Urban Contemporary station WERQ-FM (92.3) remained firmly atop Baltimore's radio ratings for the first three months of 2008, with an average of 379,500 listeners who tuned in for at least five minutes a week, according to Arbitron ratings released today. Country music station WPOC-FM (93.1) ranked second, with an average of 364,100 listeners, followed by WWMX-FM (106.5) with 283,000; WLIF-FM (101.9) with 279,700; WWIN-FM (95.9) with 267,000; and WBAL-AM (1090) with 230,800.

Posted by Chris Kaltenbach at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra has named a new concertmaster -- Madeline Adkins, associate concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. (The BCO and BSO have a long history of mutual personnel and cooperation on scheduling.) Guest concertmasters have filled the post since another BSO violinist, Craig Richmond, stepped down two years ago.

Adkins, one of the bright young talents brought into the BSO by former music director Yuri Temirkanov, has been featured in several of that orchestra's programs in recent season, displaying her admirable technical skills and strong musical personality.

Adkins will be make her first appearance as BCO concertmaster in the orchestra's season-closing program of Haydn and Stravinsky May 21 at Goucher College. For concert details click here.  

Photo: Courtesy of BSO

Posted by Tim Smith at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Mario said he will be dancing the foxtrot and the mambo Monday night on ABC's Dancing With the Stars -- and the foxtrot has him worried.

"It's tough, because I'm not really a fan of foxtrot," the 21-year singer said in his weekly Sun interview. "I feel like the mambo fits me a lot better -- it's a fun dance with a lot of movement, and it's really, really fast."

Mario says he likes all the Latin-themed dances he's done of the hit show -- tango, samba and paso doble.

"With the energy of the Latin dances, when you're moving, your body just kind of follows through with it. But with the more formal dances like the foxtrot, it's just hard for me. I guess it's because I'm tall and my arms and my legs are long -- it's just is harder for me and takes more practice."

But practice he will, the Baltimore-born performer says: "The foxtrot is very formal and slow, and I just don't like it.  But, hey, I have to do it, and I'm going to give it my all. I didn't come this far to give up."

(Photo courtesy of ABC)

Posted by David Zurawik at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Jim Lehrer, the dean of TV news anchors, is recovering at Massachusetts General Hospital after undergoing heart surgery Wednesday.

The 73-year-old PBS anchorman started feeling ill last Friday and decided against traveling to Pittsburgh for a series of broadcasts of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer scheduled in connection with the April 22 Pennsylvania Presidential primary. His doctors recommended a heart-valve procedure that was done Wednesday.

The operation was "a complete success," according to Anne Bell, spokeswoman for the NewsHour. "Jim plans to be back at full speed and on the program within a few weeks."

When asked how Lehrer was feeling Friday afternoon, Bell said, "Ever the editor, Jim wrote the statement himself that will be read on the air tonight."

Those wishing to send get-well messages to Lehrer can do so at pbs.org/newshour.

LEFT: PBS photo of Jim Lehrer

Posted by David Zurawik at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Barry Levinson hates the way everything in America from politics to showbiz gets molded into an image based on media "narratives" that derive from impressions rather than facts. The entertainment-news spin on his latest movie What Just Happened? is that it failed to win over audiences at Sundance and that its selection to be the closing night film at Cannes is a life-preserver as well as an honor.

Levinson disagrees. "The Sundance screenings were very successful; we did a Q&A and couldn't have had a more enthusiastic group, and they were there at 8:30 in the morning. Wherever we've gone, the want-to-see factor has been extremely high. You tell the people in a suburban shopping mall a synopsis of what the movie is about [Robert De Niro plays a Hollywood producer in crisis mode], and you fill the room in no time and even turn away people. But everything these days is judged by perception as opposed to reality. I've done additional work on the film after Sundance but I was always assuming I would anyway because we're not coming out until the fall, and [2929 Productions cofounder] Todd Wagner has been more than generous in allowing us to continue to do some fiddling."

"We didn't do this movie as a big campy version of the film business. We tried to do a view that gives you insight into the nature of the business without being overly serious about it. And that includes an agent who is not as powerful as the ones you normally see, someone who has a weak stomach and can't handle the pressure."

