High Voltage Family Appreciation Performance

This is a FREE event open to families, friends and the public. Join us for a celebration of the first year of High Voltage. And a much deserved. "THANK YOU" to all of our families who have worked so hard to help make High Voltage a fabulous success! Join us for one and a half hours of high energy singing and dancing.


Saturday, June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at The Town Center, El Dorado Hills. The show will be
in the Amphitheater (by the ponds next to Bistro 33).

Visit The Town Center webiste at www.eldoradohillstowncenter.com .

Feel free to sit in the amphitheater or bring blankets or lawn chairs for the grassy area. If you would like to enjoy a meal at Bistro 33 before or during the performance, you may make reservaitions for the patio.

To find out more about High Voltage visit edmthighvoltage.info.

High Voltage Auditions

Saturday, June 19 at
El Dorado Musical Theatre Rehearsal Facility
5011 Golden Foothill Pkwy, Suite 4
El Dorado Hills, Ca 95762

This is your chance to become a part of El Dorado Musical Theatre's premier touring group for performers age 9 - 20. Please arrive at 8:45 am for warm-ups. The audition dance will be taught promptly at 9:00 am with auditions immediately following. You will be able to

pre-register online (opening soon) as well as on audition day. For the calendar, contract, registration forms, and audition letter, please visit our webiste at edmthighvoltage.info.

What is High Voltage?

High Voltage is a group of high-energy young performers who sing, dance, and entertain a wide range of audiences. They are EDMT's "Performance Ambassadors" who take entertainment out of the theater and out into the community. The group has performed at venues ranging from the California State Capital Building to the Carnival Splendor cruise ship. You may view a sampling of past High Voltage performances on the website.

For more information visit edmthighvoltage.info or call (916) 941-SING (7464).

Donations Welcome

EDMT is a 501c3 non-profit organization that relies on charitable giving and sponsorships to thrive. Ticket sales and tuition alone cover only 60% of annual expenses. Donations may be directed to the Scholarship Fund, Building Fund, or general operations. Thank you for your generosity. Donations may be made online at www.edmt-tickets.com or my mailing to the EDMT office (see address below).

(Tax ID: 80-0001275)

El Dorado Musical Theatre is an award-winning, regional youth theater with a mission to build confidence for life through excellence in theater performance.

EL DORADO MUSICAL THEATRE · 5011 GOLDEN FOOTHILL PARKWAY, UNIT #4
EL DORADO HILLS, CALIFORNIA 95762-9649
PHONE 916-941-SING (7464) · FAX 916-941-7465

Mary is too clever for her own good

MARY MARY

A Comedy about Love, Divorce, Cynicism and Taxes

She is also sometimes too clever for everyone else’s good. But what can you expect? The poor girl had a gorgeous older sister who completely absorbed all adoration and attention around her. So, Mary decided if she couldn’t be beautiful, she’d be clever. Relentlessly clever.

Now she and the very practical Bob are on the brink of finalizing their divorce. He has a pretty young fiance with a penchant for health foods and a background of wealth and privilege. Mary has a new look and a new attitude. Unfortunately they also have a sticky tax problem that forces them to get together one more time. Things would have gone so much smoother if they could have just stayed apart....

About the author: “Women speak because they wish to speak, whereas a man speaks only when driven to speak by something outside himself like, for instance, he can’t find any clean socks.” - Jean Kerr

Jean Kerr was a funny woman. Married to drama critic Walter Kerr, she wrote some successful plays (including Mary, Mary - longest running play of the decade) and some bad plays (after a blessed short run, she and her husband vowed never to discuss their musical, Goldilocks). She had six children, and swore she did her best writing while locked in the car, hiding from her rambunctious family. Kerr was also the author of many essays and books, the best known being Please Don’t Eat The Daisies, which inspired a movie staring Doris Day and David Niven, as well as a television series. She died in 2003.

