One of the many benefits that live theatre enjoys here in the desert is the on-going relationship between the McCallum Theatre and College of the Desert’s (COD) theatre arts department.  Where else can one produce a first-rate musical production, which includes the theatre’s professional staff and equipment inside a magnificent 1100 seat auditorium?   For both the actors and the audience alike, it’s a “win-win” situation.

“Jekyll & Hyde”, the operetta-like musical by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse,  based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson, is impeccably directed and choreographed  by Sha Newman, with rigorous musical direction under the baton of Dr. Darlene Romano.  The decision to do “Jeykll & Hyde” was an inspired selection by the college as their 2012 May production.  The show has big ambitions.  It is loaded with showy parts for the twenty-one actors and demanding vocal ranges for the actor/singers.   And everyone in this company of performers, technical, and backstage people delivered the goods to standing ovations at every performance.  Who could ask for anything more?

Mark Almy, long-time desert favorite, with a magnificent Baritone, portrays the dual roles of Dr. Henry Jekyll and the evil-possessed Mr. Edward Hyde with flair and gusto.  Almy’s background as a former professional opera singer and teacher ups the ante when it comes to performing Wildhorn’s soaring, aria-like songs and musical numbers.  He is riveting to watch on stage, and his work ethic as a performer is legendary in the desert.

One of the valley’s most talented actor/singers is the lovely Kaley Smith who plays Lucie, a young woman of the night, who is befriended by Jekyll at a time when both need to be better understood and accepted by their friends.  Smith is the possessor of a marvelous Soprano that soars in her solos and blends perfectly with Almy in their duets.  Together they light up the stage.

Natalie Gilbert as Emma, Jekyll’s fiancé embodies all of the qualities one would want in a mate. She is young, beautiful, and she has a lovely, seasoned and lilting Soprano voice that can turn a block of steel into butter, if required (I don’t see how Henry could resist her company).

Offering solid support in this high-concept musical are Frank Haggard as Henry’s friend John Utterson, and Tim Bruneau as Sir Danvers Carew, Emma’s father.  Raul Valenzuela as Simon Stride delivers a nicely nuanced performance as a would-be suitor to Emma.  It’s always a treat to watch Lou Galvan perform on the stage.  His dual role as  Archibald Proops, and as Spider, the proprietor of the Red Rat Club and Tavern are delivered with his usual professionalism.

It’s always difficult to list a cast of twenty-one performers, however, certain performances stand out.  Vince Urbani as the Bishop, Rick Schaffner as General Lord Glossop (nice Basso) Kelly McDaniel as Lady Beaconsfield, and Rick Doerfler as Lord Savage, help make the show an evening to remember.

Enough cannot be said about the vision of director Newman, and musical director Romano.  Their production has the scope and breadth of almost any show you will see on Broadway.  The McCallum and the College of the Desert partnership can take pride in this  “Jekyll & Hyde” production.

Also, a special thank you goes to part-time desert resident Barry Manilow whose generous gift arranged for, in part, for students from the Valley to attend performances of “Jekyll & Hyde”.

It’s rare to see a musical that had only forty-nine performances in its 2010 Off-Broadway New York debut, become the current production on the Donald and Darlene Shiley stage at San Diego’s venerable Old Globe Theatre.  Technically, it’s a revival and is not a re-imagining.

“The Scottsboro Boys”, a daring, off beat show with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, and a libretto by David Thompson, is directed by Five-time Tony Award winning director/choreographer Susan Stroman, the musical’s original director and choreographer of the 2010 Vineyard Theatre production – which produced twelve Tony Nominations, but no wins.

The Old Globe’s high-energy production is based on a series of infamous trials over the years, of nine African American men accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931.  Kander and Ebb who have a successful track record of taking on controversial subject matter (“Cabaret”- anti-Semitism, “Chicago”- big city corruption, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” – Hispanic prison brutality) now offer their take on the American justice system during the 1930’s with “The Scottsboro Boys”.   In this production, they explore a miscarriage of justice at a time in America when the ‘good old days’ weren’t so good for everyone – especially, if you were black and lived south of the Mason-Dixon line. Down there, “Mister Jim Crow” was very much alive and well.

It’s not easy, however, cozying up to a musical that treats its characters and the situations, at times, so dismissively, even going so far as to employ the long abandoned and demeaning “ minstrel show” style and form and its musical numbers as a continuing motif.  But the audience reaction to the shocking storyline is exactly what the creative team is hoping for, and I dare say, will get.

