“The Passion of Joan of Arc” is a classic of the silent film era.  Released in 1928 and directed and written by Carl Theodor Dreyer, the film chronicles the trial in 1431 by the French clerical court (clergymen loyal to England) of the young woman who claimed to hear the voices of saints directed by […]

He takes the stage much as a traditional politician would.  He thanks the crowd, acts surprised at the large turnout, and then, taking some folded paper from his suit pocket, begins his speech.  But once he gets past the preliminaries, any resemblance to a traditional politician stops and any similarity to a traditional stump speech […]

The production is extremely impressive, the talent is undeniably top-notch, and the performances are often breath-taking.  But the message that is contained in the Shen Yun Performing Arts’ concert that was staged on two nights this week at the Sacramento Community Center Theater is not exactly an endorsement of the current Chinese government and its […]

Now that the calendar has turned, it’s time for our picks for the best performances we saw in and around Sacramento in the year just past.  We’ll start with these “honorable mentions”: o Alicia Hunt’s bravura solo performance in George Brant’s “Grounded” at B Street in July and August; o The Sacramento Philharmonic’s performance of […]