Given Tuesday’s opening night of Sheer Madness, it looks like Cosmopolitan Cabaret has another hit on its hands. Shear Madness is based on a serious German play, Scherenschnitt, by writer and psychologist Paul Portner. The play is set in a uni-sex hair salon, has six stereotypical characters and involves the murder of a concert pianist. It is a study of how people perceive or misperceive reality. Bruce Jordan, a former high school teacher, began adapting the play in 1976. He was joined by fellow former teacher Marilyn Abrams in producing the first production of Scherenschnitt -now known-as Shear Madness at the Lake George Dinner Theater in Upstate New York in 1978. They began to notice

"Oh god, this is gonna be a long night," said radio personality Jack Armstrong as he and Joe Getty kicked off the 11th annual Best of Sacramento party on Thursday. The party, a benefit for the March of Dimes, was full of Sacramento Magazine's notion of the best of what Sacramento has to offer, everything from food and drinks to local media and entertainment. "It's really a huge honor, it's a reflection of the station I work for," said 'Best TV Reporter Team' winner Edie Lambert. "It's a big compliment to quality journalism." Booths filled the Convention Center, and lines wrapped around the exhibit hall as attendees took full advantage of the free food, services and other goodies. Expre

Israeli music, the sound of pounding drums, and the smell of Mediterranean food lingered in the air as crowds mingled among white tents at the west steps of the Capitol yesterday afternoon. More than 3,000 people participated in Sacramento’s first Jewish Heritage festival yesterday despite the unpredictable weather, according to the Sacramento Jewish Federation. The festival, presented by the federation, began with a “Salute to Israel @ 61 Walk-a-thon,” consisting of a “walk for unity” around the Capitol. The walk was followed by an opening ceremony emceed by Bill Slaton, member of the SMUD Board of Directors, and Sacramento’s KCRA Channel 3 Anchor Edie Lambert. Both the celebration of