Remember when musical theater was called musical comedy? True, dramatic plot turns have consistenly been essential elements in most of the Great White Way's all-singing, all-dancing productions. From the issue of racial discrimination explored in Jerome Kern's landmark "Show Boat" (1927) to the gritty realities of abortion, rape and suicide facing teenagers in Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's "Spring Awakening" (2007), musicals often have featured some measure of conflict. Maybe it's the rose-colored opera glasses audiences tend to slip on when looking back, but some still bemoan Broadway's shift away from happy-go-lucky book musicals in which the most-serious issue was the question of wh

The atmosphere was good. Harlow’s was dim, but not dark, and the stage lighting cast a tint of green throughout the club. The Harley White Jr. Orchestra was on the floor, playing an upbeat jazz number to signal the beginning of the show (and though there ended up being a 15-minute delay, no one seemed to notice). Sizzling Sirens were running around everywhere, attractive women dotting the crowd in rhinestone and fringe, lingerie-inspired getups. “I Love You Mary Jane! Cannabis Cabaret” was performed by the Sizzling Sirens Burlesque Experience late last Friday night. The show was described on the Sirens’ website as “a one-of-a-kind tribute themed to expose a variety of Mary Jane’s manifest

Delightful. Entertaining. Deliciously fun. What more could you want from a theater experience designed to celebrate the 40-year career of one of Broadways best and brightest? Sacramento Theatre Company presented the last in its 2010-2011 Cabaret Series Thursday night with “From Godspell to Wicked: The Musicals of Stephen Schwartz.” “From Godspell to Wicked” was a whirlwind tour of the 40-year career of one of Broadway’s most renowned composers and songwriters, Stephen Schwartz. The show presented melodies from some of Schwartz’s more famous stage plays, including “Godspell,” “Pippin,” “The Baker’s Wife,” “Children of Eden” and “Wicked,” and even included a few songs from some of Schwart

The works of Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz – whose most well-known work is “Wicked” – will be highlighted in a cabaret performance by the Sacramento Theatre Company next week. “From Godspell to Wicked” opens Thursday and is an homage to Schwartz’s works, which have spanned four decades, said Michael Laun, producing director for STC. “We have a little bit of everything,” he said. “ ‘Godspell’ was his first, we have some music from ‘Pippin’ ... and the last 30 minutes of the show is music from ‘Wicked.’ ” Also included in the performance is some of the music Schwartz composed for Disney movies such as “Pocahontas” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” The performance is a cabaret, and

Sizzle. Serenade. Seduce. Puffs of neon smoke cloud my eyes as I slide through the bustling doorway of Harlow’s Sunday night. The room brims with burlesque bombshells of all ages, men in fedoras, pin stripes, faux-leather collars. A woman wearing crimson nurses a gimlet, no ice. Next to her, a man dressed as the late Hunter S. Thompson bumps me with his long cigarette holder while he tucks it nonchalantly behind his ear. He pays no notice as he urges his eyes through the clamoring crowd in anticipation of “Stick ‘em Up!: A Criminal Cabaret,” Harlow’s first show of the year by Sacramento’s only burlesque troupe “Sizzling Sirens.” The Sizzling Sirens, founded in 2008 by Jessica Swanson who

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” was the first collaboration between Andrew Lloyd Weber (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics). They were an astounding 19 and 22 years old, respectively, when they began working on “Joseph.” They took the well-known Old Testament story from Genesis chapters 37-46. It is the story of Joseph, one of the 12 sons of Jacob, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Joseph overcomes all through dreams, luck and intelligence to become second to the Pharaoh in Egypt. He ends up saving his brothers and forgiving them. They use a “grab bag” of musical styles to tell the story, including country western, 60s pop, disco, calypso, Parisian cabaret and for the Ph

 When people think of Kurt Weill, the German genius behind countless musicals and operettas performed throughout the last century, they usually think of three things: prostitutes, liquor and war-torn Germany. In Sacramento City Theatre’s latest production “From Berlin to Broadway: A Kurt Weill Cabaret”, director Adrienne Sher brings all of these things together through brilliant numbers, accentuating the mystery of the work with an undercurrent storyline that ties it all together, and all on her first musical. With a great minimalist set, designed by SCC’s Shawn Weinsheink, the audience is taken to the docks where the majority of the numbers take place. The show itself is a collection of p

