Tryouts for a Chorus Line Offer a Few New Wrinkles

--Mari Skidmore doesn’t think age 62 is too old for her legs to make their debut in a chorus line. She has also persuaded many of her fellow members of the Grande Olde Players in Omaha to join her in the cancan. The newly formed theatrical group requires no experience. “Nobody’s chubby, but we’re all lumpy,” Skidmore declared with a laugh. “Lumpy? Speak for yourself,” rejoined Regina Rourke, 65. Despite varied opinions on the shapeliness of the chorus line, the two agree that it will be hilarious. The group’s first auditions were held last October and its first show was staged Nov. 23. Federal officials have asked for information to list the troupe in the “Resource Guide of the National Council on the Arts and Aging,” says Director Mark Manhart. Skidmore and Rourke are among about a dozen persons auditioning for parts in the Grande Olde Players’ second production, “Breath of Spring,” a comedy about retirees stealing furs to raise money for charity. The two women said they had not performed on stage until the group’s first production, but others are old hands. “I was a tulip bulb when I was 6 years old,” said Peg Smith, referring to a 1929 performance in a Gilbert and Sullivan play.

--Former Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine A. Ferraro and her husband, John A. Zaccaro, renewed their wedding vows in a ceremony for couples marking their 25th and 50th anniversaries. Ferraro’s mother, Antonetta, and the couple’s children witnessed the morning ceremonies at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Forest Hills, N.Y. Ferraro and her husband will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in July, said Pat Flynn, a spokeswoman for the former congresswoman.

--”The guy walked in with a packet of white powdery substance and asked the desk sergeant to test it,” said Capt. Jim Goudy of the downtown Houston police station. “He said he just bought it from a lady and wanted to know if it was any good.” Narcotics officers checked his packet. “It turned out to be an ounce of methamphetamine,” a stimulant, Goudy said, and officers formed the opinion that “he might have already tested his purchase.” Police assured Richard Craig, 33, that he hadn’t been cheated and arrested him for possession of a controlled substance.