Tis’ the season of musicals and maestros, of pirates and princes, where performers from here, there and everywhere take stages across the Sacramento region. Some sing, some dance and some bring classic characters to life. Others play instruments that resonate through the night. It is the time when Broadway once again comes to town and some theaters transport you to another place in another period. Even though summer has ended, the performing arts scene is just heating up. And in the spirit of this occasion, we present 50 reasons to seize the season. So without further ado, it’s showtime.
1. The Dead of Winter
A group of strangers staying in a hotel get snowed in, which isn’t so bad until it’s revealed that a murderer is among them. See Agatha Christie’s classic mystery The Mousetrap at Stage Nine Entertainment Store and Theatre in Folsom playing through Oct. 7. (916) 353-1001; stageninefolsom.com
2. Move Over, Jack Sparrow
In the Pirates of Penzance, presented by the Davis Musical Theatre Company, an orphan, a maiden, a nursemaid and a major general all are looking for a certain treasure: happiness. With lyrics and music by Gilbert and Sullivan, this swashbuckling romance runs through Oct. 7 at the Hoblit Performing Arts Center in Davis. (530) 756-3682; dmtc.org
3. All Hail the Queen
The whole of Camelot comes out to await the arrival of Guinevere, King Arthur’s queen-to-be, in Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot presented by Roseville’s Magic Circle Theatre Company. The production plays through Oct. 13 at the Roseville Theater. (916) 782-1777; mcircle.org
4. Good, Clean Fun
Dirty Story
, John Patrick Stanley’s biting satire on politics and society, makes its Sacramento premiere by Capital Stage aboard the Delta King. The production Newsday calls mischievously funny and fiercely serious runs through Oct. 28. (916) 995-5464; deltaking.com/theatre.html
5. Home Sweet Home
Located in an 1894 midtown Victorian, Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre presents Annie’s Story, a drama about a woman who returns home and must confront her past. Enjoy the show while indulging in a decadent dessert and coffee or tea, included in the ticket price. See the show through Nov. 3. (916) 444-8209; thistle-dew.net
6. Bring Sexy Back
It’s time for fishnet stockings and stilettos, as Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show comes to town. Presented by Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre in Rancho Cordova, the cult-classic musical runs through Nov. 10, with only midnight and Halloween shows. Audience members must be 18 or older; ID is required. (916) 985-6361; garbeaus.com
X Marks the Spot
All Davis Musical Theatre Company performances take place at the Hoblit Performing Arts Center in East Davis. When you go to dmtc.org to purchase tickets, you can choose exactly where you want to sit by clicking on the color-coded seating chart.
7. Nothing Is Black and White
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The musical, playing through Nov. 11, is loosely based on the biblical story of Joseph but with a few colorful twists: His brothers are country crooners and Pharaoh acts like the King&emdash;Elvis, that is. (916) 985-6361; garbeaus.com
8. American Dreamin’
The Sacramento Theatre Company
presents Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s compelling tale of George and Lennie, two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression searching for a piece of the American Dream. The show runs Oct. 3–Nov. 11. (916) 443-6722; sactheatre.org
9. Gone With the Wind
California Musical Theatre
‘s Broadway Sacramento presents Whistle Down the Wind, the inspiring story of a Louisiana girl who hides an escaped felon from the townspeople searching for him. Direct from London, the production, which runs Oct. 3–Nov. 11 at the Sacramento Community Center Theater, features a score with Southern roots created by rock lyricist Jim Steinman and Andrew Lloyd Webber. (916) 808-5181; calmt.com
10. Teacher Trouble
Woodland Opera House Theatre
presents The Music Man, Oct. 4–Nov. 5, the classic Broadway musical about a professor who strikes some minor chords after he cons parents into thinking he can teach their children to play musical instruments. (530) 666-9617; wohtheatre.org
11. Beat Your Veggies
The Sacramento Valley Production Theatre Company
presents The Broccoli Club, a new musical by local playwright Ruth R. Owens set in 1929 Detroit about a man who must bump off The Big Broccoli if he hopes to redeem his gambling debts. The show runs Oct. 5–21 at the 24th Street Theatre. (916) 489-1175; thebroccoliclub.com
12. Signs of the Times
Celebration Arts
, a multicultural drama, choral and dance organization located in East Sacramento, presents Three Ways Home, a story about a single mother trying to raise a troubled teen and a woman who intervenes to help improve their lives. The show runs Oct. 5–Nov. 11. (916) 455-2787; celebrationarts.net
13. Stringing Sounds Together
The Sacramento Baroque Soloists
presents The Baroque Sonata, its first concert of the season, Oct. 6 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. The concert features two violinists and an ensemble playing a recorder, cello and harpsichord. (916) 705-3806; sacramentobaroque.org
14. Keys to the City
The 2007–2008 season marks the Year of the Piano for Sierra College Foundation’s Chamber Music Alive! program. The first concert, Oct. 6–7 at St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Sacramento and Sierra College’s Dietrich Theatre in Rocklin, features Adam Nieman, the first of three world-renowned pianists scheduled to appear. (916) 789-2920; chambermusicalive.org
15. Surreal Life
In the early to mid-1900s, Noel Coward, a British actor, playwright and composer, defined what it meant to be a celebrity. In a special presentation, the Sacramento Opera offers A Talent To Amuse: An Evening With Noel Coward, a cabaret of musical performances, comedy sketches and anecdotes about the man behind the music. See the show Oct. 11–14 at the Towe Auto Museum. It’s going to be set up like the Savoy Hotel in London, where he performed, says opera spokesperson Joey Castaneda. (916) 737-1000; sacopera.org
16. Written in the Stars
Sacramento State’s Department of Theatre & Dance
presents North Star, the story of a black girl searching for identity in North Carolina during the Civil Rights Era. The department’s season opener runs Oct. 11–21. (916) 278-6368; csus.edu/dram
