Travel back through time with Broadway Sacramento's Rain, a Beatles tribute show that began as an offshoot of the Broadway production of Beatlemania. Rain ran on Broadway for 300 shows and 8 preview performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City and has also been a hugely successful national tour for years. Together longer than the Beatles, Rain has mastered every song, gesture and nuance of the legendary foursome, delivering a totally live, note-for-note performance. This multi-media show begins by taking us away to a time when four young men stepped on stage at the Ed Sullivan show and changed music as we knew it. Rain chronicles the journey America took with the Beatles,

The audience booed the villains and cheered the good guys, cued by the piano keys played by Musical Director John Cocuzzi Saturday during Sacra-Melo's production of "It's A Wonderful Life" aboard the Delta King. Sacra-Melo, a combination of the words “Sacramento” and “melodrama,” is a musical parody playhouse, co-founder Gary Winterholler, 46, said. He and his wife, 46-year-old Cammie Pavesic, started it in January. "I have done some work for another theater in town, and I loved it. I went and auditioned for the next show, but they did not cast me, and I said, ‘Let's start our company,’ " Winterholler said. The first musical parody Sacra-Melo performed was the "Phantom of the Opera," wh

Tom Stoppard's 1960s play Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead finishes its run at the UC Davis Department of Theatre & Dance tonight through Saturday at the Main Theatre in Wright Hall. Michael Barakiva, Granada Artist-in-Residence at UC Davis, directs the absurdist comedy that elevates two minor characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet to central roles. The play features witty fast-paced dialogue and philosophical ponderings that involve meaning, being, and knowing. “There are times when things make sense and there are times when you’re transported from one space to another and reality bends to accommodate desire or fear,” Barakiva notes. “We're using Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Lorca

World-renowned pianist and songwriter Jim Brickman will perform at the Crest Theatre Nov. 4 with musical guests Anne Cochran and Benjamin Utecht. Brickman, who also sings at his concerts, said he will be performing romantic melodies, a few Christmas songs, but no breakup songs – that’s just not his style. "The Gift," "Valentine” and "Love of My Life" are just some of his famous love song compositions. He has collaborated with various musical talents, including Martina McBride, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Bolton and Lady Antebellum. "You have to find your own voice, because if you sound like someone else, then there's nothing unique about you," Brickman said. His distinct style of music

Big Idea Theatre’s production of “The Pillowman” opened Thursday night and led its viewers through a dark and sometimes painful statement about the importance of storytelling and art. The play, directed by Kirk Blackinton, is an adaptation of the 2005 Broadway hit by the same name. Set in a totalitarian police state, the dark play chronicles the interrogation of Katurian Katurian, a brilliant writer with a tortured past. He and his older brother, Michal, who suffers from a form of mental retardation, are being held on charge of the murder of several young children. The two cops, Tupolski and Ariel, are attempting to tie Katurian’s stories to the killings. Many of his stories portray grue

A condition of being human is the ability for deep, contemplative, private thoughts and emotions. We've developed ways of communication to express the thoughts that are rattling around in these big heads of ours- but these words we've created only work when and how we use them. There is no true way to ever really know what is going on inside someone else's head, no matter how close we are to them. I find this to be the theme behind Neil LaBute's play, In A Dark Dark House. An intense tale of the relationship between two 30 something year old brothers who are in two very different places in their lives. A tale where one man sets out to chase down the demons that have been haunting his brot

Did you know Sacramento's very own Trash Film Orgy (TFO) is credited with being home to the first organized Zombie Walk? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_walk#History The summer season is trigger for these midnight movie Trash Film Orgy fans, who descend like a mass migratory bugs filling the hallways and seats of the Crest theatre. Though their year round numbers never fully deplete, once their season starts you see them multiply exponentially for 6 consecutive Saturdays at midnight. The Zombie Walk is the yearly kickoff event for their TFO summer show season which has been growing ever since! Literally hundreds of "people" (if you can still call them that) converge on the midtown

Though many find comfort in the familiar, there’s also an enjoyable thrill that only a bit of change can provide. Big Idea Theatre’s “King of Shadows,” which opened Thursday, finds a great balance using a familiar plot in a modern-day setting for an interesting theatrical experience. I parked at the front of the building which faced closed business doors and a large locked gate. I was convinced that somehow this was the wrong location. As I frantically called around for someone to give me directions, I saw just behind me a small sign designating the location as Big Idea Theatre. As I turned into the alley and parking lot area of the business, I was pleasantly surprised by the small art-f

I don't care much for RENT.  I know I know, everybody loves that show.. I don't.  There are many reasons I don't like the show, but I'm not here to hop on my soap box and tell you them.  I would instead like to tell you about a truly nice honest theatre experience that I recently had. The performance was a fundraiser for cancer research and having only one performance didn't require the actors to be completely off book.  In the footsteps of reader's theatre, the actor's carried scripts on stage! Though most scripts were used very little.  I heard that they had less than 10 rehearsals and for that- they sounded great!  Well except for the house speaker being blown and tinny (the fault of t

Starring Deni Scofield as Luba, a three time veteran of love lost. Lady and the Clarinet is an evening of self reflection done through comedic banter with a hired clarinet player (Christopher Cook), who is to set the mood for the evening with a new mystery man. It isn't long until he finds himself professionally and politely trapped in the corner of a house with a woman spiraling down the vortexes and rabbit holes of her past loves. I found all three of the leading men who were played by David Chernyavsky, Mark Ettensohn, Dennis Ray to be charming and lovable in unique and different ways. There were plenty of opportunities for an honest laugh and it was easy to see why each man was cast i

