Column Tom Nadeau
- Comedy is afoot, both stand-up and out of town
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Much is afoot theatrically. Let's start with the stand-up comics appearing at Marysville's new Laughing Lotus Comedy Review.
Laughing Lotus first blossomed in an East Marysville garage but was soon replanted to 103 C St. in old Chinatown's garden of... Full story
- 2 operas, 1 musical, assorted plays keep Y-S entertained
- Yuba-Sutter and environs have been hosting two wannabe operas, one bona fide musical, an adult comedy and a children’s play.
“Ragtime” continues at the Marysville Charter Academy for the Arts. So does “Sweeney Todd” at ... Full story
- Stellar acting for 'I Love You'
- 'Ragtime' coming soon to MCAA
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- It's busy times it seems for theater people — players, fans and hopefuls.
Directed by Foster Campbell-McManus, the Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts musical "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change!" opened last week to a packed house at The Actin... Full story
- Campbells combine for 'I Love You'
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Coming soon to The Acting Company in Yuba City are two shows worth seeing. One's for the adults, one for the children. A third surprise radio theater feature is available right now on BBC4. I've heard it. It's great, and it's not all that hard to fin... Full story
- 'Lucky at Love' now playing at TAC
- Magic Theater's 'Jack' opens today
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- A lead cast member's illness reportedly caused a delay in the opening of Curt Schroeder's "Lucky at Love" at The Acting Company, 815 B St., Yuba City.
The curtain rose Friday on Schroeder's award-winning serio-comic show, which runs through Feb. 13.... Full story
- Local playwright-directors score a doubleheader
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- An unusual artistic doubleheader begins next weekend in Yuba City with two original works by local playwright-directors Curt Schroeder and John Trent opening at The Acting Company.
"Lucky at Love," a sweet barstool comedy written and directed by Sch... Full story
- 'Bah Humbug 2' raises bucks for Sutter Theatre
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Area talent assembled this week in Marysville to perform in a hands (and voices) across the river benefit to refurbish the closed Sutter Theatre in Yuba City into a performing arts and community center.
Directors Neil Thorson and Bob Hechtman assemb... Full story
- 'Radio Hour': the bucks, the band and backstage
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- "The 1940's Radio Hour" plays its last show Sunday to a sold-out crowd making it arguably the most successful show The Acting Company has ever mounted.
Director Gail Carter and a sterling cast did 11 shows, including two private command performances... Full story
- Great direction, cast, music make 'Radio Hour' one to see
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- There is much to praise and little to complain about in the Gail Carter-directed "The 1940's Radio Hour" musical now playing at The Acting Company in Yuba City.
The matinee was sold out last Sunday. With word spreading fast, it is likely the perform... Full story
- 'Radio Show,' 'Groovy Christmas' open soon
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- A double bill of new plays opens next week at The Acting Company in Yuba City: one for adults, one for kids.
First up at TAC is "The 1940's Radio Hour," a Walton Jones musical directed by Gail Carter, which opens Friday and runs through Dec. 19.
Sh... Full story
- Fine acting carries 'Othello'
- Final performances for college play; 'Romeo' next week; 'Hollow' still at Acting Co.
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- It seldom happens that two Shakespearean love tragedies open back to back in Yuba County, but they are doing it over this weekend and next.
The jealous Othello murders the wrongly accused Desdemona at Yuba College Theatre and the tragic Romeo and Ju... Full story
- Spooky 'Sleepy Hollow' opens; 'Radio' cast revealed
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- "The Secret of Sleepy Hollow," local playwright-director John Trent's original stage adaptation of author Washington Irving's 1820 short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," opened Friday at The Acting Company in Yuba City.
The Headless Horseman ta... Full story
- TAC up for ten Ellys; 'Snow White' costumes creative
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Yuba City's The Acting Company itself, eight of its players and one director have a big night coming Sunday.
They have been nominated for nine 2010 Elly Awards, sponsoring agency Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) announced.
Yuba-Sut... Full story
- Casting call for 'Full Monty'; 'Sleepy Hollow' has cast
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- While six months in advance may seem a bit early to issue a casting call for a stage musical, "The Full Monty" is special.
It takes time to persuade a bunch of men to shed all their clothes and parade bare-naked in front of a couple hundred people, ... Full story
- 'West Almost Lost' good; 'Snow White' coming soon
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- The Magic Theater production of John Trent's "How the West Was Almost Lost" turned out better than OK. It was good.
To begin with, it was something of a family production, which made it a bit unusual.
