Page 67 - Sonoma County Gazette June 2017

Auditions
Jun 19 ~ Missoula Children’s Theatre Auditions - 6 to 18 years old to audition for upcoming production of Alice in Wonderland. No advance preparation or experience is necessary; enthusiasm and a smile are the most important! Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa, 707-800-7520, Melanie Weir, lutherburbankcenter.org/ summer-camps/
By Date
thru - May 28 ~ Masterpiece of Comic Timing - Next hit supposed to be a comedy, but is tragedy? $10 to $26, Sixth Street Playhouse Studio Theatre, 52 W. 6th St, Santa Rosa, 707-523-4185, 6thstreetplayhouse.com/season-201617/ studio-theatre/masterpiece-of-comic- timing/
thru - Jun 4 ~ From Both Hips -Paul has been accidentally shot in the hip by a policeman. Back from hospital he is overcome with feelings of bitterness and self-pity. $15 to $30, Main Stage West, 104 N Main Street, Sebastopol, 707-823-0177, mainstagewest.com/plays/from-both- hips/, contact@mainstagewest.com
thru - Jun 4 ~ The Money Shot - Karen and Steve are glamorous movie stars with one thing in common: desperation. Left Edge Theatre, Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Rd, Santa Rosa, leftedgetheatre.com/shows-2016-2017
scripts read aloud ,no sets, costumes, props, or memorized lines. Meet OCA classroom. Free, 7pm, Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, , 707-829-2176, Judith Reimuller, occidentalcenterforthearts.org/oca- readers-theatre-group/, joanjustjoan@ hotmail.com
Jun 2 - Jun 24 ~ Noises Off - Curtain Call Theatre - about a third-rate British acting troupe desperately trying to stage and tour a third-rate farce called: a hysterical story about a theater troupe’s misadventures. $20. *June 2 & 9 Pay What You Can, Curtain Call Theatre ·, 20347 Hwy. 116, Monte Rio, 707-849- 4873, russianriverhall.com/
based on Jean Herman’s true story and a previous play by Michael D. Fels. It is directed by Diana Grogg. $10 to $20 sliding scale , 2:00p Katie Ketchum’s Dream Portal Studio and Gallery, 500 N. Main St, Sebastopol, 707-494-9127, lois5@sonic.net
Jun 5 ~ Script Tease - Raven Players -Public reading of “A Vintage Christmas”. After, give feedback to the play-writes. $5 -$15, 7- 9p, Healdsburg CenterfortheArts,130PlazaSt.,707- 431-1970, healdsburg.z2systems.com/ info@healdsburgcenterforthearts.org
Jun 7 ~ West Side Stories Petaluma - Story Slam 5 Minute-True Story based on that evening’s theme. $10 7p, Sonoma Portworks, 613 Second St., Petaluma, 707-477-4416, davepokornypresents. com/west-side-stories
Jun 9 - Jul 9 ~ George M! tells the life story of George M. Cohan, who gave us such songs as Yankee Doodle Dandy, Over There, You’re A Grand Old Flag. $15 to $38, C.K. Hardt Theatre, 52 W. 6th Street, Santa Rosa, 707-523-4185, 6thstreetplayhouse.com/season-201617/ gk-hardt-theatre/george-m/?no_cache=1
Jun 9, 10, 16 ~ Bold Moves - Off the Page Readers Theater - performs the works of 11 local writers which boldly move through stories, poems, plays: comic, sad, inspiring and creepy. June 9,10 at Copperfield’s Santa Rosa June 16 at Subud Hall, Sebastopol. Doors open at 7:30pm $15 Copperfields Santa Rosa and Subud Hall Sebastopol, Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, facebook.com/OTPRT/, sonomacountyoffthepage@gmail.com
Jun 9 - Jun 25 ~ Tempestuous - Pegasus Theater at Riverkeeper Park -In Guerneville, a former commune, now rental cottages called The Island, sits and waits. Once the home of a magical sub- culture of peace and nature, it is about to host a reawakening of magic, love, and golden fish! $18 - $25, Riverkeeper Park, 16153 Main St., Between Sonoma Nesting Company & the Footbridge over the river, Guerneville, 800-838-3006, pegasustheater.com/
Jun 10 - Jun 25 ~ Pagliacci - Short, gritty, a perennial audience favorite. start at $25, Cinnabar Theatre, 3333 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma, 707-763-8920, cinnabartheater.org/pagliacci/, boxoffice@cinnabartheater.org
Jun 15 - Jul 2 ~ Lear - King Lear is the puppeteer of his own puppet show, playing out his loss of family, power, friendship, $15 - $35/Performances at 5p and 8p- checkwebsite, Main Street West, 104 N. Main St, Sebastopol, mainstagewest.com/
