Benefit show of dance

Benefit show of dance
LIBERTY -- Dancers from 12 area studios will perform in a benefit for the New York 911 Firefighters Fund at 6 p.m. Feb. 2 at Liberty High School. The event is being organized by Donna Crean of D.C. Dancers in Warren; Patti Finelli of Finelli's School of Dance in Girard; Tina Kaminski of Center Stage in Canfield; and Suzanne Zahnow of Zahnow Dance, Warren. Admission is $5.
Playhouse youth classes
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngsters will have an opportunity to develop their performance skills during a series of classes to be held at Youngstown Playhouse Youth Theatre on Saturdays from Feb. 9 to March 16.
Children in grades one through three may enroll in "Scooby-Doo's 'Toon Town Adventures," which will focus on voice, body and imagination skills, or in "All Singing! All Dancing! All Disney!" where they will learn to stage musical numbers from Disney films. Elizabeth Rubino will be the instructor.
Youngsters in grades four through six will learn acting skills through improvisational games and exercises in "A Myth in the Making," led by Nick Cordova and Khaled Tabbara.
A "From the Page to the Stage" class includes examining a script, experiencing rehearsals and staging a performance.
Eric Fisher will lead a performance workshop giving basic acting instruction to participants in grades seven through 12. Also available will be "Saturday Morning at the Improv," where spontaneous acting skills will be developed.
For enrollment or additional information call the box office, (330) 788-8739.
Cleveland Winter Fest
CLEVELAND -- Ten jazz bands will perform on two stages at Northeast Ohio Jazz Society's first Cleveland Winter Fest from 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 10 at Shaker Heights Country Club. It's in conjunction with the American Culinary Federation's Cleveland chapter, whose member chefs will prepare specialties at eight different stations. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 at the door. Call (216) 426-9900.
Tribute performance
CLEVELAND -- A free performance of "New York Loves America," featuring actress Sandy Duncan and a troupe of Broadway performers, will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "New York Loves America" was organized in response to nationwide support for the Big Apple after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Performers will select songs from "Cabaret," "Chicago," "The Full Monty" and "Rent."
Museum admission is also free Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Ringing in the parodies
Uh-oh. Now that "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" has proved itself a mighty force at the multiplexes, and the wands and wizardry of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" have likewise stirred up a caldron of box-office gold, the parodies are on their way. First out of the gate: "Scary Movie 3: Episode 1 -- Lord of the Brooms," which will spoof the sword-and-sorcery genre in much the same way its earlier namesakes skewered horror and teen fare. Miramax, which bailed on hobbity filmmaker Peter Jackson and the "LOTR" project a few years back, is the guilty party.
Craven takes on 'Alice'
Horrormeister Wes Craven is overseeing the film adaptation of the super-popular "American McGhee's Alice," an action-fantasy video game with a post-apocalyptic "Alice in Wonderland" theme. The film, like last year's video-game adaptation "Final Fantasy," will be a 100 percent computer-animated affair. No real actors, just synthespians.