Here's the easy-to-remember version: I don't much care for "The Fantasticks."

Before I watched the Actors' Repertory Theatre stage production at the Severance Theatre, the only version I'd seen of the world's longest running musical -- it opened in New York only slightly after the dinosaurs died, finally closing in 2002 before reopening in yet another run that continues to this day -- was a slick 1995 film version starring Joel Grey on DVD. I'd been decidedly ho-hum about that experience, and I can say the same thing after watching the admittedly competent and assured production that the ART folks have put together.

To me, "The Fantasticks" (playing through April 19) is a show that has one amazing blockbuster song ("Try to Remember," as reliable as onions in the tear-provoking department) and a lot of bluster. Its small-scale charm and simplicity wear well for 20 minutes or so, then grow stale. Many of the songs themselves come across as tinny and tuneless. My suspicion is that the show became famous for running a long time not because it's such an exceptional evening of theater but that it, well, managed to run a long time. In other words, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

A couple of significant local news stories are attracting lots of comments from readers on fresnobeehive.com:

• As Mike Oz notes above, it's over for Gottschalks. A liquidator won the bidding for the bankrupt company's assets. It's the lead story in Tuesday's paper.
• The killing of a 23-year-old man in a confrontation with Fresno police early Saturday morning has sparked numerous comments. (Here's the first day story that ran Sunday; here's the second day story from Monday; here's a Tuesday morning update on the autopsy report.)

I find myself drawn to these kinds of comment strings. I guess I'm fascinated by the general tone of the remarks, and while I realize it's a very unscientific way to assess the mood of a community, it is a glimpse of the zeitgeist of a moment. In the case of the police shooting, some of the remarks are written in haste, poorly argued or just plain bizarre. It amazes me how many people are willing to pass definitive judgment -- either pro- or anti-police, say -- on an exceedingly complex incident that hasn't yet been thoroughly investigated. (More than 150 comments have been made so far about the police shooting.) Others are more measured -- wondering, for example, why this police shooting is generating so much publicity when others are virtually ignored. (Could it be that the dead man was white?, some ask.) In the case of Gottschalks, some people seem to care less that a 104-year-old Fresno mainstay will cease to exist, while others have sympathy for employees. (And anger toward management.)

One thing is clear: There's no shortage of opinions, and in this instant-feedback society of ours, it's a lot easier to keep track of them.

Those stout defenders of "traditional values" who rail on about today's decadent entertainments and pine for the good old days obviously didn't spend much time in mythology class. The ancient Greeks were pretty twisted, at least in their stories. Daughters lusting after fathers, mothers twisting off their son's heads, stuck-up mortals being transformed into spiders and trees by jealous gods -- many of these ancient tales throb with sex, violence and the ever-present threat of years of psychotherapy. (It's no wonder that Freud loved affixing Greek names to his various complexes.) You've never quite tasted revenge until it's been served up to you in the form of your son as stew of the day.

Ruth Griffin, who directs the highly effective "Tales from Ovid" (continuing through Saturday at Fresno State's Woods Theatre), a translation of free verse by Ted Hughes, has a keen tactile sense of the inherent dysfunction of the material. She also finds a sense of human redemption within its often bizarre parameters, which is just as important.

Griffin teaches dance and physical theater at the university, and every fiber of this production pulses with movement. This title was a great pick for Griffin. By bringing together both dancers and actors from Fresno State -- and freely interchanging their duties -- she's managed to craft a show that, while not always perfect, has its own powerful rhythm. An added bonus is a moody and atmospheric original score by Fresno State music professor Brad Hufft.

[Photo: "Narcissus and Echo" by Jon Bock, part of the art exhibition in the Lyles Gallery in conjunction with the show.]

