Life & Leisure

Photo by Carol Rosegg

Cirque contest fulfilling fantasy
Your drawing could come to life on stage at the Hippodrome this month during “Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy,” a national touring production set in an enchanted forest.

The show is filled with international Olympians, aerialists, spine-bending contortionists, vine-swinging characters, dancers, musicians and more.

Artistic Director Neil Goldberg is calling on people of all ages to submit sketches by sending an e-mail to costumes@cirqueproductions.com or mailing it

Photo courtesy Toby’s - Columbia

By Celeste Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com

There’s still time to enjoy that long-time audience favorite, “The Sound of Music,” which plays at Toby’s Dinner Theatre of Columbia through Feb. 17.

In Toby’s version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein hit musical, Jessica Ball delights as Maria, the winsome “flibbetyjibbet” postulant sent from the Abbey to serve as governess to the seven von Trapp children whose mother has died. David Bosley-Reynolds is

by Lynn Williams
maindish@baltimoreguide.com

Zen West Roadside Cantina, The Texas ex-pat in me likes to imagine that Zen West gets its name from the fact that a perfectly-made tamale can send the Tex-Mex lover straight to Nirvana.

The reality is more prosaic: the restaurant shares ownership with Café Zen, an Asian restaurant on the same block near Belvedere Square. But who could blame us for seeking a little inner peace, especially if it comes with a side of guacamole?

Where was the fire?: Celebrate the 104th anniversary of the Great Baltimore Fire with a walking tour of the downtown “burnt district,” Saturday, February 9. Led by Baltimore historian and educator Wayne R. Schaumburg of Perry Hall, this 11-block walk will trace the path of the 1904 blaze from Hopkins Place to Market Place with stops at significant historic landmarks along the way such as: the John E. Hurst Company, O’Neill’s Department Store, Baltimore Herald Newspaper, Continental Trust Building, Alex Brown & Sons Building, Mercantile Bank, the Sun Iron Building, the Baltimore American Building and the old Fish Market.

January
All jazzed up: Baltimore County Schools All Honors Jazz Band and All Honors Vocal Jazz Ensemble – including students from Perry Hall High – will perform a free concert Saturday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m. at The Walters Art Museum Graham Auditorium, 600 N. Charles St. While the selection of the All Honor Jazz Band is an annual tradition for the school system, the All Honors Vocal Jazz Ensemble is new this year. The jazz ensemble features 16

Is it just me or do your New Year’s resolutions from last year look alarmingly familiar?

I know, I know.

Lose 10 pounds or maybe 20, exercise for 45 minutes a day – every day. Give up all junk food and just eat healthy food. And no more stopping at McDonalds regardless of their transfatlessness. Unfortunately, those good intentions don’t seem to last very long and all too quickly you’re right back to your old ways

Country’s ‘most historic city’ only 118 miles away
by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com

Visiting Fredericksburg, Va, which describes itself as “Pleasantly situated on the Rappahannock,” it is almost impossible to believe that mean and bloody battles important to both sides were fought here.
Although I’d come to see Civil War sites, I learned after a stop at the Visitors Center (706 Caroline St.) that there’s so much more to this charming Southern city. When you visit,

THAT TIME ALREADY? – Santa sits patiently, waiting for the first wave of children hoping they’re on his “nice” list at last week’s White Marsh tree lighting – the official start of the holiday season for this area. Photo by Thom Perry

Holiday events
Festival of trees – Nov. 23 - 25. The 18th annual Kennedy Krieger Institute Festival of Trees will be held in the Cow Palace at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in

Gourmet food fast
by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com

What could be better to take the chill off a brisk autumn day than a bowl of good hot soup? Don’t have the time nor inclination to cook up a steaming potful on your own stove?

A variety of good as – or even better than – homemade in your own kitchen soups can be found right in our own neighborhood at Soup’s On, 9533 Belair Rd. A gal pal

by Beth Garner
bgarner@timesheraldnews.com

Is it just me or are your gym visits really, really expensive too?

I mean, I haven’t been to the actual gym in well over five months yet I pay my membership fee on a biweekly basis. So even if I just went one time during those five months, that single gym visit will cost me about $300.

