Just before Kathy MacDonald and Larry Friedman appeared on stage hand-in-hand as presenters at the 2008 Cappies Awards, they were introduced to the Hippodrome Theatre audience as "Kurt" and "Brigitta." Only seasoned playgoers, though, could have known them by the names of those Von Trapp family children they played in "The Sound of Music" way back in 1972 at the now defunct Burn Brae Dinner Theatre.

Some of the old connections come full circle Saturday, June 14, when MacDonlad and Friedman are joined by 200 other Burn Brae alumni, friends and family for an afternoon reunion celebrating the 40th birthday of Maryland's pioneering musical dinner theater.

"It's rewarding that so many people have fond memories of Burn Brae," says founder John Kinnamon by phone from his Annapolis home, where he is still very active in business and real estate.

"While hundreds of people contributed to the success of Burn Brae -- from the kitchen to the box office to the stage -- thousands came from every part of the region to see a live professional musical. Burn Brae enriched so many lives. The reunion is sure to be a memorable event."

Kinnamon was a 30-year-old news director at NBC-TV when he came up with the idea of adding a stage to the existing Valley Stream Swim and Tennis Club on Route 29 in Burtonsville.

"He saw that the swim club was being used only on certain days," recalls Bernard "Bernie" T. Levin, who put his lucrative law career on hold to take charge of the musical dinner theater.

"At that time, it was a bottle club and all you could drink was soda. We had to drive to Rockville to get a daily liquor license, but all that changed when I came on board," says the 80-year-old longtime Columbia resident. "My contribution was getting the theater on a sound legal basis."

Levin's partnership with Kinnamon would eventually become K&L Productions, which also mounted shows at the Colony 7 Dinner Theatre in Laurel and other venues. But it began with a handshake during the run of Burn Brae's "The Pajama Game" on Dec. 18, 1968. Tickets were $6.95, including dinner and a show.

"Nobody was doing musicals at that time," notes Bob Brenner, the male lead in Burn Brae's inaugural staging. Brenner would appear in countless K&L productions over the next 33 years, playing leading men in everything from romantic comedies to the historical drama "1776," which ran a record-setting 18 months at Burn Brae in the mid-1970s. Brenner not only played John Adams for that bicentennial show, he directed the production as well.

Still a popular veterinarian in Laurel, Brenner was the first to pitch the idea of a reunion to Bernie Levin and John Kinnamon.

"Now's the time to re-unite with the folks who worked at Burn Brae right up to the closing in 2001," said Brenner. Added wife Mary Jo Rotili Brenner, who met her husband at a Burn Brae post-show party: "Let's get together before we're no longer able to dance."

Reading from the playbill

Many famous performers cut their teeth at the Burn Brae Dinner Theatre, among them opera singer Richard Stillwell, who played the lead in "Carousel." "Saturday Night Live" comedian Joe Piscopo performed there, as did Gil Gerard, TV's "Buck Rogers." Others taking early turns in the spotlight at Burn Brae were Broadway and TV director Scott Ellis ("an exceptional talent," Levin said), and Joe McCain, brother of the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.

Toby Orenstein got her start as a director at Burn Brae before founding her own local landmark a little farther north: Toby's Dinner Theatre. Others used their Burn Brae training to make a name for themselves on Broadway, like Megan Lawrence (nominated for a Tony Award for the recent revival of "The Pajama Game") and Robin Baxter (from Broadway's "Mamma Mia").

Baxter performed in "Anything Goes" at Burn Brae, and Helen Hayes Award-winner David James began his career in the kitchen of the Burtonsville playhouse. John Preece, the former head chef at Burn Brae, also stepped out of the kitchen and became a local legend with his full-bodied signature performance as Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof." Preece is helping to host this weekend's reunion.

Also expected at the reunion is opera star Suzanne Brock, who portrayed Fiona in "Brigadoon" opposite Bob Brenner. Brock is coming in from New Mexico to attend the festivities.

Other local favorites returning for the event include Arthur Laupus, a teacher in Baltimore and one of the original "1776" performers, and Kathy MacDonald, who was only 10 when she auditioned for "The Sound of Music" but grew into more adult parts like Guinevere in "Camelot." MacDonald now runs her own theatrical school, the Young Artists Theatre, just three miles north of the old Burn Brae site.

"We've got a lot to be proud of," acknowledges Bernie Levin about the list of Burn Brae kids who grew up to be doctors, lawyers, teachers and Broadway performers.

The only sad notes raised by the reunion is bound to be the absence of other favorite personalities who have passed away. It won't seem like an official Burn Brae production without beloved actor and emcee Dick David, who warmed up many an audience over the years with his slightly risque jokes and self-effacing banter.

Frequent dancer/choreographer Bobbi Smith will also be sorely missed, though her daughters and sister, Vickie, will be on hand to represent her. Also notably among the fallen: leading man Rick Stohler, director/choreographer Rodney Fayman, and irrepressible character actress Phyllis Goldblatt.

Oh, if these walls could talk. Well, the Burn Brae Dinner Theatre walls are gone now, soon to be replaced by a condominium development. But the memories live, and there's certain to be plenty of talk at this weekend's get-together.

The Burn Brae Dinner Theatre reunion takes place at the Marriottsville home of former head chef Donna Breedlove Gozik June 14 at 1 p.m. For information and directions, e-mail bbdtreunion@comcast.net.

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