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Members of the July 2018 production of “As You Like It” in Lakeport, Calif. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – While go-go boots and tie-dye may not be the first things that come to mind when you picture a Shakespearean production, this year's Shakespeare at the Lake performance may change your perspective forever.

“As You Like It” will be set in the late 1960s, which director John Tomlinson says “actually gives the story more of a purpose. We are discovering more about the characters and the plot through this theme.”

The city folk in the play will be clothed in “Mad Men Mod,” as costumer Sarah Dutra puts it. Think big collars and velour. The country folk will don tie-dye, flowing skirts, and plenty of leather fringe.

If these descriptions made you think of items hidden in the deep recesses of your closet, we could sure use your help!

If you have any vintage ‘60s clothing or accessories that you are willing to loan or donate for the Shakespeare at the Lake production, please contact Laura Barnes at 707-533-3406.

Items may be delivered to Dusty D Workwear, 190 S. Main Street, Lakeport, on Sunday, July 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Free performances of Shakespeare at the Lake will be presented by Mendocino College and the Lake County Theatre Co. on July 28 and 29 in Library Park, Lakeport. The play starts at 6:30 p.m. on both dates.

Local food and beverages will be available for sale to benefit scholarships for theater students.

This summer’s groovy twist on a classic Shakespearean comedy is presented in cooperation with the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College and the City of Lakeport.

Laura Barnes is the producer of “As You Like It.”
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A hummingbird by Anna Sabalone.


UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is presenting monthly art classes with wine, co-hosted with artist Anna Sabalone.

This month's wine and art session with Sabalone is scheduled for Sunday, July 15, and will feature a hummingbird and flower painted in watercolors. The session time is 1:30 to 4 p.m.

The class fee of $40 covers all of the provided art supplies needed along with step-by-step guidance and a glass of Lake County wine. Reservations are required for each month's class as participation is limited to 12 people.

Sabalone was born and raised in Lake County. She has been involved in the Lake County Arts Council since her teen years.

She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Leeds, England for her undergraduate degree in English, history and anthropology. She earned her teaching credential and Masters of Education from UC Santa Barbara and has been teaching art, English, history and academic decathlon at Upper Lake High School since 2008.

For class schedule, reservations and additional information, contact Susan Feiler at 707-293-8752.

Lake County Wine Studio is both a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artist's shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake. It’s open Thursday through Monday, 1 to 7 p.m., and Friday from 1 to 8 p.m.

For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030.
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Lisa Kaplan’s Integration in process. Courtesy photo.


MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center will launch its new project “Restore” on Saturday, July 14, with “Drawing and Sculpting from Life” from 1 to 5 p.m.

The class will provide facilitated studio time with artist Lisa Kaplan and include materials and supplies for sculpting the human figure in clay from a live model.

Adults of all ages and young people age 12 and up of all levels of experience from practicing artists to newbies are welcome to draw or sculpt during the session.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own drawing and painting materials, clay tools, and easels if preferred.

Clay, materials for armatures, charcoal and newsprint will be available. The cost is $10. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

“Working while observing the figure is a fascinating process. Our anatomy is complex, beautiful, miraculous and sculptural. And, we are all basically supported by the same internal structures. When you surrender to a journey of discovery, you can let go of expectations that your work will be a perfect representation of the figure, and enjoy giving form to what you see. And clay is a great medium for this kind of exploration as it is so malleable and easy to rework,” said artist Lisa Kaplan, who is facilitating this session.

“We’ll open with quick poses that increase in duration during the first half, take a break and then dig into a long pose for the second half. You are welcome to draw or sculpt and can attend just part of the day if you wish. I will be available to support your work in either media. Working from life can be intense, but it is also very rewarding in terms of what we can learn about the human body, and our own as well as others’ humanity,” Kaplan said.

Adults and teens of all abilities and backgrounds are invited to participate in Restore and develop their personal creative and artistic voices while learning to work in a variety of media.

