If you haven't seen "Beauty and the Beast," that is ...

I wrote last week that we're in the middle of prime kid-theater season. This morning I was able to catch a school show of the Children's Musical Theaterworks production of "Disney's Alice in Wonderland, Jr.," and I highly recommend it for families with small children. Lots of razzle-dazzle technical prowess went into this slick production, and I was particularly impressed with the production team of director Eric Estep, set designer Kris Cadieux and costumer Kirsten Peters McGrath.

And while it's aimed squarely at the little ones, this show offers a sliver of more grown-up humor to keep those older than elementary school in the audience on their toes, from a "Gilligan's Island" joke to a reference to "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore." The bright colors, cheery songs and very talented little performers make this a community-theater delight.

DONALD: I'll admit it, Kathy. I was having some residual feelings of resentment last night toward "So You Think You Can Dance" after last week, when Fresno's Jason Glover got booted off. But, I buckled down and figured that I'd watched the show this long, and I might as well go all the way to the finals. So it was interesting for me to watch last night's show. I'd focused so much in these last weeks on how Jason did in comparison to the other contestants that I'd forgotten what it was like to watch the show as a more disinterested observer.

With all that said, however, I still maintain: Evan Kasprzak must go. Do you agree, Kathy? How about the women?

CenterStage Clovis Community Theatre's "Beauty and the Beast" is a growlingly good production: big and booming, funny and sweet, stuffed full of the boisterous energy that makes this Disney musical such a crowd-pleaser. Director Brent Moser has corralled his community-theater resources together into a spiffy and visually charged show. From the terrific full orchestra to the glitzy costumes that we expect from "Beauty," it's theater as an event. And a happy and eye-pleasing one at that. (It finishes up its run this week with shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Mercedes Edwards Theatre.)

What I like most about this production is its drive. That forward momentum is personified by Brian Pucheu's wonderful Beast in the first-act finale. Pucheu gives an intriguing twist on this oft-played character by making the Beast more like an animal than many other interpretations I've seen. The physical choices he makes -- falling to all fours, scampering like a monkey, grunting with rage -- bring home the idea that just as the enchanted objects in his castle are hardening into inanimate status, he, too, is danger of losing his humanity.

Just before he sings the powerful solo "If I Can't Love Her," Pucheu's Beast hurls up the stairs into his private chamber, dragging his knuckles as he races up the steps, and Alexandra Fabbian's tricky lighting design almost seems to howl and storm. It's an exemplary moment made even better by Pucheu's golden tones. The moment was so thrilling it made me hope that intermission would be short so I could get right back to the story.

I really like "Sweet Charity" the performer, in the form of Tami Cowger. I'm pretty satisfied with "Sweet Charity" the production, in the form of the new show at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater. Where I run into problems is "Sweet Charity" the show itself.

One reason: This 1966 Broadway musical was tailor-made for the phrase "hooker with a heart of gold." The words are as stale as old Vegas -- gaudy and heavily tasseled, smelling of stale smoke, with a nudge-wink giddiness to them that suggest a phony optimism.

Sure, the title character in this show, featuring music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon, is effusively described throughout as NOT a prostitute. She's a dance-hall hostess -- and there's absolutely no sexual commerce involved, we're repeatedly assured. But the original source material for the musical, Federico Fellini's movie "Nights of Cabiria," most definitely featured a woman who was a member of the world's oldest profession. In order to play in the States, the show had to be scrubbed clean.

While that means that while "Sweet Charity" ratchets up its "family-friendly" acceptability, it also winds up in danger of feeling dated and musty -- even more so than your typical "classic" musical. Thanks to a solid (but perhaps also a little stolid) lead performance by Cowger in the new Good Company Players production at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theatre, we don't get completely bogged down. But neither does this production have much sizzle or emotional punch. It's just too heavily impacted by the weak book.

