EAT

Nov. 12: At The Table: Welcome to R. House

Stall 11, 301 W. 29th St. 6:45-9:45 p.m.
$75.

Here at Baltimore magazine, we cannot wait to
see how the revival of Remington pans out, and that all starts with the opening
of R. House. This Friday, check out the chef-incubator food hall before it
opens, with a “Down to the Dirt” dinner by chef Melanie Molinaro of the historic
warehouse’s upcoming Stall 11, a veggie-focused joint venture with the
innovative urban farmers of Urban Pastoral. The former Encantada chef will present
five courses of plant-based cuisine like wild mushroom ragout with barley
risotto or cauliflower arancini with a wine pairing by Tenth Harvest. Best of
all, get an early access tour of the upcoming space.

DRINK

Nov. 13: A Fistful of Amaro

Gnocco, 3734 Fleet St. 5-9 p.m. 443-449-6540.

Move over
mezcal and bourbon—there’s a new sheriff in town. As we said in our October
issue, amaro is all the rage these days, with the Italian herbal liqueur becoming
more than just an after-dinner digestif. This Sunday night, see for yourself
with this cocktail tribute to spaghetti western films. Bartenders Amie Ward and
Sam White will whip up west-inspired tipples, like the “Los Compañeros,” made with mezcal, amaro, grapefruit, cinnamon, and lime, or the “Ango Unchained,” made with amaro , rose vermouth, hibiscus, orange, and, lime. Chef Brian Lavin will also concoct pasta-and-meatball specials for a mere 10 bucks. Horse-opera flicks will be
screened all night (think Clint Eastwood in The
Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and A
Fistful of Dollars, or Sergio Leone’s Once
Upon a Time in the West) with country attire highly encouraged.

SEE

To. Nov. 13: Charm City Fringe Festival

Locations, times, & prices vary.

With fall finally upon us, Baltimore’s bigwig theater institutions are back in full swing, but it’s once again time to celebrate the underdogs. At the fifth annual Charm City Fringe Festival, get to know the city and country’s independent thespians with nearly 20 productions across Hampden and Station North. For 11 days, enjoy off-center comedy and cutting-edge drama, plus ballet, puppetry, and magic.

HEAR

Nov. 12: Amy Schumer

Royal Farms Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St. 8 p.m. $47.50-113. 410-347-2020.

Over the past few years, Long Island native Amy Schumer has skyrocketed to raunchy-humored stardom, but many Baltimoreans still like to claim the onetime Towson University student as one of our own. Luckily for us, even after a hit television series and a Judd Apatow-directed and LeBron James-starring film (that she wrote and starred in, too), Schumer hasn’t been a stranger. At a no-holds-barred show at her alma mater this spring, she joked about her days on campus, from freshman year and Greek life to heavy drinking and bad decisions. This August, in her bestselling debut memoir, The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo, she reprinted an angry journal entry from her early days at TU, some 15 years ago, followed by an affectionate footnote: “Baltimore is not bullshit; I grew to really love it.” This month, she returns to the heart of the city for one night of cringe-worthy memories and unapologetic humor.

The Amy Schumer concert show has now been postponed until March 4, 2017.

DO

Inner Harbor, Top of the Amphitheater, 201
E. Pratt St. Times & prices vary.

The holidays come early—extra early—this weekend with the
opening of the Inner Harbor ice skating rink. Grab some friends, head downtown and
throw on a pair of skates for a few loops, jumps, and axels in the heart of
Baltimore. There are few things that will put you in the spirit than a spin
beneath the November stars, with the twinkling lights of Pratt Street
high-rises reflecting off the water. Just don’t forget your sweaters; it’s
actually going to be right chilly, with a high of 49.

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Anyway, in this new Funny or Die video, comedians, including Towson University alum Amy Schumer and MICA alum Abbi Jacobson (sporting a mysterious and worrisome bruise on her face—get better soon, Abbi!), attempt to pronounce the name. The video could almost be used in improv training class: See how several comedians make the same word funny, but in different ways! And the best part, the super-funny video is also sneaky good publicity for the important work that Jhpiego does.

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“Towson! What’s up?” the comedian said when she came on stage at Towson University‘s SECU Arena on Sunday night to commemorate the school’s anniversary. “One-hundred and fifty years—we did it!”

That produced the first of many laughs around the arena, which was predominantly filled with Towson students, alumni, and some faculty and staff. Schumer’s set continued to play like one giant inside joke, making the show feel more intimate than the arena’s 5,000-seat capacity. She discussed everything from getting dropped off at her dorm, Tower D, the first day of freshman year (“Is this a mental hospital for children?”) to Greek life at the school (“I wasn’t going to pay for friends . . . because I didn’t have any money.”)

