Avenue Q

I suspect that Wednesday's opening night performance of 'Avenue Q' probably shocked some members of the audience, who initially may not have believed at what they were seeing.

But the laughter and applause throughout the two hours - and at the end - suggests that everybody adjusted pretty quickly.

At intermission, I overheard a man saying that at the start he was thinking that his 9-year-old grandson would just love the show ... but then, as the show progressed, he began to think, 'Well, maybe not that part.'

If the idea of Muppet-like puppets (only upper torsos) simulating some rather human sexual activity bothers you, this isn't your show. If occasional 'adult language' bothers you, this isn't your show.

But if a hilariously irreverent, R-rated version of 'Sesame Street' sounds intriguing, don't hesitate. Rush right out and see this sparkling, three-time Tony Award-winner while you have the chance.

The production continues through Sunday at the Community Center Theater, 1301 L St., Sacramento. Curtain times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 7:30 p.m. Sunday; and 2 p.m. Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets, ranging from $16.50 to $61.50 (depending on day and time), are available at (916) 264-5181 or (530) 766-2277. Call (916) 446-5880.

At its heart, 'Avenue Q' is about love, friendship and making the world a better place. What could possibly be objectionable about that?

The cast is mixed: half puppets, half humans. The puppets all have their human counterparts, as well.

Brian (Cullen R. Titmas), Christmas Eve (Sala Iwamatsu) and Gary Coleman (Danielle E. Thomas) are the humans; the other characters are puppets manipulated by extraordinarily clever actors.

Robert McClure is Princeton, newly graduated from college and possessing a business degree; he has come to New York to take a job. He has been wandering down from Avenue A, trying to find an apartment he can afford. As he takes a vacant apartment on Avenue Q, he learns that he has been downsized ... before his job ever started.

McClure is amazing: an exact shadow image for Princeton, his body filling in the parts of 'body' that Princeton doesn't possess. The two - actor and puppet - move in perfect precision; it's so easy to lose the actor (McClure) in the character of Princeton, that not until the end of the show did I realize that McClure also worked the character of Rod, the 'Ernie' half of an Ernie & Bert-like duo. (They occupy another apartment in the building.)

The amazing Anika Larsen is Kate Monster and Lucy. Kate Monster and Princeton are attracted to each other, but the latter's reluctance to commit to a serious relationship threatens both of them. Like McClure, Larsen shares a one-ness with her puppet, and her singing voice is powerful.

David Benoit provides the voice and half the body for Trekkie Monster, a combination of Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch, who spends most of his time in his apartment, looking at Internet porn.

Brian is a struggling comedian who befriends Princeton, and tries to help him overcome the depression that follows his break-up with Kate Monster.

Christmas Eve (yes, that really is her name) is Brian's Japanese girlfriend. She has a heavy Asian accent and a degree in counseling, but the only job she can get is working in a Chinese restaurant. Iwamatsu is a delight with her over-the-top accent, and a voice that suddenly bursts out of nowhere and blows everybody away.

And I would have loved to be part of the writing session that decided to add a Gary Coleman character to the mix. The former child star - now reduced to selling his memorabilia on eBay - is the manager of the run-down building on Avenue Q: a role that is art imitating real life. Thomas has a lot of the actual Coleman's mannerisms down pat, and is wonderful in the part.

The show tackles many problems of the human condition and, with songs like 'Everybody's a little bit racist,' pokes gentle humor at many of our foibles.

In the end, a magnanimous gesture and assistance from the most unlikely of places proves that good can be found everywhere, if you look closely.

I've wanted to see this show for a very long time, and - happily - it did not disappoint.

I loved it.

Cap'n Mitch

By the time our family arrived in Davis in 1973, Mitch Agruss already was a local celebrity, having hosted Channel 13's afternoon children's television program as 'Captain Delta.'

He held that stint for five years, and then he became Channel 40's 'Cap'n Mitch.'

Our kids and all their friends were fans of Cap'n Mitch. My son Ned remembers winning a certificate to a roller rink in one of the show's contests.

Mara Tyler (then Mara Bernhard) recalls 'being happy when I would turn the TV on and see his face, because it meant that cartoons were on, and not news ... which was the bane of my existence as a kid.'

'I just remember loving him, and thinking what a cool job he had,' Paul Kagiwada said. 'I remember rushing home to watch 'Pow.' '

' 'Pow' basically was a version of Pong,' Ned explained, when I looked blank. 'You got on the phone with Cap'n Mitch, and he put this game on the TV where vertical lines about an inch or so long fell from the top of the screen to the bottom on one side ... then you yelled 'Pow!' into the phone, which would trigger a digital dot to fire across the screen from the other side, in an attempt to hit the line and blow it up.

'If you hit enough lines, you won a prize.'

A friend from Japan, added, 'Cap'n Mitch was a pioneer in developing interactive TV. His show paved the way for the interactive media-technologies we take for granted these days.

'I liked his captain's hat, too!'

But neither these kids nor their parents realized that before Agruss donned his signature captain's hat, he'd enjoyed a long professional acting career that took him from high school drama classes in St. Louis to Carnegie Tech Drama School in Pittsburgh ... and then to Broadway, where he performed with some of the biggest names of the day.

'I had a wonderful mentor in high school,' the 86-year-old actor said, during a recent chat.

This special teacher, watching Agruss perform in high school productions, suggested that he attend a summer course at the University of Iowa. The six weeks convinced young Mitch that he wanted to pursue acting as a career. He applied and was accepted to Carnegie Tech Drama (now Carnegie Melon), one of only two or three drama schools at the time.

'It was the best thing that ever happened to me,' Agruss admitted. 'It was four years of the most concentrated, professional theater in the university atmosphere: day and night theater.'

He worked on the tech crew, learned lights, worked with costumes.

'By the time you were a senior, you were getting good parts.'

But nothing affected him as much as the happenstance of a classmate offering him a summer job, working straw hat theater in Bucks County, Penn. It was 1941, just before the United States went to war.

'It was like Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz,' ' Agruss remembered. 'You're living in a black and white, Depression-era world, and suddenly you walk into full Technicolor, because the Bucks County Playhouse was one of the primary playgrounds for all the upper-crust theater and movie people.

'Here I am, 17 years old. I get off the train, and suddenly I'm surrounded by Moss Hart, George Kaufman, Harpo Marx, Louis Calhern, Hume Cronyn and just an extraordinary number of people. Everybody was there. Bucks County, which is Pennsylvania Dutch country, was the place where a lot of these New York theater, movie and radio people had summer homes.

'They used the playhouse, and you were just a part of it. Even if you were a crew kid, you still were invited to all the parties. It was just a knockout.

'But it was hard work. We did 15 shows in 15 weeks. You're playing a show, and you're rehearsing the next one. Visiting stars would come, as they did, traveling the circuit of summer theaters. So I was able to observe this, and I was a good boy ... so everybody liked me.'

Agruss worked with the summer theater for five years - with a two-year break to serve in the Army - and made lots of connections, which served him well when he moved to New York. Within three or four weeks of his arrival in the Big Apple, Agruss was performing on Broadway, thanks to director Ezra Stone, who had a home in Bucks County, and whose wife was a member of the Bucks County theater.

The play was a farce called 'At War with the Army,' and it starred Gary Merrill. Agruss was fresh out of the Army himself, and the right age for the part.

'It transferred me right into the mainstream,' Agruss grinned.

It was the golden age of theater on Broadway. Other shows running at the same time included 'Streetcar Named Desire,' with Marlon Brando; 'Where's Charley,' with Ray Bolger; and 'Anne of a Thousand Days,' with Rex Harrison. Not to mention a host of other first-run plays, which now have become legendary.

Across 45th Street from where Agruss was appearing, a theater featured 'Death of a Salesman,' with Lee J. Cobb and Arthur Kennedy. Kennedy and Agruss became good friends, and walked together after their performances each evening to Grand Central Station, to catch their respective trains home.

For several years, Agruss performed and toured with the American Shakespeare Festival out of Stratford, Conn. His costars included Katharine Hepburn and Alfred Drake, and he retains wonderful memories of those years.

One such memory included being stranded in the Washington, D.C., train station, when a snow storm delayed their train to Boston.

'My family was visiting, and my son was about 3 or 4 years old. To pass the time, he was at a little shooting gallery in one corner of the station: the old-fashioned kind, where ducks go by. He was having some difficulty.

'Katharine Hepburn came by and saw this. She had no tolerance for not being able to do the right thing, and she was annoyed that he couldn't shoot straight. She put him on her knee, and she said 'You will shoot only when I tell you to. Don't shoot until I say 'pull.'' ' There was this little kid perched there, shooting ... and he got them.

'That was exactly the way she was. She couldn't stand inefficiency.'

Circumstances change, and Agruss' contract with the festival wasn't renewed after five years. But an opportunity presented itself in California. It was 1961, and Channel 13 - based in Stockton - had decided to expand its children's market. Agruss moved his family to California and took the job of 'Captain Delta.'

Later, after moving to Channel 40 to become 'Cap'n Mitch,' he had a long run until the 1980s, when programming changed.

Agruss might have gone into retirement, but suddenly 'little theater jobs began popping up.' He returned to his first love, the stage, this time with a different attitude.