UPDATE 10 a.m. 7/28: For dance fans, here's a great link to several New Yorker articles written over the years about Cunningham.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Choreographer Merce Cunningham, one of the towering figures of the 20th Century in modern choreography, died Sunday in Manhattan. He was 90. From the New York Times:

Mr. Cunningham ranks with Isadora Duncan, Serge Diaghilev, Martha Graham and George Balanchine in making people rethink the essence of dance and choreography, posing a series of "But" and "What if?" questions over a career of nearly seven decades. He went on doing so almost to the last. Until 1989, when he reached age 70, he appeared in every single performance given by his ensemble, Merce Cunningham Dance Company ... Even in his final days, he told visitors who came to bid farewell that he was still creating dances in his head. In his final years he became almost routinely hailed as the world's greatest living choreographer.

I hope that "So You Think You Can Dance" pays some sort of tribute to Cunningham on this week's show.

Whew. For me, it started last Thursday night with the first half of the exquisite Alexander Quartet, which closed Summer Arts with a bang. Then I rushed to Good Company's "Sweet Charity," starring the indefatigable Tami Cowger, for the opening-night show. On Friday I caught CenterStage's impressive "Beauty and the Beast" in Clovis. I collapsed on Saturday (hey, I've been going to lots of Summer Arts stuff), and then on Sunday caught a three-hour-plus performance of "Il Trovatore," sponsored by California Opera, at the Tower Theatre.

And now, this morning I'm off to a press screening of the Venice Film Festival hit "The Hurt Locker." It is scheduled to open Friday in Fresno. When I get back to the office I'll start writing my little fingers off. I plan to post reviews of "Sweet Charity" and "Beauty and the Beast" by tomorrow morning, and "The Hurt Locker" review is scheduled to run in Friday's 7 section if it does indeed open here.

I didn't catch the weekend's big-deal event, which was the Kathy Griffin performance at the Saroyan Theatre, but I talked to friends who went, and they said she was a riot. (She even tried out a bunch of new Michael Jackson jokes.)

What did you do this weekend?

Well, folks, it all came to a crashing end Thursday night for Fresno's Jason Glover. After making it to the group of Top 4 men on "So You Think You Can Dance," he was eliminated along with Janette Manrara.

What do you think of the decision?

Personally, I am so over "SYTYCD" this season. That may just sound like I'm suffering from sour grapes because the local boy got bounced, but, honestly, I was sick of the show weeks ago. I'm tired of the bloviating, self-aggrandizing judges and the way they so sickeningly suck up to the choreographers on the show. I'm tired of the stilted format. I'm tired of people voting for cute faces rather than good dancers.

Am I ticked off that the drab and struggling Evan Kasprzak, by far the least skilled dancer among the Top 4 men, didn't even land in the Bottom 2 this week while Jason went home?

You bet.

Lots of great stuff on the cultural scene this weekend -- from the opening weekends of "Beauty and the Beast" in Clovis, "Sweet Charity" at Roger Rocka's and "Alice in Wonderland" at the Memorial Auditorium to the free student culminations tonight at CSU Summer Arts.

But here are two sleepers, and both are from California Opera, overseen by Fresno's Edna Garabedian, pictured, which is in the middle of its annual arts and educational festival. (I wrote a big piece in Sunday's Spotlight section about it.) The first is designed for kids: an original production of "Shep the Musical." This old-fashioned children's musical melodrama underscores the ethical treatment of animals. It's the heartwarming story of a lonely dog's rescue, a young veteran's search for love, and an orphaned girl overcoming fear. Fresno composer-playwright Joe W. Ozier wrote this original production. Diane Nixon directs the Cal Opera Youth Troupe. 2 p.m. Saturday, Fresno Art Museum.

The second is California Opera's fully staged production of "Il Trovatore," 2 p.m. Sunday at the Tower Theatre. Verdi's beloved classic, staged with chamber orchestra and chorus, includes such sweeping themes as war, love and revenge, along with one of opera's most famed jumbled plots. (It's the music that makes the experience, not the libretto.) This production features returning soprano Jamie Bonetto (Leonora), mezzo-soprano Leslie Hassberg (Azucena), tenor Fred Winthrop (Manrico) and baritone John Minagro (Ferrando). 2 p.m. Sunday, Tower Theatre.

Both productions are free, though donations are accepted.