Bob and Ro Productions presents “Mary Mary” on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m. June 4 through 27. Tickets are $20 general admission, $18 seniors and $15 students, and can be arranged by calling the box office at (877) 532-7171 between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tues. through Sat. Tickets can also be purchased at the door, The Studio Theatre, 1028 R St., Sacramento, CA 95811.

Hunter Gatherers anatomizes human predators

Richard wrestles Tom
courtesy photo

Mary may have had a little lamb–and may have seen it sacrificed at Capital Stage on Sacramento’s Delta King. The brain child of prolific playwright Sinn Nachtrieb, a San Francisco native, the play begins with a stomach-churning scene. A lamb, invisible in a cardboard box, is about to be slaughtered in front of our eyes. Instinctively we tense, though we know that real consumers don’t buy live lambs and slay them at home.

The action takes place on a May evening in 2005, in “an urban apartment in a city much like San Francisco.” Its cast consists of two married couples, all age 35. Occupants of the apartment are “our hero” Pam (Kelley Ogden) and Richard (Cassidy Brown). They receive a visit from a pair of old friends from high school, also married: Wendy (Katie Rubin) and Tom (Jonathan Rhys Williams). Williams, an artistic associate with the company, also directs.

As Pam looks on, Richard finally summons the strength to overcome his compassion and slay the lamb (something we never really see). His mood swings to triumph and an appetite for the corpse, his favorite dish, which he delivers to an offstage oven. Shortly afterward the couple’s guests arrive, bearing wine. Richard and Wendy chew the lamb carcass, and Pam feeds Tom carrots because he recoiled from the spectacle.

Richard fancies himself an artist, and Tom is a physician. Immediately they relate to each other like a pair of teen-age toughs, savagely wrestling—but all in fun. The horseplay, almost on cue, leads to a cut on Richard’s head, transforming Tom back into his social role as physician. Suddenly all professional, Tom neatly sews up the cut.

The women are also a pair of contrasts: a sedate Pam and a blowsy Wendy. We quickly discover that Richard and Wendy secretly (or not-so-secretly) are carrying on an affair. There’s much talk about how Wendy yearns for a baby and who she might want to be its father. There are also hints of a homosexual attraction between the two men. The play builds to a conclusion where Pam finally discovers—and embraces—her own raw sexuality.

Following the script, Steve Decker, set and lighting designer, decorates the apartment with African masks, spears and skulls on a string, echoing the play’s contrast between civilization and savagery, between the hunters and the gatherers.

The play, like most offerings by Capital Stage, stimulates insight while providing entertainment. Though much of the dialogue brings on laughter, Nachtrieb’s characters seem a little too contrived, designed to fit the human contrasts captured in the title. The acting and directing, though, carry out the play’s mission with suitable élan and comic timing.

The show is aimed at adults and may not be suitable for anyone under 17.

Performances continue through June 27. (There will be no performances Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-30.) Show times are Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25-$32. Discount tickets are also available at the Capital Stage Box Office, by phone at 916-995-5464, or online at www.capstage.org. The Pilothouse Restaurant offers a specially priced $29 three-course dinner for theatre patrons; Pilothouse reservations can be made through the box office.

B Street gets a love child

B Street Theatre presents LOVE CHILD written by Daniel Jenkins and Robert Stanton

Where: B Street Theatre, 2711 B Street, Sacramento, CA 95816
When: June 5, 2010 through July 25, 2010.

Previews
Saturday, June 5 at 5:00 p.m
Sunday, June 6 at 2:00 p.m.

Opening Night:
Sunday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Performance Times & Prices:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Sundays at 2:00 p.m.


Tickets
Box Office: 916.443.5300

Description
It's opening night. The cast is unruly, the crowd is restless, and the play is obscure, but Joel has a larger worry: his mother is in the front row. Real and theatrical worlds collide in Love Child, the new comedy about the night a classic play spoke so loudly to its audience that its audience felt compelled to talk back. Actors David Pierini and Greg Alexander take you on a wild ride when they portray everyone on stage, backstage and in the house, all coming together on one riotous night in the theater.

