With theatre still on pause, which of course means no shows to review, KRL has been interviewing some local actors. This week we chatted with Fresno actor Camille Gaston who has been seen on stages all across the Valley. Camille was born in Los Angeles, and moved to Fresno in 2004 to attend Fresno State for a graduate degree in rehabilitation counseling.
In 2000, while we were all paying attention to other things, a musical called Swing! ran for 461 performances on Broadway and picked up five Tony nominations. Reedley’s River Theatre Company has picked up this blast from the past and put it on stage through March 13 at the Reedley Opera House.
In the land known as Reedley, there is a gem of a theatre, the Reedley Opera House. That theatre is home to a gem of a theatrical troupe, the River City Theatre Company. The RCTC is now presenting a little gem of a show, Legends: One Hit Wonders, onstage until September 10.
In 2001, Mel Brooks turned his 1968 movie The Producers into a Broadway musical. It was a smash hit. In 2007, Brooks worked the same magic on 1974’s Young Frankenstein with the same writing partner, Thomas Meehan, and it ran on Broadway for two years. And now…..the River City Theatre Company brings Young Frankenstein to life on the Reedley Opera House stage through July 30.
Some families say “I love you." Some families don’t. Some say it, but without words. In Joe DiPietro’s Over the River and Through the Woods, now playing at the Reedley Opera House, love is expressed in food. You feed the ones you love. Lasagna or a sandwich, it’s all love.
A young girl sings about bluebirds flying over the rainbow, and you know there’s a twister just around the corner. The Wizard of Oz has landed at the Reedley Opera House for the River City Theatre Company, and it’s a smooth landing for everyone but the Wicked Witch of the East (By the way, kudos to director Joseph Ham for staging a ruby slipper transfer worthy of a David Copperfield magic special.).
If you are a fan of old musicals from the 1920s and 1930s then you won't want to miss the Reedley River City Theatre Company's production of The Drowsy Chaperone! While the Drowsy Chaperone actually debuted in 1998 as a parody of the old musical comedies, it brings back memories of those fun musicals I used to watch on Channel 26 when I was a kid.
The black-framed glasses. The shortish, curly, unruly hair. The thin body. The guitar. No, not Elvis Costello. Buddy Holly, as in Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
“That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Everyday,” “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” Oh Boy,” “Rave On,” “It’s So Easy,” and more.
If you enjoy wonderful singing, great choreography, excellent acting and a fun story, then get down to The Reedley Opera House and take in Anything Goes, the latest production of Reedley's River City Theater Company.
This has been a slow month for Valley theatre. If you have already seen the shows at Roger Rocka's and 2nd Space, there's not much else to see in January. Well the Reedley River City Theatre Co. has a cure for that--a way to see pieces of a ton of different shows all at once--Legends: Lullaby of Broadway opened this past weekend!
