Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 24, 2015

12

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 24, 2015 

On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown

The Eighty-Dollar 
Champion: Snowman, 
The Horse That Inspired a 
Nation by Elizabeth Letts 
Harry de Leyer first saw 
the horse he would name 
Snowman on a truck bound 
for the slaughterhouse. The 
recent Dutch immigrant 
recognized the spark in the 
eye of the beaten-up nag and 
bought him for eighty dollars. 
On Harry’s modest farm on 
Long Island, he ultimately 
taught Snowman how to fly. 
Here is the dramatic and 
inspiring rise to stardom of 
an unlikely duo. One show at 
a time, against extraordinary 
odds and some of the most 
expensive thoroughbreds 
alive, the pair climbed to the 
very top of the sport of show 
jumping. Their story captured 
the heart of Cold War–era America—a story of 
unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the 
chance to have it all. They were the longest of all 
longshots—and their win was the stuff of legend.


: A Novel by Gregory David Roberts 
Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, 
betrayal and redemption are only a few of the 
ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, 
mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the 
name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-
than-life hero. It means “man of God’s peace,” which 
is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they 
do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay 
he escaped from an Australian prison where he had 
begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two 
years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned 
for a string of armed robberies peformed to 
support his heroin addiction, which started when 
his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his 
daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, 
but for Greg Roberts, that’s only the beginning.He 
arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed 
name, false papers, an untellable past, and no plans 
for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker right 
away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He 
takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing 
him to his home village, where 
they end up living for six 
months. When they return to 
Bombay, they take up residence 
in a sprawling illegal slum of 
25,000 people and Linbaba 
becomes the resident “doctor.” 
With a prison knowledge 
of first aid and whatever 
medicines he can cadge from 
doing trades with the local 
Mafia, he sets up a practice 
and is regarded as heaven-sent 
by these poor people who have 
nothing but illness, rat bites, 
dysentery, and anemia. He 
also meets Karla, an enigmatic 
Swiss-American woman, with 
whom he falls in love. Theirs 
is a complicated relationship, 
and Karla’s connections are 
murky from the outset.Roberts 
is not reluctant to wax poetic; 
in fact, some of his prose is 
downright embarrassing. Throughout the novel, 
however, all 944 pages of it, every single sentence 
rings true. He is a tough guy with a tender heart, 
one capable of what is judged criminal behavior, 
but a basically decent, intelligent man who would 
never intentionally hurt anyone, especially anyone 
he knew. He is a magnet for trouble, a soldier of 
fortune, a picaresque hero: the rascal who lives by his 
wits in a corrupt society. His story is irresistible. Stay 
tuned for the prequel and the sequel. --Valerie Ryan 


The Confident Creative: Drawing to Free 
the Hand and Mind by Cat Bennett 
Using simple methods and yogic theory, this unique 
guide focuses on the art of drawing as a way to 
unblock creativity and create artistic confidence. 
Both practicing and beginning artists will learn to 
develop drawing skills, overcome creative blocks, 
and enter the meditative state in order to find 
creative connections and confidence. Featuring 
full-color examples from professional artists, three 
different drawing methods, and exercises tested and 
developed in the author’s own drawing class, this 
is an invaluable tool for artists, writers, musicians, 
and all who wish to access their creative strengths 
and live inspired, authentic lives.Reviews are from 
Amazon.com 


CLOSING…PATSY CLINE

By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano

Always…Patsy Cline has been a tremendous success for the Playhouse by all measures. It has been 
extended three times, playing to over 4,000 people – more people than have ever attended any show 
in our history. Many of those attending were new to the Playhouse coming because they were told 
how good the show was. We have made many new friends because of this production - engaged, 
enthusiastic audiences eager to see the show and happy to be at our theater. I look forward to seeing 
them attend many future shows!

Critically it has been a great success, 
as well, garnering rave reviews from 
most of the critics. It was only the 
third show in our history to get an 
Ovation Recommendation and was 
one of the first two nominations 
we’ve ever had for an Ovation Award 
itself – when Cori Cable Kidder was 
nominated for Best Leading Actress 
in a Musical. The Awards ceremony 
is November 9 at the Ahmanson.

The cast and crew of this show have 
been so delightful to have in residence 
for the last few months – it will be 
hard to say goodbye. Nikki D’Amico 
who has played Louise with such 
verve and joy and infectious comic 
abandon and Cori Cable Kidder 
whose Patsy has been such a joy to 
listen to and whose transformation 
into the tragically-short lived singer 
has been so compelling are two of the 
sweetest gals “this side of heaven.” 
Their spirit and the obvious affection 
they have for one another has made 
spending time with their characters 
so joyous and I assure you that they 
are as nice off the stage as they seem 
on it. The band led by Sean Paxton 
(who did such incredible work with Cori finding the right sound for Patsy) has been foot-stompingly 
good. Sean will be creating the original music for my production of Deathtrap – we latch on to talent 
when we find it! Robert Marra who directed the show brought such artistry and vision to his work 
that I’ve already asked him to come back to direct next summer’s musical. We’ve been so fortunate, 
too, in the crew we’ve had for this show led by Kristin Bolinski, our stage manager. They have all 
worked so hard to keep the show going and have always showed great humor and pride in what they 
have done. 