'I feel stronger in what I'm doing, because I'm not competing. I'm not a youngster trying to get into something, and hoping I'll make it big. Now it's just a matter of enjoying the craft. Returning to this work at an older age is more rewarding and more fulfilling, the less 'edgy' it is. The only point I'm trying to make is 'Can I still do it?' '

If anyone doubts that Agruss is having the time of his life these days, the answer can be found at Sacramento's California Stage, where he's performing in 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre.' Clearly, the acting chops he learned back at the Bucks County Playhouse still serve him well.

'Everything that I did at school prepared me for everything that I do in life,' he said. 'Theater discipline is something you'll find a use for, no matter what you end up doing.'

As we sat in his small apartment, surrounded by memorabilia from a lifetime in the theater - a loving cup engraved for him by Katharine Hepburn, an autographed photo of Moss Hart, posters and programs from shows in which Mitch appeared, and a large portrait of Cap'n Mitch - it was very clear that Agruss has followed his dreams and made the most of every opportunity that came his way.

The smile on his face says it all: This has been - continues to be - a great ride, and he's loving every minute of it.

The Sound of Music

The ladies rule, in the Davis Musical Theatre Company's production of 'The Sound of Music.' The women in the cast far outshine the men in this sparkling show, which is directed by Jan Isaacson.

A company with a small house can use the entire theater in many scenes, and Isaacson does this quite well, starting with the opening Gregorian chant by the nuns of Nonnberg Abby: They file in from the back of the theater, chanting on their way down the stairs and through the audience, and finally onto the stage.

The curtains then open, to reveal postulant Maria sitting on her beloved mountain. The scenery - designed by Steve Isaacson - is lovely, and perfectly conveys a sense of the mountains.

Kate Hight is outstanding as Maria. She has a lovely voice and a fresh earnestness to her character; just watching her makes us want to smile. She's particularly good during her scenes with the von Trapp children, for whom she takes a temporary job as governess.

Marguerite Morris is wonderful as the Mother Abbess, who sends Maria to the von Trapp home, hoping she'll discover whether she has a true vocation. Morris is at her best, of course, in the signature 'Climb Every Mountain,' for which she receives a well-deserved ovation.

The delightful '(How Do You Solve a Problem like) Maria' is sung with Sister Margaretta (Eimi Stokes), Sister Berthe (Mary Young) and Sister Sophia (Laura Sitts). Stokes is particular charming, and has an irrepressible personality.

The von Trapp children are essential to the popularity of this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, and Isaacson's experience as director of DMTC's young performers program really shows, both in her selection of seven outstanding young actors, and in her direction of the group. Individually and collectively, they're all quite good.

Liesl, who is '16 Going on 17,' is played by Moriah Haworth; she has a winning voice and beautifully expresses the joy of new love, and the heartbreak of its loss.

Kendyl Ito plays Brigitta, who seems never to have an unexpressed thought.

The others are Rami Rashmawi, as Friedrich; Jasmin Mould, as Louisa; William Chan, as Kurt; Ani Carrera, as Marta; and Rose Moylan as the adorable youngest, Gretl. The group sings well together, and down to the youngest they're all professional on stage.

Emily Cannon-Brown plays Elsa Schraeder, the woman who hopes to wed Capt. von Trapp (Giorgio Selvaggio) until she realizes that his feelings for Maria are more than that of an employer for an employee. Cannon-Brown also is a strong performer, and has a lovely voice.

Sadly, the men in the cast don't fare as well. Selvaggio has a big voice, but even the sprayed-on gray hair can't make him look old enough to have fathered seven children. He looks more like Liesl's brother than her parent. This might have been overlooked if Selvaggio appeared more comfortable on stage, but - alas - he doesn't.

Herb K. Schultz fares a little better as Max Detweiler, the opportunistic entrepreneur who is determined to befriend both Austrians and Germans as the war approaches, and to exploit whomever he can for his own good. Schultz is OK but not outstanding.

As Rolf, the young man who delivers telegrams and steals Liesl's heart, Matthew Kohrt is the best of the male actors; sadly, his role is small.

This is one of the better-looking DMTC shows, with each scene clearly demonstrating the work that went into it. This show's dedication to quality also is revealed by the size of the orchestra, with 18 musicians listed in the program. That's more than I remember seeing for any previous DMTC show.

Jeanne Henderson's costumes are wonderful, and the wedding dress for Maria is a knockout, with a train that covers half the length of the stairs, as she descends through the audience on her way to the stage. (This dress was a donation to DMTC many years ago.)

Despite a few shortcomings, this 'Sound of Music' is well worth the price of admission. Hight's performance as Maria is worth the price of admission; after including all the other good things about this production, it definitely won't disappoint DMTC's fans.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' is an American classic.

The 1948 film, directed and scripted by John Huston, was based on a 1927 novel by B. Traven (a pen name for Berwick Traven Torsvan). The movie starred Humphrey Bogart and Huston's father, Walter; in an uncredited role, it marked the feature film debut of Robert Blake, as a young boy selling lottery tickets.

Nearly 60 years passed after Traven's death, before his estate granted permission for the book to be used again. Actor/writer Herb Robins, who ran a theater company in Sierra Madre for many years, adapted the story for the stage; it debuted at the San Jose Stage Company in 2004.

Now California Stage has brought the work to Sacramento, under the direction of Mike Yazzolino. The story, which follows the lives of three greedy men searching for gold in the mountains of Mexico, has its roots in the Great Depression; it's thus not only an entertaining piece of theater, but an all too timely one at that.

Davis' own Mitch Agruss plays Howard (the Walter Huston role), the grizzled old prospector who lures two indigent former oil workers to join forces with him on a quest into the Sierra Madre mountains, to search for gold. Agruss is an absolute delight as a gold-hunting addict with a firm grasp on the reality of his obsession:

'I never knew a prospector who died rich. Make a fortune, sure to blow it tryin' to find another.'

Tomas F. Maguire is quite strong as Fred C. Dobbs (the Bogart role), the older, avaricious drifter who has partnered with the younger Curtin (Derek Byrne). Maguire persuasively transforms from a money-hungry drifter to a paranoid miner, whose greed drives him to do unconscionable things and ultimately is his undoing.

Byrne gives a solid, though not strong performance as Curtin, a young man transformed by his experiences on the mountain. At moments, Byrne is quite good; at other times, he seems awkward.

Fred Goraieb is deliciously dastardly as 'Gold Hat,' the bandito who utters the movie's most famous line: 'Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges.'

Fortunately, the line comes early in Act 2, bringing the expected titters from an audience who knows it's coming, and can't wait for it to arrive.

Eric Baldwin plays LeCaud, a geologist who follows the trio up the mountain, claiming to know where to find the mother lode. His character doesn't seem to 'fit' into the story. The way this script is written, in short vignettes, LeCaud adds little to the point of the action.

The set design - the program doesn't credit anybody - nicely utilizes the California Stage space, with a large mountain and smaller rocks on which the men sit and recline, and larger spaces filled by tumbleweeds. The backdrop suggests the Mexican desert's bleak landscape.

I wish I knew more about the value of gold dust, because this play's bags (containing small amounts of sand) seem awfully tiny to represent a small fortune. Likewise, much disbelief must be suspended in certain sections of the play, as with an explosion in the offstage mine; it partially buries and nearly kills Dobbs, yet takes only 10 seconds from start to rescue.

Overall, though, this is an excellent production. The performances are good; the sets, costume and lighting are compelling; and the theater even provides lap blankets, for those feeling cold because of the night air that wafts in through the cracks in the old building.

A word of caution, though: If you park along the light rail tracks on R Street, be sure your car clears the tracks! A car on opening night blocked the incoming light rail train, and had to be towed by the police.

Frank Talk

During a career that spanned more than 60 years, Frank Sinatra apparently recorded just about every song ever written.

That was the big problem facing Stephen Peithman, as he and Martha Dickman prepared the 2009 Citizens Who Care concert, 'May We Be Frank?'

This marks the 17th year for the popular annual event, the original brainstorm of Barbara Kado, who conceived it as a one-time fundraiser for the Yolo County organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the frail elderly and their family caregivers.

The performance takes place this weekend at the Veterans' Memorial Center, 203 E. 14th St., Davis. Curtain times are 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

For tickets or additional information, call (530) 758-3704 or visit http://www.citizenswhocare.us.

Kado and her planning committee had come up with the concert idea, to be held at the recently renovated and reopened Woodland Opera House. The theme was 'Gershwin, etc.' The program would focus on Gershwin's music, but since not all the performers felt comfortable singing Gershwin, other music would be included (hence, the 'etc.').

The show would involve several Yolo County performers, including the Davis High School Jazz Choir, under the direction of Richard Brunelle. And at some point during the planning process, the organizers realized that they needed an emcee: someone who could help shape the show and to tie it all together.

'Barbara had done a yeoman's job, but she felt it needed to go a little further; she called me, and I said I would help,' remembers Peithman, who inherited the show 'as it was.' His job was to write the narration and find connections between the various songs.

Lenore Heinson, for example, was singing Johnny Mercer and Richard Whiting's 'Too Marvelous for Words.' Whiting had been a good friend of Gershwin's, which was Peithman's 'connection' to the title of the show.

