OUR LIVES MATTER THEATER COMPANY – Theater to Take Home presents “UNEARTHING THE SILENT RUMBLINGS,” a new play about fighting racism will be staged at Congregation Ner Shalom (The Old Cotati Cabaret) 85 La Plaza, Cotati
Saturday evening, April 2nd – 7pm Sunday matinee, April 3rd – 3pm Saturday evening, April 9th – 7pm Sunday matinee, April 10th – 3pm
(Depending on demand, a matinee may be added on Saturday April 9th)
This Black production consists of 4 short plays sure to stir the hearts and minds of the audience. It is an invitation to talk about race in a safe place. Included will be a facilitated conversation and discussion after the show.
The playwright is Dianna L. Grayer, PhD.
For tickets and contact information: https://ourlivesmatterthea.wixsite.com/our-lives-matter
Saturday March 5 @ 7:30 pm.Dgiin at Occidental Center for the Arts. Sonoma County’s premier gypsy flamenco band is back on our stage! led by multi-talented siblings Mimi and Gabe Pirard, along with a fantastic ensemble of musicians. Get ready to de-stress and dance to the spellbinding sounds of Dgiin! $25 General/$20 for OCA Members. Tickets/Info @ www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org. OCA is following Sonoma County Health guidelines for masking and capacity. Fine refreshments including wine and beer available. Art Gallery exhibit ‘Celebration of Black History” will be open for viewing. OCA is a nonprofit performance and fine arts organization accessible to persons with disabilities. Become an OCA Member and get discounts/free admission. Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct. Occidental, CA. 95465, 707-874-9392.
. A relatively recent newcomer to the West Coast, Rachel spent a decade in New York City working as a dance artist. Originally from Ireland, she has taught and performed in the UK, US, India, Costa Rica, and Austria. Recent work in Sonoma County includes Dancing Lessons at Cinnabar, Barely A Person (a film exploring postpartum depression) for Heroines, Harlots and Harpies at Cloverdale Performing Arts Center, Fairy Worlds for Shakespeare in the Cannery, Equus, and A Little Night Music at 6th Street. She is the founder of the expandance technique, a somatic movement practice. Learn more about Rachel’s company at expandance.com
Q. It’s been more than 50 years since HAIR was first produced, and the US and the world have seen major cultural changes. How do you think this play stands up to the test of time? What aspects of it are still relevant and how?
Much of it is still relevant, unfortunately. We’re still living in a white supremacist, capitalist culture, and there are still wars globally, so this show is important because it talks about these things and yet there’s also hope and humor there. This show reflects a time when many of these issues were coming to a greater level of consciousness in American society, and there is a resurgence of the same in the last few years. It’s interesting to see some of the ways we’ve evolved in our thinking since that time, and some of the ways we’re still struggling to.
Q. How has the Omicron surge affected your rehearsal process? What challenges have been presented and how did you manage them?
Even with stringent Covid protocols in place, (including masks, twice or thrice weekly testing, sanitizing, distancing etc) during the first couple of weeks of rehearsal back in January, I don’t think I had more than half the cast at a time in rehearsals, and I really felt for the cast. It was also definitely a challenge choreographically, as so many of the dance numbers in this show require the whole cast. But the last few weeks things have been better *knock on wood!* It’s been helpful having a strong dance captain in Peri Zoe who I can trust to get people up to speed as needed. And I think we’re all just so happy to be back working again, and that gratitude carries us through the challenges.
Q. What are the strong suits of your actors in terms of choreography?
Their willingness and work ethic. They’ve been so open at everything I’ve thrown at them, which has been great. Between them they bring some pretty diverse skills to the show, so that’s been fun to work with.
Q. What do you think are the aspects of the play that will most appeal to our audience?
The music, the dancing, the passion, the risqué bits!
