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

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

Another busy week at the Crest Theatre A little over 100 years ago, in January 1913, what we now know as the Crest Theatre first opened its doors as the Empress, a vaudeville theater - soon to be renamed the Hippodrome. In 1946 it closed for extensive remodeling, re-opening in 1949 as the Crest with an interior much as you can still enjoy it today, thanks to extensive renovation and care from the current ownership team and staff. A couple of months ago, news leaked out that the Crest would no longer routinely schedule films on its two smaller screens, disappointing many who feared that Sacramento would lose its only truly independent movie theater (The Tower Theatre being part of a small

Today’s headlines: King Arthur and Sir Robin of Locksley pull out all the stops (as well as their sword and bow) to vanquish the evil Mordred; a boy’s neighbors find a bit more spring to their steps when a fairy godparent turns city streets into trampolines; a time-traveling scientist turns up the volume for all those he encounters during a mid-19th century sojourn; rival lemonade-stand entrepreneurs discover more in common than a mutual love of citrus fruit; and when a rebel cowgirl arrives in Rodeo Riday, she spurs the populace into making drastic changes. If only the real headlines of the day were as entertaining as these. These may not be actual breaking-news stories, but those famil

Denizens of the Padua and Verona trailer parks are stereotypical "white trash" ne'er-do-wells one would expect to see feudin' and fightin', swillin' and smokin' on an episode of "Cops" – not spouting iambic pentameter center stage in a Shakespearean comedy. But that's exactly what distinguishes The Alternative Arts Collective's cast of characters in its world-premiere adaptation of "Taming of the Shrew," now playing through May 4 at the Blue Box Theater. "I was trying to think what would be fun to do for a contemporary take on Shakespeare," said TAAC company member Cameron Rose, a familiar face on stage ("Suburbia," "Equus") who's making his directorial debut with "Shrew." "Then it jus

For those who thought Sacramento Theatre Company's April 2012 cabaret production of "Music of the Night: The Musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber" had exhausted the best of the composer's catalogue, the company's closing cabaret offering of the 2012-13 season, "As If We Never Sad Goodbye," might well force a change of mind. Subtitled "A Brand New Tribute to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber," "As If ..." takes listeners back to the beginning with selections from the 1960s ("Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat"), to the 1970s ("Jesus Christ Superstar," "Evita"), to the prolific 1980s ("Starlight Express," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Aspects of Love"), to the '90s ("Sunset Boulevard," "Whistle Down the

B Street Theatre veteran Rick Kleber, who began performing for the company’s multi-generational audiences in the mid-1980s as a member of its Fantasy Theatre touring cast, is no subtle supporting actor, but an overwhelming comedic presence who doesn’t so much evoke LOLs from children and their parents (and their parents), as demand them. In the B Street Theatre’s Family Series production of “Finding Our Voice: Susan B. & the Women’s Suffrage Movement,” which continues through Sunday, April 14, the Los Angeles-based Kleber – who was last seen here in 2012’s as the witch in “Hansel & Gretel” – once again pulls a Kleber. That is, he turns the comic sensibility up to “11,” changing personas a

Aspiring filmmakers -- professionals and weekenders – should come out to the next "Third Tuesday" workshop from the Capital Film Arts Alliance. It's on April 16 at The Art Institute at 7p.m. and will feature director Chris King and sound engineer Jimmy Bell. These guys know what they're doing with camera and sound, they've won awards and accolades galore, and are more than willing to share their "best tips" with others. This particular workshop is part of The Poe Project, a creative filmmaking, writing and literature project from the Capital Film Arts Alliance, the Sacramento Public Library, and a host of other arts groups and businesses. "The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe" has been

More than one artistic director would appreciate an army of tireless, nimble-fingered scenic-designer elves who emerge at night to tear down old sets, then build and paint new ones. But the reality is it takes many human hands to ready a stage for a company's acting contingent. Recognizing the toll its quick turn-around schedule was taking on its design and technical team – and how the Del Paso Boulevard theater's relatively short-runs might be affecting attendance – Big Idea Theatre company members Brian Harrower and Wade Lucas put their heads together over a few holiday-break drinks. "Our solution was to do fewer main-stage shows, but schedule them for longer runs," said Lucas. "That

Think about it...  a dream job, a $10,000,000 wire-transfer into your checking account, fame, power, a place in history? This is the subject of the Actors Workshop of Sacramento's latest stage production Road to Nirvana (Arthur Kopit) starring 2012 elli award-winner Eason Donner. Eason plays Jerry, the ex-best friend of Al Sereno, played by critically acclaimed theater actor Stuart Campbell. Al invites Jerry to LA to discuss the possibility of coming on board to produce the life story of global pop sensation, Nirvana, played by local theater darling Nicole DeCroix. In a non-stop tale of friendship and sacrifice, Jerry is lead, inch by inch, down a dark and dangerous road...  the road to

In addition to the pair of James McLure comedic one-acts ("Laundry and Bourbon" and "Lone Star") Resurrection Theatre Company is serving up as the main course of its inaugural fundraising event, staff members of the 4-year-old troupe are hoping patrons will take away a never-ending hunger for their house specialty: "challenging and fiscally responsible theater." "Laundry and Bourbon" is a semisweet tale about "discontented and gossiping small-town wives, whose marriages are less than ideal." But with the help of a bit of alcohol and a lot of fabric softener, they manage to dissipate a lot of the static that exists between them. In "Lone Star," three "good ol’ boys" spill their feelings w

