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LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lake County Symphony Orchestra is returning to live performances after a two-year gap, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022 Mother's Day Pops Concert will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 8, at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

This year’s concert features a “Salute to Broadway.”

Audience members will hear many familiar tunes from hit Broadway shows including “The King and I,” “The Sound of Music” and “Guys and Dolls.”

Additionally, they will be treated to the vocal stylings of local veteran jazz singer, Paula Samonte. The prolific and popular vocalist will be performing three numbers arranged for orchestra by LCSA's conductor, John Parkinson.

Concertmaster Andi Skelton has been hard at work for several months ordering music and preparing music books for a full orchestra.

Due to COVID safety concerns, wind instruments were not included during virtual performances filmed in the Soper Reese Theatre during the last two years.

This resumption of live concerts will kick off with the debut of the newly formed Lake County Community & Youth Orchestra.

Under the baton of director Sue Condit, this open-enrollment musical group is composed of community members — ages from middle-school and up — who are eager to share what they have studied together since mid-February.

Tickets for the concert are $25 for general seating and $30 for premium seating, now available for purchase on the Soper Reese website. There is a $5 discount for LCSA members.

Tickets are also available at the Soper Reese box office the day of the concert. Please arrive 30 minutes prior to the show when buying tickets at the door.

The 11 a.m. dress rehearsal is discounted and makes it more affordable for nearly everyone to attend. It costs nothing for those under age 18 and is just $5 for the older crowd. Because seating for the dress rehearsal may be limited, people are urged to arrive extra early to ensure a seat.

Due to COVID, the Soper Reese is proceeding with caution; proof of vaccination and masks are required, and seating may be limited to 50% depending on the number of cases in Lake County at the time of the concert.

Read the entire COVID policy on the theater’s website for details about exceptions to vaccinations.
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Kwame Dawes. Courtesy photo.

Here in the Midwest, on the cusps of spring, on days when I won­der when win­ter will tru­ly end, I wel­come this deft­ly shaped reminder by David Bak­er of the sea­son that has just passed.

He dra­ma­tizes beau­ti­ful­ly the com­ing of win­ter and the way it takes hold of us. Baker’s title ​“Quick­er” sug­gests move­ment and not sta­sis, some­thing hope­ful, even, in the promise that comes with the chang­ing seasons.

Quicker
By David Baker

the season quicker now
the darkening—

no longer the leaves
fluttering down

but the whole shadowed earth
reaching up, taking hold


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2022 by David Baker, “Quicker” from The Southern Review, 58:1, Winter 2022 Poem reprinted by permission of the author and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2022 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.
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Ben Rosenblum. Photo by Kazuo Goshima.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Ben Rosenblum Trio will be performing at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport on Friday, April 15, at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available through the theater’s website.

Award-winning New York City jazz pianist and accordionist Ben Rosenblum has been described as “mature beyond his years,” (Sea of Tranquility), an “impressive talent” (All About Jazz), who “caresses [the music] with the reverence it merits” (Downbeat Magazine).

Since the release of his debut trio album, “Instead,” Rosenblum has toured extensively with his trio and sextet throughout the United States, including multiple trips to the Northeast, Midwest, South and West Coast, as well as internationally in Canada, Europe and Japan.

He was a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall's Stern-Perelman Auditorium — with Reona Ito's New York Harmonic Band — and has appeared at prestigious venues throughout the world, including at the Appel Room at Lincoln Center, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Ravinia, Himawari-No-Sato Concert Hall in Yokohama, Bird's Eye in Basel and the Library of Congress.

Rosenblum's second trio album in 2018, River City, was called “richly romantic” and “well-realized” by JAZZIZ Magazine, which featured the title track as part of their Best of Fall 2018 CD.

Most recently, Rosenblum released his third album, “Kites and Strings,” which is the first to feature him on both piano and accordion alongside his new sextet, the Nebula Project.

In 2020, the Nebula Project was voted runner-up for Best New Artist in JazzTimes' Readers' Poll.

Rosenblum has been privileged to share the stage with many highly acclaimed jazz musicians, including extensive work with Curtis Lundy, Winard Harper, Deborah Davis and Chris Washburne, as well as appearances with Bobby Watson, Sean Jones, TS Monk, Warren Wolf, Eliot Zigmund and many others.

