Courtney Symes - Page 5

Following in the wake of a play like The Play That Goes Wrong is no easy feat. It would be easy to fall into the shadows and be overlooked, and B Street Theatre’s Executive Director, Lyndsay Burch, took a calculated risk in choosing a drama filled with some loaded content. After seeing the new work, I can say that the risk paid off. Charly Evon Simpson’s play, Jump, is filled with heartfelt candor, raw emotion, and some infectious hope for the future.

Between Sacramento and San Francisco are many small towns dotting the Interstate 80 corridor. Farmland eventually turns to the bay, which has inspired many songs such as “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay.” Maybe not as well known is one such town, Vallejo, whose biggest draw now is its Six Flags amusement park. For one talented musician, though, Vallejo is everything. Shawn Raiford is a philanthropic saxophone genius whose music has been climbing the smooth jazz charts. His latest single, a love letter to his hometown, has been described as containing “warm melodies and intimate harmonies” that “float atop a soulful midtempo groove.” BroadwayWorld recently spoke with Shawn about his new single, his dedication to serving, and the beauty of Vallejo.

One thing that stands out about Sacramento is its prolific and varied arts community. There is truly something for everyone and, if you’re eclectically inclined, Big Idea Theatre is the place for you. Their performance selections vary, but each is unique, quirky, and thought-provoking. The current offering is no less original, although decidedly more of a mouthful. Halley Feiffer’s extra-long title, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City, is somewhat of a misnomer, as the odd things all happen in one room of the cancer center.

The ancient Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice has been retold in many ways. In literature, music, art, and film, their doomed love story is among the most well-known Greek myths. Really, who can resist a Greek tragedy? Its most recent reimagination, in the form of Hadestown, began as a concept album by its creator, Anaïs Mitchell. When it premiered on Broadway in 2019, it received rave reviews and took home eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Now, it’s here with Broadway Sacramento to take you on a ride to the hottest place around, Hadestown.

For over 25 years, the B Street Theatre has been a visionary leader in the community, championing new artists and works while bringing quality professional theatre to Sacramento. Amid theatres across the country shutting down, B Street continues going strong. They recently announced their 2024 season, which features several new works. Three of them hail from B Street’s own New Comedies Festival, including its winning entry, The Newlywed Game. BroadwayWorld recently spoke with B Street’s Artistic Director, Lyndsay Burch, about what makes this theatre so special, how they navigate a changing theatre landscape, and why humor rules.

Austenites can rejoice -- FreeFall Stage, a local community theatre known for its period pieces, has staged a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The 1813 work is a commentary on the trappings of the Regency era social caste wrapped in a beautiful romance novel. It has been adapted to television and stage and has inspired multiple literary spinoffs. It continues to be one of the most popular novels in British literature and its themes of patriarchy, judgment, class, and love are as relevant today as they were 200 years ago.

Capital Stage begins its 2023/2024 season theme of True Identity with socially relevant and thought-provoking theatre in the form of Lynn Nottage’s Tony Award-nominated play, Clyde’s. This 2022 hit is fresh, funny, and full of questions. Do your past choices define who you are, or can you reinvent your true identity?

A lot can happen in 525,600 minutes. Love is found, dreams are lost, and lives are irrevocably altered. Such is the premise of Jonathan Larson’s rock musical, Rent, which is loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera, La Bohème. Larson wanted to tell the stories of his friends who were afflicted by the AIDS epidemic and, at the same time, highlight the struggles that he and his peers faced as young artists in New York City. Sadly, Larson died from an aortic aneurysm the night before Rent opened Off-Broadway. He would not see it go on to Broadway and win the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; however, his vision continues in Broadway at Music Circus’ finale of their 2023 season.

The Sacramento Theatre Company (STC) is one of the oldest theatre groups in the region, bringing professional productions to the city since its switch from community theatre in the 1980s. Last season’s finale of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time garnered rave reviews and showcased the quality that has been woven through the very fabric of STC’s productions, which made the news that the fall season had been put on hold even more alarming. With theatres shuttering across the nation and most seeing a drop in attendance, it’s become a struggle for local theatres to keep their doors open. STC decided to take this season to reorganize and concentrate on its outreach and educational programs. Their School of the Arts has been a successful Sacramento staple but a rehaul was needed to catapult STC into next season and beyond. BroadwayWorld spoke to STC’s Education Program Manager, Miranda D. Lawson, and the STC Education staff about the new and improved program.