'Gershwin, etc.' was a great success, and the next step was inevitable.

*******

Peithman was asked if he'd consider doing another one.

'That first show wasn't as coherent as I would have liked,' he admitted, and he already had ideas for future shows. He wanted to start from scratch and re-shape the thing.

'It wasn't perfect for the first few years. If nothing else, you learn what works and what doesn't.'

Now, after 17 hears, Peithman has it down to a science.

'First, you come up with an idea. It has to be thought through very carefully, because several factors are involved. It has to be a good collection of songs. It has to be entertaining. People have to enjoy the songs in some fashion. In most cases, they're well known to a good portion of the audience, but it's also nice to throw in things that aren't as well known.'

The second thing to consider is the performers, and what they do well. Fortunately, this show boasts a number of fairly 'regular' performers. Peter Shack, for example, is the only singer who has been in every single show. (Even Peithman had to miss one, when he had an unavoidable time conflict.)

Lenore Sebastian missed a year when she and her husband, Gil, were doing a production of 'Guys and Dolls.' She was missed.

'Lenore really loves to sing the bluesy torch songs,' Peithman said.

'We're all closet saloon singers,' Sebastian said. 'We all have that little fantasy of a dark, smoky room and a piano, and a slinky dress, and hanging over the piano with a microphone, singing torch songs.

'If heaven exists, that's what I want.'

'Bob Bowen likes a song he can have fun with,' Martha Dickman added. 'He really enjoys that kind of thing.'

'People expect me to do a funny character song, with maybe a few steps in it,' Bowen laughed. 'Then I get out of the way for the people with real talent.'

It was more difficult to find numbers for Bowen this year, Peithman admitted.

'Sinatra didn't do 'comedy' songs. Even his upbeat numbers tended to be more of the 'ring-a-ding-ding' type than actual comedy.'

Additionally, when putting everything together, the show must tell a story.

'That's extremely important,' Peithman emphasized. 'It's not just a series of songs, although we could do that: 'Our next song is...' But the most successful shows are the ones that have a strong 'through line,' with a beginning, middle and end. You have a sense of a connection, as you move through the concert, and that it's part of a greater story.'

But how can one program a beginning, middle and end of a career as long as Sinatra's ... in a show running no more than two or three hours? Previous CWC shows have concentrated on composers and/or lyricists; this would be the first time the ensemble would focus on the songs of a single performer.

'Sinatra's music is amazing,' said accompanist Jim Croghan. 'Such an extensive song book. Phenomenal.'

'The problem with Sinatra is that he recorded almost every song that was ever written,' Peithman said. 'Where do you start? Do you start with Sinatra when he was doing the Hoboken Four, or when he went to work for Harry James, or when he moved to Tommy Dorsey, or when he went to Hollywood, or when he married Ava Gardner?

'I had to get things under control, so we decided to start when he divorced Gardner. Not for that reason, but that was when he took charge of his own career; in fact, she helped him. He started charting his own path in 1953 and '54. He invented the concept album, where he would put together a series of songs around a particular theme, and then ask some songwriter to write a song or two to add to it.

'The album usually was named after the new song. I found that fascinating.'

*******

The germ of the idea for the 2010 show may already be in place, as the cast prepares this year's production.

It has become close to a yearlong process. Peithman comes up with a concept, then an initial list of songs, and then he gets together with Dickman.

'We look over the songs,' Peithman said, 'and we start thinking about who can sing this song or that song. We start vetting the idea pretty early.'

Getting back to Sinatra, Peithman's first list of possible songs covering the period he wanted to highlight ran to some 300 tunes.

'This has been hell,' he confessed, 'trying to bring the numbers down to something manageable.'

By the time he met with Dickman for the first time, he had whittled the list down to 75: about twice the number that would end up in the final production.

'At one point, I said to Martha, let's just sit down and figure out what songs people won't forgive us for, if we don't do them.' ('My Way' made the cut, Dickman assured me.)

'No, we won't be doing some other well-known Sinatra songs,' Peithman said, sadly.

'We just don't have time,'

The performers have input and may request certain songs, but everything must fit the format of the story, and the structure of the script.

'You must have some variety over the time that we're in the theater,' Peithman said, 'because you can't have 10 ballads in a row. Most of the stories we tell are chronological, so that means sometimes somebody will say 'I'd like to sing these three songs.' If they all were written at the same time, we can't have all three in a row, so I have to say, 'We'll give you this one here, and then the others later.'

When the songs finally are chosen, it's time to start rehearsing. The proper accompanist is critical, and Jim Croghan has filled that bill very nicely for the past three years. Dickman and Peithman were familiar with him as a performer with the Davis Comic Opera Company, and he also had worked with Sebastian as an accompanist.

'He's a genius, and the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet,' she said.

'It's a blessing to have a person who is a singer and also a pianist, because he understand what a singer needs,' Peithman said. 'He's also very helpful if someone needs the song changed to a different key. That's something Dick Brunelle did beautifully.'

Brunelle was the first accompanist, and he continued for many years, until his health began to decline. Bowen remembers those years fondly.

'Some of my greatest Citizens Who Care memories are of Dick pounding the beat sitting at the piano, hunched over, doing his thing, and if we blew something it wouldn't faze him at all. He'd just 'noodle along' until we caught up. He was brilliant: He could stay with you and bring you back around, yet he was so self-effacing and unassuming. So talented.'

*******

With the songs chosen and assigned to performers, and Croghan hard at work getting them ready for the performance, only Peithman's narration remains to be worked out. Even the singers don't know what he's going to say until the first performance.

They prefer to be surprised along with the audience.

'I have a wonderful story to tell in this show,' Peithman teased, 'and I won't tell it now. It has taken me a long time to figure out how to tell it. I finally decided I have to tell the story after a particular song is performed, because it almost would get in the way.

'Some stories should not be told; they're just too personal and too gross. Others, like in this case, are really good, but you have to tell them after the relevant song is performed, and then people will say, 'I don't believe that!'

'You don't want to alter their perception of the song in a negative way, especially if you know the performer will sing it one way, and the story is about a whole different aspect of the song, which would alter it.'

'It's always a chance to share some great American music and learn new songs,' Bowen summed up. 'Steve is a wonderful teacher, in the sense of the anecdotes and how these songs came about. I just enjoy the chance to perform music that people don't hear any more, and to see friends I rarely see throughout the year.'

'It's the highlight of the year for all of us,' Sebastian agreed. 'Citizens Who Care is a great organization, and this concert raises a bunch of money.'

'And raising money for the frail elderly is a worthy cause,' Bowen added.

'We'll all get there soon enough!'

The Winter's Tale

Monarchs and Gypsies and bears ... oh my!

'The Winter's Tale,' continuing through Sunday at the Mondavi Center's Studio Theatre, is a less familiar Shakespeare work. But this production, under the deft hand of director Patricia Miller, makes one wonder why it isn't done more often.

I hadn't seen the play before, and therefore had none of the expectations that might have accompanied another production of, say, 'Hamlet' or 'Macbeth.' This was, as a result, a delightful voyage of discovery. The journey starts with a visual bang and continues until the final beautifully lit, tender reunion of the king and his long dead wife.

Jorge Luis Morejon makes an immediate impact as 'Time,' aided greatly by Wenting Gao's striking costume, as this mystical character sets the scene for the story.

'The Winter's Tale' concerns King Leontes (Brett Duggan) of Sicilia, who becomes irrationally jealous of the innocent affection between his wife, Hermione (Allison Minick), and his best friend, Polixenes (Kevin Ganger), the king of Bohemia. We never quite figure out what has caused this seemingly sudden jealousy, but Leontes is convinced that the child Hermione carries was conceived by Polixenes.

Duggan gives a powerful, polished performance as a man who has tyrannical rages against his wife and her friend, Paulina (Amy Louise Cole), who attempts to reason with him. His anguish over Hermione's perceived betrayal is palpable; his tirades are frightening. His anguish - 16 years later, when he eventually realizes that no betrayal took place - is just as wrenching, as he finally comprehends how he has ruined his own life.

Minick gives a moving performance as Hermione, at first perplexed at her husband's accusations of infidelity, then pleading for reason from this man she so clearly loves. Her magical return - years later, in the form of a statue come to life - is strikingly beautiful.

When Hermione gives birth to a daughter, Perdita, her best friend Paulina brings the child to the king, certain that the sight of her will soften his heart.

Amy Cole gives an impassioned performance as Paulina, the catalyst for all the magic that happens throughout the play. Her scene with Leontes, as she tries to make him accept his daughter, is particularly moving.

Kris Ide is endearing as Antigonus, Paulina's husband, a conflicted lord who is unwaveringly loyal to his king, but also unable to stand up to his wife. Antigonus is dispatched by Leontes to 'dispose of' the child.

Christina Moore is wonderful as Mamillius, the young son of Leontes and Hermione. Moore is so convincing as a young boy that I had to check her bio, to verify she truly is an adult actress.

In a gender reversal, Steph Hankinson plays Camila - Camilo, a male role, in the original - who is sent by Leontes to murder Polixenes, but instead warns the king and flees the kingdom with him.

