Marriage in Hollywood is not your typical happiness and life-long vows. Nowadays it’s shocking if a couple in the entertainment world stays together for longer than two years.

Over the past few months, there have been break ups, make-ups, and a whole lot of celebrity marriage drama.

 The most well-known and recent celebrity feud  is the Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries divorce. With a total time of 72 days from the “I do’s” to the “I’m done”, It’s not surprising that this scandal is frowned upon.

 The paparazzi and gossip magazines do a good job of exposing personal information about these celeb relationships. It took less than a day for the world to discover that Kardashian had filed for divorce from her short-lived marriage.

 While some stars let magazines share the news of their disastrous relationships, others take matters into their own hands. Shockingly, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher announced their divorce via Twitter.

 It’s seen as natural in Hollywood for couples to “end things” shortly after things even began. The value of marriage has been lessened by these popular star relationships.

 Infidelity and divorce have now become common in the world of stars. Scandals are popping up in magazines and on TV daily. While these stories are popular and entertaining, it is hard to accept them in society.

MHS senior, Bryana Duley rehearsing her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy, for the Dee Buchanan Studio of Dance production of "The Nutcracker". Photo by Johanna Yee.

By Johanna Yee
Round Table reporter

Dee Buchanan’s Dance Studio is presenting the Christmas ballet “The Nutcracker” for the 11^th consecutive year, which will be performed at the Middletown High School auditorium on December 17^th at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Tickets will be sold at the door, but Dee Buchanan expects the holiday favorite to have a great turnout. Those who wish to ensure admission may call ahead and reserve seats through the studio at (301)371-4228.

The popularity of this local performance each year has personalized the world-known ballet as “Middletown’s Nutcracker.” It was not initially intended to be an annual performance. Originally, Buchanan chose the Nutcracker because her dancers already have the opportunity to do musical theater and jazz, so she was looking for something classical.

“The thing that’s surprising is, when we first started, I just thought it was something we would do every few years, but the younger dancers look forward to the advancement [to a larger role] each year,” noted Buchanan.

All the advanced dancers who take ballet at the studio auditioned for each part. Most of these dancers are Middletown High School, Middletown Middle School, orMiddletown Elementary Schoolstudents. A main role, the role of Clara, will be played by Meg Kady, at the 1 p.m. show, and by Emmy Hudak, at the 5 p.m. show.

Kady stated that her favorite scene is the party scene at the beginning of the ballet. “I like it,” she explained, “because all my friends are in it with me.”

Also a lead role in “The Nutcracker” is the Sugar Plum Fairy, to be played by MHS senior Bryana Duley at the 1 p.m. show and by MHS junior Nicole Sevin at the 5 p.m. show.  When asked how they felt about playing the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Duley and Sevin replied, “We love it! It’s a challenge, but all of the hard work we put into it pays off in the end.”

During this time of the year there are dozens of different organizations and places presenting various holiday shows. Not only are schools putting on plays, but local dance studios, theatre groups and theatres in our Frederick community are also contributing to the festive live theatre. No matter where you are, there is sure to be a place around you to get you into the holiday spirit.

Everyone should come out and support our MHS drama department production of “A Christmas Carol”. Our Knights have been working on this play for months and are very excited to perform on Dec. 9 and 10 at seven pm, and a Sunday, Dec. 11 matinee at two pm. And if you want even more Tiny Tim adorableness you can also catch “A Christmas Carol” at the Weinberg. The Maryland Ensemble Theatre will be performing there Dec. 16 through 18.

The MET will also be presenting “The Eight Reindeer Monologues”, at the MET theatre in Frederick. This is a funny show, where Santa’s reindeer dish out all the gossip from the North Pole. It is sure to be outrageous comical, but a tad adult, so leave the little ones at home. They’ll be performing their reindeer riot from now until Dec. 30, so buy your tickets today.

 If you’re looking for more family Holiday spirit check out the Way Off-Broadway musical production of “Christmas Tidings”.  The show follows the life of a Christmas card and gift shop owner who, with a little help, tries to make his costumers Christmas wishes come true.  It’s a heart-warming production, with a good plot and festive holiday tunes.

“A good way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear”, this quote from the famous Christmas movie, “Elf”, perfectly describes this next holiday hotspot. The 17^th Annual Messiah Sing-Along has been a Frederick tradition for 16 years at the Weinberg. Conductor Judy DuBose leads the Frederick Chamber singers, and orchestra. Also audience members are encouraged to not only enjoy the Christmas music, but sing-along as well. This will be a sure fire way to get into the holiday spirit.

Lastly, what is the holiday season without the “Nutcracker”? Don’t worry, because our area will have two beautiful productions of this classic ballet. The most local would be the Dee Buchanan Studio of Dance production, held here at Middletown High, on Dec. 17 at 1 and 5. The cast consist of mostly students from the Middletown area, and few parents as well. You can also go see the “Nutcracker” at the Weinberg performed by the Maryland Region Ballet, with some principle dancers from the New York City Ballet.  Both will be lovely performances that will leave you with thoughts of sugar plums dancing in your head.

May your holiday season be filled with merry and bright performances from the Frederick community. Our area has a lot of talented individuals and groups, so be sure to go out and support them.

MHS Theatre Department presents "A Christmas Carol". Photo by Vicki Forseth

By Veronica Clements
Round Table reporter

Sorting through costumes in the school’s dressing room, Susan Thornton, the co-director for Middletown High School’s play A Christmas Carol, exclaimed her excitement.

“It’s fun!” she said about the play. “It puts you in the Christmas spirit! But it is a lot of wrangling of a lot of voices.”

A Christmas Carol features the classic story by Charles Dickens about a miserly, cold-hearted man named Scrooge, who on Christmas night is visited by three ghosts and is given the ultimatum to change his ways or be doomed.

In order to bring the story to life onstage, the MHS Theatre department has been working on the play non-stop, starting with auditions in late September, then moving to practicing two to three times a week and having technical meetings on the weekends to build the set pieces. Not only that, but elementary and middle school students have joined the cast to portray the younger characters in the play.

“It can be challenging with so many bodies on stage,” Thornton said, “but they [the elementary students] are so energetic and eager to please!”

For some of the MHS freshmen in theatre, this will be their first official play for the school. Duncan Boszko, portraying Scrooge’s deceased partner Jacob Marley, was “ecstatic” for the chance to be on the high school stage.

“I love the rush and the feel of people just watching you perform,” Boszko said. “I love getting out into the audience and creating some sort of reaction.”

Boszko said he was also excited for a big turnout. “It’s going to be a blast!”

Behind the scenes, the stage crew has been working to make sure the set and technical aspects of the play are finished by performance time. MHS senior, Cassidy Cregan, is currently one of the two stage managers for the play.

“So far it’s going very well,” she said. “Things are getting done on time.”

In anticipation for the performance nights, Cregan said she expects that “everything will be fine”.

“The first night is always hectic because it is the first real run-through, but everything always ends up working out.”

A Christmas Carol will feature Matt Carlstrom as Scrooge, Tara Forseth as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Jessica Rota as the Ghost of Christmas Future, and Jacob Holcomb and Sam Terbush as the Ghost of Christmas Future.

Performances will be on Dec. 9 and 10 at 7:00 p.m. and Dec. 11 at 2:00 p.m. at the school. Tickets are $8.00 for students and seniors and $10.00 for adults.