Highlights
The Hippodrome, once known as one of the nation's top vaudeville houses in the 1930s and '40s, has found new life as home to Broadway tours coming to Baltimore. In 2004, the remodeled France-Merrick Performing Arts Center reopened to accommodate larger theatrical tours that couldn't play the city's Mechanic Theatre. Architects combined the Hippodrome with other properties on the block so they could restore the theater and add the modern amenities and space it lacked. The opening season included "The Lion King" and "Phantom of the Opera." The $62 million project also was expected to play a role in improving Baltimore's west side. The project was a joint venture of the Hippodrome Foundation,...
The Hippodrome, once known as one of the nation's top vaudeville houses in the 1930s and '40s, has found new life as home to Broadway tours coming to Baltimore. In 2004, the remodeled France-Merrick Performing Arts Center reopened to accommodate larger theatrical tours that couldn't play the city's Mechanic Theatre. Architects combined the Hippodrome with other properties on the block so they could restore the theater and add the modern amenities and space it lacked. The opening season included "The Lion King" and "Phantom of the Opera." The $62 million project also was expected to play a role in improving Baltimore's west side. The project was a joint venture of the Hippodrome Foundation, Maryland Stadium Authority and Clear Channel Entertainment. In 1914, the Hippodrome opened as a vaudeville and movie house and hosted the likes of Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Benny Goodman, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. It had a house orchestra, organ and piano to accompany the films. The Hippodrome closed in 1990, when it was the last movie theater downtown. Attendance at the new France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, which houses the 2,286-seat Hippodrome, has been around 350,000 a year. Its recent seasons have included "Avenue Q," "Hairspray" and "High School Musical."
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Old-time Baltimore was green long before living green was fashionable
Every time I hear about how we need to live more green, I chuckle. Nothing new. I was raised that way - and so were many fellow thrifty Baltimoreans in the 1950s. We wasted little and used - and reused - much. We walked and took buses and streetcars....Tags: Procter & Gamble Company, Vehicles, Toyota
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Plans for Mechanic Theatre wait in the wings
Sun architecture criticBaltimore's Morris A. Mechanic Theatre has been closed for four years, but it's still a source of high drama for those curious about what will happen to the key downtown property. A year after Baltimore's Commission for Historical and Architectural...Tags: Sheila Dixon, Architecture, Building Material, Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, Metal and Mineral
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Olive Waxter, director of the Hippodrome Foundation
Since January 2005, Olive Waxter has been director of the Hippodrome Foundation. The mission of this nonprofit partner of the Hippodrome Theatre is to increase access through education and outreach programs. The foundation has a free summer theater camp...Tags: Vehicles, Personal Service
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Tax credits now critical to region's film industry
I would like to set the record straight on a number of inaccurate statements made by Sheldon H. Laskin in his column "Leave film tax credits on the cutting-room floor" (Commentary, July 14). Mr. Laskin wrongly suggests that state and local governments...Tags: Sony Corp., Celebrity, Local Authority, Connecticut Economic Development, Economy
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The Big Three
Pryor engagement Rain Pryor, daughter of the late comedian Richard Pryor, will perform her hybrid jazz cabaret and comedy show, Pryor Experience, at the Hippodrome Theatre tomorrow at 8 p.m. The concert will feature music from legendary jazz group the...Tags: Casino and Gambling, Festive Event, Diseases, Tourism and Leisure, Virus Diseases
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Critic's choice: 'The Color Purple'
Incest and child abuse might not seem natural subjects for a Broadway musical, but The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, demonstrated that such grim, real-life problems could draw droves of theatergoers on the Great White...Tags: Music Theater, Fiction, Awards and Prizes, Alice Walker
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Calendar
ONGOING REMEMBERING KING // The Reginald F. Lewis Maryland Museum of African American History and Culture, 830 E. Pratt St., is showcasing From the Ashes of a Dream: Race and Revitalization Since MLK, a reflection on the 40th anniversary of the death...Tags: Reisterstown, Fiction, Ceremonies, History, Awards and Prizes
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Theater schedule
MARCH Through March 22 // Green Book, Arena Players Through March 23 // Major Barbara, Shakespeare Through March 29 // From Tel Aviv to Ramallah: A Beatbox Journey, Center Stage Through April 13 // A Little Night Music, Center Stage Through April...Tags: Westminster (Carroll, Maryland), Coppin State University, Tourism and Leisure, Music Theater, Dundalk
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Eclectic schedule
A key to addresses and contact information for eclectic venues can be found at the end of this list. SEPTEMBER Through Oct. 7 // Aunt Pauline's Gospel Ministry, MHS Sept. 7 // Comedian Brian Regan, Meyerhoff Sept. 7 // Kronos Quartet: Awakening,...Tags: Dance, Kathy Griffin, Ravi Shankar, Awards and Prizes, Music Theater
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Dance schedule
A key to addresses and contact information for dance venues can be found at the end of this list. SEPTEMBER Sept. 20-22 // Margaret Jenkins Dance Company: A Slipping Glimpse, Clarice Sept. 29 // Philadelphia Dance Company, Harford OCTOBER Oct. 10 //...Tags: Dance, Cinderella, Alvin Ailey, Colleges and Universities, Classical Music
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The spritz heard 'round the world
Sun reporterHold on to your pettipants: the world of Formstone and John Waters, of big hair and the Har-De-Har Hut, has invaded Tokyo and Johannesburg. And the stunned inhabitants may never be the same. "It was pretty fascinating doing the show in Japan, because...Tags: John Waters
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'Hairspray' holds up time after time
Sun theater criticHairspray, you're timeless to me. I've seen six renditions of the Tony Award-winning musical -- twice on Broadway, twice last summer in a movie theater and twice during national tours -- and each time, I'm more beguiled than the last. It's no slight...Tags: Music Theater, Music Industry, John Travolta, Harvey Fierstein, Broadway
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