelin School for Irish Dancing. And it also wasn't going to keep her from performing with Teelin on Sunday, March 11, when the Columbia-based studio - and several of its Carroll County members - were scheduled to perform in Baltimore's annualSt.

There's a lot you can do on Valentine's Day. There's the classic romantic dinner, the chocolate candy, the flowers. There's crying as you watch "Love Actually" home alone (we've just heard about this one). How about a live serenade? The Valentonez are here to help, in their words, "butter up your special lover friend or cheer up a lonely heart. " Peabody Conservatory -trained singers Melissa Wimbish, 28, and Britt Olsen-Ecker, 24, came up with the idea and enlisted their guitarist friends Paul Diem, 32, and Aldo Pantoja, 28, to form a singing group offering singing valentines from Saturday through Tuesday (packages start at $40; go to valentonez.com for details.)

Children's program Oakland Mills Community Association's "Lively Arts for Little Ones" presents "Anansegromma of Ghana," a performance of traditional West African music, storytelling and dance, at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 20, at The Other Barn in the Oakland Mills Village Center, 5851 Robert Oliver Place. Tickets are $5. Information: 410-730-4610 or go to oaklandmills.org. Gardening class The Hickory Ridge Community Association sponsors "Grow it! Eat it! Spring Vegetable Gardening" from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Hawthorn Center, 6175 Sunny Spring.

The joke began simple enough: "One hundred eighty-five gorillas walk into a bar. The bartender says, 'Sorry, we don't serve your kind here.'" Members of the Severna Park High School Improv Team stood beneath bright lights, and one by one each stepped forward and offered the best think-fast punch line. "Awww, we heard the Monkees were playing. " "What? But you served Darwin. " "But all we want is a little vine. " The exercise capped a two-hour practice of wisecracks and wit, puns and ploys designed to fine-tune the budding comedy skills of a group that regularly stages on-campus shows, often requesting material from their audiences.

In her 30 years with The Dance Dimension , feisty dance director Marilyn Byers has rarely missed an opportunity to welcome back her star dancers at Thanksgiving time. One of those rare missed opportunities came last year, when the two-time cancer survivor turned over the responsibility for putting on the show to two of her proteges. This year, Byers is back and more energetic than ever, as stars of past and present Dance Dimension rosters will be joined by a few "pick up" dancers for a very special one-night-only show this Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Slayton House Theatre.

The Ruxton Players, a community theater troupe that performs at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 1401 Carrollton Ave. in Towson, is hosting a special performance for Veterans Day, Nov. 11, for its fall production, "The Hasty Heart. " General admission tickets are $15, but veterans who bring a memento of their service will receive a discounted admission price of $7.50 for the Nov. 11, 8 p.m. show. For other performances in the show's two-weekend run, veterans' admission will be $12. World War II veterans will be admitted free at all performances.

"Can you use it in a sentence?" "Um … what's the definition?" You can hear questions like that asked by participants of any given spelling bee. What you don't hear is people asking those questions - and meaning them seriously - in the midst of a theatrical production. And that's what makes "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" such a unique theatrical work. The musical comedy, which will be performed by the Columbia-based community troupe Silhouette Stages starting Oct. 28, lets four audience members per performance take part in an actual spelling bee as it tells the story of seven kids each trying to be a spelling champ.