Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, November 19, 2016

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 19, 2016 

On the Marquee: 

Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown


Take Heart, My Child: A Mother’s Dream 
by Ainsley Earhardt (Author), Kathryn 
Cristaldi (Author), Jaime Kim (Illustrator) 

In the tradition of Emily Winfield Martin’s 
The Wonderful Things You Will Be and 
Nancy Tillman’s On The Night You Were 
Born, Ainsley’s lyrical lullaby inspires 
children to follow their dreams and passions.
This debut picture book shares precious life 
lessons parents can pass onto their children 
so that they can follow their hearts, dreams, 
and passions.Take Heart, My Child is a 
lyrical lullaby, and Ainsley shares her own 
hopes and dreams, and lets her child know 
that whatever challenges life brings, “Take 
heart, my child, I will—or, my love will—always be there 
for you.” It’s a universal message, one that all readers will 
relate to.In the “Story Behind the Story,” Ainsley talks about 
growing up and how her father would write messages to her 
and her siblings each morning, leaving notes at the breakfast 
table, so that his children would know they 
were loved, empowered, protected, and 
cherished. 

The Wonderful Things You Will Be by 
Emily Winfield Martin A New York 
Times bestseller that celebrates the dreams, 
acceptance, and love that parents have for 
their children . . . now and forever!From 
brave and bold to creative and clever, 
Emily Winfield Martin’s rhythmic rhyme 
expresses all the loving things that parents 
think of when they look at their children. 
With beautiful, and sometimes humorous, 
illustrations, and a clever gatefold with kids 
in costumes, this is a book grown-ups will love reading over 
and over to kids—both young and old. A great gift for any 
occasion, but a special stand-out for baby showers, birthdays, 
and graduation. The Wonderful Things You Will Be has a 
loving and truthful message that will endure for lifetimes.


THIS ‘N THAT

By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano

 These essays come around quickly each week. 
I’m so grateful to Susan Henderson, Mountain 
Views News Publisher for allowing me this space 
each week. She has been such a loyal supporter of 
the work we are trying to do at the Playhouse. I’m 
especially grateful to her since I am her “problem 
child” and always deliver my piece at the last 
minute!

* * *

 We got more wonderful news this week … 
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 
which was our summer musical was nominated 
for six! BroadwayWorld Awards: Best Musical, 
Best Director of a Musical – Robert Marra, Best 
Musical Director – Joe Lawrence, Best Supporting 
Actor – Stanton Kane Morales (who played Barfee), 
and two Best Supporting Actresses – Cristina 
Gerla (who played Olive) and Gina D’Acciaro 
(who played Rona). I’m still perplexed why this 
wonderful show didn’t sell very well. I do hope 
that all of you reading this are now wishing that 
you had – and that you won’t let another show 
pass you by.

 Speaking of which, we open A Little House 
Christmas tonight. A really sweet, simple show 
about the pleasures of family and friends and the 
true spirit of the holidays. I hope you will make 
plans to see it. It runs until December 23.

* * *

 We finished casting Bee-luther hatchee on 
Monday. I can’t wait to start rehearsals on 
November 28. We have a dynamite cast, a 
terrific director, and wonderful designers for this 
provocative and thrilling show. Diane Siegel has 
outdone herself with her outreach plans for this 
one. We’ve applied for a couple grants to support 
the Outreach on this show. Here’s keeping our 
fingers crossed that we’ll get them. I’ve mentioned 
this before, but I’ll be in this one. I haven’t been on 
stage at the Playhouse since I was in God’s Man in 
Texas. I can’t wait.

* * *

 Our free reading series – “Off the Page” is 
back on Monday, November 21 at 7pm with The 
Immigrant Mark Harelik’s play about his Russian 
grandfather’s arrival in Texas in the early part of 
the last century. It is a joyful and beautiful and 
very funny play about coming to America and 
becoming an American. This is one I think would 
play really well for our audiences and I am very 
eager to hear it. Christopher Cappiello (Sidney in 
Deathtrap) is directing.