17. LOL!
The Chautauqua Playhouse
presents Arms and the Man, a poignant piece of timeless comedy by George Bernard Shaw. See the show Oct. 12–Nov. 11 at the La Sierra Community Center in Carmichael. (916) 489-7529; cplayhouse.com
18. Don’t Be Chicken
Stage Nine Entertainment Store and Theatre
of Folsom presents The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, a musical that recounts the rise and fall of a chicken ranch in a small Texas town. We’re not going to hit the whorehouse aspect real hard, even though it’s in the title, because we want everyone in the family to be able to come, says Stage Nine co-owner Connie Mockenhaupt. We’re not going to be out-and-out bawdy. The show runs Oct. 12–Nov. 25. (916) 353-1001; stageninefolsom.com
19. The Heart of the Matter
The Sierra Community Chorus, composed of 60 or so vocalists from the Rocklin area, performs songs of hope and redemption in A Gift of the Heart, including music from Annie, Hairspray, Les Miserables and Wicked. The benefit concert takes place at Adventure Christian Church in Roseville Oct. 19–20. Proceeds will go toward The Gathering Inn and Acres of Hope.
(916) 781-2900; sierrachorus.org
20. Don’t Feed the Instruments
The Camellia Symphony
hosts the second of two Fall Family Concerts Oct. 20 at the Galleria Civic Center in West Sacramento. Families can come for an hour-long taste of classical music, and kids can visit the instrument petting zoo to see and touch musical instruments and take part in a mock performance with the conductor. (916) 929-6655; camelliasymphony.org
21. Hitting a High Note
Dee Dee Bridgewater
, the dynamic jazz singer whom the Washington Post calls an an extroverted crowd-pleaser, performs at the Mondavi Center Oct. 20. The two-time Grammy Award winner also has won a Tony Award for her work on the Broadway stage. (530) 754-2787; mondaviarts.org
22. Make Way for Broadway
The Sacramento Choral Society, the nonprofit professional-caliber chorus and professional orchestra, opens its 12th season in Broadway style with A Lerner & Loewe Celebration, featuring a performance of the duo’s Broadway masterpieces from Brigadoon, Gigi, Camelot and My Fair Lady. Catch the show Oct. 20 at the Sacramento Community Center Theater. (916) 264-5181; sacramentochoral.com
23. Pioneer Spirit
The Sacramento Ballet
presents artistic director Ron Cunningham’s dramatic world premiere about the ill-fated Donner Party in
A Woman’s Journey: The Tamsen Donner Story. The show, which also includes performances of George Balanchine’s Serenade and Septime Webre’s Fluctuating Hemlines, runs Oct. 25–28 at the Sacramento Community Center Theater. (916) 552-5800; sacballet.org
24. Twist of Fate
The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance‘s Sideshow Physical Theatre performs Collapse (Suddenly Falling Down), a dance and theater presentation about human nature and the fate of our actions. Directed and choreographed by Della Davidson, with text by Ed Gaible, the show takes place at the Mondavi Center’s Studio Theatre Oct. 25–Nov. 4. (530) 754-2787; theatredance.ucdavis.edu/sideshow_theatre
25. Love, Not-So-Sweet Love
Beyond the Proscenium Productions
presents Hecuba & Dido: Love Gone Wrong by Ann Tracy, who founded the experimental, movement-based theater company in 1994. The play runs Oct. 27–Nov. 24 at The Space, 2509 R St. in midtown. (916) 456-1600; beyondtheproscenium.org
26. That’s All Folk
For its 11th season, the Sacramento Philharmonic offers two chamber orchestra concert weekends. Its Signature Series begins this fall with Folk Songs and Spirituals, Nov. 1, 2 and 4, conducted by Maestro Michael Morgan. Performances take place at the Guild Theater in Oak Park, a Magic Circle Theater venue in Roseville and Temple Or Rishon in Orangevale. (916) 782-1777; sacphil.org
27. All That Jazz
The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra
brings its hometown sounds of the Big Easy to the Mondavi Center Nov. 2. The critically acclaimed ensemble, founded in 2002, celebrates New Orleans’ contributions to the musical genre. (530) 754-278; mondaviarts.org
28. Split Personality
Runaway Stage
presents Jekyll & Hyde, a musical adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s dark tale about Dr. Jekyll’s earnest attempt to better humanity by separating the good from the evil in human personalities. All hell breaks loose when he experiments on himself and the savage Mr. Hyde emerges. Shows take place Nov. 2–25 at the 24th Street Theatre. (916) 207-1226; runawaystage.com
29. Ace in the Hole
Adding to its mainstage and family theater offerings, midtown’s B Street Theatre launches B3, its third resident series, featuring dramatic works by cutting-edge playwrights. The series premieres with a work straight off Broadway: Rabbit Hole, David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about two grieving parents enduring the aftermath of a tragic accident. The play runs through Nov. 4 (916) 443-5300; bstreettheatre.org
30. A Stitch in Time Saves Five
Sacramento State’s Department of Theatre & Dance
presents Loose Knit, a story of five diverse, modern women in a weekly knitting group who bond as they work through the ups and downs of love and life. Reminiscent of Sex and the City, the show runs Nov. 8–18. (916) 278-6368; csus.edu/dram
31. Walk of Fame
River City Theatre Company
presents 42nd Street, a classic Broadway tale that follows hardworking chorus girl Peggy Sawyer on her inspiring journey to the big time. In addition to the title track, other hits from the show include We’re in the Money, Shuffle Off to Buffalo and Lullaby of Broadway. See it Nov. 9–10 and 16–17 at the Hiram Johnson High School Auditorium. (916) 457-7282; rivercitytheatre.org
32. Love in the Middle of Nowhere
In the highlands of Scotland, there’s a mythic village that appears out of the mist every hundred years. In Brigadoon, presented by the Davis Musical Theatre Company, two hunters find this village and one falls in love with a girl who lives there. The Lerner and Loewe musical runs Nov. 9–Dec. 2 at the Hoblit Performing Arts Center. (530) 756-3682; dmtc.org
33. Sounds From the Soul
The Camellia Symphony
performs the first concert of its 45th season, Russian Soul, featuring a performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 by guest pianist Natsuki Fukasawa, in the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium Nov. 10. (916) 929-6655; camelliasymphony.org
34. Take a Magic Carpet Ride
The wishful-thinking ragamuffin takes to the stage Nov. 15–25 at the Jill Solberg Performing Arts Theatre at Folsom High School when El Dorado Musical Theatre presents Disney’s Aladdin. A high point of the show? Aladdin and Jasmine will actually be flying over ‘A Whole New World,’ says Annie Speno, the show’s producer. (916) 941-7464; edmt.info
Meet and Greet Want to meet Aladdin and Jasmine or even the treacherous villain, Jafar? Here’s your chance: After the show, bring your pads and pens to the reception line, where the stars of El Dorado Musical Theatre’s Aladdin will be giving out their autographs.
35. Life on the Radio
Witness what it’s like to watch a play being produced for live radio when The Foothill Theatre Company presents its unique adaptation of the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Root for George Bailey while watching live-radio sound effects created on stage, Nov. 15–Dec. 30 at the historic Nevada Theatre in Nevada City. (530) 265-8587; foothilltheatre.org
36. Timeless Tragedy
For its season opener, the Sacramento Opera presents Otello, the tragic opera based on William Shakespeare’s tragic play. Conducted by Timm Rolek with music by Giuseppe Verdi, Otello runs Nov. 16–20 at the Sacramento Community Center Theater. (916) 264-5181; sacopera.org
The Sacramento Community Center Theater rents out binoculars for $5 a piece to audience members attending its events. Just be sure to return them after the show.
