Ventriloquist loves to make children laugh
Children’s entertainer Valerie Leonhart Smalkin was never especially drawn to young children. Until she had her own, that is.“I didn’t think I liked children,” the 64-year-old Cockeysville ventriloquist-musician-author said. “Then I had one, and I fell in love.”After Smalkin received a BA in philosophy cum laude from Goucher College in 1971, she found... READ MORE
Putnam County Bee spells fun at Ford’s
Don’t make the mistake of passing up the chance to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee because you think it’s just a silly kid’s show.Yes, it is very silly. And yes, kids get a kick out of it. Ford’s recommends 12 and older, but some younger ones may enjoy it as well without permanent damage from a bit of language. (There is an R-rated version of the... READ MORE
Man of La Mancha tilts toward Baltimore
When the touring production of Man of La Mancha rolls into town this month, Jack Curenton will be thinking of his grandfather, who grew up in Baltimore and worked at the Continental Can Company.“I didn’t live in Baltimore myself,” said the 62-year-old Los Angeles resident who plays Don Quixote, “but I feel connected to it.”Curenton, who acted as a young man... READ MORE
Finding a lot to laugh about in Spamalot
Rubber chickens, Vegas, disco and gay marriage in Camelot? Richard Burton would not be amused. But the current musical Spamalot at Toby’s Dinner Theatre is two letters and five decades removed from the venerated 1960 Broadway production.And audiences are not just amused, they guffaw and snort with laughter at every double entendre, every pun, no matter how puny, and every fart... READ MORE
Time to dress up for El Paseo Fashion Week
Fashion mania will sweep over the valley in the wake of the 9th El Paseo Fashion Week, March 16-22, presented by Palm Springs Life (PSL) magazine, with title sponsor Saxony Group.Trimmed this year to an actual 7-day week, the event headlines Palm Springs-based designers Michael Costello and Jim Mullin of JM Couture, and culminates with Zang Toi, the first New York notable to participate.The ... READ MORE
Conference explores music’s effect on brain
Most of us enjoy listening to music. But did you know that what is a pleasurable pastime — whether you’re listening to Bach or Bieber — can also be a boon to our brains? The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is going to explore just that topic at a two-day international conference on Thursday and Friday, Jan.30-31.Open to the public, “Music, Mind,... READ MORE
Irish dance show has contemporary twist
Traditional Irish step dancing — with some Latin, African and beatboxing rhythms blended in — will be featured in the Teelin Irish Dance Company’s upcoming show at the Jim Rouse Theater in Columbia.The company’s two performances, on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., will fuse the “heart-pounding rhythm of Irish dance with cutting edge choreography,” said... READ MORE
Arts festival season kicks off in January
Come rain or shine, every year the Coachella Valley hosts three major outdoor art festivals that attract more than 30,000 visitors.Scheduled to allow art fans to wander through shows in the desert’s most agreeable weather, the festivals benefit art education and local businesses, and offer art pieces for most any taste. All three have dining, places to sit, valet parking,... READ MORE
Around the world with Jewish music trio
You don’t have to know Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Luganda, Arabic or even English to sing and swing along with the Robyn Helzner Trio when they present “A Concert of World Jewish Music” in Columbia.The words — even if foreign to your ears — and the music will draw you in by “the emotion and the celebration” in song of the Jewish experience, said Robyn ... READ MORE
Major black history exhibit visits museum
A nationally renowned exhibit has made its way to Baltimore, where it may bring a surge of visitors to the East Coast’s largest African-American museum.Curated over 35 years, the Kinsey Collection offers a variety of items that chronicle black history in the United States.The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture opened “The Kinsey... READ MORE
