November 17, 2006
By Hamp Simmons
Special to the Daily Press
It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means the Christmas and Chanukah decorations have been up for the past two months, but if you’re like me, you’ve still got lots of shopping to do. I’ve got a great idea for this year, though. Instead of giving people holiday presents, I’ll just jot them a little note telling them that, given the fact that the arts are always in serious need of funding, and they’re doing just fine, I decided to support the arts this year and attended a play or a concert or gallery exhibition in their honor. Do you think that’ll work?
Well, if this idea strikes your fancy, or even if it doesn’t, here’s a Thanksgiving bounty of cultural happenings this weekend that will take your mind off the upcoming credit card bills.
The Marriage of Figaro
Saturday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
An Evening of Concertos with the SMC Orchestra
Sunday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m.
Santa Monica College Concert Hall
1900 Pico Boulevard
(310) 434-4323
In honor of Mozart’s 250th birthday, the Santa Monica College Music Department will present a celebration of his work. Local opera impresario Gail Gordon serves as vocal and stage director for The Marriage of Figaro, with music direction by professor James Martin. Then on Sunday evening, Martin and James E. Smith conduct the Santa Monica College Symphony, along with several outstanding soloists, in some of Mozart’s beautiful concertos.
And for those of you who are unfamiliar with the classics — in the opera, Figaro is not a cat, there are no puppets and nobody gets swallowed by a whale.
New Works by Patricia Chidlaw
Time and Again
Nov. 11 — Dec. 23
Terrence Rogers Fine Art
1231 Fifth Street
(310) 394-4999
Here’s proof that there are still galleries outside of Bergamot Station. Stop by Terrence Rogers’ gallery in downtown Santa Monica and get a look at the new exhibition of paintings by Patricia Chidlaw. This Santa Barbara-based painter continues to create striking portraits of edgy places — motels far past their primes, derelict coffee shops and abandoned drive-in theaters — remarkable impressions of unremarkable places.
A Ruskin Group Theatre Thanksgiving
Café Plays
7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 19
Ruskin Group Theatre
3000 Airport Drive
Santa Monica Airport
(310) 397-3244
The famed Café Plays at the Ruskin Group Theatre this Sunday will all be based around the theme of Thanksgiving. Five playwrights, five directors and 10 actors will write, direct and perform five short plays in just 10 and a half hours. I don’t know how they do it, but they do. And they do it well!
Fifty Plus Young Fiddlers, All on a Roof
Romeo and Juliet, Jane Ray
Fiddler on the Roof
2 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 17
Morgan Wixson Theatre
2627 Pico Boulevard
(310) 828-7519
The Santa Monica Theatre Guild’s Youth Education/Entertainment Series presents a youth production of the classic musical fable “Fiddler on the Roof.” With more than 50 young people ranging in age from 7 to 17, this production is bound to be a blast for everyone concerned. There will be no performance this Sunday, but they’ll be singing and dancing and bringing Anatevka to life every weekend through Dec. 17.
New Works by Patssi Valdez
The Rodriguezes, Patssi Valdez, Courtesy of Patricia
Correia Gallery
Los Cuadros de Patssi Valdez
Patricia Correia Gallery
Bergamot Station — E2
(310) 264-1760
Patssi Valdez is the recipient of the Latina of Excellence Award by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Honorary Artist of the 26th Annual Venice Art Walk, official artist of the 5th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, and now she brings her work back to the Patricia Correia Gallery at Bergamot Station. The delightful images put a magical twist on domestic spaces.
Children’s Theatre on the Promenade
Red Chief
3 p.m.
Saturdays through Dec. 16
Promenade Playhouse
1404 3rd Street Promenade
(310) 565-8070
We all know how bored kids can get when their parents drag them along on holiday shopping excursions. The Promenade Playhouse provides us with at least one solution to keep those little shoppers happy, though. West of Broadway presents “Red Chief!” a modern adaptation of O. Henry’s classic short story, “Ransom of Red Chief.” This production has been endorsed by Southern California’s Reading is Fundamental, so check it out and let me know what you think.
Caution: Artists At Work
Information from the national arts group Americans for the Arts indicates that Santa Monica is home to 1,634 arts-related businesses, employing 11, 464 people. And while the film and television industry is well-represented with 659 businesses and more than 5,000 employees, other creative enterprises are shown to be very valuable to the city’s marketplace: design and publishing firms add up to 331, with 3,180 employees; there are 328 companies working in visual arts and photography who employ 1,071 people; and 261 performing arts ventures put over 1,500 people to work.
Well, that’s about it for this week’s Palette. We just unveiled the first draft of Creative Capital, the new plan that will direct our city’s arts and cultural programming for the next 10 years. We’d still love to get your input, so stop by the web site and let us know what you think.
Hamp Simmons is the cultural affairs coordinator for the City of Santa Monica. Send comments or suggestions for the Palette to artpalette.mailbox@smgov.net.