Schumer has often said publicly that her college experience was not her finest hour, full of unhealthy eating, binge drinking, and self-loathing. But her brilliant comic timing and overly candid storytelling managed to glean humor even from her darker days. “I got really fat and hooked up with disgusting people,” she said. “Basically I lived off crab dip and pretzel dogs . . . This stain on my jeans? From crab dip tonight. Worth it!”

Plus, the audience certainly appreciated her name-dropping Towson landmarks. “The last time I blacked out, it was at The Colony,” Schumer said, referring to the apartment complex on Kenilworth Drive, before proceeding to tell a tale of a one-night-stand gone awry. “I would bring home guys from CVP that looked like that Quizno’s creature,” she said later about her times at Charles Village Pub in Towson. Casa Mia’s, a former York Road restaurant with a notoriously lax ID policy (it’s now a Season’s Pizza), also earned a shout-out. “They would let anyone into Casa Mia’s. You didn’t need an ID, just a picture of yourself from a birthday party and they’d let you dance to ‘Thong Song’ all night.”

Throughout the show, however, Schumer also touched on serious topics like body acceptance, which came to a head last week when a Glamour magazine article called her “plus size.” She said she was asked to lose weight for her movie Trainwreck, but acknowledged that she didn’t feel right about it. “My Cabbage Patch face just needs a body with a little more weight on it,” she said. “Otherwise I look like a Thanksgiving float of myself.”

The comedian also discussed her advocacy for gun control laws, after two women were gunned down in a movie theater while seeing Trainwreck, and her endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president. She recounted a hilarious tale of sitting next to Clinton at a fundraiser, getting drunk, and trying to persuade the Secretary to do shots of tequila. “I think if you’ve met someone, you have to vote for them,” she concluded.

And while not all of her material was exactly great PR for the school, she did discuss some of her Towson highlights, like meeting her roommate with whom she is still friends (and who was in the audience), working at a kickboxing gym on campus, really enjoying her theater courses, and graduating in 2003. Well, sort of.

Apparently, there was still an outstanding “post” fee of $200 on Schumer’s account that she never paid, so she didn’t receive her diploma until several years later when her teachers came to a show that she was doing at The Lyric.

“They finally gave me my diploma,” she said, pausing for effect. “But not until I handed over that $200.”

Schumer continues her national tour, which culminates in Madison Square Garden in New York on June 23. Season five of her Comedy Central show Inside Amy Schumer, of which the audience got a sneak peek, premieres on April 21.

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Veep—which filmed in and around Baltimore for four seasons but has relocated production to Los Angeles for its upcoming fifth season—earned five trophies overall. The foulmouthed political satire depicting the machinations of inept politicos won Outstanding Comedy Series, plus Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for “Election Night,” the season 4 finale written by producers/creators Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche. The JLD (that’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus, for those not in the know) won her fourth consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy for her portrayal of the insecure, ambitious Vice-President-turned-President Selina Meyer. During her acceptance speech, she praised the show’s “intrepid crew in Baltimore” and mocked Donald Trump. Real-life total mensch Tony Hale won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy for his turn as Selina Meyer’s dysfunctionally devoted right-hand man, Gary Walsh.

Veep‘s fifth award—for Outstanding Casting in a Comedy Series—was doled out last weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys. The award honored the work of venerable Baltimore casting director Pat Moran, who got her start working on John Waters’s early films and has since gone on to contribute her fine eye for talent and charisma to every major Baltimore production since, including Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire. (We profiled Moran in 2013, and she’s just as much of a character as the people she scouts.)

Other winners included Wire-veteran Reg E. Cathey, who scooped up his second consecutive gong for his guest starring role as Freddie Hayes on House of Cards. The dark, political drama starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright was nominated for a total 11 awards but only won one other award, for Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score). Production for the show is based in Baltimore and the cast and crew are currently filming season four.

Last, but certainly not least, Towson University alum and reigning comedy darling Amy Schumer won for her zeitgeisty sketch show Inside Amy Schumer, which has skewered everything from toddler beauty pageants to rape culture with incisive and inventive wit. (Warning: Links are VERY NSFW!) Incidentally, Schumer’s show beat out Drunk History, a beer-goggled retelling of famed historical events created by Lutherville native Derek Waters, who participated in a lively and ribald conversation with fellow Baltimorean Josh Charles for our September “Conversation Issue.”

Other nominees who sadly walked away empty-handed this year include Mad Men‘s Matthew Weiner (yep, he was born here), Veep‘s Anna Chlumsky, Modern Family‘s Julie Bowen, and Mo’Nique, who was nominated for role as blues mama Ma Rainey in the TV movie Bessie. (We’re pretty sure having won an Oscar for her performance in 2009’s Precious will help ease the sting of losing.)

All of this is to say that Baltimore produces and hosts an enormous wealth of talent, which, despite pressures internal and external, continues to thrive, bringing jobs, excitement, and prestige to the region—and a little bit of Baltimore to the world, too.

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