* * *

 We are now reaching out to our supporters and 
donors to make commitments of support for the 
next year. You each should be receiving your 
solicitation letters soon and when you do, I hope 
you will consider making a generous gift to SMP. 
I’ve spoken of some of our dreams and plans, to 
make them a reality we will need the help of our 
friends, old and new, in our Marquee Giving Circle. 
Please help us keep SMP as a vital and treasured 
part of this community. And, I hope to see you 
at our Groucho Gala on Sunday, December 4! All 
proceeds go to the Playhouse – Frank Ferrante is 
donating his performance to us – and your tickets 
are tax-deductible after the first $30– it’s going to 
be a fantastic evening. See our website for more 
information.

 

 As always we do it for you – our SMP family. Your 
support and loyalty mean so much to us. For tickets 
please call Mary in the box office at 626.355.4318. 
Hope to see you soon!

All Things By Jeff Brown

CLEAN ENERGY

Virtually every clean energy record in the world has been 
broken in the past year. The most investment in clean 
energy ($329billion in 2015), the most new renewable 
capacity (a third more than in 2014), the cheapest ever solar 
power (in Chile, where it’s half the cost of coal), the longest 
a country has been run entirely on renewable electricity - 
113 days over this summer in Costa Rica.If Texas were a 
country, it would be the world’s sixth largest generator of 
wind power, right behind Spain. That’s partly because of 
reliable winds, but also because the state built a gigantic 
transmission system to carry energy from its desolate 
northwest to the metropolises of the south and east. The 
power lines were agreed in 2007, costing nearly $7 billion 
dollars, and their construction means there are three 
primary grids in the US: the Eastern Interconnection, the 
Western Interconnection and the Texas. Spurred on by 
federal wind subsidies, private companies have proliferated 
across the lone star state, such that on a windy winter’s 
day, more than 40% of its electricity comes from turbines.
Nobody likes coal any more. Once the driving force of 
the industrial revolution and the purpose of whole coal-
mining communities from the Appalachians to Wales, the 
Saarland to South Australia, it is now the obvious enemy: 
dirty, replaceable and lacking obvious defenders. Countries 
like the UK and Holland have announced plans to shut 
their coal fleets early, and in May this year the UK was 
powered without recourse to coal for the first time since 
the its first steam-driven power station opened in 1882. 
In the US, too, regulations are pushing the coal industry 
towards extinction: 94 coal-fired plants closed in 2015 
and another 41 are due to have closed by the end of this 
year, together equivalent to all the coal plants in Kentucky 
and Colorado. Only three are scheduled to open by 2021.
At the Paris climate talks, Presidents Obama, Modi and 
Hollande, together with Bill Gates, announced that 20 
countries would be doubling their budgets for research 
into clean energy over the five years to 2020. Including 
the world’s five most populous countries - China, India, 
the US, Indonesia and Brazil - the Mission Innovation 
cohort in June declared that this would make more than 
$30 billion available for research into the new technologies 
that will make an energy transition possible.Around a 
fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions come from road 
vehicles and the most feasible solution is to replace them 
with electric vehicles (powered by a clean energy source). 
But if you buy an electric car, where do you charge it?To 
make the switch to a transport infrastructure built for 
electric cars, Russia last year made it mandatory for every 
petrol station to include an electric charging port, and the 
EU has announced plans to make it mandatory for every 
new house to include one. The Obama administration has 
investing $4.5billion to create a coast-to-coast network 
to reduce ‘range anxiety’ and encourage consumers to go 
electric.Hope this continues with Pres. Trump!

FREE EVENT: THE IMMIGRANT AT SIERRA MADRE 
PLAYHOUSE ON NOVEMBER 21


SEAN’S SHAMELESS REVIEWS: 

For the tenth entry in its Off The Page series of monthly 
staged readings, Sierra Madre Playhouse will present 
The Immigrant.

 Rural Central Texas, 1909. A young Russian-Jewish 
immigrant, newly arrived in America through the port 
of Galveston, pulls his banana cart into the hamlet of 
Hamilton. Fleeing the vicious pogroms of his homeland, 
he has sought refuge in the land of the free. Able to 
speak only Yiddish, alone in the midst of a staunchly 
Christian community, he begs for shelter. Over the 
next 30 years, he makes a home and raises a family in 
this tiny town. THE IMMIGRANT is the story of a 
young Russian-Jewish couple and the local couple that 
take them in, as religion meets religion, culture meets 
culture, fear meets fear, and love meets love. This is the 
true story of Haskell Harelik, “the Immigrant.”

 Written by Mark Harelik, the show debuted in 
Denver in 2002. It was based on his novel. His other 
plays include The Legacy and Hank Williams: Lost 
Highway. He is also an actor.

