Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "elly awards"

El Dorado Musical Theatre holds auditions for '42nd Street'

2011-11-15T04:49:58Z

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, who even have a couple of Elly Awards under their belts. Whether they were belting out a showtune or tap dancing flawlessly, the talent of many auditionees was apparent. The feeling within the audition room was serious and professional. Even those not auditioning could feel the tension, as well as the focus of the performers.

El Dorado Musical Theatre director and choreographer Debbie Wilson and music director Jennifer Martin will have a large selection of talented teens and young adults to choose from. Luckily for them, callbacks on Tuesday will help them narrow the search for their leading characters. Till then, those called back will no doubt be running scenes, brushing up on their tap combinations, and learning their music in the hopes of being the one to get the part.

Disclosure: The author has performed with El Dorado Musical Theatre in past productions, but is no way affiliated with their production of "42nd Street". Opinions expressed in article do not reflect those held by El Dorado Musical Theatre.

Catch "Little Fish" at the New Helvetia Theatre Before It Is Gone

2011-10-27T06:25:39Z

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 with a more contemporary style. Lachiusa is also known for an ongoing feud in print with the creators of more traditional Broadway musicals. Nevertheless, “Little Fish” deals with universal themes of the human condition and relationships.

Charlotte, a writer living in New York City, is the center of the play. Her decision to stop smoking results in a clear look at herself and her relationships. She comes to realizes that she has low self-esteem and that her past and present relationships don’t help. This is especially true of Charlotte’s relationship with Robert in Buffalo, her first live-together relationship. He has no difficulty putting her down, telling her how untalented, dumb and uninteresting she is.

Charlotte’s way of dealing with Robert is to run off to New York City, where, moving in with a wild roommate, Cinder, she first takes up smoking. Being off cigarettes, Charlotte also discovers that running away is her usual reaction to issues she doesn’t want to deal with.

Maggie Hollinbeck is perfectly cast as Charlotte. She plays Charlotte with a vulnerability that makes her seem like she is going to break. The role has similarities to that of “The Wife” that she did such a great performance of at Graham-A-Rama’s staged concert of “In Trousers.” Yet Charlotte continues to find her strength. It is always a pleasure to hear Hollinbeck sing, and this is no exception.

Robert is performed by Craig Howard. Howard has a wonderful voice, and his Robert puts down Charlotte with such relish that some of the audience hissed at him. Howard teaches theater arts at Sheldon High School, where he has been nominated for and won numerous Elly Awards for his work. He has also has won or been nominated for Elly Awards for his performances in diverse musical theater productions on several regional stages.

Cinder the crazy roommate is performed by well-known Sacramento actor Nanci Zoppi. This is her fourth production at New Helvetia, along with several shows on other stages including Cosmopolitan Cabaret and B Street Theatre. Zoppi displays both her great singing and comic talent here.

Rosemary Babich (“They’re Playing Our Song”), Danielle Hansen (“In Trousers In Concert”), Steve Minow (“The Drowsy Chaperone”), Andrew J. Perez (“Junie B. Jones, Jingle Bells Batman Smells) and Tristan Rumery (“tick...tick...BOOM!”) are great as the friends who surround Charlotte.

While there is dialogue in the show, much of the story is told through the music. There are over two dozen songs in “Little Fish,” allowing each performer to show off their musical skills, whether as a solo, duet or singing with the whole company.

The music is so central to the show that the single set designed by Pat Farragher and Tim Mickiewicz incorporates the band as part of the set. The set also incorporates lots of storage for the props and is mostly representative of the “Y” where Charlotte swims and runs.

The band consists of Graham Sobelman on keyboard and conducting, Erik Daniels on keyboard, Kellen Garcia on bass, Ryan Harbert and James Lohman rotating on reeds and Jim Nakayama on percussion. There is a strong Graham-A-Rama influence here. It is, in some ways, as enjoyable to watch the band perform as it is to watch the actors. Speaking with Garcia after the show, he confirmed that the band members really enjoy performing the score.

New Helvetia artistic director Connor Mickiewicz directs, demonstrating his usual flare for this style of musical. Working with choreographer Michael Jenkison, the production numbers work well for both their visual impact and the balance of the singers’ voices.

Mickiewicz and New Helvetia are drawn to musicals that appeal to a younger audience. “Little Fish” is certainly one of those shows, but it is appealing to much wider audience. This show has a definite date-night feel to it, but not just a young-romantic-couple date-night feel. There is also the feel of friends, family, coworkers and longtime couples on a theater date night.