I, for one, managed a hybrid of inside stuff and outside stuff:

• I went to the opening of "The Fantasticks" on Friday night at Severance Theatre. Look for my review by Tuesday.
• I went shopping at Fashion Fair mall on Saturday afternoon with my parents (in town for a visit), and pondered an interesting tidbit. My mother pointed out that whenever she's in a department store cosmetics area and walks past one of the fragrance reps offering free samples, they pointedly ignore her. She's too old. Yet if a younger woman walks by next, the free-fragrance-hawkers are all over her like Britney Spears "Believe" perfume" at an eighth grade girls' locker room. So, we did an experiment. We walked through Gottschalks and she got ignored. We walked down to the Macy's women's store and got ignored. The best was in the Macy's men's store, where one of the fragrance queens practically tripped over herself to offer a sample of something (and I'm not sure what, because weren't we in the men's store?) to a vivacious, dolled-up femme fatale-like 30something strolling in front of us. When Mom walked past, Ms. Macy looked her straight in the eye and glanced away. Funny stuff.
• I went to "Tales from Ovid" on Saturday night at Fresno State. Look for my review by Tuesday.
• On Sunday afternoon, I went to the Lone Oak Iris Ranch on Old Friant Road. The blooms are just starting to come out, and in a couple of weeks the view will be spectacular. It's a great place: The owners let you wander the grounds looking at all the different varieties. Once I get my pics loaded, I'll post one or two.

Once a year, Reedley's River City Theatre Company gets together and shows off.

Literally.

"Show Offs" is the annual revue during which some of the performers and musicians perform some of their favorite numbers and bits from throughout the year. The show opens tonight and performances take place through April 4 at the historic Reedley Opera House.

We caught up with Jeff Lusk, one of this season's performers, by e-mail to ask about his part in the show.

Question: What will you be performing in "Show Offs"?
Answer: I am part of the ensemble performing throughout the show. The other men and I will have a couple of our own "guy" routines and the ladies are also featured with a few of their own routines. Of course we also perform a number of songs together. Without giving too much away, we are also featuring the children of the company with their own medley.

What's your Reedley acting experience?
I have only been a part of the company since last June and have performed in "Little Shop of Horrors," "Androcles and the Lion," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Fanny's Up" and will be performing in "On Golden Pond" opening in April.

Twentieth anniversaries are all the rage this weekend. First up in the spotlight is Moment Musical, which is celebrating two decades of existence with a Sunday concert at St. James Cathedral. The original members of Moment Musical (Janette Erickson, flute; Rachel Aldrich, oboe; Linda Hamilton, bass; and Alan Rea, piano) will perform the sonata by Johann Joachim Quantz that started the group 20 years ago. Other works on the program include the Fresno premiere of Stanford's Serenade. A reception follows.

4:30 p.m. Sunday / St. James Anglican Cathedral, 4147 E. Dakota Ave. / (559) 432-2473 / $10 per person, $20 for family of 3 or more

On the jump: "Tales from Ovid" at Fresno State; Lively Arts celebrates its 20th anniversary; and four one-act plays at Fresno Pacific University.

In Friday's 7 section I have an interview with "Fantasticks" director Jeff White. The show opens Friday at the Severance Theatre and continues through April 19. Here's a continuation of the interview:

Question: I know that you're very interested in the physical look of a show. Did you design the sets for "Fantasticks"? How will you use the Severance space?

Answer: Yes, I tend to be a very visual person and the environment of the space is very important to me. In an arena space like Severance the set is the first thing the audience sees when they walk in to the theater. It sets the frame work for the show as well as facilitating the actors and directors sense of location. For this show I took the concepts that the writers had writing into the stage directions of a very neutral set reminiscent of commedia style performance. The set is a blank canvas for the actors to perform on. As people walk into the space they will notice some bare wood plank platforms surrounded on three sides by the audience seating in a three quarter trust configuration. My hope is that this will help the audience feel part of the show as if this were a group of traveling players that just set up their make shift stage for a street performance. The space will lie dormant until the actors bring it to life.

UPDATE 11:55 a.m. 3/26: Looks like we have a winner. Thanks for playing!

ORIGINAL ENTRY: If you're a fan of dance, you won't want to miss "Best of the Bay!," which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Lively Arts Foundation in Fresno. The 7:30 p.m. Saturday performance at the Saroyan Theatre will include several highly regarded professional dance companies from the Bay Area, including San Francisco's Smuin Ballet (featuring Fresno native Erin Yarbrough), Ballet San Jose, Company C from Walnut Creek and San Francisco's Lines Ballet.