In addition to attending Cannes late in May, Levinson is looking forward to introducing the opening night shorts program of the Maryland Film Festival on May 1.

"I think the festival has grown, and [festival director] Jed Dietz has done a very good job with it. It's great that once a year there is this festival that showcases different works, both local and from all over. Anything that increases people's awareness is beneficial, whether you're a filmmaker or someone who wants to see movies you may not get to see otherwise, and go out and talk them over with a cup of coffee afterwards. When I was growing up in Baltimore, the closest I could get to movies was working at Channel 2 for a short time; that, and the original Baltimore Junior College had a program in broadcast journalism. A festival like this would have been exciting. I just wish that the state would become more aggressive in bringing filmmaking to Maryland."

ABOVE: Associated Press photo of Barry Levinson

Posted by Michael Sragow at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Over the phone from New York a few days ago, McCarthy laid out some of his "givens" for character-based filmmaking -- and why sometimes he doesn't want viewers to read even positive criticism, for fear they won't be able to see his movies fresh.

"One thing I like about storytelling as a writer or a filmmaker is to let things unfold organically; when you do that, what is happening [even in plot terms] becomes so much harder to predict. In The Visitor, there were structural things I felt very challenged by, such as bringing an important character into the movie 50 minutes into the running time. But if the character and the performer are right, people do get invested in someone that late into the movie.

"It's interesting, I've only made two movies [The Station Agent and The Visitor] and I'm still in a learning process. How do people experience the story? What do they take away?  I was talking to one person who wondered whether a guy as shut down as the guy at the center of this movie would let two young strangers stay in his apartment. But a lot of emotional reasoning goes into that choice. He's a professor who has worked with students all his life and at some point had an affinity for young people and their plight. And once he calms down and has a glass of wine, he may see that this couple are sharing something similar to what he once shared with his wife in this apartment.

"We all have strong elements of personality that we sometimes oppose in our actions. That's what makes characters more interesting for me and more fun to play with."

One way McCarthy keeps a project like The Visitor unified and alive -- and a real movie as much as a character piece -- is to involve his behind-the-camera team in his creative process early on.  "Reading the script, walking around New York City, getting an inside perspective on the locations, you start to set a tone with your team. We can tell each other, 'Remember we talked about this: we didn’t want this a year and a half ago.' In some ways it takes the pressure off: it's organized cheating."

Or in the case of a film as stirring as The Visitor, shared inspiration.

Above: Associated Press photo of Tom McCarthy

Posted by Michael Sragow at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The promoters behind the Paetec Music Tours presented by Merrill Lynch (formerly known as the Paetec Jazz Festival) announced the headliner for its only show in Baltimore this year.  

Multi-Grammy winner Anita Baker will headline Pier Six Pavilion on Aug. 15. Tickets, priced between $39 and $125, go on sale through Ticketmaster on May 2. Because of corporate decisions, Paetec Music Tours has been scaled down to one day in Baltimore. The company decided last year to spread the brand to other cities, including Charlotte, N.C., and Tampa, Fla. 

Baker --  who after a decade-long hiatus returned to the urban-pop scene with 2004's gold-selling My Everything -- is a much hipper choice than last year's headline acts: B.B. King, Al Green and Little Richard. Sure, they're towering legends, but their music has never had much to do with jazz.

Baker, on the other hand, has flirted with the genre since her emergence in the mid-'80s. Her smoked-honey alto has long drawn comparisons to Sarah Vaughan. Though her albums have always been ultra-slick R&B outings, the jazz overtones of Baker's style shines brighter in concert, especially now that she has become more assured onstage.

I saw her about three years ago on a bill with Maze & Frankie Beverly at 1st Mariner Arena, and Baker wore me out. Her rangy, lustrous voice filled the arena. I'm defintiely looking forward to see her again. 

ABOVE: Associated Press photo of Anita Baker

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Waxing enthusiastic about hosting the opening night shorts program of the Maryland Film Festival on May 1, Barry Levinson said, "the film short, in a sense, is where films began. You shot what you could fit on a reel of film, until somebody thought, maybe we could shoot two reels and put them together, and so on."

