Music Man

Choreographer Ron Cisneros and Costumer Jean Henderson were the clear winners in the new Davis Musical Theater Company production of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man,” under the direction of Steve Isaacson. I am consistently impressed with what Cisneros can do with a mixed group of dancers and non-dancers and make it all look cohesive.

And there are lots of people on stage. Perhaps more than I remember seeing on the DMTC stage before (many of them children of varying sizes from adolescent down to very young). The choreography makes this good show a very good show.

As for Henderson, she must have been seeing stars before she finished the costumes. The 4th of July scene is filled with stars and stripes of all sizes. The whole look of the production is crisp and clean and makes the action on the stage pop.

Add to the excellent choreography and costumes is a solid cast of performers, reuniting many old timers who haven’t worked together in awhile.

Rand Martin may not be the most dynamic Harold Hill you’ll ever see, but he handled the role well, unfortunately flubbing several lines at the performance I saw. But Hill is the traveling salesman you can’t not like and Martin does a good job.

Laura Wardrip is excellent as Marian Paroo, the librarian who is not easily taken in by this stranger who promises to create a boys’ band to prevent the youth of River City, Iowa from being corrupted by the new pool table in town. Wardrip has a lovely voice and she looks beautiful, especially in the gown she dons for the town social.

As Marian’s mother, Lenore Sebastian is first class, with an Irish brogue that sounds authentic to this American ear.

Michael Carey rounds out the Paroo family as Winthrop, the shy young boy with a lisp, still brooding over his father’s death two years before, whose life is changed by Hill and his promises.

Gil Sebastian is a bombastic Mayor Shinn, the master of the malaprop and home grown phrases (“I couldn’t make myself more clear if I were a buttonhook in the well water.”) who only wants his town councilmen to “get that spellbinder’s credentials” and to keep the town hoolligan away from his oldest girl.

As Shinn’s wife, Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, Mary Young has a role to sink her teeth in. She’s awful–but she’s supposed to be and she relishes the chance to sing off key and preen over all of the townspeople.

My one disappointment with the direction or choreography (not sure which was responsible) was for the tableau of Grecian urns done by Eulalie and her women friends. There seemed to be no difference between “one Grecian urn” and “two Grecian urns,” nor did they really create anything that came close to resembling “fountain.” It’s supposed to be bad, but it could have been a little better at being bad.

Marcellus Washburn was Hill’s old buddy from years before, who happens to be in the town when Hill decides to set up shop. He’s Hill’s second banana and there is no better than Paul Fearn. Always reminiscent of Buddy Hackett (who played the role in the movie), Fearn was the perfect choice for this role.

Matt Kohrt is Tommy Djilas, the town hooligan and McKinley Carlisle is Zaneeta Shinn, the mayor’s oldest girl. They make a cute couple.

Rich Kulmann in the small roles of the train conductor and later the town constable had serious projection problems and could barely be heard, something unusual for the veteran Kulmann.

Marc Valdez is appropriately smarmy as Charlie Cowell, the anvil salesman determined to warn the town about Hill before it’s too late.

The town councilmen, Rich Price, Rick Wennstrom, Don Stephenson and Andy Hyun make a great barbershop quartet, though their tempos seemed a bit slow from time to time.

The "Pickalittle Ladies," who fill Professor Hill in on all the gossip about Marian, are irresistible.

Isaacson is credited with scenic design and I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, knowing that things often get done at the last minute and the Isaacsons were called out of town for a death in the family. The backdrop seemed to have no correlation to the show itself and added nothing to the look of the stage except a lot of empty sky and buildings out of proportion with what was supposed to have been Main Street.

But even with all of its little flaws, you have to work really hard to do a bad production of “Music Man” and this one is a delight.

Complete History of America (Abridged)

You'll never think of the national anthem the same way again, after seeing Capital Stage's very funny production of 'The Complete History of America (Abridged).'

The play was written by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company - perhaps better known for 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)' - and is directed by Stephanie Gularte.

This production stars Eric Wheeler, Gary S. Martinez and Jonathan Rhys Williams. The three actors work well together, and their chemistry may be due, in part, to their previous collaboration on 'Every Christmas Story Ever Told,' presented at the Delta King in previous years.

Like Stan Freberg did in his 'Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America' back in the 1960s, Long, Martin and Tichenor adopt a 'take no prisoners' approach while closely examining the country that gave the world 'its first democracy, man on the moon, Mark Twain and 'America's Next Top Model.' '

(The 'first democracy' may not be quite right ... but let it pass.)

Where Freberg chose to start with Columbus and Isabella negotiating the price of sailing ships, Long, Martin and Tichenor begin with Amerigo Vespucci and his wife Sophia, as they debate the value of his world maps.

'I'm trying to make a name for myself,' he tells her.

And then he sets sail to fulfill his dream, 'in a vessel full of dreams, pastrami and cheap wine' ... to the theme from 'Gilligan's Island.'

From there, it's a quick trip - well, two acts - to sorta-kinda the present day, skipping a decade or two because nothing really happened.

You'll hear Betsy Ross (and her sister Diana) explain how the design of the flag happened to be chosen. You'll see witch-hunting Puritans in Massachusetts and the Rev. Feral Orwell, who leads his youthful parishioners in games of Pin the Blame on the Warlocks and (literal) Hangman.

Along the way, the play includes enough to delight (and offend) just about everybody. During the post-production chat with the actors after the show the night we attended, a woman expressed her discomfort with how the script treated Native Americans. Someone else was bothered by the treatment of the assassination of Lincoln. Someone else was offended by the depiction of a female Vietnamese spy (Jo Chi Minh, whose brother's name is Ho).

But it's all in good fun, and nobody is spared the playwrights' barbs, and the end result is hilarious.

Each actor plays many roles and literally wears many hats. Martinez, who did well in the slower, more child-like roles of 'Every Christmas Story,' pulls most of the female roles in this production, and plays them to the hilt.

Paulette Sands-Gilbert (costumes), Michael Coleman (props/set dressing) and the backstage assistants who helped with the quick changes deserve huge credit for this show's success. Without the outlandish costumes and props, it would be a very different experience.

The playwrights premiered 'The Complete History' in 1993, and updated the last half of the second act in 2004, before the Bush-Kerry election.

'Of course, we constantly update the pop culture references,' Tichenor said.

'A number of topical references are in the script. The humor and relevance of these will fade over time, so we encourage each production to change these references, to keep them as up-to-date as possible.'

With that in mind, it's not clear where Long, Martin and Tichenor leave off, and Capital Stage steps in. But the end result is delightful, no matter who wrote it!

The Lion King

There's no doubt about it — "The Lion King" is one impressive spectacle. The opening number alone is worth the price of admission and well deserving of the cheers it elicits from the audience.

The Sacramento Community Theater underwent massive revamping for this touring production of the Tony-award winning version of Walt Disney's popular cartoon. Two new aisles have been created by removing four seats in each row, from the stage to the back of the house, giving room for animals to enter from the back of the theater. Two of the performers also begin the show in the balcony, thus putting the entire audience squarely in the middle of the action.

As the opening number, "Circle of Life," unfolds, sung by the wise old baboon Rafiki (Phindile Mkhize), the stage gradually fills with wildlife. Antelope jump, birds fly, giraffes stroll magnetically, cheetahs walk cautiously, zebras prance, an elephant lumbers onto the stage, followed by her baby, and, as the gigantic sun rises, the audience is transported to some African savannah and the story begins.

The story of "The Lion King," by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, can really be described as "Hamlet on the Savannah": the young prince whose father is murdered by his brother, the son's angst and guilt, the father becoming a larger-than-life figure after death, his ghostly counsel giving the son courage to return to avenge his father, the comic relief characters of Timon and Pumbaa.

But the Shakespeare analogy fades into the background when confronted by such a feast for the senses. "The Lion King" relies more on costume and spectacular lighting design (by Richard Holder) than actual set pieces, and so the show is equally as impressive in a touring company as it was when I saw it in London.

Director Julie Taymor (the first woman in Broadway history to win the Tony award for best director of a musical) also designed the costumes, which are an integral part of this show's appeal. Faced with the task of bringing a cast of animals to life, she chose to make the human actors actually part of the animals themselves, without losing their "humanness." And so it is that animal and human blend together so seamlessly that one is able to believe in the "animalness" of the characters.

This production features an outstanding cast. Dionne Randolph is an imposing Mufasa, the king. He has perfected the slow, rolling moves of a big cat, and his love for his young son is a touching thing to see.

Chaz Marcus Fleming (or Marquis Kofi Rodriguez — which young actor was not specified) was outstanding as young Simba, with lots of high energy, yet convincing in this tender moments with Mufasa.

Andre Jackson, the adult Simba, nicely morphed into a high-energy adolescent, who achieves nobility when he accepts his role and returns to Pride Rock to assume his rightful place as Mufasa's heir.

Timothy Carter as Scar, the lion you love to hate, was appropriately haughty and dislikeable, as were hyenas Andrea Jones, Randy Donaldson and Andrew Frace.

Tony Freeman added comic moments, as Zazu, the king's right hand hornbill. He had some of the funniest lines in the show.

Bob Amaral as Pumbaa the warthog and Mark Shunock as Timon the meerkat were very funny, and were especially valuable in giving some substance to Act 2.

The music by Elton John and Tim Rice has become familiar to anyone with a child of a certain age. The costumes are some of the most ingenious designed for a musical production. And the production values overall are outstanding.

The meat of this show is really in Act 1. It has the best songs and most of the story has been told by the intermission. While Act 2 is necessary to bring things full circle, it has the feel of something that has been padded to the nth degree. It has more of the wonderful choreography of Garth Fagan, and more of those antelope prancing across the stage, but the act seems lackluster in comparison to Act 1. It does, however, have one of the show's most spectacular effects, in the apparition of Mufasa.

