A Patriot Act: The Trial of George W. Bush

A military tribunal was convened at California Stage on Saturday for the purpose of bringing George W.Bush to trial. He was charged with war crimes, dereliction of duty, and treason. After testimony by witnesses and deliberation by juries on each charge, he was found guilty on all three counts and sentenced to the maximum time in prison.

As a reviewer, I make it a point never to reveal the endings of plays that I review. I don’t want to spoil it for people who will be coming to see the show. But I make exception for playwright Todd Blakesley’s “A Patriot Act: The Trial of GeorgeW.Bush” because the ending of the show is dependent on audience input. It may change each night. (In fact, I spoke with the director after the second performance, and learned the defendant had been acquitted on two counts and convicted only on dereliction of duty.)

“A Patriot Act” is an experience from the moment you approach the theater. (One hopes that there will be a way to speed up the entrance process, as at Sunday’s performances, a line stretched out the door and into the hot sun while people slowly filed in.) Each person must fill out a security clearance card, which they were informed must be worn at all times. The cards indicate whether the person was there to be a member of one of the three juries, a witness for either the prosecution or the defense, or merely an observer.

Once the cards were filled out, people were screened for weapons before being allowed to pass into the theater itself.

There was activity going on in the courtroom, with potential witnesses being interviewed by attorneys, jurors being assigned to individual juries, and attorneys discussing among themselves. On opening night, there was a longer line for the prosecution witnesses than for the defense.

The audience was informed that the defendant was being held in an undisclosed location, but was monitoring the actions on closed-circuit television and communicating with his attorneys via telephone.

The court is presided over by Magistrate Mark Heckman. Heckman, with Ray Tatar (who also acts as a special agent), is the co-director of the piece and he was very judicial in his supervision of the trial itself.

Bailiff Crag Chavez was stern, at times almost menacing, as he kept things orderly and called each witness to the stand.

Opening statements and instructions were a little rocky on opening night, but the cast quickly settled into the rhythm of the trial.

The prosecution team is headed by William A. Bergen, who is not only an actor...but also an Auburn-based attorney. Of all six of the attorneys (three of whom are attorneys in real life), Bergen was the most at ease and seemed the best able to think on his feet. He inspired confidence whenever he got up to speak.

Other prosecution attorneys were Mark Stone and Eva Kim. The defense team was headed by Sacramento attorney Jeff Kravitz, assisted by actor/attorney Michael Garabedian and Bergen’s real life daughter, Athena Bergen, a U.C. Davis graduate

Four of the witnesses (Devin Ritchie, Ellen Vincent, Franny Phillips and Greg Koski) are scripted, and are called randomly, along with the audience volunteers. (I won’t review their performances, to keep the audience guessing as to who is who, but all gave believable performances.) On opening night there was an interesting assortment of witnesses, each of whom was passionate in his or her statements. Each spoke to how the current administration had negatively or positively affected his or her life. Testimony from audience volunteers provided the heart of this play, giving intensity and depth of feeling about the current administration. It lent an air of authenticity to the proceedings.

When all witnesses had been heard, the jury retired to their respective chambers to deliberate and return with a verdict. It is clear, from the notes some of the jurors took during the trial, that they took their task very seriously. The result was clear to no one until the jurors return from deliberation.

While many may feel that this play is set up to point fingers at the President, in fact the audience is a mix of supporters and detractors, and both sides had an opportunity to be heard. It is an example of the kind of democracy and free speech that we are attempting to spread around the world.

Todd Blakesley and California Stage are to be commended for allowing Sacramento area audiences the opportunity to participate in this thought-provoking work which will surely send many audience members home with lots of points to ponder as we head into “election season.” As for how the trial turns out the night you attend, just remember: YOU are the decider.

Jersey Boys

When the crowd bursts into thunderous applause at the conclusion of “Jersey Boys” at the Sacramento Community Theater, it is not the first time there has been such sustained applause throughout the evening. In fact the show is brought to a standstill by applause three times during the first act for blockbuster tunes.

Whether you were raised in the 1950s, the 1960s or the 1970s, it’s hard to think there would be people who would not love this musical retelling of the story of The Four Seasons.

The Four Seasons hasn’t had a hit song in years, but in its day, the group sold more than 100 million records and produced numerous hit songs ("Big Girls Don't Cry," "Who Loves You" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," to name a few).

Before the “British Invasion,” American popular music was dominated by two groups: The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons. Unlike the Beatles, the Four Seasons (Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi, Bob Gaudio and Franki Valli) came before paparazzi, and the group fell apart at the height of its popularity. Nobody cared about the background of a bunch of blue collar Jersey guys from the streets until book writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice came along and realized there was plenty of drama in the story and director Des McAnuff, a longtime Four Seasons fan, gave the project the green light for development and opening at his La Jolla Playhouse in 2004.

After its move to New York, the show was nominated for eight Tony awards and won four and achieved such popularity that some predicted the show could run “for decades.”

Unlike many other “jukebox musicals” (shows with thin story lines built around the music of one particular artist, such as “Good Vibrations,” “Lennon” or “All Shook Up”), “Jersey Boys” is structured to present the music more or less chronologically and to tell the group’s story that way. Each of the four performers has his own version of how things happened and each has a turn narrating a section.

Devin May begins the narration as Tommy Devito, the tough guy, the organizer, the guy who made his living singing in clubs with his pals and masterminding some B&E’s (breaking and entering) on the side. Time spent in prison for petty crimes was as much a given as anything else. It was Devito who brought a young kid, Frankie Castelluccio into his circle and gave him a chance to sing with the group.

Christopher Kale Jones is simply wonderful as Frankie, who changed his last name to Valli. While Jones doesn’t exactly replicate the original, he’s oh so “all but.”

Bob Gaudio, the guy who wrote the music and whose friendship with Valli as well as their business partnership, based on a simple handshake, continues today is beautifully portrayed by Erich Bergen as a tall, rather shy guy, who really doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, but who just wants to write music. His affection for his pal, Frankie, is palpable, especially as he watches the success of Valli’s “come back song,” “Can’t take my eyes off of you.”

Rounding out the quartet is Steve Gouveia as Nick Massi, womanizer and never quite comfortable in a subordinate role, always talking about “getting his own group,” who left for reasons which are never revealed and who died in 2002.

John Altieri is Bob Crew, the astrology-loving producer-lyricist; Joseph Siravo is Gyp DeCarlo, the Mafia Don who takes a liking to Frankie; Courter Simmons does a great Joe Pesci impression.

Friendship is what drives the group and their success. They love each other even when they hate each other. They are a mass of contradictions – Valli didn’t speak to Devito, for example, after the latter hit on Valli’s girl, and yet he takes on Devito’s huge debt because that’s what friends do–they take care of each other.

The story turns dark in Act 2, as conflict plagues the group and one by one the original members leave. Four backup guys are found and it becomes “Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons,” as Valli steps into the spotlight.

McAnuff’s staging and the non-stop energy of the cast is infectious. The enormous set by Klara Zieglerova, a massive thing of metal catwalks, fences, curving staircases, and screens which move in and out for cartoon-like illustrations and video clips add to the “massive” feel of it all.

But in the end, it is the music and the relationship between the four which is what makes this show and gives it its irresistible appeal.

Best of Broadway

When you read the 64 page program for “Best of Broadway’s” 35th anniversary extravaganza, “Sounds of the City,” you have an overwhelming desire to count things. For example, there are 57 musical numbers. There are 212 performers listed in the program, 49 dancers, 91 adult vocalists and 72 children plus an additional 4 sign language interpreters and volunteers too numerous to count, other than the 69 listed as ushers.

This is a big show.

Best of Broadway was an idea conceived by David L. MacDonald in 1973 as a way to raise money for Good Samaritan Boys’ Homes. Thirty-five years later it is still under the direction of MacDonald and still raising funds for local charities. MacDonald describes it has having grown to “a hybrid between professional theater and community theater.” Both extremes were blatantly apparent in this production.

Act 1 illustrated different aspects of city sounds, from the night life (including a little bit of the sleazy side), moving into a daytime business area,, and finally a segment that deals with the theatrical life of a big city.

There were outstanding performances, such as Dewight Mitchell in songs from “The Life,” “Grand Hotel,” and “Dream Girls”

Randy Solorio stood out in “Riverside Drive” from “Jimmy,” and in “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”

Kendra Mattingly, looking very reminiscent of Winona Ryder, was outstanding in “Dream Babies,” from “The Me That Nobody Knows.”

A trio of Melissa Gibson, Meagan Morrison and Lauren Sater were first rate in “Just Arrived,” from “Copacabana.”

Mark Stivers, music arranger, created a medley of Broadway show stoppers, “Music of the Night” by Lou Parell, “Memory” by Nalisha Gray, “Once in a Lifetime” by David L. MacDonald, and “What I Did for Love” by Teresa Taraya, where each sang bit of his or her song and then the four blended together contrapuntally. It was a magical moment.

But the real “magic” comes when the children enter. Their first number was “Light Sings” from “The Me That Nobody Knows” and they were militantly adorable. Watch the left side of the stage for real scene stealers!

Act 2 focused on two shows, “Civil War” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (the version by Dennis DeYoung from the musical group Styx).