The action in Act 2 takes place 16 years later, in Bohemia, where the young princess Perdita (Gia Battista) has grown up, having been adopted by a shepherd (Heidi Kendrick) who found the abandoned infant. Perdita is in love with Florizel (Chris Jee), the son of Polixenes.

Kendrick does a credible job as the old shepherd, but never quite loses the appearance of a woman pretending to be a man. The shepherd and his son, Clown (Mark Curtis Ferrando), bring a bit of humor to the play, although some of their dialogue is difficult to understand.

Daniel A. Guttenberg is larger than life as the rogue Autolycus, who travels the country selling his wares and picking pockets. He, too, lightens the play's mood, and does it well.

Instead of choosing a more traditional Elizabethan sound for this production's music, Miller worked with composer Daryl Henline on original themes with a Balkan sound. The result could not be more perfect for the gypsy celebration.

Josh Steadman does a beautiful job with the scenic design, creating two entirely different worlds: a posh 1930s look for Leontes' court, and the more rustic Balkan community of Bohemia.

Gao's costumes are elegant for Act 1, and they beautifully depict the life of shepherds and gypsies in Act 2.

Jacob W. Nelson's lighting design creates the appropriate mood and is particularly good in the statue scene, where the 'statue' of Hermione seems to glow.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

'To me, the theme of the play is time, and learning lessons from time,' said director Patricia Miller, of her upcoming production of Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale.'

The play opens Friday and continues through Feb. 22 at the UC Davis Mondavi Center's Studio Theatre. Tickets...

This rarely performed Shakespeare work explores two parallel worlds: the elegance of a café society destroyed by a paranoid king's jealousy, and the fertile chaos of a Balkan Romani gypsy community. 'The Winter's Tale' has the emotional depth of 'King Lear' - often considered its inspiration - and the raw comedy of the rude mechanicals in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' It weaves a magical transformation from death to life.

'There's a redemption of family at the end,' Miller added, 'and a way that time heals things that's very mature.'

Time is not only at the core of this work, but also an integral aspect of the people involved in the production.

Miller is juggling several balls herself. She's a master of fine arts student, taking doctorate classes, teaching acting classes and directing a five-act play ... all at the same time. She's also a single parent with a 7-year-old daughter, which necessitates her commuting to and from San Francisco as often as possible.

Cuban-American actor Jorge Morejon, who plays the role of 'Time' in this production, is a doctoral candidate in his second year at UC Davis.

'I have to find a balance between the demands of my program,' he said, 'which is lots of reading and writing, and being involved in stage work, which is what I love. Patricia was kind enough to let me do the role of Time, which is small enough for me to maintain my work as a Ph.D. student, but still allows me to be on stage, which is important for me.'

Brett Duggan, tackling the role of King Leontes, is a professional actor and stand-up comedian who has played all the big comedy clubs in New York, Boston and San Francisco. He's a master of fine arts student who came to UC Davis because he'd be able to study and teach ... but all this also requires considerable juggling of time.

'I lived in Sacramento for a few years, and originally thought I would commute,' Duggan said, 'but just decided it was too intense, having had the experience of rehearsing until 11 p.m. I teach a class here at 8 a.m., so that wasn't going to work. I completely changed my life: I moved two blocks from campus.

'I got rid of my car and ride around on a bike.'

*******

'The kids work so hard,' Miller said. 'They work much harder than regular actors. The two MFAs are up teaching at 8 a.m., and the others are taking classes. Sometimes a full complement all day long, and they come in to me at 6 p.m.

'But (Polish director Jerzy) Grotowski used to make people run around for days without sleep, before they were allowed to work, so grad school is like a similar program. We're just doing Grotowski. That's what I keep telling myself.'

'But we love this,' Morejon added. 'This is the time to do it, if you think about it. We have energy, and we're full of dreams, enthusiasm, optimism and love.'

This is an ideal cast for Miller, who directed last season's 'Nights at the Circus.' All the actors from that play - those who didn't graduate last year - auditioned for 'The Winter's Tale.'

'It's been a dream to have one consistent ensemble of people to work with,' Miller said, 'because they sort of understand my methods ... which are a little unusual.'

Queried about that choice of words, she explained that she's interested in physical theater, as much as text.

'I have long roots, and training in Britain in text-based theater, where you just start with the text and then work out some psychological reason behind that. You have to get involved in the language. My second level of experience was to work in physical theater modes; I try to incorporate a lot of gesture work, and a lot of energetic work with the actors.

'At the same time, we have to maintain the fact that there is this great text, and the audience expects to understand the story through the text.'

Amy Cole, playing Paulina, understands Miller's methods quite well. They met in San Francisco several years ago, at a Marie Overlie workshop. Overlie developed 'The Viewpoint System,' which teaches an awareness of space and how best to utilize it in performance.

Cole enjoys this opportunity to perform The Bard. Although she directs scaled-down productions of Shakespeare for children in the summer, and has utilized Shakespearean scenes for her own auditions, this is her first full Shakespeare production in more than 10 years.

And Paulina is a plum role.

'She's a catalyst for all the miracles and magic that happen at the end of the play, and throughout the play; the part is amazing. I love exploring Paulina, and I love the magic that happens in this particular Shakespeare play.'

It's a whole new world for Mark Curtis Ferrando, who plays 'Clown.'

'I haven't done Shakespeare before, so it's a totally new experience. Since Shakespeare is new to me, taking it line by line - punctuation mark by punctuation mark - is different.

'But it's a good experience.'

*******

Miller is excited to be directing 'The Winter's Tale,' because she expects audiences to arrive at the theater with no preconceived expectations, as they might with 'Hamlet,' 'Macbeth' or other better-known works. 'The Winter's Tale' was one of Shakespeare's later plays, and - as with other late plays such as 'The Tempest' and 'Pericles' - this one also involves a father's loss of a daughter, and trying to regain that relationship.

'The play really parallels Shakespeare's own experience,' Miller said, 'because he lost a child; he returned for his older daughter's wedding. He was very alienated from the family, because he was down in London working at the Globe and other places. Some theories, picked up from the English department, suggest that it's really him working out redemption, rebirth and reconnection with family.'

Miller borrows liberally from her own life experiences. She was born in Philadelphia and raised in England, where she received her training; she also spent a lot of time in the former Yugoslavia. She has had teachers in Poland and Croatia, along with American Stanislavski technique teachers.

She spent a lot of time with Balkan musicians and worked with the Voice of Roma, a Sebastopol organization devoted to increasing knowledge of gypsy culture.

'I'm very involved in the lineage of the teachers who have taught me. You bring them all into the room with you.'

Her diverse experience leaves her eminently qualified to create the two worlds that she envisions for this production: the court of Leontes, modeled after the British monarchy in the 1930s, around the time of the abdication of Edward; and 1950s Bohemia, in a Balkan gypsy community that is quite colorful and musical.

Miller was very specific about the music she wanted.

'Often, with music in a Shakespearean production, people just go to the Elizabethan, which is beautiful. I love Elizabethan music, but the audience just has a quiet little sleep, because people expect to see Morris dancers.'

She therefore went in a completely different direction: San Francisco musician Daryl Henline is composing the original music for this play.

'He's the only 'outsider' being dropped into this production,' Miller said.

A Balkan gypsy celebration demands music with a lot of polyrhythm, but the instrumentation will be fairly minimal; the people in the cast who are musicians are more in the genre of classical pianists, and things like that.

'We're trying to incorporate people learning the accordion. We're obviously using percussion from the set, so it might be a clicking of sticks, as opposed to an actual instrument. And a skin drum, of course; you must have a skin drum. And a lot of polyphonic singing, some of which is indicated in the text, and some of which I've added for the community celebration.'

*******

Miller's cast obviously likes working with her.

'She's fun. She's a hoot,' Ferrando laughed. 'She can be a little crazy sometimes, but in a good way, usually, for the actors.' He finds himself doing a lot of research for arcane references. 'They're references she grew up with, but I never noticed. I never was attuned to Laurel and Hardy, for example. I'm too young for that, so I have to go back and look at those videos.'

'She has tons of ideas,' Duggan said. 'It's exciting; it's a lot of fun; it's challenging. Yes, there will be a point where it'll feel like 'Oh my God, what's going on!' ... but the final product always is really strong.'

As I watched Miller direct her cast in an intense scene between Paulina and Leontes, it was almost like observing a conductor working with an orchestra. She approaches the text almost as if it were a musical number, tapping out the beat on a table as the actors speak.

I asked Cole about that.

'There's a lot about the timing in Shakespeare,' she said, 'because it's verse, and how the lines connect up. That scene, in particular, has a lot of lines in iambic pentameter: I'll finish, and Leontes completes the rest of my line, and I'll do the same for him. So it really is important; it's written that way. I cut him off as soon as he speaks, which adds tension.

'It's a constant churning, so you don't want to let it drop. That's the case in most plays, but especially in Shakespeare, because of how he wrote the verse. This is one of his later plays, so the verse is very complicated. He's deliberate with everything.'

While Miller is conscious of the Shakespeare fans, she's more interested in winning over the 'green' audience: playing to the guy in the third row, who is busy texting his girlfriend.