That, in the words of Bridget Jones (Helen Fielding), “is very bad economy!”

I don’t

by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com

Lerner & Loewe’s beloved award-winning musical My Fair Lady charmed the opening night audience at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre.

As part of a national tour direct from its 2001 West End run and U.K. national tour that began in fall 2005, the show will play here through Nov. 18.

Respected English stage and screen actor Christopher Cazenove is in top form as the overbearing Professor. Americans might remember him as

by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com

On a mostly unadorned but very utile set at Centerstage through Dec. 2, Hearts hearkens back to the World War II era. Through the medium of weekly card games of Hearts, Willy Holtzman’s play opens a window – if only a tiny crack – into the long-hidden tormented memories of his father’s experiences as a Jewish-American soldier fighting Hitler’s nightmare.

Portraying the playwright’s father figure Donald Waldman, Jordan Charney

Brother John sweet and lovable – to a fault

by Roger Ebert
“I’m not human,” little Dennis says at one point in “Martian Child.”
So he believes. The lonely orphan has convinced himself that he was not abandoned by his parents, but arrived here from Mars. To protect himself against the sun, he walks around inside a cardboard box with a slit cut for his eyes, and wears a weight belt around his waist to keep himself from

All around town

Performance – Notre Dame Preparatory School presents The Pajama Game, the classic musical featuring the unforgettable song “Steam Heat,” on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 9-10, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 11, at 3 p.m. All performances take place in the school auditorium. NDP students performing in The Pajama Game include Kingsville residents Ariel Hanke (a junior) and Blake Alderman (a sophomore). Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the door. For reservations, call 410-825-6202.

New owner, but same style
by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com

Had to be there when my friend Eddie Applefeld invited us to celebrate the 70th birthday of Velleggia’s in Little Italy.

Although the venerable Italian restaurant at 829 E. Pratt St. has a new facade, it still offers the quality cuisine that Baltimore has been enjoying consistantly over the years.

Who of a certain age doesn’t remember prom nights or special dances and dates celebrated by going to

by Dr. George Lowe
Overlea Personal Physicians

You feel okay. Oh, maybe an ache or two after weeding in the garden, or perhaps you’re just sorry to see summer come to a close. Anyway, you’re fine.

And you probably are just fine. However, it doesn’t mean doing a little “preventive maintenance” isn’t a bad idea. We do the same for our cars, right? And getting that diagnostic every 10,000 miles can keep your car running a long time –

by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com
Longwood Gardens, that outstanding showcase of horticultural splendor located slightly more than an hour’s drive north on Rt. 1 – close to Kennett Square, Pa. – debuted its long-awaited new Indoor Children’s Garden on Oct. 27.
More than a decade in the making, the new 4,000 sq. ft. fantasy promises to delight children of all ages.
Trey Fromme, who designed other aspects of Longwood’s recent renovations,

by Celeste H. Breitenbach
news@timesheraldnews.com
When B. Thomas Rinaldi as Prologus advises the audience of a “Comedy Tonight” in A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum, he isn’t kidding. The contemporary Vaudeville set in 200 B.C. Rome brings almost non-stop laughter to Dundalk Community Theatre, at CCBC-Dundalk campus, 7200 Sollers Point Rd., through Nov. 4.
Rinaldi is an absolute hoot as he portrays Pseudolus, the Roman slave attempting to

by Roger Ebert
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” – Karl Marx
Applied with strict rigor, that’s how bee society works in Jerry Seinfeld’s “Bee Movie,” and apparently in real life. Doesn’t seem like much fun. You are born, grow a little, attend school for three days, and then go to work for the rest of your life. “Are you going to work us to death?” a young bee asks during a

All around town

Polar fair – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Park Service will host the first-ever Gunpowder Polar Fair, on Saturday, Nov. 3 at North Point State Park in Baltimore County, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. “This event is part of an effort by the park to help people reduce their carbon footprint and live more sustainably,” said Sarah Witcher of Gunpowder State Park. Visitors to the fair will experience informative displays on ways to conserve