Page 66 - Sonoma County Gazette January 2016

plays and stories THEATER
AUDITIONS:
Main Stage West and Shakespeare in the Cannery Auditions ~ Main Stage West will be casting roles in five different plays. Shakespeare in the Cannery is auditioning for Macbeth and a new work by local playright David Beckman entitled ‘The Plot Against Shakespeare.’ Audition dates Jan 23 and 24, Noon- 6p at Main Stage West, 104 N. Main St, Sebastopol. Auditions by appointment only. Email shakespeareinthecannery@ gmail.com or audition@mainstagewest. com.
LIVE THEATER:
thru - Jan 17 ~ Serial Murderess ~ Thurs, Fri, Sat at 8p; Sun at 5p. Tickets $15 and up. www.mainstagewest.com. Tragic, comic and riveting, Serial Murderess uses music, song and rich language to make vivid the dark lives of three killer women. Each act details a new character, born into a different age and social standing, all of them sharing a taste for the ultimate sin. 104 N. Main St, Sebastopol. 707-823-0177.
At times hilarious, at times poignant, Scott’s invigorating and exuberant musical is a must see! It is a West Coast premiere. 6:30p. Meet Sharon E. Scott, the playwright and star of the show. Please RSVP to Diane@cinnabartheater. org to confirm your attendance to the Cinnalounge and a seat for the show directly following. For further questions or to RSVP, please call Diane at 707- 763-8920; 3333 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma. www.cinnabartheater.org
Jan 22-23, 29-30 ~ Off the Page Readers Theater presents “Turning Points.” 10 local writers’ works: short plays, stories and poems that connect to the theme. Turning Points are those places, however they come, they matter. Jan 22 and 29 at Mockingbird Books, 6932 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol. Jan 23 and 30 at Church of the Oaks, 185 Page St, Cotati. 7:30- 9:30p. $10 at the door.
Jan 24 ~ Hick in the Hood ~ 3p. Occidental Center for the Arts. Hick in the Hood, a touching and funny true story one- man play written and performed by S.F. based TV, film and stage actor Michael Sommers. Sommers narrates and plays 30 characters and also sings and plays blues music. $15. Fine Refreshments. Cabaret seating. Bohemian Hwy @ Graton Rd. in Harmony Village, Occidental. 707-874-9392 www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org.
SONOMA ARTS LIVE ~ Sonoma Theatre Alliance, the consortium of North Bay based theater companies, has announced a new name, new direction and new team for its theatrical and entertainment
“Carol” 5 out of 5! Sonoma County movielovers,
the best written movie of the year has arrived!
presentations at the recently remodeled Rotary Stage at Andrews Hall, located at the Sonoma Community Center in downtown Sonoma. Season tickets are available for $99 per person for all six productions. Individual ticket prices are $12 to $26 per person, depending on play or musical and seating availability. For tickets or more information call 707-974- 1932 or visit www.sonomaartslive.org. 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays
By Don Gibble
Outstanding performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, as two
Jan 15-17, 20-24 ~ Love, Loss and What I Wore ~ Award Winner! Proving that a great show is always in fashion, this play is based on the best-seller by Ilene Beckerman. Truly an enduring, memorable theatre experience.
women charting a path toward a romantic relationship in 1952, make something special out of “Carol”, Todd Haynes’ intelligent adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s then-daring 1952 novel “The Price of Salt”. In many ways a companion piece to the director’s “Far From Heaven”, which also examined the pressures of living a sexual double life in post-World War II America, the new film is absorbing and beautifully crafted.
Jan 28-31 ~ Gidion’s Knot - Special Production ~ Over the course of a parent/ teacher conference, a grieving mother and an emotionally overwhelmed primary school teacher have a riveting confrontation about the tragic suicide of the mother’s son, Gidion.
Highsmith’s second novel, published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, was something of a sensation in gay and lesbian literary circles due to its happy ending in an era when transgressive sexual relationships were normally punished as the story concluded. The smartly judged screenplay by Phyllis Nagy retains the essential dynamics of the novel while usefully changing the younger woman’s professional interest to photography rather than theater art direction and telescoping the long cross-country road trip that occupies much of the book’s second half.
Jan 2 ~ Mahalia Jackson: Just As I Am ~
The Sonoma State University Department of Theatre Arts & Dance 2015-16 Season ~ Admission prices from $10 to $17. Contact the box office at 707-664-4246 or email tickets@sonoma.edu. 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. www.sonoma.edu/ theatreanddance/productions/
Evert B. Person Theatre. What begins as a lively retelling of familiar stories, becomes a moving lesson about what we teach our children. This Tony Award winning musical is a fractured fairytale revealing what happens to iconic characters after they live “happily ever after.” Tickets are $10 to $17. SSU students admitted free with ID. “$5 Friends & Family Night” Thursday, Feb. 11.
Michael Sommers, “Hick in the Hood”
Set over the Christmas/New Year holiday period in 1952-53, just before the Eisenhower era began, this is a love story that is pursued – cautiously and judiciously, to be sure – through very uncertain and dangerous waters. Working in an upscale Manhattan department store, the young Therese Belivet (Mara) makes an impression on immaculately accoutered customer Carol Aird (Blanchett), who, intentionally or not,
leaves her gloves
behind, providing
an excuse for further
contact.
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SEE THIS FILM: The first weekend “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” broke records making $248 million in the United States alone. The other wide release, “Sisters” made only $14 million in comparison. If you haven’t seen “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” yet, do yourself a favor and see this epic film.
Feb. 4 to Feb. 14 ~ “Into the Woods” ~
Carol comes in
from her castle-like
New Jersey home to
meet for lunch and
there’s clearly an
attraction, certainly
on Carol’s part, and
some sort of curiosity
on Therese’s. The
latter, who’s awfully
cute and has an
unsettled, go-along-
type personality,
scarcely lacks for
male attention. Though, unlike in the novel, she hasn’t consummated anything sexually yet despite the strong interest of a couple of eager suitors.
Haynes, continuing with ace cinematographer Ed Lachman very much in the style they employed on their previous earlier 20th century period pieces, “Far From Heaven” and HBO”s “Mildred Pierce”, favors tight compositions that focus first and foremost on his gorgeous leading ladies. But he also highlights all the details of Judy Becker’s production design and Sandy Powell’s mid-century costumes, which are worn to splendid effect, especially by Blanchett. Dressed up Cincinnatti locations double reasonably, if not entirely satisfactorily, for New York City.
Therese soon learns the difficult details of Carol’s existence: Her successful businessman husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) wants a divorce and threatens to take their young daughter with him, hanging over his wife’s head her long-since finished affair with her best friend, Abby (Sarah Paulson). The slightest misstep by Carol with Therese would no doubt mean Carol’s total loss of not only any custody, but even visitation rights with her daughter.
The roughly half-as-old Therese is unformed clay, which makes her largely a reactive character most of the way. But Mara really comes into her own in the story’s latter stages as Therese realizes what she wants. Supporting performances are solid.