I have two tickets to give away to this event. I'll give them away to the THIRD commenter to this post. You'll need to pick your tickets up at the Bee. No multiple entries are allowed. We won't publish comments until we have the winners. Rules are on the jump.

UPDATE 9:50 p.m. 3/25: We have a winner. Thanks for playing.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: "The Fantasticks" might have played FOREVER in New York -- we're talking about 17,162 performances from 1960 through 2002, when it finally closed -- but it never quite got the same never-ending Fresno exposure. (Actually, I can't remember the show having played here in recent memory, but I'm sure it must have been performed numerous times over the years.) Now's your chance to see what all the fuss was about. "The Fantasticks" is the newest production from Artists' Repertory Theatre, opening Friday at the Severance Theatre. And I have two free tickets to give away.

The tickets are good for either Friday or Saturday night's 8 p.m. performances. I'll give them to the FOURTH commenter to this post. You can pick up your tickets at Will Call. No multiple entries are allowed. We won't publish comments until we have the winners. Rules are on the jump.

More tickets: Keep an eye out Thursday morning, when I'll be giving away two prime seats for the Lively Arts Foundation's 20th anniversary gala, which is set for Saturday at the Saroyan Theatre.

Jeff White is all over the theater news this week. Not only is he directing the new Artists' Repertory Theatre production of "The Fantasticks," which opens Friday, but he's also been named the new artistic director of Children's Musical Theaterworks. According to the company:

White will oversee all productions in the Children's Musical Theaterworks and Musical Theaterworks Fresno 2009 season lending his talents in set design, costuming, props and overall production quality. While also will be starting a series of performance arts classes that will run year round starting with a Spring Break theater camp this April.

He most recently worked with the company directing and set designing the winter 2008 production of "Peter Pan."

On the jump: This weekend's openings include Roosevelt High School of the Arts getting zany with "Epic Proportions" and Fresno State getting Greek on us with "Tales from Ovid." Plus: Playhouse Merced puts in a pitch for "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

As sturdy as a hoop skirt, "Little Women" is a classic story. But it's an odd choice for transformation into a Broadway musical.

On one hand, the original novel by Louisa May Alcott (and the movies based upon that classic) is a solid serving of Americana. The story of the spirited, no-nonsense Jo March and her three upstanding sisters growing up without a father during the Civil War has delighted countless girls and women who were drawn to the material's strong female characters and empowering storylines.

I'm sure that that this sense of empowerment was one of the major draws for the creative team of "Little Women" the musical (book by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein). They sensed a rhythm, a tempo -- a tune, if you will -- in the material. After all, that's what a musical is all about, right? It's supposed to sing?

Yet I'm not convinced that the creators of "Little Women," which had a relatively short run on Broadway in 2005, were truly able to capture the "inner music" of this story. It's a pleasant show, yes, and this Good Company Players production is well done, and there are parts that are stirring and strong. But in the end I'm not sure this version of "Little Women" finds its voice as a musical. For all the strong vocals from this talented cast, it didn't really sing to me. At best, it's nice. And I'm not sure that's enough.

On Friday I posted a reminder about a new exhibit opening at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum. (Here's a link to the story that Felicia wrote about ""Anna Richards Brewster: American Impressionist," which opened Saturday). In that post I alluded to pressing fiscal problems at the museum.

Bee reporter George Hostetter expanded on those issues with a big, somber Page A1 investigative report Saturday about the museum's woes:

Interviews and documents show that the expansion plans were too ambitious, the renovation expenses too high, the oversight either nonexistent or ineffective. The Met can't figure out how to repay a $15 million bank loan coming due in about two months, faces mounting legal problems from unpaid creditors, and is awash in red ink. The city, which guaranteed the bank loan, is looking for ways to help, and the museum has successfully cut expenses in recent weeks. But over the last four months, The Met still spent nearly $2 for every dollar it took in.

George's take on the museum's situation is disturbing and worrisome. I'm curious what Beehive readers think. One observation: No one in officialdom seems to be broaching the thoroughly depressing thought that the plan to convert an old newspaper building into a museum was flawed from the start. If so, is there a way out of this mess?

