Their slogan was right: we couldn’t “Resist Ya”!
The energetic performance by the Experiential Theater Company on Saturday’s opening afternoon was irresistibly happy. Cute kids, snappy music from Abba, and well-rehearsed staging – what more could you want?
The show’s four “principal dancers” are local high school girls who can do it all – sing, dance and emote – and are prominent throughout the show: Olivia Donald, Emma Conlon, Heather Villasenor and especially Emma McGee. The stage is often centered, literally, around the presence of Peter Armstrong, whose projected exuberance is contagious.
Yet the magic of ETC! is its range. From the tall Armstrong to the wee Julien Ducarroz, Director Cat Austin is able to weave an entertaining tapestry of color, movement, and music. She gives even the youngest of the cast members individual opportunities to shine, asking more of some than others yet blending all their voices into pleasing, active ensembles, number after number throughout the show. She sets high expectations for her charges, and they deliver. Young Hanna Maillard in particular took full advantages of her star turns; with her stage presence, booming voice reliably on-key, and dimples, she can go far, and in Austin she has a valuable mentor.
Sebastiani Theatre, seating over 300, was packed with more than just the parents of the 24 performers. Well, perhaps grandparents and siblings were there in large numbers, too, but it was popular with everyone, from the high school friends miming the dancing during intermission to one 3-year-old fan, attentive throughout, whose favorite part was “all the flowers in their hair.”
The community is lucky to have Austin to do such fine work with our children and teens, and you, dear readers, are lucky that the show plays again this weekend. Check out the calendar listings in this issue, or click on SonomaNOW at our Web site.
And speaking of how lucky Sonoma is, how about those “Boosters”?
Under the able guidance of co-presidents Wendy Swanson and James Grossi, the Sonoma Valley High School Boosters Club on Saturday put on its 16th annual feast, something that has to be experienced to be appreciated. An endless supply of salad, rolls and pasta, accompanying the delicious fresh cracked crab, left no one hungry.
Tony Moll was there, the local sports star at the high school who is now an NFL offensive lineman, making a personal donation and thanking the Boosters for their continuing support of sports and other extracurricular activities. Hosted by the generous Nancy and Fred Cline, the event drew a sold-out crowd of parents, staff and other dignitaries, who were themselves generous in support of the raffle, the silent auction and the short live auction, which concluded with two people paying $3,600 apiece, each to get a table for 10, with special guests Nancy and John Lasseter, at next year’s Crab Feed.
Two events, showcasing different aspects of this wonderful community, but both coming back to the central theme. In our view, when appreciating all that the Sonoma Valley has to offer, experience counts.
