A Hollywood producer's office is not the spotlight of glamour, riches and fame as the common population would imagine it to be. Caught in the trap of having started production without a script and stopped the production due to the lack of material, producer David O. Selznick (Kirk Blackinton) is either going to lose his production studios or gain a fortune based on the outcome of the new movie of the nationally acclaimed book, “Gone with the Wind.” “Moonlight & Magnolias” is an adult comedy portraying the struggles of creating a winning script for the movie, “Gone with the Wind,” in only five days. Now playing at the Big Idea Theatre, this play is worth seeing, as just four characters tra

Big Idea Theatre’s production of “The Pillowman” opened Thursday night and led its viewers through a dark and sometimes painful statement about the importance of storytelling and art. The play, directed by Kirk Blackinton, is an adaptation of the 2005 Broadway hit by the same name. Set in a totalitarian police state, the dark play chronicles the interrogation of Katurian Katurian, a brilliant writer with a tortured past. He and his older brother, Michal, who suffers from a form of mental retardation, are being held on charge of the murder of several young children. The two cops, Tupolski and Ariel, are attempting to tie Katurian’s stories to the killings. Many of his stories portray grue

Though many find comfort in the familiar, there’s also an enjoyable thrill that only a bit of change can provide. Big Idea Theatre’s “King of Shadows,” which opened Thursday, finds a great balance using a familiar plot in a modern-day setting for an interesting theatrical experience. I parked at the front of the building which faced closed business doors and a large locked gate. I was convinced that somehow this was the wrong location. As I frantically called around for someone to give me directions, I saw just behind me a small sign designating the location as Big Idea Theatre. As I turned into the alley and parking lot area of the business, I was pleasantly surprised by the small art-f

It was September 2009 when Beyond the Proscenium Productions (BPP) announced that they were closing the doors and not producing anymore. Founder and artistic director Ann Tracy has spent the last 19 months dealing with all the paperwork that is involved in dissolving a nonprofit. When all was said and done, there was actually money left over! The board voted to donate the money to Big Idea Theatre (BIT) on Del Paso Blvd. “There was some sentimentality involved”, Tracy said. “Especially since we spent many years with offices and rehearsal spaces on the Boulevard and have performed in the same theatre that BIT is now using. Many of the folks that worked with BPP are also involved with BIT

The best of local theater talent was recognized last Sunday night at the Elly Awards. After presenting the young people’s awards, there was an intermission, and then the adult awards were presented. Selected musicians from the Runaway Stage Productions’ Resident Orchestra played the audience back into the Crest Theatre’s main auditorium. The orchestra had been provided transitional music, played the winners on to the stage and had accompanied the live musical performances all evening. “Dreigroschen Finale,” performed by the California Stage cast, started the Elly adult theater portion of the evening. The performance showcased the Elly Award-winning costuming by Angelina Reaux. All the m

One of the most difficult things to achieve in live theater is the ability to remove the audience from reality and deposit them in a world that exists within four walls and a handful of professional pretenders. Big Idea Theater certainly acheived that goal and also continued their brilliant streak with Steve Martin’s adaptation of Carl Sternheim’s “The Underpants,” an irreverent, sexy comedy that forces the audience to forget their worries and rewards them with guffaws of joy and shakes of giggles. The play centers around a husband played by Jeffrey Lloyd Heatherly and wife (Joelle Wirth) who have the misfortune of gathering unwanted attention at a king’s parade in Germany in the early 1

The beauty and mystery of family ties is observed by Big Idea Theatre in its latest production, “Dancing at Lughnasa” (pronounced loo-nasa) by Brian Friel. The story is a memory of Michael, played by Kirk Blackinton, who tells the sequence of events leading to the countless hardships and trials of his family. The importance of dance is metaphoric and ties everything together, even beyond the play’s end. Blackinton is the voice of Michael as a 7 year old, and each role in Michael’s family was acted with depth and heart.  The shift of power in the family from maternal sister Kate, played by Ruby Sketchley, to boisterous and effervescent Maggie, played by Liz Tachella Bowman, was extraordin

The money’s gone, the Vineyard must be sold, but Lucy Ravine and her brother Leo are living in the glorious past, not in 1980s California Wine Country. Ann Tracy’s “The Vineyard” is an adaptation of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard”, a story of rural development, lost love, losing your home and how absurd people can be when facing change. This Playwrights Collaborative workshop reading of “The Vineyard” is set for 7 PM, September 6, 2009 at the Big Idea Theatre, 1616 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95815. The event is free but donations are gratefully accepted. Tracy is not only a playwright, but also an actor, director and artist. She founded Beyond the Proscenium Productions in 1994, where