‘Rocky the Musical’ packs a punch at Toby’s

By Eddie Applefeld
Posted on April 19, 2022

Earlier this year, Toby Orenstein, owner of Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, was walking to the corner bakery when she happened to notice a new gym, Title Boxing Club. The gym reminded her of Rocky, the famous 1976 boxing film and subsequent 2014 musical, which coincidentally had just been licensed globally. Excitedly, Orenstein called her colleague, executive producer Mark Minnick.... READ MORE

TV series on Baltimore’s crooked cops

By Robert Friedman
Posted on April 18, 2022

The Baltimore police are on the move, invading the home of a known drug dealer, pushing the woman of the house aside, laying out the dealer, finding his mountains of cash and tossing the packs of money to each other — for their own keeping. That’s in the opening TV chapter of “We Own This City,” the new HBO series about crooked cops in Baltimore in and around the year 2015. The... READ MORE

The truth behind gardening proverbs

By Lela Martin
Posted on April 14, 2022

Many gardeners rely on a proverb, an almanac or their grandmothers for gardening advice, while Master Gardeners are trained to convey information that is research-based. Here are a few adages with a little bit of scientific discussion to clarify the level of their validity: April showers bring May flowers This saying can be traced back to English poet Thomas Tusser, who wrote in the... READ MORE

In praise of politically active older voters

By Bob Levey
Posted on April 13, 2022

Political season is heating up, both locally and nationally. As usual, older Americans are front and center. The reasons are tried and true. We vote, and we give money. Younger people might do the first, and sometimes do the second. But so often, they are too busy and too cash-strapped to lean into campaigns the way their elders do. So, we oldies-but-goodies will soon see and hear... READ MORE

Works illuminate ‘the war to end all wars’

By Dinah Rokach
Posted on April 12, 2022

The Bibliophile April 6 marks the 105th anniversary of the U.S. entry into the First World War. These books help us remember and appreciate those who served. Never in Finer Company: The Men of the Great War’s Lost Battalion, by Edward G. Lengel, 368 pages, Hachette Books paperback, 2021 Chief historian of the White House Historical Association, D.C. native Edward Lengel, has... READ MORE

Exquisitely crafted furniture as sculpture

By Catherine Brown
Posted on April 11, 2022

Housed in a Tudor Revival mansion on Monument Avenue, the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design is posthumously exhibiting the work of local artist Sam Forrest, who created unique works of furniture as graceful as they are functional. Forrest, who passed away last May, learned his craft in the late 1960s at Richmond Professional Institute (RPI, which later became Virginia Commonwealth ... READ MORE

Fostering inner strength through the arts

By Susan Ahearn
Posted on April 04, 2022

Though it was founded 35 years ago by a Holocaust survivor, the CREATE Arts Center in downtown Silver Spring has a mission that seems tailored for today: offering art classes and art therapy to foster creativity, connect community and boost mental health. “My feeling was that the arts really belonged out there in the world for all people,” said its founder, Tamar Hendel, now 86. That ... READ MORE

On top of the world with a Baltimore artist

By Tina Collins
Posted on March 21, 2022

Baltimore native and visionary artist Ernest Shaw Jr. is a unique storyteller. In his decades-long career, Shaw, 53, has won numerous awards and accolades for his dignified and spirited images of the people of the African diaspora and their impact on American culture. This month, Shaw’s paintings of this complex story are exhibited in his solo show, “Continuous Line,” displayed at... READ MORE

Going for the green (lawn) this spring

By Lela Martin
Posted on March 10, 2022

Richmond dancer debuts with Riverdance

By Mark Kennedy
Posted on March 08, 2022

When the Irish dance troupe Riverdance kicked off its 25th buy zithromax online zithromax no prescription buy prograf online prograf online no prescription online pharmacy order celexa without prescription with best prices today in the USA anniversary North American tour this year, someone special appeared in its high-stepping cast: the troupe’s first Black female dancer. Morgan... READ MORE