What happens when two “dirty rotten” conmen have a competition to swindle a woman out of fifty thousand dollars? If it is the 2004 musical “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” entertaining chaos ensues. Based on the 1988 film of the same name, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is comical. Directed by Alex Mustakas, the cast and crew sent the audience rollicking with laughter. The cast was impeccable.

Brian McKay, who played the wealthy conman Lawrence Jameson, was hilarious. McKay has starred in over 250 productions throughout Canada and the United States. His sharpened acting skill was evident in his performance. When McKay stretched his arms out as he sang “The Only Game in Town,” he let the audience see that Lawrence has been successful at conning others. McKay’s agile choreography let the audience see that conning women did not bother Lawrence. McKay’s facial expressions were also entertaining.

When Lawrence met Jolene (Christy Adamson), a hillbilly woman who believed that Lawrence had agreed to marry her, McKay’s voice and facial expressions were hysterical. When Lawrence asked the audience “Did I miss a scene?” upon this discovery, McKay’s uncertain tone made the audience crack up. When Jolene told Lawrence that there was a “Dairy Queen” just down the road from her home, McKay’s terrified visage was side-splitting. Stephen Patterson was also risible.

As the inexperienced conman Freddy Benson, Patterson was delightfully vulgar. Benson’s raunchy choreography disgusted Lawrence and his butler, Andre (Patrick Brown). When Benson played around with a lion rug, he resembled a toddler. In the song “Great Big Stuff,” Benson’s choreography depicted lust for Lawrence’s possessions. As Lawrence sang “Ruprecht’s all about chocolate bunnies” in the song “All About Ruprecht,” Benson aroused laughter from the audience by bobbing his body to the melody. As the passionate-about-everything Muriel Eubanks, Karen Edissi was arresting.

After being told that Lawrence is a king of a distant country, Muriel instantly fell for Lawrence’s hoax. As she sang “What Was A Woman To Do?” Edissi’s sorrowful tone made it clear that Muriel was distraught upon realizing that Lawrence was a fraud. Edissi’s extravagant gestures and speech fit her character perfectly. When Muriel spoke too loudly or gave unusual details about her personal life, Edissi portrayed Muriel as a blunt person. The sets were lavish and detailed.

In the living room of Lawrence’s home, there was a tall red staircase and some props. A painting of a warrior protecting a young woman alongside the staircase symbolized the way Lawrence presented himself to women. Below this staircase were chairs and a red globe. As Freddy sang “Great Big Stuff,” maids and butlers came out holding fine home accessories.

In another room of Lawrence’s home was a dazzling tapestry. This tapestry covered the entire background. In this tapestry, a fox is hiding in a garden of flowers, waiting to attack two peacocks. The peacocks symbolized the women who fell for Lawrence’s tactics. The fox symbolized Lawrence.

In the scenes where the oceanic coast was visible, bright light on a blue backdrop created the image of the sun’s (or moon’s) reflection on the water. Outside of Christine Colgate’s (Heather McGuigan) room, this lighting effect added a touch of romance to Freddy and Christine’s duet “Nothing is Too Wonderful To Be True.” As Lawrence and Freddy sang the “Dirty Rotten Number,” this lighting effect made the audience feel like they were on the beach with them.

In the opening casino scene, the audience could hear dice roll and cards shuffle. Between scene changes, music continued to play. Fast-paced music from a bass and keyboards made the audience feel like they were on a ride. A dulcimer signified Lawrence’s “upper class” lifestyle. A xylophone accentuated the touristy coastal setting.

Besides being a hilarious romp about two conmen, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” has something to say about love. In the song “Love Sneaks In,” Lawrence sang about how, when you open your heart to love, it finds its way in. To catch all the references to history, politics and popular culture, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” should be viewed more than once. The cast and crew left the audience wanting more.