'It's actually this huge gift, as a director, to read reviews from the unspoiled fresh eyes of a 19-year-old undergraduate, who's forced to do it because he thought it would be the easy option ... because he didn't get in the English class, and doesn't like writing. I love winning over the scientists; it keeps me on my toes.

'It's all about this audience.'

Gem of the Ocean

Peggy Shannon, artistic director of the Sacramento Theatre Company, has long had a dream.

She has dreamed of giving Sacramento-area patrons the chance to experience playwright August Wilson's groundbreaking 10-play series, 'The Pittsburgh Cycle,' which chronicles the tragedies and aspirations of African-Americans, decade by decade, through the 20th century.

Shannon finally is seeing her dream come to life: STC has made a commitment to produce the plays, one each year, beginning with 'Gem of the Ocean.' Although this work was written near the end of Wilson's life, it chronologically marks the beginning of the series; 'Gem of the Ocean' is set in 1904, against the legacy of emancipation.

Director Darryl V. Jones' powerful production features stellar performances by everybody in the seven- member cast.

Slavery looms large in this work. Each of the characters has either come up from slavery or is experiencing some sort of personal bondage that must be dealt with, whether physically or spiritually. The lessons learned during the course of the play will set each character on a path of freedom, in one direction or another.

Aunt Ester Tyler (Lisa Lacy), said to be 285 years old, is the 'griot' of the piece: the keeper of the oral history. The play is set at her home at 1839 Wylie Ave. - significant because 1839 was the year of the slave revolt on the Cuban schooner Amistad - a house of peace where it's said that she has the power to 'wash souls.'

Lacy gives a memorable performance, as she brings Ester's strength and heart to the stage. The actress does her best work in Act 2, and her anguish at a tragic moment is heartbreaking.

This home becomes a refuge for Citizen Barlow (Hosea L. Simmons), a tormented man desperate for Aunt Ester's assistance in starting a new life.

Citizen Barlow has left the oppressive racism of Alabama, but can find no peace in his new home because of guilt over his role in the suicide of a fellow worker.

Barlow's spiritual journey to the 'City of Bones' at the 'center of the world' - built from the bones of slaves who did not survive the journey from Africa to the new world - is key to this play; it puts him in the position of embracing the opportunity to set out on a new life when it comes along, in order to find his true destiny.

Simmons likewise gives a powerful performance, particular during his transformation, as he comes to term with his past life and takes up the mantle of responsibility for the future.

Eli (James Wheatley), Aunt Ester's caretaker, takes seriously his responsibility to maintain the house as 'peaceable.' In the days of slavery, Eli helped many slaves to freedom.

He's now busily constructing a stone wall to keep the house safe.

Solly Two Kings (Donald Lacy), who in many ways seems the heart of this play, is an ex-slave who worked with Eli on the Underground Railroad. Solly now makes a living gathering 'pure' (dog droppings), to be used for manure. His walking stick always is with him; it bears the notches carved for each slave he safely guided to freedom in Canada.

Solly and Aunt Ester obviously have deep feelings for one another.

Black Mary (C. Kelly Wright), who works as a housekeeper for Aunt Ester, undergoes her own personal transformation during the trip to the 'City of Bones.'

Mary's brother, Caesar Wilkes (Hansford Prince), is the villain of the piece: He attempts to uphold the white man's law, no matter how adversely it affects those around him.

Matt K. Miller plays Rutherford Selig, a Jewish peddler and an essential character: regarded with suspicion by some, but invaluable for passing along messages and warnings to the family.

'Gem of the Ocean' is an auspicious beginning for the 10-year cycle of Wilson plays. It's a powerful work - and a deeply moving local production - that will bring a face to African American history.

The Scene

When the lights went up during the intermission for Capital Stage's production of "The Scene," the audience was exhausted.

Director Stephanie Gularte's handling of Theresa Rebeck's fast-paced, high-intensity, sharply biting comedy comes out of the gate at top speed and never lets up.

For starters, Capital Stage newcomer Elena Wright plays Clea, a vapid young woman who is, like, from Ohio, you know, and who is just, like, so excited to be a part of the New York social scene. ("I mean, mind-blowing, right? It's just so surreal, the lights and the water, it's like, unbelievable.")

Clea first meets Charlie (Scott Coopwood) and Lewis (Ken Figeroid) on the balcony of a rooftop apartment on Manhattan's upper west side, where all three have come for a breath of fresh air, to escape the party-goers inside.

Wright is mesmerizing as she babbles on and on and on and on in Valley Girl-speak about her infatuation with this new life in the Big Apple, while Charlie and Lewis roll their eyes and laugh behind her back.

Charlie is a bitter, down-on-his-luck, angst-filled actor who has come to the party against his will, to talk with an old acquaintance about a possible part in a new TV sitcom. Tony Shalhoub played this role on Broadway, but it's difficult to picture anyone else in the role while watching Coopwood's powerful performance ... especially TV's "Monk."

Coopwood bestrides the stage like a Colossus, and dominates any scene in which he appears. He has his own huge chunks of dialogue, including one very funny description of his eventual meeting with his old nemesis, a director, who was "on his cell phone a full five minutes before he can even say hello ... while I sit there grinning like a schmuck, it's OK, man, I know you got to hang on this endless phone call 'cause you're so f*ing important; you're a completely essential piece of the whole mind-numbing motor that keeps capitalism itself running."

Christina Anselmo, another Capital Stage newcomer, plays Stella, Charlie's wife. She's a TV talk show talent booker who has been supporting her husband for a very long time, and their marriage has suffered as a result. She hates her job, and the spark is long gone from the marriage, although they still get along and enjoy a laugh at the thought of Charlie's meeting with Clea.

"She looks good in black and can't speak the English language. She'll do just fine in Manhattan."

Figeroid's Lewis is the perfect perennial third wheel to Charlie and Stella. We don't really know anything about his life, other than that he's been secretly in love with Stella for years, but wouldn't dream of moving in on his friend's wife.

As the play progresses, we realize that these are four very unlikable people: all living shallow lives and feeding off each other, depending on their own needs.

The affair between Charlie and Clea is inevitable, as the sparks fly and passions ignite. Charlie is emotionally needy; Clea will sleep with anyone if she thinks it'll do her some good. When it all comes to an inevitable abrupt halt, she gives no thought whatsoever to having heartlessly destroyed Charlie's life.

It goes on like that.

Jonathan Williams created a clever set that rotates on a huge turntable on the tiny stage, creating three different apartments more or less seamlessly.

Theater groups all over the country are struggling during these difficult economic times; audiences are carefully picking and choosing where their entertainment dollars will be spent. Capital Stage gives a lot of bang for the buck, and this new show is no exception.

The company's ticket prices are some of the most reasonable in the area for an equity house, and the productions always are of the highest caliber.

"The Scene" definitely is a winner, and well worth the price of a ticket.

Fools

The village of Kulyenchikov is lost in a magical spell that has left its residents simpletons in Neil Simon's odd fable, 'Fools,' which continues through Feb. 8 at the Woodland Opera House.

The play, directed by Rodger McDonald, is described as 'a comic fable based on the traditional Russian folk tale, 'The Village of Idiots.' '

I can't remember seeing another play that I hated so much in the first five minutes, and the thought of sitting through two entire acts was unpleasant. This wasn't the Neil Simon we know and love. The dumb jokes and repetitive slapstick comedy made me groan. (How many times is forgetting how to open a door funny?)

From the subdued audience response, I assumed other patrons were having the same reaction.

But something happened as the play progressed. I began to chuckle, and soon everyone around me was laughing as well, as we became accustomed to the plot line and grew to know the characters.

McDonald's direction - and the skilled actors, who respected their characters - made them not only believable, but lovable. They were completely immersed in their fantasy stupidity.

The residents of Kulyenchikov literally live in 'blissful ignorance.' They know they're stupid, and have become content with it. It would be nice, for example, even to remember one's name; the shepherdess 'Something-something Snetsky' (Jean Swearingen) knows her last name, but never can remember her first name(s).

Or where she left her sheep.

Of course, none of the villagers really care all that much.

The unwitting outsider to enter this world is Leon Tolchinsky (Ben Moroski), a teacher who has been hired by the town doctor to try teaching his daughter. As it happens, if one person in the town can be taught, the spell will be broken.

Unfortunately, the teacher has only one day to make the attempt; if he can't teach her, then he, too, will come under the town's curse. Many teachers have tried, and all have fled before the end of the 24 hours, to avoid becoming fresh victims of the curse.

Moroski is a lot of fun to watch. As something of a Jon Cryer/Jerry Lewis clone, Moroski is appropriately befuddled at the townspeople, and gradually learns to accept the effects of the curse and adapt to it. But he also falls under the spell of the beautiful Sophia (Angela Read) and decides to stay with her, no matter what.

He's prepared to give up his love of learning, and the pride in his body of knowledge, if that must happen.

But he's also determined to teach her something ... even if Sophia sees no value in learning. Why should she learn that one plus one equals two, if Leon already knows it and can tell her? And why would she need to know in the first place?

Read has a marvelous ethereal demeanor: beautiful but blank, while still engaging enough to win the heart of the idealistic teacher.

