El Dorado Musical Theatre held auditions Monday night for the classic Broadway musical, "42nd Street". Set in 1933, "42nd Street" tells the story of a chorus girl, Peggy Sawyer, who gets the chance to become a leading lady after the fading diva, Dorothy Brock, is injured before opening night of her Broadway show. Fresh off their multiple Elly Award wins and their critically acclaimed production of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast", El Dorado Musical Theatre drew a crowd of 53 local actors and actress, all between the ages of 13 and 22. Don't let age fool you. El Dorado Musical Theatre is far from your run-of-the-mill youth theatre group. Many of the performers are seasoned professionals, w

New Helvetia Theatre ends its three-weekend run of Michael John Lachiusa’s off-Broadway show “Little Fish” this weekend. While Lachiusa is known for two Broadway shows, "Marie Christine" and "The Wild Party," he has written several smaller-scale off-Broadway shows. Most of these have a reputation of being very serious. “Little Fish” is one of his lighter works and was suggested from the short stories of Deborah Eisenburg.   “Little Fish” is New York City-centric. It is the setting of the play, and some of the interactions of the characters can be described as very “New York.” The play itself is part of a genre of musicals, many by Lachiusa, that are specifically written for off-Broadway w

I sat down at Temple coffee house with Lisa Thew, Kolt Run Creations’ director, and Kelley Ogden, who plays the title character in their next production, “Antigone.” We started out talking about Kolt Run Creations itself. “Antigone” is the fifth production since Ogden and Thew founded the company. Kolt Run Creations is considered community theater, since the company does not have an Equity contract. Like many of the community theater companies in Sacramento, they produce a very high quality product. Unlike much of community theater, they are willing to take big risks producing more serious productions. Even the comedies tend to be black comedies. They cited keeping down costs as one thing

Missing a musical at the Music Circus with a big cast and live music during the off season? In between Broadway Series shows? Well with a short drive and a very reasonably priced ticket you can get your fix at the Woodland Opera House. The Woodland Opera House Theatre Company (WOH) is currently presenting “The Wizard of Oz” Yes it’s community theatre but it is high quality community theatre. WOH is a perennial Elly Awards nominee and winner. They are performing the Royal Shakespeare Company version of “The Wizard of Oz” that includes most of the original songs in the movie plus a few more. One “Jitter Bug” is a song that allows for a very fun dance number that features several of the ens

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

The excitement was at a fever pitch last Sunday night at the 2010 Elly Awards. It was a full house heavily made up of young people.  A performance by the cast of Runaway Stage Productions’ “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” from the show of the same name got the night rolling. First up were awards for education plays and musicals, recognizing high school theater and young peoples’ plays and musicals, and programing aimed at children.  Educational Theater Twenty awards were awarded for education plays and musicals. These categories are for high school theater. St Francis High School of Sacramento and St. Mary’s High School of Stockton, both private Catholic high schools, tie

All you community theater fans, this is the event of the year.  Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) presents the 2010 Elly Awards Sunday evening at the Crest Theatre. The annual Elly Awards honor outstanding achievements of community theaters and artists in the Sacramento area. Elly Awards are named for the late Eleanor McClatchy, who was a devoted patron of the local arts. Like the Tony Awards there will be musical numbers by the casts of nominated musical shows.   Here is a list of the 2010 Elly Award nominees.  Tickets $8-25   28th Annual Elly Award Ceremony Sunday, September 26, 2010 Crest Theatre 1013 K Street, Sacramento Youth Awards at 6pm Adults Awards at 8pm  C

You might have heard of Sacramento's dinner theaters: Suspects Dinner Theatre aboard the Delta King, Tommy T's Comedy and Dinner Theatre and the recently closed Garbeau's Dinner Theatre. So after attending dinner theater, why not stop by Sacramento's only dessert theater? "As far as I know, we're the only one in the world," said Thomas Kelly, Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre owner, founder and artistic director. Kelly, now a retired copy/printshop owner, was a playwright for about 20 years before he opened the theater in 1996. In 1992, he and his wife Eleanor Lediard purchased the 1894 Victorian, 1901 P St., where the theatre is housed. "It had been a drug house before we got it, totally tr

The Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) will announce the nominations for the most outstanding theater performances of 2008-2009 at its Elly Nomination Party, said SARTA office administrator Benjamin T. Ismail. Sacarmento City College will host the celebration on Aug. 9 from 6 to 10 p.m. Held and named in honor of the late Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of local arts, the Elly's are in its 27th year. On Sept. 20, SARTA will honor the winners with a ceremony at the Crest Theatre. Tickets are $25 general admission, $20 for group rate and SARTA members. They go on sale Aug. 10 and can be purchased by calling SARTA's office or the day of at the Crest box office. There are