Jun 17 ~ZipLine Improv Theater - a new cast of skilled Bay Area improvisers, $15, 8 - 10p, Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, 707-874-9392, occidentalcenterforthearts.org/, info@ occidentalcenterforthearts.org
Jun 23 - Jul 9 ~ Anything Goes - It’s 1934, singer/evangelist Reno Sweeney is en route to England on the ocean liner.. her pal Billy Crocker has stowed away to be near his love. The Raven Theater Healdsburg, 115 North St., Healdsburg, 707-433-6335, info@raventheater.org
Jun 24 ~ Alice in Wonderland by Missoula Children’s Theatre2pm & 4:30pm $13 adult • $9 child, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa, lutherburbankcenter.org/ summer-camps/
Jun24~StrawberryMoonBellyDancePlus - Benefit for the Learn to Swim Program. dancers performing:Bollywood, LED Light Dance, Traditional Japanese Dance, K-Hop, Hip Hop, Fusion Dance $12 general, 6- 9:30p, Steele Lane Community Centers, 415 Steele Ln, Santa Rosa, tjadedance@gmail.com
Nominees on DVD
May 23 - Jul 25 ~ Reader’s Theatre Group
Faye did not waiver. In a con dant voice she indicated what was written: La La Land! This was not a surprise. This musical had been on the top of critical lists and on top of the box o ce all season. But then other people came on stage. There was discussion, confusion, chaos. As the La LaLand people were coming on stage to accept their award it was announced the wrong envelope had been dispatched. Moonlight was actually the winner. Everyone was very civilized about the error. The La La Land people praised the Moonlight people and the Moonlight people praised the La La Land people. Now that most of the contenders for awards are out on DVD, you can make your own judgment about who the winners should have been.
Jun 3 ~ Last of the Red Hot Tenants -
Hollywood loves self-re ection and perhaps this is what made La La Land so popular. Splashes of bubbly song and dance numbers punctuate the predictable boy meets girl convention. Mia, Emma Stone, is an e ervescent would-be actress and Sebastian, Ryan Gosling, is a struggling jazz musician. They fall in love, of course. There is a great score that accompanies their bittersweet journey to success. The hauntingly lovely “City of Stars” sung against the backdrop of the Gri th Observatory’s planetarium is breathtaking. This lm is a sparkling visual and audio treat.
By Diane McCurdy
What’s yellow and orange and dead all
over?
By now everyone is aware of the asco
that beset this year’s Academy Awards. As a befuddled Warren Beatty opened the
magic envelope that contained the name of the best picture, he hesitated, looked at what was
written quizzically and then handed it over to Faye Dunaway perhaps for her input or interpretation. But
Moonlight is the antithesis of La La Land. If La La Land is a glittering fairy tale, Moonlight is a somber tone poem. The title of the lm was taken from the play from which it was adapted, In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. The protagonist, Chiron, has what society would call three strikes against him. He is black.
He is poor. He is gay. Bullied at school and with an addicted mother, he nds respite and the semblance of a family with the local, very successful drug lord. The irony that the man that he admires is selling the poison that is killing his mother is not lost on the young boy. The audience follows Chiron’s painful march into adulthood and his nal understanding and acceptance of who he is.
If I could have voted for best picture, I would have chosen neither of the aforementioned ones. My choice would have been Hidden Figures. It has everything: a good screenplay, good production values, superb acting and it deals with a powerful and profound subject. It is the true story of three black women who worked for NASA and were instrumental, indeed, integral in putting John Glenn into space. The subject matter is grand in scope and the events depicted changed the world as we know it.
But, alas I did not get to vote.
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