Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews star in 1964’s “Mary Poppins.” Courtesy photo. LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday, Jan. 3, there’s a party happening and you’re invited.
Come on out to the Soper Reese Theatre and see the original 1964 “Mary Poppins,” with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.
Wear your favorite PJs, kids and grown-ups too, and enjoy a fun family experience.
Shows take place at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior.
Entry to the film is by donation. Hot cocoa, cookies and popcorn available at the concession stand.
The movie is sponsored by Val Schweifler, Lakeport Kiwanis. Run time is 2 hours and 19 minutes. Rated G.
The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com.
Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography. I've been asked if I believe in ghosts, and my answer is, "Well, now, there's very little fun in NOT believing in ghosts."
Here's a poem by Austin Smith, who lives in Illinois, about being encouraged by a father to believe in something that becomes real in the telling.
White Lie
Christmas Eves our dad would bring Home from the farm real hay For the reindeer that didn't exist And after we were finally asleep Would get out and take the slabs Up in his arms and carry them Back to the bed of his pickup, Making sure to litter the snow With chaff so he could show us In the morning the place where They'd stood eating, their harness Bells dulled by the cold, their breath Steam, all while we were dreaming.
As an esteemed film director, Clint Eastwood has artfully tackled the subject matter of real-life heroes in “American Sniper” and “Sully,” the latter a story of an incredible feat of a seasoned pilot’s emergency landing in the Hudson River.
With “Richard Jewell” also based on a true story, Eastwood reaches back to the more distant history of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, when a bombing at Centennial Park resulted in an inevitable frenzy for both the media and authorities.
The titular character turned out to be central to the case in which the life of an ordinary man, trusting that his actions were noble, found his life turned upside down by an unscrupulous media and the law enforcement community he idolized.
Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser), overweight and unassuming, is first seen a decade prior to the Olympics in a menial job at a government office where the only person to befriend him is the acerbic lawyer Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell), later to feature prominently in his ordeal.
For a guy who says that he studies the penal code every night, Jewell is committed to getting a career in law enforcement even though after losing a job as a sheriff’s deputy he ends up being a glorified security officer at Piedmont College.
Things take a turn for the worse when the officious dean of the college fires Jewell for being overzealous for such things as flagging down students for traffic violations on the highway and busting up noisy gatherings in dorm rooms.
Taking a security guard position for the Atlanta Games near the sound tower for outdoor concerts, Jewell relishes the opportunity to interact with police officers by providing refreshments that he’s also willing to offer to visitors in need, like a pregnant lady.
Solicitous and affable almost to a fault, Jewell discovers a suspicious backpack left unattended under a bench. Alerting the authorities to the situation, it is soon learned that an incendiary device poses an immediate threat.
Apparently unknown to anyone on the scene at the time, an anonymous caller to 911 ominously informs the dispatcher that “there is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have 30 minutes.”
Meanwhile, the quick thinking of Jewell results in his warning the concertgoers to evacuate the area, and his swift actions saved countless lives even though not everyone could reach safety. One person died and over one hundred were injured in the bomb attack.
Suddenly a hero, Jewell’s 15 minutes of fame turned into three days of celebrated coverage where he is lauded by the media and interviewed on television. He even gets offered a chance to seal a book deal.
However, it doesn’t take long for the FBI to feel pressure to find the culprit. Agent Tom Shaw (John Hamm), a composite character, intuitively formulates the thought that the hero could be the prime suspect.
Not helping matters for Jewell is when the college dean who fired him from the security job calls the FBI to let them know of his past campus stint of aggressive policing and sense of grandeur.
The FBI soon profiles Jewell as the false hero who placed the bomb only to uncover the plot. After all, the red flags are those of a white male loner seeking attention who also lives with his mom, Bobi (Kathy Bates), in an apartment.
In a matter of days, the humble savior’s life unravels when FBI agent Shaw confirms to the local newspaper’s investigative reporter Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) that Jewell has become the agency’s prime suspect.
For her part, Scruggs comes off, unfairly as far as her former colleagues and employer are concerned, as using feminine wiles and sexual favors to coax hot tips for a story that will grab headlines in the morning edition.
