Camille Gavin: 'Wash Your Troubles Away' — and help fight cancer
| Wednesday, Feb 18 2009 08:34 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:25 PM
‘WASH YOUR TROUBLES AWAY’
When: 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Norris Road Veterans Hall, 400 W. Norris Road.
Admission: $10 to $20
Information:
330-0423
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‘WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
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When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: The Empty Space, 706 Oak St.
Admission: Free — donations welcome
Information: 327-PLAY
Images
A scene from "Wash Your Troubles Away or ... Dirty Deeds Come Clean." (Photo courtesy of Laurie Alexander)
Some of the cast of the Black Gold Melodrama. (Photo courtesy of Laurie Alexander)
“A squeaky clean musical” is the way Black Gold Productions describes its annual show, which opens Friday evening for six performances. The phrase reflects the melodrama’s title, “Wash Your Troubles Away or … Dirty Deeds Come Clean.”
Laurie Alexander — she plays the heroine, Sweet Sally — said it’s set in the 1800s in a rough and ready mountain town called Dig-a-little-deeper that’s probably a lot like Kern County was in its early days.
Alexander has appeared in a few short films and worked at a melodrama theater in Colorado, but this is her first local stage appearance since 1994 when she was a student at West High School. She is employed by GEI Consultants and is pursuing a degree in environmental resource management at Cal State Bakersfield.
The show is a fundraiser sponsored by the San Joaquin Valley chapter of the American Petroleum Institute. Alexander said all proceeds will be given to the American Cancer Society.
“I’m our team captain for Relay for Life and this is our main fundraiser,” she said. “Last year we raised $40,000 and over the last nine years we’ve raised $155,000.”
About half of the 35-member cast and crew are API members, including Matt Smith of Aera Energy LLC, the villain in the piece, and the directors, Starlyn Brown and Mike Handren. Marvin Ramey did the choreography and Shari Fortino provided some material for the vaudeville revue that follows the main show.
‘VIRGINIA WOOLF’ AT THE EMPTY
Ryan Watts, director of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” at The Empty Space, says he chose to do the award-winning drama by Edward Albee because it presented a challenge.
“I first read (the play) about four years ago in one of my English classes and instantly fell in love with it,” Watts said. “I knew the piece was challenging but also extremely rewarding.”
Watts is a senior at Cal State Bakersfield majoring in English with a minor in theater. He has acted in several shows at the Empty and co-directed last September’s “A Very Factual History of Entertainment.”
Ron Warren and Jaclyn Taylor play the lead roles of a New England college professor and his wife who invite another faculty couple, portrayed by Ronnie Hargrave and Lacey Maples, to their home after attending a campus party. It’s set in the 1960s and the entire action takes place from 2 to 5 a.m. in the host couple’s living room.
LIBERTY HIGH FANTASY
“The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket” is a fantasy tale about the dreamer in all of us, says Perry Ware, drama instructor at Liberty High School. The student production opens this evening at the school’s Performing Arts Center.
It’s the story of Daniel, who as a 12-year-old was bullied by his classmates — they called him “Snood” — but is treated with acclaim when he returns 20 years later as an international celebrity due to his ability to fly. Meanwhile, the girl he had a crush on in grade school has married Daniel’s best friend.
CSUB JAZZ COFFEEHOUSE
Students as well as community musicians will be featured in Cal State Bakersfield’s Jazz Coffeehouse on Saturday. Four different groups will perform, and one of the sets will pay tribute to Freddie Hubbard, a nationally known trumpeter and composer who died in January.
The concert is one in a five-part series produced and directed by Jim Scully, a member of the CSUB music faculty.