Dewight Williams again gave a towering performance in “River Jordan” while Natasha Greer led a moving vocal and dance ensemble in “Someday.”

Enrique Ruiz (also the Children’s Choral Director) was a sensitive Hunchback in several numbers. Ryan Ritter, Rando Solorio and Sam Williams were very funny in “Alms for the Beggarman.” And Feature Musical Director Marji DuBois was wonderful in just about everything.

Christopher Carlson’s mic went dead in “King of Fools.” The actor has toured professionally and his experience as he worked to be heard over the amplification of the rest of the singers on stage. He did, however, have an opportunity to come back, fully miced in the delightful “On a Sunday by the Sea” (with Melissa Gibson, Amy Longstreth, Laura Lothian and Randy Solorio”).

I have reviewed “Best of Broadway” for seven years now and every year I complain about the inconsistent sound system. Levels are sometimes ear splitting, other times distorted, or, in the case of Carlson and Choral Director Corey Rickrode (in “By the Grace of God”), simply not there. When they are good, they are very, very good, but for a show that is a hybrid of professional and community theater, they are not consistently good enough.

The company is also showing the loss of lighting designer Dion Cook. The team of six people credited with lighting (and sound!) design made this a very dark show where much too much of the dancing was done in semi-darkness, while follow spots concentrated on the singer. Particularly bad was a lovely ballet done by Sara Rewinkle, Randy Solorio, Diana Ruslin and Jerald Bolden which was not lit at all, while the focus was on Marji DuBois and Enrique Ruiz. Lighting designers should recognize that the dancers work just as hard (if not harder) and deserve their own moment to be seen as well!

The children’s second number, “The New Ashmolean Marching Society” from “Where’s Charley?”was absolutely stunning, with all 72 dressed in marching band costumes. Kudos to costume coordinators Cathy Carpenter and Joan Pohlman and to children’s choreographer, Kourtney Staab-Spencer.

There will be plenty of opportunities to catch this show. It will run through September 16 at Luther Burbank Theater in Sacramento, and then from September 21 through the 30th at the Whitney Theater in Rocklin. It’s well worth the money, and the money goes for a good cause, so it’s a win-win situation.

Best of Broadway at 35

It was pandemonium, with tap shoes. The stage at Luther Burbank Auditorium was filled with children, in all sizes. They were talking, laughing, tapping, turning cartwheels, climbing up and down stairs. A circle of little girls sat in a corner of the stage playing a game.

In the audience were the mothers / grandmothers / siblings / babysitters. It was a sea of blue screens as they sent text messages or chatted on their cell phones. Some read magazines, others watched what was going on on stage and took copious notes. Younger siblings chased each other up and down the aisles, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.

All of a sudden a voice came out of an unseen speaker telling the kids on stage that it was time to gather together and in an instant, the chaos became discipline, the kids were singing “New Ashmolean Society” and marching around the stage in precision.

While the kids were dancing on stage, the adult performers were in another room at a vocal rehearsal. At some later point in the evening, the kids would move to the vocal rehearsals and the adults would come on stage for the dance portion of their rehearsal.

Sheila Engle was sitting in the auditorium reading a magazine. Her 9 year old granddaughter, Lena Wilson is performing with Best of Broadway for the first time. They saw an ad in the newspaper and, since the youngster had danced in several dance recitals around Sacramento, they thought it would be a fun activity. Grandma drove all the way in from Grass Valley on this night because Lena’s mother had to work and couldn’t get her daughter to the auditorium.

Such is the nature of rehearsal for “Best of Broadway,” Sacramento’s oldest and largest all-volunteer community show, this year presenting “Sounds of the City,” its 35th production.

Thirty-five years ago, David L. MacDonald was working for Good Samaritan Boys Homes as a social worker. “We didn’t have enough money to do the things that we thought every kid should have as an experience – trips and traveling kinds of things, birthdays, Christmases, parties, the normal things that most kids experience.”

MacDonald had a background that included theater. At one time he thought of trying to make a career out of it, until he got sidetracked into social work. He did community theater and ran his own theater company, The Broadway Playhouse.

“The only way I could figure out to raise money for the Boys Homes was to put on a show. I called people whom I had known back in high school and college and people that I’d performed with in community theater and professional theater. I just called every individual I could think of and asked if they would come and do a show with me.”

MacDonald didn’t know what he was getting into. “I had produced small things, but never anything nearly as gigantic as what this is and I didn’t realize what it was going to take time-wise.” He found they were rehearsing nearly around the clock for three weeks. Johnny Wilson, music director for Music Circus for 27 years, became their musical director. “He would sit there at the piano all night long -- 3 a.m., 4 a.m. -- the guy is punching away at the piano and we are learning our songs. It was amazing.”

In addition to learning songs and dances, there were all the other aspects of a theatrical performance to consider. “We were literally pounding nails, painting sets and hanging lights backstage while the audience was coming in. We’ve gotten way, way beyond that now. We’ve kind of become a hybrid between professional theater and community theater now,” said MacDonald.

He expected it to be a one-time event, but reviewers came to see the show, and they said nice things. MacDonald felt they had learned so much that first year, and it had been so well received, why not do it again? Thirty-five years later it’s bigger and better than ever. There were 55 people in the first production and there are over 200 in this year’s extravaganza. The aim is to include people from age 7 to age 70 and this year MacDonald is proud of having achieved that goal. “We say to everybody when they come to the auditions that we are looking to include people,” aid MacDonald. “There are those that we just can’t use because they just don’t have the talent, but it’s a small percentage.”

Diana Ruslin is principal choreographer, and also a dancer in the show. “Auditions every year are very exciting,” she says. “It’s wonderful to see new faces along with the returning performers. The growth of the returning cast members every year is inspirational. Every year it is a privilege to have some of the now professional performers return to perform in Best of Broadway, where they started,” she said.

Ryan Jerzak got his start in Best of Broadway in 1993, at age 11. He has since moved to New York and spends six months out of the year traveling as a choreographer with the Royal Caribbean cruise line. This year he has come back to be one of the choreographers.

“Best of Broadway was my first theatrical experience,” says Jerzak. “I had never really explored dance as an option of what my life was going to be. It was amazing. It teaches you a lot about getting to a professional career in the business. You get a lot of performance experience and working conditions under your belt so when you do get out in the industry you know what you’re getting into because you grew up doing it.”

Best of Broadway has been the training ground for “tons” (says MacDonald) of people who have gone on to work in various areas of show business professionally. Molly Ringwald began her career with Best of Broadway. It was MacDonald who suggested that she audition for a touring production of “Annie.” She did, and won a role as one of the orphans.

Jan Gan Boyd has performed in eleven movies, including “A Chorus Line” and performed on Broadway with Yul Brynner in “The King and I.”

Jennifer Foote is the lead in the touring production of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”

Geoff Vaughn was the head carpenter and technical director for “Grey Gardens,” which had a successful run on Broadway and won three Tony awards.

Christopher Carlsen, another Best of Broadway alum, is back again this year, following a year with the touring company of “Les Miserables.” “There’s always a bond that develops at Best of Broadway,” he said. “It’s such a positive thing, a general good feeling that makes you want to come back again.”

It’s not only the performers who want to come back again. Out in the lobby Mary Morrison and Rena Jordan work the snack bar where the performers can buy sandwiches and other snacks during break times. Morrison’s daughter Megan is performing for the fourth year. “She got married last year in October but she flew home from Santa Fe to do the show,” her mother says, proud that this year her daughter has a solo this year.

Mary and Rena have done lots of types of backstage work. This year they work the snack bar, but in previous years they have done costumes, props and sets. They laugh about the “purple year.” “If I never saw purple paint again in my life it would be too soon. The paint would not stick and every night after rehearsal we’d be back out there painting again,” remembered Mary.

Why do they work so hard? “It gives me a chance to be with my kid,” said Mary.

The women talked about the family feeling that MacDonald creates which keeps volunteers coming back year after year. “The performers make new friends every year. They do a secret buddy thing here. They exchange gifts and cards. They don’t know until opening night who their secret buddy is. It’s a way for everybody to meet each other. They do a cast and crew pot luck just before the show opens. Dave does an opening night party and a closing night party for the cast. It’s just a lot of fun. For me personally I get to watch my daughter sing. I get the chance to come out and do something. A lot of the parents that would otherwise be stuck sitting at home get an opportunity to come out and mingle with other parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins and what-not. It builds a family.”

Zack Tucker was there behind the concession stand because his sister Paige was on stage. This is Paige’s second year with Best of Broadway. “This is the first year I’ve done snack bar. I’m proud of my sister for performing, but I’ve never done it myself,” he said.

Pride is evident everywhere you look, people proud of the work they are doing and eager to give the audience the best possible show. Cathy Carpenter has been making costumes for 17 years and Joan Pohlman for the last 11 years. This year these women will create at least 3 costumes per performer. Some performers may wear up to 20 costumes in each performance. The costumers put in 80 sewing hours per week in the six weeks leading up to the show, though both have full-time jobs during the day.