Bee photo / Mark Crosse

I am a hearty and vociferous supporter of Woodward Shakespeare Festival, and though it turned out that I wasn't a big fan of the current production of "As You Like It," there are plenty of other people who disagreed with me -- as evidenced by some of the many comments posted on my original review! And, besides, I'm always a firm fan of community theater, and there's nothing like heading to the park for a picnic and some quality outside time with the Bard.

A bonus: Director Michael Peterson sets the play in hippie-era Southern California, and the set includes a real beach. So even if you can't get over to the Coast on this hot weekend, you can pretend.

There are three performances of "As You Like It" left -- tonight, Friday and Saturday. After that, "Richard III" opens Aug. 13.

Gates Open at 7 p.m. Chairs fill up early, so come before 7:30 p.m. to get one, bring your own or reserve a seat.) Performances start at 8. Catch a wave, dudes.

DONALD: I know I've moaned about this in the past, Kathy, but I can't help it: I am SO SICK of the judges on "So You Think You Can Dance." Perennial gasbag Nigel Lythgoe and red-faced-harpy-shrieker Mary Murphy were joined last night by the somewhat sane Mia Michaels and none other than Ellen Degeneres, who evidently was invited to "judge" based on the clumsy dance routines she kills time with on her daily talk show. The four of them, wedged onto the judging dais as if they were sitting economy class in the middle seats of a 747, managed to preen and overemote to such an extent that they overshadowed the dancing. Even their tears were torrential. If I could train my TIVO to fast forward through the judges' comments on this show automatically rather than make me push the button myself, I'd be a happy camper.

Anyway. More on the judges' excesses in a moment. As far as Fresno's Jason Glover is concerned, he once again turned in a very solid performance. He's blossoming on the show at just the right time in terms of personality and emotional range. Paired up with cool-cucumber Kayla Radomski, he performed in two routines: a slick Broadway number and an entertaining "zombie" hip-hop creation. Can you set the scene for us, Kathy ?

As the California State University Summer Arts program continues at Fresno State, I envision this rolling Beehive post as a place for the day's schedule, news, recommendations, reader reviews, gripes, background information -- anything related to the program. You can leave a comment here or send an email. (Special thanks to Jackie Doumanian at Summer Arts for helping us keep track of the calendar.)

THURSDAY July 23

We're really winding down here, folks: only two days of Summer Arts left. In terms of public performances, one of the biggest names has been saved for last: the Alexander String Quartet is back by popular demand in concert at 7 p.m. in the Concert Hall with a reception following. The quartet has performed in the major music capitals of four continents, securing its standing among the world's premier ensembles. Widely admired for its interpretations of Beethoven, Mozart, and Shostakovich, the Quartet has also established itself as an important advocate of new music through over 25 commissions and numerous premiere performances. Tickets are priced at $15 students/seniors; $20 general; $25 reserved.

Coming Friday: Gorge yourself, culture lovers, on the free student culminations that mark the end of the Summer Arts session. Here's the list:
Contemporary Painting and Digital Photography - 10 a.m., Conley Gallery
Dance - 11 a.m., John Wright Theatre
Writing Narratives, Part 2 - 1:30 p.m., Wahlberg Recital Hall
Digital Music - 3 p.m., Wahlberg Recital Hall
Chicago Style Comedy, Part 1 - 4:45 p.m., John Wright Theatre
Singer-Actor, Part 2 - 7 p.m., Concert Hall
Chicago Style Comedy, Part 2 - 8:45 p.m., John Wright Theatre

In my Sunday Spotlight column I featured an interview with Brent Moser, director of the new CenterStage Clovis Community Theatre production of "Beauty and the Beast." It stars Lorraine Christensen and Brian Pucheu, pictured. The show opens 7:30 p.m. Thursday and continues through Aug. 1. (A tip for matinee lovers: In Clovis, they perform their matinees on Saturdays, not Sundays, so check the schedule before you head out for an afternoon show.)

Here's some more from my interview with Moser about the show:

Question: What's your favorite part of "Beauty and the Beast"?

Answer: For those only familiar with the Disney animated version, you are in for a treat. My favorite moments in the show are the songs added in for the Broadway production. "Human Again", "A Change in Me" and my favorite moment, the Beast's soliloquy, "If I Can't Love Her."

First off, the good stuff.

