Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 8, 2015

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTMountain Views-News Saturday, August 8, 2015 10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTMountain Views-News Saturday, August 8, 2015 10 
SEAN’S SHAMELESS 
REVIEWS: 


NEW MUSIC YOU GOTTA HEAR 

FUTUREBIRDS – HIPPO CAMPUS – “SOUTH” – Rising indie“ T W E N T YSE V E N ” pop rockers have released, “South” off their 

– Futurebirds are livingforthcoming second EP with the same title.
dual lives—the life at The Minnesota kids create music for warmer 
home and the life on the road. This is the theme climates with beach-equipped tunes. “South” isbehind “Hotel Parties,” the recently announcedno exception. Arguably their finest song yet intheir LP from Athens, Georgia group. The firsttheir early career, the foursome have constructedsingle “twentyseven” combines the best very besta song that balances the upbeat vibe of summerelements of early My Morning Jacket and Kings ofand the gloominess Autumn sometimes has inLeon. These southern rockers channel The Byrdsstore for us. Moreover, it’s a damn perfect songand others of a bygone era too, but clearly havewith lilting guitars and soothing vocals. Leadenough original artistry to showcase. Futurebirdssinger Jake Luppen turns another gear in hisspecialize in psychedelic alternative country withvocal delivery halfway through the track givingreverb-soaked bass and four-part harmonies.this buoyant jam some dark edge. The new 
The vibes the sextet are throwing out there withEP “South” will be out in October and Hippo“twentyseven” are some of the coolest, most laidCampus has major potential in becoming biggerback ones the summer has had to offer. “Hotel than what they are. 
Parties” is out this September and based on thetheme of the single, something tells me that those inFOALS – “MOUNTAIN AT MY GATES” – 
their late twenties will need to listen to this record. “Mountain At My Gates” is one high-octane 

rock track that desperately needs your attention. 
JR. JR – “GONE” - The artist formerly known Foals are a solid UK rock band that has remained 
as Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr. have dropped the Dale relatively under the radar over the course of three 
Earnhardt part of their name. The rebranded Jr. full-length records. This should all change with 
Jr. emerge with the sprightly covered, “Gone.” their fourth LP, “What Went Down” as the quartet 
Boosting jubilant vocals and soft, but infectious are making their major label debut on Warner 
beats, the duo has found another winner on their Bros UK. “Mountain At My Gates” is the second 
hands. It’s a pleasant track that is both utterly single off the record, but a terrific showcase of 
alluring and easy to digest. Jr. Jr. experiments what this band is all about. With a deep impetus 
with all types of sounds, but never does it seem behind the track, it’s no surprise Foals blows 
unwarranted. Members Joshua Epstein and mainstream rock acts out of the water. This is a 
Daniel Zott will be releasing their third album bold, daring, and full of vigor rock jam that begs 
together on September 25th via Warner Bros. the question, why isn’t Foals headlining stadiums? 
Records. The self-titled record marks the first one Well, if they were to ever fully breakthrough, this 
under this new moniker and from the looks of it, would be the time. Look for “What Went Down” 
this record could be the beginning of something coming out at the end of this month. I don’t think 
magically. disappointment will be waiting there with it. 

On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse 
A HIT, A HIT, A PALPABLE HIT! 

By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano 

Well the reviews are 
in both from critics 
and the audience and 
the message is clear 


– Always…Patsy 
Cline is a “palpable 
HIT” to quote 
Mr. Shakespeare! 
Standing at the 
back of the theater 
(standing because 
we had NO seats 
available at any of the 
opening weekend 
performances AND 
because that music 
just makes me want 
to move!) I was 
able to watch the 
audience watch the 
show. Heads were 
bopping, shoulders 
were swaying, and 
gales of laughter 
went through the 
audience. I could 
even hear people 
singing along with 
their favorites. 
The show is selling 
so well that we’ve 
already added 
matinees on 
Saturday, August 29; 
Saturday, September 
5; and, Sunday, 
September 13 all at 


2:30. If you think a 
show may be sold-
out it is still worth 
calling Mary Baville 
in our box office and getting on the waiting list for the show you want – we sometimes get cancellations 
and Mary will call you and let you know. Remember we give 20% discounts for groups of 10 or more 
who purchase their tickets ahead of their attendance date. Please call Mary at 626.355.4318 to arrange 
your purchase. 
Last week I wrote about Nikki D’Amico who is playing Louise and the challenge she had building a 

performance that is so audience-interactive when there was no audience – well, this actress is a pro 

(she’s done countless Broadway tours) and once she was in front of the opening weekend audiences 

she flirted and charmed her way into their hearts. And Cori Cable Kidder, our Patsy Cline, is wowing 

audiences with her remarkable talents – I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing her sing these classic 

songs. Special mention to A. Jeffrey Schoenberg who has done an incredible job on the costumes – 

the arc of Patsy’s career is reflected in the clothes she wears and they are just beautiful. Her look is 

completed by the extraordinary wigs that have been created for Patsy by Krys Ferhervari.

