Adult summer camp, school playing fields, backstage backstory and more…
Summer Camps are great for kids, and parents who get some blessed peace and quiet while they’re out of the house. But what about us grown-ups? The consensus pick for the perfect adult summer camp is a warm beach, a hot springs getaway or trip abroad — presumably without the kids. Lori Struthers picks Disneyland, and Jerry Bourne opts for baseball. Chellie VanDenburg Haga is easy: she’s up for any camp, as long as there aren’t any counselors. As for Regina Baker, she’ll be “protesting the GOP.” That sounds like thirsty work — maybe she can meet up with Kristi Koeller Mangani, who would decamp to Steiner’s Tavern. Simple pleasures!
For many folks, the idea of a multi-million dollar school district outlay for an artificial turf inlay is not what they envisioned when approving a bond for school improvements. But in addition to the standard objections about synthetic fields at schools (cost, true need, budget transparency, environmental impact), neighbors are concerned about how such a field, one that replaces grass with plastic and dry cork, is a matter of fire safety. Unlike grass, of course, it burns and melts, generating toxic smoke. To neighbors of the high school who huddled on the grass field (with evacuated horses and other animals) during the October Wildfires, it’s a scary thought… By comparison, the preference for a grassy field on which to just roll around, and the occasional mud puddle in which to jump, pales, but still.
Drat! Threatened by the evils of finance, was this the final production of the Dunbar School’s annual melodrama? In repertory were the shows Wrongful Doings at Woeful Ranch, The Deadwood Desperado, A Bad Day at Gopher’s Breath, productions complete with sound effects, period costumes, slapstick antics and, as directed by Kate Kennedy, a plot with more twists than the villain’s mustache. But support and sponsorship for the show has been dwindling, and the result is dastardly indeed. Alas, without a dramatic change, the annual production will be tied to the railroad tracks one final time. To be help save the day, contact [email protected]
Transcendence Theatre Company will mount a production of “A Chorus Line” this summer. Amy Miller, one of the company’s founders, will direct. The star of the original Broadway production was Donna McKechnie. Miller will interview the legend for the Sonoma Speaker Series on May 29. And now the cool backstory. “A Chorus Line was the musical that empowered me to follow my heart and move to New York City with my big dreams of dancing on Broadway,” Miller enthuses. “It was also the musical that inspired me to commit to bringing the idea of Transcendence to life. When I was in high school, I listened obsessively to Donna singing and learned everything I could about her journey through show business. I was always in awe of her artistry.” Cue the big finish. The two met when Miller was a theatre student in Ohio, and was cast in the ensemble of a show starring McKechnie. “I could not believe that I had the opportunity to work with my idol. I even got to run lines with her in her dressing room because I was the biggest A Chorus Line fan.”
Along for the Planet Wall Hike at Sugarloaf State Park was Springs John, who wasn’t quite up for the entire journey, a six-mile, galaxy-scale loop with markers for each planet. Near Neptune, he declared the mission complete. “Thank God Pluto isn’t a planet anymore.”
— Val Robichaud