Restore workshops provide opportunities for both personal and collaborative projects and include classes in sculpture, mixed media, creative writing and printmaking. Participants will learn new skills or refine skills in a variety of materials and techniques including clay, woodworking, metalworking, concrete, fiber, assemblage, drypoint and block printing among others.

The project will culminate with the reopening of the EcoArts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park, and a new Rabbit Hill Art Trail. Whether you wish to work on a long-term personal project, or on a team project, Restore provides opportunities to participate in revitalizing outdoor community spaces that were destroyed by the Valley fire.

On Saturday, July 28, also from 1 to 5 p.m., Clive Matson will return to MAC to lead the Writers Workshop. August will feature Extreme Papier Mâché with Christalene Loren and Block Printing with John Jennings. In September, MAC will begin to offer Restore workshops most weekends of the month. Classes include basic materials and are offered at $5 to 10.

Restore, like Resilience, was made possible with support from the California Arts Council, a State agency, and local organizations and contributors. Visit www.ca.arts.gov to learn more about the California Arts Council’s important work in communities and schools throughout California.

The public is also invited to enjoy any of several Resilience project exhibits, each unique, currently on view in multiple locations: in Lakeport at City Hall, in Clearlake at City Hall, at Middletown Art Center (closing July 22) and at the Adventist Hospital Mountain View Café in Clearlake. Find out more about exhibit locations and hours at www.middletownartcenter.org.

MAC’s Nature and Numbers summer camp will be offered July 30 to Aug 3, and is open to children grades first through ninth. Visit the MAC website to learn more about this adventure in the arts paired with math and number sense skills and concepts.

Be a part of the growing arts scene in South Lake County by becoming a MAC member, by participating in Restore, or by coming to any of the many arts and cultural events or classes at MAC. Visit www.middletownartcenter.org or like Middletown Art Center on Facebook to stay up to date with what’s happening at MAC.
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SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO (Rated R)

Key elements of the second chapter to the drug war breaching our southern border are missing in the sequel to 2015’s “Sicario,” most notably with the absence of Emily Blunt’s idealistic FBI assigned to work the dangerous zone of the badlands boundary with Mexico.

Also absent from the crucial position of director is Denis Villeneuve, who plumbed the depths of darkness instead of pure escapism for disturbing realism. “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” no less touches on moral ambiguity in high stakes action for a pulse-pounding crime drama.

Taking over the reins held previously by Villeneuve is Italian director Stefano Sollima, whose body of film and television work is built around the often fine line that exists between cops and criminals. Netflix viewers may have seen his crime drama “Suburra.”

The new “Sicario” does reteam primary characters, Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), the mysterious attorney-turned-assassin, with hard-nosed CIA operative Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), to fight the drug cartels turning the border into an express lane through Texas.

The story opens with Matt operating in the Middle East to capture a terrorist bent on jihad with planned attacks on American soil, which is soon realized with a gruesome, deadly attack on a Kansas City supermarket leading to more fears about the porous southern border.

The drug cartels are no longer just shipping narcotics to the north. They are also engaged in human trafficking, acting as coyotes for not just hopeful immigrants but even Islamic terrorists. The cartels are now classified by the government as terrorists.

To disrupt the all-powerful cartels, largely abetted by the corruption rampant in Mexico, steely-eyed CIA superior Cynthia Foards (Catherine Keener) directs Matt to initiate a risky venture to the south to foment violent clashes between rival drug lords.

Meanwhile, another story emerges with the recruitment of Texas teenager Miguel (Elijah Rodriguez) in the border town of McAllen into smuggling immigrants that soon gets wrapped up in nasty cartel business. An encounter in a parking lot is a tip to a future troubling encounter.
The backstory for Alejandro is that his wife and daughter had been killed by a cartel, and he is more than eager for any revenge against responsible parties, which is one of the reasons he was an assassin in the first “Sicario” film.

Recruited by Matt for a new mission, Alejandro joins the effort to stage daring attacks on associates of cartel leader Carlos Reyes, first an assassination of the cartel’s lawyer and then a kidnapping of a family member.