Q. How has your background in choreography prepared you for your work on this play?
I’ve been choreographing for over two decades now, and for a lot of that, improvisation has been an important part of how I work; not only in the choreographic process as a tool for creation but also as an art form in itself, and as a tool within performance. One of the original tenets of my dance company, expandance, was to include moments of improv among set choreography in all our shows. And with a lot of musicals, there often isn’t the space for that – every beat has a set movement. Hair is special because it presents so many opportunities for the actors to improvise movement between the set stuff. And these parts get rehearsed as much as the set movement, to the point where it feels as organic as anything else. It gives the actors a bit more freedom to embody their characters within the structure of the dancing, and I think that reflects Hair’scall for freedom and connection.
Q. What has been the most enjoyable part of your experience rehearsing the play so far?
It’s been an honor getting to know new, awesome people. This cast has a diverse spectrum of lived experience – from BIPOC to LGBTQI communities, from theater newbies to Equity actors, from classically trained singers to yoga practitioners to circus professionals – and it’s been incredible to meet all these folks, witness their magic, and learn from each other. Cast members have brought conversations regarding race, history, consent, communication, etc. to the table. As a queer immigrant mom, I feel grateful to connect and learn from everyone in different ways throughout this process. Also, getting to meet and work with Aja has been awesome, and I hope we get to collaborate again.
Q. What project have you either just done or going to do (or both) that you’d like our audience to know about?
I’m working on codifying the expandance technique, which involves synthesizing 15 years of movement practice and somatic exercises into readable, shareable documentation. So that’s my main project at the moment, outside of teaching and parenting duties. I’m excited to get to know the theater community in the area better and potentially explore work with directors and theaters around the County.
Aja Gianola-Norris is a Sonoma County-based director, whose passion is “empowering and connecting our community through music and theater.” She’s directed or music directed over 85 musicals, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Misérables, Grease, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, and The Wiz, to name a few.
In this interview she answers a few questions about her process, her work on this production and how HAIR, the musical, is still relevant and powerful more than 50 years after its original production.
Q. It’s been more than 50 years since HAIR was first produced, and the US and the world have seen major cultural changes. How did you adjust your direction (if any) to address those changes?
A. It is so interesting how the bulk of the HAIR’s script is still relevant and holds meaning in 2022. There are some lines that we chose to drop, as they had outdated humor or used words that have shifted in our culture, so that the majority of our audience will receive the original message or intent.
Q. How has the Omicron surge affected your rehearsal process? What challenges have been presented and how did you manage them?
A. Oh my! I thought it was hard to learn a big musical before – add pandemic-related twice-weekly testing, masking in rehearsals, and actors Zooming in when they are under the weather – and man, it seems extra chaotic and challenging.
But on the flip side, absence makes the heart grow fonder! We performers have been asked to forgo our hearts and theater these past two years, and it has made us all extremely thankful and humbled at this chance to be allowed to sing and dance together. Also, when we do take off our masks it is amazing to simply see each others’ faces!!
Oh and there are plenty of good jokes we make about working a show with nudity–being naked while wearing a mask!! Ha!
Q. What are the strong suits of your actors?
A. Kindness! Thoughtfulness and respect in how they learn/come together with the racially difficult/triggering material. They have an insatiable appetite to thoughtfully grow their characters and present a beautiful story of a tribe of hippies living, loving and playing–a snapshot of life in the summer of 1969.
Q. What has been the most enjoyable part of your experience rehearsing the play so far?
A. This is my first production with 6th Street and I adore the collaborative spirit and professionalism of the production team uniting to present a powerful piece of art to SoCo. I love how the theater strongly embraces diversity and equality. The playhouse has supported me as a director and as a woman of color, and in new practices that have been asked for through my work. The staff and crew at 6th Street are brave and work very hard to keep theater alive and progressive, despite the many hardships of a pandemic and the new AB5 law.
I encourage and ask audiences who come and are affected by this show to make their voices heard and share with 6th Street what you gained from the experience.
But my heart MOST enjoys the process of working with those passionate actors!
They are life-affirmingly rooted in this unique and perfect art of musical theater.
Q. What projects do you have coming up that you’d like our audience to know about?
A. I am super excited to be in the cast of 9 to 5, The Musical at 6th Street in late spring!
I have an extensive list of shows I still want to direct or perform in and I eagerly await local theaters announcing their upcoming seasons.
