Warmth

If this week's weather is any indication, spring may be here for good a bit earlier than normal. Normal highs are about 53 degrees this time of year. The best chance for setting a new record comes Thursday, when the current record is 82 degrees, set in 1990. A record for the highest daily low is more within reach, with records of 54 degrees and 56 degrees Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday morning is forecast to start out at 53 degrees, while Wednesday could be a bit colder with a 48-degree low. A record could be close.

We topped 70 degrees on this springlike day, with highs of 73 degrees at the Sun weather station and 72 at BWI Airport. (Does it even make sense to say "springlike" at this point? The season seems to have all but arrived.) Thursday morning picked up where Wednesday left off, starting from an overnight low of just 54 at BWI Airport and 55 at the Sun weather station downtown. Normal lows this time of year are about freezing, with highs expected around 50. But clouds and gusty winds were expected to move into the area by the afternoon.

Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia is offering what has become a seasonal favorite — Irving Berlin's "White Christmas, The Musical" in evening and matinee performances through Jan. 8. Not just another holiday show, "White Christmas, The Musical" is also a celebration of the American popular song as defined by its prolific composer Irving Berlin. The show gives us with such favorites as "Blue Skies," "I Love a Piano," and "How Deep is the Ocean," along with introducing lesser-known Berlin tunes.

Frederick Rasmussen's article on Maryland straight rye whiskey ("Rye whiskey was once synonymous with Maryland," Feb. 27) evoked powerful but conflicting emotions in this transplanted Southern bourbon drinker (and, alas, now long time teetotaler.) For a moment I could almost taste the acrid shot of Pikesville and feel its warm glow as it travelled down the old alimentary canal, to be followed, at a decent interval, by a cool, contrasting and modest sip or two of National Bohemian. But my warm reminiscences are tinged with vague feelings of guilt.

Reminiscing about favorite holiday shows in and around Annapolis seems a pleasant diversion as the new year begins. Although my celebration with my husband began with the Annapolis Chorale's "Celebration of Christmas" concert and then "The Nutcracker," I'll concentrate on three other events: Standing O's "A Christmas Story," the Annapolis Chorale's "Messiah" at St. Anne's Church and "Stef and Sue's Christmas Show" at the Powerhouse. Standing O's humorous presentation of "A Christmas Story" — a favorite spanning generations that I had somehow entirely missed until now — is based on the Indiana boyhood reminiscences of radio personality Jean Shepherd.

"South Pacific," the 1949 musical by Rodgers & Hammerstein, enjoyed the distinction not only of being one of the most successful shows on Broadway — nearly 2,000 performances, numerous hit songs, several Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize — but also one of the hardest to revive there. The first full-fledged revival didn't come along until 2008, but the wait was worth it. That production by the Lincoln Center Theater proved to be a revelation. Without the slightest trace of superficiality or trendy deconstruction, this "South Pacific" reconfirmed all of the strengths in the original, including the head-on examination of racial prejudice that was so far ahead of its time, and effectively minimized its occasional weaknesses.

We're always looking for those performances that truly define an actor, when we can sit back and simply watch the talent soar. For Colin Firth, "A Single Man" is that film. Until now probably best known for his work in the "Bridget Jones" films - the stuffy, sensitive suitor forever in the shadow of Hugh Grant's roguish charmer - his portrayal of George, the single man that he imbues with amazing grace, should change all that. George is 52, a Briton transplanted to L.A., where he's been an English professor for years.

At first the connection seems vague between the bustling Saturday morning 32nd Street Farmers Market and an Episcopal church basement filled with energetic preschoolers from around the world. But it is there, one of the social threads that bind communities together. The vendors at the Waverly market pay rent. The market association collects the rent and after paying its bills, gives grants, usually about $500, to nonprofits working in the community. "We usually award $8,000 to $10,000 a year," said Vernon Rey, president of the market.

As the world slips deeper into debt and doubt, it's good to know that the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's annual Holiday Spectacular is as reliably diverting as ever. There are still several more chances to get your cheer infusion before the production wraps up Tuesday. Friday's opener reaffirmed the basic soundness of the concept, which was introduced to Baltimore audiences in 2005 by BSO principal pops conductor Jack Everly. He imported this holiday product from the Indianapolis Symphony, where he is also principal pops conductor.