Soprano Janice Hall is electrifying. Some performers have an instant and palpable intensity about them -- a presence as concrete and tangible as if they have swept onto stage wearing a lavish fur coat and are trailed by an army of minions. Hall, one of the guest artists/instructors, kicked off the "Singing and Acting: the Work of a Musical Theatre Artist" public performance at Summer Arts with an a capella rendition of Cy Coleman's wry "It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish." She grabbed the small but attentive audience -- the smallest Concert Hall draw I've seen at Summer Arts in a while -- and didn't let go as she treated the crowd to a lightning-quick encapsulation of her noted opera career. Ending with Steven Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns," which is more often performed by husky-voiced leading ladies more comfortable with talk-singing than full-on vocalization, she managed to impart to the song a precise, crystalline beauty.

I know that the subject of the state budget is not 1) funny; 2) sexy; 3) sardonic; 4) entertainment-related; or 5) just about Fresno. Which are all qualities that drive this blog. But I feel like I have to at least acknowledge the immensity of the event that happened last night in Sacramento when the budget deal was finally hammered together. It's going to impact us all, big-time. And I'm grim about it. The New York Times, always quick to slip on its East Coast beret of peckish paternalism and wax philosophic about the craziness of the Golden State, has already unleashed a story that sort of captures my mood. Jennifer Steinhauer writes:

The California dream is, for now, on hold, as demonstrated by the state budget that lawmakers and the governor agreed upon late Monday. At no point in modern history has the state dealt with its fiscal issues by retreating so deeply in its services, beginning this spring with a round of multibillion-dollar budget cuts and continuing with, in total, some $30 billion in cuts over two fiscal years to schools, colleges, health care, welfare, corrections, recreation and more.

The rest of the nation, which has historically looked to California as a model for fierce economic independence and free-wheeling innovation, may now see that the state looks like every place else -- just with better beaches.

A bulletin on fresnobee.com this afternoon announces a 20% fee increase at Fresno State. (That's on top of a 10% increase already approved in May.) Professors will probably be furloughed, 20% of class sections have been cut for the fall semester, and no new students will be accepted in the spring. And our local university is just one of the casualties.

AMAZON AS BIG BROTHER: I'm a huge fan of Orwell's "1984" and Huxley's "Brave New World" -- what can I say, I have a thing for brilliant dystopian novels -- so my eyes perked up when I saw this headline about a new Amazon scandal. From MSNBC's Helen A.S. Popkin:

Last week, flummoxed Kindle owners came upon the group realization that Amazon went and deleted their downloads of George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and "Animal Farm" ... and the story just keeps being funny. Seriously. Of all the downloaded books in all the InterWebs, how can it be that these two dystopian classics are the ones that are mysteriously removed. (Beware the two-legged merchants!)

As one customer noted, it'd be like employees of Barnes & Noble coming into your house and removing copies of books you'd bought at the store. I'm fascinated with the idea of Kindle, but it scares me, too. I like my books too much. And now this Amazon-intrusion thing. Can anyone out there talk me into Kindle?

CUSTOMER CARDS: Speaking of invasion of privacy, a letter writer in today's Bee complains that the drug store CVS makes customers apply for a discount card in order to get sale prices on items. Anne Murphy of Clovis writes:

This request to fill out an application to receive items that are advertised as "on sale" disturbs me and seems to be unfair, as well as an invasion of privacy. What do you think?

I agree. But it seems to be the trend. What annoys me as much about the privacy thing is having to carry around all those cards.

Improv comedy makes me nervous even when very skilled practitioners tackle it. Perhaps it's that there's always an ever-present chance for complete and abject failure. But I knew on Saturday night at Summer Arts that I was in very good hands with Dasariski, an L.A.-based group known for its "slow play," or longform, style of comedy in which a single audience suggestion triggers an entire 45-minute plot.

The word combustion comes to mind with this process -- it's as if the audience suggestion provides the spark, and the story and characters just come roaring along almost of their own accord, with little details here and there providing the embers that further the flames. The suggestion from the audience on Saturday was "birthday sex." The actors took off on a giddy narrative that included a randy 90-year-old grandmother and three of her grandchildren preparing for her birthday party.