“Little Fish” enters its third and final weekend run Wednesday night. Make a date for an entertaining couple of hours.

“Little Fish” New Helvetia Theatre Through October 29, 2011
More info and tickets

"Antigone" Powerful Drama From KOLT Run Creations

2011-04-26T05:37:01Z

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 that allows their risk taking. With Equity, there are a lot of rules that increase the cost of productions. “Not having a specific season,” and, “not having a subscriber base,” were two other reasons cited by Ogden and Thew, though they do have a following that helps to support what they are doing.

Kolt Run Creations has also had several Elly nominations. Kelly Ogden won Best Supporting Actress-Drama and Patrick Murphy won Best Supporting Actor-Drama for “Crime and Punishment” last year.

This production of Antigone is a 1941 adaptation by French writer Jean Anouilh. The Greek classic was written by Sophocles in about 442 B.C. Kolt Run Creations provides us a short synopsis.

“Anouilh’s adaptation focuses on the conflict between King Creon and his niece, Antigone, when she defies his order to prohibit the burial of her brother after a brutal civil war. Seen through the prism of our current time, Antigone raises a crucial question – When the towers of society/politics/finance are crumbling around us, do we fight for what works even if that’s wrong or do we fight for what’s right even if that means our end? Idealism versus compromise, individual versus the state, moral rights versus human laws.”

Speaking with Ogden and Thew on how they choose plays in general and “Antigone” specifically, they explained that they look to what is going on around them. They see theater as “a dialogue,” much like church is a dialogue.

“There must be a reason to do a play,” stated Ogden.

“Antigone” was selected in October 2010. They both felt that the events that have happened since support that decision. They were referring to the uprisings in the Middle East led by citizens and especially women. They also looked at what was happening in this country, including the fall election and the diverse factions on what to do with the deficits at all levels of government.

When Sophocles wrote “Antigone,” it was a time of chaos in Greece. Needless to say, 1941 was a time of chaos in Europe. “Antigone” questions “holding on to the status quo.”

Kolt Run Creations is open about their process of creating what the audience sees on the stage. They talk about this in their blog.

They use processes created by Viola Spolin, known as Theater Games, as part of their creative processes. Spolin did much of her work in the Chicago theater scene. Ogden and Thew originally met when they were theater students at DePaul University in Chicago. Ogden’s first professor was Patrick Murphy, a Kolt associate artist, who plays King Creon in “Antigone.” All this works together to create a very lively and intense creative process.

When asked “what does ‘Antigone’ bring to the audience?” Besides a strong cast and a reasonably priced ticket, Ogden replied, “It is timeless. Anyone can relate.”

Thew added, “(It) holds up a mirror to us.”

With this production, they hoped that they “carry a truth to the audience and out the door.”

ANTIGONE
By Jean Anouilh
April 29 - May 28, 2011
Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.
California Stage, 2509 R Street
More information and tickets

The Woodland Opera House Becomes the Land of OZ

2011-02-05T01:44:10Z

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 ensemble actors.

The adult cast is consistently good. A standout is Patricia Glass playing Miss Gultch and the Wicked Witch of the West is obviously having a great time doing a good job of being evil.

Erik Catalan as the farm hand Zeke and the Cowardly Lion takes good advantage of another more meaty roles with more solo songs.

Angela Frost Baltezore plays Aunt Em/Glenda the Good Witch of the North. Dennis Updegraff is Uncle/Wizard’s guard. James C. Glica-Hernandez is the Professor Marvel/Wizard of Oz. Eric Alley is farm hand Hickory /Tin Man. Matthew Kohrt is farmhand Hunk/Scarecrow.

The central character of Dorothy Gale is played by Danielle Hansen who does a good job anchoring the action.

Several actors in the adult ensemble play Winkies and Ozians. Alec Gracia, Brian Gurley, Cheryl Johnson, and Gerald Shearman from the ensemble are a hoot playing the crows that taunt the Scarecrow. Similarly Judith Boreham, Christine Deamer, and Emily Delk are quite funny as the talking trees.

The 14 children in the play do a fantastic job as the Munchkin Citizens with several also playing the Wicked Witch of the West’s flying monkeys. It is obvious these kids spent a lot of time in rehearsal. Their singing and dancing was spot on. Two standouts were Riley Spieler as the Munchkin Mayor, Erin Bruni as the mayor’s wife and Bailey Robinson-Bermester as the Munchkin Coroner.

