Photographs by Barry Wisdom /   Those who grew up in the 1950s and '60s were frequently shown educational films and filmstrips that offered moral instruction on a variety of such "behavioral" subjects as lunchroom manners, illegal drug use and dating. Dating and marriage in the "happy days" of the late-1950s and early-1960s are the topics of the fictitious educational film that playwright Robert Bastron has used to frame his sometimes-campy, sometimes-poignant "A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage c. 1959," now playing at Sacramento's Big Idea Theatre. The show, which opened June 14, continues through July 13 with performances at 8 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Photographs by Barry Wisdom Scott Barry – playwright, screenwriter, actor, filmmaker, UC Davis engineering grad, and one-time San Francisco 49ers draft pick – was looking for just the right "costume" choice for the world premiere of his one-man comedy "Rise," which opens the evening of June 15 at Sacramento's Ooley Theatre. Though he was primarily seeking the advice of wife Mary Alice as he made several quick changes from an array of possibilities laid out on a trio of front-row seats at the downtown theater, he wasn't above soliciting additional opinions from his tech crew, as well as this photojournalist, as he modeled the still-tagged clothing under the stage lights. Should he pair a

Why shouldn't there be a big ol' mess of Cajun and blues music all the way out and up here in Northern California … so far away from the Crazy Crescent City that lies in the mouth of the Mississippi River? The answer is totally affirmative. We have our own delta right here in the “backyard,” so to speak. We even have quite a good-sized river that runs through it. It's also where our “breeze” comes from. And it's where the 35th annual Isleton Cajun & Blues Festival happens. This weekend would be a good time for you take in this big mess of great music down Isleton way, near all the tall broadcast towers. The delta is another beautiful and different part of the rather fickle but unique top

“Before Midnight” film review by Gary Chew On seeing the opening sequences of Richard Linklater's new film, “Before Midnight,” it was almost as if I had sat through the first scenes of “Stealing Beauty” with Liv Tyler. Unlike Tyler’s circumstance, it wasn't the Tuscan sun bearing down on two lovers seen in two earlier movies, “Before Sunrise” (1995) and “Before Sunset” (2004). Instead, it was the brilliant Mediterranean sun, as much aglow above the Greek island of Farmakonisi; the effect is much the same, you see, either place being where anybody would die just to get themselves serious joie de vivre—first. Continuing with as much joie de vivre as its plotless predecessors, “Before Mi

 Now You See Me                               film review by Gary Chew One could say that Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are together again on the big screen in another 2013 summer movie; this one called, “Now You See Me.” You'll remember Jesse and Woody in the cast of one of my favorite really nutty films called, “Zombieland” (2009). It also boasts early film acting by Emma Stone, and contains a memorable interrogative.  Spoken by Harrelson in a soliloquy, “Where's the freakin' Twinkies (?) may endure as one of cinema's truly profound utterances.   Harrelson doesn't get to say anything quite as powerful in “Now You See Me,” but Eisenberg is up to his usual “Social Network” schtick

The Beatles reportedly came up with their name as an homage to Buddy Holly's Crickets. Paul Stanley has said KISS chose its name because it "just sounded dangerous and sexy at the same time." (Alternate origin stories include the group's nom de plume is actually an acronym for "Knights in Satan's Service.") There are thousands of other such tales of how contemporary bands claimed a memorable moniker. But it took a late-20th century invention called the Internet to provide the inspiration for multi-instrumentalist Gene Smith's most-recent band, Gene Smith Lives!, which plays on a triple bill May 31 (with The Followers of Sunshine and the Jenn Rogar Band) at Sacramento's Fox and Goose. "B

I got to sit down with the founders of "Play2Survive", Michael Lang and Jackson Harris. I have never heard of an event that includes playing tag as a zombie. Lang, a coach, who has been involved in the community for several years apsires to help raise money for local high schools.  What inspired you to create a Zombie Tag game? Harris: I was browsing Facebook one day a few years ago and saw a zombie tag game, similar to ours, out in Virginia (where I went to High school) and thought it was a cool idea and wanted to go. I was in the middle of a semester of college in California so I couldn't just fly out there and decided that maybe I could call a few friends and try to host one myself i

