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Arts & Life

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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 1958 comedy, “Auntie Mame,” starring Rosalind Russell, screens at the Soper Reese Theatre on Tuesday, April 23, at 1 and 6 p.m.

Entry to the film is by donation.

In this hilarious comedy Rosalind Russell recreates her standout stage role as the flamboyant, devil-may-care diva who strives to release her young nephew from the stuffy confines of an aristocratic upbringing. Campy, colorful, fabulously funny and nominated for six Oscars.

The movie is sponsored by Kathy Jansen. Not rated. Run time is 2 hours and 23 minutes.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com.
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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The next performance in the monthly Coffee House Concert Series will feature a Bay Area folk star with a unique and exciting style of singing and playing.

Elaine Ryan will perform on Saturday, April 13, at 7 p.m. at the Fore Family Winery tasting room in downtown Kelseyville.

Ryan, who is referred to as a “nomadic troubadour,” has played in many locales, including Vancouver, Montreal, Maui and San Francisco.

She has won several awards for her original music. In addition to her own music, Ryan performs cover songs from musicians such as Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Adele and others.

Also performing will be Lake County's favorite troubadour, Jim Williams, and his partner, Mississippi Stephen Holland.

Admission is $15. Wine and refreshments will be available. Tickets can be purchased online at www.uuclc.org, at Watershed Books in Lakeport, at the Fore Family Tasting Room and at the door if not sold out.

Seating is limited and guests are advised to buy tickets in advance and arrive early.

The concert is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Community of Lake County.

For more information, call 707-812-2788.
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.


Perhaps you've seen miniature portraits enclosed in lockets.

Well, here's a little portrait enclosed in the pages of a chapbook by Pennsylvania poet Paul Martin called “Mourning Dove,” from The Comstock Review Press.

Here, the subject is not frozen in its pose, but alive, up in the morning, coughing, beginning to move around.

Turning Over

In zero cold the engine's slow
to turn over, coughing
awake like my father sitting on the edge
of the bed staring at the blue linoleum floor,
coughing again, lifting his heavy body
into another day on the railroad section gang,
the icy wind through Lehigh Gap blasting
down on him as he raises the sledge hammer
and strains against the crowbar.
But now he's drinking coffee,
looking toward the dark window,
thinking of what?
Maybe watching Friday Night Fights
or ordering tomato seeds,
maybe the ghostly face in the window
staring back at him.


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 ©2018 by Paul Martin, "Turning Over," from Mourning Dove, (The Comstock Review, 2018). Poem reprinted by permission of Paul Martin and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2019 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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Artists work on installment options at Rabbit Hill in Middletown, Calif. Photo courtesy of the Middletown Art Center.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – This Sunday, April 14, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Middletown Art Center, Restore project participants will be working on “Vertical Pathways,” a collaborative art piece for Rabbit Hill.

Led by sculptor Emily Sheibal, the class involves woodworking and additive sculpting in concrete.

Adults of all ages and children age 11 up are encouraged to join in this unique opportunity to collaboratively create and engage with the natural environment.

It is not necessary to attend every session or have previous art making experience. The cost is $5 per session. Sign up at www.middletownartcenter.org/restore. Pre-registration is required as space is limited.

“Vertical Pathways has been an amazing opportunity for an amateur artist like me to work alongside and learn from professional artists,” said Restore participant Jakki Macfadyen. “Working on this project has helped me to find my own voice while working alongside others, towards the goal of restoring Rabbit Hill, a community treasure.”

“I have been able to return to my creative artistic self through this project,” said Mary Daly. “The instructors and other participants have been really supportive!”

Vertical Pathways is comprised of "totem pole" like sculptures. Participants are invited to select a fallen tree to carve and add form and shape to.

The “poles” will be installed in an undulating serpentine fashion to create a rhythmic visual pathway on the hillside.

The “pathway” will provide a sense of protection and visual contrast and harmony, while honoring remaining trees and offering additional habitat for birds and pollinators.

Visit www.middletownartcenter.org/restore to learn more about the project and see the kind of sculptural works we have been inspired by.

The MAC is working with the Lake County Land Trust to help revitalize public interest and appreciation of Rabbit Hill with this new art trail.

The collaborative vision for the piece was inspired by both the totem like quality of remaining burned trees on the hillside and by stories told about the flutes that the former Rabbit Hill owners, “Huck” and “Skee” Hamann taught neighborhood children to make and play.
Community members interested in joining the project by helping with landscaping or installation can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call MAC at 707-809-8118.

Restore classes in sculpture, mixed media, printmaking, or creative writing will be offered most weekends through May 2019 from 1 to 5 p.m.

Upcoming classes include writers’ workshop with Clive Matson on April 21, another Vertical Pathways session on April 28 and a printmaking class in early May. For more information and additional scheduling visit www.middletownartcenter.org/restore.

The Restore project was made possible with support from the California Arts Council, a state agency, with additional support from the Lake County Land Trust and other local organizations, businesses, and individuals. Visit www.ca.arts.gov to learn more about the California Arts Council’s work in communities and schools throughout California. Learn more about the Lake County Land Trust at www.lakecountylandtrust.org.

Be a part of the growing arts and cultural scene in South Lake County by becoming a MAC member, by participating in Restore classes, or by attending one of the many events or classes at MAC.