"The Lion King" is worth every penny. It's a wonderful night of theater for the entire family.

Rose Colored Glass

The Woodland Opera House's current production of 'Rose Colored Glass' by Janice Goldberg and Woodland-born playwright Susan Bigelow (directed by Jeff Kean) is a show that you want to take to your heart. It's the story of how the plight of an 11-year-old Jewish boy from Austria dissolves the long-time animosity of two women in Chicago in 1938 as they join together to work to find him safe passage from Europe and a home in the United States.

The play has heart, it has pathos, it has three excellent actors. What it lacks is, sadly, a better script. At times it seems overly long. It's not sure whether it's a history lesson or a soap opera. It's not a bad play. It's a play worth seeing. But its problems definitely lie primarily with the script.

Lady O'Riley (Cheri Douglas) runs an Irish pub in Chicago. She's a widow and has run the pub ever since her husband's death. She is also raising her 13-year-old granddaughter Peg (Emily Jo Seminoff), whose ne'er-do-well father abandoned the child on his mother's doorstep after the death of his wife.

Across the alley from the back of O'Riley's pub is the delicatessen of Rose Fleishman (Georgann Wallace). Rose is also a widow, originally from Austria, who left family behind when she and her husband came to the United States.

The two women have never spoken, and their animosity toward each other and their distrust of one another seems strange, but they are both firmly rooted in their own cultures and not willing to interact with someone who seems so 'foreign,' even though their circumstances are so similar.

Young Peg, who acts as the narrator of the piece, is the eternal cock-eyed optimist, determined to get the two women to make friends. She spends a lot of time in Fleishman's delicatessen and obviously has a warm, loving friendship with Rose.

The ultimate breaking down of the barriers between the two women comes, slowly, after Rose receives letters from her sister in Austria, hinting at the problems that Jews are beginning to have. It is a time in this country where there is great apathy on the part of Americans and articles hinting at persecution of Jews are relegated to the back pages of the newspapers.

When Rose receives a disturbing letter from her sister, Peg forces her grandmother to get involved. Slowly the two women strike up a friendship.

The play takes Rose through the maddening world of red tape and closed doors and the world of the bureaucratic 'no.' At one point she gives up completely and has to be convinced by her new friend that miracles still happen. Just when she has all but given up, help comes from a most unlikely source.

Between the brief vignettes over time, Peg steps into the alley to give the audience an explanation or an update. Often these discourses are backed by concentration camp photos or news clips running on the back wall.

I really wanted to like this play, but there were many problems. The parallel story of Lady's son, for example, while perhaps intended as a plot device to bring a degree of commonality to the situation of the two women, was merely distracting, especially since it went nowhere.

Rose's anger as she gives up on this nephew she has tried so hard to save seems unrealistic, when it is her neighbor who is adamant that the woman keep trying to bring the boy to safety.

Lady's refusal to allow Peg to skip school to accompany the women to New York when it seems that all their work is going to come to fruition is completely unbelievable.

There is no difficulty with the three talented actresses. Emily Jo Seminoff has blossomed into an accomplished actress and is enchanting as the ever-positive Peg.

Cheri Douglas is, according to her biography, 'making her debut in professional theater.' If this is her debut, it holds the promise of a wonderful career, as she beautifully walked that tightrope between stubborn Irish woman and warm-hearted friend.

Georgann Wallace, veteran of several Woodland Opera House productions, gives an emotional performance as Rose and makes the audience feel her anguish and her frustration over the plight of her family.

After World War II, the cry became 'never again!' Never again would the world sit back and do nothing while millions of people were being slaughtered. In an age where that is precisely what is happening in places like Darfur and Rwanda, 'Rose Colored Glass' is an important reminder of the human faces behind genocide. I just wish the script had been better crafted.

The Beaux' Stratagem

What can you say about the unlikely trio George Farquhar (1677-1707), Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) and Ken Ludwig (1950- )? They are all responsible, along with director Emily Henderson, for bringing lots of fun and belly laughs to the Art Center stage at the Acme Theatre Company's annual (free) spring show.

Farquhar wrote the classic Restoration comedy, 'The Beaux' Stratagem' in 1707. In 1939, it was partially adapted by Thornton Wilder (an Acme favorite playwright), but abandoned with the outbreak of World War II. In 2000, Wilder's 57-page manuscript was rediscovered and, with the permission of the Wilder estate, Ken Ludwig ('Lend Me a Tenor,' 'Sullivan and Gilbert,' etc.) completed the work.

This very funny comedy tells the story of Jack Archer (Torin Lusebrink) and Tom Aimwell (Andrew Lampinen), two men who, having squandered their respective fortunes, are now out looking for rich women to marry. They move from town to town, playing nobleman and servant (switching roles when they switch towns).

When they reach the town of Lichfield, Tom finds himself falling in love with the lovely Dorinda (Kathleen Johnston), who lives with her brother Squire Sullen (Geoffrey Albrecht), who is always drunk and abusive toward his wife Kate (Vivian Breckenridge).

The three live in the home of Lady Bountiful (Lila Hunt), who fancies herself a healer and who ministers to the sick of the town, but doesn't have a clue what she's doing and so botches 'treatment' that nobody will come to her for treatment again.

Tom and Jack settle in at the inn run by Boniface (Kevin Deacon), whose own daughter Cherry (Hope Raymond) is much attracted to both Tom and Jack, but fears they are highwaymen, come to burglarize Lady Bountiful's house.

They share their fears with Gloss (Sean Olivares), a military captain, who is, in reality, the leader of a gang of highwaymen, who use the inn as a place to stash their goods.

Needless to say, with all these plot elements in play and the deft hand of director Henderson at work, many hijinks ensue in this fast-paced farce.

There are also some outstanding performances. It has been a pleasure watching the development of Lusebrink, who is at home on the stage as an actor and whose rubbery body works well for slapstick humor.

Raymond, likewise, continues to get better and better and she sparkles in this production.

Olivares is always a delight and does particularly well in roles like that of Gloss, where he can chew the scenery and make it work.

Breckenridge grows into her role as the play progresses and her interactions with Lusebrink are wonderful.

Lila Hunt is entertaining as the ditzy would-be doctor, whose solution for most ailments is amputation.

Albrecht does an outstanding job as the perennially drunk Squire Sullen.

In the smaller roles of Hounslow and Bagshot, Delany Pelz and Danielle Wogulis are very funny.

In her program notes, Henderson comments that 'somewhere during our design process, the 1980s crept into the staging of the show.' This would be in the interlude music (e.g., Madonna!) which inspires some marvelously funny dance numbers. I assume they are superfluous to the original script, but are traditionally Acme and work beautifully.

Costumes by Raymond are over the top Restoration Comedy, particularly the ladies' oversized hoop skirts. I don't know if Raymond also was responsible for makeup design or if it was a group decision, but the painted and decorated faces are marvelous.

Hanna May is credited with set design, which consists of three arches that are moved around in different ways to represent the inn or several rooms in Lady Bountiful's house. Though there is a certain sameness to them, the signs carried on by members of the ensemble (themselves short, funny vignettes) let us know immediately - well, almost immediately - where we are.

Ryan Lagerstrom is the sound designer and, with all those dance numbers, sound plays an important part and was executed flawlessly.

Acme has pulled off another delightful evening of entertainment. You'll laugh and you'll thoroughly enjoy yourselves ... and it's all for free, so you can't go wrong no matter what!

Midsummer Night's Dream

On the off chance that you might be tempted to leave the UC Davis Arboretum's Wyatt Deck before the final bow from the cast members of Studio 301's wonderful production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' don't do it ... or you'll miss one of the most delightful parts of the show.

And I won't spoil the surprise by telling you why.

Studio 301 is the only student-run theater group on the UCD campus that is dedicated to producing full-length plays.

This year's production is Shakespeare's charming fantasy, and choosing the Wyatt Deck - across the street from Wyatt Pavilion, smack dab in the middle of the redwood grove - as a venue was inspired. Who needs sets, when your audience already is surrounded by redwood trees?

In fact, the show's sole 'set' is two boxes on which characters sit at various times.

As the play opens, fairies climb onto the stage from the Arboretum below. Peaseblossom (Kellie Peake), Mustardseed (Ashley Bargenquast) and Cobweb (Fumni Alabi) emit somewhat annoying bird-like chirps and cackles as they communicate with each other throughout the show, but their interpretations are captivating.

The play tells several stories, each of which occurs during a single summer night in a magical forest outside Athens, where fairies play pranks on lovesick mortals, earnest youths endure comical romantic confusion, and some 'mechanics' attempt to rehearse a play in secret.

Director Steph Hankinson has updated her play to the forests of Appalachia in the 1910s. David Lutheran and Katie Walton, as Thesius (the Duke of Athens) and Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Thesius), direct the evening's events, with their request to Philostrate (Chrisy Moore) to arrange entertainment for their upcoming nuptials.

These three actors assume two roles each, with Lutheran and Walton also playing Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies, and Moore also appearing as Puck. Moore is a particularly mischievous Puck, and wears an ingenious costume designed by Elizabeth Burciaga - who deserved better credit in the program, which merely lists her bio among those of the performers - which permits her to slip easily from one character to the other.

Plans are interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Egeus (Kris Ide), a nobleman requesting help in forcing his daughter, Hermia (Katelyn Hempstead), to marry Demetrius (Brendan Ward), the husband of his choosing; Hermia, alas, is in love with Lysander (Michael Lutheran).

To further complicate things, Hermia's friend Helena (Cody Messick) is in love with Demetrius. All this sets the stage for twists and turns that develop over the course of the story.

