There is a new generation of young Sacramento actors and actresses being trained by Sacramento native Liorah Singerman, artistic director of the Young Actors Stage Theater group.  The Mainstage show, "Annie Jr." opens this Friday night March 1st and stars the talented Jillie Kate Randle in the title role.  Mrs. Singerman grew up on the Sacramento stage performing with companies including Sacramento Theater Company and Davis Musical Theater Company.  She then went on to hone her theater skills in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and spent 10 years performing in New York.  In 2009, Liorah moved back to her home town and founded the Young Actors Stage Theater group, bringing live

Performances, visual art shows and hands-on “funshops” will be featured at Very Special Arts Day on Saturday, July 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hosted by Fairytale Town and sponsored by I Can Do That!, Very Special Arts Day will bring together children of all abilities—those with disabilities and those without—to interact through, create and enjoy the arts. The highlight of Very Special Arts Day will be performances by Act On!, a children’s theatre camp presented by I Can Do That and Fairytale Town. Visual arts creations by Very Special Arts students will be on display. There will also be several hands-on workshops, called funshops, where children will be able to make flying saucers, rhumba

Whether you’re aware of it or not, chances are you’ve encountered the work of California Musical Theatre (CMT). The Organization oversees and organizes logistics for the wildly popular Music Circus, Broadway Sacramento, and Cosmopolitan Cabaret seasons. With a full-time staff, and a strong crew of temporary and seasonal staffing as needed, CMT is responsible for overseeing the elements of these three musical theatre seasons, all of which succeed in bringing top-notch musical theatre performances to the Sacramento region. In addition to producing and presenting high-quality theatrical shows, CMT runs educational programs through the California Musical Theatre Academy (CMT Academy). CMT Aca

The Colonial Theatre has been home to many fun and interactive events put on by the Sacramento Horror Film Festival including shadowcast performances, film festivals and even concerts. On Friday, May 11, the Sacramento Horror Film Festival will sponsor, “The Devil’s Carnival,” a traveling musical horror film that will be playing at the Colonial Theatre. “The Devil’s Carnival” is the next project from the minds of Darren Lynn Bousman, director of several of the “Saw” films and “Repo! The Genetic Opera,” and Terrance Zdunich, co-writer of “Repo! The Genetic Opera.” “The Devil’s Carnival,” which began its tour of the U.S. on April 5, tells the tale of three types of people as they tour a c

If you’re ignorant, punk may seem barbaric, aggressive or nothing but thrashing mosh pit zombies screaming about anarchy. But one of the genre’s founding fathers pushed progressivism and social consciousness throughout his career — in his lyrics, politics, and free for all fornication. When the Buzzcocks (who will perform Thursday at The Ace of Spades), rose from Manchester England to world fame and acclaim during punk’s first late-1970’s wave, guitarist Steve Diggle stood firmly by the side of frontman Pete Shelley, the first openly bisexual performer in an era and genre that seemed violently intolerant. “He had a few relationships with guys, but it was never a big problem. In fact, he’

Fun for all ages, every child or child-at-heart will enter a fantastical Victorian Era where top hats and petticoats are mixed with contemporary elements such as human pyramids and juggling, during the two hour, high-energy, extravaganza of dazzling acrobatics, death-defying feats, irreverent humor and rock-n-roll also known as Circus Oz. The world renown, Australia-based circus is performing at the Mondavi Center in Davis this weekend. The show "Steampowered" is animal-free and performed by 13 people, one of which is a rigger (person whose job is very heavy lifting), all of whom juggle between different jobs within the chaos of the show, such as being part of the live band, performing a

On Friday, 13 January, Runaway Stage Productions began its 2012 season with the Broadway rendition of "The Wedding Singer," at the 24th Street Theater in downtown Sacramento. The adaptation of Adam Sandler's 1998 film tells of a romantic comedy set in the 80's where wedding singer, Robbie Hart attempts to win the heart of Julie who is to marry the wrong man. The musical adaptation is rife with dedications to the 80's: from style to pop-culture references as well as the dancing and the music to help illustrate the era for the audience. The production runs through February 5 with tickets available through Runaway Stage Productions, contact: (916) 207-1226 or go to www.runawaystage.com for