Photographs by Barry Wisdom / The B Street Theatre continues to reinforce its reputation as Sacramento's leading new-works playhouse with its third world premiere of the season: Michael Elyanow's "Robyn Is Happy," opening Sunday, March 3, and running through April 14. Directed by B Street Producing Artistic Director Buck Busfield, and featuring Elisabeth Nunizato, Amy Kelly and Melinda Parrett, "Robyn Is Happy" is "a dark comedy about three women whose lifelong friendship falls apart when one of them embarks on an unusual romance." JUST THE FACTS WHAT: The B Street Theatre production of Michael Elyanow's "Robyn Is Happy" WHEN: Opens at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 3, and runs through April

photographs by Barry Wisdom / Talk about a BFF. For centuries, Shakespeare has proven to be the very best friend a theater troupe could have. With all of the playwrights who have since put pen to parchment, or have ignited the afterburners on their inkjet printers, it’s still Wild Bill Shakespeare who today’s stage companies turn to when looking to balance their sometimes costly, sometimes scatological world premiere programming with established, “classy” classics (many of which are royalty-free). In addition, directors around the world have demonstrated time and again that the Bard’s canon is not a dry, static collection of Dead Sea scrolls, but a treasure chest of ever-relevant human

photographs by Barry Wisdom /     Writer’s block has stymied everyone at one time or another. Remember those fourth-grade book reports that had us biting our nails and chewing our pencils? It’s no different for those masochistic enough to choose playwriting as a profession. Some may attempt to lubricate their path to inspiration with hot buttered rum (heavy on the butter, even heavier on the rum). A fortunate few, however, are able to navigate the blockade and find their way to an emergency slide. Sometimes said slide is an express ride that leaves them sitting with a good play in less time than it takes to compose a grocery list. Count David Mitchell Robinson, author of “Carapace”

Matias Bombal managed the Crest Theatre from 1986 to 1991 and was part of the restoration team that put the movie house back in business after several years of darkness. Last week he met with SacTV.com to do a series of video interviews about the theater's history and how the theater business has evolved. He became known in town from appearing on Channel 58 to introduce classic films. Matias went on to help restore the Guild and Colonial theaters and then moved to Oregon for several years to run a theater and co-host a radio show. Now in Sacramento, he is working on a YouTube video series that will offer movie reviews. At age nineteen in 1986, Matias rose to manager of the Crest, working

Access Sacramento Community Media has joined the Capital Film Arts Alliance and the Sacramento Public Library as a major sponsor of The Poe Project, a local creative filmmaking and screenwriting community project involving discussion and exploration of the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Access Sacramento provides its members certificates of liability insurance, free use of high definition production equipment, and guaranteed cable and online distribution of the Access Sacramento member's completed project. Staff from Access Sacramento will provide more details at the CFAA workshop on Tuesday, February 19, 2013, at the Art Institute of Sacramento starting at 7:00 p.m. Ron Cooper, Executive Direc

  It may still be winter, but Sacramento’s pro-am theater landscape is blossoming, so what better setting could there be for a regional staging of the 45th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and New West Drama Conference? Sacramento’s festival, one of eight editions being presented from Maine to Hawaii, begins its five-day run Monday, Feb. 18, at American River College (and its auxiliary site, the Crowne Plaza Northeast Sacramento). Daily workshops, lectures, master classes and performance competitions will be available to the more than 1,100 registered students who are studying a variety of theatrical disciplines, said Michael Phillips, a KCACTF regional officer wh

photographs by Barry Wisdom / When the Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento was founded in 1982, its mission goals were clearly defined: to present "the comic humor of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan"; to provide "via an open-audition process, an opportunity for local performers to bring their talents to Sacramento audiences"; and to promote "the performing arts in the Sacramento region." Those goals may have been flexed and bent a bit to allow for the staging of such non-Gilbert and Sullivan productions as Darion and Leigh's "Man of La Mancha" and Stephen Sondheim's "Side by Side" on regional stages in Woodland, Placerville and Davis, but for the most part LOTS has not strayed far from it

photographs by Barry Wisdom / For those who were first introduced to author F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" as a required high school or college reading assignment, it may have seemed to be just another story about unrelatable characters from a bygone era. A copy of CliffsNotes and a Costco-sized bottle of NoDoz will not, however, be required to embrace the Sacramento Ballet's world premiere adaptation of Fitzgerald's passionate prose about gin-soaked gents and gamines imbibing on all the Jazz Age had to offer. The first new work created by Sacramento Ballet Artistic Director Ron Cunningham in five years, "The Great Gatsby" is being paired with George Balanchine's Gershwin-scor

How is everyone doing on those New Year’s resolutions? I’m still eating dinner hot from the microwave most nights a week, so hopefully our readers are doing better than I am. Earlier this month, The Sacramento Press shared its own New Year’s resolution with readers, and that one we’re sticking to.  Part of that resolution involved new contributor rankings, and it is my pleasure to introduce you to one of our seven original Elite Contributors, Mr. Barry Wisdom. He has spent his two-and-a-half years with The Sacramento Press sharing his theater expertise with our readers, and providing amazing written and photo coverage for numerous local productions. While to say that Wisdom is a lover of