If an evening of shorts can be, in a positive sense, like putting together a whole meal out of hors d'oeuvres, discriminating ciineastes might check out tonight's program at the Contemporary Museum (100 W. Centre St.) as hors d'oeuvres to the MFF's hors d'oeuvres. Jumping off from the Contemporary's ongoing exhibit Double Take: The Poetics of Illusion and Light, a six-short program called Light Show demonstrates in diverse ways the effects of light and shadow on psychology and emotion and how we see the physical world. The program starts at 7 p.m.; admissions is $5, $3 for students with a college ID.  

Posted by Michael Sragow at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Baltimore-based Betsy Royall Casting will handle the extras casting for My One and Only. a movie starring Renee Zellweger that is slated to begin shooting in Baltimore beginning May 27.

Anyone interested in working as an extra on the film should send a recent photo of him- or herself (it doesn't have to be a professional portrait or headshot, just a "true representation" of what you look like) to Betsy Royall Casting, C.S.A., 6247 Falls Road, Baltimore, 21209

Include with the photo a 3x5 index card, stapled to the photo's back, in the upper left corner, containing the following information: Name, union or non-union (union number, if applicable), age, height, weight, pants size, shirt size, dress size, phone number and email address.

Also indicate whether you'd be comfortable getting a 1950s-style haircut, whether you'd be able to work weekdays, how far you live from downtown Baltimore, and any special skills you have (do you dance or play a musical instrument)

Finally, mention it if you own a car from the 1940s or 1950s.

No phone calls, please.

My One and Only is expected to use about 750 extras, all in non-speaking roles. Although many will be union members (about 75 a day), non-union extras also will be used.

In addition, Royall will be looking for musicians and dancers, in their 20s, 30s and 40s, for scenes involving a big-band orchestra.

My One and Only is based loosely on the memoirs of actor George Hamilton. Zellweger's character, based on his mother, is a glamorous socialite scouring the East Coast for a wealthy husband to support her and her son.

Posted by Chris Kaltenbach at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Clark Sisters, whose Life: One Last Time CD came out last year, are on fire in the gospel music  world. Having won three Grammys, five Stellar awards and several NAACP Image awards this year, can they continue their winning ways at tonight's Dove Awards? 

The group has been nominated for Contemporary Song of the Year for "Blessed & Highly Favored" on its album Live: One Last Time, Artist of the Year and Group of the Year. The Dove Awards air at 8 tonight on the Gospel Music Channel, the all-gospel/Christian music TV network, which can be seen on Comcast cable or DirectTV.

For more on the nominees, go to http://www.doveawards.com/.

Posted by Karlayne Parker at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The 25th anniversary of Strathmore will offer newly created works, a 17-concert history of keyboard music, a celebration of Broadway song and a good deal more.  Strathmore, which started out in a historic Montgomery County mansion in 1983, expanded in 2005 to include the Music Center where the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra makes its second home. (The BSO's Strathmore season was previously announced.) The center and the mansion will be much in use for the 2008-2009 anniversary season.

Among the classical music highlights is the area premiere of Theresienstadt, a program named for the concentration camp of that name where notable Czech/Jewish musicians were interned. Vocal and instrumental music by composers who were sent from Theresienstadt to their deaths at Auschwitz will be performed April 30, 2009, in a concert at the Music Center featuring
stellar mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter (pictured), violinist Daniel Hope and pianist Bengt Forsberg.

Other notable classical artists include the Warsaw Philharmonic (with dazzling pianist Valentina Lisitsa), the brilliant vocal ensemble Chanticleer, the distinguished Academy of St. Martin in the
Fields (with incisive violinist Julia Fischer), the always engaging Post-Classical Ensemble (in its first children's program) and the fine Bach Sinfonia (performing Purcell's King Arthur).

Concerts by Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune and other stage veterans will salute the Broadway
musical throughout the season. Pop stars at the center include Natalie Cole and such vintage performers as Arlo Guthrie, Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Fabian and Neil Sadaka. Take Joy, an original, holiday-themed Strathmore production with original songs by Roger Ames and narrative by Elizabeth Bassine and Nick Olcott will be premiered in December.

