Lake County News,California

Arts & Life

: Redwood Empire Fair; Posted On Sunday, 22 July 2018 00:13; 22 July 2018

Hot music for hot August nights planned at this year’s Redwood Empire Fair

UKIAH, Calif. – Four days of live music await visitors to the 2018 Redwood Empire Fair, and this year, be prepared to dance away the evening to some of the region’s most celebrated local talent.

On Thursday, Aug. 2, the Back Porch Project will perform two shows at 6 and 9 p.m.

Featuring a powerhouse of local talent- Rodney Grisanti on mandolin, Sid Bishop on guitar, Steve Hahm, guitar and vocals, vocalist Rosie Wetzel, bass player Jeff Taylor and percussionist Ken Ingels, the group has performed separately in different iterations for years.

Following a backyard jam session, they knew they had something special and since then, the Back Porch Project has been touring the area for about a year.

Their “folkgrass” sound, consisting of blues, country, harmonies and superlative instrumentation are a perfect matchup for the fair’s “Blue Jeans and Country Dreams” theme.

On Friday, Aug. 3, one of the area’s most celebrated bands, II Big, will rock the Willow Tree Stage for two shows at 6 and 9 p.m.

Since 1994, the hard-playing, hard-working band has wowed audiences with their take on house rock, boogie and blues music. Their robust catalog of songs on iTunes is a testament to their professionalism and dedication.

II Big has opened for rock ‘n’ roll giants including Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult, Loverboy, Grand Funk Railroad, Joe Walsh, REO Speedwagon, Ted Nugent, Jeff Healy, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Styx.

The band will be playing old favorites and new songs from their recent CD, “Black Cat Bone.” Join Aubrey Hansen, Ken Ingels, Indiana Slim and Derek Soderquist for an evening of “Brand New Classic Rock!”

Put on your dancing shoes for two Saturday night performances by The Funky Dozen.

The 12 master musicians and vocalists combine classic rock guitar, keys and percussion with a horn section, creating a “dance ‘til you drop” sound with influences spanning 50 years of Motown and Uptown Funk: Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, Aretha Franklin, KC and the Sunshine Band, Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, The Isley Bros, Patty Labelle, Bruno Mars, and Meghan Trainor. The band will perform two sets at 7 and 9 p.m.

Led by Larry Thompson, the Funky Dozen has been performing regionally for about 10 years, with roots that go back to the early 1980’s, when vocalist Eric Peterson and guitarist Thompson played in separate bands on the Mendocino Coast.

Save some energy for the fair’s final musical offering. On Sunday evening, close out your weekend with three exemplary Latino bands

Enjoy Creativos de Tierra Caliente, Grupo La Elegancia and Banda Pacifica, beginning at 5 p.m. on the Willow Tree Stage. All performances are included with your Fair admission ticket.

The fair opens at 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Children under 5 are always admitted free.

For more information, visit the Fair’s Facebook page, the Redwood Empire Fair’s website at http://www.redwoodempirefair.com/august-fair/ or phone 707-462-3884.

: Lake County Rural Arts Initiative; Posted On Saturday, 21 July 2018 02:48; 21 July 2018

Lake County Rural Arts Initiative brings “Children’s Mural Project” to Kelseyville Pear Festival

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Calling all parents: Bring your mini Picasso to the Kelseyville Pear Festival on Saturday, Sept. 29 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to have them be a part of the free collaborative community mural by the children of Lake County.

This free project will be set up in the children’s area next to The Saw Shop and all of the paints and art supplies will be provided.

Each participating child will receive a square block on the mural board to paint with his or her interpretation of our county and pears.

There will be “artist supervision” to help little ones with their designs, but a parent or guardian must also be present.

Let’s get “artsy” Lake County!

For more information on volunteering or sponsorship, please call Amber Sheridan at 707-245-5432.

: Soper Reese Theatre; Posted On Monday, 16 July 2018 23:26; 16 July 2018

GenX Cinema features ‘Conan the Barbarian’ Aug. 8

**Conan the Barbarian. Courtesy photo.**

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The GenX Cinema series presents the 1982 action/adventure/fantasy film, “Conan the Barbarian,” on Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m. at the Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

Entry is by donation.

The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones and Max Von Sydow,

Out of the swords and sorcery movie genre, “Conan” was former bodybuilder Schwarzenegger’s first film, in which he played a boy slave who’s grown up strong, angry and seeking vengeance.

This primitive pulp fiction film, from a Robert E. Howard book written in the 1930s, is full of quotable lines and gritty action including plenty of spilled guts, dismembered heads and bodies thrashed by sea monsters.

The film is rated R with run time of two hours and is sponsored by Cani Painting and Stone Fire Pizza.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, telephone 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com.

: Tim Riley; Posted On Sunday, 22 July 2018 00:11; 22 July 2018

Taut ‘Skyscraper’ rock solid thrills; ‘Take Two’ on TV

‘SKYSCRAPER’ (Rated PG-13)

The popularity of likeable action star Dwayne Johnson should carry most of his films and “Skyscraper,” at least to his fan base, proves to be no exception. It’s basically robust, wild and crazy fun based on an improbable premise.

No matter the role, Johnson is an indestructible hero. His Will Sawyer, U.S. war veteran and former FBI hostage rescue team leader, specializes in security assessments of skyscrapers and lands an assignment to appraise the world’s tallest building in China.

The story begins with a flashback to 10 years before when Will Sawyer suffers grievous physical harm that ends his career in law enforcement. During a hospital stay, he meets with future wife Sarah (Neve Campbell), a talented Navy surgeon who saved his life.

Now married and with young twin children, Will ends up at the skyscraper with his family only a temporary stay while he starts his evaluation for billionaire visionary Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han) who has created the marvel of a prototypical city in a building 225 stories in height.