History

Love Child enjoyed two successful runs at Primary Stages in New York. The second run closed January 3, 2010.

Who

Author: Daniel Jenkins and Robert Stanton.
Director: Buck Busfield
Cast: David Pierini and Greg Alexander. Both actors play multiple roles.
Set Design: Samantha Reno
Lighting Design: Kristin Tyler

Dracula Descends on Imagination Theater!

Dracula Descends on Imagination Theater! this October

Imagination Theater presents Imagination Theater! and with Porter Media Group have been working for nearly two years to bring this haunting multi-media tale of Dracula to Imagination Theater’s stage. Richard Sharp’s version of Bram Stokers’s Dracula is brought to life with exciting film footage intertwined with the stage play for a visual feast. The high definition digital process was shot in several locations, including the historical Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station in Old Town Sacramento, the Preston School of Industry (also known as The Castle) in Ione, a private residence in Cedar Grove, and a private ranch in Pleasant Valley. The total film time is about 25 minutes of the play, but it is laced throughout to enhance the story and give the audience a new look at an old tale.

Dracula opens October 8, continuing through October 31 with evening shows at 7:00 p.m. and matinees at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.it-tickets.org or contact the box office at (530) 642-0404. All tickets are $15 and are reserved seating. The show is rate PG-13+ and is two hours with no intermission. Located on the El Dorado County Fairgrounds, Imagination Theater celebrates its' 10th Anniversary of bringing quality, live community theater to Placerville and El Dorado County.

OLD TIME RADIO SHOWS KEEPS GROWING

at the Studio Theatre

Comedy, Mystery, Drama... delivered to your home through the wonders of that amazing machine - the Radio!

At least, that’s how it used to be. Arguably the first true example of mass media, programs were performed before a live audience while the rest of the country gathered around their radios and listened in. Now anyone can be a part of that studio audience when Bob and Ro’s Old Time Radio Shows perform at the Studio Theatre! Local actors take on the roles of established and timeless shows like Gunsmoke, Richard Diamond and The Bickersons. Add in a musical interlude with singer Mike Branson (or a special guest) and you’ve got a great evening’s entertainment.

All performances are at the Studio Theatre, 1028 R St., Sacramento:

Sunday, May 23 at 7:00 pm • Tickets $10
Richard Diamond - The Gibson Murder Case • The Bickersons • Fibber McGee and Molly - Fibber’s Closet

With a musical interlude featuring Jeanette Hall, Jackie Clauson, Eileen Beaver, Dan Lee and Dennis Cain

Sunday, June 13 at 7:00 pm • Tickets $10
Gunsmoke - The Guitar • The Bickersons • Our Miss Brooks - Friday the Thirteenth

Also featuring the song styling of Mike Branson

Sunday, June 27 at 7:00 pm • Tickets $10
Richard Diamond - The Nathan Beeker Case • The Bickersons •
Fibber McGee & Molly - The Policeman’s Ball

plus the Song Styling of Mike Branson

Sunday, July 11 at 7:00 pm • Tickets $10
Pat Novak P.I. - Go Away Dixie Gillian • The Bickersons •
My Friend Irma - Seeing Ghosts

plus the Song Styling of Mike Branson

Sunday, July 25 at 7:00 pm • Tickets $10
Richard Diamond - The Grey Man • The Bickersons • Fibber McGee & Molly - Fibber Gets His Hand Caught in a Bottle

plus the Song Styling of Mike Branson

Notch & Castle Returns to Sutter Street Theatre

The Comedy Team of David Iannaci and Tony Castle are returning to the Sutter Street Theatre in Folsom, May 27th through May 30th.

Folsom, CA, May 14, 2010: These two seasoned professional entertainers are once again at Sutter Street with their hilarious, high-energy show. The Variety-Show format with its cast of wacky characters delights audiences with songs, skits, bits, impressions and surprises.