With his life shattered by hounding from the media as well as the FBI, Jewell turns to his old friend Watson Bryant to serve as his attorney, a role he takes on with great relish because of his anti-establishment views and distaste for seeing his client railroaded.
Indeed, the behavior of FBI agent Shaw, who won’t even admit he’s wrong long after Jewell is no longer a suspect, is the real villain of this story, a man so condescending and arrogant that he seeks to entrap his target with a bogus training video.
What’s best about this film are the powerful performances of so many characters, particularly Hauser’s flawed Jewell trying so hard to get along and Rockwell’s Watson insistently challenging and pushing back hard on his client’s tormentors.
Not to be overlooked is Kathy Bates’ incredible turn as Jewell’s protective mother, who really shines during a televised press conference with a tearful plea to President Clinton to restore her son’s good name.
“Richard Jewell” proves to be another gem in Clint Eastwood’s illustrious career behind the camera.
Sadly, the real Richard Jewell died of heart failure at the age of forty-four in 2007 and didn’t live to see the just redemption offered in this compelling drama.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – All aboard! "The Polar Express" is arriving in Lake County on Monday, Dec. 23.
Come to the Soper Reese Theatre in your PJs – children and grown-ups alike – and enjoy a fun holiday family party.
Shows are at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior. Entry to the film is by donation.
Hot cocoa, Christmas cookies and popcorn will be available at the concession stand.
All are invited to enjoy the beauty and artistry of this 2004 animated classic directed by Robert Zemeckis and adapted from the book of the same name by children’s author Chris Van Allsburg.
The story is about a young boy who embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, along the way he learns about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas. Conductor’s voice by Tom Hanks.
The movie is sponsored by Patrick Lambert, Farmers Insurance. Run time is 1 hour and 30 minutes. Rated G.
The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com.
Schuyler Marcier (Eli) and Leonello Simmons (Owen) in the Mendocino College production of Jody Gehrman’s “Wild Fire.” Photo by Ilena Yeru Pegan.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Mendocino College Theatre Arts Department has been invited to bring its fall 2019 production of Jody Gehrman’s new play “Wild Fire” to the Region VII Conference of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival this coming February 2020.
The play was originally produced this past fall semester at Mendocino College as part of the Phoenix Project, a multi-disciplinary arts initiative of artists responding to human-caused climate change.
According to Director Reid Edelman, “This is a great honor for our students and a great opportunity to represent Mendocino College and our community at this nationally recognized festival. Only three plays were chosen to be performed at the festival, out of more than 30 qualified entries. As you can imagine, our students are just beaming with excitement!”
For the students attending, it will be a once in a lifetime experience. They will not only perform their play for theatre students and faculty from all over the region, but they will participate in classes, workshops, and scholarship auditions.
At the festival, students will learn about transfer opportunities and other potential next steps in their education and careers.
The festival brings together college theatre students and faculty from all over the northwestern states, including Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho and Montana.
The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival hosts regional festivals which lead up to a national festival each year hosted by the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington DC.
As a participating production, Mendocino College’s play was attended by two visiting professors from other colleges and considered for inclusion in the festival.
In addition, students in this production and last year’s spring musical “Once Upon a Mattress” were nominated for the prestigious Irene Ryan acting scholarship competition.
For these competitive auditions, five Mendocino College students will be paired with five scene partners who will audition at the festival with scenes and monologues.
College Technical Director Steve Decker, with the help of the production student crew, will be transporting and reassembling the play’s full set, costumes, lighting, and properties at the host theater at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
In all, 16 student actors and crew members from Mendocino College will attend this week-long festival. They will be accompanied by college theatre faculty and staff including Edelman, Decker, Gehrman and set designer/carpenter David Wolf.
“Wild Fire,” written by Gehrman, a Mendocino College professor, transports audiences into the future of Mendocino County in a disturbing look at the cataclysmic future which awaits if we fail to adequately address our human-caused climate crisis.
However, according to Edelman, “It is also an engaging personal story, following a group of interwoven characters and their descendants. The play looks at sacred and artistic elements which define our humanity and make our survival as a species meaningful and worth fighting for.”
