Community theater — thriving and part of our social fabric

THE REACH OF COMMUNITY THEATER might surprise you. It engages more people in theatrical activity, albeit part-time, than all the rest of the American theater put together, including schools and colleges, according to Theatre in America: Appraisals and Challenges.

With U.S. origins dating back to the 1850s, community theater has an incredible impact. It is part of the social fabric of many communities—including ours—and in some places is the only local performing arts experience. It is the first introduction to theater for many youths. For actors, it provides lasting friendships.

Nowhere is the community theater experience more exhilarating than in the Sierra Foothills. It reflects our region’s wealth of artistic talent and sophisticated audiences, many of whom are “big-city” transplants.

From Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra, to LeGacy Productions, to Sierra Stages and others, we are exposed to a growing number of award-winning productions.

We have historic venues too, such as the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City, California’s oldest original-use theater. The building—now being renovated in tandem with KVMR radio—has hosted thousands of performers, including Mark Twain.

Here’s a rundown of what’s planned at the major theater companies:

COMMUNITY ASIAN THEATRE OF THE SIERRA, OR CATS
Besides its award-winning theatrical productions, CATS—gearing up for its 20th anniversary—offers popular cultural enrichment programs.

On October 27, CATS will host Asian Tales of Terror at the Nevada Theatre. It features Eth-Noh-Tec of San Francisco, a storytelling theater that is “at once precision choreography, lyrical word weaving, graceful, playful and poetic.”

On February 9, CATS will help host an afternoon of food, dragon dances, martial arts, entertainment, tea tasting and more at the Chinese Lunar New Year Festival in Nevada City. Festivities begin with traditional Chinese lion dancing at Robinson Plaza.

We are excited about CATS 20th anniversary production of Miss Saigon. It is going to be April 10-May 10 at the Nevada Theatre. Tickets will become available in December. For more information, visit Catsweb.org.

LEGACY PRODUCTIONS
LeGacy will present Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on November 29-December 24 at the historic Nevada Theatre.

It is the world premiere of a new adaption of the popular performance. The script is faithful to the original, relying almost entirely on Dickens’ wonderful language, but it is highly theatrical as each scene flows into the text, taking the audience on a tour of Dickens’ London from the 1790s to Christmas Day, 1843.

The audience will see the cast as a group of 1840s Londoners who have magically walked out of Dickens’ imagination and taken the stage of Nevada Theatre in order to present this uplifting holiday classic.

The show is directed by Susan Mason, with the novella adapted by Jeffrey Mason.

SIERRA STAGES
Now in its fifth season of award-winning community theater, Sierra Stages presents Closer Than Ever, October 31-November 24 at the Off Center Stage in Grass Valley.

The show is a unique musical review that invites the audience to experience the challenges of everyday life through a series of songs that amuse, move, challenge and entertain.

Closer Than Ever is “one of the half-dozen finest American theater scores of the past decade,” writes the New York Times.

Performers include Nancy Haffey, Kate Haight, Kim Wellman, Isaias Acosta, J.R. Lewis and Danny McCammon, with Ken Getz on a Steinway piano and Steve Nicholson on bass.

Sierra Stages also will continue its popular Theater by the Book program with Dracula, October 23, and The Fox, November 20. The performances are at the Miners Foundry Cultural Center in Nevada City.

The group will present the landmark Broadway musical Company, February 27- March 22 at the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City.

Elly Awards
Nevada County community theater sparkled in the recent Elly awards, winning a quarter of the total honors.

CATS won five Ellys for Journey to the West, Synthetic Unlimited won two for Antony and Cleopatra and Kingdom of Earth, Sierra Stages won for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Qwest Theaterworks won for Sealed for Freshness.

The Elly Awards celebrate excellence in Sacramento’s regional community theater and were announced in late September.

(Photo of Journey to the West by David Wong)