Jimmy Buffett’s songs take center stage

By Eddie Applefeld

If you think it’s 5 o’clock somewhere — and it’s a good guess it is — then you’ll want to visit Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia to check out the current production of Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville.

Like Mamma Mia, it’s a “jukebox musical” that includes pre-existing songs and builds a storyline around them.

This is the area premiere of the show. It had a brief run on Broadway, opening in February 2018 and lasting for 124 performances. Reviews were mixed, and a national tour began in 2019.

The lively musical was a good choice by director and choreographer Mark Minnick, who has directed and choreographed just about all the shows at Toby’s for the past 15 years.

The cast consists of 21 very talented performers led by standouts Patrick Gover, playing Tully, and Anna PhillipsBrown, playing Tammy.

Performers are better suited for major parts in shows if they are a “triple threat” — someone who can sing, act and dance well.

I was impressed to find that most of this ensemble can perform all three very well.

The show is presented in the round, so there isn’t a bad seat in the house, and with a live six-piece orchestra, the sound is excellent from any seat.

The behind-the-scenes folks consist of David Hopkins, scenic and lighting; Janine Sunday, costume designer (you’ll love the island shirts — wear one if you still have one in your closet); Cheryl Stansfield, production stage manager, and projections by David Hopkins and Jimmy Engelkemier.

Toe-tapping numbers

You’re sure to recognize most of Buffett’s songs, especially “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Margaritaville,” “Five O’Clock Somewhere” and “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.”

Quite frankly, there were many songs I didn’t know, but I still enjoyed the laid-back cadence of each of the 20 tunes, most of them from Buffett’s albums from the late 1970s.

You don’t have to know Buffett’s music to enjoy Escape to Margaritaville, Minnick emphasized when I spoke with him before a recent performance.

It’s a “funny, edgy, heartwarming musical comedy where singing along is allowed,” Minnick said. As Toby’s website puts it, “This show contains mild language and adult innuendos.”

Although you’d assume that the audience might feel compelled to sing along, that’s not really the case. It happened at

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Glassblowing

From page 1

Another Baltimore studio

Anthony Corradetti, 67, a Philadelphia native who moved to Baltimore in 1981, runs Corradetti Glassblowing Studio and Gallery on Clipper Park Road near Hampden. A graduate of the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, Corradetti opened his first studio here in 1987. “I needed a place to make my art,” he explained.

Beacon Bits

Aug. 9

His studio offers workshops and classes that include “mostly private lessons” where novice glassblowers work with trained assistants to learn the craft.

Corradetti said that his studio also has been rented out for weddings and corporate parties, where the participants get into the glassblowing spirit and come home with newly blown vases, jewelry, curvy bowls, etc.

“They love the classes,” he said. “There is an upsurge of interest in glassblowing as a result of the program ‘Blowing Away’ on

National Vinyl Record Day

Celebrate Vinyl Record Day by bringing your favorite records to the Victory Villa Senior Center, 403 Compass Rd., Baltimore, MD, and playing them for other attendees. The free event takes place all day on Wed., Aug. 9. For more information, call (410) 887-0235 or visit bit.ly/NationalVinylRecordDay2023.

Arts In The Parks

Netflix, which is a competition show like the baking and cooking shows, but this one is about blowing glass.”

How difficult is it to learn the skill? You can pick it up quickly, but to get to the level of Corradetti and McFadden, whose works are displayed in museums, takes years, Corradetti said.

“It takes from five to 10 years to really get good at it. To really develop the skill, you have to practice every day.”

Glassblowing brings smiles

For some glassblowers, an occasional class is enough. Patti Berman, 59, who said she works at home “16 hours a day as a developer of software,” finds time to visit the McFadden Art Glass studio at least every other week.

Beacon Bits

Ongoing

Her studio visits allow her “to see people and things not connected to computers,” which, for her, is “a whole different, and pleasing, universe.”

She is currently finishing work on a swirling green-purple-gold bowl, which will be a wedding present for a friend.

Berman said she greatly enjoys “the creative process of choosing colors and designs” for her glass projects.

Another plus, Berman noted, is “the smile on my husband’s face when he sees me come home content with my day at the studio.”

For more information about McFadden’s studio, visit mcfaddenartglass.com or call (410) 631-6039. For information about the Corradetti studio, visit Corradetti.com or call (410) 243-2010.

Medicare Volunteers Needed

Ongoing

Join the Bolton Hill Community Association for free weekly concerts ranging from bluegrass to jazz. The shows take place at various parks throughout the Bolton Hill neighborhood in July and August. For the full calendar of events, visit bit.ly/ArtsInTheParksBoltonHill.

Free Shakespeare In The Park

Enjoy the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s free production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in an enchanting park setting. All shows start at 7 p.m. and take place at Patterson Park on July 20 and 22, at Park Heights on July 24 and 25, at Middle Branch Park on July 27 and 28, and at Carroll Park on July 29 and 30. For more information, call (410) 244-8570 or visit chesapeakeshakespeare.com/beyond.

The Maryland State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is recruiting volunteer counselors to help county residents navigate Medicare. Classroom and in-office training and SHIP certification are required. This position is based at the Bykota Senior Center, and requires a minimum of three hours per week. SHIP also seeks counselors to help county residents with the Part D (Prescription Drug Program) enrollment process. This temporary position is based at Baltimore County senior centers during Open Enrollment, from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. The hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a sixdate requirement. For more information and to apply to either program, contact SHIP at medicareinformation@baltimorecountymd.gov or (410) 887-2059.