Our reputation as a theater to watch continues to rise. As I go out to other theaters or introduce 
myself as the Artistic Director of SMP more and more people seem to know about us and what we 
are up to in Sierra Madre. This increased awareness will lead to good things for us both artistically 
and developmentally. I will have an easier time getting the kind of artists I would like to see working 
at the Playhouse and donors and foundations will be likelier to support us because of the quality of 
what we are doing. 

Closing a show is always bittersweet – it means an end to relationships established and nurtured but 
also the prospect of new friends and experiences when the focus shifts to the next show. As I’ve said, 
A Christmas Memory will delight our patrons and take some of the sting out of closing Always…
Patsy Cline.

If you haven’t seen Patsy you have until next Friday, October 30 to do so. We are planning a big party 
for the closing performance and are inviting our audiences to come join us – there will be food and 
drink and lots of music. Tickets for the closing party are $25. Please call Mary at 626.355.4318 to 
arrange your purchase. 


Jeff’s History Corner By Jeff Brown

1. In 1881, Nathaniel Carter purchased 2.32 acres 
of land along Sierra Madre Blvd. The land was to be 
the Sierra Madre Pioneer Cemetery. In 1884, John 
Richardson, a Civil War veteran who had recently 
moved to Sierra Madre became the first person 
interred in the Cemetery. Members of twelve of 
the first seventeen families that lived in Sierra 
Madre when it was founded in 1881, are buried in 
the cemetery. Also buried are veterans of the Civil 
War, both Union and Confederate, the Spanish 
American War, World War One, World War Two, 
the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. There are 
also some soldiers of the British Commonwealth
buried in the Cemetery. Until 1911, the Cemetery 
had no formal caretaking operation in place. 
At that time, The Sierra Madre Cemetery 
Association was established. Funds for the upkeep 
of the Cemetery were generated by the sale of 
gravesites and stock in the Cemetery. It was at
that time that official records were kept for 
the first time. By 1938, most of the plots had 
been sold and the Association had essentially 
become defunct. The plot records were turned 
over to a local mortuary around this time (these 
records have since been returned to the current
association). The cemetery fell into neglect, except 
for the efforts of volunteers, family members of 
those interred, local members of the Veterans 
of Foreign Wars and American Legion, and 
the City of Sierra Madre. A new Sierra Madre 
Cemetery Association was organized in 1961,
which has maintained the cemetery ever since.


2. Southern Calif. is home to thousands of parrots.
The popular theory is that a they came from 
Simpson’s Nursery in east Pasadena on East 
Colorado Blvd . It caught on fire in 1969. (Some 
stories state the name was Simpson’s Gardenland 
and Bird Farm which burnt down in 1959) Either 
the parrots were released to save them from 
the fires or they managed to escape on their 
own . Other stories claim that the parrots have 
migrated up from Mexico but others still state 
they were originally black market birds released by 
smugglers. Although no one seems sure how they 
actually ended up here , at least six and possibly 
as many as thirteen different species have been 
spotted.Also San Francisco has a huge flock of 
Cherry-headed parrots that live and fly around 
Telegraph Hill.


3. The first European to explore the Southern 
California coast was Juan Cabrillo, a Portuguese 
explorer who claimed Catalina Island in 1542 
for the King of Spain. In 1579, Sir Francis Drake 
dropped anchor near San Francisco and claimed 
the territory on behalf of England. Aggressive
colonization by the Spanish ensued throughout 
the 17th and 18th centuries. Russian fur traders 
arrived in 1812 and established Fort Ross just 
north of San Francisco.In an effort to “tame” 
the scores of indigenous people occupying the 
region that Spain planned to colonize, a group 
of Franciscan monks were brought to Calif. in 
1769 for the purpose of establishing a string 
of missions along the coast. The result was 21 
missions(each of them a day’s walk apart),along 
with a number of sub-missions, four presidios, 
and three pueblos, stretching from Mission
San Diego de Alcalá in San Diego to Mission San 
Francisco Solano in Sonoma north along the 650 
mile stretch of a trail called El Camino Real (The 
Royal Road).


4. Millions of years ago, camels roamed the North 
American continent. The camel family evolved 
here and migrated over into Africa and the Middle 
East as they slowly died out on this continent. One 
species of camel even persisted in California until 
only 15 thousand years ago. Today, old fossils and 
bones of these ancient camels are still found; as 
recently as October 2002 down in Long Beach.


Well, us 5 JJ Jukebox-ers are at it again. Another 
exciting 2.5 hours of not knowing what to expect 
from the 1960s-1970s fun rock band that excels in 
the unexpected. New hit songs, new big mistakes, 
old songs, old mistakes. PLUS fantastic food from 
our friends at the Peppertree Grill.

 
The Dinner Concert is Saturday night, 
October 24th from 6:30 - 8:30 (or 9). Please make 
reservations soon by calling (626) 355-8444. 
Please leave your phone number, and how many 
in your party. And please plan on arriving around 
6:00. The earlier the better. 

 (The Peppertree is open Monday through 
Saturday from 4:00 pm on. Sundays they open 
at 10:00 am). The Peppertree Grill is at 322 W. 
Sierra Madre Blvd. In Sierra Madre. (Just east of 
Pasadena and north of the 210 freeway. Click on 
the photo below for a snappy poster promoting 
the event.


5 JJ JUKEBOX-ERS