New and expanding businesses at The Town Center at Levis Commons are creating job openings at the shopping center in Perrysburg.
“We’re pleased to report some positive news with new and expanding businesses at The Town Center at Levis Commons,” said Casey Pogan, marketing director for the center managed by Hill Partners Inc.
Pogan reports that 87 percent of the retail space and 80 percent of the office space at Levis Commons are leased.
“We have several more potential tenants and activity from a leasing standpoint there,” said Larry Dillin, president of Dillin Corp., which owns the development. “Levis Commons is our flagship property, and we want to keep it that way.”
Bravata Financial Group
Bravata Financial Group moved into new offices on the second floor of the Meigs Building in February. The firm occupies 7,650 square feet and employs five agents but plans to expand quickly.
The financial services firm is looking to hire 20 new agents who are experienced, certified or licensed financial advisers to meet the needs of its growing clientele, according to David Circele, managing partner of Bravata’s new office.
“We believe there is potential for positive growth in this area,” Circele said. “We are a financial planning firm but take a different approach to investing in alternatives to the stock market.”
Bravata suggested investing in commercial real estate, life insurance and other financial products because of its potential for increased returns and less taxable income upon retirement compared to standard retirement plans.
Bravata also has offices in Cincinnati, Chicago and Kalamazoo, Mich., and is looking to open 15 new offices this year, Circele said.
Bravata Financial Group was founded in 2006 by John Bravata in Southfield, Mich.
JB’s Sarnie Shoppe
JB’s Sarnie Shoppe will be the newest place to eat when the deli and sandwich shop opens in mid-March at the corner of Levis Commons and Mosser Lane.
JB’s Sarnie will offer a selection of fresh baked breads, sandwiches, salads, soups and pastries, as well as traditional Cornish meat pies.
“Sarnie” is slang for sandwich in England, and entrepreneur Gareth Jones brings recipes from his native England to the deli.

Bruce Bansbach and Gareth Jones JB’s Sarnie Shoppe at Levis Commons.

Jones and his partner Bruce Bansbach comprise the “JB” in the name of the first enterprise for both of them. The men worked together before, became friends and shared a common interest in opening a business, which led to JB’s Sarnie Shoppe.
The deli will offer daily specials, with three soups and 10 regular sandwiches on six kinds of bread with a variety of meats and cheeses. Sandwiches will be made to order for takeout or can be eaten at the deli, which seats 25.
The deli will also sell bread, meats and cheese by the pound for people to take home. Homemade desserts like carrot cake and individual pies will be available, too.
“We will also offer catering of the full menu for banquets, parties, office meetings and tailgating,” Bansbach said.
The business is hiring 10 to 12 part-time workers and received a large response from an ad placed on the Web, Bansbach said.
Poco Piatti
Poco Piatti at Levis Commons has expanded by 1,200 square feet to add a banquet room and retail shop for specialty beers and wines.
There is a demand for smaller space to host banquets, parties, rehearsal dinners and other events for 40 to 80 people, according to Poco Piatti’s owner Elias Hajjar.
“We don’t charge for the room but require a deposit down that applies to the total bill for 20 or more,” he said.
Food from the menu is available buffet or family style to accommodate people and their needs, Hajjar said.
The retail operation offers 30 or more varieties of wine sold for about $20 a bottle. Wine can be purchased by the bottle in the restaurant, where it also sells wine and a specialty sangria drink by the glass.
“People can now buy a bottle of wine and take home what they don’t drink. We plan to hold a few wine dinners this spring,” said Hajjar, who grew up in the family business that owns and operates the Beirut and Byblos restaurants in Toledo.
Trace Routes
Another new business, Trace Routes, will sell electronics equipment for business communications, with voice and Internet service provided by Medina VoIP, both owned by Jim White of Broadview Heights.
The business will include Internet-based teleconferencing equipment and service for small to medium-sized businesses in the area. It will feature a video conference demonstration and training room.
“We will provide training with the products where people actually get to use the equipment before they buy it,” White said. “We think it’s the only one of its kind in the country,”
Trace Routes will open in the 4,000-square-foot space located in the entertainment district at Levis Commons in early March. The business will employ five to 10 people to start.

The stories Toledo media personalities used to tell about their viewers and listeners are becoming their own.
Amid industry cutbacks, familiar faces and voices are disappearing from the airwaves.
“I think it’s the toughest downturn that’s happened in modern television, modern broadcasting, modern media, for that matter,” said Jim Blue, former primary anchor at WNWO-TV NBC 24 and Toledo Free Press contributor. Blue was one of the first visible casualties at the station when his contract was not renewed in 2008.

From left, Aaron Brilbeck, Tom Watkins, Kevin Murphy and Rebecca Solomon.