So, if you are tired of channel-surfing and long for Live Entertainment that brings the flavor of the wildly popular Variety Shows that once dominated prime-time television, then Notch and Castle’s Comedy-Variety Show is the show for you. Four days only (May 27, 28 29, 30) - Thursday at 7:00 p.m., Friday & Saturday at 8:00p.m. and Sunday at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets are $13-$17. For reservations call (916) 353-1001.

Sutter Street Theatre, 717 Sutter Street, Historic Folsom CA 95630

David Iannaci and Tony Castle…”A different class of clowns.”

MSTW: summer season at Kennedy Mine

TREASURE HUNTS AND SERVANT SILLINESS AT KENNEDY MINE AMPHITHEATRE

Main Street Theatre Works Presents a Summer Season of Family Fun and Adventure with Treasure Island and The Servant of Two Masters.

Main Street Theatre Works is proud to present their 2010 Summer Season at the Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre in Jackson ~ opening with the classic pirate adventure, Treasure Island, Ken Ludwig’s adaptation from the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, followed by the zany adventures of Carlo Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters, a translation and adaptation of by Jeffrey Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi. Treasure Island runs Friday and Saturday nights, June 18th through July 24th and The Servant of Two Masters runs August 6th through September 4th.

Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Treasure Island, set in 1775, pays tribute to this masterful tale of treachery, mayhem, and a young boy’s coming of age adventure. Jim Hawkins is recovering from the death of his father, while trying to help his mother run the Admiral Benbow Inn. Enter the dangerous pirate Billy Bones, who is being tracked for possession of a treasure map by some of the sea’s most famous cutthroats ~ the greedy and unpredictable George Merry, the fierce woman pirate Anne Bonny, the intimidating and evil Blind Pew, and leading the pack is the infamous Long John Silver, the most famous hero/villain of all time. Silver befriends Jim and provides Jim a connection to his deceased father, but is Silver really an ally to Jim, or will he betray him to get his hands on the treasure map? This swashbuckling adventure, Treasure Island, pulls into the Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre June 18th through July 24th.

Following the pirate adventure is The Servant of Two Masters. If you loved the zaniness of Around the World in 80 Days last year, you’ll love “…Servant.” It’s been described as “…a Bob Hope or Woody Allen comedy written by Monty Python and performed by Chaplin.” In the story, the madcap and always hungry servant, Truffaldino, does his best to serve two masters, in hopes of an extra meal and some extra pocket change. But is food what he’s really hungry for or is he hungry for his true love, Smeraldina? From beginning to end, the audience is caught up, and included, in the zany madness of an Italian Circus setting, complete with outrageous costumes, mistaken identities, thwarted lovers and irate fathers. The Servant of Two Masters runs August 6th thru September 4th.

Main Street Theatre Works is a professionally oriented theatre company, performing in the heart of Amador County. Now in their 16h season, MSTW continues to be dedicated to bringing professional and community theatre artists together to produce classical and contemporary plays, striving for a balance that stimulates both artists and audiences.

The setting for the amphitheatre is truly spectacular. Located on the Kennedy Mine property, patrons walk past an old tailing wheel (used when the mine was in operation), across an old bridge, into a grass-covered, terraced bowl, surrounded by majestic oaks. There the stage is set for picnicking and enjoying professional quality productions.

Performances are Friday and Saturday nights, with gates opening at 6:30, show starting at 8:00. Patrons are encouraged to come early with picnics, chairs and jackets. The Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre is located on North Main Street in Jackson, next to the Country Squire Motel.

Performance Dates and Times
Fridays and Saturdays
Gates open at 6:30pm for picnics, Show starts at 8:00pm
Treasure Island
June 18th - July 24th
The Servant of Two Masters
August 6th – September 4th

Ticket Prices
Adults - $17.50
Students/Children 18 & under - $12.00
Family Pack (2 adults/2 students) - $49.00

Tickets available at the gate or on-line at
www.mstw.org

Charley’s Aunt revives at Chautauqua

Courtesy photo

Choosing a play to see is a lot like buying shoes. Much depends on your taste and purpose. If you’re drawn to witty reflection that illuminates upper class values of Victorian England, then Chautauqua’s current offering of Charley’s Aunt may be your cup of tea, especially if you’d like some choice laughs as crumpets.