Rosenblum's musical interests also extend beyond jazz to include work in numerous world music scenes, including musical styles from Brazil, Peru, Croatia, Bulgaria, India, Ireland, Jewish traditions and more.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport.

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Indian Paintbrush and Meadowlark by Meyo Marrufo.


MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Art Center invites the public to attend “Stories Our Ancestors Told Us” on Friday, April 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Zoom.

Tribal storytellers Anthony Steele, Kyle Bill, Corine Pearce and Eric Wilder will share traditional stories from tribal communities of this region from the lake to the sea.

The event is part of Middletown Art Center’s WEAVING — Weaving Baskets, Weaving Bridges project.

“These stories are our oral traditions. They impart the wisdom of our ancestors and are infused with their spirit and our memories of them,” said Rose Steele, cultural educator from Elem. “The stories speak of our core value and responsibility to live in harmony with the land. They teach us how to respect the land, animals, plants, and people of the mountains and water bodies that comprise this region. We invite you to join us and listen with your mind, body, spirit and open heart.”

WEAVING – Weaving Baskets, Weaving Bridges was co-designed by Indigenous cultural educators and MAC staff to provide a forum for sharing the traditions and history that have shaped Lake County and the region. The year-long project features cultural arts workshops and presentations and will culminate in an exhibit of contemporary Indigenous art at the MAC Gallery this July, in tandem with Pomo heritage basket exhibits at Lake County’s three Historical Museums.

Register for Zoom access to this special event at www.middletownartcenter.org/weaving. Pre-registration is required to ensure that the Zoom room can accommodate all virtual attendees. It’s by donation or free. All donations support the project and documentation.

WEAVING is supported in part by an Impact Grant award from the California Arts Council, a state agency. Learn more about the California Arts Council at arts.ca.gov.

To find out more about the WEAVING project and view recordings of past events visit www.middletownartcenter.org/weaving.

Discover what’s happening at MAC and ways to get involved, support, and join the MAC in weaving the arts into the fabric of life in Lake County ​at ​www.middletownartcenter.org.​
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‘THE LOST CITY’ RATED PG-13

That so few comedies make it to theaters anymore allows “The Lost City” to be a welcome relief during an inexplicable drought of good humor and goofy antics mixed in with adventure.

Thematically, this action-adventure comedy teaming Sandra Bullock as a romance novelist and Channing Tatum as the cover model for her books is reminiscent in several ways of 1984’s “Romancing the Stone” with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas in almost similar situations.

One significant difference from the 1984 film is that Douglas’ character was a mercenary rogue and irreverent soldier of fortune who fit the Indiana Jones profile, while Tatum’s role is neither reckless nor particularly adventurous, at least at the outset.

Bullock’s Loretta Sage has lost the spirit that drives her to churn out her popular romance novels after the death of her archaeologist husband, and so she reluctantly agrees to a book tour for her newest release of “The Lost City of D.”

Loretta’s publicist Beth (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) pushes for her appearance at a marketing event with male model Alan (Channing Tatum), looking very much like Fabio with his long-haired wig for a pose as the hero on her book cover.

Disinterested in promoting her latest book, Loretta is even less enthralled with the rather dim Alan and probably for the reason that the audience at the marketing event seems only interested in having Alan remove his shirt as if he were a Chippendale dancer.

Shortly after the promotion, Loretta is abducted by lunatic billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe), who explains his given name is supposedly gender-neutral, on the belief that her novel’s titular city contains clues that would unlock the whereabouts of a legendary treasure.

Of course, the lost city is hidden in the jungle of a remote island in the Atlantic, and Alan takes off in search of the missing Loretta, mistakenly believing that his cover model as the heroic Dash in the novel actually makes him one.

Brad Pitt’s Jack Trainer, an adventurer much like Indiana Jones or Michael Douglas’s soldier of fortune, steps in for the rescue mission. Escaping the grip of Fairfax’s henchmen, Loretta and Alan end up on the run in the jungle.

Meanwhile, Beth is so frantic to find Loretta that her excursion turns into an entire subplot full of pitfalls in foreign lands, eventually hooking up with randy bush pilot Oscar (Oscar Nunez) and his goat to reach the remote tropical island.