As I left Luther Burbank auditorium, Ryan Jerzak was on stage working with a group of adult dancers. I could hear singing coming from adjacent rooms. David MacDonald was sitting in the front row watching the rehearsal. Mary and Miriam were packing up the concession stand for the night. Tomorrow they would do it all over again. On opening night, September 7, as the lights go up on the stage for the 35th performance of Best of Broadway, everyone involved with the production can sit back and enjoy the show, along with the rest of us, proud of their part in keeping this tradition alive for Sacramento audiences, and for the organizations which will benefit from the proceeds of the show.

A Patriot Act: The Trial of George W. Bush

This is a preview article. The show opens on September 8th.

If you’re one of those people who sit at home watching 24 hour television news, whether CNN, MSNBC or Fox, if you shout at the screen when something upsets you, feeling powerless to make your voice heard, have I got a deal for you!

California Stage is putting George With. Bush on trial for malfeasance in office, dereliction of duty, war crimes, and treason.

“A Patriot Act: The Trial of George With. Bush,” by Todd Blakesley, opens on September 8 at The Space, 2509 R Street at 25th and will run through October 7.

Ray Tatar, Artistic Director of California Stage says that the play is like a "Town Hall", where the community airs its feelings.

“There is no denying that many Americans feel cut off from the president, while others feel betrayed,” he says. “A Patriot Act” will give some audience members an opportunity to choose to join one of three juries and others may actually testify to help determine if the president has improperly used his office, violated the constitution, or whether he is innocent of all charges.” This is a play which will appeal to everyone, whether you support the president or call for his impeachment.

California Stage is no stranger to controversial subjects. “If you look at the plays that we’ve done over the last 10 years you’ll notice that there are things that happen to do with social justice, equality of women, war,” Tatar pointed out. Recent productions have included a play about the difficulty of a returning Iraqi vet, and a play about the life of Jeannette Renkin, the first female Congressperson, who voted against war in 1917.

“A Patriot Act” has only been presented once before, in San Diego. When Tatar was offered the opportunity to bring the play to Sacramento, he jumped at the chance. He contacted Davisite Mark Heckman to ask if he wanted to co-direct. Heckman was intrigued to do something he had never done before – total immersion theater. He explains that there is a framework and that some of the play is scripted, but the juries and most of the witnesses are audience members who volunteer to be in those positions. Additionally, during the course of the show observers will be encouraged to contribute to the proceedings, if they desire. “Those parts are definitely unscripted,” Heckman says. “It’s like working without a net.”

Adding to the realism will be the prosecution and defense teams. The cast includes four real-life lawyers who are also actors. The lead attorney for the Defense is Jeff Kravitz a noted local authority on issues of Constitutional Law and Civil Rights, Michael Garabedian backs him up. The Prosecution team includes Auburn Attorney, William A. Bergen backed up by Tiffany Schultz. Supporting actor attorneys include Athena Bergen (daughter of William A. Bergen), and Mark Stone, who works in Claims Adjustment, where he does civil litigation. “I deal with attorneys probably every day of the week and I have cases that go to trial.”

Athena Bergen feels she’s been preparing for this role most of her life. “In high school I went to Washington D.C. on a trip for young leaders. We observed Congress. We had to pass Senate bills. Then I went to Davis and participated in rallies and protests for the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Now I am doing this show that obvious has a political bent and it’s just really exciting to watch the progression.”

Progression has also taken place with Blakesley’s original script as well. “It’s significantly rewritten now,” explained Heckman. “This will be much different than what was produced in San Diego last fall. Different because the playwright, through doing the production before, learned a few things about what will work better and of course much, much different because events have surpassed what he’d written before.”

How do the actors, who, in real life, are not exactly supporters of the president, approach their roles? “People think they have the facts and they’ve made up their mind, which is a problem we have with politics right now,” says Athena. “The way I’ve crafted my character, I am a thinking human being, but I’m just a little over the top on some issues.” She found that after studying the facts of the case, and doing a lot of research, she was able to present an honest, credible defense of the president for the crimes of which he has been accused.

The role of prosecution attorney was a perfect one for Mark Stone. Long before this acting opportunity came along, the actor wanted to write his own play and started reading a lot of the books about the Bush administration, but he became so depressed he put them aside. He had collected over 30 books either on the war in Iraq or the presidency and the issues that led up to the war. “I think you could spend the rest of your life, or at least my life, researching this issue,” he says. It gives him an excellent background to question witnesses.

“We should have a very educated audience,” says Athena. “There will be some individuals who are going to be little fireballs when they want to be witnesses. They’re going to give us a run for our money.”

The actors and directors hope that “A Patriot Act” is going to vitalize its audiences. “Once I became involved, I started getting really excited again and realizing that I have a part in the system and I can be involved and I’m going to do what I can, so I’m hoping that will happen to the audience. People might come thinking ‘Oh–who cares? We did that in Iraq; we did this in Afghanistan; I’m not interested any more’ and they come to this and it lights a fire under them again. Hopefully we won’t have people just not caring. Apathy is the worst.”

“It’s not a lecture or just a debate, it’s more interesting than that because it’s in this high stakes courtroom situation, but by the same token it’s not lightweight theater. It’s not a fluffy comedy,” said Heckman.

“People will feel like they’re involved. They have a personal stake. It’s not just something that is happening ‘over there.’ This is happening to me. I’m involved.”

While the actors continue preparing for their opening night, co-director Tatar is out shopping for “good looking realistic plastic uzis” to add yet another layer of realism.

“A Patriot Act” is not a play that observers will leave behind at the theater as they drive home.

Information:
$10 previews, Aug. 29-30, Sept 6,7
Opens Sept 8 runs thru Oct 7
Fridays and Saturdays 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.
General Admission $19, Groups of 7 or more $12
Students, Seniors, SARTA members, $15
Opening night fund raiser, $75 single, $125 couple (includes dinner)

California Stage at The Space
2509 R St., R at 25th in Midtown Sacramento

1776

There are so many lines and lyrics in Sherman Edwards & Peter Stone’s “1776" which have relevance today that it’s sometimes difficult to remember that the musical is not set in contemporary times.

Director Glenn Casale has given the Music Circus audiences a blockbuster finale in this production, making its Music Circus debut. The Broadway show opened in 1969 and ran for three years, being nominated for five Tony awards, and winning three

As the show opens, it is the last week of June 1776 in Philadelphia. It tells the story of what happened at the Continental Congress leading up to the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and it accurately portrays the serious personal and political issues at stake – frequently in the characters' own words, written by them at the time. It gives us an opportunity to see the delegates as ordinary men, struggling with the concept of independence, afraid of separating from King George.

Though classified as a “musical comedy,” there are very long stretches of dialog with no music, and more serious interactions than comic ones, though there are plenty of funny lines and enough music to hold it together.

The cast is exceptional. James Brennan is an impassioned, cantankerous John Adams, the man determined to see his dream of independence achieved, despite the fact that he is generally considered "obnoxious and disliked,” and so his words often fall on deaf ears.

Teri Bibb plays Adams’ wife, who is back home in Massachusetts, tending the family farm and raising the children, but who sends loving letters to her husband. Their duets, “Till Then,” and “Yours, Yours, Yours” show the softer side of Adams, the depth of their relationship, and the important role Abigail had in Adams’ political life.

Conrad John Schuck is a delightfully lecherous Benjamin Franklin, peppering his dialog with “wise sayings,” and arguing for making the turkey the national bird. But at the same time, he is a major force in convincing his fellow delegates to sign the document. It is also Franklin who convinces Adams to let Richard Henry Lee (John Scherer, last seen as the delightful Cornelius Hackl in “Hello Dolly”) be the one to bring the matter to the floor for a vote because Adams is, as is often repeated, “obnoxious and disliked.” Schuck capably fills Franklin’s shoes and appears to be the man we all imagine Ben Franklin to have been.

Matthew Ashford is the newlywed Thomas Jefferson, who wants no part of writing any document because he is anxious to get home to his wife, but once Franklin arranges for Martha Jefferson (Bets Malone) to make a conjugal visit, his thoughts are able to turn once again to political matters.

James Barbour, as Edward Rutledge, the representative from South Carolina, is a fascinating character, full of Southern charm, and cynicism opulent garb, and a smooth-as-butter drawl. His “Molasses to Rum,” about slavery and the hypocrisy concerning that issue, was one of the most memorable of the night. It was greatly enhanced by Kyle Lemoi’s lighting design.

William McCauley held the action together as John Hancock, and Mark Zimmerman holds firm to his loyalty to the crown as John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania.

There’s no suspense, of course, in this musical. We all know that eventually everyone is going to sign the document. But by the time all the colonies have finally come to an agreement, the moment is so emotional, it was difficult to keep the tears from flowing.

This is a timely production and should remind all of us what our founding fathers went through in creating this country and establishing those principles that all of us sometimes take for granted.

Jekyll & Hyde

There are two villains in the Music Circus production of “Jekyll and Hyde, the Musical.” The first is Mr. Edward Hyde, the evil alter-ego of Dr. Henry Jekyll (Mike McGowan). The second is Robert Sereno, sound designer for the show.

