We like to say that Fresno Filmworks is your local source for independent film. We show movies every second Friday of the month at the historic Tower Theatre, and we also put on the annual Fresno Film Festival each spring. Filmworks likes to show current independent and international movies that you can’t see at the local multiplex, and we also like to show documentaries and multicultural films.
It stands as a massive monument of musical theatre: Fiddler on the Roof. At one time the longest-running Broadway show (over 3,000 performances), this adaptation of the stories of Sholem Aleichem transcends time and cultures to speak of change and family. The music by Jerry Bock, the lyrics of Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein’s script have entertained audiences around the world for almost fifty years. Now, the Good Company Players at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theatre have brought it back with Dan Pessano reprising the starring role of Tevye.
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the reading of flawed, a work in progress written by Fresno actor Haley White. This play, as stated in the program, takes place in the days and weeks immediately following the suicide of a young man named Seth.
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, presented by The New Ensemble, opened this past weekend at the Broken Leg Stage in the Tower. I never know what I'm going to get when I see a TNE show as they tend to do more out of the box kind of shows that I've never seen before. What I always know is that it will be interesting, thought provoking, and well done.
The Lerner & Loewe Paint Your Wagon, with most of its 1951 plumage intact, is onstage at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theatre. The Good Company Players’ production is filled with energy and life, with all the texture and deft touches you would expect from Dan Pessano’s direction. Tough goldminers look longingly at pictures and letters from loved ones during the mournful “They Call the Wind Maria (pronounced Mariah, like Carey).” One man's shakes from being near Jennifer (Alyssa Gaynor), the only female in the camp, reach near-weight-reducing intensity. A lively dance number during the curtain call keeps the audience clapping in time. Pessano’s name on a show is a good indication of a quality production.
If you enjoy a good mystery like I do, you don't want to miss Wait Until Dark, currently on stage at 2nd Space in Fresno. This Broadway hit inspired the 1967 film starring Audrey Hepburn.
Dinner With Dan had its closing performance this last Sunday at Rogue Festival--which is sad for anyone who didn't get to see it. This is another production from Jump Right In Productions and is another original piece, (see our review of If I Could Tell Me in our Rogue Reviews post).
Take a sneak peak into the heart, mind, and soul of Choreographer Terrance Henderson and T.O. Henderson Dance Incorporated (TO DANCE Inc.) through this evening of contemporary dance excerpts... A theatrical experience through dance, sound, image, spoken word, song featuring two original works.
It's time for Rogue Festival reviews! Instead of one post for each review, as we review the various shows we will add their review here so keep coming back for more! So far we have reviews of Moonlight and Love Songs (Mostly) with Scats On The Sly, Boxcar Figaro, Never Own Anything You Have To Paint Or Feed, Ne Me Quitte Pas, Loon, Psyche Savage & All My Ghosts, Pipe On The Hob, Gary Has A Date, Gary Has A Date, Answers!!! (or Something Similar), Magical Mystery Detour, If I Could Tell Me, The Secret Adventures of Fat Woman and Remedial Girl, Christmas In Bakersfield, The Chaser, More Power To Your Knitting, Cathedral City, Circus Emporium Roadshow with Circus Et Cetera!, Songs 4 Pints,2000 to 2010, The Road To High Street and Dancing With Demons. Also at the end of this post is a fun little poem by the marathon reviewer himself Terrance Mc Arthur!
The 12th annual Rogue Performance Festival kicked off Thursday. Instead of showcasing a selection of performers on a makeshift stage, the Rogue acts strutted their stuff on the stage of the Tower Theatre! Old favorites, new discoveries, and old friends in new material all gave a taste of what audiences will see over the next nine days.