The Who’s ‘Tommy’ Opening Night UC Davis Wright Hall Main Theatre Thursday, May 19, 2011   With an impressive cast of young performers, “Tommy” lives up to its past Broadway reputation in this UC Davis reproduction. The musical drama is not an easy feat—it is a rock opera composed completely of musical numbers, all of which are performed live on stage and accompanied by a live band. The story, tragic in many ways, is quite appealing. It captures the early childhood of a young boy named Tommy, and follows him throughout a series of family-induced trauma. The powerful message of hope and belief is clearly portrayed by the end of the play, as Tommy overcomes his struggles and emerges a

Good theatre truly touches the soul, it taps into something deeper inside of us than our everyday hum drum lives have to offer. Antigone accomplishes this beautifully. A timeless telling of a classic story. The actors are dressed in a time neutral fashion, the set simple, and there are almost no props- leaving our actors nothing to hide behind. Bold and brazen they bare their hearts and their stories for the audience. This is the story of Antigone, daughter of Odepius, is masterfully narrated by an enchanting Greek Chorus who lays out the events of Antigone as she attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother Polyneices, even though he is considered a traitor to Thebes.  The la

When I was growing up, my parents played me Shel Silverstein tapes constantly. I had this old, beaten up copy of a selection of Where the Sidewalk Ends, and it seemed like I always had it with me. When I was 16, my dad had me listen to “Freakin’ at the Freaker’s Ball” and “I Saw Polly in a Porny.” He thought it was funny. I thought it was devastating. As I grew I learned to accept Shel for who he was, and not just a fallen angel as I had at 16. I learned that he was and is one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century. His biting satire of adults, politics, social institutions and sex made clear to readers that things in this world are crazy and often fetishistic, and we need to not onl

Are you looking for a fun free afternoon of comedy to entertain mom on Sunday? The Roseville Theatre Arts Academy, housed in the historic Roseville Theatre, is offering moms free admission (with one paid admission), to the Sunday, May 8 matinee performance of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. The classic Shakespeare comedy about the adventures of four young lovers, a group of amateur actors, and their interactions with mischievous fairies – is staged underwater in Atlantis – it is Shakespeare submerged. The production opens May 6 at 7:30 p.m. and continues Friday-Saturday 7:30 p.m. and Sundays 2 p.m. through May 21 at the historic Roseville Theatre, 241 Vernon St., Rosevil

The struggling California Musical Theatre in Sacramento will receive $300,000 from the city to help it stay afloat. The Sacramento City Council unanimously decided Wednesday to loan the amount to the theater over the next three years. The theater can withdraw the money in $50,000 increments each quarter until the $300,000 total is reached, according to a report by city staff. The money will go toward the theater’s operations. California Musical Theatre runs Music Circus, the Broadway Series and Cosmopolitan Cabaret. “It’s an important piece of downtown,” Councilman Jay Schenirer said, referring to the theater. The business the theater brings to downtown is “incredibly important,” he add

Big Idea Theatre’s latest production, William Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure,” directed by Kirk Blackinton and Katie Chapman, opened Friday. The play is a lesser-known bit of the canon, often put in the category of “problem play” as it fits neither the specific parts of a comedy nor a tragedy. The plot is divided between the struggle of the play’s antagonist, Angelo, played by Jeffrey Lloyd Heatherly, and the nun-in-training Isabella, played by Gina Williams. The play covers moral ground of a more philosophical nature with Isabella’s plight being the question, “Should she commit an act against God to save a life?” Set in Vienna, the production takes interesting liberties with the sta

It was September 2009 when Beyond the Proscenium Productions (BPP) announced that they were closing the doors and not producing anymore. Founder and artistic director Ann Tracy has spent the last 19 months dealing with all the paperwork that is involved in dissolving a nonprofit. When all was said and done, there was actually money left over! The board voted to donate the money to Big Idea Theatre (BIT) on Del Paso Blvd. “There was some sentimentality involved”, Tracy said. “Especially since we spent many years with offices and rehearsal spaces on the Boulevard and have performed in the same theatre that BIT is now using. Many of the folks that worked with BPP are also involved with BIT

Maria Callas died more than 33 years ago yet her recordings still set standards in the opera world. Famous for her temper, rivalries with fellow divas and her longtime affair with Aristotle Onassis, she was hot copy in the press while alive and long after her death. She had a tough life before her triumph as an one of the most revered figures in opera of all time. She lived and studied in Greece through World War II. Callas had her premiere at the La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy, considered to be the most prestigious opera house in the world in December, 1951. Seven years later, she was let go. She died at a young 54 years of age. Maria Callas was the consummate diva. Award-winning

Sacramento City College's theater department, City Theatre, presents a program of eight short plays at the West Sacramento Community Center "Black Box" Theatre, at 1075 West Capitol Boulevard. The plays all center on Sacramento's iconic Tower Bridge, ranging from the historic to the fantastic. Because the City College's campus theater is currently undergoing renovation, they have moved their 2011 program to the "Black Box" Theatre, a new facility in West Sacramento. This location provides a most fitting setting for plays with this subject--chances are good that those who attend will cross over or pass within view of the Tower Bridge on the way to the theater. Eight playwrights composed s

Found Footage Fest, a screening featuring odd and obscure videos compiled by curators Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett, will be presenting its latest collection on Sunday at the Guild Theater in Oak Park. The showing is a guided tour through a collection of 75 funny clips and segments with Prueher and Pickett explaining when and where they found each piece of footage, along with other commentary to put each set into context. “Sometimes it’s a standalone clip, and sometimes it's a montage,” Prueher said. “Home videos, training videos, exercise videos, this is the stuff that wasn't mean to be shown to the public.” Now in its seventh year, they are taking the show back on the road and presenti