“Jekyll and Hyde” is a vocally demanding show which requires top quality voices (which director Marcia Milgrom Dodge has found) and there is no earthly reason why such voices should be amplified to at least ear-splitting levels, and at most occasional distortion. Would a sound designer dare to mic Ethel Merman? I longed for ear plugs before the lengthy first act ended and I overheard other patrons complaining about the volume after the show as well.

“Jekyll and Hyde” (the latest working of the Robert Louis Stevenson book) is not a show for children. It is dark and cruel, romantic and sensual, but macabre and disturbing. But it does accurately depict the story of the idealistic young Dr. Jekyll, distraught at his inability to help understand his father’s madness and subsequent death. The doctor wants to study the good and the bad side of human beings, in the hope of being able to remove evil from the world and prevent others from suffering the pain he has suffered watching the death of his father. Failing to get backing from his hospital’s board of governors, Jekyll becomes his own guinea pig.

The experiment backfired, of course, and instead of understanding evil, he actually becomes evil and ultimately destroys everything he most holds dear.

There have been countless adaptations of the Stevenson book, including more than 60 movie versions alone. The current production did not start out as a stage show. It was first a studio recording by Frank Wildhorn (music) and Leslie Bricusse (libretto). The music found its audience and a production conceived for the stage by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn opened in Houston in 1990. It later had a three year run on Broadway and was nominated for four Tony awards.

Mike McGowan is making his Music Circus debut, tackling the dual role of Jekyll and Hyde. He has a strong, steady, opera quality voice and his transformation from one personality to the other was seamless. Because of the nature of theater in the round, our side of the house wasn’t always able to see the expression on his face, but his instant transformation at the final bow gave everyone a chance to see the transformation in action and it was impressive. His “This is the Moment,” the moment when he takes the chemicals he has been preparing and begins the transformation to Hyde was outstanding.

Jekyll’s fiancee, the early feminist Emma Carew (Liz Pearce) stands by her man at all costs, even when he’s not quite himself. Pearce gave a solid performance, though her vocals were merely adequate. (She gets high marks, however, for singing one song while walking in a circle around the stage on platforms which were constantly shifting up and down.)

Maria Eberline as the prostitute Lucy, however, was superb. She brought fire and passion to the role, yet there was the underlying earning to find happiness in her life. Her “Bring on the Men,” following a poignant scene in her dressing room was excellent.

An outstanding number was the duet between Lucy and Emma, “In His Eyes,” where each sings of her love for Jekyll. It was eerily reminiscent of “I Knew Him So Well” from “Chess.”

Bob Richard’s choreography was excellent, especially in darker, more frenetic numbers like “Murder,” as Hyde begins his killing spree.

The chorus has some wonderful numbers in the show, including “Facade,” describing the faces we present to the world and the face that we hide inside; and “Murder, Murder,” in the panic that ensues following the murder of the Bishop of Basingstoke, which sets off a string of other murders as Hyde’s fury begins to be released.

Kyle Lemoi’s lighting design was essential to the mood of this piece. The pools of light for “In His Eyes” and the lighting for Jekyll’s laboratory were particularly impressive.

This is not a show for everyone. But going into it realizing the nature of the story and understanding that this is perhaps more operatic than musical theater will help in the enjoyment and appreciation of it.

So will ear plugs.

High School Musical

A boy and a girl meet on vacation and feel an attraction to each other. They sing to each other sweetly. When vacation is over and they go their separate ways, thinking they will never see each other again. Back at school, they tell their friends about the vacation romance. It turns out that she is the newest student in his school, but he’s not the guy she fell for; he’s a jock and lives in a jock world. What to do, what to do?

No, it’s not a remake of “Grease” – but yet it kind of is. It’s “High School Musical,” the “Grease” for the 21st century, and a snazzy, extremely energetic production is running at the Woodland Opera House through September 16. The production is directed by Amy Vyvlecka with choreography by Stephen Hatcher and it will thrill every adolescent in Yolo County, and their parents will have a good time too.

“High School Musical,” with book by David Simpatico and songs by a whole bunch of people, too numerous to mention, is the stage adaptation of the wildly successful Disney made-for-TV movie released in January of 2006. The film’s soundtrack was the best selling album of 2006, and it was the most watched program for the Disney channel in the UK.

We had the misfortune to be seated in the back row of the Woodland Opera House and the combination of youthful voices which have not yet mastered the art of projection, restless younger children in the audience, and, perhaps, the overhang of the balcony made it extremely difficult to catch much of the conversational dialog which moves the plot along.

But it’s a simple plot and you don’t really need to hear the dialog clearly (unless you are trying to understand of the names of individual characters so you can give them proper credit in a review!)

Troy Bolton (Justin Kelley) is the star basketball player who has suddenly discovered both an interest in Gabriella Montez (Kayla Sheehan) and a singing voice he didn’t know he had. After going through a session of detention in Mrs. Darbus’ (Patricia Glass) drama class, during which both students find out about auditions for the upcoming musical, “Juliet and Romeo,” they contemplate auditioning.

There are complications. Troy’s father (Trent Beeby) is the basketball coach and won’t hear of his son singing. Reigning drama queen, Sharpay Evans (Emily Jo Seminoff) and her twin brother Ryan (Tyler Warren), afraid of a little competition, have arranged for auditions to conflict with the game at which the school could win the championship, which means the audition also happens to be the same day that the school “braniacs” are participating in a scholastic decathalon and they are counting on Gabriella to help them win.

(Yes, suspend your disbelief before you leave home!)

Music, mischief and mayhem ensue and of course it all works out in the end.

The choreography in this production is spectacular. Every number is great, but a basketball number, “Get’cha Head in the Game” takes your breath away. “Cellular Fusion” which is also very clever, is reminiscent of the telephone number in “Bye Bye, Birdie” updated to the cell phone age.

There are several very good performances. Leading the pack is Rob Blake, who, in the persona of the announcer on the school radio station, keeps a running commentary on what is going on. Blake had absolutely no problems with projection and owned the stage whenever he was on it.

Sheehan and Kelley were very sweet as the lovers, Gabriella and Troy. Kelley has the tall, lanky build of a basketball player, yet manages to do full back flips that would normally be attempted by a more compact person. Sheehan has a sweet, clear voice that works well for her character.

Seminoff as the “bad” girl, Sharpay, plays her role to the hilt. Her years of theatrical experience really show as she pulls out all the stops to be as nasty as she can be to get her way. Warren, as her twin brother is a good dancer and is a good match for Seminoff.

Emylee Rose Covell does well in the smaller role of Taylor McKessie, Gabriella’s best “braniac” friend, who comes up with the scheme that solves several problems, and Erik Catalan gives a solid performance as Troy’s best friend Chad Danforth.

Worth watching in the chorus is young Casey Camacho, who has no speaking lines and is merely one of the crowd, but is so enthusiastic about his role that he stands out.

This is a show that has a lot going for it, and has a proven track record among the younger set. The Woodland Opera House does well by the show and nobody who goes to see this production will come away disappointed.

Hello, Dolly

It was nice to have her back where she belonged.

“She” was Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levy (Brooks Almy) and where she belonged was the Music Circus, putting her hand into things and heading up an exquisite production of the Jerry Herman musical, “Hello, Dolly,” based on “The Matchmaker,” by Thornton Wilder.

James Brennan’s direction is irresistible. The choreography by DJ Salisbury is to die for.

There aren’t enough superlatives to fit this show. For starters, Almy was a great Dolly, the matchmaker who arranges things – like furniture and daffodils and lives. She makes the most of each scene. Her moment of truth, as she lets her dead husband know she is ready to move on into a new phase of life, “Before the Parade Passes By” was a knock-out, and a solo comic moment at a dinner table was outstanding.

Steve Vinovich is Horace Vandergelder, the Yonkers businessman, curmudgeon and “half-millionaire” for whom Dolly has set her very ornate cap and whom she plans to win under the guise of finding him a bride, though Vandergelder’s chauvinistic “It Takes a Woman,” explaining why he needs a woman in his life, make one wonder why she’d be interested in the job in the first place! Vinovich provides just the right amount of bluster without being too bombastic.

Vandergelder’s two employees, Cornelius Hackl (John Scherer) and Barnaby Tucker (Mitch McCarrell) could not be better. While the boss is away, the two decide to sneak off to New York for an adventure and get more than they bargained for. Scherer is one of those actors who takes charge of a stage and brings an electricity to every scene he is in. McCarrell was the perfect foil and ... well, I won’t spoil the surprise, but he has incredible muscle control!

The two enter the hat shop of Irene Molloy (Jayne Paterson) and her clerk Minnie Fay (Melissa Bohon) and are forced to hide when Vandergelder shows up unexpectedly. The choreography for the “Motherhood March” is one of many high points of this production. Peterson and Bohon are both superb, with Paterson the softer, more mature of the duo and Bohon’s giggly personality well suited to the 17-year old Barnaby.

Also visiting New York are the artist Ambrose Kemper (Efren Ramirez) and Vandergelder’s niece Ermengarde (Bradley Benjamin – yes, Derrick, her name really IS Bradley!). The two want to marry, but do not have Vandergelder’s permission, as he feels Ermengarde is too young and immature. Dolly has promised to fix that little situation too. Benjamin doesn’t have much to say, but she cries just about better than anybody I’ve ever seen on stage.