Adam Carolla’s wheels aren’t spinning. In fact, his engine has literally stalled. “I’m down in the garage trying to get a Lamborghini 400GT to start. And I narrowed it down to the fuel pump or the fuses right before I came up here to call you,” the comedian, podcast host and amateur mechanic says in an exclusive phone interview with The Sacramento Press. He’ll perform his stand-up routine at The Crest Theatre on Friday. In some ways, Carolla’s career has switched to high gear. A decade ago, he co-hosted goofy fare like “The Man Show” with Jimmy Kimmel and “Loveline” with Dr. Drew. Now he’s taken more creative control on projects like Fox Sports’ “The Car Show” and his own wildly popular

Amongst the buzz saw riffs lies a tale twisted as knotted lumber’s grain. It was chiselled, grinded, and chipped at until the words surrounding that deep woods howl splintered as if to catch beneath your skin. That, at least, could be one way to look at the fresh cut tune “Curl of the Burl,” from the latest album by heavy metal craftsmen Mastodon. The song’s title refers to the bloated burr growths swelling under the bark of injured hardwood trees. Such deformities hold a special beauty to certain artisans. “There’s a group of people in the Pacific North West… They get hopped up on meth, get in their trucks and go into the woods with their chainsaws to hunt for the burl in various tree

Over 100 people came to Capital Stage’s grand opening gala Friday night to celebrate and support the new theater space. Capital Stage, located on the Delta King for the past six years, has now moved into its own space at 2215 J St. The inside of the new theater is sophisticated and warm. The exterior wall facing J Street is crimson red and a modern metal sign that reads Capital Stage hangs next to the front entrance. On Oct. 7 Capital Stage received its occupancy permit from the city and its new sign arrived. Five days later they put on their first performance, and Friday was the official grand opening. Warm pumpkin-colored walls greet theatergoers as they enter the building, and large

Few might expect to find salvation inside a prison’s walls, but that’s exactly what rap’s most famous supposed Satanist glimpsed. Tech N9ne (performing at the Ace of Spades on Oct. 24) visited fellow hip-hop eccentric Lil Wayne at Rikers Island while the latter MC served a year- long sentence in 2010 for weapon possession. The three hour dialogue touched on everything. They started with their families and children. Then, their peculiar career paths. Before long, N9ne was opening up about how his success had been hindered by years of anonymous blog posts and whisperings about his supposed 'devil worship.' Then, he revealed to Wayne why those rumours could never be true. “We talked about s

The past will mingle with the present once again when the popular “Time Travel Weekends” program resumes in Old Sacramento on Saturday, July 2.  The free street theater program debuted in 2010 and was an immediate crowd pleaser.   Designed to delight, entertain and engage Old Sacramento visitors with good, old-fashioned fun reminiscent of the Gold Rush era, “Time Travel Weekends” are offered weekends July through August from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with expanded performances during Gold Rush Days over Labor Day weekend).  The “Time Travel Weekends” program is presented by the Historic Old Sacramento Foundation (HOSF) in partnership with the City of Sacramento, California State Parks, Old Sacram

Tuesday night Ace of Spades featured a lineup of four hyper-aggressive and extremely animated bands. Blownload, a Sacramento-based group, opened the set. Although he’s a heftier gentleman, lead vocalist Erie Loch possessed an amazing amount of liveliness. He made concert-goers laugh at his dirty sex jokes and inappropriate gestures, all without stalling the music. Another group called Star Killer came all the way from New York. The group’s sound was a mixture of good old fashioned punk rock and ‘90s metal. They played songs off their new EP such as “The Hunt” and “As the Sky is Falling,” and were kind enough to hang out and chat with fans in between sets. The third group to take the sta

