Sunday evening’s show was nearly sold out at the new Arden Playhouse, a wonderful 150-seat venue that opened in March. All ages were represented in the audience. Were they waiting for the curtain opening on the latest play?   No – the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) was announcing the 2010 Elly nominees. The Elly Awards are named for the late Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of The Sacramento Bee. The Elly Awards celebrate excellence and the outstanding achievements of community theaters and artists in the greater Sacramento area. Elly Award nominations included Lead and Supporting Actor and Actress, Director, Costume Design, Lightin

KOLT Run Creations  hosted a full house at Ooley Theater during the opening weekend of “Crime and Punishment.”   The theatrical performance features local actors Brian Rife, Patrick Murphy and Kelley Ogden. Rife plays Raskolnikov, the protagonist guilty of murdering two women, while Murphy and Ogden play a variety of characters throughout the show.   Having three actors play seven characters is not as distracting as it seems. The actors do a good job transitioning into different roles. They also have great facial expressions along with changes in pitch that help differentiate characters.   Audience member Penny Kline Meagher said she felt that Ogden did a good job in her transitions.

"Crime and Punishment," a theatrical performance presented by KOLT Run Creations, will open Friday at Ooley Theater in Midtown.  The play, originally a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, was brought to Sacramento by KOLT co-founders Kelley Ogden and Lisa Thew for a specific purpose.  "We usually do shows or pick scripts that have issues that are related to our community," Odgen said. "When we looked at doing our next show, we could not escape that there is a real economic poverty (in Sacramento)."  Odgen explained the with all the job-loss and furlough situations, they felt the play reflected current times around the community.  "Crime and Punishment" takes place during the mid-1800s in St. P