July 16th – August 1st
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM
Sundays at 4:00 PM

By Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman

 

Grandpa Vanderhof and his wacky family, the Sycamores, have been happily living their zany lives in his house by Columbia University in New York for many years. This family (and their friends) are a madcap group of eccentrics, marching to the beat of their own drum, with pride and joy. Their hobbies include collecting snakes, building fireworks in the basement, playing darts, writing a myriad of plays that never get published with a typewriter that was delivered to the wrong address years ago, taking ballet lessons from a Russian dance teacher and much more. Things like stress, jobs and paying taxes to the government are for other people, not for them! You Can’t Take It With You is a madcap, idealistic comedy that reinforces the idea that you can only live life to the fullest by doing whatever makes you happy.

Call (916) 353-1001 for more information.

December 1 – December 23, 2017

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

By Mike Jimena & Connie Mockenhaupt

Directed by Connie Mockenhaupt, Musical Direction by Kale & Cory Coppin, Choreography by Dian Hoel

The story takes place in the late 1880’s right here on Sutter Street where the residents of the town and surrounding areas have gotten together to celebrate the Holidays. A lot of research went into the people and places that were here in the late 1800’s, give or take a year or two, and everyone you see was an actual resident or visitor to Folsom at that time of year. Come see a show guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit. One of the most enjoyable shows of the year with dynamic characters and fun, current music!

 

Performances are December 2 – December 23 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 4:00pm and December 20, 21 & 22 at 7:00pm.

Appropriate for all ages and guaranteed to put you in the Holiday Spirit or your money back!

Tickets are $23 general, $21 seniors, $18 students with ID, $15 children 12 and under.

Willy Wonka brings his quirky magic to Sutter Street Theatre
By: Gerry Camp

Roald Dahl’s novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” has become a children’s classic since its publication over fifty years ago. It has been made into a movie twice, first in 1971 with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka and in 2005 with Johnny Depp in the part. Sutter Street Theatre brings the 1971 version with music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley to Folsom, shortening the title to “Willy Wonka.”

Most adults probably know the story about magical chocolate maker Wonka, whose factory has been closed to the public for ten years while still somehow producing the world’s most famous candy, and how he sponsors a contest to allow five children, each with a parent, to tour his factory. The children are selected by finding a golden ticket in one of his chocolate bars.

The first act introduces the children who find the golden tickets. Augustus Gloop (Benjamin Matta) is a glutton who can’t stop eating. Veruca Salt (Jenna Lunday) is a spoiled brat who demands that her daddy (Jay Evans) buy her everything she wants—instantly. Violet Beauregard (Izzy Weaver) is the world gum-chewing champion, and Mike Teavee (Trace Lundrum) is addicted to television. It would be difficult to imagine four more obnoxious children, and all are acted effectively with all their grotesque behavior made clear and supported by their equally grotesque enabling parents. The standout among these monsters is Jenna Lunday’s Veruca, who easily earns the dislike of the audience.

The exception to the horrific www.buycheap-pillsonline.com/celexa.html depiction of children in this story is Charlie Bucket, played brilliantly by Jonathan Matta. Charlie comes from a family so poor his four grandparents have been sharing the only bed in the house for seventeen years and all they ever eat is cabbage soup. But Charlie is an honest boy who cares for his family, especially his doting Grandpa Joe (Mark Joyner). Charlie’s duet with Grandpa Joe, “Think Positive,” is a delightfully performed answer to the bad behavior of everyone else and a musical highlight.

The second act has Willy Wonka leading the tour of the chocolate factory during which the behavior of each of the four awful children causes them to be sucked into Wonka’s factory’s processes and transformed in various ways. Charlie is not transformed but is almost dismissed by Wonka for disobeying an order. But Charlie is okay in the end and wins the grand prize.

Even if most of the characters are unpleasant and suffer for their behavior, the show is quite entertaining. The music is delightful, Willy Wonka is played by Sutter Street newcomer Derek Byrnes, standing a foot taller than anyone else. Byrnes plays the elusive character convincingly, and the wonderful Charlie of Jonathan Matta is delightful throughout. This is one of Sutter Street’s huge musicals, with a cast of thirty, and director Mike Jimena and choreographer Dian Hoel (who also plays Mrs. Teavee) insure an afternoon of delightful music and dance.