The play, by Brandon Thomas, opened in London in 1892 and enjoyed many revivals since, including a 1941 film version starring Jack Benny. The story relies on a popular device for its humor and suspense: mistaken identity. In the process it reveals both the charms and prejudices of the mores it satirizes.

With wedlock in mind, a pair of Oxford undergraduates, Charley Wykeham (Jess Thomas) and Jack Chesney (Nick Palleschi) have their eyes on, respectively, two suitable young ladies, Amy Spettigue (Zoe Samborski) and Kitty Verdun (Analise Langford-Clark). One is the niece, the other a ward, of Stephen Spettigue (Richard Spierto) an overbearing London solicitor.

Initiating a respectable courtship requires a respectable chaperon, and Jack has just the ticket: his Brazilian aunt, Donna Lucia d’Alvadorez, who’s on her way for a visit. With that expectation in mind he sets up a meeting with the girls. To Jack’s horror, the aunt “from where the nuts come from” is delayed. The impulsive Jack, rather than postponing the meeting, recruits his somewhat ditsy pal Lord Fancourt Babberley (Marc Berman) to masquerade, in drag) as the aunt. (Costumes are by Eileen Beaver.)

Chaos follows, with the greedy Stephen Spettigue wooing Charley’s supposedly rich aunt despite her ugliness. Others contributing to the disorder include a cynical butler, Brasset (Daryl Petrig), who observes how his employers do everything “with a bang” except pay their bills. Eventually the real Donna Lucia arrives, played with an aristocratic warmth by Laura Sheridan. What’s more, she was once engaged to Jack’s father, Col. Sir Frances Chesney, and now completes the circle by resuming their engagement.

A contrite Lord Fancort drops his disguise and is forgiven. His prize, though, is Donna Lucia’s independently wealthy companion, Ela Delahay (Jackie Rouse).

The able cast is smartly directed by Diane Bartlett on two spare but attractive sets designed by Rodger Hoopman. Stage Manager Barrett Chew doubles as a porter and entertains with some soft-shoe dancing during the intermission.

Though much of the humor seems clumsy by today’s standards, the production has its charms. As the final show of its thirty-third season, the play sheds a nostalgic light on the artifice of England 118 years ago.

Charley’s Aunt continues through June 13 at the Chautauqua Playhouse, 5325 Engle Road in the La Sierra Community Center in Carmichael. Performance are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $17 general and $15 students, seniors, children, and SARTA members. Call (916) 489-7529. See also cplayhouse.org

Shayleen Schmutzer-Smith (Helga Ten Dorp), Benjamin T. Ismail (Clifford Anderson), Wade Lucas (Sidney Bruhl), Melissa Rae Frago (Myra Bruhl)

Photo by Lori Ann DeLappe-Grondin.




Big Idea Theatre is excited to continue its 2010 season with the opening of Deathtrap by Ira Levin on Friday, May 21, 2010. Opening night includes a gala with wine, light refreshments, a meet and greet with the cast and crew, and live music featuring local artists. All opening night tickets are $20.

This energetic production is directed by Kirk Blackinton and features BIT Company actors Wade Lucas, Benjamin T. Ismail and Melissa Rae Frago, joined by the talents of Shayleen Schmutzer-Smith and Ernesto Bustos.

Performances of Deathtrap are at 8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, May 21 through June 19, 2010. Sunday matinees are at 2:30 p.m. (May 30, June 6, 13 only). Regularly priced general admission tickets are $15. SARTA/League/Seniors/Students $12. All second weekend tickets are $10 (May 28-30 only). Big Idea Theatre is located at 1616 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815. Box office: 916-960-3036. Web site: www.BigIdeaTheatre.com

THE STORY:

A "has been" Broadway playwright struggling to overcome a dry spell schemes to take credit for a student's script. The suspense mounts as the plot twists and turns with devilish cleverness, thrills, and laughter.