 Christopher Cappiello directs the cast of the Sierra 
Madre Playhouse staged reading. He previously 
appeared on the Sierra Madre Playhouse stage in its 
production of Deathtrap.

 Debra J. Harner and Sierra Madre Playhouse Artistic 
Director Christian Lebano curate the Off The Page 
series.

 Monday, November 21, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

 Admission to The Immigrant is free. Donations are 
accepted. Reservations are not required.

 Website: www.sierramadreplayhouse.org . Phone: 
(626) 355-4318.

 Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 W. Sierra 
Madre, Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024. This is just east 
of Pasadena. There is ample free parking behind the 
theatre.

By Sean Kayden

FIELD TRIP CASTS DARK SPELL 

ON DEBUT LP

Artist: Field Trip

Album: Horro Vacui

Label: Self-Released

Release Date: November 
11th, 2016

Review By: Sean Kayden

The term “horror vacui” means “a fear or dislike 
of leaving empty spaces, especially in an artistic 
composition.” This is the appropriate title of the debut 
record from Field Trip, the medium-fi, ethereal psych-
pop NY based group. Field Trip evolved in 2014 when 
vocalist/percussionist Noah Champ moved from LA 
to New York. This strongly assembled composition of 
seven tracks is one big euphoric dream. The record is 
filled with indiscernible vocals, space-age vibes, fuzzy 
psychedelic pop sounds, and an innate existential 
characteristic. Champ (singer/drums), Nico Geyer 
(guitar), Phillip Braun (synth), Jason Park (guitar), and 
Will Sacks (bass) round up the group and while these 
guys are only in their 20s, their music, disposition, and 
skillful artistry go well beyond their youthful years. 
The friendship and common desires fuel the music of 
Field Trip and it’s translated into such a beautiful thing. 
I often found myself deep in thought exploring the 
depths of Horror Vacui, a sentiment rarely discovered 
in pop music these days. 

Purely instrumental and considerably haunting, 
opening track “Horror I” is a celestial dreamscape 
that opens up the cavernous record. It’s a captivating 
tune with wall-to-wall melodies and futuristic echoes. 
While nothing is being vocally delivered (other than 
a brief newscast toward the end), the song speaks 
volumes in vaster complexities than ever perceivable. 
The more straightforward follow-up track, “4 CA” 
has an alternative rock sharpness to it with nebulous 
vocals. It carries the listener through this ponderous 
journey of the idea that what you’re seeking is seeking 
you. The fully encompassed sound weaves through 
different musical terrains excelling each time. Field 
Trip’s resonance is incomparable as these young 
musicians perform with such expertise and originality. 

“Never” had been circulating for well over a year, 
but it’s been altered here and it’s better than ever. It’s 
a breathtaking exploration that combines powerful 
and thought-provoking lyrics with a melancholy 
ambiance. It shakes you up beyond wildest imagination 
with sincerity unmatched and profundities seldom 
discovered in youthful psychedelic pop. Unlike the 
opener, companion piece track “Horror II” does include 
vocals. Sometimes incoherently delivered, “Horror II” 
explores more of an ominous soundscape. It’s dark 
undertones and weariness throughout the course of 
its five and a half minute running time is definitely 
intriguing giving the listener something to ruminate 
about during its duration. A sense of gloom and doom 
surround the penultimate track, but the harrowing and 
formidable exertion is still intensely enjoyable to listen 
to and fully take in.

“Still,” the final track is the complete opposite of 
the abovementioned tune. This more conventional 
endeavor is ambiguous distortion pop, with beachy 
harmonies and irresistible lo-fi sensibilities. “Still” has 
this profound tendency to capture a feeling over the 
listener that is unforgettable. It conjures this idea of 
driving along an oceanfront-adjacent highway, where 
no one is in sight and you’re trying to collect your 
thoughts. As with most of Field Trip’s songs, there is a 
dreamlike sensation to it, a wistful song about memories 
and being caught up within those memories, for better 
or worse. Horror Vacui is sensational beyond measure, 

LAUGHTER 
the 
ONLY 
skill 
required ! 
JUNE CHANDLER’SFREEYour first LAUGH is ‘on the house’!
MONDAY or TUESDAY nights 
at Casa del Rey in Sierra MadreCall (626) 355-4572 to reserve
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com