Fine performances abound in The Acting Company's 'Foreclosures'

Some fine acting was displayed by the cast of "Foreclosures," an original play written, produced and directed by Curt Schroeder, a co-founder of The Acting Company in Yuba City, and winner of two past Elly Awards for his playwriting.

Ellys are annual awards bestowed by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) based on excellence in the various aspects of theater talent.

"Foreclosures" is about a mysterious woman, Daisy Miller, who arrives in San Francisco searching for a sister who disappeared. When she can't find her, Miller seeks counseling from psychologist Dr. Heinrich Mueller.

So as not to ruin the suspense, I won't reveal too much of the action.

Elizabeth Halvorsen and John Trent play Miller and Mueller, respectively, and both do stand-out jobs.

As the play progresses, the plotline and the character twists between Halvorsen and Trent and others become increasingly complicated so you have to pay close attention or you might lose the thread.

Others who give good performances include Judi Cantrill (as Angel), Dan Salamone (as Detective Carmine), Tiffany Bradley (as Isabella) and Sharon Wonder (as Janet).

There are a few flashback scenes intended to reveal Daily Miller's history. Victoria Vlasova portrays Miller at 17 and Heidi Weinrich plays Miller at seven-years-old.

Schroeder reports it took him more than a year to write and involved numerous rewrites to smooth it down to his liking. It was still being crafted as the cast went into rehearsals, Schroeder noted.

But it all came together well, so Schroeder and cast deserve much applause.

The sets, designed by Heather Cowell, Bryce Barrow and Foster Campbell-McManus, were very impressive. They were tasteful, tidy and notably slicker than is sometimes seen in community theater productions.

The only gripe I have is that there were way too many set changes, sometimes with only five or six minutes between them, causing some set changes to take more time than the scenes between them.

The set crew of Heather Cowell, Bryce Barrow, Paul McManus, Dan Salamone and Harold Whitson pulled them off with nary a hitch — in fact, it seemed after a while, they were getting almost as much applause as the actors.

But all in all, there was just too much furniture moving, picture dismounting and remounting and plant repositioning going on. It was unnecessarily distracting and it cut into the flow of the storyline.

Joe Moye's lighting design was straightforward and there were no glitches. A little more lighting manipulation redirecting audience attention might have eliminated a few of the set changes.

Halvorsen, the female lead, was strikingly well dressed. I counted at least four or five costume changes. It was hard to know whether she was wearing sophisticated outfits worthy of San Francisco boutiques, or if head seamstress Nancy Perillo created them from scratch.

"Foreclosures" contains some adult language and themes, so Schroeder advises that is not recommend for anyone under the age of 13.

"Foreclosures" plays through Sept. 6. Shows are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturday, with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays. TAC is located at 815 B St., Yuba City. Tickets are $15.

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Meanwhile, also opening this weekend at TAC, is "The Phantom," a Magic Theatre production written and directed by, John Trent, a local playwright with a growing body of work.

"The Phantom" is a mysterious man who lurks in the wings a community theater, playing practical jokes on the actors and members of the audience. Things get complicated when a copycat phantom enters the scene and tries to out-do the original.

The cast includes Courtney Williams, Sydney Johnson, Brooke Maston, Jimmy Gutierrez, Adam Steinke, Kevin Heller and Christian Givans.

The show opened today and runs through Sept. 5. Shows are on Saturdays at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Tickets are $5 at the door and can be reserved by calling 751-1100.

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Just as a reminder, "The Fantasticks" continues at the Lee Burrows Center for the Arts in Maysville through Aug. 29.

It s a fund-raiser for the Sutter Performing Arts Association, a group formed some years ago with the goal of turning the Sutter Theater on Plumas Street in Yuba City into a performing arts center.

SPAA ultimately wants to raise about $4.6 million in order to convert the Sutter Theatre into a modernized 299-seat stage facility.

"The Fantasticks" is about two fathers conniving make sure that their boy and girl fall in love.

The show is of special interest here in Yuba-Sutter because it is directed by Broadway and movie veteran Bob Hechtman, who co-starred in it with Richard Chamberlain.

Shows are at 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students.

The Lee Burrows Center is located at 630 E St., Marysville.

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The Community Players group in Grass Valley is holding auditions for "War of the Worlds," the H.G. Wells science fiction story that Orson Welles brought to life as a radio drama classic.

On Sunday, Oct. 30, 1938 — Halloween Eve — millions of radio listeners were shocked when radio was interrupted by news alerts announcing that the Martians had landed.

The production was so well done many listeners panicked thinking Earth was being attacked by unstoppable space invaders. Many ran out of their homes screaming. Others packed up their cars and fled.

Besides actors, a spokeswoman for the Community Players said they are looking for Foley artists. A Foley artist is a post-production technician who creates many of the natural, everyday sound effects — gunshots, walking sounds, galloping horses, etc. -- usually in films, but sometimes in TV and stage productions.

Award-winning journalist and author Tom Nadeau has written for and acted on stage, screen, radio and television. Write to him at theaterland@gmail.com.