Q. What do you think are the aspects of the play that will most appeal to our audience?
A. I don’t know….the love? … the dancing? The singing is so good! The story is powerful.
Q. How has your background in theater prepared you for directing this play?
A. Having been a performer I have a deep understanding of the pragmatic details, which allows me to help cultivate healthy singing, dancing and exploring. We’ve all had experiences that were wonderful, so I adopt those experiences into my tool kit as a director.
There are also non-theater experiences that contribute to my skill set as a director. My work as a business owner has taught me the incredible value of communication, scheduling and preparation. Parenting gives me empathy and the ability to work with the whole person. Also being bi-racial has allowed me an unique authentic tie to two American cultures and perspectives.
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6th Street Playhouse’s production of HAIR is directed by Aja Gianola-Norris, with music direction by Lucas Sherman, and choreography by Rachel Wynne.
HAIR features book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado with music by Galt MacDermot.
6th Street’s production of HAIR features a diverse cast of actor/singers, many of whom will be familiar to local audiences, including Gillian Eichenberger, Serena Elize Flores, David Lee Hall, Ezra Hernandez, Keene Hudson, Jamin Jollo, Lindsay John, Tyehimba Kokayi, Nicole MacDonald, Theo Olson, Jourdan Olivier-Verde, Noah Sternhill, and Peri-Zoe Yaldrim-Stanley. There will also be a featured performer – Lynnea Mackey – who won a walk-on role in the production in the 6th Street Applause Gala auction.
HAIR has a special sneak peek performance Friday, Feb 11 at 7:30 pm, and formally opens on Sat, Feb 12 at 2 pm, with a run that extends through March 6. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 2 pm matinees.
DISCLAIMER: Audience discretion is strongly advised. HAIR contains adult language and situations that may be deemed offensive, objectionable, profane, upsetting, even vulgar by some members of our audience. The musical HAIR, from its inception in the late 1960’s, has always intended to shatter boundaries in the theatrical art form and those aspects of this work of art have not abated over time. There is one brief scene involving nudity wherein all performers onstage are adults aged 18 or older.
NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR RECORDING ALLOWED WHATSOEVER: There is no recording, photography or image-capturing allowed whatsoever during the performance of HAIR. This is strictly prohibited, and anyone found to be doing so will have their device confiscated. Confiscated devices will be returned to their owners and the end of the performance after any photos or video related to the performance have been deleted.
We’re offering you a SNEAK PEEK at HAIR
Get half-price tickets to the Feb 11 special preview!
50% OFF WITH THE DISCOUNT CODE SNEAKPEEK The cast of HAIR (book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado with music by Galt MacDermot) is already thrilling themselves and the rest of the crew with their passionate and beautiful portrayal of a movement that changed the world. Don’t miss this glorious rock musical, a joyous celebration of youth and a poignant journey through a tumultuous 1960s America. This exuberant story about a group of teenagers searching for truth, peace and love in a Vietnam War era retains its power and relevance, 50 years after its original production. HAIR features an eclectic score filled with classics, including “Aquarius,” “Let the Sun Shine In,” “Hair,” and “Easy To Be Hard.” 6th Street’s production of HAIR features a diverse cast of actor/singers, many of whom will be familiar to local audiences, including Anne Clark, Gillian Eichenberger, Serena Elize Flores, David Lee Hall, Ezra Hernandez, Keene Hudson, Jamin Jollo, Lindsay John, Tyehimba Kokayi, Nicole MacDonald, Lynnea Mackey, Theo Olson, Jourdan Olivier-Verde, Noah Sternhill, and Peri-Zoe Yaldrim-Stanley. HAIR’s formal preview is Feb 12 at 2 pm, but you get a chance to see it before everybody else doesAT HALF PRICE ON FEB 11 ONLY! Tickets are regularly $22 – $38 which means your special prices WITH DISCOUNT CODE SNEAKPEEKare $11 to $19 (plus ticketing charge)
DISCLAIMER: Audience discretion is strongly advised. HAIR contains adult language and situations that may be deemed offensive, objectionable, profane, upsetting, or even vulgar by some members of our audience. The musical HAIR, from its inception in the late 1960’s, has always intended to shatter boundaries in the theatrical art form and those aspects of this work of art have not abated over time. There is one brief scene involving nudity wherein all performers onstage are adults aged 18 or older. NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR RECORDING ALLOWED WHATSOEVER: There is no recording, photography or image-capturing allowed whatsoever during the performance of HAIR. This is strictly prohibited, and anyone found to be doing so will have their device confiscated. Confiscated devices will be returned to their owners and the end of the performance after any photos or video related to the performance have been deleted.