37. In the Swing of Things
Magic Circle Theatre
‘s Night Club, a musical revue by the theater’s executive producer Robert C. Gerould, showcases hits from the 1930s through the 1970s. It’s a chance to hear music you wouldn’t normally hear, says Magic Circle’s Kris Hunt. Catch the show at Roseville’s Tower Theater Nov. 16–Dec. 22. (916) 782-1777; mcircle.org
38. Good Tidings, Great Joy
For a holiday treat, Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre presents Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings, a new Christmas show with songs meant to put a little heavenly peace into a disorderly world. The show runs Nov. 17–Dec. 31. (916) 985-6361; garbeaus.com
39. A Christmas Medley
Capital Stage
brings back last year’s sell-out holiday hit, Every Christmas Story Ever Told, to its Delta King stage Nov. 24–Dec. 30. The zippy montage showcases the best and worst Christmas lit moments, with guest appearances that include Tiny Tim and the Grinch. (916) 995-5464; deltaking.com/theatre.html
40. A Class in Choreography
Dance Sites
, the annual faculty dance concert of Sacramento State’s Department of Theatre & Dance, takes place Nov. 29–Dec. 9. It’s the only show where the faculty get to choreograph the dances, says Linda Goodrich, department chair. (916) 278-6368; csus.edu/dram
41. Don’t Shoot Your Eye Out
Woodland Opera House Theatre
brings to the stage Ralphie Parker’s storied holiday quest for a Red Ryder BB gun in A Christmas Story. Based on stories by humorist Jean Shepherd, the production runs Nov. 30–Dec. 23. (530) 666-9617; wohtheatre.org
42. Laughing All the Way
Stage Nine Entertainment Store and Theatre
presents Holiday in the Hills, an original musical comedy set loosely in the late 1800s in Folsom. See the show Nov. 30–Dec. 30 at the Folsom theater. (916) 353-1001; stageninefolsom.com
43. The Politics of Religion
Celebration Arts
presents Amen Corner, a story that examines how the quest for power and position stirs up faith and relationships in a small Harlem church. It’s about the politics of church life and things that have been going on in the church for years, says artistic director James Wheatley. Performances take place Nov. 30–Jan. 6. (916) 455-2787; celebrationarts.net
44. Whodunit?
What happens when 10 strangers with dark pasts are invited to a lonely island mansion and death follows them? Find out in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None at Carmichael’s Chautauqua Playhouse Nov. 30–Dec. 16 and Jan. 4–20, 2008. It’s a murder mystery with a classic ‘Ten Little Indians’ story, says Mary MacDonald, playhouse board president. (916) 489-7529; cplayhouse.com
45. Go for Baroque
Sierra College Foundation’s Chamber Music Alive!
program presents a special fifth anniversary Gala Baroque Concert, featuring a performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by leading Northern California musicians. See the show Dec. 2 at Sierra College’s Dietrich Theatre in Rocklin. (916) 789-2920; chambermusicalive.org
46. Go Over the Rainbow
Center Stage Productions
and the city of Rocklin present the family favorite The Wizard of Oz at Rocklin’s Finnish Temperance Hall Dec. 7–16. See Dorothy make new friends and overcome obstacles as she tries to find her way back home. (916) 625-5200; rocklin.ca.gov
47. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Sierra Community Chorus
‘ annual Candlelight Concert takes place Dec. 7–9 at Del Oro High School in Loomis and Dec. 13–16 at Sierra College’s Dietrich Theatre in Rocklin. People always tell us it really gets them into the holiday spirit, says chorus member Anne Sterling. (916) 781-2900; sierrachorus.org
48. Nuts for the Nutcracker
Treat the family to The Sacramento Ballet‘s The Nutcracker, featuring choreography by Ron Cunningham and music by Peter Tchaikovsky performed live by the Sacramento Philharmonic. Matinees and evening shows of the beloved holiday ballet take place Dec. 7–23 at the Sacramento Community Center Theater. (916) 264-5181; sacballet.org
49. Never a Silent Night
The Sacramento Choral Society
performs Peggy MacArthur Home for the Holidays, a production that includes traditional and contemporary holiday songs, candlelight processions and more. What’s become a local holiday tradition takes place Dec. 8 at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. (916) 264-5181; sacramentochoral.com
50. Get a Handel on the Holidays
The renowned American Bach Soloists, an ensemble of early-music vocalists and period-instrument musicians, brings Handel’s Messiah to the Mondavi Center for the seventh straight year. Hear the musical masterpiece Dec. 22. (530) 754-2787; mondaviarts.org