Later the same year, when interviewing for her position, former sports and news reporter Rebecca Solomon said she was told there had been 20 layoffs at the station in April.
“I knew that things weren’t going to be happy, merry- go-lucky at NBC 24 when I got there,” she said.
Solomon lost her job in the station’s second round of layoffs in December — only three months after being hired. Also on the chopping block were a reported handful of behind-the-scenes employees and Aaron Brilbeck, who had been the station’s investigative reporter.
“I’ve been laid off so many times, it’s pitiful,” Brilbeck said. “I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been laid off. I’d have to sit down and count them.”
That is the nature of the broadcast industry, Brilbeck said. He started at a radio station when he was 15 years old, seeing the ups and-downs from the same point of view he is now. But he, like Solomon, understands this was a business decision.
“They can get another reporter to do the news for a fraction of what they’re paying me,” Brilbeck said.
Brilbeck cited a smaller staff more focused on the daily news cycle.
“They paid me to be the guy who’s doing the digging. Well, if there’s no time to do any digging, there’s no sense in paying me well.”
Shenikwa Stratford, who most recently served as the station’s primary anchor, had been with the station more than seven years. Some people thought she, too, had been a victim of the layoffs this winter, until she explained to viewers that her departure was on her own terms.
“The station offered me to stay here as long as I wanted to be here, but I decided almost a year ago that after I had this little girl, I wanted to be able to stay home,” she said in her televised farewell.
NBC 24 is not alone in feeling the economic sting. FOX Toledo laid off four people in December, including long-time sports director Brad Fanning. The station also planned to eliminate weekday sports and cut the anchor position left vacant by Karl Rundgren’s departure. WTOL-11 also reportedly laid off several staff members about the same time.
The Blade reduced its reporting and writing staff and recently announced a reduction in the physical size of the newspaper.
‘Radio’s done with me’
Kevin Murphy, host of “Murphy in the Morning” on 106.5 “The Zone,” has been stripped of that title twice now, once in 2003 and again this fall.
And this will be the last time.
“I had a good conversation with my wife and my family and basically said, ‘I’m done with radio, because radio’s done with me, and I don’t want to do it again,’ ” he said.
“To say that it’s struggling is an understatement,” he said of the radio industry. Radio refused to adapt to new technology, including the Internet and satellite radio, and “now it’s too late,” Murphy said.
Toledo radio veteran Tom Watkins traces the downfall back to the 1980s and ’90s, when radio conglomerates began scooping up “hometown” radio stations and lumping them together in one major city.
Local owners had treated their employees like family, and stations had the support of their community, he said. Now, it’s all about the bottom line.
“The guy in San Antonio or Atlanta doesn’t give a rat’s ass who he’s laying off,” Watkins said. “Up here, they just know the number.”
Watkins had been the host of “Toledo Today” on Super Talk 1560 WTOD-AM, owned by Cumulus Media Inc., in a part-time capacity. He opted to end the program, which ran for two years, rather than taking a pay cut.
“Homey don’t work for nothin’, ” Watkins said.
Cumulus Toledo, which owns eight stations, laid off nine full-time staff members in November and 11 employees in February. During his final show, Watkins said traffic reader Kelly Carter, a Toledo Free Press contributor, and board operator Tod Crabtree were among the layoffs.
Clear Channel Communications Inc., which owns six Toledo-area stations, reportedly laid off 22 employees — 10 full-time — in late January.
The Future
“It’s going to be a different world. Print, broadcasting and the Web — we’ll all find a new natural order,” Blue said, explaining how newspapers are now posting video online, and television reporters are learning how to write in print format for Web publishing.
Blue was recently hired as the news director and primary anchor of WFFT FOX Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Ind.
“Our goal will be to meld the Web and on-air coverage into a unique source for local information,” he said.
Expectations of the media industry getting out of the current rut are unrealistic, he said.
“I think to expect to get out of it, or to return somehow to what was once the way it once was — that’s just not going to happen.”

Barrett Andrews is a reporter/photojournalist at FOX Toledo.

Owens Community College’s Center for Fine and Performing Arts will welcome the tribute band ABBA-Mania at 7:30 p.m. March 8.

ABBA-Mania

The nine-member band will perform ABBA songs at the college’s Mainstage Theatre on the Toledo-area campus in Perrysburg Township.

Before the performance, the Alumni Association will host a Disco Ball Reception in the Center for Fine and Performing Arts Rotunda at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the ABBA-Mania concert are from $29 to 35 and can be purchased online at www.owens.edu or by contacting the Center for Fine and Performing Arts at (567) 661-2787.

Toledo Science Center officials announced Feb. 25 in a news release that the deadline for elementary school classes to submit a name idea for the new science center has been extended until March 20.
Fifteen elementary school classes have qualified for the chance to win one of two free pizza parties and extreme science demonstrations being awarded by the Toledo Science Center, formerly COSI Toledo.
The Great Name Committee will review all entries after March 20 and submit a short list to the science center’s Board of Trustees to select a new name.
Elementary classes, with the representation of a teacher, can submit entries in one of four ways:
Mailed to “Naming Entry,” 1 Discovery Way, Toledo, Ohio 43604
Online at www.toledosciencecenter.org
E-mailed to names@toledosciencecenter.org
Faxed to “Name Entry” at (419) 255-2674

Toledo Free Press and FOX Toledo are sponsoring a song writing contest to put a positive spin on Toledo.
The contest is free and open to amateur and professional songwriters interested in promoting Toledo as a great place to live.
The winner will receive several prizes, including the song being submitted to be named the official song for the city of Toledo and Lucas County for one year. The winner will also receive free studio recording time from Strawberry Fields Recording Studio in Swanton and will receive stage time at Columbia Gas Smoke on the Water — Ribs for the Red Cross, July 31 through Aug. 2.
The winner will receive an opening slot for a national act at Michigan International Speedway.