In honor of a recent weekend excursion to the foothills, this month’s tasting will be Auburn Alehouse's Fool’s Gold Pale Ale. “The Pale that Packs a Punch,” as they proclaim, is made just up the road in Placer County. At first glance, the off-white head is generous, dense and foamy. The aroma is fresh and bready, and the body is pale, golden straw in color. The taste is immediately fresh and light – a real easy drinker, but with a warming alcohol finish. This brew is 7.8 percent ABV, surprisingly high for a “pale ale” – rightly so, as they refer to it more specifically on the label as a West Coast strong pale ale. Others refer to this type of beer as a strong American blonde, or more sim

“Star Trek: Into Darkness”     film review by Gary Chew Maintaining linkage with itself has to be one of the underlying secrets of success for the durable “Star Trek” franchise. The linkage with all the star trekking from its outset when Gene Roddenberry got the space fable launched in 1966 to the very motion picture that's just been released (“Star Trek: Into Darkness”) makes it clear its genesis was in broadcast television. The Trek characters continue, even if they are now younger and played by others who, in many instances, weren't yet born when the series began. At present, we remain in the prequel mode of this enduring future of which Jim Kirk and Mr. Spock --- as well as the rest

For Matt Castle, a New York-based jack of all musical trades whose work can currently be heard in Sacramento Theatre Company’s lauded world-premiere production of “A Little Princess” (extended through the evening of May 19), taking on the task of orchestrating Eric Rockwell’s score was a multi-layered labor of love. Not only did it allow Castle, a Sacramento native now living in New York, the opportunity to participate in the gifting of his hometown with an original musical adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved novel, but it provided yet another project on which he and husband Frank Galgano could collaborate – further establishing the duo’s reputation as go-to guys for musical t

Who says life and love end at some arbitrary age? Not Charlie Fuller who, at 67 and much to his proper daughter Elaine’s embarrassment, has not yet “clicked off.” EMH Productions is happy to bring a light romantic comedy to the stage to end the series of shows dealing with love and relationships, ranging from the incomprehensible (“My Fellow Creatures”) to the darkly tragic (“Liar”) and the tragically funny (“Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead”). “Moving Mountains” by Lawrence Roman, is a light romantic comedy playing Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 pm. and 7:00 p.m. through May 19th at Sacramento’s Geery Theatre at 2130 L Street. "Imagine a man, his name

 “The Great Gatsby,” a film review by Gary Chew   The most salient point in F. Scott Fitzgerald's great novel, “The Great Gatsby,” comes when Nick Carraway admonishes Jay Gatsby: “You can't repeat the past.”   Making sure to abide by that admonition had to be what Baz Luhrmann was up to when he co-wrote and directed the Fitzgerald classic now opening across the nation. Although the story takes place as the twenties roared, this “Gatsby” has much that makes it seem as though it's actually 2013 and a grand, splashy embellishment of “Gatsbys” of the past.   That's because of the film's visual effects of recent vintage. Not only are the lavish parties thrown by Gatsby and the entire film in 3

Making a special appearance this Memorial Day, “Igor the Jazz Cowboy” will return to Sacramento for this one-of-a-kind exclusive performance. A star from decades of concerts at the “Sacramento Music Festival,” this show is not related to the festival and will feature the best of all Igor’s talent. His music includes the roots of Americana, from New Orleans to Arizona’s cowboys and beyond. Igor will team up with local comedy magician John Heinen, and together for the first time they will perform at the gorgeous campus of Sacramento’s Unitarian Universalist Society, located near Fair Oaks Boulevard between Howe Ave and Fulton Ave at 2425 Sierra Blvd. The admission price of $15, children und