Bringing a full production all the way to Colorado will be very expensive. Costs will include airfare, hotel accommodations and festival registration in addition to truck rental to transport the set, props, and costumes.
To fund the trip, the college Theatre Arts Department needs to raise a total of $23,000. Through the help of generous donors, half of these funds have already been raised. To help raise the rest, the students are presenting a tri-tip drive-up dinner fundraiser.
Tickets for the fundraiser cost $60 dollars each and can be purchased at the Mendocino Book Co. and also directly from students participating in the trip.
On Friday, Jan. 24, between 4 and 6 p.m., ticket-holders will pick up a ready-to-eat take-home dinner bag at Mendocino College near the Agriculture Department and Sonoma State Extension Center.
Dinner bags will include a freshly barbecued tri-tip roast for four people, four baked potatoes, four cookies, four dinner rolls, and salad for four.
Sponsors of this event include Raley’s Market, Forks Ranch Market, Coyote Valley Casino, the Broiler Steakhouse, Slam Dunk Pizza, Crush Restaurant, Mendocino College Culinary Arts Instructor Chef Nicholas Petti and barbeque masters Bruce Smith and Matt Hilton.
For more information about the tri-tip drive-up diner fundraiser or the Mendocino College Theatre Arts Department, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
The Mendocino College Ukiah campus is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah.
Jude Darrin. Courtesy photo. LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Symphony’s Christmas concert, set for Sunday, Dec. 22, at 2 p.m., at the Soper Reese Theatre, promises to be an interesting mix, with prolific singer Jude Darrin as the featured vocalist for three selections in the second half of the program.
The concert starts off with a performance by the LCSA Youth Orchestra, conducted by Sue Condit, followed by a selection of traditional Christmas favorites by the full symphony.
Jude Darrin starts the second half of the concert with three custom- arranged selections by local musician and symphony member Camm Linden: “Pretty Paper” by Willie Nelson; “Mary, Did You Know?” by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene; and “Oh, Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” by R. Fisher Boyce.
“Pretty Paper” was written by Willie Nelson when he was a struggling musician, working as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner and encyclopedia salesman.
Frankie Brierton, a local man in Ft. Worth, Texas, was Nelson’s inspiration. Brierton had spinal meningitis as a child and was unable to walk.
Refusing to use a wheelchair, he crawled, wearing thick gloves and knee pads made from old tires. He was determined to live an independent life, so Brierton would sit near a busy intersection outside Leonard’s, a mega-sized department store in Ft. Worth, where he sold pencils, ribbons and wrapping paper during the holidays to passersby for a penny.
Nelson would pass by on his sales route and wrote his song after seeing Brierton hawking his wares and calling out, “Pretty paper, pretty ribbons!”
“Mary, Did You Know?” was a joint effort by Mark Lowry, a gospel songwriter and comedian, and his friend, Buddy Greene. Lowry wrote the lyrics to this song as the program for a living Christmas tree performance in 1991.
Seven years later he rediscovered the script, converted the lines into a poem, and asked Greene to put it to music. It took Greene just 30 minutes to compose the haunting minor-key accompaniment.
For this piece, sign-language aficionado and good friend to Lake County’s deaf community, Jaerae Berton, presents a signing interpretation of the lyrics and music.
“Oh, Beautiful Star of Bethlehem” was written in the early 20th century by a Tennessee dairy farmer, R. Fisher Boyce, who loved to sing while working in his milk barn. He was an avid shape-note singer and eventually held “singing schools” to teach others how to read the distinctive, geometrically shaped note heads that indicate which tone on the musical scale to sing.
For this piece, Sing Napa Valley! – a full soprano, alto, tenor and bass chorus – will provide the harmonies reminiscent of the shape-note tradition.
The concert will end with the traditional Christmas carol sing-a-long with the audience, Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” by the orchestra and the “Hallelujah Chorus” with the audience.
The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 Main St. in Lakeport. Tickets may be purchased at the door the day of the concert the LCSA Christmas Concert is especially popular and it is advisable to order tickets online in advance at www.soperreesetheatre.com.
For those on a tight budget, the dress rehearsal starts at 11 a.m. for only $5 for adults and no charge for those under 18. Come early to ensure a seat.
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