This cast of five features Alexander Howard as Casey, the Elvis impersonator whose career goes awry, whose life falls apart, and who ends up needing to learn how to work in drag.
Joey Abrego is the fabulous Miss Tracy Mills, who teaches Casey how to do it.
The following is a slightly edited interview I conducted with Joey, who arrives next week from LA to begin rehearsals on the show.
CK – In The Legend of Georgia McBride, you teach Casey how to perform as a drag queen. Did you have mentors when you entered the world of drag performance?
I truly am a believer in the idea that it takes a village. I have been fortunate enough to have a variety of mentors in and out of the drag community that have influenced, inspired, and shaped me. I started out in theater here in Santa Rosa and then continued to study theater in college down in Southern California. After graduation, I was working in regional theater in the area, and during that time, I would go out with some friends every now and then and I met a couple of drag queens. One of them convinced me to participate in a fundraiser as a drag queen and they put me in drag and let me prance around to some music. It was an absolute BLAST! From that moment on, I dove headfirst into drag and tried to soak up as much knowledge as I could.
I’ve had mentors who helped me figure out makeup, hair styling, performance for drag, outfits, business relationships, etc. In addition to these queens who have helped me in those areas, I also have to acknowledge all my theater teachers and mentors who gave me the foundation upon which I develop my drag. I try to bring theatricality and all the training that goes with that into my drag in order to make it feel more unique and like myself.
CK – What were your greatest strengths or challenges?
I felt like my strengths always resided in my performance and connection to the audience. Of course, I have learned and continue to learn to refine and improve, but I’ve been lucky enough to have the instincts to work a crowd and perform.
Challenges have been PLENTIFUL! Drag is FAR from easy and takes a while to get used to and to feel grounded and comfortable in. Of course, learning to style hair or do your make-up is challenging, and being in tights and heels for hours upon hours is difficult. But the most challenging part of drag for me has been discovering what I bring that makes my drag special and allowing myself to sit in that instead of comparing myself to others. Which is a WASTE of time. Haha!
CK – You participated in our Applause Gala virtual performance earlier this year, and wowed the audience with your performance. What have been the high points of your experience performing in Sonoma County?
Well, thank you so much for saying that! It was very fun to get to actually sing for a change! It really was such a well-executed fundraiser and I was so lucky to be part of it!
I started out doing the youth theater summer programs at 6th Street under the brilliant Holly Vinson. I did Music Man and Oliver! with her and she really opened me up to the wildly fun world of theater. I also did RENT, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Producers with the Playhouse before I left for college. In addition to those productions, I also assisted with the Playhouse’s School of Drama and helped direct and teach in a couple of youth productions. I love love LOVED being at 6th Street. It always felt like a safe, warm home for me through my teen years and I am forever grateful for the love I felt and the freedom I had to explore and learn there.
I also have to say that being a student under board member Sue Byrne in the Montgomery High School Drama Department was also a HUGE and vital part of my upbringing. Sue really was and still is one of the most wonderful, encouraging, supporting, and loving humans I know. I was very lucky to be a pupil of hers.
CK – I can’t help noticing, in your drag photos, that you have some amazing and beautiful cleavage. I can’t find a clue as to how you do that. Is it a trade secret?
AH YES! My boobies! Haha! I get this question all the time!
It’s honestly just a heavy silicone bib that wraps around my neck. I usually cover the line around my neck with a necklace so it looks seamless. I’ll let you try them on when I see you! I just made my aunt try them on about 20 minutes ago! It’s a great laugh!