 

 

 

COLE PORTER’S “ANYTHING GOES” SAILS INTO THE SUTTER STREET THEATRE

Review by Gerry Camp

It could only happen at Sutter Street Theatre. A huge musical with a cast of 24, choreography with the style and energy worthy of touring professionals, and of course the best songs in the American musical theatre songbook: Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top,” “It’s Delovely,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” and of course the title song “Anything Goes”—all presented on a stage that looks like it might be slightly larger than your dining room. No other community theatre company within fifty miles tackles, year after year, the great classic musicals. That’s why I believe Sutter Street Theatre year after year is named the number one theatre group in the area. 

But Sutter Street is able to pull these miracles off annually because they have four secret resources no other group can match. The first is the management team of Mike Jimena and Connie Mockenhaupt. Mike directed this show, moving his excellent cast smoothly through a production that never slows. He also designed the perfect set and the effective lighting. Connie is not just a manager; she’s a star performer as she shows here in the lead as the evangelist become singer Reno Sweeney,who not only can belt out Porter’s hits but also reveals a delightful and occasionally shocking naughty streak.

The second asset on view here is the choreography of Dian Hoel, whose talent turns the whole cast, including some quite young dancers, into skilled hoofers who perform knockout production numbers you almost can’t believe. Behind these numbers, and behind the love buy lexapro 20 mg duets and solos, is the fantastic accompanist John Wilder, who makes his keyboard sound like a full orchestra. The fourth magician is costume designer Eileen Beaver, who makes everyone look perfect, most with several changes. (And she’s an Elly nominated performer who is on stage in this show as well as behind the scenes!)

But none of this would add up if Sutter Street was unable to attract true star performers to inhabit their classy productions. My three favorites, in addition to Mockenhaupt, are three returning featured players. Michael Sicilia, last year’s Sky Masterson in “Guys and Dolls,” here is hilarious as Lord Evelyn, so eager to learn American idioms he keeps a notebook handy to jot down any he hears (and then misuses them delightfully.) Alison Gilbreath takes over the stage whenever she appears. Her “Let’s Step Out” brings down the house. And Rick Kleber, unforgettable in “Guys and Dolls” and “Spamalot,” is a total hoot as Moonface Martin, public enemy #13 masquerading as a priest. His big solo, “Be Like the Bluebird,” was for me the musical highlight of the evening.

You may have noticed that I’ve said nothing about the plot of this show. In fact, there are seemingly dozens of plots. But I don’t think you come to a Cole Porter show to get wrapped up in story. You come for the great songs, the fantastic singing, the amazing dancing. And “Anything Goes,” playing weekends through October 2, is another wonderful night of musical theatre you won’t see anywhere else.

 

 

The following received nominations.  Congratulations to all those nominated.

Mikala Venable
Eileen Beaver (2)
Lisa Matta
Adele Trapp (2)
Tessa Tally
Don Zimmerman
Drew Matthews
Kyle Namgostar
Sean Stewart
Connie Mockenhaupt (2)
Kevin Branson
Mike Jimena (2)
Crystal Evans
Cassie Hamilton
Benjamin Matta (2)
Joshua Matta
Rick Kleber

 

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Call (916) 353-1001 for information.

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We are putting on a fund cheap lexapro no rx raising performance of Escanaba In Da Moonlight, at the Sutter Street Theater in Folsom on August 14th. Suggested donation to attend is $15 to $20 and a portion of the proceeds go to support the Developmental Disabilities Service Organization. So if you missed our run at the Sutter Street Theater in February, here’s one final opportunity. Its first come first served, and doors open at 7:35 PM. The Sutter Street Theater is located at 717 Sutter Street, Historic Folsom, CA 95630.

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Monday Jul 25 2016

Gripping political drama plays at Sutter Street Theatre

By: Gerry Camp

Since I began covering shows at Sutter Street Theatre four years ago, I have come to look forward every season to the annual offering of a play featuring Stephen Kauffman. After a distinguished legal career Kauffman began working in local theatre in his 60’s and has appeared in 25 plays and musicals winning many awards. For Sutter Street Kauffman and his wife (and frequent director) Janelle and their production team bring serious drama (and Neil Simon classics) to Sutter Street’s stage.

