Arts and Culture (All)

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 8/11/11

Dignity Players’ Doubt

No doubt it would be a sin to miss it

Dignity Players has a fine reputation for staging plays of social significance, and Doubt is no exception — except in its quality. It’s so much more than good that it’s pretty near perfect. John Patrick Shanley’s 2005 Pulitzer and Tony award-winning play is riveting enough already for its honest and clever treatment of the clergy pedophilia scandal, but with performances rivaling those of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars — Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 8/11/11

Can-Can

Talent Machine’s 13- to 18-year-old thespians bring to life Cole Porter’s Can-Can

Talent Machine’s 13- to 18-year-old thespians bring to life Cole Porter’s Can-Can, a musical about the music, dance, love and artistry of 1890s’ Paris. Featuring the songs Never Give Anything Away, I Am in Love and Come Along with Me. Fri. Aug. 12 & Sat. Aug. 13 at 7:30pm. Key Auditorium, St. John’s College, Annapolis. $12 w/age discounts: 410-956-0512; www.talentmachine.com.

Article - Food and Drink; by C.T. Schwink - 8/11/11

Wine Country On the Chesapeake

Napa, Sonoma ... and now North Beach

You don’t have to travel to California, nor even to Virginia, to get to Wine Country. Maryland is fast making up for lost time as a grape-growing, wine-making region. “There are 50 wineries in the state, and their production is booming,” said Regina McCarthy, Maryland Wineries’ marketing coordinator. In Calvert County, old tobacco soils are proving the Patuxent Wine Trail is ripe for the picking. Eat Drink Go...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 8/4/11

Cowboys & Aliens

A fun but mindless action movie puts the plot out to pasture in order to focus on effects and fun

A man with no name rides into a dustbowl of a western town. No, he’s not Clint Eastwood, but it’s a reasonable facsimile. The man is Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig: Defiance), a former bank robber who lost his memory around the same time he got a mysterious metal cuff on his wrist. When Lonergan is caught in town, local cattle baron Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford: Morning Glory) demands the right to hang the robber. This classic Western...

Article - Food and Drink; by C.T. Schwink - 8/4/11

Look for the Green Plate

New logo directs you to what’s local on Annapolis menus

If you think you’re eating at a farmers market when enjoying a dish at an Annapolis restaurant like b.b. Bistro or Level because of the freshness of the food, you’d be close. These restaurants and others are spearheading the city’s Green Plate Program, featuring ingredients grown within 300 miles. These 50 percent-plus delectables will be noted on the menu with a Green Plate icon plus the names of the farm of origin. Green Plates “...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 7/28/11

Winnie the Pooh

A silly old bear and his buddies prove you don’t need 3D to make great animation

Since Walt Disney last visited the Hundred Acre Woods, animation has seen the advent of 3D, computer rendering and gross-out humor. This no-frills revisit to the classic story of Winnie the Pooh is a return to hand-drawn animation. The story is so simple that even the youngest can play along: While on a search for a replacement tail for Eeyore, Pooh discovers a note from Christopher Robin. Soon Pooh and the rest of the Hundred Acre Woods crowd become convinced that their...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Davina Grace Hill - 7/28/11

Bowie Community Theatre’s Language of Angels

You may be done with the past, but the past is never done with you.
—Magnolia (1999)

That aphorism sums up the point and the effect of Bowie Community Theatre’s ambitious Language of Angels. Whether they are angels, ghosts or memories, voices from our past accompany, haunt and speak to us throughout our lives. They rarely speak in a linear or logical way, and often we aren’t sure of their message. Playwright Naomi Iizuka sets Language of Angels in a string of North Carolina caves frequented by teens. Tragedies have happened...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 7/28/11

Captain America: The First Avenger

This patriotic hero had more dimension in comicsCaptain America: The First Avenger

Writing a negative review of Captain America: The First Avenger makes me feel a traitor. But here goes. On paper the Cap (Chris Evans: Puncture) is a pretty good idea: He wears a costume that pays tribute to the stars and stripes. He fights Nazis with gusto. And unlike other action heroes, his virtue is beyond reproach. He’s as American as apple pie. And just like that tasty treat, his character has a tendency to be too sugary and stick to the roof of your mouth....

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener - 7/21/11

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

A decade of magical movies ends with a spellbinding film

Dirty, exhausted and ready to embrace his fate, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) enters the forest for a showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes: Clash of the Titans). Most moviegoers know how the story ends, yet the movie audience gasped as the battle began. That’s the power of Potter. Because of the fanatical devotion of readers and cinematic fans, Deathly Hallows Part 2 was almost guaranteed a wild box office success, no matter the quality of the film. In truth...

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Jane C. Elkin - 7/21/11

Infinity Theatre Company’s Little Shop of Horrors

Musical comedy doesn’t get any better than this toothy horror story.

Broadway’s most profitable show ever, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s sci-fi musical Little Shop of Horrors, is now playing at Infinity Theatre Company, a professional troupe from New York that is the area’s newest addition to the summer arts scene. If you missed their Annapolis debut with My Way last month, you’ll definitely want to take in this last show of their season. The host venue, The Children’s Theatre of Annapolis, may seem out of the way, but I promise...