Bella was the only actor that had some problem with her role as Toto in spite of the best efforts of her wrangler Debbie Gallagher.

The six piece orchestra (percussion, keyboard and four woodwinds) was lead by music director Jeff Poppinga.

~~Jeff~~ Jason Hammond ably directed and created fun choreography especially for the kids.

Laurie Everly-Klassen’s costume design was fantastic for both the adults and the kids. The costumes of the creatures: crows, trees, flying monkeys and jitterbugs were especially great. There was so much color and patterns for the Munchkins.

Also very creative was the set design by Jason Hammond, set off well by Jeff Kean’s lighting design.

Hats off to stage manager M.J. Seminoff for getting such a large cast with a lot of kids into the right place at the right time.

The Woodland Opera House Theatre Company is wonderful institution if for nothing else that providing an opportunity for so many kids to learn from good adult actors while having the fun of performing. They also allow the town of Woodland and the region enjoy a well done production of a great show.

Even though most of us have seen the movie version of “The Wizard of Oz” many times, seeing a live performance has it’s own charm, allows us to see the story in a new way and is great fun. This is especially true for children. Take the kids, they will have a blast and I promise you won't be bored either.

Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through February 20. Tickets are available at the box office at 340 2nd Street Monday through Friday from 10-1 and 2-5, by calling (530) 666-9617 or on line

2010 Elly Awards for Adult Theater

2010-10-04T03:21:56Z

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 musical production performances were great, but this one stood out.

The adult Elly Awards are divided into three categories: comedy, drama and musical.

First up was costume design, set design and lighting design:
Best costume design, comedy, was awarded to Rebecca Ann Valentino for “Much Ado About Nothing” at Solano College Theater. Drama went to Sharon Olson for “Cyrano de Bergerac” at Paul Emery Presents, and the award for musical went to Angelina Reaux for “Three Penny Opera” at California Stage in Sacramento.

The best set design for a comedy Elly went to Virgil Toothaker for “The Foreigner” at Imagination Theater.

The set design award for a drama was won by Michael Baranowski and Pamela Hodges for the Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra production of “Snow Falling On Cedars.”

John Bowles’ set design for “My Fair Lady” at Magic Circle Theatre won for best set design for a musical.

Best lighting design for a comedy was a tie between David Patrick for “The Foreigner” (Imagination Theater) and Nic Candito for “Almost Maine” (Big Idea Theatre).

Best lighting design for a drama was won by Chris Goetzke for the “Snow Falling On Cedars” production at Community Asian Theater of the Sierra.

Chris Guptil, “The Producers” (Solano College Theatre), tied with Erin Briting, “In to the Woods” (Sutter Street Theatre), for best lighting for a musical.

Next was supporting actor, supporting actress and choreography and musical design. Supporting actor, comedy, went to Jouni Kirjola for “The Foreigner” at Imagination Theatre. Supporting actress, comedy, went to Trina Palmer, City Theatre, Sacramento for “Peter Pan, A British Panto.”

For drama, best supporting actor went to Patrick Murphy for “Crime and Punishment” at KOLT Run Creations, Sacramento, and the supporting actress award went to Kelley Ogden, KOLT Run Creations co-founder and producer in the same production.

Kelley Ogden, Brian Rife andPatrick Murphy

The musical supporting actor winner was SKelley Ogden,in the Runaway Stage Production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The best actress award also went to a Runaway Stage Production, “Footloose.”

Best choreography in a musical went to Lisa Clark-Schmeling for “The Producers” at Solano College Theatre.

Musical direction of “Into the Woods” at Sutter Street Theatre, Folsom, won for Susan Mason.

These awards were followed by a performance of “Betrayed” from Solano College Theatre’s production of “The Producers” by cast member Edward Hightower.

Hightower, who is quite the comedian, went on to win leading actor in a musical. The production also won best director for a musical for Ken Sonkin and best overall production of a musical for Solano College Theatre.

The next awards were for the category of original works. The adapted script award went to Ingrid Laurentis-Wilson for “The Pilgrim’s Progress” at One Way Productions, El Dorado Hills. This also won the production of an adapted script Elly for One Way Productions.

The original script award went to James Wheatly of Celebration Arts, Sacramento, artistic director, for “Petra.” "Petra" also won Celebration Arts the Elly Award for production of best original script.

