Speaking of the Bard...

STC is replacing LYSISTRATA with the hilarious COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) to run on the same dates in the Mainstage Theatre, March 11 - April 5. This irreverent, fast-paced romp features three actors performing all 37 of Shakespeare's plays in less than 2 hours!

Why make the switch? According to Peggy Shannon, STC artistic director, "Replacing LYSISTRATA with COMPLETE WORKS makes a lot of artistic sense. It’s comedy-to-comedy, classical-to-classical –and a lot of fun for young and old.” (Translation--it's half the size and twice the laughs!)

Subscribers will be able to use their LYSISTRATA tickets for THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED.) If you like Shakespeare, you'll like this show...and if you hate Shakespeare, you'll LOVE this show!

Another Exploding Shakespeare Head for GEM!

GEM OF THE OCEAN got a coveted exploding-Shakespeare-head rating (5 STARS!!!) from the Sacramento News & Review...read it HERE.

3 1/2 Stars for GEM OF THE OCEAN

SacBee theatre critic Jim Carnes gave Gem of the Ocean a glowing review--read it here at "In 'Gem,' blazing a road to hope." The show runs through February 15th on STC's Mainstage.

Pictured is Hosea L. Simmons, center, who plays Citizen Barlow in the Sacramento Theater Company's production of "Gem of the Ocean." Surrounding him are, from left, C. Kelly Wright, Donald Lacy, James Wheatley and Lisa Lacy.

KJ @ STC

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson showed up at opening night for Gem of the Ocean...here's the photo with artistic director Peggy Shannon:

It was a star-studded evening with KJ giving a rousing curtain speech (along with remarks by City Councilperson Bonnie Pannell) and SacBee theatre critic Marcus Crowder helping out with the pre-show prologue. For more info on Gem of the Ocean at STC, go to the new website, AugustWilsonCenturyProject.com.

STC Celebrates Sondheim!

Our popular Cabaret Series returns this weekend with Something Familiar, Something Peculiar--The Songs of Stephen Sondheim and features the singing talents of Michael RJ Campbell, Joelle Wirth, Carol Miranda, Anna Miles...

...and me. (I'm the "something peculiar," I guess.) :-)

Directed by Michael Laun with music direction by Graham Sobelman. Tickets and more information available HERE.

TREASURE ISLAND opens today!

Ye be warned.

(...and go to www.piratesofthecapitalcity.com for some pirate fun.)

The show runs through November 2nd.

Dinner and a Show Plans?

STC is making dinner plans before the show a lot easier with our new online restaurant guide, STCdine.com. We've partnered with a number of downtown restaurants to provide detailed information (including a featured restaurant for each of this season's productions) along with a discount package that's pretty hard to beat!

WIN A NEW HOME FOR $100!!!

Find out how HERE...

STC is raffling off a 3-bedroom riverfront condo at the new Regatta at the Rivers development in West Sacramento. Tickets are only $100 and we're only selling 5000 of them--that means you're odds of winning a NEW HOME are better than your odds of cutting yourself shaving!

Check out the news on this exciting fundraiser for STC in Bob Shallit's column in the SacBee and on KCRA3 over the weekend.

STC Wins Arts & Business Award

STC picked up the "Best Arts/Business Partnership" award from the Arts & Business Council of Sacramento at the annual Prelude to the Season event last Thursday. The award, which goes to the best collaboration between a local business and a non-profit arts organiztion, was given to the Firehouse Ball in recognition of the relationship between STC, the Firehouse Restaurant and the Harvego Family Foundation.

We're very proud of this award and even prouder of the event itself, which raised a record amount for STC last June. Look for a save-the-date notice after the first of the year for the 9th annual Firehouse Ball!

Cowtown Marathon

I ran the half-marathon in the annual Cowtown Marathon yesterday, and the morning after 13.1 miles I can honestly say I know more kinds of pain than Eskimos have words for "snow."

STC-2 Ambassadors Wow The Crowd at Perspectives 2008

One of the premiere events in Sacramento is "Perspectives," an annual gathering featuring some of the top speakers and personalities in the country sponsored by the Metro Chamber. This year, the featured presenters were Karl Rove, Deepak Chopra, comedian Frank Caliendo, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and political columnists Bob Beckel and Cal Thomas.

Our new STC-2 Ambassadors opened the event with an energetic medley of patriotic songs that brought the crowd of over 3,000 to their feet--here's the photo at left:

TREASURE ISLAND Fight Rehearsal

It Be The Internation'l Pirate Holiday Today, Savvy?

'Cause it be International Talk Like A Pirate Day! So, hoist up yer mizzenmast, shout to our box office that ye be wantin' tickets to our seafarin' adventure, TREASURE ISLAND.

(This be a blatant plug, a'course. Arrrrrrrrr...)

4 Stars for TEN PM DREAM from SN&R

Another terrific review for TEN PM DREAM from Patti Roberts at Sacramento News & Review HERE (and I'm glad she pointed out our sparse audiences--this show is a departure from our regular programming and really should be seen by our patrons.)

3 1/2 Stars For TEN PM DREAM

Jim Carnes from the Sacramento Bee gave STC's production of TEN PM DREAM a 3 1/2 star review--it's a well-written analysis of this fascinating combination of dance, music, and theatre.

Check it out HERE...and don't miss it! Performances end Sunday, September 21st.

New Website For TREASURE ISLAND

STC is stepping up its online presence! Check out the new website, PiratesoftheCapitalCity.com! It's the official website for the opening production of our 2008-09 Mainstage season, Treasure Island.

Lots of cool features, including a downloadable version of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, a cool pirate game and a link to find out your personal pirate name (I urge you to play "Pirates"--my son, Drew, is hooked. If you'll pardon the pun. :-)

CMA Registration Begins Today

Registration for the 2009 Capital Music Awards auditions begins today! The CMA's are a vocal competition for local high school students (like a cross between American Idol and High School Musical.) Last year over 500 talented teenagers tried out for the chance to win a $5000 college scholarship--and this year, we expect an even bigger turnout.

Go to http://www.capitalmusicawards.com/, check out the new web site and sign up for our social pages on MySpace, Facebook and Ning. Auditions will be held October 18 & 19. For details, go to the website.

The Closest I'll Ever Come To A Gold Medal

Gabe Gardiner, member of the U.S men's volleyball team that won the gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Very cool--especially the white jade in the middle of the medal!

More A&BC Nominations

The official list of finalists for the annual Prelude to the Season event for the Arts and Business Council have been announced and several members of our STC family have been honored:
Peggy Shannon, STC's artistic director--Artist of the Year
Dan Brunner, past president, STC Board of Trustees--Volunteer of the Year
Marcy Goodnow, STC staff choreographer--Arts Educator of the Year

Congratulations to these exceptional people! We're proud, naturally.

SINGLE TICKETS GO ON SALE TODAY!

STC's 2008-2009 season is ready to begin--don't miss Treasure Island, Noises Off, and our most popular production ever, Cinderella! Call the STC box office at 916-443-6722 or toll free 888-4-STC-TIX for information or go to Tickets.com.