‘Tis the season for light-hearted entertainment, and tickets are on sale now for two fun theatrical events coming to Redding next week.
Riverfront Playhouse opens its holiday comedy, “Dead to the Last Drop, or Cheers to the Holidays,” on Nov. 21, and performs it regularly through Dec. 19. University Preparatory School is performing the musical comedy “The Boy Friend” on Nov. 19-21.
The Riverfront production, a “musical comedy murder-mystery” written and directed by local talents Bill and Lisa Collins, centers on a murder at the DaVino family winery. We got a sampling during the Author’s Fair last weekend, and it’s just as groan-worthy as you’d expect. For showtimes and tickets, click here.
The U-Prep production of “The Boy Friend” will be at the beautiful David Marr Auditorium inside Shasta Learning Center. Shows are at 7 p.m. Nov. 19-21, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Nov. 21. The musical comedy, set on the French Riviera in the 1920s, is directed by M. Romney Clements, with choreography by James Santos.
Tickets, available at the school office and at Graphic Emporium, are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Proceeds go to scholarships. For more info, call 245-2790.
These high school performances are always fun. At one U-Prep play, we sat right behind actress Loni Anderson, who was there to watch a local relative perform.
- Public television station KIXE will air a special program at 8 p.m. Thursday aimed at helping families with small children who are struggling during these tough economic times. “Sesame Street” characters and television personalities star in “Families Stand Together: Feeling Secure in Tough Times,” which will offer tips on coping with job losses, moving and the pressures of parenting.
- A veteran in the Redding Police Department, Capt. Paul Grooms, has announced that he will retire on Saturday after 24 years in law enforcement. Grooms has held nearly every big job in the RPD since joining the department in 1989, and he currently heads the Investigation Division. Congrats!
- Steelers: My Pittsburgh Steelers beat Denver 28-10 last night, and are now tied with Cincinnati atop the AFC North, which makes next Sunday’s game against the Bengals HUGE.
- From cavemen to Freud to Jung, people have always tried to make sense of dreams and whatever insights they might give into the workings of our brains. But new research says dreams may just be the brain’s circuits warming up, a sound check for the day ahead. The New York Times has an interesting story here.
- Movies We’ve Seen: The birthday girl and I went to see “The Men Who Stare At Goats” yesterday, and found it very funny. The George Clooney vehicle has been getting mixed reviews, but we really enjoyed its deadpan comedy.
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