Holiday Treats

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Holiday Treats

Something new: Steve Bernstein of 21st Century Pastry in Petaluma puts new twists on traditional fare.

Sweet Talk

Local bakers share holiday secrets

By Paula Harris

FORGET VETIVER, geranium, and bergamot. At this time of year, the sweet fragrance of Christmas cookies, pumpkin pies, or rugelach turning golden in the oven is the ultimate aromatherapy. The enticing scent envelops the kitchen and transports you back to a time when your grandmother was baking for the holidays. It subconsciously fills you with that warm secure feeling of being nurtured. And it causes a childlike twinge of excitement because it signifies the beginning of the festive holiday season.

In my family, the holidays really began with an annual visit from my grandmother, who would arrive from the north of England proudly bearing an airtight old biscuit tin crammed with layers of home-baked goodies: strawberry jam tarts, glistening like red jewels; sunny lemon-curd pastries; and tiny sweet-mince pies dusted with powdered sugar.

We’d dip our hands into this aluminum treasure trove and extract a flaky treat. We loved them all (even the couple that were always invariably “decorated” with a stray hair from Nanna’s white cat). I think we especially prized this holiday offering because no one else in the family knew how to make pastry.

The days when apron-clad grandmothers and aunts regularly clustered over cookie sheets and pastry boards may be gone, but there’s something about the holidays that compels even those folks who do little baking throughout the year to scrub out their cake pans and dust off their candy thermometers.

Yet the thought of baking can send cold shivers down the spine of even the most proficient of cooks. Some bakeries, such as Healdsburg’s Downtown Bakery and Creamery, understand the dilemma of yearning to bake but feeling incapable. They offer their popular old-fashioned “Sugar Baby” pumpkin pies either fully baked or as a kit consisting of a frozen ready-to-bake shell and a container of filling. “So you can bake it yourself at home,” the packaging exclaims. Foolproof!

But why is baking so scary?

“It’s because baking is not quite as freeform as regular cooking–there’s a bit more chemistry involved,” explains Michelle Marie DeFors, owner and pastry chef at Michelle Marie’s Patisserie in Santa Rosa. “Beginners should start with a tea bread,” she suggests. “Pies can be a bit daunting.”

According to DeFors, even many inexperienced bakers have a problem making pie crust. “Things like rolling it out, dealing with shrinkage, and being sure to let the dough rest before putting it into the pie plate can all cause problems,” she says.

So does this pastry chef, who often fields “emergency” calls from home bakers begging her to help save their failed works in progress, have any tips to share?

“I think it’s best to freeze the pie crust first before putting in the filling,” she says. “And if your crust has droopy edges, make a little foil collar for the sides and fix it on with paper clips, then remove it later to finish browning.”

FOR DEFORS, who grew up in Sebastopol, the flavor of apples became synonymous with the holidays. “My whole family loves food and we all baked together,” she recalls. “Those special apple cakes, pies, and streusels played a big part in our holiday traditions.”

She advises that once you get more accomplished in the baking world, you can experiment a little. “Take something from a memory and alter it into a new idea,” she says. “It’s fun.”

Beth LaFrance–whose homey business Beth the Baker in Sebastopol will feature cranberry orange-nut bread, pumpkin bread, and gingerbread for the holidays–has a few more tips. “Always measure accurately and don’t stray from the recipe, because that can really upset the balance,” she says. “Try one simple recipe, follow it faithfully and make it as close to consumption as possible, because freshness counts.”

If you’re making Christmas cookies, you don’t need to keep peeking in the oven, she adds. “When you can smell the cookies, they’re probably done.”

According to LaFrance, the art of baking is unique because you start out with a bunch of ingredients that look nothing like your finished creation. “It’s not like making soup or roast beef,” she says.

Is there one baking item that LaFrance couldn’t live without? “Definitely parchment paper,” she immediately replies. “I use it for everything. My food never touches a tray or a baking pan. The parchment paper keeps the food from sticking and the bottoms from burning.”

HOW DO bakers come up with new holiday creations? “It’s a selfish thing according to our own taste,” says Steve Bernstein, of 21st Century Pastry in Petaluma. Bernstein and his business partner, Phyllis Heagney, sit face to face in a small room and throw out ideas for new seasonal treats. “We like intense flavors and different twists on traditionalism,” he adds.

Making their debuts at 21st Century this year are chocolate cranberry marzipan tart, chocolate pumpkin shortbread tart, and Scottish cranberry shortbread tart.

“I don’t think my creativity developed until I was in the field,” says Bernstein. “However, my grandmother was a great influence–her favorite was coffee; she used it in everything–for years. I thought coffee Jell-O was normal,” he quips.

That particular culinary encounter influenced Bernstein’s coffee chiffon pie with orange juice in the crust. “Baking is a science more exact than cooking and a recipe has be to followed to a T. It shouldn’t be fiddled with unless you know what you’re doing,” he advises. “But it’s nothing to be afraid of–if you follow the directions.”

The holiday season is pastry chef Condra Easley’s favorite time of year. “It seems so magical in here,” says the co-owner of Renaissance Pastry in Santa Rosa.