So my partner and I went yesterday to Claim Jumper -- aka the "They Serve You So Much Food You Explode" restaurant option -- because my parents were in town and we wanted to take them to a place they'd never been. Things went fine, very yummy, until one of us picked up the nutritional-facts supplement, which was enclosed in classy faux leather and tucked, like the one forbidden thing in the fairy tale that you aren't supposed to touch, next to the condiments. "You don't want to look at that," our server admonished us good-naturedly when she saw us reach for it.

We should have listened. On our menu: The Classic Cheeseburger is a trim 1,360 calories -- without the fries. The Grilled Cobb Sandwich clocks in at 1,252 calories. The Lemon Bar Brulee, which one of us had just ordered for dessert, is 1,077 calories.

And guess -- just guess -- how much the infamous Chocolate Motherlode Cake, shown above, weighs in on the calorie scale. (Though it's meant to be shared, the servers at Claim Jumper tell stories about single patrons finishing the whole thing.) Go ahead. Give your best shot. How many calories? The answer is on the jump.

This isn't necessarily to bash Claim Jumper, though I do have to wonder why they make their entrees large enough to fuel an average human for a day. I'm sure that most restaurants are just as fattening. But to be confronted with the cold, stark evidence is almost brutal. I have a gift certificate for Mimi's Cafe. Just keep me away from their darn nutritional chart.

Several years ago, the experimental/postmodern choreographer Deborah Hay -- I'm sure she would wince at me slapping a label on her, but the world revolves around shorthand -- spent a year making a dance. Every day she asked herself the same question: What if every cell in her body had the potential to perceive beauty and surrender beauty, at once, each and every moment?

She performed the dance for an audience wearing a post-apocalyptic costume consisting of red ruffled shorts and a spacesuit-looking top with armbands. She decided she didn't like that costume, and the next time she performed the dance for an audience, she took off her clothes.

Video was taken of both performances. What Hay does in "Lecture on the Performance of 'Beauty' " -- which she presented Wednesday at Summer Arts -- is use a hand-held microphone, a marking pen and a pad of paper to comment on these two versions of the same dance as the videos play on a split screen behind her. She spends some of the 45-minute presentation talking to the audience and making squiggles on the paper. Eventually she sits down and watches herself performing on the videos.

DONALD: A few weeks ago I was bemoaning the rotten luck that Fresno's Jason Glover was experiencing as a contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance." He was stuck with a partner, Caitlin Kinney, with whom he had about as much chemistry as a squabbling Democrat and Republican in Sacramento. And he persistently got rotten dance assignments, including that now infamous space-alien dance in which he had to pretend as if he had a birth canal.

But Jason made it into the Top 10 anyway. And after Wednesday's competition, things have changed a lot. He totally lucked out with his new partner, Jeanine Mason, with whom he obviously has a great connection. (He told me in an interview last week that she's one of his good buds on the show.) And he was asked to dance a contemporary routine, which is his specialty -- and he and Jeanine knocked the socks off the judges. We're talking standing ovation, hot tamale train, the works. In fact, Jason and Jeanine managed to momentarily silence the ever-shrieky judge Mary Murphy, which in itself was a major contribution to human civilization. Can you set the scene for us, Kathy?

Thank you all for your insightful reviews of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." I hope they keep coming. It's a treat to have so many thoughtful fans weigh in with their considerable Harry knowledge.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie-review aggregate site, the movie is performing very strongly, with a whopping 89% of critics as of this writing giving the movie a "fresh," or recommended, rating. Does that make it the best reviewed movie of the year? Not necessarily. I've read a few dozen reviews, and many of them strike the same tone as those in the Beehive roundup: some minor quibbles with fidelity to the story, a few issues with too much "goopy romance stuff," some minor disappointment with the emotional impact of a major plot point that occurs at the end. But, generally, many critics found a lot to love about the film, especially the superb special effects and the overall storytelling.

Here's my Bee review, which ran in Wednesday's Life section. (It actually made this afternoon's Top 10 list of most-clicked-upon stories in today's Bee, a rarity for movie reviews. So, go ahead, click and see if it can catch up with "Fresno pizza joint ATM pilfered." Oops, now you'll just look at that story instead.)