Stroman, according to interviews as well as comments by others concerning the show, (which received mixed critical notices in NY) said the Old Globe production was not going to be tweaked or fiddled with for is West Coast premiere.   She and the cast had several weeks of rehearsals and her show, in essence, is ready to open.   Undoubtedly,  some will “get” the raison de etre of her vision and the framing of the musical; utilizing the minstrel show within a musical show format.  Others, may not.

Having said all of the above regarding the story and its structure and its impact, it’s easy to heap tons of praise, however, on the thirteen-member cast without any reservation whatsoever.  They perform both individually and as an ensemble, brilliantly.  They never lose sight of the highs and lows of the complicated off-beat story they’re telling.

It’s always difficult to mention everyone in an ensemble show.  However, certain performances stand out.  Ron Holgate as the benign-appearing Interlocutor in the minstrel sequences, and his portrayal of other roles with redneck relish, is right on-the-nose.   Jared Joseph as Mr. Bones, and JC Montgomery as Mr. Tambo, are nothing short of terrific.  Clifton Duncan who portrays the lead prisoner Haywood Patterson, is solid and his performance is very compelling.  Actually, there isn’t a less than stellar performance in the bunch.  And, man, can these gentlemen sing and dance.  There is one character called The Lady, played by C. Kelly Wright.  She is onstage throughout the entire performance but doesn’t utter a single line of dialogue until the final moment of the play, and then she brings down the house with her life-altering words.

When it comes to the technical credits, the Old Globe has few equals.  In the hands of director/choreographer Susan Stroman, the production is clever and inventive.   Thanks to a clean, spare, and functional Set Design provided by Beowulf Boritt, the set features three huge concentric picture frames that are intentionally set askew which perfectly complements the story and the vision of Stroman’s direction.  Ken Billington’s lighting design and Jon Weston’s sound design, along with Costumes by Toni-Leslie James, lend a neat, trim look to the entire production.

Kudos also go to Musical Director Eric Ebbenga, and his team of thirteen pit musicians, and for orchestrations by Larry Hochman, for musical arrangements by Glen Kelly, and for the vocal arrangements provided by David Loud.  First rate all.

“The Scottsboro Boys” runs through to June 10, 2012.  Contact the Old Globe for ticket information and reservations at www.theoldglobe.org.

After 100 days serving as a City Council Member in Desert Hot Springs, I have remained committed to my campaign platform of greater transparency in city government, public safety, and economic development with a focus to jobs. I tell everyone who contacts me to get involved and help me work on these areas.

We must envision and agree to build what we expect Desert Hot Springs to be, a great community in which to live and work. A city government without transparency and citizen education and engagement is a recipe for failure.

American philosopher Josiah Royce once described his vision for building a community, saying, “I believe in the beloved community and in the spirit which makes it beloved, and in the communion of all who are, in will and in deed, its members. I see no community as yet, but nonetheless my rule of life is: ‘Act so as to hasten its coming’.”

Great communities result from people being drawn together by a common vision and acting upon it. This vital process can best be achieved when government is accessible and listens, creating a non-threatening municipal atmosphere that solicits the free flow of ideas. Effective council members genuinely take interest in the opinions expressed by citizens, seeking to ensure their decisions represent the greater public good. Municipal government can only be as effective as it’s city council is in building relationships with a well-informed public.

The following are three areas in which the city council can take immediate actions to garner more public trust and confidence in our city government:

• The “Register of Demands” for most cities is a daily accounting of money transactions. To make government more transparent, the “Register” should be made a permanent part of the City Municipal Code.
• A reduction of the city manager’s spending limit from $30K to $5K would result in more budget items in public view, resulting in tighter spending control authorizations similar to other valley cities.
• More cities are establishing “citizen budget committees” tasked to recommend budget suggestions and monitoring the city’s annual budget. The current city budget committee consists of only the mayor and mayor pro-tem. Desert Hot Springs currently faces a $2.5 million budget deficit for FY 2012-2013.

Reducing crime is a top priority for residents, which is the primary reason I elected to chair the city’s Youth Violence and Gang Intervention Committee. Safe cities are a magnet for economic development. We must continue to make safety a top priority.

Our residents want our municipal government to be more accountable and responsive to public requests. If the city is truly committed to adhering to the California Public Records Act, by example, it should be much easier than it is today to obtain public records.

If we believe, as Royce, in “the beloved community”; we too must “act so as to hasten its coming”. How do we do it? Well, for starters we need to speak in one voice, our values and vision for Desert Hot Springs. The one voice I speak of should include everyone who lives in or has a stake in this city’s future.

Please join me in the “spirit and communion” to make Desert Hot Springs a thriving and vibrant community. I look forward to hearing from you. I am at your service.

Adam Sanchez
City Council Member
Desert Hot Springs
asanchez@cityofdhs.org