Hermia and Lysander flee Athens and head into the woods, intending to be married at the home of his aunt. They're followed by Demetrius, determined to win Hermia's hand, and Helena, determined to win the hand of Demetrius.

The mechanics are rehearsing in the woods, under the direction of Quince: a delightful interpretation by Alison Stevenson. Her four actors include Nick Bottom (Daniel Guttenberg), the weaver, who plays Pyramus in the troupe's production of 'Pyramus and Thisbe,' and who later is turned into a donkey by Puck.

Guttenberg is outstanding as Bottom, who is full of advice and self- confidence, but makes silly mistakes and misuses language. Instead of the traditional donkey's head, he merely sports donkey ears, which makes him a mere oddity rather than the bizarre half-man/half donkey one expects.

Heidi Kendrick is Flute, a young man who argues against appearing as the very feminine Thisbe. Kevin Ganger is Starveling, a stereotypical backwoodsman who'd rather whittle than perform; Kristina Stasi is Snout, the tinker, who also plays the Wall.

This group of mechanics is right out of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou,' with their stumbling backwoods manners. The scene at the Wall is decidedly unique ... and I'll leave it at that!

This 'Midsummer Night's Dream' is a delicious piece of merriment: a nice diversion on a warm summer's evening. Take the night off and go romping with a bunch of fairies in this actual and magical forest.

Saving One at a Time

(Feature article)

In 1939, Americans were watching "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone with the Wind." They weren't paying much attention to the little articles at the back of the newspaper about some guy named Adolf Hitler, who was invading Poland.

"We had the Dust Bowl to deal with, and immigrant labor and other American issues, and somehow Europe was far away," explained Woodland playwright Susan Bigelow, as we discussed her play, "Rose Colored Glass," which opens Friday at the Woodland Opera House.

"Even though the newspapers printed bits and pieces about invading Poland, and putting Jews and gypsies in concentration camps, it was small pieces. We didn't notice until we started to win the war, and by that time 6 million were gone."

The play, co-written by Bigelow and Janice Goldberg, looks at the Holocaust from the point of view of two American women of very different backgrounds, who are drawn to the events happening in Europe the way many of us first become involved in a cause: because they care about one person affected by these events.

"We tell the Holocaust from one point of view, from this side of the ocean," Bigelow explained. " 'Rose Colored Glass' is the story of two women who lived on opposite ends of an alley: one Irish, one Jewish, each stereotypes of their individual heritages."

The two widows haven't spoken in years, but their disparate worlds in 1938 Chicago are about to collide. One woman's 13-year-old granddaughter, Peg, is determined that these two mistrustful widows will become friends.

"Suddenly they have something to fight for: to get a young Jewish boy to the United States, safe and sound."

In many ways, the friendship of Lady O'Reily, who runs an Irish pub, and Rose Fleischman, who owns a Jewish delicatessen, mirrors the friendship of Bigelow and Goldberg themselves.

Bigelow moved to Woodland when she was in the second grade, and she lived in Woodland through high school. She went away to college and subsequently ran a little theater in Eureka, which produces original works by American playwrights.

She submitted a play to a women's festival. ("I'd been a playwright for a long time," she said.) As a result of that submission, she met Goldberg, a native New Yorker, who ended up directing Bigelow's play in that city.

"I went to see the play," Bigelow recalled, "and we became pals."

Bigelow invited Goldberg to Eureka, to visit her theater. Goldberg liked what she saw, and expressed interest in directing a play there sometime. "Sometime" turned into a 12-year stint, as she returned to Eureka year after year, as a guest director.

But that came later. Bigelow still remembers her first trip to New York, to meet Goldberg.

"I was visiting New York, and she was taking me around. It was my first time in the city, and I was with a native New Yorker. She kept looking behind to make sure I didn't get lost!"

"Rose Colored Glass" arose out of that meeting, as both wondered if two women of quite different backgrounds could become best friends, if they had enough interests in common.

The play debuted in New York in 2007, where it ran for about six weeks and was picked up by the Samuel French Publishing Company. It then was performed by theater groups all over the country.

Bigelow explained that years of study about the Holocaust have put her on a soapbox, with respect to what happened to 6 million Jews during World War II.

"We don't do that in the play," she assured me.

"But," she added, "people to this day still believe the Holocaust was a hoax. I understand why denial is a great thing, if you don't want to believe it happened. But the sad thing is that we're repeating it. Genocide is genocide, and I can't believe we're ignoring the lessons of the past again and again in places like Rwanda and Darfur."

That said, she again hastened to insist that this play is not a "holocaust piece"; it doesn't try to hit people over the head with a message. Lady and Rose simply try to get a young man across the ocean, so he doesn't wind up in a concentration camp.

"It deals with the early American apathy toward what was happening in Europe. The little articles in the back of the newspaper need to be noticed. They often blossom into something bigger."

In the end, for the women in this play, it's about one boy: their boy.

"To them, probably, the other 6 million are an abstract concept.

"But when you come down to that one boy — a boy for whom you're making a jacket, and finding a job, and getting a visa — it becomes very personal.

"I don't know what 6 million means," Bigelow admitted.

"But people can grasp one person."

Oklahoma!

Saturday evening's Mondavi Center audience had the opportunity to witness a bit of Broadway.

No, it wasn't an actual traveling Broadway show, but a UC Davis production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma!' that easily would have been at home on a New York stage.

The production's professional quality is due not only to a talented cast, but also to a host of behind-the-scenes contributors, starting with director/choreographer Mindy Cooper, a former Broadway dancer, choreographer and director. Cooper keeps the direction lively, entertaining and spirited, with nary a dead or a slow spot from start to finish.

The story is set in the Oklahoma territory - in 1906, the days just before statehood - and touches ever so lightly on the ongoing feud between farmers and cattlemen. This quarrel definitely takes a back seat to the story of cattleman Curly McLain, who is in love with Laurey Williams, who lives on a farm with her Aunt Eller and the hired man, Jud Fry. Jud has his eye on Laurey; she, in turn, is sweet on Curly.

Tristan Rumery is a perfect Curly. He's tall and lanky, and has the look of a young cowman. He's ill at ease around Laurey (Emma Goldin), but their camaraderie is easy and teasing, and their unspoken love is obvious. Rumery, one of the production's few nonstudents, has a beautiful voice; he sets the tone for the entire show with his opening number, 'Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.'

Goldin has a strong, melodic soprano, and she fills Laurey with the glow of an adolescent in the flush of her first love. She is flirtatious but vulnerable, and a little afraid of all these new sensations.

Allison Minick isn't afraid at all as the hormone-charged Ado Annie, who falls for anybody who will 'talk pretty' to her ('I Can't Say No!'). Minick is delightful.

Annie sets her sights on a traveling peddler, Ali Hakim (Timothy Orr), who makes the mistake of flirting with her and now is stuck with a girl who mistakes his sweet talk for a desire to marry. Orr is wonderful in this role, and he shines in one of the show's lesser-known songs ('It's a Scandal! It's an Outrage!').

The heart of 'Oklahoma!' is Laurey's Aunt Eller (Hope Mirlis), around whom most of the farm activity centers. Mirlis is a feisty Eller, dancin' up a storm with the farmhands, but also present to deliver wise advice when anybody needs it.

The story's dark side comes from the farmhand Jud (Brett Duggan), a loner who lives in a shack down by the smokehouse, where his unrequited love for Laurey can fester. Duggan, a professional comedian in real life, becomes larger than life here: grim and menacing. In his 'Lonely Room,' we glimpse the depths of his anger at those who have kept him on the outside all his life.

Jon Shaffer is adorable as Will Parker, a wide-eyed kid just returned from Kansas City, where he has seen marvelous things that he's eager to share ('Kansas City'). He's not too bright: a man who rides bucking broncos in order to win $50 so he can marry the girl of his dreams ... and then spends all the money on gifts for her, instead of bringing home the cash.

The dance numbers, choreographed by Cooper and Joe Bowerman, are genuine high points. There's nothing quite like seeing an ensemble of cowboys dancing up a storm, or twirling a pretty gal around the big hole in the stage where the orchestra sits.

It's worth noting that traditional productions of 'Oklahoma!' employ substitute dancers for Laurey and Curley during a dream ballet sequence, but here Goldin and Rumery do their own dancing. This adds a special element to the show.

Special mention must be made of lighting designer Tony Shayne, whose Oklahoma skies are breathtaking in spots, and scenic designer Josh Steadman, who creates a perfect farmhouse, and whose seamless set changes are of professional quality.

Costume designer Nancy Pipkin gives a good sense of the era, and the shocking pink on Ado Annie enhances her character nicely.

This 'Oklahoma!' is an outstanding production, and seeing the year's 'big show' on the Mondavi stage is a particular treat.

O What a Beautiful Morning

Lots of whooping and hollering and energy bounced off the walls of the rehearsal space in UC Davis' Hickey Gym Tuesday evening.

The source was a music/dance rehearsal for the upcoming production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma!,' which opens Saturday at the Mondavi Center's Jackson Hall. Boots stomped, cowboy hats flew, petticoats swirled and cowboys performed backflips in the air.

'I'm actually a gymnast, so that's why I'm doing the backflips,' explained Mark Curtis Ferrando, one of the two airborne dancers.

While the men danced, the women, in a sea of white petticoats, sat on the floor with books or laptops, waiting for their turn. Emma Goldin - playing Laurie in this production - limbered up on the practice barre; Brett Duggan, a dark and brooding Jud Fry, sat in a corner and looked dark and brooding.

Earlier in the evening, I had met with director Mindy Cooper. Lots of whooping, hollering and energy bounced off the walls there, as well, as her 5-year-old twins chased each other around the interview room.

