Morning Star the play @ SprecklesPerforming Arts Center
1 rating since posting on Sunday, May 4, 2008
Overall Rating based on 1 rating |
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this is a musical dramatization of the rise and fall of the Morningstar Ranch open-pland commune, founded by the late musicologist and spiritual seeker/ind heart Lou Gottlieb, of the Limeliters folk ensemble. staging is simple, with no real sets and computer images projected onto screens on three sides of the small theater. the play is performed "in the round" in a 125-seat theater in the new Spreckles Arts Complex of Rohnert Park,near the Sonoma State campus. playwright Nick Alva,a skilled musician by trade, worked hard at looking over documents and meeting with Morningstar Ranch "alumni" from the late 60s and early 70s to capture the spirit of the time,place, and personalities, and it is successful. alternatively hilarious and poignant, the true tale of the communards is told through song (with many outstanding solos and choral numbers) and drama by a talented all-volunteer cast,many with professional and academic training in dramatic art. info...www.morningstarplay.com tickets not available on-line, but the website will give you the phone number to order by phone.or just show up an hour before showtime. tickets are doing a terrific job. info...www.morningstarplay.com tickets not available online, but the website will give you the phone number to order by phone.or just show up an hour before showtime. tickets are $14 to $16 for a two-act play that runs for2 hours with a short intermission. the real "proof of the brown-rice pudding" - the audience opening night was full of Morningstar Ranch alumni, and they to a person were pleased with the play and the ways it captured the spirit of the time,place,and people. some of the music was composed by Lou Gottlieb and/or by Ramon Sender Barayon (one of the original residents of Morningstar Ranch) and Aliicia Bay Laurel (Wheeler's Ranch resident and author of hippie how-to classic "living on the Earth".) Other pieces were composed specifically for the Morningstar play, by Nick Alva and other cast members. The songs range from hauntingly beautiful solos to just plain catchy choral pieces, and the musical ensemble accompanying the play(including the multi-talented .playwright and composer Nick Allva) does not disappoint. Finally,a theatrical piece about hippies that is not banalnor silly(unless that's what you think of hippies anyway.) There is a caveat on thewebsite about how"some material may not be suitable for younger children"..gee, hippies on a SOnoma COunty commune were using marijuana and psychedelics? there is no nudity or overt sexual situations,just talk about nudity and to a lesser degree about sex.(shocking! and trulymildcompared with modern prime-time TV, for example.) there is an adorable troupe of children,including Nick and Tanya Alva's three kids, who dance the Maypole with the adults, to another catchy Alva tune that makes you want to join in. at last someone too young to have been there the first time has done "hippie"as a creative act,been respectful and honest, and got it right. and he can write a danged good song besides. go seeit. - Judith , posted 05/04/08 |
Morning Star the play @ SprecklesPerforming Arts Center was recommended for:
- Tribe: Clean Hippie-Bohemians
- Tribe: Cannabis
- Tribe: For Real Hippies
- Tribe: Spiritual Parenting
- Tribe: tie-dye-diaper babies