Page 69 - Sonoma County Gazette Janaury 2019

Ring in the New Year with Live Theater
Skyler Cooper, Michelle Maxson and Dana Seghesio. Photo by E. Craven.
Swallow ~ January 11-27—Thursday/Friday/Saturday at 8:p, Sunday at 5p Tickets: $30 general, $25 senior, $15 student. Thursdays “Pay What You Will.” Main Stage West • mainstagewest.com • (707) 823-0177
104 North Main Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472
thru Jan 13 ~ Love Linda - Veteran cabaret performer Maureen McVerry plays Mrs. Cole Porter, Cinnabar Theater, Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Fri–Sat, 8p; Sun 2p. INFO: 707-763-8920. cinnabartheater.org.
Jan 4, 11, 18, 26 ~ Spin Off - An average American family navigates the ups- and-downs of a world gone wacky. New episodes each week. Sliding Scale ($5-$20), All showtimes 8pm , the Imaginists, 461 Sebastopol Avenue, Santa Rosa, 707-528-7554, theimaginists. org, jessica@theimaginists.org
Jan 10 & 19 ~ Antony & Cleopatra - Broadcast Live from the National Theatre in London at Rialto Cinemas. famous fated couple. $18-$26, 1/10 7pm, 1/19, 10a, Rialto Cinema Sebastopol, 6868 McKinley Street, Sebastopol, rialtocinemas.com
Jan 11 - Feb 3 ~ Move over Buffalo - Fading actors frantic for their former glory! By Ken Ludwig, Directed by Carl Jordan. G.K. Hardt Theatre, 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. 6th St., Santa Rosa INFO: 707-523-4185, 6thstreetplayhouse.com
Jan 11 - Jan 27 ~ Swallow by Stef Smith - A play about three women dealing with psychological trauma, and striving for a fresh start in life. $30 General, $25 Senior, $15 Student, Thu, Fri, Sat: 8p, Sun: 5p, Main Stage West, 104 N Main Street, Sebastopol, mainstagewest.com
Jan 18 - 19 ~ Off the Page Readers Theater Presents What Goes Around - dedicated to supporting the works of local writers & actors. $15 General, $10 Students, 7:30p, 7:30pCopperfields Santa Rosa, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, copperfieldsbooks.com
Jan 25 - Feb 17 ~ A Streetcar Named Desire - A broken woman betrayed by her past! By Tennessee Williams, Directed by Phoebe Moyer. Studio Theatre, 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. 6th St., Santa Rosa INFO: 707-523-4185, 6thstreetplayhouse.com
Jan 26 ~ The Scion - a solo play written and performed by Brian Copeland. Following last year’s sold-out performance of “Not a Genuine Black Man,” Brian Copeland returns with another fascinating one-man show. $40. 7:30p, Cloverdale Performing Arts, 209 N. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale INFO: cloverdaleperformingarts.com
Swallow is a fascinating California Premiere that artistic director Elizabeth Craven calls a “poetic and unusual play.” Deeply moving and fearlessly vulnerable, Stef Smith’s writing follows three strangers who are facing difficult paths. Painfully rejected Rebecca (Michelle Maxson) is desperate for friendship. Anna (Dana Seghesio) is constantly buzzing with eccentric projects.
“Nothing about Swallow is linear or simple or straightforward” according
to Seghesio. Sam (Skyler Cooper) is embracing his true identity as a man. “Since gender is a spectrum, first I try to examine Sam’s comfort level,” Cooper explains. “As a transgender actor myself, I learned that comfort in one’s trans identity can be linked to a variety of conditions...I try to look for these clues in the writing.”
Originally under development in Edinburgh, Swallow was the suggestion
of Chris Ginesi, who brought it to the annual Main Stage West pitch party, where it was an instant hit. Don’t miss this singular, inclusive production, that director Missy Weaver calls “truly confounding, delightfully theatrical.”
Feb 2 - Feb 9 ~ Pegasus Theater Short- Play Writing Workshop For more information, or to reserve a seat, telephone Scott Kersnar at 707-869-0136. 10a - 1p, Russian River Senior Resource Center, 15010 Armstrong Woods Road, Guerneville, pegasustheater.com
Santa Rosa Junior College ~ Our Box Office has officially relocated to Haehl Pavilion and will reopen January 23, 2019! Bookings for All the Great Books & Jesus Christ Superstar may be reserved at: theatrearts.santarosa.edu
Reader’s Theatre Group ~ Read a script while the audience pictures the action from hearing the script being read aloud. It requires no sets, costumes, props, or memorized lines. Performers bring the text alive by using voice, facial expressions, and some gestures. Regular Reader’s Choice nights: Can be play, poetry, story, essay, your own writing. FREE; 2nd & 4th Tue; 7p, Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental, 707- 829-2176, occidentalcenterforthearts. org/, joanjustjoan@hotmail.com
a Plan B, “and if Plan B doesn’t fly, he has Plan C and D in the wings.” Constant high energy mayhem can be tiresome for the audience, so Gellura
is being careful with timing. “I pick the places where I want the action to move at breakneck speed,” he explains. “Exaggerated comic characterizations are my key.” Costume designer Holly Werhner and set designer Ron Nash are working to create an authentic 1937 look that will ground the production in historical realism. The ‘Room Service’ Marx Brothers film adjusted the play to match the brothers; this production is more authentic to the original spirit of playwrights Allen Boretz and John Murray. Laugh along with the absurdity in this lively Raven Players comedy.
“We do crazy things when we feel our backs pressed against the wall,” artistic director Steven David Martin suggests about the vintage comedy ‘Room Service’ that is bursting with over-the-top antics and witty banter. Gordon Miller (Schuyler Marcier) is a Broadway producer who is terribly short on money, living in a hotel and driving the manager to abstraction. His desperation to pay the bills leads to all sorts of shenanigans in the lead- up to opening night. Director Joe Gellura muses that Miller always has
POST your EVENTS online all month @ SonomaCountyGazette.com TAB: Submit and Artice/Event
Room Service ~ January 25 – February 10, Friday/Saturday at 8p, Sunday at 2p, Thursday January 31 at 8p Tickets: $25 general, $20 senior, $10 student. Adults and seniors are $15 on January 31. Raven Performing Arts Center, raventheater.org • (707) 433-6335 • 115 North Street, Healdsburg, 95448
1/19 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 69