The plan executes an abduction of Reyes’ teen daughter Isabel (Isabela Moner), who is first seen in a brawl at her school after being insulted with a derogatory slur. This establishes that she’s no pushover who may prove to be a problematic hostage.

The daring ambush on the streets of Mexico City is executed to perfection, leaving behind the unmistakable impression that a rival cartel has started internecine warfare. A wrinkle in the scheme is the aftermath of corrupt police arriving on the scene.

Nevertheless, after being transported to a safe house in Texas, the girl is “rescued” in a phony setup with federal agents taking out imaginary bad guys so that she could be returned to Mexico under the fiction of a rival drug gang having done the kidnapping.

Getting the victim returned to her homeland turns into a bigger headache when the transport is ambushed by violent cartel members and corrupt Mexican federal police. Even worse is that Matt is ordered to end the mission by erasing all evidence of American involvement.

As a result, the resourceful Alejandro and Isabel end up abandoned in the desert, left to fend with numerous dangers alone. They find temporary sanctuary at the home of a deaf farmer with whom Alejandro can relate because he knows sign language.

Having been insubordinate in the past, Matt is undoubtedly conflicted with the moral dilemma of treating an asset like Alejandro, along with the girl, as collateral damage but unfortunately that’s where things are headed.

The resolution to the quandary of conflicted feelings to bring closure to the mission is complicated. The relationship between Matt and Alejandro is tinged with an odd mixture of hubris and vulnerability. Where things will go seems to be an uncharted course.

Benicio Del Toro really shines as the gunman developing a conscience and willing to protect an innocent victim, while Josh Brolin is solid in his character even if it lacks nuance for one facing a moral impasse.

In the final analysis, “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” is a conventional crime thriller, where violence trumps the legal niceties that agents like Matt are only too willing to bend or ignore so that any rules of engagement don’t hinder the explosive action.

The second chapter of “Sicario” ends in a big question mark that is inconclusive as to be somewhat of a letdown as well as signaling yet another installment. Whatever the case, this crime drama still has plenty of thrills for any action junkie.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Boys of Summer continue their “Endless Summer Tour” with a local performance at the Twin Pine Casino & Hotel Event Center on Saturday, July 21.

The performance will take place beginning at 7 p.m. at the casino, 22223 Highway 29.

Tickets are $20, which includes $10 in casino free play. The show is for 21 and over.

Known as “the most authentic-sounding Eagles Band in America,” the Boys of Summer Endless Summer Tour is, indeed, just that. The 30-city – and growing – tour includes headlining performances at large music festivals, family-friendly county fairs, famed wineries, and top live music venues across the country.

The Boys of Summer are James Williamson, drums-vocals; Darrel Monson, guitar/vocals; Dave Williams, guitar/vocals; Chad Quist, guitar/vocals; Chris Turbis, keyboards/saxophones/acoustic guitar/vocals; and Rich Berglund, bass/vocals.

The six hard-working musicians and lifelong friends have for several decades played and channeled some of the greatest music ever created and produced on the West Coast, that of legendary rock group, the Eagles.

With each band member possessing many decades of professional experience, the band plays the true musical heart and soul of the Eagle's music, recreating the sounds, harmonies, and most important, the feel.

The band's continuing popularity can be attributed not only to their spot-on live performances; additionally, to a new generation of younger fans just now discovering what a great group the Eagles are.

For more information about the concert call 707-987-1243 or visit https://www.twinpine.com/.
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown’s monthly summer “Movies in the Park” will host the film “Coco” on Saturday, July 14.

The movie, suitable for the whole family, will be held beginning at dusk in the park in front of the Middletown Senior Center and Library, 21256 Washington St.

The film is are free and open to the public.

Bring blankets and chairs.

The remaining summer movie lineup includes “Peter Rabbit” on Saturday, Aug. 11, and “Breaking Legs” on Saturday, Sept. 8.

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