The Sunday afternoon: a gloriously unsettled day, with bright blue sky and puffy white clouds one moment, then a skein of gray and wind the next. As I park at the Fresno downtown library, I'm pelted with a shower, and I hide the books I'm returning under my sweater to keep them from getting wet.

The scene inside: cozy, warm and crowded. Some people are undoubtedly refugees from the rained-on Rally in the Valley peace festival being held outside at Eaton Plaza. Many others are Sunday afternoon library regulars: a line to use the computers, readers browsing the stacks, youngsters scampering as their mothers load up on children's books. All the newspapers at the Reader Service desk are checked out. One man returns the Sunday copy of the L.A. Times and another pounces on it.

News from the arts scene:

The Fresno Metropolitan Museum is finally ready to move past its ho-hum grand-opening show, "Boeing 747 Dinosaurs," or "It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's an Extinct Creature!," or whatever it was called -- it's no secret I didn't like it much -- and is opening an exhibition titled "Anna Richards Brewster: American Impressionist." Opening day is Saturday, and you can look forward to a story in The Bee's Life section tomorrow by Felicia Matlosz. (Update: Here's the link.) The Met describes the exhibition:

This innovative and comprehensive exhibition encompasses Anna Richards Brewster's (1870 - 1952) works in oil, watercolor, gouache, and pen designs for book-illustration. It brings together paintings and prints from private and public collections to resurrect the reputation of an artist who was one of the best-known American woman artists at the turn of the century, and who at the age of 20, won the prestigious Dodge Prize at the National Academy of Design for the best picture by a woman artist in 1890.

This sounds like an interesting show. These are tough times for the Met, and I'm excited and anxious to see how the newly renovated facility makes the transition from its opening "blockbuster" exhibit to this fine-arts offering.

On the jump: Visit Italy with the Fresno Community Concert Band, and mark your calendars for two notable visiting college classical-music ensembles.

Ashley Taylor, part of the cast of the new production of "Little Women" opening Thursday at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater, reminds me that "Footloose" isn't the only chance to burn calories on stage. She writes:

I just read your Sunday Spotlight column on the "Footloose Diet," and I have to say, I was so jealous of the workout that cast got... but "Little Women," as it turns out, is nothing to shake a hoop at.

GOOD TENTATCLE DAY: Devoted Fresno followers of Heidi Blickenstaff -- the Good Company Players alum whose Broadway career is really revving up these days -- have a lot to keep track of. After her starring performance in "[title of show,]" the spunky little musical that made it all the way to Broadway, she returned to the powerhouse show "The Little Mermaid" for a limited run. In her first engagement with "Mermaid," she understudied the major role of Ursula the Sea Witch. Now she's back nightly as a replacement for Ursula through April 5. She dropped me an email recently from New York and wrote about the character:

She's a pastiche of Madeline Kahn, Patti Lupone, Shirley Temple, Hannibal Lecter, Mae West, Bette, Judy, Cher... I could go on and on. She's so schizo... I love her. She is delicious... I'm learning so much. I feel so lucky to have had [title of show] and Mermaid back to back like this. They are opposites in almost every way, and yet both are so exciting and fulfilling.

Broadway.com did a very fun slideshow feature documenting the grueling process that Heidi undergoes each night to transform into Ursula. And she talked last week in Playbill.com's well-known "Diva Talk" column about what it's like to shift from understudy to starring role -- and what the future holds for her. It's a delightful interview, so check it out.

On the jump: "Little Women" all set for a Thursday opening at Roger Rocka's, a fond farewell to "Footloose," the Reedley River City Players gear up for "Show Offs," and an 85-year-old actor threatens to steal the show in the upcoming Lindsay Community Theater production of "Damn Yankees."

I finally got a chance on Sunday afternoon to see the California Arts Academy school-edition production of "RENT" -- and I'm sure glad I did. (Thanks to the buzz-building Beehive commenters, including Stephen, who saw this show during the Rogue Festival and talked it up.) I thought the production, which I saw at its closing performance, was passionate and powerful. Director Daniel Chavez Jr. truly soared in this effort. In many ways this version affected me as deeply as professional productions I've seen of "RENT."