Most of Act 2 takes place at the Harmonia Gardens restaurant, “the fanciest place in New York.” The choreography for the waiters has always been one of the most memorable parts of “Hello Dolly” and this production is no exception. The waiters – Jacob ben Widmar, Kurt Domoney, Ivor McKay, Michael Ramey and Gabriel Williams – are simply outstanding in the “Waiter’s Gallop,” which energetically sets up the moment everyone is waiting for: the arrival of Dolly herself, singing the title song.

My advice is to put on your Sunday clothes and get yourself over to Sacramento and catch this delightful production while you have the opportunity. “Dolly may never go away again,” but “Hello Dolly” will be leaving at the end of the week.

Annie

My father always thought that if a little was good, then a lot must be really good. The ghost of my father must be residing in the amplification system of Music Circus’s production of “Annie.” I have seen many shows at Music Circus over the years, and for some reason, “Annie” seems to get more oomph from the sound system than any other. Perhaps it’s because of having children on the stage, or maybe more hard of hearing people tend to come to see “Annie,” but I sure longed for ear plugs every time one of the principals screamed out another solo, or the little girls did an ensemble number.

The unfortunate thing is that this production does not need all that amplification (which occasionally distorts the voices). The kids are absolutely terrific. Carly Speno, Aubrey Niemi, Kendyl Ito, Heather McDonald, Hayley Smith and six year old Miriam Mars are pros, every one of them. Choreographer Bob Richard has given the girls some great dance numbers and they shine in each, particularly in the “Hard Knock Life” number.

For anyone who has been living under a rock since 1977, “Annie,” based on the cartoon of the same name is the story of a young orphan growing up in a New York orphanage run by a sadistic alcoholic. She longs for the parents who left her on the orphanage steps 11 years ago, half of a silver locket around her neck, and a note promising to return to retrieve her. She's invited to spend Christmas with billionaire Oliver Warbucks, who eventually adopts her, and almost everyone lives happily ever after.

The musical with book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin has been charming and delighting audiences for three decades and the current production certainly seems to be following suit.

For “Annie” to be a success, you need an outstanding young actress to play the title role, originated by Andrea McArdle. I’ve seen good Annies and not so good Annies, but Kelsey Smith is one of the best. This 11 year old has an amazing voice which doesn’t waver, not for a moment. Her unyielding optimism is infectious and she belts out a great “Tomorrow.”

Thank goodness hair and wig designers Ron Swanson and Paul B. Guthrie chose not to put Annie in one of those ridiculous red Afros that so many productions use. Instead they have given her an attractive wig with enough curl to be “special,” but not to make her look like the cartoon.

Reprising his role from the 2001 Music Circus production is Mark Zimmerman as Oliver Warbucks, advisor to everyone from FDR to Gandhi, whose heart is melted by a perennially cheerful little girl looking for her family. Zimmerman and Smith have work quite well together. Their dance was a very sweet moment.

Warbucks' secretary, Grace Farrell, is a strong showing by Christy Morton. She has a wonderful voice and maintains the fine line between efficient secretary and woman hiding her romantic feelings for her employer.

Adinah Alexander is the wretched Miss Hannigan, who runs the orphan asylum. She’s the matron you love to hate, hissing orders at the girls while tippling from a silver flask she claims is “medicine.” Her salute to "Little Girls" displayed wonderful comic timing, and her dance with her sleazy brother Rooster (Jim Walton) and his girlfriend Lily St. Regis (Annie V. Ramsey) was particularly fun to watch.

Walton wrings every bit of emotion he can from the role of the dapper con-man determined to use Annie to get money for himself. The gum-chewing Ramsey is his perfect match.

Kami Threlfall shines in her small bit as a Star to Be in "N.Y.C." and Ron Wisniski does a credible FDR. Richard Rice Allen is distinguished as Drake, Warbucks’ butler; and Michael Dotson gives a spot-on impersonation of Depression era radio announcer Bert Healy.

Annie’s dog Sandy is played by Lola, a rescue dog adopted from the Connecticut Humane Society, from which the original Sandy was also adopted. (Surprisingly there is no extra dog used in this production as the “stray dog,” as has been done in previous productions.)

The Music Circus tech crew deserves special mention for this show. These unsung heroes race onto the stage in pitch dark, pick up large set pieces and run them off, still in pitch dark, without ever slowing or interfering with the action of the show itself.

This production of “Annie” is outstanding and will delight adults and children alike. And if they could just turn down the amplification a touch, it could be darn near perfect.

Kiss Me Kate

The Music Circus is brushing up on its Shakespeare with this week’s sprightly production of Cole Porter’s classic “Kiss Me Kate,” under the direction of Glenn Casale and choreographed by Dan Mojica.

The particular production is based on director Michael Blakemore and choreographer Kathleen Marshall’s 1999 revival of the show, which won the 2000 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.

“Kiss Me Kate” is the story of a touring Shakespeare Company, now presenting Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.” Starring as Petruchio and Katharine are the once-married, now acrimoniously divorced Fred Graham (Paul Schoeffler) and Lilli Vanessi (Lynn Wintersteller). It is obvious that there is still a spark between them, which erupts in a full fledge on-stage confligration in the middle of Act 1 of the production and threatens to close down the show.

Schoeffler and Wintersteller are superb. Their feelings for each other, both positive and negative sizzled on the stage. Wintersteller’s Lilli, as well as her character Katharine, have fiery temperaments, to which the actress gives full rein in her “I hate men” in which she displays a voice which can range from operatic quality to guttersnipe as she growls her intense hatred of the opposite sex.

Schoeffler is everything one could want in a leading man. He’s tall, dark, handsome, suave, a bit sardonic and a take-charge guy, yet his sensitivity spills out in his “So In Love.” As Petruchio, his “Where is the life that once I led?” was outstanding.

Robert Stoeckle is General Harrison Howell, Lilli’s fiancé, the domineering military man who is more Petruchio than Petruchio himself.

Toni Trucks is irresistible as Lois Lane, playing the role of Bianca in the play within the play. She’s in love with Bill (Kevin Spirtas), but is a gold digger who can’t keep away from other men, yet, as she tells him she’s “Always true to you (in my fashion).”

Spirtas is a man in love, who also has a gambling problem. (The problem is merely a ruse to add two additional characters to the plot and is never really taken all that seriously.)

Stealing the show, in roles designed to steal the show, are Barry Pearl and Herschel Sparber, known as “Man 1" and “Man 2,” who are thugs trying to collect a debt. Both are hilarious and their “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” stops the show (for several well-deserved encores).

Bernard Dotson is Paul, a role which really has no function in either the story of Fred and Lilli or Katharine and Petruchio, but gives a chance for a great dance number, “Too Darn Hot,” in which he sizzles.

Dan Mojica’s choreography is especially good in the ensemble numbers.

“Kiss Me Kate” has lots of references which date the piece and no woman is ever happy when Katharine subjugates herself to Petruchio, but this production is a real gem and offers patrons a rollicking good time.

Nunsense

Playwright Dan Goggins was once given the gift of a mannequin and a nun’s habit by some friends. He took to dressing the dummy in the habit and posing it doing various chores around the apartment, which his friends found hilarious. He came to the conclusion that nearly everything was funny if it was being done by a nun and thus was born the phenomenon that is “Nunsense” (this week’s Music Circus show), first presented off Broadway in 1985 and which has now spawned five sequels: “Nunsense II,” the country music-themed “Nunsense Jamboree,” the holiday show, “Nuncrackers,” “MeshuggahNuns” (which takes place on a cruise ship) and “Nunsense A-Men!” (the original production performed in drag). In May a “Nunsense” museum opened at the Campbell Theater in Martinez and the phenomenon keeps growing.

Music Circus last presented “Nunsense” in 1995, with the indomitable Joanne Worley in the lead role. Now it’s back, with updated material (Paris Hilton, the butt of one of the jokes, was only 4 years old when the original musical premiered, for example).

The story takes place in the “cafegymnasium” of Mt. St. Helen’s School, run by the Little Sisters of Hoboken, who are putting on a show to raise money to bury four nuns. You see, some time ago,19 of the nuns went off to play Bingo, and in their absence, Sister Julia (Child of God) prepared vichyssoise for the rest of the convent. The soup turned out to be laced with botulism, and when the Bingo players returned, they found their sisters face down in their bowls of soup. (We never see Sister Julia (Child of God), but she’s apparently still cooking for the convent.)

The remaining nuns held a greeting card sale and earned enough money to bury the dead nuns, but Reverend Mother (Alyson Reed) took part of the proceeds to buy the convent a TIVO and so they lack the funds to bury the last four nuns, who have remained in the convent freezer all this time. But the health inspectors are coming and things are crucial. This is their last ditch effort to finally send the frozen nuns to their heavenly reward.

We learn all this in the first five minutes. The rest of the show is music, stand up comedy, dance, slapstick and just a whole lot of fun. It pokes fun at Catholics, nuns, politics, celebrities, and just about everything that it can along the way. And, though the humor occasionally borders on the offensive (I could have done without the stories of the leper colony where they served prior to their relocation to Hoboken), they almost get by without a penguin joke.