Lavish fantasies become realities at Sacramento's first Bohemian Ball last night: Here's a peek in case you missed it: Burlesque cabaret, corsetry/lingerie fashion show, clothing and accessory vendors and Fire Performances, DJs with live percussion created an eclectic alchemy of breaks, dub and middle eastern music;Organic dinner buffet and afterparty treats; Russian Imperial recipes were recreated by the chef of Sacramento's exclusive caviar and sturgeon restaurant, Cafe Americain; Hookahs, Liquid Love Elixirs, Absinthe tasting and many surprises. SacPress Photos | Kati Garner  

A Single Man Directed by Tom Ford By Tony Sheppard Capitol Weekly Colin Firth plays George Falconer, a professor in 1962 Los Angeles who loses his long time partner in a distant car wreck and struggles through the lonely aftermath, trying to get through each day without him. There’s nothing unique about losing a loved one but Falconer, as a gay man in that period, has only one person he can share his feelings with, his best friend Charley (Julianne Moore) with whom he also shares a complicated past. At work and in his daily life, he maintains a stoicism that hides the lost romance that was always hidden. “A Single Man” is based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood – the Chris of “Chris

On Monday, Cosmopolitan Cabaret announced its 2010 season, the cabaret's first scheduled season with a full lineup of shows. Nov. 30, California Musical Theatre, which runs the Cosmopolitan Cabaret as well as the Music Circus and Broadway Sacramento, will begin selling tickets for the three shows making up the season. The 2010 season will begin Jan. 26 with My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, followed by a murder-mystery non-musical play called Shear Madness and end with Suds, an upbeat love story with a 1960s top-40 soundtrack. Last September, the cabaret began its first show, Forever Plaid, as an open-ended run. It ended after a year, earlier than had been hoped. But it lasted

Graham-a-Rama, a weekly cabaret show put on by local music director and pianist Graham Sobelman, was only planned to run a few weeks. But after the success of the first few shows in February, Sobelman has continued the show nearly every week since then, has guest appearances confirmed as far out as January and will continue the show until it "runs its course." It has gained somewhat of a cult following, selling out nearly every show. Most of the audience has been to multiple shows, Sobelman said. Graham-a-Rama, one of the few cabaret shows in the grid, is a mix of original music, standup comedy, musical theatre and rock 'n' roll covers. The instrumentation consists of Sobelman on a grand

Sacramento’s Sizzling Sirens heated up Shady Lady Saloon Sunday night. For their one-year anniversary show, the six-person burlesque troupe took the stage for an hour and a half of flirtatious numbers and plenty of naughtiness. Attendees, who were encouraged to dress in '20s-themed attire, were decked out in suspenders, fedoras, sequined flapper dresses, pearls and pin curl. The bar's authentic saloon decor was more than fitting for a Cabaret show. The celebration started at 9 p.m., and a sexy jazz performance by The Harley White Jr. Orchestra  set the sultry mood for the evening, further set by the Saloon's dim lighting. The spotlight went to the corner stage, where the sirens took tur

After only six weeks of shows, the Sundays-only Graham-A-Rama cabaret series at the Geery Theater performed for a full house last week.  Here are a few photo highlights from the show....  The pre-show crowd waits to be allowed in:   The crowded Geery Theater:   Graham-A-Rama VI leads Kevin Caravalho and Joelle Wirth (with drummer Alfonso Portela in the background):   From the back of the house:   Caravalho (right), Wirth (center) and impresario Graham Sobelman (left):   Graham-A-Rama VII "We're Seriously Irish" plays Sunday March 15th at 7pm and 9pm at the Geery Theater, at 22nd and L Streets.  For an earlier Sacramento Press interview with Sobelman, including reservation

This storyline is simple. We all know that there are 365 days in a year, 52 weeks in that year, and 7 days in each week. Sacramento365.com aims to showcase this artistic & cultural city's events, 365 days a year. If you ever feel like there is just nothing interesting to do in this great city or you're tired of doing the same things all of the time, my hopes are that these articles will inspire you to explore what Sacramento has to offer and realize the diverse & interesting place we call home. There is something unique going on every day! Every week I will outline an event a day for that week for your enjoyment. Get out of your comfort zone & try something new. Week 10: March 10-16, 2009

Courtney Glass and Connor Mickiewicz perform in Graham-A-Rama III: "Not the Marrying KInd" on Sunday, February 15th, 2009 at the Geery Theater - video and screen capture by Mike Yee   With little fanfare or exposure, one of the best and least known shows in town opened a few weeks ago, on Sundays at the Geery Theater on the corner of 22nd and L Streets. Featuring local stage actors and singers, the Graham-A-Rama cabaret series is a perfect fit for the Geery’s intimate space, giving the feeling of having been invited to a private party of some kind – like the ultimate insider experience, even for outsiders! I asked the man behind Graham-A-Rama (and behind the piano) Graham Sobelman, a f