Ravenous Hunger and Rampaging Libidos

Cap Stage Serves Up
Ravenous Hunger and Rampaging Libidos

Richard wrestles Tom
courtesy photo

Hunter Gatherers
May 14 - June 27, 2010
(no performances Memorial Day Weekend May 27-30)
(Opening Night: Friday, May 21, 2010 at 8:00 pm)

Capital Stage continues as Sacramento's "home of the premieres" with its presentation of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's hilarious and outrageous Hunter Gatherers. Winner of the 2006 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award and Will Glickman Award, Hunter Gatherers was included in every Bay Area media's list of best plays for 2006. Besides the Bay Area, Hunter Gatherers has been a huge hit with critics and audiences from LA to Philadelphia and Seattle to Dallas.

"Outrageously libidinous knockabout farce meets penetrating social satire in Peter Nachtrieb's hilariously revelatory comedy." - San Francisco Chronicle
The Story

A hilariously savage dinner with friends is the setting of the Sacramento premiere of Hunter Gatherers by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. An urban evening finds Pam and Richard hosting their best friends, Wendy and Tom, for an annual get-together. An animal sacrifice kicks off the evening, followed by a little more sex, violence, deception, wrestling and dancing than at previous parties. The line between civilized and primal man will be blurred. Hunter Gatherers is a dark comedy described as Lord of the Flies meets Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Performances for Hunter Gatherers will begin with four previews on Friday, May 14 at 8pm; Saturday, May 15 at 7pm; Sunday, May 16 at 2pm; and Thursday, May 20 at 8pm, and will open on Friday, May 21, 2010 at 8pm. Performances continue through June 27, 2010. (There will be no performances Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-30, due to the annual Jazz Festival in Old Sacramento.) Showtimes will be Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets range from $25-$32. Discount tickets are available as follows: Preview Tickets: $15; Student Tickets on Thursdays and Fridays: $12; Senior Tickets on Sunday Matinees: $20; and Group Rates available for parties of 12 or more. Tickets are currently available at the Capital Stage Box Office, by phone at 916-995-5464 or online at www.capstage.org. The Pilothouse Restaurant offers a specially priced $29 three-course dinner for theatre patrons; Pilothouse reservations can be made through the box office.

The Playwright
Peter Sinn Nachtrieb was born in San Francisco and grew up in Mill Valley. Mr. Nachtrieb graduated from Brown University with a degree in Theater and Biology, and earned his MFA in Creative Writing from SF State in 2005. His play, Colorado had its full world premiere at Impact Theatre in 2006. His first full length play, Meaningless, has won multiple awards, received its world premiere at Chicago's Bailiwick Repertory Theatre August 2004, where it earned rave reviews. His one act, Multiplex, was produced at the Bruno's Island New Plays Festival in San Francisco, and was part of SFSU's mainstage season in 2003. His short play, Self Help, won an Emerging Playwright Award from SF's Playground Theatre. Mr. Nachtrieb's play, Hunter Gatherers had a sellout three-month world premiere run the summer of 2006, produced by Killing My Lobster. Its early development was supported by a Tournesol Emerging Playwrights Residency at the Z Space, the New Works Fund, a grant program of Theatre Bay Area and was part of the 2005 Bay Area Playwright's Festival. It was performed on Cape Cod at W.H.A.T. in summer of 2007. Mr. Nachtrieb's play boom had its world premiere at Ars Nova in New York and had productions at DC's Woolly Mammoth, Seattle Rep, Cleveland Public Theatre and Sacramento's B Street Theatre. Mr. Nachtrieb's most recent play, TIC, had its world premiere with Encore Theatre with whom he has received an Emerging Playwright Award from the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. It played in January 2009 in San Francisco. He has received a commission from South Coast Rep, and wrote for the 2009 Humana Festival Anthology.

