Grease

To learn more To find out more about Music Alive!, go to www.musicalive.com . FREDERICK, Md. - The eighth-grade chorus at Crestwood Middle School in Frederick was one of the national winners in the Music Alive! & Menudo contest sponsored by Music Alive! Magazine, an educational music magazine in the United States and Canada, and Cherry Lane Music Foundation. The contest challenged classes across the U.S. to record their own version of "Hold Me," the 1985 song recorded by the original Menudo group.

By KEVIN CLAPP kevinc@herald-mail.com Mackenzie Phillips is not the poster child for boring, bland childhood. After all, you can't become the focus of an "E! True Hollywood Story" without the sordid detail or two. Which is one of the reasons why the actress embraced her role in "Same Time Next Year," which comes to The Maryland Theatre Wednesday, Oct. 30. "When we meet Doris she's in her 20s, a very naive, innocent woman in the '50s and that's certainly not my experience," Phillips, a child-star in the late '70s/early '80s sitcom "One Day at a Time," says.

Grease fire burns woman photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer A woman received first-degree burns on her face and hands Tuesday morning in a grease fire in her first-floor apartment at 206 N. Locust St., Hagerstown Fire Marshal John Hersh said. Lorraine Gipe was taken to Washington County Hospital shortly after the 9:30 a.m. fire. She was treated and later released. The incident was a classic example of what not to do when something catches on fire on the stove, according to Capt.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - About $25,000 worth of smoke damage was caused to the Market House Grill restaurant Sunday when a grease fire broke out at about 10:30 a.m., said a Martinsburg Fire Department spokesman. The fire started on a grill, said Capt. David Brining. Although firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze quickly, there was smoke damage throughout the restaurant, Brining said. It will cost about $25,000 to clean the restaurant and make possible other needed repairs such as painting, Brining said.

andrear@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - "Grease" is the word at the Old Opera House in Charles Town, where a talented cast and crew are preparing to stage the popular musical set in the 1950s. "Grease - The Musical" opens Friday, May 7, and runs through Sunday, May 16, at the historic North George Street theater. The musical's plot revolves primarily around the attraction between greaser Danny Zuko and virtuous Sandy Dumbrowski, who unexpectedly meet again at Rydell High School in the fall after a summer fling at the beach.

DOWNSVILLE - As promised, Elisabeth Brodell is sharing the recipe for her Double Coconut Cake with Key Lime Buttercream Filling. Brodell, 36, who lives south of Downsville, won grand champion of all open-class baked goods with this cake during the Washington County Ag Expo earlier this summer. She took her winning recipe to the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, Md., which was in late August and early September. She earned fourth place in the coconut cake category. "There were hundreds and hundreds of (baked goods)

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- A woman was burned in a grease fire that caused major damage to portions of an Antrim Township, Pa., duplex early Tuesday. Debora Mose, of 9740 Antrim Church Road, suffered minor burns to her face, hands and chest, Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal Jeff Sarver said. She also suffered smoke inhalation, he said. Mose was treated at Chambersburg (Pa.) Hospital and released, a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday afternoon. Mose started to warm grease on the stove to make french fries at approximately 1 a.m., then went into her first-floor living room and forgot about the grease, Sarver said.

'Cinderella' Keith Purtee and Bubby Lewis portray Cinderella's stepsisters, and Amy Chase Martin is her stepmother in Way Off Broadway Children's Theatre's comic production of "Cinderella. " Performances continue through Saturday, July 29. Matinee performances are Saturdays, July 22 and 29, and Sunday, July 23, as well as selected weekdays. Way Off Broadway Children's Theatre, 5 Willowdale Drive. $10.50 per person. Call 301-662-6600 or go to www.wayoffbroadway.com. Comedic arts festival FREDERICK, Md. - The Mid-Atlantic Comedy Smorgasbord features a stand-up comedian Friday and Saturday evening followed by musical, improvisational or sketch comedians.

Four years ago a group of community leaders and musicians decided that a festival featuring a classic American art form - the blues - could draw thousands of people to Hagerstown, not only to showcase many performers, but also to show off the area at the same time. By any measure, the festival that closed this past Sunday has exceeded everyone's expectations. An estimated 20,000 fans, up 6,000 from last year, saw performances that ranged from traditional acoustic guitar blues to horn-tooting, big-band-style blues.

With age comes unmerited paranoia, so perhaps I can be forgiven for being suspicious when the announcement of a catastrophic crisis is followed up 30 seconds later by the announcement of a miraculous solution. It may also be a dubious solution, but we're so relieved by the avoidance of the catastrophe that we turn a blind eye to the solution's consequences. Not only that, we fail to inquire as to what caused the catastrophe in the first place. So we hear that the state of Maryland is facing yet another major financial crisis, as the lousy economy has contributed to a revenue shortfall that could lead to a $1 billion deficit.