'They've grown up backstage,' Cooper explained, saying that their first experience with theater was at 6 months of age, when she choreographed the Broadway production of 'Dracula,' and the babies came to all the rehearsals.

'It's divine to introduce kids to theater.'

In a way, she's following in the footsteps of her own mother, who directed a high school musical while Cooper played in the prop box.

Cooper, the UCD theater and dance department's current Granada artist-in-residence, got involved with musical theater through the back door.

'I came up as a performer through the ballet world, and not through summer stock. I really came up as a dancer, and I got my Equity card to join a Broadway show, which isn't how you usually do things.'

The Baltimore-born Cooper attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, quitting at 18 to join a dance company.

'I joined the Kansas City Ballet and then decided I didn't want to be a big fish in a little pond, and so I moved to New York.'

She danced for some well-known dance companies in the Big Apple, and was dancing with Twyla Tharp when that legend disabled her company.

'I thought, what do I want to do now?' Cooper recalled.

'What bubbled up, from that time in my life, was I remembered that when I was 16, I couldn't wait to get my driver's license. I wanted to get into the car, roll up the windows and sing every show tune that I knew.

'I thought, 'I've done a lot of comedic and dramatic roles in the ballet world, and maybe I need to sort of take it to the next step and use words.' I was really lucky and had a lot of good breaks, and learned a lot in a very short time, about doing more than dancing on stage.'

Her first Broadway show, 'Song and Dance,' was the perfect segue. In the first act, Bernadette Peters sang; in the second act, the dancers danced, and sang one song at the finale.

Cooper discovered that she loved working in musical theater, but she wanted more than the hurried Broadway rehearsal schedule. She began assisting other choreographers, in order to be more involved with the creative process.

'Then, one day, I realized I no longer was a very good assistant, because I was having my own ideas. So I started choreographing, and I still was performing, and then choreographing led to directing.'

Cooper came to Davis to direct 'Urinetown' in 2007, and enjoyed the experience.

'I had an incredible time working a situation that isn't 'time is money.' In New York, everything is 'chop chop,' and there isn't a lot of play time.'

She also enjoyed the collaborative process of the university setting.

'To me, theater is the most wonderful, ultimate collaboration, and I had a really good time here. For 'Urinetown,' a lot of my collaborators were professors, but I also worked with student designers.'

Because the experience was such a success, she was invited back to direct 'Oklahoma!' ... but was it the right show for her?

Thanks to Cooper's unusual background, she never had done a Rodgers & Hammerstein play, but - coincidentally - she had just directed a Bay Area show called 'Musical of Musicals, the Musical,' for which she won several awards.

'I did a lot of research on a lot of Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, and I fell madly in love with them in the process. I sat and read 'Oklahoma!'

'I know that we need more hope in the world, and it really spoke to me on that level.'

*******

The admiration between Cooper and her cast is mutual.

'I love my cast,' she said. 'We decided to open auditions to the community, knowing a lot is asked for this show; the talent pool needed to be wide. I did not want to have singers sing and then dancers dance, which was what you did when the show was created in the 1940s: The singing chorus sang, then they brought in the dancers.

'I also wanted to have our leads do their own dancing in the dream ballet. I knew that I wanted a lot of great performers: triple threats. We shook the trees: I think it's very well cast.

'My husband makes fun of me, saying 'You fell in love with your cast,' but you have to. You fall in love with every cast.'

Goldin, a UCD senior in religious studies, minoring in music, admitted that 'Oklahoma!' has been her favorite since she was a little girl. She was part of the cast of 'Urinetown' and is happy to work with Cooper again.

'The best thing about working with Mindy is that she doesn't treat us like students; she treats us like adults, like any other production, because she wants it to be good.'

The cast all liked their assignment to create back-stories for their characters.

'We sat down early in the process,' Cooper said, 'and I gave them all names. Knowing that there is some shyness at the beginning of a rehearsal, I set up duets and trios, and then they wrote their back-stories. It gives me a grid to build on: There are a lot of incredible, beautiful, intricate stories.

'These are brainy kids, and they did their homework.'

David Green decided that his character is Benjamin Franklin Bartlett Jr.

'I took the name because I had a great, great grandfather who was named Benjamin Franklin Moore, and so I figured it would be a fun way to use his name.'

Green explained his character's back-story: After the man's first wife died, he moved out west and remarried in Oklahoma Territory.

'My name was mentioned in the script: that's how famous I was. Apparently, there was a Bartlett farm that burned down somewhere, and that actually was my uncle. His barn burned down after they discovered oil on the land, suspiciously enough. So I just take care of the farm.

'My parents are both dead, so I take care of the farm, and I'm madly in love with Miss Helen. She doesn't return my affections, but I'm confident that I can win her over with persistence.'

Mark Ferrando's wide-eyed enthusiasm is ideal for his own character's back-story.

'My character's name is Fred Kelly; he's a cowboy from Kansas. He's the youngest cowboy. He's about 17, and so he's exploring Oklahoma because he thinks he can stake land there ... but he didn't pay attention in school, so he didn't know that the land stake happened long before he arrived.

'He's ignorant, but he's young and all ready to go.'

*******

'This play is all about hope,' Cooper said, 'and I'm delighted to have a lot of hope in my life.'

Hope has been very important to her, particularly this year. She was diagnosed with cancer while directing a show at the Lesher Center, in Walnut Creek. She went through surgery, radiation and chemotherapy here in California, while her husband and friends commuted from New York to support her.

Her last radiation treatment took place two weeks before rehearsals for 'Oklahoma!' began. Knowing that the show was coming up helped her get through the difficult parts of her treatment.

'It was great for me to do pre-production when I didn't feel good, to give myself something to focus on,' she said. 'I love my work. I've always been very blessed to do what I love for a living. It was really great to know I had something to get out of bed for. By nature, I'm a hopeful optimist, and I don't necessarily look with rose-colored glasses, but it has been incredibly uplifting to work on this piece in my life.

'And isn't that great how art and nature collide?

'The life lessons in this piece are so beautiful. Aunt Eller has two moments that will knock your socks off. The message of the piece speaks very loudly to me. There are no accidents: Things come into our lives at the right time, and I believe this show came into my life now for this reason.

'And to just work with these incredibly wonderful students ... it's fresh and honest; there's not a lot of game playing. It's been incredibly refreshing, in a lot of ways.

'I'm a lucky girl.'

*******

I left Hickey Gym and stopped for dinner at a nearby restaurant. When I emerged, the sun had turned the sky pink. While walking up A Street to my car, from somewhere in the background I heard a male voice singing, 'Oklahoma ... where wind comes sweeping down the plain...'

Seconds later, I was passed by two guys on bikes - wearing cowboy boots and cowboy hats - singing the song at top volume, as they pedaled up the street.

This, I thought at that moment, will be a great show.

Fits and Parts: My Life in Stages

This is a difficult time for theater across the country. Many previously reliable sources for donations have dried up and with the economy in the shape it’s in, patrons aren’t going out to see live theater as much right now. Most of the local area theater companies are struggling to find inventive ways to stay afloat.

Sacramento Theater Company was scheduled to end its 2008-2009 season with “Noises Off,” a rollicking comedy about what it’s really like to put on a show. It’s a big show that takes a huge set and costs a lot to produce. But the money wasn’t there to produce it. According to Artistic Director Peggy Shannon, in comments made to a pre-show audience, funds scheduled to be available during the summer will allow for the show to open the 2009-2010 season, but cancellation of “Noises Off” left a big hole in the current season.

The ever-inventive Shannon turned to resident actor and long-time STC favorite Matt K. Miller and asked if he would be willing to write and perform a one-man show about the journey of his life as an actor, and the circuitous route he took to Sacramento and to STC. Miller agreed and some 3-4 weeks later, the final draft of “Fits and Parts: My Life in Stages” was approved.

The show opened Saturday night to what had to have been a disappointingly small crowd, but those who were there laughed heartily, clapped loudly, and gave Miller a standing ovation at the conclusion of the 90 minute piece.

One of the most fun things a theater goer can do is to sit and listen to other theater folks reminisce about their experiences. Many of America’s most beloved performers made a good living after their movie careers were behind them by going out and sharing the stories of their careers with fans. Actors like Gregory Peck, Gene Kelly, and Cary Grant did it. Elaine Stritch turned her memories into a Broadway show, “Elaine Stritch at Liberty,” which was a smash hit in New York and in London.

Theater folks know how to entertain and how to tell a good story, and Matt K. Miller knows how to tell a good story.

He talks of growing up as the youngest of five in a Catholic family where he quickly learned how to get the attention of adults, and credits his Mom with being his best audience, even when he was misbehaving.

He talks about Catholic school and how much he enjoyed being an altar boy because it was like giving a performance, where the altar served as his stage, he wore a costume, and used the bells rung during the Mass as a prop.

He talks about first paying gig and his years in Chicago doing “Shear Madness,” America’s longest running play. He was able to come and go from the play, depending on when he had other gigs, and over several years played all of the male roles.

He likens his years in Los Angeles to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. While in LA he discovered a talent for doing voice overs and was much in demand for translations of Anime. (The Internet Movie Database lists nearly 50 cartoons for which he has done voice-overs).

Finally, in the fourth of his four stages, he talks about meeting Peggy Shannon and the circumstances that led him to Sacramento, where he has met the love of his life, married, and is now raising an 18 month old son. (When asked at the Q&A following the show what advice he would give his son, should the boy want to go into show business, he quipped “double knot your shoe laces and make sure your fly is zipped.”)