Musical activity at the mansion includes a three-century survey of keyboard-based music and styles, running from October to April. Artists include J. Reilly Lewis, Soheil Nasseri, Baltimore's Monument Piano Trio and the duo of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer/pianist William Bolcom and his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris.

For more information on the 2008-2009 Strathmore season, call 301-581-5100 or click here. 

(Photo courtesy of Strathmore: Anne Sophie von Otter)

Posted by Tim Smith at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Ashlee Simpson, Jessica's lip-syncing little sister, returns with her third album, Bitttersweet World, in stores today. Like her previous two releases, the new CD is transparent and very trend-conscious.  Simpson also tweaks her persona, something she has done with each album. As suggested on Bittersweet World's cover shot, where Simpson sports a red hoody, the singer is going for a more rebellious look. Thanks to cosmetic surgery, she doesn't look as gawky as she did on the covers of her last albums. But still, everything about this moody-rebel-girl makeover reeks of artificiality.

And the same is true about the music. Simpson's colorless voice adds absolutely nothing to the admittedly catchy tracks, which recycle just about every trend heard on mainstream pop radio. You get faux punk, lightweight R&B workouts and, of course, fizzy teen-pop concoctions. Simpson bites huge chunks out of other people's styles, namely Gwen Stefani and Rihanna.

She was smart to surround herself with sought-after producers, including pop newcomer Santogold and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes. But because Simpson's voice is so lacking in character, none of the 11 songs on Bittersweet World ever takes off.  

(Photo by Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
                    

Last Friday, tireless, timeless tenor Placido Domingo marked the 40th anniversary of first professional appearance in Los Angeles with a gala Los Angeles Opera concert at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Domingo is general director of the opera company (and Washington National Opera, too). The program of popular opera selections and some Broadway favorites, shared with exceptional soprano Patricia Racette and conducted by L.A. Opera music director James Conlon, was taped so that it could be shared with audiences elsewhere via the hot new medium in operadom -- local movie houses.

The Domingo 40th Anniversary Gala will be shown on Mother's Day in 22 Landmark Theatres, including the one at Baltimore's Harbor East. It's a 2 p.m. May 11. Tickets are $15 to $20. To order in advance, click here (and select May 11 in the drop-down menu).      

(Photo from Friday's gala by Los Angeles Times)

Posted by Tim Smith at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Senator Theatre owner Tom Kiefaber unveiled preliminary plans Thursday night to turn his York Road building into a multiuse facility that would allow for concerts and other uses, although it would still function primarily as a movie theater.

The plans, drawn up by architect Steve Ziger of the Baltimore firm Ziger/Snead, would extend the theater's stage out several feet, making it large enough for concerts but not for stage plays. The extension would require removing the auditorium's front four or five rows, Kiefaber said. The Senator would remain a single-screen theater.

Other proposed changes include added seating at a mezzanine level, a cafe to be installed in a building adjacent to the Senator's north wall, kitchen facilities and a bar.

Kiefaber avoided foreclosure in February 2007, when the Senator's fans donated almost $110,000 to help him remain owner of the theater, which has been in his family since opening in 1939. He offered no timetable or estimated cost for the renovations, saying it all depended on lining up partners to assist with the planning and financing. Adding digital projection capabilities alone, he estimated, would cost about $100,000.

Should all the pieces fall into place perfectly, Kiefaber said, the renovated theater could be ready in 18 months, or roughly the end of 2009.

Kiefaber has floated several renovation plans before, including one that would have added another theater to the building, on property he owns adjacent to the Senator. Thursday, he also talked of expanded offerings at the removated theater, including more classic films, Saturday-afternoon horror matinees (with a decidedly 1950's flavor) and festivals. He also plans to offer the Senator as a wedding venue, and work with area schools to offer screenings for students.

Kiefaber discussed the plans during a community meeting at the Senator Wednesday night. About 200 area residents and fans of the 69-year-old art deco showplace attended. Most voiced support for the proposal, although there was some concern that expansion could add to noise and congestion in the area.

"The renovation, expansion of this would add vibrancy and stablity to the Senator Theatre," said Laverne Gray, who lives on Rosebank Avenue, adjacent to Senator property. "I think all of that would be great."

