I well recall being harshly corrected by my eighth grade history teacher when I responded to his question with what he insisted was an incorrect answer. What, he had asked, was the cause of the Civil War?  Slavery, I answered.  With a mix of extreme frustration and downright anger, he pounded his fist on his […]

The Sacramento Philharmonic is back!  And that will be a very good thing for lovers of symphonic music in and around Sacramento if the orchestra’s Resurrection Concert is any indication of the quality of the performances the musicians will provide their patrons. The concert late last month opened with an air of celebration as Congresswoman […]

When did the United States begin the war on drugs?  If you think it was during the Reagan administration, you’d be in agreement with most Americans, but you’d be wrong.  The war on drugs, as documented by Johann Hari in “Chasing the Scream: the First and Last Days of the War on Drugs” (Bloomsbury Publishing, […]

“Big River,” the musical version of Mark Twain’s tale of Huck Finn, was revived at the Music Circus (in the Wells Fargo Pavilion theater-in-the-round) last week for the first time since 1994.  The production, directed by Michael Heitzman (first time with the company), featured fine performances and was a significant overall upgrade in quality and […]