Compromised by betrayals, Will finds himself on the lam when fire breaks out on the 96th floor and he’s targeted as the prime suspect though no one bothers to ask why he would leave his danger with deliberate sabotage of the fire suppression system.

Framed for setting the building ablaze, Will has to find the responsible parties, clear his name and somehow save his wife and kids trapped inside on an unoccupied floor above the fire line. It’s a tall order and a lot of duct tape becomes one useful tool.

The bad guys are generic Eurotrash in a mercenary crew led by wanted criminal and overall nutjob Kores Botha (Roland Moller), deadly and revenge-driven but not as villainous as his accomplice Xia (Hannah Quinlivan), an assassin with a nasty mean streak.

Writer and director Rawson Marshall Thurber is described in the press notes as delivering the juggernaut of “Die Hard” meets “Towering Inferno” set in Hong Kong. The “Mission Impossible” franchise should be tossed into the mix as well.

Regardless of any inspirations, “Skyscraper” showcases Will’s incredible death-defying moves when hanging high in the air outside the building while onlookers below express the awe we are supposed to feel.

We delight in Dwayne Johnson’s innate ability to take us along for a thrill ride, even one that strains all credulity. His fierce determination results in the kind of rousing, relentless action that should be just good enough for the summer fun of “Skyscraper.”

Derided by some as a forgettable “disaster flick,” no doubt “Skyscraper” will be overlooked during awards season unless there’s a category for cliffhanging action.

The aim of “Skyscraper” is for tasty popcorn entertainment and that it delivers in a gargantuan bucket of rock solid thrills.

‘TAKE TWO’ ON ABC NETWORK

The summer TV schedule is typically filled with new shows on cable and plenty of reality and documentary-type shows on both cable and network.

The big four major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, usually hold off until the Fall season to launch new series, but there are always exceptions. ABC fills the void this summer with “Take Two.”

The ABC long-running series “Castle” was popular. Nathan Fillion played the titular character, a mystery novelist who tagged along with reluctant NYPD detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and often meddled in cases with his opinions.

In a gender twist, “Take Two” has similarities in that private eye Eddie Valetik (Eddie Cibran) is put in the tight spot of having the unwanted shadow of Sam Swift (Rachel Bilson), the former star of TV cop series, tailing his every move.

On a condition of parole, the unemployed Sam, fired from the series “Hot Suspect” and freshly out of rehab, teams up with the disinclined Eddie to remain under his watchful eye even though the last thing he needs is an inquisitive nuisance.

If you are most likely thinking that the similarities between “Castle” and “Take Two” are eerily parallel, it may not surprise that Andrew W. Marlowe is the creator of both series. Recycling story formulas are nothing new in both television and film.

The big question is whether these two crime-solving disparate characters, much like Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd in “Moonlighting,” are engagingly fun to watch in their inevitable quarrels and sarcastic banter.

So far, every time that Eddie cautions Sam to be invisible and not get involved, these admonitions are predictably ignored by the actor who gleans all of her theories from years of solving fictional crimes.

Midway into the second episode, one observation from Eddie sums up a feeling that might even be shared by the audience. Asked how it is going in working with Sam, Eddie replies that it’s like “a circus that never leaves town.”

In an obvious marketing ploy, “Take Two” episodes, at least in the initial going, feature an ad for the upcoming Fall series “The Rookie” starring Nathan Fillion. Is this a wink to the viewers about the connection to “Castle?”

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

: Lake County Rural Arts Initiative; Posted On Thursday, 19 July 2018 02:08; 19 July 2018

Lake County Rural Arts Initiative donates to support ‘As You Like It’ production

From left to right, Conni Lemen Kosla, chair of Lake County Rural Arts Initiative; Laura Barnes, producer of “As You Like It”; and Wilda Shock, chair of Lake County Friends of Mendocino College. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Rural Arts Initiative is adding a donation to the Shakespeare at the Lake production of “As You Like It,” being presented free of charge at Library Park at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28, and Sunday, July 29.

The Mendocino College Lake Center theater program in collaboration with the Lake County Theatre Co. is staging a wonderful, fun version of this classic play.

The monies from donations support the free performances and scholarships for theater students at Mendocino College.

This delightful production and talented performers “add tremendously to Lake County’s already robust and exciting arts community and offerings,” said Conni Lemen Kosla, Lake County Rural Arts Initiative chair.

Lemen Kosla presented a donation of $300 to Laura Barnes, producer of As You Like It, and Wilda Shock, chair of the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College.

Call 707-263-7576 for “As You Like It” sponsorship information.

For more information on the Lake County Rural Arts Initiative, visit www.lcrai.org .

: Soper Reese Theatre; Posted On Monday, 16 July 2018 03:16; 16 July 2018

Soper Reese features ‘The Great Caruso’ July 24

**Mario Lanza and Ann Blyth star in “The Great Caruso.” Courtesy photo.**

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 1951 musical drama, “The Great Caruso,” starring Mario Lanza and Ann Blyth, screens at the Soper Reese Theatre on Tuesday, July 24, at 1 and 6 p.m.

Entry to the film is by donation.

This fictionalized film traces tenor Enrico Caruso’s ascension from adolescent choir singer to the uppermost ranks of the opera world.

His first love is Musetta from his hometown of Naples, and then Dorothy, the daughter of one of the Metropolitan Opera's patrons.

Caruso is unacceptable to both women's fathers: to one, because he sings; to the other, because he is a peasant.

Throughout you’ll be treated to the voice of the fabulous Mario Lanza and 1950s stars from the Metropolitan Opera.

The movie is sponsored by Alex Valiansky. Rated G. Run time is 1 hour and 49 minutes.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com.