Sacramento Magazine feature on James Wheatly

Leading actor and actress in each category followed.

The award for leading actor in a comedy went to Stephen Kauffman for the Sutter Street Theatre production of “Harvey.”

Best actress was a tie between Kellie Raines for “Beyond Therapy” (Kookaburra Productions) and Shaleen Schmutzer-Smith, “Deathtrap” (Big Idea Theatre).

Kellie Raines in "Beyond Therapy"

An audience favorite, Mitch Agruss, won the Elly for best actor in a drama for “Krapp’s Last Tape” at Actor’s Theatre of Sacramento. Kristine David won best leading actress in a drama for “Dutchman” with “Petra” at Celebration Arts.

Best leading actor in a musical went to Edward Hightower for “The Producers” by Solano College Theatre.

Allison Johnson won best actress in a musical for “Annie Get Your Gun” at Stockton Civic Theatre.

The final Ellys were the big ones: for direction and overall production.

The best direction Elly Award for a comedy went to Lanny Langston for “The Foreigner” at Imagination Theater.

The Acting Company won the overall production of a comedy Elly for its production of “Steel Magnolias.”

Best direction for a drama went to Vada Russell for “Dutchman,” with “Petra” at Celebration Arts.

“Snow Falling On Cedars” at Community Asian Theater of the Sierra won the best overall production of a drama Elly.

Ken Sonkin won best director of a musical for “The Producers” at Solano College Theatre.

Best overall production for a musical also went to Solano College Theatre for “The Producers.”

The big winner of the night of theaters producing adult productions was Solano College Theatre with five awards. With its win for leading actress in “Peter Pan,” the theater was the No. 2 winner overall after El Dorado Musical Theatre, which won more awards in the young people’s category.

There was a large number of different theaters that won Elly Awards with a great variety of programing. It is a tribute to the high quality of the theater productions in the greater Sacramento region.

This was the 28th Annual Elly Awards at the Crest Theatre. The Elly Awards cover participating theaters in the 10-county region. The Elly Awards are sponsored by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA).

Created 28 years ago by local actors, the Elly Awards program has grown tremendously. In the 1981-82 season, 12 theaters participated, and 27 Elly plaques were distributed. In the 2009-10 season, 83 theaters participated, and 85 Elly plaques were handed out. Named for Eleanor McClatchy, a devoted patron of the arts and former publisher of The Sacramento Bee, the Elly Awards celebrate excellence in Sacramento regional community theater.

It takes 35 volunteer judges to cover the 70-mile radius of Sacramento to see and rate the different categories for each production submitted by the participating theater companies.

There is a standardized numerical rating system. All judging is kept secret, even from other judges. All the judges have varying backgrounds but cannot judge in any category they are active in. The process produced 419 nominations for 2009-2010.

The 2010 Elly Award Show itself was an entertaining event. The addition this year of the orchestra of selected musicians from the Runaway Stage Productions’ Resident Orchestra greatly enhanced the event. The production numbers were first-class, and the show moved right along. It was easy to tell that much of the audience knew or was familiar with the winners. Everyone was very supportive. All in all, it was great fun.

For those who would enjoy seeing live theater but have concerns about the cost, check out any one of the community theater companies that won awards by clicking on the links provided. The SARTA website is a great resource to find shows. There probably is a theater close by in the greater Sacramento region.

For a longer list check out the SacramentoPress.com article, “Elly Nominations Out,” published Aug. 17. Just because they were nominated but did not win does not mean that they are not producing great shows. The Ellys are very competitive, and only so many shows can win.

I would particularly encourage parents to take their children to young people’s theater programing. You can start them on a lifetime of theater enjoyment. Don’t worry – just because it is children’s programing doesn’t mean that it isn’t fun for adults, too.

Come to the Elly Awards next year and see how your favorite production fared.

2009-2010 Elly Awards for Young People's Theater

2010-10-03T22:00:25Z

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, tied at five awards each.

St. Francis won in educational plays for “Taming of the Shrew” direction (Cheryl Watson), leading actress (Olivia Nice), set design (Steve Decker) and costume design (Denise Miles) The school won in the educational musical category for “Starmites” lighting design (Steve Decker and student Cammi Carter).

St. Mary’s in education musicals took overall production, direction (Kevin Costello), musical direction (Elizabeth Hodgdon), choreography (Nina Thiel) and supporting actress (Joy Clark) for “Les Miserables.”