This weekend was a big one for fans of sing-along theater and cinema. The Amber’s Sweets crew, best know for their shadowcast production of “Repo! The Genetic Opera,” put together a two-night extravaganza of acting, singing and audience participation. Friday night was the premiere night of “Dr. Horrible,” which was originally aired as a series of shorts starring Neil Patrick Harris as the aspiring super villain, Dr. Horrible. With his Ph.D. in horribleness, Dr. Horrible tries to gain entry into the Evil League of Evil, led by Bad Horse, who is, in fact, a horse. In between his evil video blog broadcasts, Horrible vies for the affection of Penny, a girl he meets in the laundromat. Hilarity

The teenage drug dealer slung a belt around his stocky waist and through the loops of his newly pressed khakis before tightening a necktie around his throat. In the streets below, a junkie who was all too similar to the young hustler’s crack clientele, wrapped his own belt around one of his track-marked arms. Both seemed to strangle themselves enough to make their veins pop. And neither saw any other way to escape. “It was hard for me to get a (legit) job. I tried everything in my life. My moms made me put suits on and everything. I was just a loser,” said rapper and reformed hustler Raekwon, who will perform at Ace of Spades on May 1, of  his humble beginnings in an exclusive telephone i

Lucky for Sacramentans, Ace of Spades has booked the Murderdolls, one of the most vulgar, most energetic bands that your mother would never want to catch you listening to. They are set to perform on April 21 with opening bands, Misamore, Avenue Saints, Spider City and Blownload, a group based out of Sacramento. Frontmen Wednesday 13, who has his own side project of the same name, and Joey Jordison, who has drummed for bands like Slipknot and Rob Zombie, have reunited to make the Murderdolls’ second full length album, “Women and Children Last,” a strong one. Songs such as “Drug Me to Hell” and “Hello, Goodbye, Die” hold true to their metal-punk-trash-thrash sound, complete with horror-movi

Tonight's Review Writing workshop will be live streamed, and we encourage you to tune in from 6:45 - 8 p.m. Sacramento Press Editor in Chief David Watts Barton will teach the basics of reviewing concerts, theater and other performances. We are not accepting anymore RSVPs at this point. We are at full capacity for attendees. If you have RSVP'd but it's more convenient for you to watch the live stream, we encourage you to do so. The Ustream video will be pasted in this article later today. It will go live when the workshop starts. Free live streaming by Ustream

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a feature film released in late 2008 that is challenging to categorize, although it calls itself a “goth opera.” It features classic horror movie staples such as blood, guts, and murder, but it also holds fast to classical roots by being sung from nearly beginning to end in the style of a true opera.   The Amber’s Sweets crew is a group of artists who get together to reenact the film while it is simultaneously projected onto the wall in a theatrical event called a shadowcast . The Sweets’ third shadowcast performance of Repo! took place at the Colonial Theatre Saturday. Although it was only the third time the cast performed the entire production live at the thea

To say that March Fourth Marching Band is eclectic is an understatement. Although the mobile group consists of the usual marching band staples, including a 12-piece horn section and a 10-piece drum and percussion set, everything else about the group screams circus. Fire-eaters, stilt walkers, hula-hoop dancers and puppeteers are just a few of the elements that make March Fourth an act to remember.   The Portland natives who make up March Fourth performed Wednesday at Necropolis, a club in Old Sacramento.   Necropolis is small, so the performers and musicians mingled with guests at the bar while their equipment was set up. The show started a little late because of trouble with the tour bu

Every fourth Friday of the month, Club Circuitry features live acts. Last Friday, the club presented Anguidara, a Sacramento-based band, and Shadow Fax, an artist from Modesto.   Anguidara usually consists of a complete instrumental lineup. However, for Friday’s show, only two members were present. Frontman David Wright sang, played a floor tom drum and controlled all preprogrammed sounds while Victor La Rocco played guitar.   “About two years ago, I had a live band that consisted of a keyboardist, me, a guitarist, a bass player, and a drummer,” Wright explained. “All of them have gone their separate ways, except for the bass player, who is still going to be able to come back and play fo