In the traditional pre-show talk, Shannon refuses to talk about what the audience will hear in Miller’s 90 minute monologue and, in truth, to discuss it more than peripherally would ruin the surprise of taking the journey with Miller, but suffice it to say that it is a sparkling, witty delight from start to finish.

Jesus Christ Superstar

Musical theater has a tradition known as the '11th hour number.'

It comes about midway through the second act, when the audience may be getting tired of sitting for so long. It may be bright and funny, or emotionally stirring. It's designed to make you sit up and start tapping your toes, or perhaps whisper 'Wow!' to your companion.

If a show isn't doing well, the 11th hour number can make you forget all the bad stuff that came before.

The 11th hour number in the Davis Musical Theatre Company production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera, 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' is 'Herod's Song.' Paul Fearn's Herod - dressed in an outlandish zoot suit that must be seen to be believed, and backed by a colorful assortment of dancers - easily steals the show.

Following tradition, 'Herod's Song' actually marks a turning point and seems to rouse everybody on stage.

This is one of the things to like in this production, which covers Jesus' life from Palm Sunday to his crucifixion.

Steve Isaacson's direction is satisfactory and appropriate: The action takes place on an essentially bare stage with a platform, all in front of the onstage orchestra, which has been let out of the pit. The production has some beautiful moments, such as the Last Supper and the final tableau, which is breathtaking.

Rand Martin's choreography is delightful; all the ensemble numbers work and are executed quite well. The Palm Sunday number, 'Hosanna,' is a lot of fun.

Jean Henderson's costumes always enchant, and she has outdone herself with Herod and his entourage.

The chorus members are well rehearsed and sound quite good, and we're willing to forgive the fact that most of the Apostles are female.

Some of the minor players are excellent. Eimi Stokes draws great applause as Simon, in 'Simon Zealotes.' Adam Sartain's Annas is noteworthy, and Andy Hyun (Caiaphas) has a marvelous bass voice ... although the music occasionally dips too low even for him.

Tony Osladil is memorable as the anguished Pontius Pilate, who wants to wash his hands of the whole business - 'If this man is harmless, why does he upset you?' - but ultimately is forced to send Jesus to his death.

All that said, this show's success rests on the big three: Jesus of Nazareth, Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene.

Judas is falling apart, because he fears that this man he has followed and loved is becoming a stranger, and is being influenced by the adulation of the crowds. Judas also is concerned about the deepening relationship between Jesus and Mary, a woman of questionable virtue.

Judas comes to believe the only way he can stop what he sees happening, is to collaborate with the enemies of Jesus and assist in his capture.

I've wrestled with how to handle my commentary about Judas. Given that this is community theater, with a volunteer cast of amateurs - people doing this for the love of it - it may be best to give this particular actor the benefit of the doubt, and hope that I caught him at a bad time.

The opening night performance was so bad that I've decided not to embarrass the actor by publishing his name.

I imagine this is what Jesus would have done, under similar circumstances.

I wanted so badly for this actor to be good ... or at least to get better, as the show progressed after its excruciatingly painful opening number. But he didn't, and it hurt to listen to him, although he certainly put heart and soul into the character's anguish.

David Holmes' Jesus is best during his quiet moments. His voice is beautiful and controlled, but during the more intense scenes he tends to shriek, often winding up off-key. Holmes did, however, improve throughout the opening night performance.

One can only hope, as he settles into the role, that he'll control his musical emotional outbursts as well as he handles his tender moments. He obviously has the ability to do so.

Emily Cannon-Brown makes a lovely Mary Magdalene, obviously in love with Jesus, but not certain how to handle a relationship with this man, the likes of whom she never has encountered. Sadly, Cannon-Brown also tends to be shrill, and she occasionally wanders off-key during her songs' most emotional moments.

Actually, even the technical end of things seemed not quite ready on opening night, with a body microphone or two that went off and on with irritating regularity, and some steps that initially weren't anchored; I worried every time someone used them.

All told, this show is uneven. I'm hard-pressed to say whether the good outweighs the bad. If Holmes can better modulate his more intense moments, he and Fearn (Herod) would make this 'Jesus Christ Superstar' worth seeing.

And let's just hope Judas improves as the run continues.

Frost / Nixon

"Frost/Nixon," the Tony Award-winning new play by Peter Morgan, which continues through Sunday at the Sacramento Community Theater as part of the Broadway Series, has been touring the country and playing similarly large venues.

One must ask why.

While the cast does include 11 roles, this is essentially a two-person play; even with the help of a giant multi-section TV screen hanging above the stage, the drama cries out for a more intimate setting.

The timing of the play's appearance also is odd, given the recent release of the highly touted film adaptation, which starred the original Broadway cast. This may have accounted for the smaller than usual audience at Sacramento's opening-night performance.

All that said, there's no denying that this production of "Frost/Nixon" is a compelling drama, and well worth seeing.

Morgan's play tells of the 1977 interviews between talk show host David Frost (Alan Cox) and almost-but-not-quite impeached President Richard Nixon (Stacy Keach).

Through narration, Jim Reston (Brian Sgambati), a journalist who spent years methodically documenting Nixon's crimes, sets up the background. The story begins with Frost, a talk show host whose popularity had declined in the United States and who was, at the time of Nixon's 1974 resignation, hosting a chat show in Australia.

Three years later, Frost contacted Nixon's people to request an interview. Nixon's publicist, Swifty Lazar (Stephen Rowe), convinced the former president to accept Frost's offer of $600,000; Nixon Chief of Staff Jack Brennan (Ted Koch) set up the terms. The two men met for a series of interviews.

While the meat of this play concerns the interviews themselves, much of the nearly two hours (no intermission) is spent on details concerning the planning of the interview. Frost recruited Reston and ABC news producer Bob Zelnick (Bob Ari) to comb through all the available information surrounding the Watergate scandal, resulting in the discovery of a conversation between Nixon and Charles Colston: a dialogue that proved the president had obstructed justice.

When the two men finally meet, the interviews have the atmosphere of a boxing match, with each man in his own corner, his own crew on hand to advise and primp between rounds. Nixon, having learned the ins and outs of television, is acutely aware of his "sweating problem" and is careful about where to hide the handkerchief he'll use to wipe the sweat that he knows will make him look guilty.

Cox brings an airy charm to the role of Frost, the quintessential talk show host. By the end of the play, it seems blatantly obvious that the admissions he elicits from Nixon stem from Frost's experience on the talk show circuit, and his intuition about people. He allows long silences for Nixon to fill, for example.

One wonders, all these years later, if the interviews would have been as successful if the questioner been someone as hard-hitting as Mike Wallace (who also requested an interview with the former president).

Stacy Keach's Nixon is, without question, the play's highlight. He does not attempt to look like the former president, or copy Nixon's distinctive speech patterns. Yet Keach has the mannerisms down, and we quickly accept him in the role. His strength as Nixon grows as the play progresses, and may hit its peak during a late-night telephone call (apparently invented for effect) the president makes to Frost, the night before the final portion of the interview.

At this moment, Nixon finally reveals his sense of insecurity.

During the final interview, Frost slips into the driver's seat and becomes the hard-hitting reporter his handlers wanted him to be all along. Close-ups on the overhead screen show a subject — Nixon — brought face to face with the proof of his complicity, and a realization of what he had done to the country.

The moment is masterful.

Last week's audience was smaller than usual for opening night, which is a shame; this powerful piece of theater deserves to be seen.

DMTC at 25

At 2 a.m. on March 2, 1984, Jan Isaacson woke husband Steve and told him it was time to start a family.

That's not exactly what she said, but after interviewing a number of people involved with the Davis Musical Theatre Company over the past 25 years, it's clear that this was what she meant ... whether or not she realized it at the time.

What she actually said was that they'd get up in the morning and start a musical theater company.

'It's going to involve kids, adults and senior citizens. We're only going to do musicals, and it's going to be called Davis Musical Theatre.'

Never one to argue, Steve said OK and went back to sleep. In the morning, they put the wheels in motion.

The seeds of this idea were planted back in 1973 at Miami Dade Junior College, where a painfully shy Steve was playing drum in a band. A clarinet player from Brooklyn introduced herself, stole his drum sticks and ran away.

'I thought, 'This must be flirting,' ' said Steve, who proposed to Jan three days later.

Steve was working on obtaining his master's degree in music, while teaching at Larry White Music School in Hialeah. Jan was an art major at Florida International University.

But they were miserable in Florida.

'I was sitting home one Saturday morning, just hating life and looking at the giant palmetto bugs - which are like dates with legs - and I said I gotta get outta here,' Steve remembered.

Then, by accident, he saw a news report about this little town in California that was 'doing something about air pollution.' Steve remembers being impressed by how young then-mayor Bob Black was.

Steve and Jan packed all their belongings into a VW squareback and headed for California. Jan had never been farther west than Pennsylvania. Their welcome to Davis was punctuated when the car's third gear went out, as they drove beneath the train bridge into the downtown area.

Steve soon joined a band playing at Central Park during the weekly Farmers' Market. Then he was called and asked to play drums for a production of 'Dames at Sea,' being mounted by West of Broadway. He agreed, and Jan helped back stage.

Just like that, they were set on a course that eventually would plunge them headlong into creating a Davis theater group dedicated to modern musicals.

1984 was, I vividly recall, a golden age of theater in Davis. My family was involved in the theater scene, and my husband Walt remembers an impressive nine to 10 shows performed during a 10-month span by the Davis Comic Opera Company, KMA Productions, the Davis Players, West of Broadway, and the Sunshine Children's Theater.

But Jan believed that Davis really needed 'a musical theater group that produces large-scale, family entertainment.' She also felt that ticket prices should be low: 'No more than $5. Why have ticket prices so high that nobody comes?'