John Trent not only wrote and directed the hour... Full story
- 'Arsenic and Old Lace' matches fair; 'West' not a loser
- As fate would have it, "Arsenic and Old Lace" opened at The Acting Company the same weekend the Yuba-Sutter Fair opened its gates. Such a coincidence ordinarily would toll the funeral bell for any local stage production.
Yet TAC was practically full... Full story
- Rise to stadrom can begin on a pageant ramp
- Stardom and strolls down the beauty and fashion ramp have often been linked.
Marilyn Monroe — affectionately recalled in song as "Norma Jean" — is probably the most famous example.
While her first husband, James Dougherty, was sailing i... Full story
- 'Lace' takes shape; 'Spelling Bee' has words, music
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Things are taking shape for "Arsenic and Old Lace," slated to open at Yuba City's The Acting Company on Friday and run through Aug. 22.
Theaterland peeked in at rehearsals Wednesday night. The set was partially up, painting had begun and p... Full story
- Three Alices in 'Wonderland'; new 'Lace' director
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Coming soon to the Center for the Arts at 314 W. Main St., Grass Valley, is the Nevada County Performing Arts Guild (PAG) production of "Alices in Wonderland," a special adaptation of Lewis Carroll's timeless tale of nonsense.
This comes h... Full story
- TAC's next is 'Arsenic and Old Lace'
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Mark your summer theater calendars for "Arsenic and Old Lace," which opens at The Acting Company on July 30 and runs through Aug. 22 and ought not to be missed.
This farcical black comedy was written in 1939 by Joseph Kesserling, and is di... Full story
- 'Steel Magnolias' ends Sunday; 'West' has cast
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- This is the last weekend "Steel Magnolias" will be at The Acting Company, 815 B St., Yuba City. So if there is any chance you'll see it, this is the time.
"Steel Magnolias" has been getting kind comments from many who have seen t... Full story
- 'Wolf Side Story' great; auditions for 'West'
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Writer-director John Elliott had it summed up: "This has been a remarkable show. From the start, the cast has known it was to be something special, balancing silliness with drama."
He's referring to "Wolf Side Story," the Magic T... Full story
- Heartfelt acting in 'Magnolias'; 'Wolf' opens
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- The cast performances in Robert Harling's "Steel Magnolias" were fine enough to earn a standing ovation from a sold-out crowd at The Acting Company in Yuba City on Sunday.
Yuba-Sutter is home to several good actors, but it is hard to assem... Full story
- 'Magnolias' looks good; 'Anything Goes' out of town
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Yours truly got a sneak peek this week at a dress rehearsal of "Steel Magnolias," which opened Friday at The Acting Company in Yuba City.
If you miss this one, Theater Lovers Anonymous can reasonably certify you as having missed the boat e... Full story
- Strong summer with 'Magnolias,' 'Street'
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Summer is considered a good season for theater in some East Coast vacation towns. Think: "Summer Stock," the 1950 movie with Judy Garland and Gene Kelly playing Jane Falbury and Joe D. Ross, respectively.
One line sums it up:
Falbury: You really lo... Full story
- 'Time Warp' ends MCAA's year on high note
- School showcase shares dynamite collection of song and dance
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- The students at the Marysville Charter Academy for the Arts put on their last show of 2010 with a showcase of talent spun around the concept of a " Broadway Time Warp."
That is, they traced out eons of music, songs and dance from the wispy... Full story
- Louizos talks set design; MCAA's musical continues
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- I called a number smack dab in the middle of New York's Broadway Theater District this week, and a live person, not an answering machine, picked up the phone.
Imagine! I'd made the big time, or was at least talking with someone who had.
It was Yuba... Full story
- YC girl makes good on Broadway; 'Woods' praised
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Mary Knapp of Yuba City tipped off Theaterland that "In the Heights," the 2008 Broadway musical for which local girl Anna Louizos was nominated for a Tony Award for set design, is coming to the Broadway Sacramento theater later this year.
"She didn'... Full story
- Big hand for 'Chicken Little'; 'Woods' now playing
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- Writer-director John Trent and the actors in Magic Theater's homegrown version of "Chicken Little" deserve a big hand.
The play runs through May 15 at The Acting Company, 815 B St., Yuba City, with two shows at 1 and 3 p.m. today.
If you are just p... Full story
- Strong performances drive 'The Odd Couple'
- By Tom Nadeau/For the Appeal-Democrat
- With the fine performances they delivered in The Acting Company's current production of "The Odd Couple," the eight local players in this classic Neil Simon comedy can now count themselves among the stars.
Geoffrey Wander and Joseph P. Stottmann, wh... Full story
