Vagabond Players

In Lance Woods' "Murder Case," most of the mystery concerns guessing who'll-get-it, rather than whodunnit.That's because -- despite a plethora of possible victims, motives and weapons -- no one is murdered until well into the second act of this latest entry in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival, currently at the Vagabond Players.Mr. Woods' second comedy-thriller to be produced by the festival, "Murder Case" takes place in a mansion at a Pennsylvania winery. The title is a triple pun that also refers to a "case" of wine, as well as being the surname of the main character, Elliott Case.

Bowie Community Theatre."Trip to Bountiful." 7: 30 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, callbacks Thursday at Bowie Playhouse, Whitemarsh Park, Route 3 South, Bowie. Cast calls for nine characters, ages 18 and older. For some of the roles, gender casting is flexible. At least one woman needs to portray age 60 or older. Cold readings from script. Backstage and technical people also needed. Call 410-990-9495.FAME Festival.Auditions in the greater Baltimore area for enrollment in the fifth annual FAME (Foundation for Art and Musical Excellence)

"The Country Girl" is atypical Clifford Odets. The relationships it depicts are personal, not political, and instead of using the theater as a soapbox, it uses the theater as its setting.In other words, this is one of those plays about playmaking which theater people love to perform. That may help explain why the 1950 script has had several New York revivals in recent years, and why the Vagabond Players chose it as part of the 75th anniversary season.Directed by Miriam Bazensky, the cast does an able job weaving Odets' intricate, well-observed web of human relations.

Even Noel Coward aficionados have to concede "Present Laughter" is not his best play. But a slick, sophisticated portrayal of the title character -- a stage idol modeled after Coward himself -- can make you feel you're in the presence of the master.On opening night, however, the production at the Vagabond Players reinforced the play's weaknesses. And though lead actor Mark E. Campion can certainly look debonair -- and on many occasions has shown he can act it as well -- his first-night performance lacked the self-assurance essential to the role.

There's a lot of theater in Baltimore beyond the mainstage offerings at the Mechanic Theatre, Lyric Opera House and Center Stage. Pick a neighborhood and chances are you'll find a community- or college-based theater there."

"Jake's Women" occupies a singular spot in the Neil Simon canon. In 1990, when the playwright nixed the show's Broadway opening after a run in San Diego, it became Simon's only Broadway-bound play to die out of town.Two years later, a largely rewritten version made it to Broadway, although it was hardly one of Simon's runaway hits. Instead, "Jake's Women" remains more of a Simon curiosity. Now it is receiving its Baltimore premiere at the Vagabond Players -- warts and all.The script dates from Simon's more serious, autobiographical period.

Paul Rudnick's "I Hate Hamlet" is so chock full of theatrical jokes, one-liners and intentionally hammy acting that, especially for a non-professional cast, it must be difficult not to break out laughing right along with the audience.Compounding that difficulty is the challenge of finding an actor who can deliver an acceptable impersonation of the great John Barrymore and doesn't look ridiculous in tights.At the Vagabond Players, director Steve Goldklang has found that actor in accomplished local thespian, Mark E. Campion.

Robin J. Holt, a speech and drama teacher who directed and performed with several Baltimore theater companies, died Monday of heart failure at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The lifelong Parkville resident was 52. For more than 30 years, Mr. Holt was a well-known fixture in community theater, directing or acting in productions at the Vagabond Players, Fells Point Corner Theater, Theater Hopkins, Spotlighters and Paragon Theater. He was a founder of the Baltimore Laboratory Theater at the University of Baltimore and the Millennium Theater Co. In 1990, he directed "The Heiress," which marked the Vagabond Players' 75th anniversary season.

Shirley Reinhardt Byrd, who rose from Miss Howard County to become one of the Baltimore area's most prominent actresses, died Wednesday of heart failure in her Oakenshawe home. "Onstage, she was one of the most giving, generous, sincere actresses," said F. Scott Black, owner of the Towson dinner theater that bears his name. "The stage was her life." Ms. Reinhardt's acting career carried her through the stage, film and television, earning her credits in more than 150 productions. She appeared in films with such actors as Alan Alda, Robert Redford and George C. Scott, and her daytime soap opera appearances included "One Life to Live" and "Texas."

`Evolution of a People' The lowdown -- The 20th annual State of Maryland Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. includes the world premiere of a multimedia work, Evolution of a People. Composer Darin Atwater, founding conductor of the Soulful Symphony, has teamed up with photographer Ellis Marsalis to create a "10-part musical and photographic journey through the history of the African American." Members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will participate with the Soulful Symphony. If you go -- The concert is at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Tickets are scarce.