The music is mostly forgettable, but ranges from hauntingly beautiful Gregorian chant to raucous numbers like “We’ve Got to Clean out the Freezer” and “I Could’ve Gone to Nashville.”

Director D.J. Salisbury has directed a sprightly production with a knock-out cast of five talented women. Alyson Reed is the beloved Reverend Mother who hails from the small town of Kilquirky in Ireland. Reed is so believable that she will have you sitting up straighter and answering “Yes, Sister” to all her questions. She is a marvelous comedienne who is as good at physical slapstick humor as she is with the one-liners.

Sister Mary Hubert (Allison Blackwell) is Mistress of Novices. She’s the real backbone of the convent but must try to keep her ambition to be Reverend Mother to herself. She and the “RevMo” have been friends forever and Mary Hubert leads a show-stopping “Holier than Thou” at the end of the show.

Sister Mary Leo (Taryn Darr) was a professional dancer before joining the convent and her interpretive dance, “Morning at the Convent” was very funny, but her Dying Nun Ballet (“Soup’s On”) is...well...to die for.

Sister Robert Ann (Erin Maguire) is a child of a disadvantaged Brooklyn family, a tough street-wise nun with a heart of gold. It has always been her dream to be a star, but she is relegated to understudy. However, when misfortune befalls Reverend Mother, she gets her chance to shine, and shine she does. Maguire has performed with “Forbidden Broadway” in New York, and anyone who has seen that show will not be surprised at the breadth of her talent. Her Liza Minnelli impression is spot-on.

Sister Mary Amnesia (Michele Ragusa) showed up at the convent one day, wearing a habit but with no memory of her name or how she happened to be there. All she can remember is that a crucifix fell on her head. She’s a little spacy, but Ragusa is simply adorable and her quiz for the audience was very funny.

This may not be a great show for kids (the young man sitting next to me looked pretty confused), but it’s very funny and most people will love it.

Galileo

Galileo Galilei’s mistake was in observing that the earth moves around the sun, in agreement with the theory of Copernicus, and daring to say so. His opinions were denounced as dangerous and “close to heresy” and he was ordered by Cardinal Bellarmin to neither advocate nor teach Copernican astronomy. It’s hard to believe, in this day and age, that such a simple (and monumental) observation would cause such controversy in the religious world. (But then it’s also hard to believe, in this day and age, that we would still be questioning the findings of Charles Darwin, so perhaps we can relate somewhat.)

Barnyard Theater’s fourth season showcases Bertolt Brecht’s “Galileo,” directed by Steven Schmidt. (This is the only version of the play which was specifically written for an American audience, resulting from Brecht’s collaboration with actor Charles Laughton, and staged in 1947.)

While Barnyard Theater traditionally performs its summer offerings in “historic Schmeiser’s Barn” on County Road 31, each year brings new surprises. Last year it was a rotating platform for the audience, rather than for the stage. This year, the entire set has been moved outdoors, with the audience surrounding a rotating stage, flanked by tall platforms at each of the four corners, from which actors introduce each of the various scenes.

Setting this show, which covers the period of time when Galileo first looked at the stars through a telescope through the secret publication of his last book on astronomy, in an open field under the stars was brilliant. (Ian Wallace gets credit for set design and Steven Schmidt for the lighting design) Except for the unexpected arrival of a small plane heading for the UC Davis airport which required more then the usual suspension of disbelief, the audience could imagine itself back in the 16th century, discovering along with Galileo (Andrew Conard) and his apprentice Andrea Sarti (Lindsay Carpenter, as the young Andrea and Dara Yazdani as the adult Andrea), the wonders of the heavens.

Conard gives a solid performance in the title role, appropriately displaying the excitement for new discoveries and the frustration of being forced to compromise his principles to earn a living. This is a man who learns the danger of holding heretical opinions in the age of the Inquisition. Conard was always an actor to watch as he moved through roles with Acme Theater and it’s good to see him blossom as an adult actor.

Lindsay Carpenter does an excellent job as the young apprentice, sharing his teacher’s excitement, and looking on his mentor as a hero, which makes Yazdani’s disillusionment as the adult Sarti learns of the motivations that forced his teacher to make compromises his life understandable. Yazdani has always been a promising young actor and he does not disappoint in this role.

There are sixteen members in the cast, many of them playing several small roles. Some are better than others, but all are more than competent.

Bethany Bishop handles the role of Mrs. Sarti, Galileo’s outspoken maid well. She is a constant element of calm in the sea of controversy that often surrounds her master and she presents an air of respectful insubordination toward the man who has taken her son on as a pupil.

Virginia, Galileo’s daughter, devoted her life to her father, sacrificing her own happiness. Joanna Swan creates a loving, sympathetic character, who remains quite religious and continues to pray for her father throughout the play, even though his heretical views have broken up her marriage to Ludovico (Josh van Eyken).

Anthony Pinto, who is always perfect for sarcastic characters, is Federzoni, the Mechanic, the man who grinds lenses for Galileo. Federzoni represents “everyman,” as Galileo, who believed that science belonged to the common man, includes him in discussion of his discoveries and insists that all conversations be held in the vernacular, since Federzoni speaks no Latin.

A trio of cardinals are played by Maddy Ryen, Mark Carpenter and Alicia Hunt, with Hunt as Cardinal Barberini, who later became Pope Urban VIII. The scene of dressing the pope was well done.

Laurel Cohen gets credit for costume design, some of which are more utilitarian while others are quite luxurious, leading to the suspicion that some Madrigal costumes may have been borrowed for the production.

Again, Barnyard Theater has come up with an interesting, well directed and acted production. It’s worth the price of admission to experience the play under the stars, but be sure to bring a jacket and your mosquito repellant!

The Who's "Tommy"

Let’s be honest: you probably don’t go to see “The Who’s Tommy” for the plot, right?

This classic rock opera by Peter Townsend and Des McAnuff is being presented in concert version by the Davis Musical Theater at the Hoblit Performing Arts Center through July 29, and you really don’t go to a concert version of Tommy for the plot.

Oh, the plot is there. It’s the story of six year old Tommy Walker, who witnesses the murder of his mother’s lover by his father and who then becomes deaf, dumb and blind because his parents tell him he didn’t see the murder, he didn’t hear the murder and he should never tell anybody about the murder. The boy grows up to become a pin ball wizard (“that deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball”), has a miraculous recovery of his senses, is hailed as a messiah, loses his followers, finds a way to forgive those who have done him wrong throughout his life. End of story.

But if you don’t know the story, the concert version of the plot will be very difficult to follow. In fact, darn near impossible.

A full stage version and the over-the-top movie are replete with dazzling costumes and sets and special effects. You won’t find any of that in this concert version. The cast sits in chairs on stage, in front of the seven-piece band or groups around microphones when time to sing. The few spoken words included are all but inaudible.

The costumes (coordinated by Jean Henderson) are simply black ensembles, with white for the performers who play Tommy at various ages in his life.

There are some projections on the back of the stage, but they are difficult to see because of the lighting and, if you don’t know the plot, they won’t make any sense anyway.

So if you have no costumes, no sets, and no discernible plot, what are you left with? Well, the music and the performances.

DMTC has not been known in the past for outstanding musical accompaniment, so I wondered how they would pull off a show where the orchestra would be the main focus. Quite well, as it turns out. With Director/Musical Director Steve Isaacson center stage, elevated on a platform with his drum set, there is a better than expected assortment of musicians. Jonathan Rothman and Erik Daniells are at the keyboards, Ben Wormeli and Tim Spangler are on guitar, Hal Wright is on the bass guitar and brave Scottt Sabian, on the French Horn does an excellent job of being a one-man horn section.

As for the singers, there are some who are outstanding and some who are not really up for solo rock performances, but fortunately the former outnumber the latter.

Peal Fearn and Kat DeLapp stand out from the rest as Tommy’s parents. Both have fabulous voices and rock out with the best of them.

Tommy is played at various ages by Maya Rothman (young Tommy), Sabrina Schloss (teen Tommy, who for some reason is not quite as tall as the younger Tommy), and Jon Jackson. The two younger Tommys have little to do but be the blind, deaf, mute boy and they handle that job well. Jackson is more a cerebral Tommy than a rocker Tommy, but he handles the task well. His “See Me, Feel Me” is very moving and his “I’m Free” gives him an opportunity to show his stuff.

(I will admit that the pinball number, without a pinball machine or any movement which would imitate someone playing a pinball machine was a little strange.)

Of the supporting cast, Scott Suwabe is outstanding in several small roles, as is Chris Peterson.

Abram Stein-Freer is appropriately menacing as Cousin Kevin, “The school bully,” and Steven Ross is terribly decadent as the child-molesting Uncle Ernie, who likes to “Fiddle About.”

Claire Impens is a somewhat subdued “Acid Queen” (I saw psychedellic graphics on the monitor of light board operator Arthur Vassar, but if there was an attempt to project them onto the back of the stage, it did not work.)

The enthusiasm of the cast for the show they are doing is apparent. The concert version works better than I thought it would. But if you want to know what’s supposed to be going on during the course of the show, I recommend renting the DVD first!

