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Gaslight to scare up some laughs

The Bakersfield Californian | Wednesday, Sep 21 2011 05:59 PM

Last Updated Wednesday, Sep 21 2011 06:00 PM

In a twist on the world-famous musical "Phantom of the Opera," the Gaslight Melodrama has created its own resident ghost.

"It's very tongue in cheek; we're really poking a little fun at ourselves," said Michael Prince, the writer and director of "Phantom of the Melodrama," which opens Friday at the Gaslight.

Here's the topsy-turvy plot: The owner of a fictional melodrama is weary of being told what he does is not "real" theater. Determined to be taken seriously, he decides to stage "Phantom of the Opera." He fires his star funny man and hires a famous actor to play the part of the phantom. But the displaced comedian turns the tables on the owner and proves how important it is to make people laugh.

"Part of the show even includes a filmed fake newscast, where different members of the community express their concern with the (make-believe) melodrama going serious," Prince said. "We got support from Michelle Guerrero Tolley and Bob Kempf from The Empty Space, Tom Rockwell from Trout's, local attorney Bobby Cloud and many others."

"Phantom of the Melodrama" features -- live and in person -- Ken Burdick, Jill Burdick, Jennifer Prince, Katie Metz, Jay Stodder, Matt Thompson, Charlie Gamble and Cody Huckabee.

The main show is followed by "Merry Ol' England," a vaudeville revue, written and directed by Warren Dobson. Performances continue through Nov. 12.

Guitar lessons at Beale

If you're going to play the guitar -- or just about any other musical instrument -- you better make sure it's in tune before you start strumming.

And that's the focus of a free guitar workshop being held this evening at Beale Memorial Library. It seems that Scott Frederick, a librarian who initiated the workshops, has noticed more than a few unavoidable sour notes from the attendees, most of whom are beginners.

"Scott realized a lot of the people that were attending came with un-tuned guitars," said Andrea Apple, head of the library's public services programs. "He was spending a lot of time helping them tune their instruments before the class even started."

To remedy the problem, a representative from Guitar Center has volunteered to come to the meeting and show the would-be musicians how it's done. A second workshop on Sept. 29 will be conducted by Frederick and will be devoted to learning how to play basic chords and songs.

By the way, if you're a bookish person who's concerned about the noise, don't be. The workshop is being held behind closed doors in the Tejon Room, which is in a distant corner of the second floor at Beale.

"I just love to see folks walking into the library with guitars hanging off of them," Apple said. "It's not your typical scene at a library, and I love that visual image."

CSUB presents West African music

Drummer Lukas Ligeti and Burkina Electric, an ensemble the New York Times described as an "irresistible brew of West African music and electronica," will perform Friday at the Dore Theatre.

Local trumpeter Kris Tiner, an adjunct lecturer with the Cal State Bakersfield music department, says it's a "one-of-a-kind" concert. He's familiar with the group's music and has played with Ligeti.

"I have played with Lukas three times -- in L.A., New York, and last January here at Dagny's," Tiner said. "He stopped in for a quick minute as he was on his way to accept the prestigious Alpert Award at Cal Arts (California Institute of the Arts). I've only heard recordings of Burkina Electric, but Lukas has been telling me about them for years. We are very excited to present them at CSUB."

The group originated in the interior of West Africa. Some of its members are based there while others live in New York and Dusseldorf, Germany. It includes four musicians and two dancers.

Tiner said the ensemble combines the traditions and rhythms of West Africa with contemporary electronic dance culture, as well as musical genres and sounds from throughout the world.

BMT musical at Harvey

A lively and colorful Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with a fascinating name opens this weekend for three performances at Harvey Auditorium.

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," a humorous retelling of a biblical story, is the season-opener for Bakersfield Music Theatre. It began as a production of the Stars School of Performing Arts' teen workshop but the young actors' record of presenting quality shows has moved them up in the world of local theater.

"Jim Fillbrandt (BMT/Stars executive director) and the audiences have been so impressed with our first two teen workshop performances -- 'Footloose' in 2009 and 'Little Shop of Horrors' in 2010 -- that we have been added as the first show in the regular 2011-2012 BMT Harvey season," said Jennifer Resolme, the director of "Dreamcoat."

And it's definitely a youth-filled show. Cast members range in age from 12 to 19.

The musical is a version of a Bible story of Jacob and his 12 sons. It's about the journey his favorite son Joseph, played by Stockdale High senior Daniel McDonald, takes to become the second in command to the Pharaoh, portrayed by Jacob Harmon, a junior at Ridgeview High.

For the BMT production, Resolme has divided the part of the narrator into six separate parts, so the role is shared by Carissa Alexander, Cassidy Fraley, Ally Bryant, Nicole Despain Chloe Dzierba and Julie Foth.

Potiphar will be portrayed by Evan Stevenson, who has appeared in several BMT shows. Jordan Payne, who has performed with Civic Dance Center for more than 10 years, plays his wife.

Choreographer is Natalia Mallory, whose sister, Sasha, was runner-up on the recently concluded season of "So You Think You Can Dance." Vocal director is Char Gaines and Resolme's assistant director is Patrick O'Brien. The final performance is at 7 p.m. on Sept. 30.

Dukes concert series begins

Sanctuary Jazz and Dr. D's Debris will open the new season of the Fred and Beverly Dukes Memorial Concert series at First Congregational Church.

The group has performed together for 25 years and has won top honors in the Pacific Coast Jazz Festival in Berkeley.

As you may know, Dr. D is better known as Bakersfield Jazz Festival impresario Doug Davis, who's back in the classroom at Cal State Bakersfield after taking a one-year sabbatical during which he found the time to compose some new music. We can expect to hear a few of those new tunes at the concert on Sunday.

For this concert the group includes Davis on piano; Ken Bausano, trumpet; Mike Raney, alto saxophone; Paul Perez, tenor sax; and Glen Fong on bass.

Dates and performers scheduled for the other four concerts in the 2011-2012 season are:

Nov. 6: "The Earth Remembers," poetry and music by Nancy Edwards and Howard Quilling; Feb. 6: "Duo Cantilena," Laura Porter, harp; Nancy Ayala, flute; March 18: Bakersfield College Concert Choir, Ron Kean, director; April 22: Liz Cervantes & Company.

All concerts begin at 4 p.m. on the scheduled day and admission is free.