'What we need,' she told Davis Enterprise entertainment editor Del McColm, 'is a musical that will have half the town acting on stage, and the other half applauding in the audience.'

People were invited to attend an organizational meeting.

'I said that if nobody shows up, we're not doing this,' Steve recalled.

But people did show up. Obviously, folks were interested in the new theater company.

They decided to start big, with a production of 'Peter Pan.' That debut show was directed by Bob Baxter, who had directed for Music Circus; music direction was handled by Jim Arnold, lead singer of The Four Lads.

My daughter, Jeri, was the stage manager; she remembers a lot of problems. The production had four large, heavy sets ... and almost no tech crew. For the most part, the cast members served as de facto tech crew, but that presented some difficulties during Act 3, while everyone was singing on stage. Behind the curtain, the set had to be changed from the bulky pirate ship back to the heavy pieces that made up the nursery ... in less than three minutes.

Jeri begged friends to come to the theater and help, because so few hands were available.

Walt also remembers that the opening night performance began while people still were building Act 3's pirate ship on the Veterans' Memorial Theater loading dock.

'You could hear Skilsaw noises in the theater,' he laughed.

The fledgling company was navigating some growing pains.

*******

For its second show, DMTC chose 'The King and I.' Lady Thiang was played by Mary Young, whose most recent performance with DMTC was last year's 'The Sound of Music.'

Young had performed with Sacramento's Music Circus and, since she lived in Roseville, never expected to audition for a show in Davis. But she had worked with choreographer Ron Cisneros; when she learned he would be doing DMTC's 'The King and I,' she followed him.

Daughter Wendy was in the fourth grade at the time, and she literally grew up with DMTC.

'She was one of the children in 'King and I,' ' Young said, 'and I remember washing black hair dye out of her blond hair.'

Young also remembers when DMTC moved from the Veterans' Memorial Center into a small theater they built in the Davis Commerce Park on Second Street, near Sudwerk ... and being escorted out to the Port A Potties during evening rehearsals.

Walt still winces over the barber chair he designed for the first production of 'Sweeney Todd.'

'The chair had to collapse, so people could go down a slide after they were killed. I tested it with our son Tom, who was about 14 years old at the time, and it worked fine. But then we took it into the theater and put Vince DiCarlo in it. He was a big guy, and when we tried to collapse the chair, it didn't budge.

'I had to completely rebuild it.'

Rich and Julie Kulmann, who also still perform with DMTC, joined the company in 1988. Julie became part of the ensemble for 'Carousel,' and Rich came along with the next show, 'Fiddler on the Roof.' Both also have served on the company's board of directors.

Julie caught pneumonia during one production, and had to be taken to the hospital.

'Charlotte French saw me come off stage after the final number, and wouldn't let me go on for the curtain call,' she said. Julie recalls all the company members who visited her in the hospital, and being able to get into costume and make the final curtain call for the last performance.

'People were so caring,' Rich added.

Julie glows when she remembers the 70th birthday party Jan and Steve recently held for her, in the lobby of the Hoblit Performing Arts Center.

The landlord of the Second Street facility eventually raised the rent so high that DMTC had to think about finding a new place to perform. Bob Bowen, who met Jan and Steve while in the Davis Players, proved a valuable friend.

'When they built their first theater in rented space over on Second Street, I got involved. I also got involved when they approached the city for a loan.

'Since DMTC still owed money on that loan, we negotiated a deal for them to use the newly renovated Varsity Theater, beginning in January 1993, so they would remain viable. I acted as their Varsity landlord until the Davis City Council changed the Varsity back into an art film theater.'

Actress/lighting designer Dannette Vasser, a recent UC Davis graduate, came along in 1997, for a production of 'City of Angels.' She had auditioned for the previous show, but wasn't cast; even so, 'City of Angels' was one of her favorites, so she decided to give it another shot.

Second time lucky.

'I stuck around and never left,' Dannette said. 'The group is so warm and friendly; it really becomes a home for a lot of people. I met my husband here. Arthur and I had to schedule our marriage between shows, so that everybody could be there.'

In time, Steve Isaacson began teaching Dannette the intricacies of lighting design.

'He gave me the opportunities to learn lighting, and to design. It's a blast.'

Arthur was responsible for Ben Bruening joining the company in 1995. The two Davisites had been friends since they were 4 years old; when Vasser was cast for 'Brigadoon,' the shy Bruening thought, 'if Arthur can do it, maybe I can too.'

Bruening auditioned for 'Carousel' and wound up doing the next nine shows.

'Steve became one of my best friends over the course of a very short period of time,' Bruening said.

He also caught the eye of a young viola player during rehearsal for his eighth show.

'We sat together at Eppie's after opening night,' said Ben's wife, Noel. 'We rubbed elbows ... this was called flirting!'

'We're a DMTC love story,' Ben added.

'A lot of DMTC marriages have taken place over the years,' said Mary Young, underlying the sense of family felt by everyone involved with the company.

*******

Young Kendyl Ito just performed Brigitta in the recent production of 'The Sound of Music.'

'It was her first experience at DMTC,' said her mother, Karen. 'Jan and Steve welcomed us with open arms.'

Kendyl, already a theater veteran, said, 'It's different here than other theaters. Even if you're new, it's very warm and fuzzy.

'I'm trying out for 'The Music Man.' '

Kennedy Wenning did her first DMTC Young People's Theatre show at age 13, and now regards DMTC as a second home.

'All my friends are here,' she said.

'It's like a family here; it's definitely strong,' said Adam Sartain, who played Cogsworth in the most recent production of 'Beauty and the Beast,' and also plays tuba in the orchestra.

Marc Valdez joined DMTC in 2000 for 'Evita,' and he stuck around to become the company treasurer in 2002.

'The challenges of the treasurer position, in this decade, have mostly revolved around trying to finance construction of the new theater. We're still in that position, and will remain so for years to come.'

Christine Totah's daughter, Camille, has performed with DMTC since she was very young. Son Adam, only 18 months younger, also wants to act, but he has autism. A collaboration among Dr. Blythe Corbett of UCD's Mind Institute, director Jenni Price, Totah and the Isaacsons has resulted in the SENSE program, which pairs 'typical kid' members of the Young Performers Theatre company with autistic counterparts.

The program is exploring the therapeutic effect of stage performance for autistic children, and early results are wonderfully promising.

'This could be the program that makes that happen,' Totah said. 'When you have a disability, you're often very isolated in the community; community theater is a great way to get involved with other people. Everybody walks away feeling a little bit better. Nobody walks away empty-handed.'

On that long-ago morning in 1984, Jan Isaacson thought she and Steve would create a theater company. Clearly, they've done that ... and much, much more.

'Jan and Steve just keep yanking at ya,' said my son Ned, also a DMTC alum, 'and more power to them. With DMTC, the show always goes on'

'If someone had told me, back in 1984, that DMTC would be around for 25 years, I'd have thought their gaffer's tape was wound too tightly,' Bowen said. 'I know how demanding and stressful it is to raise money and produce theater in Davis. For DMTC to produce a series of adult and children's shows - every year, and for a quarter of a century - is a testament to the their passion and energy for theater.

'Since Davis elementary school teachers these days rarely have the time and support necessary to produce plays and musicals, the DMTC Young Performers Theatre addresses a real need for Davis children to get involved.'

Main Stage Dance/Theatre Festival

As I walked toward the UC Davis Main Theater in the approaching twilight, I saw what looked like a headless white torso sitting on the ground, with a golden cap where its head should have been.

As I drew closer, the torso began to move; it was a girl with a blond pony tail, sitting on the ground, her head lowered to her chest. I then realized that others were in various poses all around me, moving very slowly, while a recording of bell sounds emanated from an unseen speaker somewhere in the bushes. More bodies in slow motion were at the theater door, as well as inside the lobby.

This was our welcome to UCD's annual 'Main Stage Dance/Theater Festival,' and I was witnessing part one of 'Symmetry Study #15,' a work choreographed by Jess Curtiss, based on a concept he developed with Maria Francesca Sacroni, and performed by Nicole Chaffee, Michelle Chau, Meghan Davis, Jed Downhill, Gregory Duque, Nina Galin, Shirley Gao, Kristi Kilpatrick, Kelly LeVasseur, Sandra Lopez, Elisabeth Ottenheimer, Sunita Randhawa, Marissa Ward and Alice Wong.

Part two of the piece opened the second half of the show, while an original video by Kwame Braun played on the back wall.

'Symmetry Study #15' is one of an ongoing series of installations and presentations built around the concept of symmetry. Patrons will be amazed by the control of the bodies, and the difficulty of adopting - in such slow motion - what sometimes are very intricate poses.

The video, an overhead shot of other dancers going through various couplings, suggests the effect of watching a colony of slow-moving June bugs.

After many years of reviewing this annual dance show, I've learned that one never knows what to expect. The production always features something interesting, and something to delight.

I had two 'delights' this year.

'Picture Imperfect Portraits' is choreographed by Hillary Feineman-Klausner and danced by Jason Masino, Anna Schumacher, Lauren Ward and Rebecca Walters. Production designers played a big role in this piece: costume designer Funmi Alabi, scenic designer Tony Shane, and lighting designer Reed Wagner.

Feineman-Klausner's work is the story of a family portrait, charmingly depicted, with many interactions between the parents and two daughters. As the choreographer explains, the work 'explores how idiosyncratic members of a family together form as a unit, and the relationships they have with one another.'

The music for this piece is created by composer/sound designer Isaac Blackstock, whose influences are from romantic and contemporary composers such as Gustav Holst and Danny Elfman, and the electronic music of Hirokazu 'Hip' Tanaka. This variety of stylistic influence lends an eclectic and modern edge to the score.