The MAC Gallery currently features “Living Color” a vibrant exhibit open to the public Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Visit www.middletownartcenter.org or “Like” Middletown Art Center on Facebook to stay up-to-date.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Congressman John Garamendi (D-Davis, Fairfield, Yuba City) is inviting local high school students to participate in his annual Congressional High School Art Competition.

Every participant will have their work honored at a ceremony in Davis on May 7, and the winning pieces will be displayed at the U.S. Capitol for one year.

The winning artists can also attend a ceremony recognizing their work in Washington, DC.

“I’m excited to host this wonderful event again in our district. The quality of the submissions we receive never ceases to amaze me. I’m always incredibly proud of the amazing talent that high school students throughout my district put on display,” Garamendi said.

Students have until April 26 at 5 p.m. PDT to submit their artwork.

The guidelines and submission process can be viewed at https://garamendi.house.gov/services/art-competition.

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DUMBO (Rated PG)

The story of a young elephant facing ridicule and ostracism because of his oversized ears originated in a 1930’s book that Walt Disney purchased the rights to create the successful, well-received 1941 animation film “Dumbo.”

With director Tim Burton’s cinematic vision, “Dumbo” the live-action film follows the premise of the original book and animated version but veers off in tangents, allowing the filmmaker to take artistic license with the source material.

Admittedly, Burton, steeped in the fantasy genre, is known for his dark, eccentric and gothic style (think “Beetlejuice” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”), which would cause anyone to wonder how he would approach one of the iconic characters of the Disney canon.

Mostly for better, the director comes up with a decent family film in which he has muted his unconventional and often disturbing tendencies to instead touch our hearts with the sadness of little Dumbo’s unfortunately odd condition.

The struggling Medici Brothers Circus consists of an itinerant band of misfits, grifters and wild animals setting up camp in cities across America in the era following the end of World War I, when a traveling circus would draw crowds.

The ringmaster and owner of the circus, Max Medici (Danny DeVito), shifty and delightfully seedy in appearance, is the perfect embodiment of the scheming con artist seeking to take advantage of everyone in his path.

Returning from the war having lost one arm is former circus star and horse rider Holt Farrier (Colin Ferrell), whose two young children, Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins), have been with the circus while their father was serving his country.

The only circus job now available to the recently widowed Holt, unable to do his roping tricks on horseback, is taking care of the elephant Jumbo soon expected to give birth.

Jumbo’s delivery turns out to be the freakish Dumbo, whose appearance is such a disappointment to Max that he sells the mother to raise money to keep the circus afloat.

Milly and Joe, appalled at the mistreatment of the pachyderms by some of the animal trainers, take special care of Dumbo and soon discover that by flapping his big ears he is able to take flight.

Learning of this miracle, Max turns the baby elephant into the star attraction under the big top. News of Dumbo’s incredible feat draws the attention of entrepreneur V.A. Vandervere (Michael Keaton), who offers a contract to Max Medici.

The opportunistic Vandervere wants to cash in on the Dumbo craze by making him the star of his New York amusement utopia, Dreamland, by pairing him with stunning trapeze artist Colette (Eva Green).

The amusement park mogul has no feelings for Dumbo other than to exploit him for profit. That Vandervere operates with unsavory motives is quickly noticed by Milly and Joe, who seek to reunite Dumbo with his mother.

The bond between Holt’s children and Dumbo is what drives the story to a satisfying emotional conclusion after all the heartache and sadness is dissipated in the usual Disney fashion.

Tim Burton’s whimsical touch mitigates his darker impulses such that “Dumbo” results in family-friendly entertainment. The production design is so good that adults should marvel at the quality.



‘THE FIX’ ON ABC NETWORK

How deep is the public appetite to revisit the trial of the last century when former football star turned actor O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the brutal double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and friend Ron Goldman?

The answer to that question may come from ABC’s new series “The Fix,” a legal drama produced by Marcia Clark, former lead prosecutor in the Los Angeles trial of Simpson that seemed like a slum dunk until it wasn’t.

With eerie parallels to the real-life drama that happened more than two decades ago, “The Fix” now offers redemption for Los Angeles district attorney Maya Travis (Robin Tunney) who suffered devastating defeat when prosecuting an A-list actor for double murder.

That Marcia Clark may view “The Fix” as an opportunity to heal old wounds came into play during the winter press tour when she observed that star power brought into the courtroom “does skew the way the jury views the evidence.”

Clark’s alter-ego Maya Travis, once her career was derailed, left for a quieter life on a Washington state ranch, but eight years later returns when the same celebrity comes under suspicion for another murder.

Adding to the racial component of the real-life trial, the celebrity suspect is African-American movie star Sevvy Johnson (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), now under suspicion for the death of his young white girlfriend.

Subplots abound as Maya tries to repair hard feelings left behind at the District Attorney’s office. Jealousy comes into play when another prosecutor, a woman of color, feels slighted for giving up the lead role in the Johnson case to Maya.

In a nice turn, Johnson’s attorney Ezra Wolf (Scott Cohen) is sleazy (owing to gambling losses).

There’s a lot happening in “The Fix” but is it really enough to merit anyone’s ongoing attention?

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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