If you want to read a contrarian review, check out the musings of the New York Observer's Rex Reed, who calls the film "two and a half hours of paralyzing tedium, featuring another colossal waste of British talent and a plot a real witch couldn't find with a crystal ball."

A follow-up:

BIGELOW MAKES HIS DONATION: We talked a lot about this story -- former player makes $10 million pledge to Fresno State athletics -- on the Beehive as it was initially unfolding. The discussion continues to rage in the comments section of Tuesday's Bee story about Alphonso Bigelow delivering what he says was a six-figure check to the athletics department. It doesn't surprise me that this already weird story keeps unfolding in weird ways. From the story:

After some public speculation about his ability to make good on his pledge, Bigelow invited a Bee reporter to be present when he delivered his first payment to Fresno State.

Monday afternoon, Bigelow arrived at the athletic department's offices on Shaw Avenue, entered a side door held open by [Danny] White, and walked into a conference room. A Bee reporter and photographer followed Bigelow and White into the room. A moment later, Fresno State athletic director Thomas Boeh entered the room and took a seat between Bigelow and White.

Reporter: "Where's the check?"

Bigelow: "I just gave it to Danny."

Later, Bigelow told a Bee reporter that he gave the check to White as they met outside the offices, while the reporter and photographer were behind Bigelow.

So what was this: a little game? A way to say, "We don't have to show you the check"? Like I say, weird. A common anti-Bee theme among some Fresno State supporters is that the media should accept what the university tells us at face value -- no questions asked, it seems. So, if we're told that there's a $10 million -- or $100 million, or $50 billion -- donation, shut up and print it.

What do you think?

UPDATE 8:45 a.m. Wednesday: Still looking for a fifth commenter ...

ORIGINAL ENTRY: In the annals of modern dance, Deborah Hay is a prominent name. She's known as a significant experimental choreographer and was a key part in the 1970s of the Judson Dance Theater, whose dancers were considered the founders of the postmodern dance movement. I talked with Hay briefly yesterday and have a short story in Tuesday's Life section.

So here's the contest: I have four tickets to give away to Hay's 8 p.m. Wednesday performance at Fresno State's John Wright Theatre. I'll give two tickets to the FIRST commenter to this post and two tickets to the FIFTH commenter. Tickets will be waiting for you at Will Call. I won't post any responses until we have our winners. Rules are on the jump.

DEADLINE FOR THE MET: Looks like the City of Fresno is going to be in the museum business. Bee reporter George Hostetter has been keeping on top of the ongoing story of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum's financial woes as a Wednesday deadline for the museum to repay a $15 million loan approaches. An agreement hammered out between Mayor Ashley Swearengin and museum director Dana Thorpe involves the city paying off the loan, assuming title to the land and building, and charging the Met rent. (But only $1,000 a month for the first year.) The deal has to be approved by the City Council at Tuesday's meeting. There have been some interesting reader comments left on George's story. On one side of the issue, a reader writes:

Those that support the continuation of support of museums, etc., don't mind taking the money of other citizens, by force, to accomplish their dream of "utopia" ... If YOU like the museum than YOU should support it, not vote for citizens who do not even speak English to support a facility that they cannot afford to visit and do not visit. To do anything else is rape of the poor by the upper class. Museums are nice if you like them. If you like them, support them. I don't like them and I do not believe that I should be forced to pay for your interests ... This is an example of the tyranny of the majority--the majority of voters voting to take the money of the minority to pay for services that benefit only the most educated and those most enamored of museums.

On the other:

This isn't really that uncommon, you know. Lots of museums nationwide are subsidized in part or in whole by their cities. We've been - lucky isn't the word, but fortunate to not be paying tax money for our museum to this point. Many cities do. The bottom line is the Met does a world of good things, I loved it as a child, my child loves it, and this city needs a great museum. With a little help for a few years, we're going to have it, and the Met's going to pay the money back, or the city will get the money back based on property sales. I can't see how that's a bad thing.

