"Crumbs From the Table of Joy" marks the return to Center Stage of playwright Lynn Nottage after her great success with "Intimate Apparel".

In this play she follows the Crump Family, namely Godfrey and his two daughters, Ernestine and Ermina. Godfrey is widowed and full of questions, trying his best to keep his family safe and sound in 1950s Brooklyn. Two factors are added to the mix, promising to make his life even more confusing. One is a preacher with the interesting name Father Divine and the other is his late wife's sister, the free-sprited Aunt Lily.

Director David Schweizer joins Rhea to talk about this new production. "Crumbs From the Table of Joy" runs at Center Stage in Baltimore through June 11.

Center Stage Theatre

Ever wonder about the significance of the Great Seal on our dollar bill? Or why there's a pyramid on American money? Dr. Bob Hieronimus earned his PhD investigating the secrets of our national symbols. He joins us today to unravel some of the mystery. Robert R. Hieronimus, Ph.D. has been an acknowledged pioneer in the "New Paradigm" movement for over 30 years.

After traveling with numerous rock and roll bands in the 1960's to share information about esoterica and design posters and album covers, Bob began a long career as a muralist and painter. His highly acclaimed occult and symbolic murals include the 2,700 square foot prophetic "Apocalypse" at the Johns Hopkins University, which led to Dr. Bob being called "one of this country's best muralists" (Forecast Magazine). Art historian and critic Alan Barnet noted, "Hieronimus has a talent for winning the cooperation of the establishment while he lives and works in the counter-culture."

In 1969 Bob founded AUM, the first Maryland state approved school of esoteric studies which granted certificates in the occult sciences, mystic arts and religious metaphysics. PBS documented his leadership and contributions in 1971 with the feature, "The Artist of Savitria" produced by Maryland Public Television and seen nationwide. Dr. Bob received his Ph.D. from Saybrook Institute in 1981 for the doctoral thesis, An Historic Analysis of the Reverse of the American Great Seal and Its Relationship to the Ideology of Humanistic Psychology. His research on the Great Seal has been used in the speeches, literature, and libraries of the White House (1976, 1982), the State Department (1978), and the Department of Interior (1982). His Independence Hall speech on the Great Seal's bicentennial was published in the Congressional Record (1983, 1984), and his research was shared in a personal meeting with the late Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat. Together with his wife, Zohara, Dr. Bob has lobbied the House and Senate on the Great Seal Act (1982-1986). Inner Traditions published a popular paperback version of Dr. Bob's doctoral thesis in 1989, entitled America's Secret Destiny: Spiritual Vision and the Founding of a Nation (still in print and available from the Hieronimus & Co. Gift Shop.) Dr. Bob has been a frequent guest on radio and television talk shows across the country since 1967 sharing his research in metaphysical symbolism, the founding fathers, America's Great Seal, UFOs and the paranormal, and even synchronistic methods for picking winning lottery numbers. (Dr. Bob's examination of numerology systems from dozens of cultures also resulted in two best sellers: How to Pick Your Personal Winning Lottery Numbers (1985, Crown), and Your Personal Winning Lottery Numbers (1986, Warner). In January 1988 he launched 21st Century Radio, first on WFBR in Baltimore, then on over 100 stations nationwide on the American Radio Network and currently on WCBM 680 in Baltimore Sunday nights 7-9 PM.

Dr. Bob's easy-going blend of humor and well-read background, cause most of the leading edge authorities he interviews to agree that 21st Century Radio is the best forum to present their unusual findings or opinions. Passionate about mythology and how it can provide for a special meaning in life, Dr. Bob seasons his programming with visits from cultural heroes and icons who help add humor and inspiration to the sometimes discouraging news of the future. Fascinated at how the animated feature film, The Beatles Yellow Submarine , successfully blended mind-bending art design with archetypal symbology, Bob's most recent book is about the making of this film, entitled Inside the Yellow Submarine: The Making of the Beatles Animated Classic.

In 1990 Dr. Bob and Zoh incorporated Hieronimus & Co., Inc. to serve as a media research service, providing story and guest ideas and materials to television, newspapers and radio worldwide. Their work has been featured on ABC World News Tonight, ABC Radio, ABCNews.com, CNN, C-SPAN, PBS, The Larry King Show, Strange Universe, and in dozens of leading publications like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post, The New York Post, and The Baltimore Sun.

21st Century Radio
Buy Dr. Bob's book

Blending the ancient and modern in instrumentation and spirit, Baltimore-based Telesma, bridges the gap between primal and futuristic, setting itself apart from other bands on the scene.

With a sound that could be labeled "electro-acoustic psychedelic world dance music", Telesma was formed in 2002 by accomplished didgeridoo and bamboo mouth harpist Ian Hesford and keyboardist/percussionist/programmer/vocalist Jason Sage. The two then added musicians Chris Mandra (guitar, analog guitar synth and manDrum), Bryan Jones "Jonesy" (bass), Joanne Juskus (vocals, percussion, karatalas), Mosiah Saleem (African drums), Mike Kirby (drums), Adam Halliday (sound engineer) and Dave Tieff (guest vocalist).

Their performances often include multimedia projections, bellydancing by the Egyptian Sun Belly Dancers and performance art and interpretive dance by MoTH. Ian Hesford's extensive performance history includes the Embassy of Australia, the National Geographic Society, Sonar, the Kennedy Center, and the Embassy of New Zealand, among others, while in addition, co-founder Jason Sage has appeared at the Red Maple, the Burning Man Festival, and on the Discovery Channel, MTV and the Travel Channel.