While Loretta spends most of the film running around the jungle in a sequined jumpsuit and high heels, Alan is more often partially disrobed and at one point totally naked as Loretta suffers the humorous indignity of removing leeches from his backside.

That freedom from captivity doesn’t last long for the odd couple allows Fairfax more screen time to indulge his wildly psychopathic madness to an extent we may well forget that Daniel Radcliffe was once the titular character of the “Harry Potter” films.

There are plenty of delightfully crowd-pleasing aspects to “The Lost City,” from the chemistry between Bullock and Tatum to the physical comedy such as when Alan runs Loretta through the jungle in a wheelbarrow while she’s strapped to a chair.

Regardless of any minor faults, “The Lost City” is about as good of a screwball comedy as one can get in a modern-day Hollywood that has lost much of its sense of humor whether out of knee jerk obedience to political correctness or an absence of comedic writing talent.

TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL UPDATE

Getting closer to the start of the TCM Classic Film Festival on April 21, additional films along with personal appearances by the stars have been announced.

For the opening night celebration of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” actors Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore will now join director Steven Spielberg. Thomas played Elliott, the young boy who befriends the friendly alien and Barrymore had the role of his sister Gertie.

“A League of Their Own,” the baseball classic, celebrates its 30th anniversary with stars Lori Petty, Anne Ramsay, Ann Cusack, Megan Cavanagh and Jon Lovitz in attendance. The only thing that would make it better would be to have Geena Davis and Tom Hanks joining the group.

Singer-dancer-choreographer Paula Abdul will part of the festivities for the screening of the 70th anniversary of “Singin’ in the Rain.” Abdul’s mentor and friend Gene Kelly inspired her to become a dancer.

“Diner,” which was released 40 years ago and featured many actors seen early in their careers, will now have stars Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Steve Guttenberg and Tim Daly joining the screening.

Writer-director-actor Warren Beatty will be present for the comedy “Heaven Can Wait.” Jane Seymour will celebrate the screening of the romantic fantasy “Somewhere in Time,” and Pam Grier will be on hand for the iconic blaxploitation film “Coffy.”

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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A cluster of finished and in-progress works by Alana Clearlake.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Art Center welcomes the public to its 45th exhibit, opening “Clusters” on Saturday, April 2, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The opening will take place in-person only at MAC and falls around the anniversary of MAC’s initial opening March 28, 2015.

The title “Clusters” originally was chosen in reference to a series of works connected by an inquiry or exploration of form, subject matter or concept, materials or format.

“As artists began submitting work, additional interpretations and perspectives of the word ‘cluster’ emerged, which we encouraged,” explained Lisa Kaplan, director and co-curator at MAC.

“Come to the opening to see what different artists came up with,” said Kaplan with a smile.

Clusters features work by familiar and new local and regional artists including Cobb Mountain artist Alana Clearlake. Her submission for Clusters came from “a little inspiration applied to some leftovers” from paper-on-felt vessels from her previous series The White Album.

She recently became intrigued with eco printing, a form of natural dyeing where the colors from plant material are transferred to fabric and paper.

“Since I had extra vessels that felt unfinished, I tried eco printing on them”, said Clearlake. “All of the pieces have warm coloration, as many of the leaves that provide good print quality print orange or red. Because I enjoy the play of complimentary colors and the vessels have paper incorporated into the wool, I was able to add cool colors using media, such as watercolor and pencil in some of the vessels,” she said.

Selections from a new series of work by French-American artist Anne Ducrot are also on view. "These evening musings appear spontaneously under my brush, “ she explained. “They are an expression of the deep inner-stirrings of my soul. Fresh. Alive. Full of details and magical marks yet sometimes ambiguous, and continuously surprising me with utterly unexpected delight. The multiplicity of readings they evoke is unique to each viewer and fascinating to me — reflecting as much the viewer's inner life as that of the artist.”

Clusters will be on view through June 26, Thursday through Monday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment by calling 707-809-8118.

A virtual tour will be available on MAC’s website by April 8, and a conversation with the artists will take place in hybrid format in May.

Find out more about programs, opportunities, and ways to get involved, support, and celebrate the MAC’s efforts to weave the arts and culture into the fabric of life in Lake County ​at www.​middletownartcenter.org.​


New work By Anne Ducrot.

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