Robin Hood

Robin Hood stands at the edge of Sherwood Forest, strumming what looks like a lute gone angular, and lamenting "Marian, I love you, girl!" For a second, he's a lounge lizard in the present while his 12th-century honey languishes in a tower run by the Sheriff of Nottingham, who has a modern flair for corruption and an old-fashioned snarl. That mix of eras is a creamy-smooth blend in the Arden Theatre Company's production of Robin Hood , which runs through June 24 and continues the company's current rollout of high-level theater aimed at kids.

The homeless crack addict who had 11 convictions, mostly for theft-related crimes, claimed to be more of a Robin Hood than a Jesse James. "I steal from the rich and give to the poor," 40-year old Jesse Robinson told postal inspectors. This was after Robinson was busted earlier this year for admittedly stealing five cartons containing a total of 450,000 new 32-cent postage stamps, worth $144,000, from an unguarded freight train boxcar parked at a South Philadelphia railroad siding.

There's precious little merriment in Sherwood Forest in Richard Lester's Robin and Marian - a charmed and elegiac view of the Robin Hood legend that's really an essay on the theme of too-late-the-hero. The inspiration of this underrated 1976 film, which memorably paired Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn in the leads, is to consider Robin Hood in his late middle years. The legend is in less than legendary form when Robin of Locksley returns from the Crusades - a man deeply scarred by the barbarism he has witnessed and with no clear idea of what he wants to do with the rest of his life.

In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the year's most thunderously publicized movie, Kevin Costner fashions a Robin for the '90s - if not the ages. Costner's conscientious interpretation of the role long and indisputably owned by Errol Flynn is politically correct enough to be retitled Dances With Beowulf. But, in this case, correct doesn't also mean exactly right. In this lavishly mounted return to Sherwood Forest, Kevin Reynolds directs most of the action with aplomb, but he lets the actors take separate paths through the greenery.

Bet you didn't know that Robin Hood's bow was unearthed from beneath the Annenberg Center in West Philadelphia. Don't feel ignorant if you didn't. Nobody knew it until last night when Micky O'Donoughue revealed the discovery at the beginninng of the opening performance of the New Vic Theater of London's version of The Ballad of Robin Hood in the Zellerbach Theater. One of the purposes of the evening, said O'Donoughue, was to explain how the bow got here. We'll not reveal the secret of the bow. We will say, though, that it is as intentionally ridiculous as everything else in the New Vic's humorous presentation.

'Tis not your jaunty swashbuckler, this Robin Hood . Muddy, bloody, and full of elaborate reenactments of medieval warfare - the storming of castles, the raining of arrows, the rabble rebelling against greedhead royals - Ridley Scott's reimagining of the legend of Robin Hood has more heft than it does humor, more soulful brooding than snappy thrust-and-parry retorts. But as unlike the Errol Flynn Adventures of Robin Hood as it is (and most other Hollywood iterations, for that matter)

Folks who sit down tonight and watch the latest movie version of the Robin Hood story on Channel 29 may find themselves thinking, "Hey, this seems like a pretty big deal for a TV movie. Cast of thousands. Period costumes. Actors with snooty European accents. This is a nice production. " Especially, the really cynical might add, for a Fox TV movie. But there's a perfectly logical explanation for how the network that brings you low-budget hits like "Married . . . with Children" and "Top of the Heap" has come to premiere this wonderful new "Robin Hood" at 7:30 tonight.

Is Robert Ellis a modern-day Robin Hood, who took from the rich of Philadelphia to give to the poor of Africa, or just a con man with a flair? He's got 10 days to prove himself one or the other. Common Pleas Judge Lynne M. Abraham said during a three-day hearing for Ellis that she found him to be "either a con man or a Robin Hood . . . He can be so charming, so intelligent, so witty and so persuasive . . . But you can't believe a word he says. " Abraham yesterday gave Ellis, 42, 10 days to prove his good intentions by returning $15 million to about 300 local investors who put money in his Oman- Ghana Trust Fund.

It was one of those in-between weeks at video stores last week: There were some great new releases the week before, and some promising releases will be arriving shortly, but in the meantime we'll have to settle for some video small-fry, including one "little" film that's worth a look, and another that might not be. ENORMOUS CHANGES AT THE LAST MINUTE (1983) (Vidmark) $79.95. 103 minutes. A ragged trio of heartfelt stories about Greenwich Village women wrestling with crises of the heart, adapted by John Sayles and Susan Rice from some sublime Grace Paley short stories.

