CAMILLE GAVIN: Stars takes shot at Tony winner
| Wednesday, Jan 18 2012 04:29 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jan 18 2012 06:52 PM
'The Drowsy Chaperone'
Doors open at 6 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; doors open at 12:30 p.m., show at 2 p.m. Sunday
Stars Restaurant Theatre, 1931 Chester Ave.
Admission: $50 to $54; $30 students
Information: 325-6100
'Showdown at Shafter'
7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday
Gaslight Melodrama & Music Hall, 12748 Jomani Drive
Admission: $23; $21 seniors; $12 children 12 and under
Information: 587-3377
Jackson Southernaires
7 p.m. Friday
Church of Christ, 1416 Wilson Road
Cost: $25; $20 in advance
Information: 324-2897
Images
The narrator, known only as The Man In Chair (played by Bruce Saathoff), tells the audience about his favorite 1920s musical, "The Drowsy Chaperone."
Chorus girl Kitty (Ellie Sivesind) tries to convince Broadway producer Feldzeig (Bob Anderson) that she would be a perfect replacement for the bride who is quitting show business in a scene from "The Drowsy Chaperone."
Jennifer Prince and Jay Stodder appear in "Showdown in Shafter."
Jenny Adame in a scene from "Showdown in Shafter."
The Jackson Southernaires will present a concert Friday night at the Church of Christ.
It seems to me that in the last 12 months Brian Sivesind has set some sort of a record in the ever-changing world of local theater.
Since last January, he's directed "Hamlet" at one theater, taken over the reins for an updated version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" at a different playhouse, and starred in a drama at a third one.
Oh, yes. And about midway through 2011 he returned to The Empty Space -- an innovative theater he founded nine years ago -- as its executive director.
Now, and for the first time, he's directing a musical at a fourth venue with the opening Friday of "The Drowsy Chaperone" at Stars Restaurant Theatre.
Oddly enough, his agreement to do a show at Stars preceded all of his other activities.
"About a year ago," Sivesind explained, "I was asked by Bruce Saathoff, the artistic director of Stars, if I would be interested in directing this season. 'Drowsy Chaperone' was open and worked with my schedule at the time so I signed on to do it."
This, of course, was several months before Sivesind severed his affiliation with Spotlight Theatre.
"I was interested in directing at a different venue, and Stars does musicals really well," he said. "I really liked the shows I saw there and was interested in working with their talent and resources."
Now, as I look over the list of people he's gathered for "Chaperone," both onstage and behind the scenes, I can see he's picked the cream of the crop.
The principal performers are Saathoff as the show's narrator, a character referred to as The Man in a Chair; Jim Fillbrandt, Stars' executive producer as the Underling; Virginia Lennemann, a long-time favorite of local audiences as Mrs. Tottendale; and, playing the part of Janet Van De Graaff, star of the fictional Feldzieg's Follies, is Bethany Rowlee, who has been a standout in several recent shows.
Also in the cast are Tammy White; Bob Anderson; Ellie Sivesind; Brent Rochon, who doubles as choreographer with Marzie Forzetting; Dallas White; Ken Burdick; and Jill Burdick.
"It was a little intimidating to direct the two guys in charge of Stars -- Jim and Bruce -- in my first show, but they've both been wonderful to work with," Sivesind said. "I'm also excited to work with the Burdicks, who haven't appeared at Stars in a number of years."
Char Gaines, another veteran of numerous Stars and Bakersfield Music Theatre productions, leads the orchestra and also serves as vocal director.
Briefly, the show is about a man who, as he sits in his living room, yearns for the halcyon days of the 1920s. After putting an old record album on a turntable next to his chair, the scene is suddenly transformed into a rousing comedic show within a show.
"The Drowsy Chaperone" won Tony awards in 2006 for best book and best score. It continues on weekends through Feb. 11 at Stars.
Melodrama set in Shafter
Michael Prince, artistic director, confirmed that the Gaslight Melodrama has added three new actors to its company: Shawn Rader, Ali Dougherty and Jenny Adame.
All three, along with regulars Jay Stodder as Luke Lavender, the ruthless villain, and Jennifer Prince as Belladonna Slither, his evil lady friend, will appear in "Showdown at Shafter," which opens Friday at the theater in northwest Bakersfield.
Although Michael writes many of the plays Gaslight performs, this one was written by David Chappelle, a playwright for the Mahoney State Park melodrama theater near Lincoln, Neb.
"I only adapted it for our theater to add the local flair," he said. "We've performed a few of (Chappelle's) plays in the past and they're always a lot of fun."
Prince has made the setting an old lodge down the road from Shafter's historic Green Hotel. Dougherty plays the villain's sweet and innocent mail-order bride; Rader portrays a Sam Steadfast, a rancher who ends up being a hero; and Adame is a hardened pioneer mail carrier named Carbine Molly Muldoon.
Even though it's a classic melodrama, with plenty of reasons to hiss, boo or cheer as the occasion arises, unlike most westerns, there are no gunshots.
The show will be followed by "The Layover," a vaudeville revue in a more contemporary vein written by the Gaslight's multi-talented music director, Warren Dobson. The revue, says Prince, answers the question: What happens when a group of strangers are stuck in an airport terminal when the power grid goes out and flights are canceled?
Performances of the back-to-back shows continue on weekends through March 10.
Gospel singers' concert
The Jackson Southernaires, a trio of nationally known gospel singers and recording artists, will present a concert Friday evening at the Church of Christ in southwest Bakersfield.
Monte Embry, owner of B Moore Christian Books & Music, arranged for their visit as part of this year's Harlem & Beyond events.
"They were here about two years ago at Rising Star Baptist Church," Embry said. "They were very popular, so we asked them to come back again."
The group, which travels with its own five-piece band, was started more than 50 years ago in Jackson, Miss. Two of its current members, Huey Paul Williams Sr. and Maurice Surrell Sr., are sons of the original founders, according to the group's website. The third member is James Burks.
Harlem & Beyond is an annual community-wide reading project that includes music, art and theatre partnerships celebrating the contributions of African Americans. Brenda Scobey, a retired librarian who was employed for many years by the county, is the coordinator.