CK – How long have you been doing drag performance? Where do you usually perform?
I have been doing drag since the fall of 2017—so a little over 4 years now! That feels so long, yet so short. I have friends who have been doing it for 30 plus years… which is to be applauded because I don’t think my body will last that long! Haha.
I perform all around Southern California! I can be found from Long Beach to West Hollywood to Palm Springs! It is my full-time job and I couldn’t be more fortunate for that.
CK – You mentioned that you’re not yet in rehearsals, so your portrayal of Miss Tracy Mills will be evolving, under Carl Jordan’s direction, but what are your thoughts about her so far?
At this current time I would say that Tracy is motivated by her love for drag and performance. And on the other side of that she is also motivated by fear of failure. She spends a great deal of time saving the show, and helping it grow and blossom. I think the great deal of love and joy she has for drag really pushes her to not only improve the show but also allows her the opportunity to impart knowledge and teach Casey/Georgia all about it.
I also think that a fear of what she considers to be failure motivates her to keep the show going and make sure that employment is steady for herself. I truly think she’s afraid of not being able to work as a drag queen. I see that drive and that same quality in a lot of not only drag queens but performers in general. I completely relate to all of that. It’s an incredibly human quality that is so universal, yet laid into a very specific being. That’s part of the brilliance of Matthew Lopez’s characters.
I think what I love MOST about Tracy is that while she is sassy, fun, and can be frank or serious, she leads with kindness and compassion. I don’t get to see that quality reflected in drag queens very often on TV or in movies.
CK – Is there anything else about your preparation for this role that you’d like to share?
This is the first theatrical production I’ve done in a few years! So I am equal parts excited and terrified! I’m excited to dive into the play with everyone, collaborate, discover, and play! Terrified that I forgot how to do all of that! But I suppose the only difference between fear and excitement is if I’m breathing or not. Haha!
Experience an all-new holiday show in 2021 from Transcendence Theatre Company. This year, the Broadway Holiday Spectacular will be live on stage at Belos Cavalos, an enchanting equestrian estate in Kenwood. At this magnificent temperature-controlled location ‘under the big top,’ Broadway performers will fill the season with music, dancing, and holiday cheer in a show suitable for all ages. Join us for a more intimate and immersive experience in this magical new setting!
Location: Belos Cavalos Estate, Kenwood Dates/Times:Friday, December 3, 2021 @ 7:30pSaturday, December 4, 2021 @ 2:00p and 7:30pSunday, December 5, 2021 @ 2:00p and 7:30pFriday December 10, 2021 @ 7:30pSaturday, December 11, 2021 @ 2:00p and 7:30pSunday, December 12, 2021 @ 2:00p and 7:30p
Group Levels and Benefits*: Groups of 10-24: 15% off ticketsGroups of 25-49: 20% off and Furnished Private Event LoungeGroups of 50+: 20% off, furnished private event lounge, 2 drink tickets per person included, and more!*Subject to Availability
Playwright Matthew López made history by becoming the first Latino to win the Tony Award for best play.
On stage at the Winter Garden Theater on Sunday night, López paid tribute to “three queer men” who inspired him to write his Broadway play, “The Inheritance.” He praised Howards End” writer E.M Forster; the late Terrence McNally, whom López described as “the spiritual godfather of this play,” and Miguel Piñero, the first Puerto Rican playwright to be produced on Broadway.
“This is the 74th Tony Awards and yet I am only the first Latiné writer to win in this category. I say that … to highlight the fact that the Latiné community is underrepresented in American theater, in New York theater, and most especially on Broadway,” López said from the stage. “We constitute 19 percent of the United States population, and we represent about 2 percent of the playwrights having plays on Broadway in the last decade. This must change.”
A self-described “gay Puerto Rican from the Florida panhandle,” he is the nephew of Broadway actor Priscilla Lopez, a member of the original cast of “A Chorus Line.”
López saw his play take home four wins out of 11 nominations.