The Cast
Hunter Gatherers will include Katie Rubin (Speech & Debate) as Wendy, Greg Parker (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) as Tom, Kelley Ogden co-founder of Sacramento's KOLT Run Creations as Pam and Bay Area favorite Cassidy Brown as Richard. Capital Stage Artistic Associate Jonathan Williams (Dirty Story, Boy Gets Girl) directs.

WARNING: This play contains adult subject matter, and although it is hilarious, it's probably not suitable for those under the age of 17.

Hunter Gatherers
Fact Sheet

What: Capital Stage presents the Sacramento Premiere of Hunter Gatherers by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb.
Where: Delta King Theatre, 1000 Front Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
When: May 14- June 27, 2010 (no performances Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-30)

Previews
Friday, May 14 @ 8pm
Saturday, May 15 @ 7pm
Sunday, May 16 @ 2pm
Thursday, May 20 @ 8pm

Opening Night: Friday, May 21, 2010 @ 8pm $32 Tickets

Performance Times & Prices
Thursdays/Fridays 8pm $25 Tickets
Saturdays 7pm $29 Tickets
Sundays 2pm $25 Tickets

Description
Pam and Richard are hosting their best friends, Wendy and Tom, for an annual dinner get-together. An animal sacrifice kicks off the evening, followed by a little more sex, violence, deception, wrestling, and dancing than at previous parties. A darkly comic evening where the line between civilized and primal man is blurred, but is there still room for dessert?

Who
Author: Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Director: Jonathan Williams
Cast: Cassidy Brown*, Kelley Ogden, Greg Parker*, Katie Rubin*
Set Design: Steve Decker
Lighting Design: Steve Decker
Costume Design: Rebecca Redmond
Sound Design: Brad Thompson
Production Manager: Cathy Coupal
Stage Manager: Liz Estella*

* Appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, the professional union for actors and stage managers in the U.S.

Always Patsy Cline Charms STC

Michele Hillen (l.) and Dyan McBride
Courtesy Maria Christie Photography

Maybe it’s a lack of fresh, riveting drama, but based on the enthusiastic audience for “Cline,” theatergoers seem to be more interested in social awareness than in story telling, especially regarding women. Rather than a dramatized biography, we get a character profile, complete with music.

As Patsy, Dyan McBride provides not only a faithful representation of the singer, with voice to match, but also projects the kind of country-girl warmth that drew audiences to the real Patsy. The current audience also claps along to much of the familiar and loved tunes she bequeathed to us.

Louise (Michele Hillen), Patsy’s representative friend and fan, captures the warmth that brought those audiences to the versatile country singer from Virginia.

Born in 1932, Patsy was the daughter of a seamstress and a blacksmith father who deserted the family when Patsy was 15. Yet Patsy insisted the home was a happy one. A by-ear pianist who sang with perfect pitch, she began her career on a local radio station and climbed to success by way ABC-TV’s Grand Ole Opry and Arthur Godfry’s Talent Scouts in New York.

She recorded a string of hits, from country pop-crossover songs to the torch-song style that made her famous. Her biggest hit was Willie Nelson’s “Crazy,” which made the top ten in 1961. In 1963, at 30 and to our loss at the height of her career, she died in an airplane crash.

Directed by Michael Laun, the show at STC, written and originally directed by Ted Swindley, is more of a dramatized concert than a play, with thirteen numbers divided between two acts. McBride’s spirited Patsy is supported by five musicians, led by Erik Daniells, as conductor and on piano.

Always Patsy Cline continues through May 23, with performances Wednesday (6:30 p.m.), Thursday (12:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.), Friday (8 p.m.), Saturday (2 and 8 p.m.), Sunday (2 p.m.). Tickets are $15-$18; group tickets are $25. The Sacramento Theatre Company is at 1419 H Street, Sacramento. Call (916) 443-6722 or (888) 4-STC-TIX; Group Sales: (916) 446-7501 x 120. Check www.sactheatre.org.