The Humor Times has announced a somewhat stealth $5 discount for tickets to see the national-touring, musical/political comedy troupe, the Capitol Steps, tomorrow, Sunday, May 5th, at 6:30pm. The performance takes place in the Martinique Ballroom of the Clarion Inn, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento, next to the Arden Fair Mall. The General Admission tickets are normally $35.00 in advance, $40.00 the day of the show. But the show's presenter, the Humor Times, announced on their website today a $5 discount for "readers of the Humor Times website." That means show goers will get tickets for $10 less than it will cost them at the door tomorrow. But the website cautions that the discount is a "lim

With all of the social media outlets available to theater professionals – arguably one of the Sacramento area's most "vocal" populations now posting, tweeting, webbing and pinning – it's a challenge for those company members charged with "getting the word out" to play it close to their Velcroed vests to avoid spilling "spoilers." But that's exactly the very thin, gaffer-taped line that director Jouni Kirjola is walking these days as he promotes the Big Idea Theatre production of "Private Eyes," playing April 26 through May 25. "It's so hard to describe without giving away the secrets," said Kirjola of the show, what playwright Steven Dietz calls a “relationship thriller.” "It's an explor

On June 24, boxing fans around the world will commemorate the 118th anniversary of William “Jack” Dempsey’s birth. This evening – May 2 – Sacramento’s Geery Theatre gets the party started for the well-liked heavyweight champ with its world premiere of Dan Fagan’s “A Tiger Without Mercy.” The one-man show, starring Fagan as Dempsey (as well as some 30 real-life figures in the prizefighter’s life), and directed by Anthony D’Juan, continues through May 10. As the first-time playwright (and up-and-coming actor) details, this “Tiger” is no blindly “Raging Bull,” but neither is he a pussycat. Dubbed “the Manassa Mauler” by writer (and boxing aficionado) Damon Runyon, whose Broadway-based stor

Now is the time for a semi-local brew road trip. Pick a couple of friends, find a designated driver, promise him or her a growler of choice – beer to go, fresh from the brewery tap – for the end of the trip, and visit one, two or all of the mouthwatering breweries just west of Sacramento. Road trip! Starting from home, you might want to first hit up your favorite growler stop, though this all depends on where you plan to spend the night. Don't let it get warm! Track 7, Hoppy and Berryessa all have growlers. Toss a cooler stocked with ice in your trunk for growlers and 22-ouncers that you pick up along the way. Did you remember to find a designated driver? Be sure to do so – and not just

“Mud” film review by Gary Chew   Imagine if you can, a film actors’ school for men only. The primary acting coaches at the school are Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall ... and maybe Sam Elliott.   Now you have a good impression of how most of the men in “Mud” talk and act. “Mud” was a contentious film at Cannes last year; written and directed by native Arkansan, Jeff Nichols. His earlier film was “Take Shelter” (2011).   Two of the males in “Mud” who seem as though they might have been influenced by Jones and Duvall are in their early teens. Tye Sheridan (“The Tree of Life”) plays 14-year-old Ellis and Jacob Lofland (from Yell County Arkansas) plays his best bud, Neckbone, the same age. Th

“The Company You Keep.” film review by Gary Chew   Robert Redford's new movie, “The Company You Keep,” needs a larger plate. It's more than dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas, combined. Good things are on the plate but, some intended for the film, spill, in considerable measure, onto the tablecloth. The main course cast is a gourmet repast that would waft an aromatic varietal through any movie house. Director Redford plays an anonymous, liberal attorney in upstate New York who used be a Weather Under-Ground Guy of the early 70s. Susan Sarandon has the role of Sharon, a middle-aged wife and mother in Vermont, who was, back then, a compatriot of Redford's character. He was Nick then; i

Sacramento's own Humor Times publication is celebrating its 22nd Anniversary by bringing the hilarious and nationally-touring Capitol Steps comedy troupe to Sacramento, on Sunday, May 5th. The show starts at 6:30pm, and will take place in the Martinique Ballroom at the Clarion Inn on 1401 Arden Way, which is next to the Arden Fair Mall. The Capitol Steps are renowned for their unique brand of musical political comedy, lampooning all sides in national politics with a non-partisan, equal-opportunity bashing that leaves no political party or personality unscathed The Steps use a fast-paced set of songs and skits, as the wildly popular group presents a show that is unequaled for its original