Angela's parents, Dr. Zubritsky (Bobby Granger) and his wife Lenya (Shanna Sperry), are delightful, as they try to help each other like any married couple. She loses her train of thought; he tries futilely to guess what she meant to say.

Justin Kelley is great as the villain, Gregor Yousekevitch, who is determined to wed the beautiful Sophia himself. Indeed, he proposes to her every day.

Jessica Neufeld plays Yenchna, a mute who knows a secret that will help Leon. Her charade is just great.

The cast also includes Dan Beard as the Magistrate, Alan Smuda as Slovitch, and Bridget Maguire as Mishkin, the postman who has a special delivery for Leon. It might change everything. Or not.

'Fools' is a surprise: one that grows on you, thanks to the talented cast. If you need a good laugh, this show is highly recommended.

Hello, Dolly

Matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levy is a woman who arranges things, like furniture and daffodils ... and lives.

In the Davis Musical Theatre Company production of "Hello, Dolly!" — the popular Jerry Herman/Michael Stewart musical, based on the book by Thornton Wilder — veteran actress Mary Young may have found one of her better roles as Dolly. Although the show's music doesn't always sit comfortably in Young's register, she gives Dolly energy and heart as she sets her cap for the curmudgeonly "half-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder (Steve Isaacson).

In the process, of course, she manages to pair up a few other couples as well.

Isaacson is a great Vandergelder, although his chauvinistic "It Takes a Woman" — which explains why he needs a woman in his life — makes one wonder why Dolly would be interested in the job in the first place! ("It takes a woman all powdered and pink/To joyously clean out the drain in the sink.")

Isaacson provides just the right amount of bluster, without being too bombastic.

Vandergelder's two clerks are played by David Holmes (Cornelius Hackl, the chief clerk) and Matthew Kohrt (Barnaby Tucker, his assistant). Both are excellent, particularly Holmes. The two men, who never have left Yonkers, decide to embark on an adventure in New York, while their boss is marching in the Fourteenth Street Association Parade.

The 33-year-old Cornelius vows not to come home again until he's kissed a girl.

"The girl" turns out to be Miss Irene Molloy (Emily Cannon-Brown), who runs a millenary shop with her clerk, Minnie Fay (Icarina Summers). These two, having become convinced that Cornelius and Barnaby are eccentric millionaires, spend the entire day with them.

The Big Apple also is being visited by artist Ambrose Kemper (Giorgio Selvaggio) and Vandergelder's niece, Ermengarde (Josephine Longo). These 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, as well.)

Longo doesn't have much to say, but she certainly whines and cries memorably.

Jan Isaacson is perfectly cast as Ernestina Money, a girl in a buttercup-colored dress and the pink slippers, who is hired by Dolly to annoy Vandergelder and set him up for eventual conquest.

Most of Act II takes place at the Harmonia Gardens restaurant, "the fanciest place in New York." The choreography for its waiters always has been one of the most memorable parts of "Hello Dolly," and this production is no exception.

The waiters here — David Dickson, Nick Jackson, Monica Justice, Andrew Lampin and Adam Sartain — do a credible job in "Waiter's Gallop," also this production might better dub it "Waiter's Canter." Even so, the scene energetically sets up the moment everyone waits for: the arrival of Dolly herself, singing the title song.

Sartain deserves to be singled out as the ensemble member who looks the most comfortable on stage.

Rand Martin has directed and choreographed an enjoyable production, and one with lots of entertaining moments. The dance "Elegance," for Cornelius, Barnaby, Irene and Minnie, is particularly delightful.

John Ewing is credited with scenic design; his work is rather mundane in Act I, but he saves the good stuff for the Harmonia Gardens, in Act II.

Minor problems plagued the opening night performance, with missed lighting cues and overlapping dialogue in spots, but these should work themselves out with time.

Macbeth

Many things can be praised about the Acme Theatre Company's production of "Macbeth," which continues through Friday at the Veterans' Memorial Theater.

Unfortunately, the ticketing system is not one of them. Customers were lined up out to the street prior to Saturday evening's performance, causing the curtain to be held at least 15 minutes. A separate line for "will call" might cut the congestion a bit.

Once inside the theater, though, I found little about which to complain.

Patrons are seated on the stage, rather than in the audience; this significantly reduces the number of seats, and thus results in a sold-out house and a more intimate setting for the play.

The stark set design is by John Ramos, based on a concept by Hannah May and Danielle Wogulis. It's a simple gray set, with painted darker gray tree branches on the floor, and matching blocks that are moved around to indicate various settings. A pipe ladder arrangement hangs on either side of the stage; this is used by the three witches, who remain on stage throughout most of the play.

The total effect is perfect, and well complemented by Hope Raymond's costume design, also in a gray theme. The red accents for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth — down to Lady Macbeth's ruby slippers — are a perfect indicator of the bloody story to follow.

(It's fairly safe to say that none of the characters in this Shakespeare tragedy "lives happily ever after.")

Kate McFarland's dramatic lighting design adds much to the atmosphere.

Director Emily Henderson guides a first-rate cast, starting with John Ramos, who is outstanding in the title role. He's strong and takes command of the stage, yet his descent into madness — as his power-hungry killing spree begins to weigh heavily on his soul — is quite effective.

His relationship with his wife (Delany Pelz) is passionate and believable. Pelz's diminutive stature and sweet face might cause one to doubt her ability to portray the cold-hearted Lady Macbeth, but this character can be as heartlessly cruel toward her enemies as she can be lustily passionate with her husband.

In a gender-bending switch from the traditional, the three witches are played by Geoffrey Albrecht, Torin Lusebrink and David Conard. These "witches" are more evil sprites, dressed all in gray, with flowing capes and body painting to match the set. Lusebrink added something to make his tongue and lips ruby red, which makes the lizard-like movements of the former that much more evil.

It's a different look at the witches, and sometimes goes a bit overboard, but it's definitely unique and memorable. (A little more dry ice in the witches' pot is recommended.)

Others in the cast are equally memorable. Sean Olivares is quite good as Banquo, although his later return as Mentieth is a bit disconcerting, since nothing is done to change his appearance following his "death."

Likewise, a bit of a different look would help Alex Kravitz's dual roles of Duncan and the Porter.

Kate McFarland is a noble Macduff, and Vivian Breckenridge is strong and self-assured as she strides the stage as Malcolm. Hope Raymond is a beautiful Lady Macduff, very earnest in her expressions of concern for her husband and child.

David Chandler is listed as fight choreographer, and the play does feature some excellent sword fighting. Unfortunately, older children in the audience found it funny, and their giggling distracted the rest of us from the actual plot. But the cast gets high marks not only for the execution of the sword fighting, but also for the application of blood streaks on bodies while on stage, unobserved by the audience.

Acme has another winner with its production of this Shakespeare classic.

But do allow plenty of time to get through the ticket line, even if your tickets are confirmed.

Stomp

Drive around Davis these days, and you'll see carpets of fallen leaves waiting to be swept up.

If you're looking to do something more creative than just sweeping up those leaves, I highly recommend the production of 'Stomp,' continuing through Jan. 4 at Sacramento's Community Center Theater. The show opens with a dazzling display of what can be done with a push broom, and is certain to add flair to any humdrum sweeping task!

'Stomp' is a 90-minute, nonstop, action-filled show where one learns that just about anything - from garbage cans to plastic bags - can become rhythmic noisemakers. In fact, as one who has raised a number of children, I imagined the upbringing of these performers, their harried mothers yelling 'Will you please stop drumming on the laundry basket!?' ... now having to admit that their kids found a way to turn an annoying childhood habit into a lucrative career.

'Stomp,' a unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy, was created in the summer of 1991 in Brighton, in the United Kingdom. The show was the result of a 10-year collaboration between its creators, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas.

They first worked together in 1981, as members of the street band Pookiesnackenburger and the theater group Cliff Hanger. Together, these groups presented a series of street comedy musicals at the Edinburgh festival throughout the early '80s. After two albums, a UK TV series and extensive touring throughout Europe, Pookiesnackenburger also produced the highly acclaimed 'Bins' commercial for Heineken lager.

The piece originally was written and choreographed by Cresswell, as part of the band's stage show; it proved to be the starting point for the climactic garbage can dance in 'Stomp.'

In 1991, Cresswell and McNicholas first created 'Stomp,' previewing at London's Bloomsbury Theater and premiering at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, where it became the Guardian's Critic's Choice and won the Daily Express 'Best of Fringe' award.

'Stomp' began its run at New York's Orpheum Theater in February 1994, and it quickly went on to win both an Obie and a Drama Desk award for 'most unique theater experience.' By that summer, the first American cast was in place at the Orpheum, freeing the original cast for sell-out tours of North America and Japan.

This incarnation lists 12 performers - John Angeles, Shola Cole, Harmony Costa, Antwan Davis, Michelle Dorrance, Brad Holland, Louis Lebovitch, Michael R. Landis, Guy Mandozzi, Justin Myles, Elec Simon and Niicholas Young - although only eight appear on stage during any individual show.

No program credit is given for the multi-level set design, but the stage is dominated by a metal wall hung with all sorts of noisemakers, from hub caps and highway signs to oversized plastic bins.

