Courtney Symes - Page 5

Who doesn’t love a great sequel? We all do, as evidenced by the popularity of franchises such as Scream and National Lampoon’s Vacation series. Even re-imagined backstories of classics, like Wicked, have seen incredible success. When we find characters that resonate with us, we are loath to give them up. This is why you’ll need to hurry to get tickets for Capital Stage’s holiday offering, Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley. Georgiana and Kitty is the third in a trilogy of works by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon that imagine the lives of the Bennet sisters after Pride and Prejudice.

It’s back! The most wonderful time of the year (besides baseball season), which brings with it a slew of the most wonderful theatre offerings. The B Street Theatre is premiering one of them, Snow Fever: A Karaoke Christmas by Robert Caisley, as part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. In the true spirit of Christmas, Caisley adheres to the unspoken rule that a holiday is not a holiday without a steaming hot mess.

It wasn’t that long ago that novels like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road would have been considered farfetched.  A post-apocalyptic wasteland, previously only imaginable, now seems not only plausible but eventually probable. Zoe Kazan takes it a bit further with her stark rendering of the future of America in the smartly written After the Blast, where survivors don’t have the luxury of wandering a barren and dangerous landscape like McCarthy’s boy and his father. Instead, they are miles beneath the surface of the Earth and, generations later, have no first-hand memory of the world above.

One of the most recognizable names in recording history has been immortalized in another jukebox musical. What makes this one different, however, is the infectious energy of the cast, the widespread appeal of the music, and the unparalleled enthusiasm of an insatiable audience. Ain’t Too Proud, The Life and Times of The Temptations, is the Tony Award-winning story of The Temptations as told through the eyes of its founding member, Otis Williams.

As Les Misérables turns thirty-eight this year, it shows no signs of aging. Performances in Sacramento have almost sold out, and it makes one wonder how a show whose content is serious and dark can have such staying power. When it opened in London in 1985, critical reviews were mixed. What it had on its side was public support. Audiences loved the themes of revolution, hope, and redemption; so much so that a Broadway production was launched in 1987. This won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and cemented its status as a legend in theatre.

A delicious confection of nostalgia and excess awaits you at the historic Fallon House Theatre in Columbia. Sierra Repertory Theatre (SRT) has staged a titillating throwback to a time when societal norms were being questioned and the country was on the precipice of change. The Graduate is perhaps known best as a 1967 film, with Dustin Hoffman as young college graduate Benjamin Braddock, and Anne Bancroft as the original cougar, Mrs. Robinson. You’ll love the stage version even more, as SRT boasts a new and improved version with beautiful costumes, danceable tracks, and much better acting.

Tuberculosis and assassination may seem like an odd combination, but they pair surprisingly well in Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke, a historical re-imagining of the pivotal event that helped to ignite World War I.

The Graduate, a novel-turned-cult classic film and play, is an award-winning coming-of-age story about a young man who, feeling adrift after college, seeks connection with an older woman. It’s a story that has aged well, with themes that are collectively engaging. Finding one’s purpose, uncertainty, and lust are combined with loyalty and love to create a timeless piece of Americana. Who better to infuse the iconic work with Mrs. Robinson’s signature sex appeal than a Sacramento theatre icon? Sultry, smoky, and sophisticated are what Natasha Hause breathes into Sierra Rep’s Mrs. Robinson, bringing high society to the historic Fallon House Theatre and breathless entertainment to her audiences. The four-time BroadwayWorld Award-winning actress and director spoke to us about her coveted role, plans beyond Mrs. Robinson, and her secrets of seduction.

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.