Courtney Symes - Page 12

An endearing message of hope and positivity is what makes Man of La Mancha a timeless classic. It has stayed relevant from its opening on Broadway in 1965 (when it won 5 Tony Awards), through four Broadway revivals, and up to the present day. Now Sacramento is fortunate to have the opportunity to experience the tale that author Miguel de Cervantes began in 1605.

Fans of Peter Pan will be thrilled to know that Finding Neverland, the Drama Desk Award-nominated Broadway musical, has arrived in Sacramento! Based upon the play, The Man Who Was Peter Pan, and the Academy Award-winning movie, Finding Neverland, the story follows the perennial young-at-heart J.M. Barrie on his journey to write one of the most beloved stories of all time.

Mothers and Sons, by 4-time Tony winner Terrence McNally, is a provocative study on guilt, AIDS and familial structure set almost 30 years after the beginning of the American AIDS epidemic. We get to witness all of the pain, fear, shame and frustration of the gay community from the safety of our theatre seats in a time when an AIDS diagnosis is not an immediate death sentence. It is easy, now, to look back and scream with indignation that not enough was done. We say that the administration didn't care about the marginalized members of society. Well, we must be always vigilant, lest history repeat itself.

Bawdy, blasphemous, brilliant and blithe! The Book of Mormon has returned after a two year absence and Sacramento is ready! The winner of 9 Tony Awards, The Book of Mormon is a hilarious depiction of the Mormon religion by the creators of South Park (Trey Parker and Matt Stone) and Avenue Q (Robert Lopez).

Director Casey McClellan, fresh off of a Broadway World Best Director win for The Diary of Anne Frank, brings the Scottish play to Sacramento Theatre Company with a creative spin on the dark and supernatural elements of the show. For those who are not familiar with MacBeth, it is arguably one of Shakespeare's darkest works and cleverly explores the depravity of the human mind and the lengths that one will go to for personal gain.

Fresh off of the 12th longest run in Broadway history, Jersey Boys returns to Sacramento after a four year absence.  Jersey Boys is the Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award winning biographical account of the rise and fall of the musical powerhouse, The Four Seasons.  Baby boomers arrived en masse to the Community Center Theatre to be entertained by music from their youth and were not disappointed with the dynamic performance of this touring cast.  

Musical theatre lovers, rejoice! The Musical of Musicals-the Musical! has returned to Sacramento and promises an evening of melodrama, satire, and comedy. Composed by the co-creator of last season's The Donner Party, Eric Rockwell, with lyrics by Joanne Bogart, the show parodies some of Broadway's greatest composers while paying homage to their brilliance.

In 1848, a Lutheran scholar named Samuel Mosheim Schmucker first raised the question as to how an uneducated and untraveled man such as William Shakespeare could have penned 37 plays and 154 sonnets that dealt with subjects that he should have no knowledge of. Since then many people have cast their doubts about the identity of the Bard, including Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud. Most recently, with a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell and music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, the Tony-nominated Something Rotten! hilariously takes a look at Shakespeare as a plagiarist.

During the holiday season, many people flock to church to find solace, seek forgiveness, practice introspection, and soak up lessons on how to live their lives. Something about this time of year encourages all of us to examine how we have conducted ourselves the previous 11 months. Theatre has been my church for a long time now, and luckily The Sacramento Theatre Company is there to give me periodic reminders of the values that are important to keep close.

There is a new standard for musical theatre in town, and it has been set by composer David Taylor-Gomes. His original work was showcased in a one-night-only concert entitled, The Boxed Up Binge , featuring songs and snippets from his larger project, Boxed Up the Musical.

Sacramento Theatre Company is a regional treasure, unique in the fact that they support and develop local talent. Each season they produce an original work by an area artist. Their 2017-18 season theme of Fate, Fantasy and Forgiveness currently features a play by Sacramento native Ryan Patrick Nill entitled Kings of America.

Beautiful-The Carole King Musical is more than a jukebox musical. It's a very personal glimpse into the life of a woman who shaped American music. It's a story of sanguinity, heartbreak, and redemption. Carole King's tale is touching and empowering and will resonate with anyone who has ever had their heart broken.

Director Casey McClellan again brings a World War II era piece to the Sacramento Theatre Company and makes it relevant to what we are experiencing today. Like last season's The Glass Menagerie, The Diary of Anne Frank deals with the human emotions brought on by betrayal, loss, and, ultimately, hope.

Dancing, singing, bad-guy-catching nuns? You can't go wrong with that combination! Based on the 1992 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, Sister Act the musical is a feel-good, rousing testament to the power of sisterhood set in 70's funk, soul and disco.

The Sacramento children's theatre community is going to have some big shoes to fill next summer. For the past 32 years kids have flocked to the Pied Piper of junior musical theatre, Ron Cisneros. Watching him with "his kids", as he calls them, it's no wonder that he has put on a successful summer program since 1985. He alternates between big hugs, stern affection, and an intense dedication to the craft that has made him a Sacramento icon. Unfortunately, this is the last summer of children's workshops for Cisneros Studio of Dance.

Last weekend, in the intimate San Francisco Playhouse, about 100 students had the privilege of attending a Master Class put on by the Young Actors' Theatre Camp (YATC). The featured artist was Rory O'Malley, who is currently in San Francisco playing King George III in the national tour of Hamilton.

Intrepid Theatre Lab, comprised of artistic director Casey McClellan and producer Greg Foro, made its Sacramento debut with Cock, a play by Mike Bartlett. Double entendres aside, this is a play that is not actually about cock (ok, maybe a little), but rather about being labeled and put into a box. It examines what happens to one man whose ideas about himself change and he no longer knows who he is.

Runaway Stage Productions is on the move!  They have secured funding to begin construction on their new 250-seat theatre in West Sacramento.  According to producing director Bob Baxter, the schematic drawings are complete and they are now in the process of obtaining approval from the city and finalizing various permits.  

Growing up in Northern California, it is impossible not to hear about the Donner Party, the group of 87 pioneers who tried to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter of 1846. Unfortunately, the name has become synonymous with cannibalism. After being trapped in an early winter storm at Truckee (now Donner) Lake, members of the party were forced to eat their dead in order to survive. In the horror that the imagery generates, it is difficult to remember that these were very real, living, breathing people who had dreams of providing a better life for themselves and their families. The Donner Party, A New American Musical, tells the story of 16 of those pioneers. Commissioned by Sacramento Theatre Company and written by Margaret Rose with music by Eric Rockwell, this is the musical's world premiere right here in Sacramento.

When an icon is as approachable, affable and humble as Ben Vereen is, it is easy to see why he has been so successful. The winner of a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his role in Pippin, Vereen is, at the age of 70, showing no signs of slowing down. Luckily for us, he is bringing his energy and talent to our area to perform with the Stockton Symphony on May 6 and 7.