Les Miserables

The Wells Fargo Pavilion had the look of a special event. The crosswalks were jammed with people, there was a line of cars outside the parking lot and a long line of patrons waited to pick up tickets. Once inside the theater, it was apparent that the opening production of Music Circus’s 57th season, "Les Miserables," Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg’s musical adaption of the classic Victor Hugo novel, was nearly a sell-out.

Even before the lights went down, the audience was expecting something extraordinary. With theater companies all around the United States asking for production rights following the close of the Broadway production in 2003 (after 6,680 performances), and the end of the national tour in 2006, Music Circus was one of only 8 theaters in the country given permission to do its own production.

As if that weren’t special enough, this is the first production to ever be done in the round. How would the multi-million dollar production seen during the Broadway Series in 2003, translate to the fairly bare Wells Fargo Pavilion stage?

Under director Glenn Casale’s capable hands, it translated very well. The scenic design of Michael Schweikardt gave a sense of each scene, but not so much that it overwhelmed the stage, making sight lines difficult.

Additionally, the fact that all seats in the Wells Fargo Pavilion are close to the stage adds an intimacy that one misses in a proscenium production. It made subtle nuances easier to create and it brought a dimension to the production that I had not seen before. It made me wonder why the show is not performed in the round more often.

And it was a cast to die for. Ivan Rutherford, whom some may remember for playing Jean Valjean in the 2003 Broadway Series production, reprises the role of the man, released on parole after 19 years on the chain gang for the crime of stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's dying child. Rutherford played this role 1,800 times on Broadway in addition to traveling across the country with the touring production.

In the role of Inspector Javert, the man so obsessed with the re-capture of Valjean following his disappearance from parole that he has chased him for more than 20 years, is Brad Little, whom patrons may remember as Music Circus’s "Scarlet Pimpernel." Little just finished 2,100 performances as the Phantom in "Phantom of the Opera," including appearances on Broadway, in Asia, and on tour.

The vocal richness of these two men alone was something very special indeed.

Add to that Andrea Rivette as Fantine, the single mother forced into prostitution in order to feed the child she has farmed out to others for safekeeping. Fantine is a small role with a huge song, "I Dreamed a Dream," which Rivette performs to thunderous applause.

Eight year old Isabelle Flores-Jones is an adorable young Cosette, Fantine’s daughter, whom Valjean adopts. Isabelle sings Cosette’s "Castle on a Cloud" in a perfect, clear, completely on pitch voice.

Comic relief is offered by the innkeeper Thénardier (Ron Wisniski) and his wife, Madame Thénardier (Mary Gutzi). Wisniski is a wonderful comedic talent, last seen as Lumiere in "Beauty and the Beast" and Marcus Lycus in last season’s "Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." In this role he is deliciously decadent, a guy who will pour your (watered-down) wine with one hand and steal the valuables out of your suitcase with the other.

Gutzi is the perfect complement to her husband, at her best when putting him down in her version of their duet, "Master of the House."

Michael Hunsaker is a handsome, sincere Marius, the idealistic young student who falls for Cosette (Laura Griffith).

Juliana Ashley Hansen is Eponine, hopelessly in love with Marius, but realistic about her expectations. Her "On My Own" was beautifully poignant.

Will Ray is Enjolras, the head of the rioting group. He has a strong voice and a commanding presence.

Andrew B. Wilson is a spunky Gavroche, the child who becomes a runner for the revolutionaries and is able to ferret out information that no one else can get.

The chorus for this show is outstanding, and most seem to have solo-quality voices. I was particularly impressed with the intensity of their character immersion when standing in the aisles waiting to make an entrance.

Credit is due to Lighting Designer Kyle Lemoi for creating with light what could not be created with set pieces. The design was perfect.

In fact, just about everything about this production is perfect. It could not be a better harbinger of shows to come throughout the rest of the season.

Music Circus

This was a feature article which appeared in The Davis Enterprise on July 5, 2007.

Carolyn Tucker boycotted Music Circus for nearly 50 years. “My boyfriend Bob promised to take me to a show,” she explained. But the couple had a fight and Bob took another girl instead. “I vowed I would never to go Music Circus,” she said resolutely.

Happily Carolyn and Bob patched things up and have now been married for nearly 50 years, but because of the bad memories, she steadfastly refused to attend a Music Circus production until someone gave them free tickets a few years ago. “I was thrilled!” she said.

She was so thrilled that they returned the following year to bring granddaughter Samantha to “the big tent” to see “Annie.” “We thought it might be her only chance to see a real stage show,” she explained. Samantha was able to get a backstage pass, to meet the cast and have her picture taken with Sandy, Annie’s dog.

Now the Tuckers attend productions regularly. Carolyn’s all-time favorite musical is “Cats,” while Bob “will see anything.”

As Music Circus gears up for the July 10 opening night of “Les Miserables,” a company premiere, the challenges are massive, but everyone rises to the occasion. This will be the first time that “Les Miserables” has ever been presented in the round and Music Circus is one of only eight theater companies in the country which has been given permission to do their own production. “We’re very proud of that,” says publicist Chris McSwain.

This is the kind of experience which appeals to Louise Wilson, who has performed community theater herself and is a seasoned theater-goer. She feels that theater in the round brings a new dimension to old favorites and she enjoys being introduced to new musicals, like “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” which she loved, and to new staging of old favorites, like “Les Miserables.”

For Lindsay Terry, Music Circus reminds her of her childhood, when she used to participate in school plays. Like Carolyn several years ago, Lindsay plans to introduce her five year old daughter Isabella to theater this summer, also with a Music Circus production of “Annie.”

California Musical Theater’s Music Circus is a Sacramento institution which has brought musical theater hits to the area for nearly sixty years and introduced many new generations of children to theater. Music Circus has offered productions of 157 different musicals, many performed more than once, with “The King and I,” “Oklahoma!” “South Pacific” and “Show Boat” leading the pack at twelve different productions each.

In addition to “Les Miserables,” the 2007 season will include two additional new productions, “Jekyll and Hyde” and “1776,”with old favorites “Nunsense,” “Kiss Me Kate,” and “Annie” filling in the rest of the season.

Music Circus history dates to 1949 when a man named St. John Terrell set up a circus tent in an empty New Jersey field and began producing musical plays. The enterprise was innovative, something that had never been done before, a theater that wasn’t quite a theater, a tent that was more than a tent. The experiment was wildly successful.

Russell Lewis and Howard Young were producers who had worked on Broadway and arranged national tours. Watching the success of Terrell’s “Music Circus,” they wanted to try the same thing on the west coast.

Enter Eleanor McClatchy, then president of The Sacramento Bee and the city’s staunchest supporter of all forms of theater. McClatchy felt that Sacramento audiences would support professional quality theater and she invited Lewis and Young to meet with her. It was a marriage made in heaven.

Lewis & Young Productions raised the Music Circus tent in the summer of 1951 and produced its first season, opening with “Show Boat” on June 19th. The choice of shows would set the tone for subsequent seasons–a mixture of well known titles and lesser known titles, musical and operetta: “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Brigadoon,” “The Desert Song,” “The Great Waltz,” “The Merry Widow,” “Naughty Marietta,” “The Red Mill,” and “Rose Marie.”

(The season does not begin until after the 4th of July and runs through Labor day, with generally a 7-show season, though it has included as many as 10 shows, publicist Chris McSwain says.)

Music Circus became an instant success and despite, the summer heat, people flocked to the big tent for a chance to see quality productions of shows they might never see elsewhere. It was “the” thing to do in the valley in the summer. (“I loved the tent – it was a wonder,” said Carolyn Tucker)

When the brand new 2200 seat Wells Fargo Pavilion opened in 2002, replacing with tent with a real building, the director’s chairs with theater seats, adding air conditioning and improving the sight lines it was a major change for Music Circus.

(“The new building is the difference of night and day,” says Louise Wilson. Lindsay Terry agrees. “There is no bad seat in the house. You never have to worry about something obstructing your view.”)

In 1993, Scott Eckern, then a professor of theater (among other things) at the University of the Pacific was hired as full-time general manager and in 2002 became the artistic director. He remembers the days when “name” stars, like Harv Presnell, Leslie Uggams and Alan Young took the lead roles, a practice which began to change in the 1990s. When they stopped casting familiar celebrities, it allowed them to choose the shows for each season differently. They didn’t have to choose shows by what celebrity was available, but they could hold open auditions for the shows they wanted to present. It allowed them to balance the season better.

“Our mission is to keep the classics alive and also help move the art form forward. You look at the classic pieces like Rodgers & Hammerstein or Lerner & Lowe and then add the shows that are the future classics or the newer pieces of musical theater,” explained Eckern. “We try to get a balance. The classics are classic because they are well crafted and they tell good stories, with a solid book. There is a whole generation of actors who haven’t performed many of them.”

Eckern auditions over 2000 actors for some 125 parts. He travels some 14 weeks a year and auditions people in New York, in Los Angeles. “We now cast Tony award nominees and winners, stars on Broadway. Music Circus is ‘the’ summer job to get in the theater.”

“People want to perform with Music Circus,” says Education Director Victoria Plata. “It is a great thing to put on a resume. In Sacramento we’re such an institution that we’re taken for granted. In New York we are considered one of the finest regional theaters in the country.”