Is Robert Ellis a modern-day Robin Hood, who took from the rich of Philadelphia to give to the poor of Africa, or just a con man with a flair? He's got 10 days to prove himself one or the other. Common Pleas Judge Lynne M. Abraham said during a three-day hearing for Ellis that she found him to be "either a con man or a Robin Hood . . . He can be so charming, so intelligent, so witty and so persuasive . . . But you can't believe a word he says. " Abraham yesterday gave Ellis, 42, 10 days to prove his good intentions by returning $15 million to about 300 local investors who put money in his Oman- Ghana Trust Fund.

More than 1,000 displaced Sandy victims who were to be removed Saturday from hotels where they have been staying free have been granted a reprieve. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Thursday that its lodging program would be extended in New Jersey until Jan. 26, giving those who lost their houses or apartments in the storm two additional weeks to find another residence. Many of those still looking had been anxious this week as they waited to hear whether FEMA would extend their stays.

Robin Hood stands at the edge of Sherwood Forest, strumming what looks like a lute gone angular, and lamenting "Marian, I love you, girl!" For a second, he's a lounge lizard in the present while his 12th-century honey languishes in a tower run by the Sheriff of Nottingham, who has a modern flair for corruption and an old-fashioned snarl. That mix of eras is a creamy-smooth blend in the Arden Theatre Company's production of Robin Hood , which runs through June 24 and continues the company's current rollout of high-level theater aimed at kids.

It's all about music, theater, and dance on Friday and Saturday during the 2012 Philadelphia International Children's Festival at the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts. Programming begins at 10 a.m. both days with activities in the Children's Fun Zone and special performances throughout the day. The audience can take a trip to the moon as actor Andrew Dawson recreates the Apollo 11 landing using his hands, arms, and upper torso during his one-man Space Panorama show. Former circus entertainer John Hadfield and his imaginary friends will provide comedy in the House show.

Robin Hood Dell appears headed for a name change, but not until 2015. Philadelphia City Council's Parks and Recreation Committee on Monday approved a proposal to rename the concert venue the Georgie Woods Entertainment Center, in honor of the civil rights advocate and radio DJ who brought acts such as Michael Jackson to Philadelphia. The legislation still requires a vote from the full Council, and the new moniker would not go into place for three more years because of a policy requiring that people be dead at least 10 years before a facility can be named for them.

WHEN MILLIONAIRE Philadelphia lawyer Daniel Berger saw the protesters on his TV, they reminded him of Bolsheviks - "a vanguard of extremists who believe in an ideology. " But Berger - a trial lawyer who has made a fortune in class-action lawsuits involving securities fraud and environmental and civil-rights issues - isn't talking about the new breed of protesters occupying Wall Street and elsewhere with signs reading "Tax the Rich. " No, Berger is talking about the right-wing tea party, a group that he said may share some populist rage about the collapse of the American middle class but that he sees as rooted in "white supremacist" and "anti-immigrant" elements.

"We had him, you fool," the Sheriff of Nottingham roared at the hapless Sir Guy of Gisborne, "and you let him get away. " In a castle match, Little John and Robin Hood reached a vulnerable game. The Sheriff, West, knew that dummy would have heart support and diamond shortness. Since West had strength in both black suits, he judged that dummy's vital source of extra tricks would be ruffs. So the Sheriff led the ace and a second trump. "Well done, my lord," Robin said generously.

Kids and music come together Saturday in Center City for a playdate. Children can enjoy an early afternoon of fun as KidsinCenterCity.com offers an event with the School of Rock at The Market & Shops at Comcast Center. From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the School of Rock plus Center City's museums and cultural attractions will have informational materials and several supervised educational activities. Students from the School of Rock will perform, merchants will offer children-friendly lunch specials, and families can watch "The Comcast Experience" video screen show upstairs on the center's ground level.

RIDLEY SCOTT plus Russell Crowe plus Cate Blanchett plus Robin Hood should have added up to a spectacular movie, but Scott's "Robin Hood" was somewhat less than that. For that reason, it was regarded a failure, but the movie has much to make it recommendable - Crowe's gladiatorial performance, Scott's typically bold vision and attention to detail. You get more of that on the DVD, which arrives as Scott's extended director's cut, with some meaty extras including a substantial making-of documentary recounting the filmmaker's attempts to make something historical from a mythological icon.

Its stage dark for two years, the Robin Hood Dell East will reopen July 12 with a summer concert series. The venerable amphitheater closed in 2008 for major renovations. Members of City Council contributed $1.27 million toward the $6 million restoration. The Family of Dell East raised $2.5 million, and the state added $1.7 million. The eight-week music fest will feature such performers as Heads of State with Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant, and Bobby Brown, Teena Marie, the Whispers, and Brian McKnight.