The top five finalists will appear on FOX Toledo’s “Toledo Idol,” which features a local band or musician each week during the “American Idol” season. The song writing contest winner will be revealed on the same night that the winner of “American Idol” is announced in May.

All those who enter will receive a prize package.
“I am really excited to see the crop of talent that comes out of this contest,” said Allison Brown, FOX, Toledo news reporter. “Since I have worked with plenty of Toledo musicians during our ‘Toledo Idol’ segment, I know that there are some exceptional artists out there.”
The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges: Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop; Toledo City Councilman Tom Waniewski; Columbia Gas community relations manager Chris Kozak;
Toledo Free Press Editor in Chief Michael S. Miller, Face of FOX Toledo Julia Johnston; and Bob Grebe, a musician and national account manager for Job1USA in Toledo.
The judges will whittle entries to a top five before selecting one winner.
Grebe suggested the contest to Toledo Free Press after reading about the newspaper’s music project, “Legacy: Songs in the Key of Toledo.” The two-CD collection contains historical recordings from or about Toledo. The CD was inspired in part by musical downers like the Randy Sparks’ song “Saturday Night In Toledo Ohio.”
“I know that this town is loaded with extremely talented musicians,” Grebe said. He said a winning song will include great lyrics, a catchy melody and a good hook.
All genres are welcome, including pop, country, rock, rap, jazz and blues, Grebe said.
Entry forms for the contest can be accessed here or picked up at the Toledo Free Press office at 605 Monroe St.
Submissions will be accepted through April 3.

Toledoan Harry Markiecki’s 1923 T-Bucket, “the Trojan,” is making the drive back to the Midwest.

The car, which he built in the 1950s and now resides in California, will be shown at the 57th Annual Murray’s/O’Reilly Autorama March 6 to 8 in Detroit.

Barbara Markiecki, his wife, said Harry began building the car in late ’55 or ’56 in the garage after work and finished in 1958.

“Harry at the time was working for Jim White Chevrolet,” she said. “Even when he was a sophomore in high school he chopped shop on a Ford. Harry was well known with hot rods and he was a master with fiber glass.

“He built a corvette for White and his car was shown all over the United States. Harry had a big impact. Even nowadays, when people hear the name Harry Markiecki they know immediately who that is. It had a big impact on our life.”

Five to six years after the Trojan, Barabara said they sold the car to afford a new home for their growing family. Since then, no one in the family has seen the car.

“We’re all going, grandkids and all,” Markiecki said. “We’re real excited about it, too. It’s kind of a lumq in your throat and it’s great to be able to see it again. They brought it back to the way it was when Harry built it.”

For more information on the auto show visit the Web site at autorama.com.

Thirty-one Winter Guards and five percussion/drum lines from across Ohio will compete at Springfield High School in Holland, Ohio, March 1 in an event sanctioned by the Ohio Indoor Performance Association.
The Winter Guards routines are choreographed using flags, rifles, sabers, props and various forms of dance. The routines are preformed to recorded music. Phoenix Independent, a program of The Performance Foundation, will have two Guards in attendance.
Tickets range from $6 to 8 for a day pass. For more information visit www.ohiocircuit.com.

Toledo CIty Councilman Frank Szollosi responded to Toledo City Council’s approval of labor contracts Mayor Carty Finkbeiner’s operating budgets during the past three years in a statement Feb. 26.
Szollosi wrote that the council wants to pay for the contracts and budget by increasing taxes, which he said will burden Toledoans employed outside of the city limits.
“This cash grab will only further weaken stable families and stable neighborhoods and further depress the housing market,” he wrote.
“Increasing the tax burden on working Toledoans will force more of us into foreclosure, bankruptcy or worse.”

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Board of Directors authorized Chairman William J. Carroll and Director R. Michael Frank to enter into negotiations with Michael J. Stolarczyk for the President and CEO position at the Feb. 26 board meeting.

In a news release, the port said Stolarczyk is currently employed by Exel Inc., a contract logistics provider in the Americas with more than 500 sites throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. He is Senior Director, Business Development – Americas. In his role with Exel, Stolarczyk helps create client alliance solutions from warehousing through distribution. Stolarczyk and his family reside in Westerville, Ohio

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority has been led by Interim President, Paul L. Toth, since August 2008 when the Board of Directors dismissed then President James H. Hartung. In conjunction with the position of Interim President, Toth also serves as Vice President of Technical and Financing Services and as the Interim Airports Director for the Port Authority.