(It’s not only the featured players who look forward to Music Circus. Richard Bulda is an example of one of the members of the supporting staff who arranges his summer around the season, and doesn’t make other plans until he’s checked to see into which shows he might fit.)

While Eckern is auditioning performers and Bulda is arranging his summer schedule, Plata is getting ready to welcome her new crop of interns. The internship program, which she “inherited,” allows students to learn about technical theater. Eckern developed a program through American River College where students would receive up to 6 units of theater credit for working 10 weeks during the summer.

Interns rotate through several departments -- costumes, scenic design, and props, and also work with the stage manager. They are also part of the technical crew, those unsung heroes of the Music Circus who run up and down the darkened aisles carrying huge set pieces. Occasionally interns may find themselves on stage in costume for brief periods.

My daughter Jeri worked two seasons at Music Circus, one year as an intern, and another on the paid staff. She found herself on stage several times, for example as part of townspeople raising a ruckus in “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” She also remembers Davis’ Stewart Mayhew playing the delivery boy from the bookseller in “Oliver!” “You don’t hire people to play roles like that,” she says.

Music Circus also has a large volunteer program, coordinated by Bryant King. Volunteers run scenery and work as dressers, for example. There may be some 40-50 volunteers working anywhere from one week or through the entire season.

The company has an arrangement with the local stagehands union and hires two professional stage technicians from the local union to oversee “an army of volunteers,” says stagehand Phil Sequeira. “Usually the hired hands get the biggest, heaviest, most awkward pieces to move.”

The combination of professionals on and off stage, interns, and community volunteers is a part of the flavor of what Music Circus is all about. “It’s a community based organization,” says McSwain, adding that the final component of the “community” is the audience. “I never stop bragging about our audiences,” he says, adding that even the national actors who come in for the Broadway Series in the fall are blown away with the support of Sacramento audiences. “Sacramento has the smartest, most responsive audiences,” brags McSwain.

Louise Wilson, Lindsay Terry and Carolyn Tucker have introduced their own children to theater through Music Circus, and there is a generational component to the tech crew as well. Tim Kunz, who currently works as a stagehand, is the son of Clarence Kunz, a former stagehand, who still comes to shows each year. Flyman Jimmy Lovelace, who has been working in the rigging since the tent days, is the son of Russ Lovelace, who also worked as a technician in the old tent.

On July 10, opening night of “Les Miserables,” the office will be full of flowers waiting to be delivered to the performers, the lights will go up in the Wells Fargo Pavilion, several generations of patrons will file into the theater, and the 2007 season will get underway.

The Maxfield Inn

On a recent trip to upstate New York, we booked a three night stay at The Maxfield Inn in Naples, NY.

We chose the Maxfield Inn from the Internet for 3 reasons: the web page was inviting, the price was within our range, and it had wi-fi. With my new laptop computer, I was eager to take advantage.

We had no idea we would make such an incredible find. Starting with the elegant Grecian architecture, the line of white rocking chairs inviting us to sit on the verandah, the beautifully (yet comfortably) decorated interior and the welcome we received from our hosts, Linda and Earl set the stage for what would be an unforgettable experience.

We had booked the suite, which gave us a small bedroom and a small sitting room connected by a bathroom. We immediately noticed the little touches, which the previous review mentioned -- the CD player playing Nat King Cole softly when we arrived, with a selection of additional music for our enjoyment (from classical to jazz), the Lindt truffles (my favorite!), the chilling bottles of water in the ice bucket, the fluffy white bathrobes hanging in the bathroom, the heated massage chairs, which would become a godsend for me, in the sitting room and even the little Serta Mattress lamb waiting on our pillows. The shower was so high tech it should have come with an instruction book, but to step in was to go to another world. I wanted to bring it home with me.

We were invited to share wine and cheese in the dining room at 6 p.m., when we met other residents and discovered everyone was interesting and delightful. As this is a pet-friendly establishment, I was thrilled to find another dog-lover there and we had a good time swapping dog stories and pictures on the first evening.


In the morning, Earl delivered muffins and Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee to our room on a beautiful silver tray and later we adjourned to the screened sun porch for the rest of our 4-course gourmet breakfast. Everything was cooked with such pride and Earl delighted in explaining how Linda created her recipes and telling us tales of the history of the area (in the back of the Inn is the remains of one of the tunnels used for the Underground Railroad).

I could not find a hint of a complaint about this place and cannot reccommend it more highly.

(Oh...and the wi fi works GREAT!)

D & R Depot

When I first set up this "In My Opinion" blog, I intended to review more than just stage shows, but other things as well. I've been falling down on that, so I'm going to try to pick up with a couple of reviews from our recent trip to Upstate New York.

In LeRoy, New York (the birthplace of Jello), someone recommended that we eat at D&R Depot, a converted railroad depot, which was reported as having the best home cooked food and "the best chicken pot pie" in town. I was encouraged when the menu boasted that the pot pie had "the flakiest crust." I'm a crust aficionado and was eager to try it.

The first course was salad, which came with hot rolls. The rolls had, unfortunately, been heated by microwave. As long as you ate them immediately, they were fine, but once they began to cool, they got so hard that you couldn't even bite into them.

When the pot pie arrived it, too, had unfortunately been heated in the microwave. The "world's flakiest crust" had all the flake of a hockey puck. I was very disappointed. The contents of the pot pie were quite good. What a shame that the restaurant had to ruin one of their apparently stellar dishes with microwave heating.

ADDENDUM: I actually had an e-mail from D&R Depot and they assure me that while they do use the microwave for their rolls, they do not use it for heating the chicken pot pie and that the toughness of "the world's flakiest crust" was due to weather factors. They also invited me to come back and try it again and were quite nice about it, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, though it seems unlikely I'll ever be in that part of the country again.

Fat Pig

"People are not comfortable with difference. You know? Fags, retards, cripples. Fat people. Old folks, even. They scare us or something... The thing they represent that’s so scary is what we could be, how vulnerable we all are...we’re all just one step away from being what frightens us. What we despise so...we despise it when we see it in anybody else."

The character of the unlikeable friend, Carter (Michael Wiles) has just summed up the message of Neil LaBute’s "Fat Pig," currently running at Capital Stage, on the Delta King, under the direction of Stephanie Gularte.

"Fat Pig" is a one-act, four-person play which centers on the growing relationship between Tom (Shaun Carroll) and Helen (Christin [sic] O’Cuddehy), two people who meet, by chance, in a diner and discover that they love the same movies and the same books, they have the same sense of humor and they just seem to click.

The problem is that Helen is fat (I will resist the temptation to use euphemisms like zaftig or Rubenes-esque or "full figured") and Tom is a tall, slim, handsome, successful businessman who has apparently used his looks to work his way up the corporate ladder. There is also an ex-girlfriend, Jeannie (Katherine C. Miller), who doesn’t realize she’s really an "ex" girlfriend and who can’t understand what Tom can possibly see in "that fat sow."

As a fat person myself, I found a lot of disturbing things in the script of this comedy, particularly in the mean-spirited comments that Carter uses to describe Helen. ("She’s off to the bathroom...with a basket of dinner rolls hidden under her skirt." "They didn’t just send her, did they?–not that she couldn’t eat for five...") – and especially the audience’s laughter at the jokes. But that was LaBute’s whole point. His program biography talks of his own battles with weight (a battle he claims that he is now losing, after a successful period of high self esteem when he was able to stick with a healthy lifestyle.) He wants the audience to look at appearance and our feelings about people who are "different."

Tom, Carter and Jeannie are the "beautiful people," and yet they are seriously flawed and each of them, on some level is unlikeable. Helen is the "different one." Yet she has a beauty about her which is unmistakable and ultimately she is the only truly "good" character in the play.

This is another strong cast for Capital Stage. Christin O’Cuddehy is magnificent. She has a self-assuredness that makes you look past her weight instantly. Like her character, she seems comfortable in her body and she knows she’s good. Her changing emotions throughout the play were beautifully handled, particularly at the end. It would be difficult to think of an actress who could have done this role better.

Shaun Carroll is a fussbudgety Tom, unsure of himself, knowing how much he cares for this woman, yet torn between his growing feelings for her and his fear of the derision he will receive at the hands of the rest of the world if he were to continue the relationship.

I want to say that Michael Wiles was terrible as Carter...but my negative feelings are only because he was such a good Carter. He created the perfect sleazeball, a snobby, snide, self-indulgent character who pretends to be Tom’s friend, but who is never there for him, except when he can have some fun at his friend’s expense.

Katherine C. Miller is a spitfire as the scorned Jeannie. Though she did a wonderful job in the role, I feel that LaBute’s scenes between Jeannie and Tom were overly long and repetitious. We never really learn much about their previous relationship (LaBute tantalizes us with whether there was actually a physical relationship or not), other than that it ended badly and Jeannie still hopes for a reconciliation.

While this is really a comedy, like LaBute’s other works (such as "Nurse Betty"), it has a distinct dark side to it. Throughout the evening, we wonder which will win out – will love conquer all, or will peer pressure force Tom to give up his one big chance at a meaningful relationship?

Throughout the journey, perhaps we can all learn a bit about ourselves and how we view the world around us, and give some thought to how we treat those who aren’t part of the "beautiful people."