She added, however, that she "isn't comfortable" with plans that could draw more, and potentially rowdier, people into the area.

(Sun photo by Monica Lopossay)
 

Posted by Chris Kaltenbach at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

R&B singer and Dancing With the Stars contestant Mario would like to clear something up.

It's a small point, but a slightly nagging one: The way people say his name.

Technically, it's Mario with a soft 'a' -- like you'd say the word Mars.

Tons of people get it wrong -- including the announcer on the show, who Mario calls "the invisible guy." 

"It happens a lot of places," Mario said. "But I really can’t say anything to the invisible guy because I’ve never met him. He’s the guy who says. 'Dancing the samba: Mario and Karina.' That dude? I’ve never met him."

On Monday's episode, Mario said he's dancing the rumba with partner Karina Smirnoff. It's his first slow dance.

"I get a chance to tone it down a little bit. I’m having a little difficulty turning my wild side into a more sensitive side sometimes in rehearsals. But it’s coming along great."

Read more with Mario in Monday's Today section.

Posted by Sam Sessa at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Smoking Gun website this week reported that the multiplatinum urban-pop star Akon has  either embellished or fabricated much of his criminal past. Tales of his criminal career, which included running a car theft ring, were largely "kontrived." Here's a detailed report.

I was among the first music critics to profile Akon before his 2004 debut, Trouble, became a smash. I remember he was soft-spoken as he talked about his criminal past. He didn't exactly boast about it the way 50 Cent did when I interviewed him. I thought maybe Akon was just shy or ashamed of his criminal record. Turns out, much of it was a fantasy, a ploy to push records. And homeboy definitely succeeded.   

(Associated Press photo)

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Baltimore Playwrights Festival has announced the lineup for its 2008 season, which runs this summer from June 26 through Aug. 31.

The venerable festival, now in its 27th season, will champion the work of at least 12 playwrights and 13 plays. (A slate of one-acts set to run in August hasn't yet been announced.) The shows will be produced at local theaters throughout the Baltimore area.

Talented Julie Lewis will be represented by two offerings this year. Her full-length work Jarvis Legend's Borrowed Skin will be presented by the Theatrical Mining Company from June 26-July 13. And her short play Foundation and Mettle will be part of a slate of compact works presented by Vagabonds Theatre July 18-Aug. 3. 

The complete lineup follows. Drumroll, please:

Posted by Mary McCauley at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Two former Clara Ward singers will pay tribute to the gospel great in a Birthday Tribute Concert Saturday night at New Elizabeth Baptist Church. Ward would have been 84 on Monday. 

The Rev. "Lady" Esther Ford and Malvilyn Statham, both of Baltimore, will put on the concert, singing the group's greatest hits, including "Surely God is Able" " How I Got Over" and "Packing Up, Getting Ready to Go."  

They will be accompanied by the Vintage Gospel All-Stars, a backup singing group from the Baltimore area. The concert begins at 6 p.m.

Ward, lead vocalist for the Clara Ward Singers (also known as Clara Ward and the Ward Singers), died in January 1973 at the age of 48 after suffering a second stroke.

The vocalist and her group sang traditional uptempo gospel with the simple backdrop sounds of tambourines, a drum, and a pipe organ. 
 

Clara Ward's prominence in the gospel genre is second only to Mahalia Jackson, another legend of gospel. 

Ward's style inspired the likes of the "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin during her early days in gospel.

Ford and Statham sang with the Ward Singers at different times during the group's heyday.

Clara Ward and the Ward Singers gained notoriety along the black church circuit during the 1950s, but in the 1960s the group transitioned, blossomed and went on to the club circuit, performing in Las Vegas, Disneyland and overseas.

Ward's gospel stardom also took her and the group on the secular stage, performing on Broadway, in the movies, and on some of television's top shows of that day.

See a clip of Clara Ward and the Ward Singers above.

Admission to the Saturday night program at the church, 4901 Park Heights Ave., is $10. For more information, call 410-944-0761. 

For other events this weekend, check out my datebook column here.

Posted by Karlayne Parker at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)