A Press Democrat Blog

Arts

Dan Taylor on the fine arts scene.

“Ramble at the Rio” concert in Monte Rio

Friday, at 7:00 by

The “Save the Rio Campaign,” raising money to convert the Rio Theater movie house in Monte Rio to digital projection, continues Sunday, April 28, with an “Afternoon Social,” followed by the “Ramble at the Rio” concert. The social and barbecue begins at 1 p.m. on the lawn at the theater, 20396 Bohemian Highway. Admission is free, with food and drinks for sale. The concert begins at 3 p.m., featuring live music by Mountaindawg, CPR, the Mighty Chiplings, David Luning and… Read More »

“Peggy Sue got Married” screens at Rio Theater

Thursday, at 7:00 by

The “Go Digital or Go Dark” fund-raising campaign to save the Rio Theater in Monte Rio aims to raise public awareness with a free screening of “Peggy Sue got Married” at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 21. The theater’s campaign started March 9 and has raised about half of the $60,000 needed to convert the theater for digital movie production. The fund drive continues on KickStarter.com until May 7. To participate, visit http://www.savetherio.com. Francis Ford Coppola’s 1986 comedy “Peggy Sue got… Read More »

SRJC holds ‘Legally Blonde’ costumed Chihuahua contest

Monday, at 8:54 by

Fans of Reese Witherspoon’s 2001 hit movie “Legally Blonde,” and the subsequent Broadway musical version, know one thing for sure. Heroine Elle Woods, the fashion major and sorority queen who enrolls in Harvard Law School to get her boyfriend back, would never go anywhere without her pet Chihuahua, Bruiser Woods. And of course, they’d both be dressed in the latest fashions. To celebrate the opening of its production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” on Friday, April 19, the Santa Rosa… Read More »

Stevie Nicks film coming to Summerfield Cinemas

Tuesday, at 7:00 by

“In Your Dreams,” a documentary film about Grammy Award-winning Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, will screen at Summerfield Cinemas in Santa Rosa. The film follows Nicks as she collaborates on an album with Dave Stewart, best-known for his work with the group Eurythmics. The film is scheduled to screen at more than 60 theatres in North America beginning in early April. “In Your Dreams” will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at Summerfield Cinemas, 551 Summerfield Road. Information:… Read More »

‘Bodega Bay’ play onstage this week in New York

Tuesday, at 4:03 by

It’s been a busy time for Alfred Hitchcock fans, with the release late last year of the film “Hitchcock,” starring Anthony Hopkins. And this year marks the 50th anniversary of  Hitchcock’s 1963 thriller, “The Birds,” filmed in Bodega and Bodega Bay. And now there’s a play called “Bodega Bay,” by Elisabeth Karlin, running at the Abingdon Theater in New York. The show got a searing review in the New York Times. “Not that Hitchcock can be held responsible for the… Read More »

‘The Ghost and the Whale’ filming on Sonoma Coast

Wednesday, at 2:00 by

Filming is under way on the Sonoma County coast during February for the independent feature film “Ghost and the Whale.” The film project revisits the locales of Bodega and Bodega Bay during 50th anniversary year of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film, “The Birds,” which was filmed in the area. See other movies that were filmed in Sonoma County here The film’ s web site gives this synopsis: “‘The Ghost and the Whale’  tells the story of Joseph Hawthorne, a man who… Read More »

Oscar-nominated short films come to movie theaters

Wednesday, at 7:00 by

Every year, the Academy Award nominations spark a fierce flash of interest among film fans. But for decades, one category languished in the shadows — the short films. Locally, Ky Boyd, proprietor of the Rialto Cinemas — first in Santa Rosa, and now in Sebastopol — has championed these little gems. When the shorts, both live and animated, became available to release as a package program to movie theaters in 2001, the Rialto was among the few nationwide to leap… Read More »

Russian River documentary film screens in Washington, DC

Tuesday, at 2:24 by

“From Obscurity to Excellence: The Story of Grapes and Wine in the Russian River Valley,” a 76-minute documentary film by Joe Nugent will be shown Wednesday, Feb. 6, in Washington, D.C. Nugent, a Sonoma County viticulturist and retired chemistry professor, premiered the film in December at Santa Rosa’s Wells Fargo Center for the Arts. The Wednesday screening will be hosted by the American Grand Cru Society. This film chronicles the Russian River Valley wine region’s century-long journey from relative obscurity… Read More »

Documentary follows Raven Players’ production of ‘Gypsy’

Monday, at 1:42 by

Sausalito filmmaker Scott Roberts’ first documentary, “The Raven and the Gypsy,” makes its premiere at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, at the Raven Theater, 115 North St., Healdsburg. Roberts filmed the Raven’s resident theater company, the Raven Players, as the troupe staged “Gypsy,” its closing show of the 2011-12 season. Roberts, holds a bachelor’s degree in theater from UCLA. His other projects as a director include the satirical music video “The Nair Song” and the narrative feature “Letters Home,” which… Read More »

Rialto Cinemas screens ‘Rebels With a Cause’

Tuesday, at 11:03 by

“Rebels With a Cause,” an award-winning documentary about the fight to preserve open space, protect agriculture and wildlife and establish public parks, will screen 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol. Created local filmmakers Nancy Kelly and Kenji Yamamoto, who will attend the screening, the film is narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Frances McDormand. Special guests also include Marty Griffin, author of “Saving the Marin-Sonoma Coast,” a novel about the crusades to preserve the Point Reyes… Read More »