Images by Kelly Christofferson   New exclusive SacPress images by Barry Wisdom The Sacramento Theatre Company is ending its 2011-2012 season of “Mystery, Music, and Mayhem" with the return of a huge hit for STC 20-some odd years ago, the highly successful Howard Ashman-Alan Menken collaboration, “Little Shop of Horrors." It won’t be a mystery if this new STC production turns out to be its own smash hit. As for the music, Ashman’s lyrics and Menken’s music are equally infectious and the cast and band gave a wonderful performance. The two went on to do several successful and award-winning collaborations with Disney. There is lots of mayhem, mostly of the human-eating plant variety. Ashman

The Sacramento Press has approximately 2,000 contributors signed up on our site to voluntarily write articles. Without them, we wouldn’t exist. Among this group, there is a small core of writers and photographers whom we work closely with on a regular basis. These contributors go above and beyond by taking assignments from us, having their articles copy edited and making us very proud as they represent us in the community. To just tell you how great they are isn’t enough. So we’ll show you a tiny snippet of why we love them. During the next week, we will continue to roll out our “community contributor spotlight” video series featuring six of our top community contributors. Without furt

The Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento (LOTS) put on a fantastic showing of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” on Friday at the quaint 24th Street Theatre. Quirky and fun, the company captures the seriously silly mayhem of paradoxical and conflicting nonsense that “Pirates of Penzance” is all about. The goofy coming-of-age story follows Frederick, played by company debut Ian Cullity. As a boy, his nurse, Ruth (played by Debbie Baad), due to mishearing a command, mistakenly has him apprenticed to be a pirate instead of a ship’s pilot. Frederick fulfills his duties as an apprentice, but once his contract ends at age 21, Frederick follows his calling to end piracy altogether. Since

Cosmopolitan Cabaret opened with the September 2008 to September 2009 run of “Forever Plaid,” which remains the biggest success as a show. “Forbidden Broadway,” which opened Friday night, may just rival “Plaid.” There are lots of similarities. Both have talented creators, lots of hysterically funny scenes, songs, costuming, props and more. "Forbidden Broadway" creator and continuing writer, Garrard Alessandrini, aims his sharp pen at mostly easy targets but in incredibly funny ways. You may never have seen “Annie,” “Les Miserables” or “Lion King,” but are still very aware of them and lots of other Broadway shows through popular culture. Both have four very talented actors, who understa

The B Street Family Series opened, “The Giver,” an eyes wide open look at how “Utopia” can become “Dystopia.” For an excellent introduction to the show see Barry Wisdom’s Sacramento Press preview of “The Giver.” Long time B Street Company members Elizabeth Nunziato and Jason Kuykendall are Father and Mother, the adult component of the mandatory two adult two children family unit. They are so good at creating this feeling that under the veneer of happiness is a pervasive fear of the consequences of differing at all from the norm which flares up anytime the children question something. Nunziato also plays the elder that announces the role that has been selected for each child as they cease

Among all the different holiday icons, one that stands out is the 1947 black and white film, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” It is a must-see event for many during the holidays. Playwright Joe Landry, also known for his stage adaptation of the cult film, “Reefer Madness,” has taken the story of “It’s A Wonderful Life” and integrates it into his play, “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” as if the it had been performed as a nationally broadcast radio play prior to being turned into the beloved film that it is today.  Capital Stage is in the middle of a very short run of the show.   Many Sacramento Press readers may ask, “What is a radio play?” Long before today’s audio and video media st

For those whose Christmas season isn't complete without watching Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed stroll through Bedford Falls warbling "Buffalo Gals," Sacramento's Crest Theatre is bringing director-screenwriter Frank Capra's 1946 Liberty Films classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," back to the big screen for nine holiday screenings Dec. 22-24. It's just one of three yuletide-themed events scheduled for the 975-seat art deco movie palace during the week leading up to Christmas. Also on tap: the G-rated "Santa's Cool Holiday Film Festival" (Dec. 17 and 18), a syndicated package of "Greetings from the Theater Management" trailers, vintage TV segments, cartoons and the so-bad-it's-good 1964 theatri

For ballet enthusiasts and those new to the experience, this is one presentation that should not be missed. Ron Cunningham’s “The Nutcracker” is a traditional interpretation of the ballet he’s been directing for 24 years in Sacramento. Visually stunning sets create the scene for a ballet performance that will delight young and old alike. Accompanied by the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, this holiday classic boasts performers of all ages, with over 500 children, including Molly O’Dell,10, playing Clara. O’Dell’s enthusiasm is infectious as she, along with her Nutcracker Prince, takes the journey from a joyous Christmas Eve into an enchanting dreamland. The first act is charming and

photographs by Barry Wisdom It wasn't the glitziest parade on the block, and more ads passed by than during a Talladega Superspeedway Nascar event, but the smiles that beamed from the shoulder-to-shoulder spectators at Sacramento's 2011 Santa Parade are the stuff that Christmas dreams are made of. Presented Dec. 9 by D&H Special Event Management, the capital city's 29th annual holiday tradition once again delighted young and old with an eclectic lineup of merry marching bands, a spate of sports cars, a bunch of Boy Scouts, a gaggle of Girl Scouts and a Santa in a pear tree. (OK – a Santa in a horse-drawn carriage.) Horses aside, chances are if it had an internal-combustion engine, it tr

The North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce may have thrown its annual holiday tree lighting a 21st birthday party Dec. 8, but even the adults who donned skates, munched cookies and quaffed hot chocolate eschewed the slightest trace of yuletide cynicism in favor of youthful Christmas-morning smiles. Hosted by Iceland, the men and women, boys and girls who laced up courtesy of the venerable Del Paso Boulevard ice rink, barely noticed when the switch was thrown, and pumped current through the strings of multicolored lights that formed the "tree." Those who didn't hit the ice themselves, found plenty of pre-Christmas cheer in picking out rinkside vantage points to watch singles, couples and en