Dress for success
Methuen resident Marie Bliven didn't have any theater experience when she was asked to design costumes for the Haverhill-based Pentucket Players' production of "The King & I" in 1996. Twenty-three "major" shows later, she recalls, "They wanted me to design four costumes in three months, and I was in a panic. Now, it's not unusual for me to make four costumes in a week."
For "The Wizard of Oz" which opens Friday, Bliven has created 240 costumes for 64 cast members - including otherwise identical blue-and-white and black-and-white dresses for Dorothy, since the opening of the performance mimics the black-and-white scenes from the televised production. In addition to the main characters, she has outfitted crows, jitterbugs, trees, snowflakes, and more than 50 munchkins ranging in age from 8 to 68. The $75,000 production includes flying monkeys and the arrival of Glinda the Good Witch inside a floating bubble.
As the volume of Bliven's costume production has increased, so has her involvement in the Pentucket Players. Reasoning that she has to attend rehearsals for costume fittings anyway, she joined the chorus in 1997. These days, she also produces the performances and serves as president of the Pentucket Players. It's not uncommon, however, for a costume emergency (such as split pants) to cause her to miss her opening scene.
"I get to a point during just about every performance when I say this is too much; I can't do another show. But then we get through it and I'm on an adrenaline high and I end up coming back to do another one," Bliven said. "They really are a lot of fun."
Performances of "The Wizard of Oz" will take place at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Nov. 23-24, and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and Nov. 24 at Merrimack College's Rogers Center for the Arts in North Andover. For ticket information, call 978-521-9259 or visit pentucketplayers.org.
NUMBELIEVABLE: North Reading resident John Veneziano says he was the kind of kid on a Little League baseball team who would borrow the coach's scorebook, then go home and figure out everyone's batting average and on-base percentage. A self-described "stat geek," Veneziano has combined his curiosity about the stories behind the most memorable numbers in sports with a love of writing in a new book, "Numbelievable."
Published last month by Chicago-based Triumph Books, "Numbelievable" features records, official times, and scores in baseball, football, hockey, basketball, ten nis, golf, horse racing, and sumo wrestling. Co-written by Michael Ferraro of Los Angeles with commentary for each chapter by sports broadcaster Dick Vitale, the book includes several recognizable Boston numbers: .406 (Ted Williams's 1941 batting average); 4 (Bobby Orr's number); 49-0 (Rocky Marciano's boxing record); and W50 (Rosie Ruiz's number in the Boston Marathon).
According to Veneziano, editor of the National Football League's Official Super Bowl Program, the book will appeal to sports fanatics, history buffs, and anyone who enjoys a good story. "Numbelievable" is available at amazon.com,
COAT DRIVE: While taking an adult bat mitzvah class at Temple Emanuel in Andover in 2000, Nancy Kanell said she found that the tenet of Judaism that "spoke to me personally" was "tikkun olam," or "repairing the world." So when Julie Kravetz of the Merrimack Valley Chapter of Hadassah suggested four years ago that the two groups collaborate on a coat drive, Kanell welcomed the opportunity to help people close to home.
The drive has become an annual event, and the fourth one took place last month. According to Kanell, president of the Sisterhood of Temple Emanuel and cochair of its Social Action Committee, more than 1,000 coats were collected and sorted by 25 volunteers at Dunkin' Donuts on Main Street in Andover. That effort brought the four-year total to about 4,700 coats, jackets, and snowsuits.
While many coats were selected for specific clients by social services agencies, hundreds more were distributed to 10 local nonprofit organizations, including the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children of Lawrence, Greater Lawrence Community Action Council, Lawrence branch of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services, and The Professional Center of Andover.
"So many people in Andover and North Andover have extra coats, while so many children and adults living just a few miles away would go cold without them. It's nice to be involved with bringing the two groups together," said Kanell, who lives in Andover. "Once you start helping people in need, you can't turn your back on them."
People items may be submitted to cantrell@globe.com. 