Elaine Stritch returns to Broadway at 85
Elaine Stritch wants to tell an embarrassing story. And when Elaine Stritch wants to tell a story, you listen.“I have no secrets,” the 85-year-old Broadway legend said by way of introduction. She is sitting at a makeup table getting her eyes done a few hours before a performance of A Little Night Music at New York City’s Walter Kerr Theatre.A few days ago, Stritch begins,... READ MORE
The magical double life of Rich Bloch
At age 7, Rich Bloch was hired to work as an apprentice in a New Jersey magic shop. Sixty years later, Bloch — a Washington labor arbitration attorney by day — continues to pursue the art of illusion with just as much enthusiasm as the little boy who stood transfixed watching the owner of the shop perform magic.“There was a magic shop on the corner of the street, and there ... READ MORE
Revival of The Wiz recalls original success
Thirty-six years after The Wiz hit the stage for its world premiere at Baltimore’s Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, the award-winning musical is back in Baltimore, this time at Center Stage. The Wiz brings the same sense of energy and good cheer that led it to an initial Broadway run of 1,672 performances, seven Tony Awards — including Best Musical— and five Drama Desk... READ MORE
One Book program brings readers together
There is something to be said for reading a book in fellowship with other readers. That’s one reason book clubs are so popular. Taking that premise one step further, three years ago the Maryland Humanities Council’s Maryland Center for the Book instituted One Maryland One Book, the state’s first — and thus far only — statewide community reading project. The... READ MORE
Cathy’ comic strip creator bids farewell
The comic strip “Cathy,” which has chronicled the life, frustrations and swim suit season meltdowns of its namesake for more than 30 years, is coming to an end. Cathy Guisewite, 59, the strip's creator, said that deciding to end the comic strip was "excruciating." The comic has won several awards, including a1992 National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award and an Emmy Award for... READ MORE
Studio play about theater mirrors real life
Do you need to be a theater “insider” to fully appreciate emerging playwright Annie Baker’s quirky but affecting comedy-with-serious-overtones play Circle Mirror Transformation? Studio Theatre is hop ing most audience members will be able to see something of themselves in this story. Winner of the 2010 Obie Award (off-Broadway) for Best New American Play, Circle Mirror... READ MORE
Playful photos, props a delight at Walters
If you’ve spent any time with kids in the past 20 years, you’re probably familiar with Walter Wick — if not his name, then his popular book series, Can You See What I See? and I Spy. Both challenge young and not-so-young readers to solve visual riddles or puzzles created from the thousands of props Wick has collected in his studio (a renovated... READ MORE
Writer needn’t be prolific to be a ‘genius’
Author Deborah Eisenberg is in the dining area of her apartment, peeling an orange. She removes a small piece, places it on her plate and peels again. It takes a couple of hours, but when finished, she has an arrangement as artful as a lotus flower. Or, in her case, a short story. For the past quarter century, Eisenberg has created — without hurry — stories. She has... READ MORE