Telesma, itself, has performed at Johns Hopkins' Shriver Hall, the Funk Box, the Patterson, Voodoo Music Fest, Fletcher's, the 13th Floor, and the Ottobar, as well as the Baltimore Rhythm Festival, the Sowebohemian Festival and the Powwow. Telesma was commissioned by the Patterson Theater to compose and perform a live score for the 1927 silent screen epic "Ben Hur". The show was such a success that Telesma was subsequently invited to compose and perform a score for the 1925 silent film of Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan" at Baltimore's prestigious Center Stage Theater. Says George Figgs, founder of the famed Orpheum Film Series in Baltimore, "Telesma is one of the most unusual and eclectic -- yet musically knowledgable -- bands that I have ever heard. A band with a sense of humor, yet serious in its approach -- a truly ancient modern theatrical sound, while being very interesting visually."

A band that is able to evoke atmosphere and express emotional charge, Telesma's unique sound is driven by the primal voice of the didgeridoo, one of the oldest instruments in the world (40,000 years). Alongside instruments like the infrared D-beam, kubing (bamboo mouth harp), drums, percussion, guitars and vocals, Telesma produces a sound that both harkens back to the ancient tribal past and reaches to the trance-like pulse not unlike that heard in modern electronic dance music. In short, it's hard to sit still while listening to Telesma!

Telesma will be performing on May, 26 2006 at The Patterson Theater (home of the Creative Alliance) located at 3134 Eastern Ave. Baltimore, MD 21224 Cost is $10, $8 for Creative Alliance members and students. Doors open at 9 pm. For more information, call the Creative Alliance at

Telesma's hompage
Telesma's Myspace page
Telesma at Creative Alliance

As the manifesto of their parent company Projector 7 LLC states, "We are known for our unorthodox approach and collaborative minds.

We are designers, painters, writers, and filmmakers. Our projects span from documentary video to publishing to experimental media to fine art. We believe the distinctions between traditional and experimental media have been blurred. Method is out - Value is in. We are interested in projects that promote culture, provoke dialogue, and bring value to the community. We believe in the craft and the intention - that you gotta have soul to make things come alive. Make no divide between content and execution, form and function - design is strategy. Everything must live up to a standard, a sense of purpose and being. If it doesn't have soul, drop it and start over."

Peter Quinn, one of the Corporate Heads behind Creative Capitalism, joins us to talk about their new book project Friends and Friends of Friends. Friends and Friends of Friends is available at Atomic Books, and Normal's Books and Records, both in Baltimore, as well as directly from the Creative Capitalism home page.

Atomic Books
Normal's Books and Records
Creative Capitalism

Shizumi Manale distills over 2000 years of Japanese dance, music, and literature in performances and workshops.

Her programs incorporate ancient Noh and Kyogen theatre traditions, Japanese fans, samurai swordsmanship, calligraphy, the art of the kimono, poetry, and elements of traditional tea ceremony. Her audiences explore the grace, strength, and humor of traditional and modern Japanese theatre and learn about the cultural connections between Japan and China, Korea, and India. Shizumi, born and raised in Japan but performing in the United States since 1983, recently returned to her home country with filmmaker Bryan Reichhardt to investigate a family revelation - namely, that one of her beloved great aunts was the daughter of a geisha.

The resulting film documenting her very personal search for the history and cultural impact of the Japanese Geisha. Made partially in response to the inaccuracies of the film "Memoirs of a Geisha" for which she briefly consulted, Shizumi presents this complex world from her own unique vantage point as a contemporary dancer, a modern Japanese woman, and an immigrant searching for clues to her family history.

Geisha: An Artist's Journey will screen at the Montpelier Arts Center, located at 9652 Muirkirk Road in Laurel, MD, on May 21, 2006 at 2pm. In addition to the film, Shizumi will show a few of her stunning kimonos and talk about that aspect of Geisha life. Admission is free.

Shizumi's homepage
Montpelier Arts Center

This week's Salon artist is Nicholas Simmons. His breathtaking watercolors are currently on view at the Gallery RoCa in Havre de Grace. Nicholas Simmon's best work embraces an oil painter's sense combined with the striking effects that only water-based media can achieve.

When painting, he strives to compose either an abstract perspective of the real, or an engaging interpretation of the unreal. Nicholas has studied with many watercolorists, including Barbara Nechis, Valfred Thelin, Nicholas Reale, Claude Croney, Wayne Sessions, and Al Brouillette.

Mr. Simmons' work is in many private and corporate collections in Iowa, the Permanent Collection of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and private collections throughout the United States and abroad. His major influences are the paintings of John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, Andrew Wyeth, and the prints of Robert Motherwell, and Mauricio Lasansky.

His recent paintings are on view at the Gallery RoCa through May 30. Gallery RoCa is located at 220 North Washington St. in Havre de Grace. For more information, call 410-939-6182.

Nicholas Simmons
Gallery RoCa

On ArtChat This Week, Nate and Rhea discuss some of the hometown connections from this year's Tony Award nominees. And there's an update on two stolen international paintings that have yet to be recovered, but three people have been convicted of the theft. Plus Rhea introduces two books on the top of her "must read" list.