Steve McNicholas and Neil Tiplady are credited with lighting design, the lights playing a huge role in the show's feel. Some of the best numbers are lit from each side of the stage, casting large, eerie shadows on the theater walls, and giving it the effect of some ancient tribe dancing by the light of a fire in a cave somewhere.

One of the most clever bits is a kitchen sink number (proving that this cast does, indeed, use everything up to and including the kitchen sink). Watch the guy on the far left, for a very funny ending to this number.

Another number involves oversize inner tubes attached by bungee cords around the waist, giving the whole cast the look of babies in the Michelin tire commercials.

And one clever bit finds the cast going through garbage bags and pulling out all sorts of things, like a paper cup with a straw in it, and finding out what sounds they can get out of each. (Tip: A banana peel is not a good noisemaker!)

The audience also gets involved, as increasingly more complicated hand claps are demonstrated for everybody watching.

This show's appeal was apparent in the family group that sat next to me, all of whom seemed to love the production: a white-haired grandmotherly type, who looked like she might have gotten lost on her way to a Lawrence Welk retrospective; two 30-something parents; and two candy cane-sucking little boys, who began experimenting with the different sounds they could make with their hands as they clapped for each numbers.

I had a feeling that Mom soon would lose her garbage can lids after they got home, or that she'd soon find her kids walking around on aluminum cans.

'So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!'

It's not easy to stump Stephen Peithman about musical theater, so I was tickled to have seen a musical that he'd never heard of.

It was called "Turn to the Right" — a musical about baking apple pies — written and produced by "Beverly Hillbillies" actor Buddy Ebsen. It was, without a doubt, the worst musical I'd ever seen.

I'm not sure that it survived into a second week, before fading into obscurity.

And the man who can speak with authority on shows such as Irvin Berlin's 1940 nonhit "The Louisiana Purchase," or Cole Porter's 1929 "Fifty Million Frenchmen," never had heard of my apple pie musical.

There can't be more than a handful of musicals that Peithman hasn't seen, studied, written about and purchased as an original cast recording. His vast library of musical theater recordings — he doesn't know exactly how many ("a couple thousand, I'm sure") — had a lot to do with his weekly radio show, Capital Public Radio's "Musical Stages."

"I pitched the show back in 1983," he recalled. "I told them I thought this was a niche that their programming wasn't handling. I thought a good market existed for it. No one else in the area was doing it.

"And I said I could provide all the recordings myself."

The station agreed, and the show soon developed a loyal following.

But times change. On Sunday, "Musical Stages" will broadcast its final show.

Peithman felt, for many reasons, that this was the time to pull the plug. For one thing, fewer new musicals are coming onto the scene, and he found he was repeating himself more. Additionally, musical theater no longer is the proving ground for "pop songs," as was the case for so many years. We all remember songs from musicals that became juke box hits.

Once the need to build hit tunes was gone, composers began to write songs that were ... quite different.

"Ultimately that probably worked just fine," Peithman said, "but when you're listening, it takes more time than people are willing to give to them, because they may be very complex. And some of them just aren't that interesting. You see them on the stage, and you can enjoy them because they're part of the larger picture."

Not to mention the content issue of many new musicals making it to Broadway.

"I felt I couldn't do some shows. I did edit some, like 'Spamalot,' and remove objectionable words so the FCC wouldn't get on my case."

I actually stumped Peithman with a question that seemed rather obvious: Where did he get his love of musical theater?

"Good question," he responded. "I'm really not quite sure."

While he can't pinpoint any one event or show that had a major impact on his life, he does remember listening to a recording of "South Pacific" because his father had served in the South Pacific, and they had the record album at home.

"My mother did community theater. She didn't really sing, and I don't remember any musicals," he recalled, still struggling with the question.

He remembers seeing the old Hollywood musicals. ("I probably saw every screen musical that came out from the 1950s on.") He always had a love of music, but he never saw a live stage show until he got to high school, when he appeared in "Oklahoma" and "South Pacific."

"They were huge musicals, and everybody was in them."

By the time he reached Humboldt State, he had begun to collect recordings of musicals. He remembers buying "Kiss Me Kate," and his sister had a recording of "The Pajama Game" and "Carmen Jones."

"It was a rather eclectic mix," he admitted.

"I'm not sure how people pick music that appeals to them. The thing with a musical is that it's a self-contained world, and it has an organizational principle to it. It's not like listening to separate pieces of music, although I'm sure some people listen to musicals that way.

"I also was writing plays, and my grade school was very big into music and theater, so I was already writing and performing in my own plays — sometimes with a cast of thousands — which my mother dutifully came to see, no matter how embarrassing they might have been.

"I think I understood the construction process of how these things work. It was intriguing, watching how songs interrelate."

When Peithman moved to Davis in 1970, all the pieces began to fit together.

"I started seeing more shows here, and being in them. I was finishing up my graduate studies. The drama department at that time looked down on musicals, and didn't want to do them, so some faculty and students got together, got some funding from the Associated Students and created what they called the ASUCD Student Musical Theater Company, which was a wondrous thing.

"We did summer shows on the main stage, and that's where I really became involved with theater. I met Lenore (Turner) Heinson that year."

He was not cast in the fledgling company's first show, "The Fantasticks," but he did win the role of Dr. Carrasco in the next big musical, "Man of La Mancha," and met people in the production who have remained lifelong friends.

Peithman quickly became a staple in the Davis theater community, and was a founding member, actor and director for the Davis Comic Opera Company throughout its 30 year history.

In 1991, became the writer and emcee for the annual Citizens Who Care fundraising winter concert, a project that is remarkably similar to some "Musical Stages" broadcasts.

The meat of "Musical Stages" was playing the recording of a show, with Peithman adding background information and describing what was taking place on stage.

"I did all the shows that were great, and a lot of shows that weren't so great.

"Those are always the fun ones."

He introduced his audience to many short-lived shows, such as 1951's "Flahooley," by Sammy Fain & E.Y. Harburg, which starred Yma Sumac and Barbara Cook in their first Broadway roles ... and Sumac's only Broadway role. "Drat! The Cat!" (1968), by Milton Schafer and Ira Levin — the latter best known for "Rosemary's Baby" — concerned a female cat burglar and starred Elliot Gould as an inept police detective, and Leslie Ann Warren as the cat.

Or consider "Minnie's Boys" (1970), by Larry Grossman and Hal Hackady, which starred Shelley Winters as the mother of the Marx Brothers.

That type of format permits only so many things over the years, however, and Peithman began to do variations on the original theme.

"I started having fun by doing things like an all-star 'Annie Get Your Gun' or an all-star 'South Pacific,' in which case I'd play the whole score, but sung by different people from different recordings.

"It's interesting to hear different takes and different styles."

Another variation was the compilation show, where Peithman would fit music to a theme.

"I've always been intrigued by the connections between things. If you're really into the subject, at some point you start seeing how this connects to that, and that connects to this. Sometimes you see things that people totally miss, because it's such a part of your life or your thought process.

"It occurred to me, for example, that almost every American musical for many decades always had a working woman a female lead. I thought that was interesting, because you tend to think of women in the work force as something that hit big during World War II, and then went down the drain a bit, and then crawled back out again later.

"But in musical theater, the female lead is almost always someone who works.

"There are some good reasons for that. If the woman is to meet her man, it's hard if she stays home all the time. And where she works has an impact on the show."

Peithman based an entire show on awful title tunes.

"The worst one was 'Her First Roman,' which was a musicalization of the story of Caesar and Cleopatra. It's actually a rather tuneful, enjoyable little song, but totally stupid and actually one of the worst songs.

"Another was a Jerry Herman song that was the title tune for 'Dear World.' It was just dreadful. The words are dreadful; the tune is good. I don't think Herman could write a bad tune, but the words are just stupid."

Please take your medicine, dear world,
Please keep your pressure down, dear world.
Promise to thrive on each word your doctor speaks,
He'll bring the roses back to your cheeks.
For you've been a pallid and blah world,
Stick out your tongue and say "Ahh," world.
We'll give you plasma and tonic, by the spoon,
So be a dear world,
Take your medicine, dear world,
Keep your pressure down, dear world,
And get well soon!

Peithman did a show about songs that say "I love you" without saying the actual words.

"Musical theater writers, over time, began to think 'I can't write another I love you song,' so they wrote songs that are love songs but don't say 'I love you' ... songs like 'People Will Say We're in Love' or 'This Can't Be Love' or 'It's Almost Like Being in Love.' That was fascinating."

This fascination with themes leads directly to life after "Musical Stages."

Starting in January, Peithman will present what is scheduled as a six-week series called "Connections" — a sort of music-based nod to James Burke's famed PBS television series of the same title — where he'll examine the musical links between seemingly unlikely people or events.

"I'll do a series of shows that will find the connection between composers, between musical works, maybe look at styles or some concepts.

"The first one is 'The Beggar's Opera' and 'The Messiah.' That basically talks about Handel making his name in England. He's a German who's writing operas in Italian and living in England. Go figure.

"It is true that Italian operas were losing their appeal by the time 'The Beggar's Opera' came along, but that one put the nail in the coffin. So Handel realized there wouldn't be a market for his operas any more, so what was he going to do?

