Rancho Mirage, CA  – Desert Rose Productions, Inc., the Valley’s live stage company serving the LGBT community, announced today that, due to a cast member’s illness, they have recast a leading role and postponed the opening of “Entertaining Mr. Sloane” at The Commissary in Rancho Mirage. The production, originally scheduled to open on Friday, February 15, 2013, will now open February 22, 2013 for a four-week run.

“We are proud to announce that Actors’ Equity member Valorie Armstrong will play the part of ‘Kath’ in the production.  She joins the talented company of Terry Huber, Hal O’Connell and Zach Welsheimer in the witty dark comedy of bad manners and questionable morals.” – remarks Artistic Director Jim Strait

Joe Orton wrote three plays and many short scripts during his reign as Britain’s Bad Boy of the theatre. “Entertaining Mr. Sloane” was his first full-length work.   Kath, a lonely mid-aged woman living on the outskirts of a garbage dump in London, takes in a border, Mr. Sloane.  Mr. Sloane is an opportunistic young man. Kath takes a shining to Mr. Sloane. Kath’s brother, Ed, also takes a liking to Mr. Sloane. But who’s to get him? Then there’s Dadda, Kath’s and Ed’s half-blind old father, who doesn’t like Mr. Sloane at all – much to his ultimate regret…

The play opened in London in 1964 and stunned audiences with its amoral characters and ambiguous sexuality.  Subsequent productions on the West End and on Broadway were equally controversial.  It has been revived several times in New York and Europe and is now considered one of the best and most imaginative plays Joe Orton wrote in his short career.

Tickets are $25 and are on sale now. To order go online at  http://www.desertroseplayhouse.org www.desertroseplayhouse.org or call 760-202-3000.

Calendar:

“Entertaining Mr. Sloane” 

Produced by Desert Rose Productions, Inc.

Where:     The Commissary, 69620 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270

When: February 22 – March 17, 2013; performances Friday and Saturday nights at 8 PM; Sundays at 2 PM.

Tickets:    $25.00;

To order:  Online at  http://www.desertroseplayhouse.org” www.desertroseplayhouse.org or call 760-202-3000.

The Desert Hot Springs City Council met for its regular meeting in the Carl May Center on Tuesday evening, February 5, 2013. Presentations were made to yard beautification winners by Mayor Yvonne Parks, MSWD Board President Russ Martin, and George Fisher.

Police Chief Kate Singer recognized Ken Peary, who has been serving as a commander the past few months, making his rank official. His new badge was pinned on him by his wife and Deputy City Clerk Jerryl Soriano swore him in. Commander Perry recognized family members and other people to whom he expressed a debt of gratitude for bringing him to this point in his career

Jeff Bowman pulled five awards which the Living Waters Spa has received since 2006.

Marcia Kegel, advisor for a Washington D.C. trip group of high school students and several of the students appeared to describe their trip and solicit funds. One of the students performed some pushups outside the Carl May center in return for a donation to help with their trip. Those interested in contributing can contact Marcia at mkegel@psusd.us

More great photos of the event by Bruce Montgomery…

Posted with Blogsy

A potentially record-breaking snow storm has brought the US northeast to a grinding halt and left one dead. Thousands lost power amid flight cancelations and a nuclear plant shutdown, as authorities declared an emergency situation in five states.

The blizzard, which has been dubbed ‘Nemo’, struck the east coast on Friday, dumping up to 38 inches (96.5 cm) of snow in some areas. The storm clobbered New York during the night, leading to mass flight cancelations and the closure of roads, while across the northeast over 640,000 homes were left without power.

A 74-year-old woman was killed in the Massachusetts town of Poughkeepsie when a woman lost control of her car due to falling snow and knocked her down. She later died in hospital. The storm has been blamed for three other deaths in Canada.

A state of emergency has been declared in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and Maine with citizens being warned to stay indoors.

“This is a very large and powerful storm, however we are encouraged by the numbers of people who stayed home today,” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told reporters. Fuel shortages have already been reported in a number of states as motorists queue at petrol stations to fill up in the face of a potential crisis.

Winds reached speeds of over 60km/h with forecasters expecting hurricane-force gusts of up to 97km/h as the storm’s intensity increases.

Read the whole story & photos…

Topless members of the feminist movement Femen stole the show on the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the Berlin film festival, there to protest against female circumcision.

Unlike glamorous actresses the Ukrainian women’s rights activists wore nothing but old blue jeans, with political slogans scrawled over their naked breasts.

The topless protesters turned up nearly at the same time as another activist, the 75-year-old Hollywood icon Jane Fonda.

Topless members of the feminist movement Femen stole the show on the red carpet at the opening ceremony of the Berlin film festival, there to protest against female circumcision.

Unlike glamorous actresses the Ukrainian women’s rights activists wore nothing but old blue jeans, with political slogans scrawled over their naked breasts.

The topless protesters turned up nearly at the same time as another activist, the 75-year-old Hollywood icon Jane Fonda.

Read the whole story and more photos…

The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday with a martial arts epic from Hong Kong. The festival's director says this year's selection pays particularly close attention to women, indigenous peoples and life in Eastern Europe.

Posted with Blogsy

The Northeast is bracing itself for a historic blizzard that could dump record-breaking amounts of snow on New York and Boston on the 35th anniversary of the “Great Blizzard” of 1978.

Power outages could plague the region, while deep snow and hazardous driving conditions would make travel impossible. Meteorologists believe the storm could potentially be among the top 10 worst snowstorms ever experienced in Boston and its surrounding areas.

“Very strong winds up to hurricane force are possible Friday night into Saturday,” warned the National Weather Service. “This may result in significant damage along with blizzard conditions for a time. Scattered power outages are a possibility.”

And power outages, combined with freezing temperatures, could hit hard Americans – especially those who are still trying to rebuild their homes from the destructive aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

“It being winter, folks losing their power means they’re also losing their heat, and if you lose heat during the middle of the storm, you’re not going to be able to go out to get to a shelter,” Peter Judge, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, told the Chicago Tribune.

Blizzard conditions are expected to begin on Friday and Boston city schools have already been ordered to close. Mayor Thomas Menino has also asked businesses to shut down in anticipation of the crippling storm system.

“We are hardly New Englanders, let me tell you, and used to these types of storms. But I also want to remind everyone to use common sense and stay off the streets of our city. Basically, stay home,” he told reporters.

Boston is expected to get one to two feet of snow, while New York could get about 10 inches.

Before its arrival, the storm has already been compared to the Blizzard of 1978, which killed 99 people, destroyed 2,000 homes and forced 10,000 Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents to evacuate into shelters.

In anticipation of the worst, Boston has already manned a fleet of 600 snow removal vehicles. Residents have prepared by stocking up on snow shovels, ice melts and sleds. Along the coast, US residents are preparing for flooding and are expecting further beach erosion to add to the damage left behind by Sandy.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled in cities ranging from Chicago to New Jersey to Boston and Amtrak has cancelled many of its train services for the weekend.

“This is likely to be a memorable blizzard with 18 to 24 inches of snow expected across portions of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine,” said Wes Junker of the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang. “Pockets of 30 inches or more are a good bet.”

Ski resorts are enthusiastically awaiting the storm to bring them snowfall that has so far been absent, but government officials are warning US residents to stay home during the predictably historic blizzard.