A Press Democrat Blog

Arts

Dan Taylor on the fine arts scene.

6th Street Playhouse wins six Critics Circle awards

Thursday, at 7:00 by

The 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa has won six awards from the San Francisco/Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle for 2012. The Playhouse won for best ensemble performing in a theater with 100-300 seats for its production of “August: Osage County.” The show also won awards in that division for Jill Zimmerman, as best principal female in a play; John Browning, best featured male in a play, and Marty Pistone “best specialty,” for his fight choreography. For its Studio Theater… Read More »

Funny 95.5 Radio presents a live show in Rohnert Park

Monday, at 7:00 by

Funny 95.5 FM Radio of Santa Rosa, after a year on the air, will present a live comedy show Saturday, Dec. 29, in Rohnert Park. The show, titled “Hey! That’s Funny,” will start at 9 p.m. at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane. “Ian Edwards is our headliner, Ricky Del Rosario is hosting, and we will be featuring local comics Tony Sparks, Nick Hoffman and KC Chandara,” said Brandon Green, program director for the comedy radio station. Edwards… Read More »

Comedy show comes to Spreckels

Tuesday, at 2:30 by

The Half Breed Comedy Tour comes to Rohnert Park at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 21, for a comedy show to be taped live at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center The show stars Ricky Del Rosario, features G King and will be hosted by Kirk McHenry. A local favorite, Helen Pachynski, a 66-year-old  financial adviser from Santa Rosa who has been playing local comedy open mic nights, will open the show. The tour, which started in San Jose last August, is… Read More »

Sonoma County playwright’s SF premiere

Monday, at 6:02 by

“The Final Scene,” a comedy written by Sonoma County playwright Gene Abravaya, makes its San Francisco debut this week. The play, which deals with the fictional cast of a soap opera called “The Promising Dawn,” opens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, at the Thick House, 1695 18th St. The production runs through Sept. 4. Perhaps best-known as manager of the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park, the author brings considerable experience and authenticity to his play’s topic —… Read More »

Narrow Way stages ‘Art Attack’

Monday, at 6:11 by

Get acquainted with performing artists from all over Sonoma County at “Art Attack,” running  from 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 23, on the lawn behind the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. The event is being presented by Narrow Way Stage Company. Founded six years ago, the Cotati-based experimental theater troupe performed at various venues around the county, before finding a place for itself at Spreckels last year The event includes food vendors, a bounce house,… Read More »

Local playwright opens show at 6th Street

Monday, at 12:11 by

Gene Abravaya has been part of the Sonoma County theater scene for a long time. And in the past year, he was won new notice for his work as manager of the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park, leading its transition from a mostly city-subsidized operation to a more self-sufficient rental facility. But before Abravaya came to Northern California, he had a long history in television work. A former New Yorker, Abravaya worked his way up from prompter to… Read More »

‘Les Miz’ School Edition at Spreckels

Monday, at 12:11 by

There are school plays, and then there’s this production. Students from more than a dozen Northern California schools will perform in “Les Miserables: School Edition,” opening at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. The show is directed by Scott van der Horst of whatAshow.com productions, with musical direction by long-beloved local choral director Dan Earl. This version of the Broadway hit, adapted for young performers, features music by Claude-Michel Shonberg… Read More »

‘Talking With …’ opens at Spreckels

Thursday, at 7:02 by

Any longtime follower of local theater is going to love this show. If you could pick all of your favorite local actresses from North Bay theaters, the lineup would probably include at least part of the cast of “Talking With …” Produced and directed by Sheri Lee Miller, who also co-stars, playwright Jane Martin’s evening of monologues about modern life opens Friday, Feb. 4, at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. The cast also includes Madeleine Ashe, Mollie… Read More »

Harlem Gospel Choir at Spreckels

Sunday, at 10:00 by

Get ready for a joyful sound. Sonoma State Univeristy’s Associated Student Productions presents the Harlem Gospel  Choir in concert 8 p.m. Monday, March 22, at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. The gospel choir, featuring church singers from Harlem and the New York/Tri State area, performs around the world to raise money for children’s charities. Expect an evening of  foot-stomping, hand clapping music, including blues, jazz and gospel spirituals. Admission is free for SSU students,  staff… Read More »

The show goes on at Spreckels

Wednesday, at 4:47 by

Despite the Rohnert Park City Council’s budget cut decisions this week, the city’s Spreckels Center for the Peforming Arts is still putting on shows. “The current season will not be affected,” said the city’s arts specialist, Gene Abravaya. “We still have two great theater pieces soon to open, ‘The Gin Game’ in mid-March and ‘I Am My Own Wife’ in late April.” The center also will offer music and dance this spring, with contemporary Hawaiian music by HAPA on March… Read More »