"There were several issues: He was running his own opera company, and it was falling apart because they were too expensive. You have big shows, lots of people, sets and costumes ... because almost all of the operas he wrote were classical mythology. You had to pay the theater folks, you had all these costumes, you had set changes ... everything was very expensive.

"And they were all in Italian!

"So he realized he had to do something in English, which didn't take sets and didn't need costumes. Ta-dah ... oratorio! That's absolutely true. So that's one sort of connection.

"Another one is the Paganini 'Caprice for Violin,' which for some reason just took off; everyone wanted to make music based on that one tune. The one that most people use nowadays is Rachmaninoff's 'Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini,' but there were lots of others, including one by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"His brother, Julian (the cellist), bet that Lloyd Webber couldn't write a classical work based on rock music, so he wrote variations based on Paganini's 'Caprice for Violin.'

"Also in that show, I have Benny Goodman playing something he did, as well as all 22 minutes of the Rachmaninoff, but also pieces by Schumann, Brahms and Liszt ... all based on Paganini."

Peithman insisted he could devote 18 shows to music that has been written around the Faust legend alone.

The future of "Connections" will depend on audience response, but listening to Peithman's fertile brain churning, he clearly has enough ideas to give it a life at least as long as that of "Musical Stages."

Sunday's finale of "Musical Stages" will be a rebroadcast of an earlier show, devoted to songs about New York City, at the end of which the curtain will come down on a long, successful run.

But it's clear that Sacramento radio audiences haven't heard the last of Stephen Peithman.

Cinderella

The Sacramento Theatre Company has brought back its wildly popular holiday run of 'Cinderella': Mrs. Baden-Rotten and her daughters are terrorizing sweet Cinder once again, and delighting audiences in the prospect.

This version of 'Cinderella' - book and lyrics by Kate Hawley, music by Greg Coffin - embraces the form of a traditional British pantomime, which often takes fairy tales and delivers them in a manner that can be enjoyed by both parents and children. The humor may go over the kids' heads while tickling adult funny bones, but children will be delighted by the slapstick comedy, colorful costumes and sets, and the opportunity to be included in the story.

It's a win-win situation for all. STC's production, directed by Peggy Shannon, does not disappoint.

This is an age-old story - Prince finds girl, prince loses girl, girl loses shoe, prince finds shoe, prince finds girl and almost everybody lives happily ever after - but with quite a few twists and turns along the way.

Heading the list is Tristan Rumery, as Prince Charming; he has a deliciously smooth voice that blends beautifully with Hilary Wells in the title role. (She alternates with Morgan Cook.) Wells' demeanor and innocence are in stark contract to her stepmother and stepsisters ... and it doesn't hurt that she has a wonderful voice, as well.

Cross-dressing roles are a traditional aspect of pantomime, and this production couldn't do better than the trio of William Elsman, as Mrs. Baden-Rotten; Michael RJ Campbell, reprising his role as daughter Goneril; and Brian Rodda, as daughter Regan,

The irrepressible Elsman towers above all in his impossibly high heels, camping around the stage in heavy make-up, and wearing an outfit that would put a Tiffany lamp to shame. It's 'La Cage aux Folles' meets Mother Goose, with the generous help of costume designer B. Modern.

Campbell is the whiny, pouty, zaftig sister, with kewpie-doll lips and wispy pony tails, who causes everyone on stage - and in the band - to bounce whenever s/he jumps.

New to STC is local favorite Jim Lane, who for some reason is left off the program's cast list as Baron Hard-Up, Cinderella's perennially inebriated father, who is totally smitten with his overbearing wife and has let her run him into ruin. Lane provides many chuckles, whether staggering around the stage with his foot in a bucket, or trying to remember ... well ... anything.

New to the traditional plotline of 'Cinderella' are many characters, starting with Caleb Salmon as Buttons, Cinderella's artistic best friend, who is not-so-secretly smitten with her. His woodland dance, with a lovable, large, picnic-basket-stealing bear (Jared Lee), is a lot of fun. Lee's definitely a favorite with younger audience members.

A bit of fairy tale crossover also brings in Bo Peep (Jessica Goldman). Peep is a rabid, anti-monarchy feminist with a Scottish brogue so thick she may spray a few folks in the front row, with her more throaty syllables. Peep herds a flock of sheep as agile as the Rockettes; they all sashay around the stage doing bumps, grinds and high kicks. It's a tour-de-force for choreographer Michele Hillen-Noufer and dancers Tayler Anderson, Maryann Good, Leah Hassett, Ella Isaguirre, JuliAnn Machschefes and Amanda Salmon.

Peep's independence is a real turn-on for the prince's best friend, Dandini (Kyle Welling).

No Cinderella would be complete without a fairy godmother, and Lucinda Hitchcock Cone is charmingly ditsy. Thanks to Giulio Perone's scenic design and Victor En Yu Tan's lighting design, Cone pulls off a pretty impressive transformation of pumpkin and sheep into coach and horses.

Rounding out the cast are Barry Hubbard as the King, and Orlana Klip as the Queen, both down-to-earth monarchs; she even dusts the castle in her frilly apron, and forgets to take it off when the time comes for the big ball.

The show includes plenty of audience participation, which is a lot of fun for the kids, especially during the search for someone to wear the glass slipper.

The company's small band - keyboardist/conductor Gerald Rheault, percussionist Jim Nakayama and trumpeter Tom Shorba - provides a smooth accompaniment for the songs. The musicians also interact nicely with the performers.

'Cinderella' may not be everyone's idea of the ideal Christmas show, but one thing cannot be denied: If you're seeking fun for the entire family, this production can't be topped.

Every Xmas Story Ever Told

We've seen the news reports; we've felt it in our pocketbooks.

There's no denying it: Economic times are tough. People are scaling back on all sorts of things, and seeing fewer Christmas theatrical productions may be one of the cost-cutting measures being considered.

Well, Capital Stage has come up with a solution. Why agonize over which productions to see ... when you can see all of them at once?

'Every Christmas Story Ever Told' is a hilarious show that covers everything from 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' to Charles Dickens' beloved 'A Christmas Carol,' with some surprising other stories in between.

This fast-paced show is written by Michael Carleton, John Alvarez and Jim Fitzgerald, with original music by Will Knapp. This production, directed by Greg Alexander, stars a delightful trio of weirdoes - Anthony D'Juan, Gary Martinez and Jonathan Williams - who play (oddly enough) Anthony, Gary and Jonathan.

In the same vein as the 'reduced Shakespeare' productions, the authors have taken just about every beloved holiday story in existence, added a bit of Christmas history from around the world - who knew that Christmas had such a black side? - and a few familiar classic Christmas commercials, and blended everything more or less seamlessly into about 90 minutes of laughter.


The play concludes with a zany rendition of every Christmas carol ever sung, complete with choreography. Sort of.

As far as the play's plot is concerned, Jonathan wants to put on a traditional version of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol,' the way it was written; he tries valiantly to do so, but his fellow actors are tired of doing only Dickens. They want to salute all the other 'BHCs' (beloved holiday classics) instead.

Jonathan finally relents, on the condition that he also be allowed to perform a straight version of 'A Christmas Carol.'

The trio elicits suggestions from the audience for favorite movies, television programs, Christmas foods, traditions, commercials and so forth. It doesn't stop at Christmas, but also gives a nod to Hanukkah ('It bears similarities to other Jewish festivals: They tried to kill us. We survived. Let's eat!') and Kwanzaa ('The best part of Kwanzaa is that you'll never see a special called 'A Very Brady Kwanzaa.' ')

The meat of this show, though, is its retelling of all the stories we know so well.

Jonathan is reluctantly dragged into the project when he dresses as the title character for a very funny send-up of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.' He's also a fabulous Scotsman and shines as Hermie, the elf who wants to be a dentist in 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' (hilariously renamed, for copyright reasons).

In Act 2, Williams does a credible James Stewart imitation in a salute to 'It's a Wonderful Life.'

Zany D'Juan is hilarious, whether donning antlers and a shiny nose, or saying nothing at all - eloquently - as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Memories of his performance will keep you giggling throughout the holiday season.

As for Martinez, well, you just want to wrap him up and take him home. He plays all the lovable characters to the hilt, with the sincerity that he gives Linus reciting 'The True Meaning of Christmas.' You can't leave the theater after seeing his performance without Christmas in your heart.

Of course, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without fruitcake, and the trio gives salute with 'What the Hell's the Deal with Fruitcake,' which includes a salute to 'The Dating Game' ... 'where we learn all the latest facts and figures on that fruitiest and nuttiest of cakes.'

Nearly every well-known Christmas show is covered during the 60-minute first act, even if only through bad puns or passing comments.

Act 2, only 20 minutes long, is designed to be Jonathan's promised 'A Christmas Carol' ... until Gary realizes they've forgotten 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Until you see these two classics woven together, you may not realize how much alike they are.

Williams has designed a clever, utilitarian set that folds and unfolds. Rebecca Redmond is credited with costume design, and some of the quick changes are quite ingenious. Steve Decker's lighting design and Brad Thompson's sound design also are critical to the play's effectiveness.

And as you leave the Capital Stage theater, you'll definitely be ready for the holiday season ... and you'll likely go about greeting everyone with a cheery 'Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi' ('Merry Christmas,' in Icelandic).