There are a couple of interesting artist receptions taking place on Saturday:

SPECTRUM GALLERY: Berkeley-based photographer Rondal Partridge, pictured, who at 91 is still a working artist, sure knows the way to Fresno. He came here in late May for his exhibition at the Fresno Art Museum, and now he's returning on Saturday for a reception at Spectrum Art Gallery titled "Quizzical Eye: Seeing Through the Lens of Rondal Partridge." You can read my advance story in Friday's 7 section.

CORRIDOR 2122: In his long career, John Yoyogi Fortes has made some WILD paintings -- including one depicting an eviscerated Porky Pig that I highlight in my Sunday Spotlight column. The Vallejo-based artist will be at Corridor 2122 from 1-4 p.m. Saturday for an artist's reception. I couldn't slip an image of Porky Pig's guts spilling all over the floor into the print edition of the paper, but after the jump you can see Fortes' "Re-Cognition/Sacrifice Towards Preservation," which incorporates the author's fascination with pop-culture appropriations, violent images and allusions to his Filipino cultural heritage, in all its colorful glory.

From one of our Clovis spies:

Fresno's Jason Glover might have squeaked by Thursday night, but he did it: He's one of the Top 10 dancers for the season on "So You Think You Can Dance" and will go on the national tour of the show after the televised competition is over. But it was close. He ended up in the Bottom 3 for the third time on the show before getting a reprieve. Jason's partner, Caitlin Kinney, wasn't as fortunate. She got cut, as did male dancer Phillip Chbeeb.

The focus shifts now shifts next week away from couples competition to singles competition, with the dancers breaking up their established partnerships. The good news, then, is that Jason will get a fresh start. The established favorite couples (such as Brandon Bryant and Janette Manrara) will have to find a new groove, and dancers such as Jason, who never did seem to click all that well, chemistry-wise, with Caitlin, will have the chance to strut his stuff in a new way. But the competition is going to be fierce.

It's probably way too bourgeoisie to admit this, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching the San Francisco Mime Troupe perform its excellent new show, "Too Big to Fail," in a comfortable indoor theater. The other times I've seen this energetic company perform in Fresno, it was in an outdoor park environment: me sprawled out on the grass, the actors competing with planes passing overhead, the lighting design nothing more than the hot glare of the sun.

That's the way that this 50-year-old political theater usually operates, in fact. The idea is outside and free, and thus accessible. But for Summer Arts on Wednesday, the company agreed to an upgrade. Man, was it comfy.

DONALD: When I talked with Fresno's Jason Glover earlier this week, he mentioned that this week's "So You Think You Can Dance" competition would be his toughest yet. (He couldn't say anything specific about his routine.) I was assuming that meant he'd get stuck with yet another wacko-bizarre dance genre and choreographer, like last week's impregnating space-alien routine. Turns out that he was probably referring more to how MUCH he had to dance -- as in two complete numbers with partner Caitlin Kinney. They ended up doing a foxtrot and a lyrical jazz number. I can see why, in the midst of rehearsals, he was overwhelmed.

But the hardest thing for the couple didn't turn out to be the dancing. (I thought both numbers were strong.) It was running the gauntlet of those increasingly prissy and obnoxious judges, who have become less an impartial and consistent panel and more a mercurial body that swings between a caterwauling fan club for those dancers they like and a somber sentencing board for those who aren't in their favor. Though the judges acknowledged that Jason and Caitlin danced well, they're obviously quite weak on their prospects. What do you think, Kathy?

UPDATE 10:40 a.m. Wednesday: And that winner is Eric Billings. Congrats for scoring tickets to this sold-out event, Eric.

UPDATE 8:20 a.m. Wednesday: We have a winner, with an email out to confirm. Thanks for playing, everyone.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Sorry this contest is late, folks, but I've been having a crazy day. I have TWO tickets to give away to the 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Summer Arts performance of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Just two! This performance is sold out. I'll give away the tickets to the THIRD commenter to this post. You'll be able to pick up your tickets at Will Call. Rules are on the jump.

In Monday's Summer Arts review, I mentioned that after attending two concerts featuring flute/guitar duos, I'm starting to get an appreciation for 1) how tough both instruments are to play; and 2) how much different musicians can vary in mood, technique and tone.

Now, after three concerts, I can add to that: I'm starting to realize that even when acclaimed musicians perform together, the result can be tentative and uninspired if the connection between the players is weak.