Overall production for an educational play awards were won by Sheldon High School for leading actor (Travis Whipple), supporting actress (Jenny Cox) and lighting design (Thomas Garcia) for the play, “Dead Man Walking.”

Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs won three Ellys for educational musical for its production of “Seussical.” The school was awarded for leading actor (Spencer Reed), leading actress (Allison Sept) and costume design (Janet Matranga).

Franklin High School of Elk Grove’s production of “Hello Dolly” won for supporting actor (James Horsfall) and set design (Doug Gibson) in the educational musical category.

El Dorado High School in Placerville won best supporting actor (Ben Schilling) for “The Man Who Came To Dinner).

The students (actors and actresses) expressed their thrill at winning. The adults (directors, designers, and others) expressed how important live theater is in the lives of children, how great it is that these kids have gotten such great exposure and what a great job they do.

These awards were followed by a performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from Magic Circle Theatre’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.” The song was performed by Erin Mulvey from the production cast.

Young People’s Theater Awards

El Dorado Musical Theatre of El Dorado Hills was not only the big winner in young people’s productions, it was the theater winning the most Ellys overall with 10 awards.

All the awards were for three musicals in the young people’s musical category. For its production of “Les Miserables,” it won the coveted overall production award. Also, it took home musical direction (Jennifer Martin); set design (Louis Hudson, Dennis Smith and Charles Davidson); leading actor, adult (Matt Provencal); supporting actor, child under 18 (Christopher Meissner); and supporting actress, child under 18 (Lauryn Caruso).

El Dorado Musical Theatre’s production of “Cats” won costume design (Christine Martorana) and lighting design (Louis Hudson).

Its production of “The Wizard of Oz” won Ellys for Debbie Wilson for both choreography and direction. As artistic director, co-founder, choreographer and director at El Dorado Musical Theatre, Wilson is a major reason that El Dorado Musical Theatre is a powerhouse in children’s musical theater and regional theater in general in the Sacramento region.

Other winners in the young people’s musical category included the InterArts Summer Program production of “Pippin” for leading actor, child (Ryan Banning); and supporting actor, adult (David Taylor).

Solano Repertory Company in Fairfield won leading actress, adult (Alicia Miller) for its production of “Peter Pan.”

Rocklin Youth Theatre Company’s production of “Godspell” won leading actress, child (Leigh Leonard).

The last award in young people’s musical went to Chelsea Baldree for supporting actress, child, in “Cinderella” at Magic Circle Theatre.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at the Woodland Opera House was the biggest winner in the young people’s play category. It won overall production in the category. Also, it took home awards for set design (Jeff Keen); leading actress, child (Amy Miles) a tie with Miriam Mars for her performance in Stage Nine Theatre’s Charlotte’s Web”; leading actor, adult (Charley Cross); and supporting actor, child (Ethan Sayers).

Runaway Stage Productions had the largest number of nominations in the category (10) and won for Lillian Baxter’s costume design for “King Arthur” and Anne-Marie Trout’s performance in “Alice in Wonderland” as supporting actress, adult.

The remaining awards went to Kirk Lawson for leading actor, child, in “Romeo and Juliet” at Magic Circle Theater; Colin Hoyt, lighting design, “Alice in Wonderland” at Sutter Street Theatre; supporting actor, adult (Joel Porter) in “Fairytale Survivor” at Magic Circle Theatre and supporting actress, child (Rebekah Matta) T.H.E. Actor’s Workshop and Integral Theatre Company production of “Our Only May Amelia.”

The adults winning generally expressed the importance of young people’s theater as a gateway into the live-theater experience. They also expressed how incredible it is working with these children.

The children who won showed a high level of sophistication and were quite charming.

The level of excitement was incredible. Nearly whole casts of nominated shows were present, especially in the education division. Not only nominees were present, but also supporters, especially parents.

2010 Elly Awards Sunday Evening

2010-09-25T15:25:02Z

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

Call SARTA at 916-443-8229 for more information.

Thistle Dew Theatre offers drama and dessert

2009-11-12T03:58:02Z

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 trashed," Lediard said. "It took us a year to remodel it (into) a very small theater with 39 seats, as far as I know, the smallest theater in Sacramento."

Lediard, a family law attorney, has a law office on the top floor of the house, while the main floor of the Victorian sits slightly above ground. The theater is located on the bottom floor, about three feet below street level.