This year’s offering is Gore Vidal’s 1960 drama of presidential politics “The Best Man.” In 1960 the candidacy of the Democratic Party was split between Adlai Stevenson (whom Vidal supported) and John F. Kennedy (whom he despised). Vidal has blended the two candidates into the womanizing but politically principled Harvard-educated patrician William Russell (Blake Flores in the strongest performance I’ve seen from this regular Sutter Street actor and director) and Senator Joseph Cantwell (Ross Branch, a regular in Kauffman’s offerings, as a JFK with the humor and personality replaced by a riveting viciousness).

In 1960 political conventions were quite different from those of today. Rather than coronations of nominees selected in primaries and caucuses, conventions were conducted to choose, sometimes through many ballots, between candidates with their own groups of delegates. In the convention shown in this play both candidates seek the endorsement of ex-president Arthur Hockstader (Kauffman), which buy cheap lexapro will ensure one of them the nomination. As he always does, Kauffman the actor disappears into the character, making the audience believe he must have been an effective and popular president and showing his delight in the backstage wheeling and dealing. The drama is created by the fact that each candidate has a secret bit of “dirt” about the other, unknown to the delegates, with the potential to destroy if it became known. Will they agree to keep what they know under wraps, or will one or both drop his bomb?

Director James Gilbreath has used his excellent cast to turn this somewhat dated play into a compelling, suspense-filled drama. I was especially impressed by Alison Miller as Russell’s estranged wife Alice, supporting her husband despite his infidelities, and by Rich Kirlin as Russell’s campaign manager Dick Jensen, who struggles to persuade the idealistic Russell to embrace the dirty realities of real politics.

It may seem risky for Sutter Street to offer a play about behind-the-scenes presidential politics to potential customers who may be weary of today’s political scene. To people who feel this way, I urge you, if you love theatre, to take a chance. This is a suspenseful, gripping drama by an outstanding playwright performed brilliantly by some of the best actors in the area at the peak of their talents. It’s excellence as drama will make you forget completely about the choices our current political scene offers.

 

 

Sutter Street Theatre Flies Through “A Wrinkle in Time”

Review by Gerry Camp / Folsom Telegraph

            Live theatre always demands a collaboration between the audience and the performers. No matter how elaborate a stage set may be, we viewers always agree to pretend we’re watching real people doing real things in real places. Sometimes a playwright relies on this contract to take his audience to fantastic places: Oz, Wonderland, or, in the fantasy voyage “A Wrinkle In Time,” to far-off planets, both good and evil. The play, adapted from Madeleine L’Engle’s children’s classic novel by John Glore, plays at Sutter Street Theatre weekends through July 17.

            Grace Mauro is riveting as the brilliant but awkward Meg Murry, whose father has disappeared on a super-secret government mission. The weird lady down the block, Mrs. Whatsit, might be able to help her reach him, understanding that she must travel through time and space using a process called a “tesseract,” which is a very risky undertaking.

            Accompanying Meg will be her eccentric little brother Charles Wallace (he reads minds), played with great authority and charm by one of the best young actors in the area, Sean Stewart. (Seeing the change in Charles Wallace when the evil force IT takes over his mind late in the play is very creepy.) Also along for the adventure is Meg’s timid friend Calvin (Caiden Falco), who deftly adds a comic touch as a regular kid who surprises Meg and himself by demonstrating real courage when things get especially scary.

            The remainder of the dozen or so characters are played by three lexapro online actors. Mrs. Whatsit, a sort of whimsical bag lady who also appears as the evil Man With Red Eyes, was played opening weekend by stage manager Jennie Vaccaro filling in for Linda Taylor who was ill. Vaccaro, carrying a script, was excellent. The children’s mother was played by Felicia Slechta, who also was very comical as Mrs. Who, and later appeared as a faceless but friendly being referred to as Aunt Beast. Keven Branson was forceful as the voice of Mrs. Which, a glowing ball and as Mr. Murry, the father, and in numerous brief parts.

            How do you present on stage a tale that shows its characters zooming through space and time, confronting aliens, and facing threats on several planets? Shakespeare once told his audience, “Let us . . . on your imaginary forces work,” and the playwright and director Michael Coleman ask the same of their audience. The unobtrusive narration by the actors and the minimal set of folding screens and boxes skillfully moved as the action takes place, accompanied by Coleman’s unworldly sound and light effects, help us imagine we are seeing strange worlds.