That was my feeling Monday night after listening to William Bennett on flute and Jonathan Leathwood on guitar. Individually, I'm sure that both men are superb musicians. Together, however -- at least in the first half -- they were unable to mesh in a way that made it seem more like notes and less like music.

The scene: lunchtime today at Mr. Sushi in the Tower District. I'm meeting two colleagues for a business lunch/interview. When I walk in, they're already seated, and I notice that the big-screen television behind the bar is turned to the live Michael Jackson memorial service.

The sound: the TV is turned up to an astonishing volume, with the voice of the speaker on the podium pounding out with something close to sonic-boom enthusiasm.

The problem: I say hello to my colleague sitting directly across the table, and when she replies, I catch about 15% of what she says. We raise our own voices, and pretty soon it sounds as if we're in a shouting match.

The request: When the server asks for our drink order, I ask, "Do you think you can turn the TV down a little? It's too loud and we can't even hear each other talk." She gives me a vague look and a barely commital nod.

The result: The sound is turned up even more.

The outcome: We leave and go to Irene's across the street. As we head toward the door, I tell the server, "It's just too loud." She looks at us as if we've just proposed a law against moonwalking.

The snippy comment: Isn't the "All Michael Jackson All the Time" onslaught today going just a little too far?

Photo: AP

UPDATE 8:30 a.m. Wednesday: Our winners last night were Jason Hammack and Andrew Ranta. I'm hoping that they'll tell us what they thought about the concert on the Beehive's daily Summer Arts Bulletin Board.

UPDATE 3 p.m. Tuesday: Looks like I have my winners, with one email still out to confirm. Thanks for playing.

UPDATE 10:30 a.m. Tuesday: I've got one winner with an email out to confirm, but I'm still looking for a fifth commenter to hear this world-class musician ...

ORIGINAL ENTRY: One of the biggest names of this year's Summer Arts festival at Fresno State is Eliot Fisk. The guitarist performs in a 7 p.m. concert Tuesday at the Concert Hall. I have FOUR tickets to give away to Beehive readers. I'll give a pair of tickets to the SECOND person who replies to this post and a pair to the FIFTH person who replies. Winners will be notified Tuesday morning, and you'll be able to pick up your tickets at Will Call. Rules are on the jump.

Congratulations to our winners for Monday night's two events: Cindy Wathen, Stephen Mintz, Kenneth Ronning, Clare Anzoleaga, Kate Hernandez and Rell. I hope at least some of them will be able to add their comments to the Beehive's Summer Arts Bulletin Board.

A nice note in my in box today from Toni and Rod Berry:

We want to thank you...and the Bee...for the informative piece on David Skinner and his 'roses'. The concert was exquisite, and at least half the packed audience had, like us, been informed by the Bee. I'm thinking...'what if there was no paper?'...unthinkable. Thank you again...

What a good way to start the morning.

The flute/guitar duet phenomenon continued at full speed Friday at the CSU Summer Arts festival at Fresno State. After two concerts, I'm starting to feel as if I'm getting an appreciation for 1) how tough both instruments are to play; and 2) how much different musicians can vary in mood, technique and tone.

(For those interested in the combo, there's one more chance to hear flute and guitar together: William Bennett and Jonathan Leathwood perform 8 p.m. Monday at the Concert Hall.)

At Friday's well-attended concert, Christina Jennings and Leathwood played the first half of the recital. In introducing a modern piece by George Rochberg, Jennings noted that she'd heard this composer even when in the womb. That's what comes from growing up in a chamber-music family. The musicians had a nice rapport, and their challenging selections really started to grow on me.

UPDATE 11:45 a.m.: Thanks for the questions. I was able to get about 10 minutes on the phone with Jason, so it was sort of rushed, but I got some interesting stuff. I'll be writing up a story for Tuesday's Life section. In the meantime, check out my Sunday Spotlight column from yesterday's paper in which I lament Jason's bad choreography luck.

ORIGINAL ENTRY 8:30 a.m.: Just heard from a Fox publicist that I'm going to have a phone interview with Fresno's Jason Glover from "So You Think You Can Dance" at 10:30 a.m. today. Anyone out there with questions you want me to ask him?