Shows take place Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. Exact times and dates can be found here.

About three years ago, needing "new and good material," Kelly started a Monday night playwright group which critiques plays and offers new wordsmiths community assistance. Now, with nearly 80 active members, each meeting averages about 25 playwrights, and five playwrights in the group have had 12 plays published by Massachusetts-based Jac Publishing.

Being able to help Sacramento's budding playwrights is Kelly and Lediard's proudest achievement of the theater, the married couple said. The theatre now shows exclusively original works by local playwrights.

Currently playing is The Trials of Clarence Darrow, produced by the playwright group several years ago. Written and performed by Paul Hauck, the play depicts the life of lawyer and American Civil Liberties Union leader, Clarence Darrow.

"It's very interesting," Lediard said. "I'm kind of biased because I'm a lawyer, but it's really of interest because the issues it deals with - social equality and civil rights - are all current issues.

Next month, the theater will feature Kelly's original work Wake up, Jay! It's Christmas!, winner of four 2006 Elly Awards including Best Overall Production. Given out by the Sacramento Area Regional Theater Alliance, the Elly Award honors outstanding achievements in the local theater community.

"It's (about) two family pets, a cat and a brand new puppy, left alone Christmas eve," Kelly said. "The puppy just goes berserk, has a lot of fun and kids really enjoy it because the puppy just has a blast."

As for the desserts, Kelly recommends the apple pie and the chocolate cake, the two most popular of five dessert offerings. Desserts come with coffee or tea.

Ticket prices are $25 per person and seats must be reserved by emailing thistledewplaywrights@yahoo.com or calling (916) 444-8209.

Those who wish to join the playwright group should view information here. Those who want to audition for plays should view information here.

Elly Awards Celebrate Sac Theatre

2009-08-09T01:04:59Z

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 seven categories from which theatre members are nominated: comedy, drama, educational musical, educational play, musical, original works, young people's musical, young people's play. Within each category, awards are given to the best in costume design, direction, lead actor, lead actress, lighting design, overall production, set design, supporting actor and supporting actress.

The judging is done by theatre members and enthusiatsts referred to by SARTA as "super-volunteers." Judges cannot be involved in any theatre company in the category they are judging, said Ismail, and usually have backgrounds in theatre. There are five judges in each category, and each of them may attend between a minimum of 15 and maximum of 45 shows during the year-long season.

This year's event will be arranged so that the first two hours focus on the awards to the educational categories while the last half focuses on the adult and musical categories. Some of the night's highlights, said Ismail, will be the performances from musical-nominated companies.

"All the best musical nominees bring their shows back together and they do a performance, Ismail said."[The process is] very similar to the Tony's."

The performances are as full-production as possible, Ismail said, including full costume, make-up, choreography, sound quality, and theatrical lighting. Besides putting on a dazzling show, the Elly performances allow for company member to reunite and redo the number that got them noticed.

"What's really cool is you will get casts of 30 people who all come back to do the Elly's," Ismail said. "Its a fun reunion opportunity for these casts."

Being nominated for an Elly is no walk in the park. According to Ismail, there are around 50 shows in each category and for awards like supporting or lead actor/actress, there can be two or three leads per show. Therefore, the five nominees for each award have gone up against hundreds of people, Ismail said.

"It's a very competitive award—I mean musical judges go to a show a week," Ismail said. "A lot of theatre happens in Sacramento so it's quite an award to even be nominated for. There are so many things you go up against."

While the Elly's offer prestige for theatre companies and entertainment for the general population, the award ceremony also facilitates a wider purpose of bringing together participants, lovers and new talents of Sacramento theatre.

"I think it's a really great opportunity for unification among over 100 theatres, to get to know other people and showcase what we've done for the past year," Ismail said. "SARTA has really worked so that Elly's meet the needs of the community in offering different aesthetics and styles."

Ismail said Elly attendees can expect not only to see talented people performing the best and most exciting numbers of the year, but also to learn what productions may interest them in the future.

"People will really enjoy getting to see, especially in musical category, what has been going on in the community," Ismail said. "You get to get excited about the next season, get to see what's available. Also, you get to see and hear from a lot of new companies coming up. There has been 10 or 15 new companies nominated this year."

"Its a review of the year when you think about it, it's quite a fun thing," Ismail said.

For more information, Click Here for SARTA's website.