Steven Stanley of Stage Scene LA says: “You’d be ‘Crazy’ to miss this one. Easily one of the best 

Playhouse productions ever.” And Ron Irwin of LA Examiner says: “OMG. What a truly beautiful 

show it is. This is a show you will treasure in your memory for a long time.” 

This is such a thrill. Successes like this don’t come along very often. I met so many people last 
weekend who had never been to our theater before and promised me they would be back – to see 
Patsy again with friends and family but also to see another show. I’ve written about how much I’m 
learning about producing theater – well with this one I’m getting a crash course in how to manage a 
hit. This is a lesson I’m really enjoying learning. 

Please come and see Always…Patsy Cline you’ll be so glad you did. 

. . . 

But the work goes on, Monday night we begin rehearsals for Deathtrap which is scheduled to open 

October 2. I’ve assembled a great cast who are all committed to making this thriller one that will scare 

the daylights out of you! It will be so much fun to get back into rehearsal. I’ll let you know how it’s 

going. 


Jeff’s Book Picks By Jeff Brown 


to life, showing us whatNapoleon: A Life 

was lost in the storm and 
The definitive biography of

by Andrew Roberts 

what remains to be saved. 
the great soldier-statesman 
by the New York Times

A New History of Life: The

Radical New Discoveries bestselling author of The

about the Origins andStorm of War—winner of 

Evolution of Life on the Los Angeles Times Book

Earth by Peter Ward Prize for Biography and the

Charles Darwin’s theories, 
Napoleon Austerlitz, 
Grand Prix of the Fondation 

first published more than 
Borodino, Waterloo: his 

150 years ago, still set 
battles are among the greatest

the paradigm of how we 
in history, but Napoleon

understand the evolution of 
Bonaparte was far more than

life-but scientific advances of 
a military genius and astute

recent decades have radicallyleader of men. Like George

altered that understanding.
Washington and his own

In fact the currently acceptedhero Julius Caesar, he was 

history of life on Earth isone of the greatest soldier-

flawed and out of date. Now 
statesmen of all times. 

two pioneering scientists, 
Andrew Roberts’s Napoleon

one already an award-
is the first one-volume 

winning popular author, 
biography to take advantage

deliver an eye-openingof the recent publication 

narrative that synthesizes a

YOUR AD COULD BE HERE!
Call Patricia at 626-818-2698 Today!
of Napoleon’s thirty-threethousand letters, which radically transform ourunderstanding of his character and motivation.
At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker,
decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemiesand his errant wife Josephine. Like Churchill, heunderstood the strategic importance of tellinghis own story, and his memoirs, dictated fromexile on St. Helena, became the single bestsellingbook of the nineteenth century.An award-
winning historian, Roberts traveled to fifty-threeof Napoleon’s sixty battle sites, discovered crucialnew documents in archives, and even made the 
long trip by boat to St. Helena. He is as acute inhis understanding of politics as he is of militaryhistory. Here at last is a biography worthy of 
its subject: magisterial, insightful, beautifullywritten, by one of our foremost historians. 

Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, 
and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum 

Nines Lives is a multivoiced biography of adazzling, surreal, and imperiled city, told throughthe lives of nine unforgettable characters andbracketed by two epic storms: Hurricane Betsy,
which transformed New Orleans in the 1960s, 
and Hurricane Katrina, which nearly destroyedit. Dan Baum brings this kaleidoscopic portrait 

generation’s worth of insightsfrom new research.Writing with zest, humor, andclarity, Ward and Kirschvink show that many ofour long-held beliefs about the history of life arewrong. Three central themes emerge from thenarrative. First, the development of life was nota stately, gradual process: Catastrophe, argueWard and Kirschvink, shaped life’s history morethan all other forces combined-from notorious 
events like the sudden extinction of dinosaurs to 
recently discovered ones like “Snowball Earth”
and the “Great Oxygenation Event.” One startlingpossibility: that life arrived on Earth from Mars.
Second, life consists of carbon, but three other 
molecules have determined how it evolved: oxygen,
carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide are carbon’ssilent partners. Third, ever since Darwin we havethought of evolution in terms of species. Yet it is theevolution of ecosystems-from deep-ocean vents torainforests-that has formed the living world as weknow it.Drawing on their years of experience inpaleontology, biology, chemistry, and astrobiology,
Ward and Kirschvink tell a story of life on Earththat is at once too fabulous to imagine and toofamiliar to dismiss. And in a provocative coda,
they assemble discoveries from the latest cutting-
edge research to imagine how the history of lifemight unfold deep into the future.