You may have heard that back in the 20th century a guy by the name of Edward Murphy famously said, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Pessimistic? Maybe. Accurate? Definitely, as proven in B Street Theatre’s side-splitting rendition of The Play That Goes Wrong. This award-winning comedy written by members of the aptly named Mischief Theatre Company is a play within a play about things that go, well, wrong.

A question that’s often posed is, “What constitutes good art?” For me, it’s a piece that stretches my knowledge while dispelling assumptions. It’s something that might make me uncomfortable, even if I’m not sure why. It’s a work that evokes such strong emotions that I am left thinking about it for days. Ragtime is good art. Broadway at Music Circus has outdone itself with this powerful production about social justice, feminism, and tenacity. Based on the novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime opened on Broadway in 1998 and won four Tony Awards, including Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score.

Rise Up Theatre Company is moving on to a bigger and better theatre space in Rancho Cordova but, before they do, they are gracing the MACC with a nail-biting production of Assassins. This Sondheim work lives in the shadow of his more popular pieces like Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, but it stands on its own merit for its originality and varied score. Its 2004 Broadway debut garnered five Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. Now Rancho Cordova’s own rising community theatre brings the story of America’s most famous assassins to you, featuring robust local talent that sets their sights on your support.

Sacramento’s renowned choreographer Jacob Gutierrez-Montoya is taking his talent across the pond with Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre’s (SCDT) original take on the life of Marie Antoinette. SCDT will be performing in Scotland at Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe from August 15-19. The Festival Fringe bills itself as “one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet,” and we will be here cheering Jacob and Company on as they take the international arts community by storm.

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and they need no introduction. Morticia, Gomez, and the gang are here in Sacramento to spice things up in The Addams Family musical. Since opening on Broadway in 2010, it’s become a favorite of audiences nationwide. Based on the cartoons of Charles Addams, The Addams Family is a new look at the ghoulish tribe that originally captured our hearts with the 1960s television series.

What did our critic think of THE MUSIC MAN at Broadway At Music Circus?

The B Street Theatre has set the gold standard in new comedy development with its world premiere of Insertion by Sarah Groustra. This hilariously bawdy, witty, and satirical homage to the questionable merits of the romance genre was the winner of B Street Theatre’s 2022 New Comedies Festival, and the reasons are clear. Groustra’s clever dialogue imbued with racy physical comedy makes Insertion the summer’s not-to-miss show.  

Tired of the same old shows? Well, we’ve got you covered. Puppeteers for Fears, an Oregon-based puppet troupe, is embarking on their 2023 tour and have a stop at Harlow’s on July 16th. They will be performing their adaptation of Cthulhu: the Musical!, which combines horror and rock music with puppets and dark humor. BroadwayWorld spoke to playwright Josh Gross and puppeteer Alyssa Mathews about Shakespeare, evil octopi, and Sacramento’s sweet spots.

Oh, what a night! Jersey Boys, the Tony Award-winning jukebox musical about the rise and fall of The Four Seasons, is rocking the town of Columbia through the summer. It’s a story of the American dream, a rags-to-riches tale that brings four young boys out of Jersey and into the national spotlight. It’s also a story about what’s more important than fame: family, loyalty, and honor.

Cinderella - it’s a tale as old as time. Oh wait, wrong show. It’s pretty close, though. The story has roots as far back as 200 B.C. in Egypt, but the most well-known version dates to the 17th century, which is the one made famous by Disney in 1950. Broadway at Music Circus is showcasing a new adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella that features a revised book by Douglas Carter Beane. Originally made for television in 1957, Beane’s vision strays from that by incorporating modern elements that appeal to an evolving society while keeping some of the old fairytale flavor. Modern Cinderella opened on Broadway in 2013, the first time ever for any rendition of that title, and ran for two years. Now, it’s here to continue Broadway at Music Circus’ streak of being the place to be in the summer since 1951.

“Who made that?” is the question we didn’t know we needed the answer to. In Jennifer Blackmer’s new play, Predictor, we learn that it’s one of the most important questions in the struggle for female equality. Throughout history, men have taken credit for women’s accomplishments. Things such as wireless communication (created by Hedy Lamarr), a cure for leprosy (Alice Ball), disposable diapers (Marion Donovan), and even the game Monopoly (Elizabeth Magie Phillips) were all invented by women whose names were lost in the annals of history until recently. Thankfully, due to the diligence of Blackmer, we also now know the name Meg Crane, who changed the course of women’s lives forever with her invention: the home pregnancy test.