Courtney Symes - Page 2

Oh, what a night at Broadway at Music Circus! Their final show of the season is the Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys, The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, which tells the rags to riches story of the original New Jersey boy band, The Four Seasons. Director Glenn Casale has helmed another must-see show this summer, and it’s fitting to close this exciting season with such an iconic title.

The countdown is on, Sacramento! Less than a week remains until Grammy Award-winning duo Twenty One Pilots electrifies the Golden 1 Center with their unique sound and unparalleled energy. On August 25th, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun arrive on The Clancy World Tour to perform songs from their seventh full-length album, Clancy.

Waitress, the Tony-nominated musical with an all-female creative team, is heating up the round at Broadway at Music Circus. It boasts an incredible score by Grammy winner Sara Bareilles and a book by screenwriter Jessie Nelson. It was adapted from the independent film of the same name by screenwriter Adrienne Shelly who, tragically, was killed only a few days before the film was accepted by the Sundance Film Festival. Its themes of redemption, love, perseverance, and courage are universally appealing. Like its unique pies, Waitress is a blend of sugar, spice, hilarity, and feel-good feminine power.

Help Me is inspired by real-life scenarios shared on Tumblr and the #MeToo movement. Director Emma Eldridge of Freefall Stage has crafted this latest production as a labor of love sparked by righteous anger at the inequalities and danger women face every day.

There are few issues as polarizing as that of women’s reproductive rights in the United States. In the wake of the June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, several states have enacted laws making abortion illegal, while many others have bans in place or are currently considering them. This is the crux at the heart of Arlene Hutton’s mesmerizing new play, Blood of the Lamb. It’s been performed to rave reviews in Scotland, Australia, and Alaska, and will be at the B St. Theatre for a limited engagement before opening Off-Broadway this fall.

Patsy Cline made it past the cursed musicians’ age of twenty-seven, but not by much. She was killed in a plane crash at the age of thirty, leaving thousands of fans to mourn her memory and music. She is known for inspiring the next generation of women in country music and was the first solo female artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  It was only a matter of time before her extraordinary journey to fame made it into the book of a jukebox musical, and we are so lucky it did. Always…Patsy Cline is part of the 52nd season of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, playing simultaneously with the delightful Shakespearean comedy, The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Tucked into the beauty of Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park is a stage set against what is, arguably, one of the most exquisite views in the country. The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival calls this stage home, and I was fortunate to experience the wonder of their offerings last weekend.

The best part of summer is Broadway at Music Circus and, as we pass the halfway mark in the season, we are treated to the Tony Award-winning noir piece from Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sunset Blvd. It transports us back in time to a forgotten world of silent films, glamour, and a certain elegance that has been slowly eroded by progress. The allure of old Hollywood is mesmerizing in director Glenn Casale’s triumph of the 2024 season, where he weaves a spellbinding orb of madness, desperation, and ambition.

Tradition. How do we know when to let go and embrace the future? That’s the question at the heart of the latest triumph at Broadway at Music Circus. Beloved classic Fiddler on the Roof has itself become a tradition for theatre lovers worldwide. It was a favorite of mine as a child, and continues to be many years later. Fiddler on the Roof was an instant hit when it opened on Broadway sixty years ago, winning nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It has inspired parodies, television shows, movies, and music. It opened in Sacramento on Tuesday night to an enthusiastic audience eager for its themes of love, family, and resilience.

Too hot outside? Come cool off with some of your favorite characters in Bikini Bottom. Broadway at Music Circus has transformed into the whimsical town under the sea for a limited time. The Spongebob Musical opened on Broadway in 2017 and its lovable characters have captured the hearts of the young and young at heart ever since. From zany Spongebob to studious Sandy, all of the residents of Bikini Bottom rock out to a score written by a wide array of artists. Songs by talents such as Cyndi Lauper, Panic! at the Disco, and John Legend keep the energy up in this hilarious, exhilarating, and thoughtful show about the world’s most popular sponge.

Summer means Shakespeare and, luckily, there are a variety of offerings to choose from in our area. Arguably, though, none are in a more beautiful location than that of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. What began in 1972 on the lawn of the Ehrman Mansion at Sugar Pine Point State Park has now evolved to a permanent, state-of-the-art stage housed in the picturesque Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park. This season the Festival is featuring two exciting shows: The Merry Wives of Windsor and Always…Patsy Cline. BroadwayWorld spoke with Director/Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee about this summer’s offerings, the evolution of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and what it takes to produce theatre in one of the most enchanting places in the world.

Capital Stage is closing out its nineteenth season with a charming story of healing and self-discovery. Now Circa Then by Carly Mensch is a clever blend of worlds: past and present, immigrant and citizen, passion and apathy. In this show, life imitates art and the lines between those worlds blur, encouraging us to delve inward and examine our own motivations.

A veterinarian, a figure skater, and the Phantom of the Opera all walk into a room…but it’s not a joke. They are all gathering in the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on June 29th for the 75th Anniversary Gala celebrating the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. This event will raise money supporting scholarships for our future veterinarians and scientists.

Celebration Arts’ season of Black Girl Magic continues with its production of TOPDOG/UNDERDOG. Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks became the first Black woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work in 2002. In 2023 it won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

On June 17, 2021, the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law, effectively making June 19tha federally recognized holiday. It commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and the June 19, 1865 enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. In honor of the holiday, two local theatres are having a celebration at each of their venues before leading a walk to the state capitol to join others observing the day. I was honored to speak with Lyndsay Burch, Executive Director and CEO of the B St. Theatre, and Elizabeth Baidoo, Marketing and Community Development Manager of Celebration Arts, about what they have planned for the community this Wednesday.

I’m old enough to remember when “The Newlywed Game” was live on television…before reruns. It was fascinating to discover how well couples knew each other; so, when the B St. Theatre announced their production of The Newlywed Game, the winner of the 2023 New Comedies Festival, I knew it was going to be a must-see.

‘Tis the season for Shakespeare! Big Idea Theatre is now showing their gender-bending version of Much Ado About Nothing, just in time to celebrate Pride. This modernized take is playing through June 29th.

Glamour, glitz, and gams galore! You’ll get this and more with 42nd Street, which opens up the 72nd Broadway at Music Circus season. This love letter to Broadway actually didn’t start there. It took over forty years after the film was released to be made into a Broadway musical. It made its debut at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1980 and won the 1981 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Artistic mastermind and unparalleled choreographer Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya is having a summer to remember. He is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his philanthropic dance company, Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre, while also being recognized by Comstock’s Magazine as one of their 2024 Young Professionals. While juggling multiple other projects, he took the time to speak to BWW about SCDT’s anniversary performance, his new Fringe entry, and all of the exciting things still to come in 2024.

Long before Walt Disney, Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio entertained children in a weekly Italian magazine. In 1883 it was turned into a novel and has since inspired many adaptations, including the play currently running at Freefall Stage. The True Adventures of Pinocchio, adapted by Louis Lippa, is showing through June 16th.