One thing that surprised me was how true this "school edition" was to the show's original themes. Yes, the profanity is pretty much excised, and the stylized "orgy scene" is of course gone. This production faded to black instead of delivering a male-male kiss, and the overall optimistic raunchiness in such lyric-intensive numbers as "La Vie Boheme" was toned down.

But, with all that said ... It was still "Rent" through and through, which such themes as AIDS, drug use, gay relationships -- not to mention the show's cheerful soak-the-capitalist fever, which trips lightly off the tongue in these economically grueling times -- as strong as ever. Indeed, the New York Times recently had a story about how the "RENT" school edition has stirred controversy in various parts of the country. (But not Fresno! Yet.)

I haven't yet seen the California Arts Academy school edition of "RENT," now in its last weekend at the Severance Building, but this show certainly got a lot of buzz during the Rogue Festival. (CAA cleverly positioned this production as both a Rogue offering and then a standalone show, which certainly helped expand its audience base.) Beehive commenter Stephen had some issues with the sound design, but he gave the show a rousing recommendation on the reader-review Rogue Beehive post:

RENT the junior edition features some amazing talent, both in the cast and band. I was worried the 'junior' edition would cut too much from the meat of the show, but amazingly all it does is cut the cuss words (replacing them flawlessly...only huge fans will notice, and still won't care). Also cut the orgy number, but duh, of course they did ... Director Daniel Chavez has stretched these kids to a new level for each and every one of them, and it's very impressive.

Here's the info:

Friday, March 13, 8:00pm
Saturday, March 14, 8:00pm
Sunday, March 15, 2:30pm

$12, for ages 15-up. At Cal Arts Severance Theater, 1401 N. Wishon, at Floradora.
(559) 222-6539 or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/54678

On the jump: The choral music of Brad Hufft at Fresno State, a second look at "Footloose" and curiosity about the Vienna Choir Boys.

UPDATE 3/13: Another passionate response has come in from a classical-musical fan in response to Gabriela Montero's recent concert. Thomas Sawyer writes that "after sitting [through] the first half I had to get out!!!" You can read more on the jump.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Pianist Gabriela Montero packed the house Friday night for the latest installment of the Keyboard Concerts series at Fresno State. This accomplished musician -- who recently gained fame as a member of the quartet that played a new adaptation of "Simple Gifts" at President Obama's inauguration -- scrapped her announced concert program and opted to play an entirely improvised concert. (She's become quite well known for her strong improvisational abilities.) Here's how it worked: Members of the audience volunteered musical themes by singing a tune for her. She then proceeded to play a five-minute-plus piece based upon that theme, totally impromptu.

Sound impressive? It was. (I was there working on a general feature story on Keyboard Concerts and its artistic director, Andreas Werz, and I thought it was remarkable how smooth and fluently Montero conjured her improvisations.) Not everyone was pleased at the change in program, however. Local classical pianist Shirley Kirsten offers this view:

After noting that Montero had originally programmed Baroque and Romantic period works from the mainstream piano repertoire as part one of her concert, I was disappointed that she served our audience only a portion of what was promised. It was an evening of only impromptu offerings and not a complete and satisfying sharing of the artist's towering talent.

UPDATE 10 p.m. 3/13: Looks like we have two winners. Emails are out to confirm. Thanks for playing.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: And now for our next two sets of free tickets. We've got two pairs of seats to a show by the comedy improv group The Knuckledraggers, which will be performing 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Clovis North High School drama room. (Here's a handy link to explain how to get to this brand-new campus.) I'll give the first pair of tickets to the SECOND commenter to this post and the second pair to the THIRD commenter to this post. You can pick up your tickets at Will Call. No multiple entries are allowed. We won't publish comments until we have the winners. Rules are on the jump.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: Looks like we have two winners. Emails are out to confirm. Thanks for playing.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: In an effort to live up to my intent to raise the profile of high-school theater on the Beehive, we're offering two sets of tickets to Clovis High School's new production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which plays 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday and March 19-21 at the Mercedes Edwards Theatre. The tickets are good for either tonight or tomorrow night's performance. I'll give two tickets to the FIRST commenter to this post and two tickets to the FOURTH commenter to this post. You can pick up your tickets at Will Call. No multiple entries are allowed. We won't publish comments until we have the winners. Rules are on the jump.