On social media, his friends and colleagues cheered him on. “Huge congrats to my friend Matthew López on his historic win,” tweeted Gloria Calderon Kellett, co-creator of the reboot of “One Day At A Time.” Eric Ulloa, cast member of Broadway’s “On Your Feet!” and a playwright, tweeted, “We never get these moments and so I will shout it from the rooftops, a LATIN writer’s play won BEST PLAY OF THE YEAR!!”
López went on to make an impassioned plea for inclusion in the theater. “We (Latinos) are a vibrant community, reflecting a vast array of cultures, experiences and yes, skin tones. We have so many stories to tell, they are inside of us, aching to come out. Let us tell you our stories.”
“The Inheritance” was a play about the legacy of the AIDS epidemic (in two parts, it ran a total of six hours). It premiered in London in 2018, where The Telegraph called it “perhaps the most important American play of the century so far.” On Broadway, “The Inheritance” ran from November 2019 to March 2020, shuttering with the onset of the pandemic.
López is working on a new adaptation of the classic Whitney Houston film “The Bodyguard.”
The Tony Awards broadcast also featured appearances by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robin De Jesús, and Chita Rivera — who noted that it was 64 years since she created the role of Anita in “West Side Story” on stage at the Winter Garden Theater.
Charles Blow recalls being in the audience at the premiere of the opera based on his memoir, “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” and watching the scene that depicts his sexual abuse as a child by an older cousin.
“To be honest,” he said, “it was more uncomfortable watching everybody watching me. Because they were so unnerved by it they worried about my reaction.”
They needn’t have been concerned, Blow said in an interview. “When I wrote the book I’d already dealt with all that,” he said. “I don’t have the residual trauma that a lot of people expect me to have.”
Blow, a columnist for The New York Times, will again be in the audience when the opera opens the Metropolitan Opera season on Sept. 27. It will be the first operatic performance in the house since the pandemic shutdown 18 months ago.
More history-making is the fact that “Fire,” with a score by jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, will be the first opera by a Black musician presented at the Met in its 138 years.
“Of course you’re filled with pride to be labeled with that,” Blanchard said after a rehearsal last week. “But there’s a certain sense of, not guilt, but sorrow, because I know I’m not the first who was qualified.”
For example, Blanchard said he was at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis this summer — where “Fire” premiered in 2019 — and heard a performance of “Highway 1,” a one-act opera by Black composer William Grant Still first performed in 1963.
“I’m sitting there listening to that,” he said, “and I go, like, why couldn’t that be at the Met?”
Blanchard said OTSL artistic director James Robinson had been after him to compose another opera after his first, “Champion,” based on the life of boxer Emile Griffith, premiered there in 2013. When his wife, Robin Burgess, recommended he read Blow’s memoir, Blanchard said it struck a chord.
In his book, Blow, now 51, describes growing up in poverty as a shy, sensitive child in rural Louisiana with four macho older brothers, a philandering drunk for a father and a warm-hearted, hard-working mother who carried a gun in her purse.
“What drew me to this story was the notion of being isolated and different in your own community,” said Blanchard, who was born in New Orleans. “I knew a lot about that growing up, wanting to be a musician and walking to the bus stop on the weekends, carrying my horn and wearing glasses while the other boys were playing football in the street. That was not a popular look.”
To write the libretto, Blanchard enlisted filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, his friend and frequent collaborator. She had never written an opera libretto, though she said it was on a “bucket list” of things she hoped someday to accomplish.
“I didn’t know what the process normally was,” Lemmons said. “I didn’t even know the libretto went first. I thought maybe the music came first.”
For advice, she turned to Robinson who gave her the crucial suggestion that “in an opera, anything can sing.” Inspired by that, she created two characters known as Destiny and Loneliness who accompany Blow at different points in his life. She also has a child in the role of the young Charles on stage at various points alongside the adult character.
Lemmons said she was nervous about how Blow might react to some of her inventions because, “OK, I’ve written this guy’s loneliness as a character. That’s pretty intrusive.
“On the other hand,” she said, “the way he spoke about loneliness in the book was very palpable.”