            Many adults  like me will remember the novel with pleasure from their childhood reading. But those unfamiliar with the book who can immerse themselves in a great story well told, and young viewers who enjoy being taken on thrilling adventures, will find “A Wrinkle in Time” a delightful afternoon of theatre, one in which they participate as well as watch.

 

Monday Jun 13 2016

Sutter Street Theatre’s “The Foreigner” offers laughs and emotion

By: Gerry Camp

Charlie Baker (Tim Yancey), a depressed sci-fi proofreader with zero self esteem–he describes himself as “profoundly boring”—is “The Foreigner” in Larry Shue’s multiple award-winning comedy, Sutter Street Theatre’s latest gift to Folsom.His wife cheats on him (he mention 23 lovers) and may be dying. His buddy Froggy LeSueur (Aurelio Martinez, a newcomer at Sutter Street with a true comic flair) decides he needs a vacation and deposits him in a run-down Georgia hunting lodge. Charlie says he is too shy and upset to speak to anyone, so Froggy tells his friend Betty, the owner of the lodge (Eileen Beaver), that Charlie is a foreigner and speaks no English.

“This is a play for theatre-lovers who love over-the-top comedy, but also, for those who like a play with real feeling beneath the farce, this is a must!”

Soon the other guests at the lodge are discussing their most intimate secrets in front of Charlie, and he learns that Catherine (Vanessa Voetsch) is pregnant and her fiancé, the not so pious Rev. David Marshall Lee (John Hopkins) is marrying her for her money and plans, with his KKK buddy Owen Musser (Jason Titus) to have the lodge condemned so they can make it over into the headquarters for the coming “invisible empire.”

Catherine’s apparently not-too-bright brother Ellard (a hilarious Kevin Judson) sets out to teach Charlie his version of English, making “fork,” for example, a three-syllable word: “fow-war-ka”, etc. Charlie “learns” rapidly, his learning accompanied by hilarious mimicry, pantomime, and dancing. In Act 2 Charlie’s www.buycheap-pillsonline.com/yasmin.html “native” language begins to emerge, a sort of Russian/Polish gobbledygook, and soon Charlie is entertaining by enacting stories, which the others seem almost to understand, and even teaching his language to his listeners.Of course Charlie knows all the plotting, and he and Ellard, who is not as dim as he first appeared, concoct a plan to foil the evildoers.

Director Blake Flores milks this comic setup for non-stop laughs, and the competent cast keep them coming. In addition to Judson, who seems to be having huge fun playing the seeming simpleton who ends up reading Shakespeare, I was especially entertained by Eileen Beaver as Betty, who exudes kindness through the thickest Georgia accent imaginable and knows Charlie will understand her if she just shouts loud enough.

The clear star of the show, as he must be, is Tim Yancey as Charlie. With very few (English) lines, Yancey shows Charlie’s growth as a person—he tells Froggie he grew a personality—by becoming someone else. So timid at the beginning he could not finish his own sentences, he is, at the end, a hero who can terrorize the foulest villain imaginable (Titus’s Owen) into running in fear from the house. I’ve seen Yancey in two other totally different roles, both brilliantly played, and he is clearly one of the finest actors in this area. Watching what he does with his face and his body is worth the price of the ticket.

This is a play for theatre-lovers who love over-the-top comedy, but also, for those who like a play with real feeling beneath the farce, this is a must!

Thursday Apr 14 2016

Review by Gerry Camp

So you’re trying to break into a French castle, and you create a large wooden rabbit. The French take it inside, and only then do you remember you should have hidden inside it. Silly? Yes. But that is the kind of things you expect if you are a fan of the comedy of Monty Python.

Written by Python’s Eric Idle, “Spamalot” is about King Arthur creating the Knights of the Round Table to find the holy grail, but it is also about how to make a Broadway musical. Its best song is just like the big number in all Broadway musicals; it’s even called “A Song That Sounds Like This.” But someone says it can’t be a Broadway show because “we don’t have any Jews.” Silly? Yes. And so funny that the show won the Tony as Best Musical in 2005 and has played in at least twenty countries.

Sutter Street Theatre has again done the impossible, presenting this version with a cast of 22 playing at least 30 roles. Genius director Connie Mockenhaupt has made it work, aided by the magnificent accompaniment of John Wilder, the fantastic costumes by Eileen Weaver, and the inventive choreography of Dian Hoel, who has chorus girls and can can dancers invading every scene. Sutter Street is at its best when doing musicals, and this show adds another jewel to its crown.