I also enjoyed 'Aller/Arret (Go/Stop),' choreographed and danced by Kelly Fleischmann, accompanied by Shayna Carp and Eva Loney. This more traditional dance style uses familiar pieces of music to demonstrate how life is in a constant state of momentum, which inevitably stops to change direction.

'Life takes us on a journey that often can be monotonous until we're given a chance to just be free,' according to Fleischmann.

Nothing is monotonous about Nina Galin's 'Life Among the Institutions,' which opens the program. Galin explains that her work is never quite the same twice running, which is clear from her interaction with the audience - as she enters the theater from the rear - and her use of on-stage props, which have a mind of their own.

She explains that her work addresses the interaction between institutions and individuals, and she notes that, 'Narrowly, the institutions on my mind are the California educational system and Shakespeare.' Her piece is presented while she recites Hamlet's soliloquy while forcing chairs - placed around the stage in a seeming state of disarray - into a greater sense of order.

'Computer Games,' choreographed and danced by Lucas Macdonald, accompanied by Nicole Chaffee, Natasha Cooke, Joya Kazi, Kristi Kilpatrick, Claudia Shekufendeh, Ryan Stone and Baote Wen, explores the interaction of simple rules in the making of a dance. Each performer is given the same set of fundamental commands, based upon the actions of the surrounding dancers.

As with a game of chess, the simple movements of many pieces create a deceptively complex system.

The show concludes with choreographer, scenic designer and writer Tyler Eash's 'I, Saint John, the Speaker.' The piece asks why we gather meaning from our physical and mentally cultivated environment, and examines how we find value and potential spectacle in mundane performance.

The work's creative catalysts include perceptions of common ideas, unfiltered thought processes, translations through forms of measurement, early iconic Christian art, and grandiose exaggerations of pedestrian movement.

Costume designer Christina Moore contributes to Eash's storytelling, with a subtle deconstruction of street clothes mixed with dance wear.

The 'Main Stage Dance/Theater Festival' continues through Sunday ... plenty of time for you to discover your own delights.

American Buffalo

David Mamet can be exhausting.

Character development in his plays comes from lengthy dialogue delivered rapid-fire, and everything must be crisp and clear for it all to work.

Thanks to director Janis Stevens and outstanding performances by Capital Stage co-founders Peter Mohrmann and Jonathan Rhys Williams, and newcomer Joseph Baldridge, the current production of Mamet's breakthrough 1977 tragicomedy, 'American Buffalo,' works beautifully.

The story revolves around three inept, small-time crooks planning that one big heist: the score that will make their lives better. The plan grows out of the purchase of an American buffalo nickel, and the fantasy these three guys build around the man who purchased it.

In reality, though, this is a study in ineptitude.

Donny Dubrow (Mohrmann) runs Don's Resale Shop, a 1970s Chicago junk shop. The set is beautifully designed and dressed by Williams and Karyn Carl.

As played by Mohrmann, Donny is the 'heart' of the piece. He has taken young Bobby (Baldridge), a recovering drug addict, under his wing, and is teaching him about loyalty and the ethics of the streets:

'Well, Bob, I'm sorry,' Don says, 'but this isn't good enough. If you want to do business ... if we got a business deal, it isn't good enough. I want you to remember this.'

'I do,' Bobby insists.

'Yeah,' Don answers, 'now ... but later, what?'

He pauses.

'Just one thing, Bob. Action counts.'

Another pause.

'Action talks, and b------t walks.'

Donny has decided that the guy who paid $90 for an old nickel must be a coin collector, and therefore must have a valuable coin collection, and that his home could be robbed when he isn't present.

Bobby is sent to watch where the guy goes: to get a feel for when he is and isn't home. The young boy is eager to please, but can't seem to do anything right. He obviously worships Donny, but seems a constant disappointment. Baldridge capably portrays a man not that long into recovery.

Williams gives a sizzling performance as Teach, the Art Carney to Mohrmann's Jackie Gleason. Teach is a bundle of nervous energy: He can't sit still for a moment, and is filled with ideas for how to pull off the perfect heist. Teach is a born loser, but he'll never perceive that all his ideas are doomed to failure.

Williams' costume literally makes the man (kudos to costumer designer Rebecca Redmond). He's a study in polyester and leather: a real street-guy aiming for flashy, but merely looking cheap.

We can't help liking Donny, Teach and Bobby, despite their obviously despicable characteristics, because all three are devoted to each other; we're therefore drawn into their offbeat friendship. The incident that brings the play to its conclusion demonstrates how each man is affected by this unspoken affection for the others.

While 'American Buffalo' deals with the planning of dark deeds, much humor exists in the interactions of the three characters. The humor derives from the shape and form of the language, almost as much as their actual dialogue. Without the snap, crackle and pop demonstrated by these three actors, this might be a quite different play.

During a question and answer session that followed our performance, Stevens pointed out the timeliness of 'American Buffalo.' This play deals with some very small-time crooks, but at a different time and in a better setting, their plans to rip off a customer could just as easily be a conversation taking place in the board room of AIG.

In fact, the play debuted shortly after the Watergate scandal broke, during which we learned how high-level officials conspired to hold back information from the American public. Same story, different setting.

'American Buffalo' is a Mamet classic, and this outstanding production is well worth seeing.

Harvey

I would have thought everyone was familiar with Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize-winning story of "Harvey," made into a now-classic movie with Jimmy Stewart back in 1950.

But judging from the sounds of surprise coming from some sections of the audience at the Winters Community Theater production that debuted last weekend, perhaps the story isn't as well known as I assumed.

Trent Beeby directs a charming little version of this saga of the gentle, clueless and probably more than slightly inebriated Elwood P. Dowd and his constant companion: Harvey, a 6-foot, 31/2-inch white rabbit that only Dowd can see. Harvey is a "pooka," you see: a mischievous Irish spirit. (Or, rather, you don't see.)

Tom Rost gives a wonderful performance as Dowd, the perfect gentleman for whom a tall rabbit seems not in the least odd, and who seems totally oblivious to the chaos and embarrassment that his invisible companion seems to cause. Rost is extraordinarily polite and extremely likable, and gives the character both a childlike innocence and a sense of dignity.

"I always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whomever I'm with," Dowd says.

Elwood was the sole recipient of his mother's fortune upon her death, which gives him the freedom to spend his time visiting friends at various drinking establishments.

"Harvey and I sit in the bars ... have a drink or two ... play the juke box," Dowd explains. "And soon the faces of all the other people they turn toward mine, and they smile. And they're saying, 'We don't know your name, mister, but you're a very nice fella.' Harvey and I warm ourselves in all these golden moments. We've entered as strangers ... soon we have friends."

Elwood is contrasted by his sister, Veta Louise — played by the always delightful Germaine Hupe — who was excluded from her mother's will, and so lives in Elwood's house and is supported by him. Veta Louise is a social climber, and her brother's imaginary companion is a source of great embarrassment, both to her and to her daughter, Myrtle Mae (Molly Davis).

How will Myrtle Mae ever find a proper husband, when her uncle is the town laughingstock?

(I must mention that Myrtle Mae has the best poodle skirt I've ever seen. Kudos to costumers Ann Rost and Germaine Hupe!)

Only one avenue is available to Veta Louise: She must commit her brother to the famous sanitarium run by Dr. William R. Chumley (Michael Barbour), to get Elwood out of her life ... and take over the trust fund.

But the sanitarium is a study in dysfunction: One nurse (Anita Ahuja) flirts blatantly with Dr. Lyman Sanderson (Jim Hewlett), while a sadistic attendant, Duane Wilson (Rodney Orosco), is only too eager to inflict painful procedures on new patients.

He's a male Nurse Ratched — from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" — but with a sardonic wit.

As a result of some confusion about who is the patient — and who is the person admitting the patient — Veta Louise is hauled off to be stripped and put in the baths, while Elwood is ignored.

Veta Louise calls in her attorney, Judge Omar Gaffney — Howard Hupe, whose performance is second only to that given by Rost — hoping to sue the sanitarium for all her indignities.

Meanwhile, Elwood has long discussions with Dr. Chumley about Harvey, as the two men — and the rabbit — make the rounds of various drinking establishments: "I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it."

The play has a dated feel, and occasionally moves very slowly. By the end, though, the audience (along with Dr. Chumley) believes in Harvey.

And gives him a nice round of applause at the curtain call (!).

The cast also includes Anne Castro DePonte as Miss Johnson, Valerie Whitworth as Mrs. Chauvenet, Ann Rost as Betty Chumley, and JoAnn May as the cab driver. Whitworth needs to work on her projection, as she could barely be heard, even in this small theater.

Although likely not the most polished play you'll ever see, this production of "Harvey" displays such charm that you can't help but like it.

Davis Film Festival, 2009

Organizer Judith Plank is very excited about the upcoming Davis Film Festival.  “Gosh, Opening Night at the Varsity is HUGE. A renowned UCD Professor will speak and filmmakers will attend,” she gushed.

The professor is Liz Applegate UC Davis Nutrition professor and expert on athletes and body image.  She will be speaking in conjunction with the film which will open this year’s festival, “Beauty Mark,” by Carla Precht, Diane Israel and Kathleen Man, which examines our culture's toxic emphasis on weight and looks through the eyes of Boulder-based psychotherapist and former world-class triathlete – Israel-- who tells her own story while interviewing other champion athletes, body builders, fashion models and inner-city teens about their experiences relating to self-image.

But “Beauty Mark” is only the first of twenty-two films which will be shown Thursday, at the Varsity Theater and Friday and Saturday at the Veterans Memorial Theater.

The festival is a labor of love for Plank, who volunteered at film festivals around California before she woke up one morning and realized that Davis needed its own film festival, and then set about making it happen.