In just a few minutes, I'll post our other ticket giveaway for the morning: four free tickets to the comedy improv group The Knuckledraggers, which is performing Saturday night at Clovis North High School.

UPDATE 8:50 p.m.: We have two winners. Emails are going out to confirm. Thanks for playing.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Here's a brand-new ticket opportunity on the Beehive: Fresno Filmworks. I've got four tickets -- two sets -- of screening passes good for the Filmworks screening on Friday of "A Night at the Oscars" at the Tower Theatre. The 5:30 p.m. screening features the Oscar-nominated short live-action films of 2009, and the 8 p.m. screening features the Oscar-nominated short animated films.

I'll give two tickets to the SECOND commenter to this post and two tickets to the SIXTH commenter to this post. You'll need to pick your tickets up at the Bee's front lobby on Friday. No multiple entries are allowed. We won't publish comments until we have the winners. Rules are on the jump.

STILL MORE TICKETS: Be on the lookout Friday morning for two more ticket giveaways: Clovis High School's production this weekend of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"; and The Knuckledraggers comedy improv group show Saturday at Clovis North High School.

UPDATE 4:17 p.m.: Looks like we have a winner, folks. It's Lisa Stritzel. Thanks for playing.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: The Vienna Boys Choir has been around since 1498, when the ensemble was created by Emperor Maximilian I. (I'm guessing that the term "fly by night" has never been used in conjunction with the group's appearance.) You'll have the chance to hear this world-renowned choir at a 7:30 p.m. Thursday concert at the Saroyan Theatre sponsored by the Fresno Philharmonic.

I have two good orchestra seats to give away to Beehive readers. I'll give them to the FOURTH commenter to this post. No multiple entries are allowed. We won't publish comments until we have the winners. Rules are on the jump.

I've become a pretty big Magnus Chhan fan recently. Rail-thin in appearance and gentle in stage demeanor, this biology/theater double major at Fresno City College has really spiffed up the last two plays I've seen him in. First there was his hilariously low-key turn in Fresno City College's "Jack Goes Boating." (You can see him in a photo from that play on the jump.) And now, he takes one of the cleverest gimmicks in the college's new production of "A Flea in Her Ear" and cheerfully keeps the laughs coming.

Chhan's turn as Camille Chandebise -- a character who, alas, cannot pronounce his consanants, which makes him sound more mushy mouthed than Marlon Brando in "The Island of Dr. Moreau" -- is one of the highlights of David Ives' adaptation of Georges Feydeau's classic French farce. Other strong components of the show include a wacky production design and some well-calibrated comic performances.

Still, "Flea" is not as madcap and fluid as I'd have hoped. It's a little lackluster when it comes to the farce department. Director Debbi Shapazian comes close at times to reaching the zany impact that the play needs, but the overall impact is much more cute than giddy.

Donald writes:

Purple Hat, the nom de plume for the Fresno photographer who is one-half of the new March show at Spectrum Gallery, doesn't take photos of anything he can drive to.

This self-imposed manifesto puts him beyond the limits experienced by amateur weekend photographers content to traipse the highways and byways of the Valley seeking the glories of nature. Purple Hat prefers the kind of locales that are accessible only by sweat and calories. In a 21-day trip he took last August to the high Sierra, Mr. Hat conquered California's highest lakes by swimming (and photographing) them. The highest, situated a bit over 13,000 feet, was 51 degrees. "I was really glad when I got out of it," he says nonchalantly.

The swimming was secondary to the photography, however. Purple Hat's show, which he calls "The Source," features the artist's massive panoramic landscape views. He's joined by Madera photographer Bob Barks, whose "Terra Homini, An Exhibition of B & W Nudes" has a completely different emotional feel than P.H.'s big, enthusiastic glimpses of nature. It's an interesting combination.