How to resolve AdBlock issue? 'Legally Blonde' really rocks
Photo by Mary M Long
Elle Woods (Sophie Massey) leads an onstage band while the orchestra musicians in the pit enhance the sound during Nordhoff High School’s "Legally Blonde" romantic musical comedy now playing through March 15.
By John Hankins, Special to the Ojai Valley News
“Legally Blonde” is one of those true musicals where lyrics and melodies tell the story rather than dialogue.
In fact, “there are very few breaks in the music,” said Music Director William Wagner, head of the Nordhoff High School Music Department, which produces the annual musicals at the Matilija Auditorium venue.
Story behind the ‘Harvey’ rabbits all around town
Submitted photo
Artist Pamela Grau with the “Harvey” rabbits.
Have you noticed the tall, dapper rabbits about town?
They were Joan Kemper’s idea, brought to life by Pamela Grau and the Ojai Studio Artists. Each of the 10 is positioned around the valley to remind people of the upcoming Ojai Performing Arts Theater’s production of “Harvey,” the classic and timely play, opening March 27.
OSA holds Second Saturday free mini-tour
Submitted photo
Museum at Morro Bay, 16-by-12 oil on canvas panel, 2019 by Spark Taylor
The Ojai Studio Artists Second Saturday mini-tours continue on March 14 with nine open studios and 11 artists in the West End area of the Ojai Valley. Featured this month are Valerie Freeman, Carlos Grasso, Hallie Katz, Patrish Kuebler, Tanya Koveleski, Shahastra Levy, Amy Lynn Stevenson and new members Leslie Plimpton, Spark Taylor and Lindsay Thomson.
Ojai artist shows work at Ventura College
Photo submitted
Cara Lasell Bonewitz
Ojai artist Cara Lasell Bonewitz will have her first local solo show, “Current in the Shadows,” starting March 12 at the New Media Gallery at Ventura College. Her work combines drawing and light with fiber-based media such as sea plants to capture the beauty, decay and texture of organic materials.
Fun at Poppies with books and prizes
Poppies Art and Gifts will hold its monthly Book Club meeting March 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. The group will discuss “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. This novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2019. It follows nine people who feel close relationships with trees and confront the destruction of the world’s forests.
All adults are welcome to the free event. Read the book before the meeting.
'Heal Your Self With Writing' workshop March 14
Author Catherine Ann Jones will hold a daylong program called “Heal Your Self with Writing in Ojai” on Saturday, March 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Jones holds a graduate degree in depth psychology and archetypal mythology from Pacifica Graduate Institute where she has also taught.
Veteran actors reunite
Photo by Stephen Adams
Peter Schreiner (Vanya) and Laurie Walters Slade (Sonia) star in Ojai Art Center Theater’s latest life-changing play, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” March 20 through April 16.
By Lisa Angle, Special to the Ojai Valley News
On the heels of “Shirley Valentine,” Ojai Art Center Theater continues its 2020 season with another story where characters break out of their humdrum lives with vibrant transformations. Christopher Durang’s multi-award-winning comedy “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” runs March 20 to April 12.
Guitar virtuoso Forman to perform March 13
Submitted photo
Bruce Forman
Ojai Jazz Concerts presents guitar virtuoso Bruce Forman, performing Friday, March 13, at the Ojai Art Center, 113 S. Montgomery St.
Sculptor and painter share 'Inspiration and Influence'
Photo submitted
"EC3d" by Duane Dammeyer, 2019, marble.
Ventura stone sculptor Duane Dammeyer (former longtime Ojai resident) and Ventura abstract painter Rima Muna hope their upcoming exhibition, “Inspiration and Influence,” at the Santa Paula Art Museum will serve visitors as a space for reflection and renewal.
Ojai Mardi Gras fantasies fulfilled
Photo by Stephen Adams
Ojai Mardi Gras is celebrated Feb. 29 at the Ojai Woman’s Club. The theme of this year’s annual event was “Naughty Gras … Leap into your Fantasy.” This year, the extravaganza collected donations for OjaiCARES to help care for local cancer patients in Ojai.
Timeless 'Harvey' to take center stage
Photo submitted
“Harvey” co-directors Craig Anderson, left, and Richard Camp.
By Adanna Moriarty, Special to the Ojai Valley News
In early January, accomplished co-directors Craig Anderson and Richard Camp sat down for breakfast to discuss “Harvey.” In a bustling Ojai café, they ruminated over this rendition of the play and how they would make it a genuinely creative process that would result in a vibrant, exciting new take on this theatrical classic.