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COURTESY MSOPR
Far and Away
MILLER JAMES
THE SIRENS: (FROM LEFT) Jean Hall as Rose Arnott, Arnolt, Shannon Saleh as Lottie Wilton, and Britni BritiniAlleman Allerman as Lady Caroline Bramble star in Enchanted April.
Slightly Stoopid
GET STOOPIFIED
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he little theater at the edge of a corral in Refugio Canyon may not look like a portal to other worlds, but with Miller James directing and making the costumes, Circle Bar B Dinner Theatre’s upcoming production of Enchanted April promises to take audience on a convincing imaginary journey, first to dreary London and then to a sun-splashed villa in Tuscany. They will be following the trail of Lottie Wilton (Shannon Saleh) and Rose Arnott (Jean Hall), a desperately bored pair of English housewives who have schemed together to ditch their husbands for an April fling in Italy. Unable to cover the full cost of such an escapade on their own, the two reluctantly engage two more women, Lady Caroline Bramble (Britni Alleman) and Mrs. Graves (Marion Freitag), to share the expenses and the villa. While the first act, which takes place in London, portrays the drab reality from which Lottie and Rose yearn to depart, the second act conveys both the reality of a sunny Mediterranean spring and the fantasies of a new start in romance that all four women, in one
WHITE LUNG DEEP FANTASY
With Deep Fantasy, Canadian punk trio White Lung make it clear that they’re willing to embrace their reputation as loud, succinct, and electrifying music makers. Led by Mish Way, a singer with a seemingly endless amount of charisma, the band’s latest is a marvelous display of unrelenting and unapologetic aggression — 10 songs pumped out in less than 23 minutes. Deep Fantasy immediately kicks into high gear with opening track “Drown with the Monster” and makes no attempt to slow down or change the tempo as it rolls on. But instead of weighing the record down, the
Enchanted April COMES TO CIRCLE BAR B DINNER THEATRE
way or another, carry with them. Barbara Tzur will play the villa’s maid — a part that’s entirely in Italian — while Ryan Price has the privilege of portraying the villa’s suavely charming owner. Eventually a pair of husbands, played in this production by Dillon Yuhasz and Thomas Carlisle, will interrupt this idyll, but not before the women have a chance to blossom in the sun — and of course get on each other’s nerves. For James, who appears to be making a habit out of directing sophisticated comedies for Circle Bar B producers David and Susie Couch, the show is a chance to “feel like an adult among adults.” The director, who band’s energy works in its favor, cajoling its listeners to hold on and enjoy the ride. Often, bands that tend toward the loud-and-fast model seem to be compensating for a lack of musical complexity, but this is certainly not the case for White Lung. In fact, with each new listen, you will likely find yourself more aware of the band’s nuanced songwriting and production. What’s likely to draw you in, though, is Way, who has the rare ability to sound completely in charge and completely vulnerable at the same time. Balancing him out is guitarist Kenneth William, whose frenzied yet controlled playing injects songs like “Sycophant” and “I Believe” with a necessary dose of liveliness. The end result is undoubtedly the band’s best album yet and is sure to reward listeners for years to come. — Blake Harper
teaches theater during the school year, told me that he feels a little selfish for enjoying it so much but that there is something special about working closely with a group that doesn’t need acting lessons, just top-quality direction. The second act set, which James describes as “an expressionist take on white curtains and Mediterranean sun,” is by William York Hyde, with scenic art by Alleman. In the years following the popular 1992 Mike Newell film adaptation, playwright Matthew Barber returned to the 1922 novel by Elizabeth von Arnim looking for an effective way to re-create the story’s magic live onstage. His solution, which premiered in Hartford in 2000 and went on to a successful Broadway run, was to break the action in half and put the dream of Italy out of reach for the entire first act. It will be a pleasure to share the experience of opening that second act door on paradise when the play debuts on Friday, July 25. Enchanted April continues at Circle Bar B Dinner Theatre on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday matinees through September 7. For tickets, call 967-1962 or visit — Charles Donelan circlebarbtheatre.com.
They’re baaack. Slightly Stoopid has been playing in and around SLIGHTLY town for years now, STOOPID and this Friday, the JOINS CYPRESS HILL, band returns to STEPHEN MARLEY AT THE headline the S.B. Bowl. S.B. BOWL Founders Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald started the group in high school and hit the road to play in clubs the minute they turned 18. Reminiscing about those times by phone last week, Doughty says, “We’re all very fortunate to be able to do this for a couple decades and travel the world with your best friends. I’m living the dream.” When you’ve been performing for almost two decades, you can pretty much play anything and master it, and that’s exactly what Slightly Stoopid do. Started as a punkrock three-piece back in 1995, the band now boasts eight members and plays everything from hip-hop to acoustic to blues and rock; it’s no wonder Doughty describes their music as a “melting pot of madness.” Over the years, they’ve found kindred spirits in all manner of collaborators, too, from Snoop Dogg to John Denver to Stephen Marley, who joins the band as part of their current Summer Sessions Tour. When asked who his favorite artists to work with were, Doughty explains, “All of them. It’s been a blessing to work with all of them.” Friday’s show promises to be equally eclectic. Doughty says that the band is playing different sets, mixing up everything from the old tracks to never-before-heard songs. Openers include hip-hop group Cypress Hill, as well as Marley. To Doughty, the Bowl is an especially big highlight on the tour schedule. Every city has its own particular vibe, he says, but Santa Barbara has always been a bit of a home for the band — probably because they’ve been performing here for nearly 17 years. “Back in the day, we used to play in Isla Vista, then clubs, and now the Bowl,” he recalls. “There are always good vibes, the environment is great, and the people are always good to us.” As for Doughty’s dream audience? “Maybe 20,000 people just going nuts?” he laughs. “I don’t think people realize that every day is so much fun when you’re playing music. Every day is a dream audience.” Slightly Stoopid plays the S.B. Bowl on Friday, July 25, at 5:30 p.m. Call 962-7411 or visit sbbowl.com for tickets. — Ginny Chung
M O R E A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T > > > July 24, 2014
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