Cabrillo Stage’s ‘Cabaret’: Shadows And Light

Trevor Little directs 'Cabaret,' opening Friday, July 23.

Trevor Little wants you to know this: anyone who thinks the Cabrillo Stage production of Cabaret is going to consist of a talented local hottie in fishnets impersonating Liza Minnelli has another thing coming.
Well, OK. The talented local hottie in fishnets part is right. Briana Michaud, who plays Sally Bowles, is a veteran of six Cabrillo Stage shows, always as a dancer in the ensemble. Now that she’s stepped into the limelight, director Little says she’s blowing even him away—and he’s the one who cast her.

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Carmel BachFest’s Populist Streak

Concertmaster Elizabeth Wallfisch is known for her approachability and lighthearted presence onstage. Photo by Jim Kasson.

David Gordon has the ultimate highfalutin’ job title. So highfalutin’ is his job title that it defies ordinary comprehension: Dramaturge for the Carmel Bach Festival. And yet Gordon has no patience for snobbery in the classical music concerts he helps organize. In fact, after talking to him for a few minutes you get the idea that he would be secretly thrilled if festival audiences cut loose, stomped their feet, maybe held up a lighter. Because Bach, Beethoven and the festival’s 20 other featured composers are, after all, the pop stars of their time.

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Six County Schools Make Underachievers List

There’s undoubtedly a problem in six county schools. The California Board of Education has rated Pajaro Valley High School, E.A. Hall Middle School, and Landmark, Hall District, Live Oak and Gault elementary schools as “low-performing schools” that could cause students serious harm. This means that each of these schools scored poorly on standardized tests administered by the state.

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Saturday Among the Sandcastles

At Seacliff Beach, a battleship rusts away at the end of the pier and a sandcastle training camp has sprouted on the shoreline. Instead of seagulls there are parents milling and clucking admiration. Children are the day laborers. They cluster in groups, fluttering around the beach with buckets and trowels: future contractors of America developing the most expensive real estate in the area, building for the posterity of the evening.

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