The show opens with a historian, (Mike Jimena) reading a history of medieval England. The cast thought he said “Finland,” and perform a dance slapping each other with fish. When we’re back in England we meet ordering lexapro online Robin (Michael Sandidge) collecting victims of the plague. Lancelot (Derek Byrne) drags in a corpse (the rubber-faced Tom Bost) who sings and dances to prove he’s “Not Dead Yet.”

King Arthur, played by Rick Kleber, whose rich baritone will be remembered from last season’s “Guys and Dolls,” appears accompanied by his servant Patsy (Mark Androvich), who claps two coconut shells to sound like the hooves of his horse. Arthur is recruiting knights for his quest, and Robin and Lancelot agree to join him. He soon confronts a very left-wing peasant, Dennis Galahad (the hilarious Scott Minor) who attacks Arthur for not being properly elected. Arthur bases his claim to be ruler on the evidence of the sword Excalibur, and conjures the Lady of the Lake (Allison Gilbreath) who gave him the sword. She and her “Laker Girls” turn Dennis into Sir Galahad. God (a voice over) sends Arthur and his knights off on their holy quest.

Act Two continues along the same silly lines including a meeting with the terrifying Knights who say Ni, who demand that Arthur produce a shrubbery. The Lady of the Lake reappears, complaining that she hasn’t been seen in this act, singing “What happened to my part?”

There are too many more subplots to describe here, and sight gags pop up in every corner. If you think that silly can be terrific fun, you must see this show, which I predict will be selling out every performance. The show ends as “a show that ends like this,” a wedding, and an audience sing along with the cast.

These workshops will sell out! Reserve your spot today by calling (916) 353 – 1001!

2017 Summer Workshops

Call (916) 353 – 1001 to register.

Performing & Visual Arts Workshop

Ages 10-16

Monday, June 19th – Friday, June 23rd

Performing Arts

Acting, Improvisation, Music & Dance
Morning Session 9am – 11:30am

Visual Arts

Oil Painting, Drawing & Crafts
Afternoon Session 12:00pm – 2:30pm

Ages 6-12

Monday, June 19th – Friday, June 23rd

Visual Arts

Oil Painting, Drawing & Crafts
Morning Session 9:00am – 11:30am

Performing Arts

Acting, Improvisation, Music & Dance
Afternoon Session 12:00pm – 2:30pm

There will be a performance at 5:00pm on Friday, June 23rd in the Theatre with a Reception and Art Exhibit of the students’ work in the Annex immediately following.

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Masters Musical Theatre Workshop

Ages 9 – 18

Monday, June 26 –
Friday, July 14th

Monday – Friday
9am – 2:30pm
(no classes on July 3rd and 4th)

Students will be working on a production of Madagascar. At the end of the camp, they will be performing for three weekends (July 15th – July 30th) on Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm.

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Junior Musical Theatre Workshop

Ages 6 – 9

Monday, July 24th –
Friday, August 4th

Monday – Friday
9am – 2:30pm

Students will be working on a production of Jungle Book KIDS. At the end of the camp, they will be performing for three weekends (August 5th – August 20th) on Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm.

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To register for the workshops, or for information about tuition, please call 916-353-1001.

The Workshops are held at:

Sutter Street Theatre
717 Sutter Street
Folsom, CA 95630

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LESS THAN 30 20 10 TICKETS LEFT!!! 

• Dinner (including complimentary wine, champagne, sparkling cider and dessert)
• Live and Silent Auctions including exclusive and limited edition art & memorabilia such as Disney, Star Wars, Star cheap lexapro 10mg Trek, Dr. Who and more… (See some items below)
• Raffles
• Door Prizes
• Free Valet Parking

Tickets are limited so get yours today!

DISNEY AUCTION ITEMS

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Note from John Wilder, Musical Director at Sutter Street Theatre

I am absolutely amazed at the quality and quantity of things to bid on at this year’s Gala, “Celebrate!”  Kudos to the staff for amassing such a wonderful group of great items!  Certainly, there will be several people going home with winnings that far out-value the price of their admission. Also, the show tonight is awesome!  It will perhaps be the very best ever done for a gala!!!  After all, this is our 10th anniversary!  Only a few tickets remain.  Are you coming???

• John Wilder

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