Once she handed the libretto to Blanchard, he set it to music with few changes. The score is infused with jazz rhythms and filled with lyrical passages, including full-fledged arias for some of the characters.
The Met production is co-directed by Robinson and Camille A. Brown, who is the first Black director on the Met’s main stage. Met music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin will lead a cast that stars baritone Will Liverman as the adult Charles, soprano Latonia Moore as his mother and soprano Angel Blue as Destiny, Loneliness and his girlfriend Greta. There will be eight performances, with the final one on Saturday afternoon Oct. 23 shown live in HD in movie theaters worldwide.
The production is co-commissioned by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where it will be presented next spring, and by LA Opera.
In his memoir, Blow describes himself as bisexual and writes frankly about having homoerotic fantasies, which are dramatized in the opera through a dance sequence choreographed by Brown.
Lemmons hopes audiences can see past the trauma Blow endured as a youngster and draw inspiration from his story.
“It’s deeply sad. But the thing that’s not sad is Charles Blow,” she said. “The remarkable aspect of the story is how you can draw strength from pain.”
Blanchard echoes that view: “The mere fact that Charles is such a success in his life indicates how much he overcame,” he said.
“Hopefully some young kid coming to this opera will see that. Hopefully it can really change some people’s lives.”
Madcap antics from Ginger Beaver and awesome piano playing from Trevor Dorner. And vice-versa!
And now you have three more chances to see it!
6th Street’s production of Murder For Two, which previewed Sept 16 in the GK Hardt Theatre, is adding extra dates–Friday, Oct 8 and Sat, Oct 9 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, Oct 10 at 2 pm!
It’s a blend of Agatha Christie-like intrigue, vaudeville, slapstick and two terribly talented actors—not to mention a piano.
A small-town policeman, who dreams of becoming a full-fledged detective, discovers the murder of a crime novelist. With the nearest detective an hour away, the officer jumps at the chance to prove he’s up on crime-scene protocol.
But whodunnit? Did the novelist’s scene-stealing wife give him a big finish? Is his secret lover, the prima ballerina, the prime suspect? Or did the overly friendly town psychiatrist make a fatal frenemy? The officer has to find the killer before the real detective arrives—but the biggest mystery of all is…who stole the ice cream?
Ginger Beavers plays 13 suspects in this perfect blend of music, mayhem and murder.
A music director of multiple productions at 6th Street Playhouse (Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Oliver et al.), Ginger is also an accomplished comic actor (Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music, and Dottie Otley in Noises Off).
Trevor Dorner has made a name for himself playing iconic musicians who rock out on the piano. He toured nationally as Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet. He’s well acquainted with the script for Murder For Two, having played the Suspects in more than one other production.
Passengers on the Holland America Cruise Line would recognize his handsome face from multiple cruises..www.trevordorner.com IG: @trevordorner
Beautifully directed by Laura Downing-Lee, and stage managed by Jeff Basham, this crazy and delightful comedy is guaranteed to make you laugh and bring you back to 6th Street Playhouse for a second helping of Murder For Two.
Audience members will be invited to find the weapons from the classic board game Clue® hidden in our beautiful custom artwork panels created by Scenic Artist Amber MacLean.
Saturday August 28 & Sunday August 29 @ 4:30 pm. Occidental Center for the Artsproudly presents: ‘Something’s Coming..Something Good’! Join us for an afternoon of musical theatre fun for all ages in our amphitheater! Enjoy popular selections from Wizard of Oz, West Side Story, Hair and The Drowsy Chaperone, performed by talented children and adults from our community. Directed by Starr Hergenrather, Musical Direction by Miles McKenzie. The safety of our audience is always a priority. Limited capacity for this outdoor event – get your tickets early! Advance tickets required. $20 adults/ $10 children,15 and under. Discounts for OCA Members. www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org Please bring cushions or stadium chairs to sit on. Wheelchair/special needs seating will be facilitated. Fine refreshments for sale including wine/ beer. Become an OCA Member and get free tickets! 3850 Doris Murphy Ct. Occidental, CA. 95465. 707-874-9392. OCA is a nonprofit arts center staffed by volunteers.