“I did a test run and brought one human rights film to the Varsity. Will and Jane Lotter helped co-sponsor the film and we just about filled the theater..  I thought--Wow–if this can happen after one film, what can happen with a whole festival?”

So in April of 2004, the first official festival was held.  It included 19 films and a party at the Davis Art Center.  The whole thing was advertised by word of mouth and was highly successful.  “Now people expect it and I even have support from key players in the City of Davis, who realize the value of things.”

“Bob Bowen is like an army himself,” she joked, pointing out that Bowen’s breadth of experience and his numerous contacts have been a great help to the festival.

Bowen understands the importance of a film festival to a city like Davis.  "Not only do Davis moviegoers have a history of supporting the type of films that appear in festivals but having    one in town gives students and community members a chance to see these films without driving to another city" (Plank also points to the importance for city businesses, like motels and restaurants.)

The festival received city funding for the first year or two, but then Plank realized that with her own business skills and a successful beginning, she no longer needed city funding.  The festival has been self-sustaining ever since.

Since this is a Davis Film Festival, Plank makes special effort to involve local film makers and even bends the rules a bit for Yolo County people.

“The final deadline for submitting films is the end of February, but Yolo County film makers get an extra couple of weeks if they need it,” she admits. “I am also flexible on the entry fees for Yolo County entries.  I want to encourage local film makers.”

This year there are three talented local film makers who will be showing films.  The youngest of the group is Colin McDaniel, a 17 year old Davis High School student who started “messing around with the family video camera” with his friends in the third grade.  When he was in the fourth grade, his family got a digital camera and he began filming, writing and learning more about the camera and especially about editing programs.

He produced his first serious movie, “The Problem with James,” a psychological horror movie he started writing while on a road trip with his grandparents in 2004.

“I’ve made hundreds of short movies over the years, but most of those were mainly for experimentation.  I have currently finished five complete films.”

His 27 minute entry into this year’s festival, “Long Distance,” is described simply as “a visceral film about fear and paranoia.”

McDaniel is self taught in film and has learned what he knows from books and the Internet.  “I write, cast, film, direct, produce and edit my own films.  Sometimes I compose my own songs for the score.”

He definitely has the background for scoring his own films.  Colin plays drums on professional jazz gigs around the Davis, Sacramento, and Bay Area.  He also plays in the Davis High School Jazz Band, the Berkeley Jazz School Advanced High School Ensemble (a group that focuses on building jazz performance skills and contemporary original jazz composition), and various other music groups.

McDaniel was inspired by an interview with writer/director David Lynch, who spoke of gathering things that you truly love. 

“I tried to come up with ideas that were very personal to me without even starting to think about how they would fit into a movie, as I wasn't planning on compiling them into one longer movie. I wrote my ideas on scraps of paper.

“Another time, I was biking at night listening to the song that plays at the end of ‘Long Distance,’ and the final scene of my film came into my head. Again, I had no idea how it would fit into a movie, all I knew was I liked the idea.
“Also, I envisioned putting a green filter throughout my movie, as the color reminds me of nighttime.
“As more and more ideas came into my head based on my own experiences, thinking, and imagination, a movie formed and I wrote down the general outline. Then, I wrote out a summary of each scene. Next, I wrote the screenplay, which I edited multiple times. I didn't think of the title of the movie until after I started shooting.”

McDaniel cast his brother and his father in the film.  Brother Graham is a sophomore at Davis High and “has a natural intensity in his acting that worked well in the movie. He listens closely and he's easy to direct.”

The young filmmaker, who plans to attend the UCLA Advanced Digital Filmmaking Workshop this summer, says that he likes how movies can make people totally absorbed in another world.  “I make films to get across ideas that I have in my mind to a certain medium.”

Emma Coats had a unique idea in her mind.  The 23 year old former Davis Food Co-op employee now works for Pixar Studios and got her start in film making by creating claymation videos with her brother.  “I never went out with a video camera and made movies.  I’m very shy so I did animation.”  With that character trait, it’s no wonder she ended up at an award-winning CGI animation company.

After submitting six portfolios to Pixar, one every six months, she finally was called for an interview and has now been at the studio for the past two years, working with story boarding. “I’m constantly trying to improve my work and get them to notice me,” she says.

Her film, “Meat Love” grew out of her experience working in the meat department of the Davis Food Co-op.  She explained to me that when you bone a chicken and spread the two halves of the breast out, it looks like a Valentine heart (from which comes the unique logo for her film).    “In the down time at the store, you start making up stories about other people in the store.”  She began to wonder who would be the most grossed out by receiving a “chicken heart” Valentine.

Out of that came the idea for her movie.  Toby works at the meat counter of the Davis Food Co-Op. Lisa works at the deli counter. Toby thinks she's the most gorgeous girl he's ever seen, but he finds out that there's a minor problem - she's a vegan. "It's not like meat is my life," he assures her, but he's not so sure. Toby has to decide: MEAT . . . or LOVE?

Emma wanted to actually make the film in the Co-op and use some of her former co-workers in the cast.  (Membership Director) Doug Walter was the guy who made it all happen, the man who said “Yes you can shoot all night in the co op while it’s closed.”

Walter was happy to be a part of the project.  “She had the idea and she sent us a script treatment and said we’d love to be able to shoot this at the co-op.  Why wouldn’t we want to help her?” he said, though joked “How great a contribution to cinematic art this will be remains to be seen.”

He also admits that the story line is not that far off the mark.  “It’s not necessarily a true life story but it resonates with the staff.  People who hear the plot synopsis think ok–that could happen, couldn’t it?”

“Quite often does happen in real life,” agrees Jim Pavilchek, Co-op butcher, who also appears as the main character’s meat department co-worker in the film.  “Can a vegan and meat eater co-exist?  I definitely think so.  There’s an example in our own store, one employee, a dedicated vegan became one of my best customers.  That’s a switching in eating habits.  If the employee had stayed vegan, who knows?”

Pavilchek was particular tickled by the tag line of the film - “boy meats girl.”  “That made me laugh for a day and a half when I heard it,” he chuckles.

There was very little chuckling about 19 year old American River College student Jared Martin’s thirteen minute film, “The Lost Boys of Sudan.”  There is no humor about the subject of his film.

Like the other two Davis filmmakers, Martin started in film at a young age.  He was nine years old when he made a stop-action film using Star Wars action figures. When he was 12, his family got a computer – a Mac, which came with editing software and he began to get into more serious film making.

On a vacation, when he was 14, his family stopped to visit friends in Nebraska and he learned about “The Lost Boys,” a group of whom were living in town.  The family friend, knowing his love of movie making, thought he might enjoy meeting and interviewing them.  The project turned into 11 hours of film and the awakening of a real film career.

The Lost Boys of Sudan are more than 27,000 boys who were displaced and/or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005)  Boys as young as 6-years-old walked a distance equivalent to that between Denver and Chicago in search of safety. They walked in large groups for three months before reaching the safety of Ethiopia, with many dying along the way due to starvation and disease or attacks by wild animals. After residing in Ethiopia for approximately four years, civil war broke out in that country as well, causing them to flee once again to their war-torn country of Sudan.

Many died on that journey as well when crossing the deadly Gilo River. Those unable to swim were swept away in the turbulent currents. Others were eaten by crocodiles, attacked by hippos, or killed by enemy gunfire. The survivors remained in the bush of Sudan, hiding for approximately one-and-a-half years before making their way to the safety of the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. In all, these young men had walked some 1,000 miles by foot before reaching their destination.

After 14 years in refugee camps, their plight came to the attention of the U.S. State Department and beginning in 2001 about 3800 Lost Boys arrived in the United States, where they are now scattered in about 38 cities, averaging about 100 per city.

“They are amazing people,” said Martin.  “It’s just amazing to me that you can go through all that as a young child and still survive.   It just shows that the human spirit is resilient.”

The “boys” arrived in the United States as young men, who had to be taught the very basics of living in this country.  They had to be taught how to sleep in a bed under a blanket, how to use the bathroom, how to brush their teeth.  “Every little thing we take for granted they had to completely learn from scratch.”

There were also serious cultural differences (it is common for men in the Sudan to marry girls as young as 14, for example).  They now struggle to keep jobs and go to school, while trying to send money back to surviving family members (if any) in the Sudan.

Martin edited his 11 hour film down to 42 minutes, thinking he wanted to make a feature documentary, but then he set it aside for a couple of years.  A year ago, realizing the enormity of making a full length documentary as his very first project, he decided to rethink the project.  “I got some new editing software and edited it down from 42 minutes to the 13 min. short.”

The film has already received prestigious awards at other film festivals.  It won the Columbine award at the Moondance film festival for non-violent conflict resolution.  It also won the audience award at Moondance for best short film documentary.  He also won the audience award for student documentary film at the Sacramento film festival.

But what brought him the greatest pride was meeting Father Jerry Drino, a Catholic priest who works with Hope with Sudan, an organization based in San Jose, which coordinates the efforts around the US with those in the Sudan, other parts of Africa and the UK and offers scholarships to refugee youth in need.   “He actually takes my film around now and shows it before he speaks.  It kind of gives me chills sometimes to know that people are seeing it on a weekly basis.”

I asked Martin what he hopes that his film will accomplish. “I hope people see the film and get a better understanding of what these men went through because it’s really under-reported.  We’re hearing a little bit more about it with Darfur but no one knew about it and when the boys came some of them were discriminated against and a lot of them weren’t accepted.  People need to know what they went through to understand how they act and what they believe.  So I hope people realize that they are these amazing people and there is more to them than meets the eye.”

The diversity of just these three films shows that there will be something for everyone at the Davis Film Festival.