She describes some of the bakery’s winter delights: linzertortes topped with cranberry-raspberry-blueberry compote cooked with honey, cinnamon, and orange; pumpkin cheesecakes with a gingersnap crust; and traditional “bûche de Noël” Yule logs.

“I like to bring together flavors that evoke childhood memories–good childhood memories and hopefully not [bad] flashbacks,” Easley says with a laugh. “When I was barely able to reach the counter, my aunt had me up on a chair to bake chocolate chip cookies.”

Easley likes to experiment with various harmonizing flavors, “natural combinations like caramels and pears or apples and walnuts,” she explains.

She offers the following timesavers for home bakers: “Make the pie dough ahead of time, roll it out, cover it really well, and freeze it. Then let it defrost a bit before putting it in the oven, or roll it out the day before and keep it covered in the refrigerator,” she says.

“And make holiday cookies ahead of time and keep them in the freezer in Ziploc bags. Then pull them out and decorate them later.”

Anything else?

“Always use the best possible ingredients or you might as well just buy the pie from a big-box discount store. Use good-quality unsalted butter, imported chocolate bars, and real vanilla extract instead of artificial,” she says. “Oh, yes, and put a lot of love into it.”

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

If you can’t decide between the two holiday favorites, this pie from Renaissance Pastry offers the best of both worlds.

Single pie crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/3 cup cold Crisco 3 tbsp. cold water

Pumpkin pecan filling:

2/3 cup dark Karo (corn) syrup 3/4 cup medium brown sugar Pinch of salt 2 tsp. melted butter 4 whole eggs 1 cup Libby’s solid-pack pumpkin 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp. ground allspice 1/4 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 tsp. ground cloves 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 2 cups toasted pecan halves

To make pie crust: In a food processor, cut together the flour, salt, and cold Crisco by pulsing until mixture has a texture like cornmeal. Add cold water and pulse. Mixture should form a ball and travel around the bowl. Add more water if you don’t see that. (If you don’t have a food processor, use a bowl and cut in fat with a pastry blending tool or two cold knives.) Do not overmix or dough will be tough. Form into a ball. It is not necessary to refrigerate unless you have overmixed. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until approximately 12 inches in diameter. Ease onto a 9-inch pie plate to avoid stretching. Trim edge to 1/2 inch beyond edge of crust and make a decorative border. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make filling: In a medium bowl combine Karo syrup, brown sugar, salt, and melted butter. Stir in eggs and mix well. Add pumpkin, spices, and vanilla. Add nuts and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. Cover edges of crust if it browns too quickly. Pie is done when firm and slightly puffed.

Serves 8.

From the November 24-December 1, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Concert for a Landmine-Free World

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Concert for a Landmine-Free World


Blowin’ in the Wind

Music stars rally for landmine-free world

By Greg Cahill

ROBERT MULLER knows how it feels to get blown away. As a Marine lieutenant serving in Vietnam in 1969, Muller was walking next to an armored tank when it ran over a landmine. The heavy steel-tank tread absorbed most of the blast, but the concussion sent him flying. “It was like one of those cartoon-character-type things,” he recalls, during a phone interview from his Washington, D.C., office. “I literally got blown away with the pulverizing tread in a cloud of black smoke. I wound up in some nearby hedges. I was a little stunned–not really sure what happened.

“Right away, I started pulling an inventory of my limbs,” he adds, with a nervous laugh. “I was miraculously unaffected.”

A few days, Muller’s luck ran out. During a firefight, an enemy bullet severed his spine, leaving him paralyzed below the waist. “A bullet took me down,” he says, “but the leading causes of casualties for U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War were landmines and booby traps.”

In 1984, Muller returned to Vietnam and Cambodia, where he was stunned to see the high number of amputees and lack of support services. As the head of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, Muller decided to do something to help. With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the VVAF has supplied landmine victims with more than 4,000 prosthetic limbs, nearly 1,000 orthotic braces, and more than 2,000 wheelchairs, free of charge.

More recently–with the help of a lot of high-profile friends in the music biz–Muller has set his sights on the elimination of the small, cheap explosive devices that have caused so much misery. That effort has resulted in an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines, which in 1997 earned Muller and others the Nobel Peace Prize. The United States has not ratified the treaty, which is backed by 135 nations, because it would require the elimination of anti-tank mines from the U.S. arsenal.

But Muller is determined to rally public support for the treaty.

On Dec. 2, the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World will host a benefit concert at the Luther Burbank Center, featuring an all-star lineup of country and folk artists. Scheduled to perform are Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Bruce Cockburn, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin, and a special guest.

While celebrity concerts for the landmine campaign began in 1997, thanks to the support of Harris, the three upcoming Bay Area dates are the first in a series of singer/songwriter-in-the-round concerts benefiting the Nobel Prize-winning organization.

TWO YEARS ago, Harris traveled with Muller to Vietnam and Cambodia to learn firsthand about the hidden threat posed by landmines. “She is a strong advocate on behalf of the work that we do with war victims,” Muller says. “She has called upon the music community to get behind this cause, and the response has been overwhelming.”

Last year, Harris performed at the Nobel Prize Award ceremony in Olso, Norway. She later headed a benefit concert for the campaign at Constitution Hall, in the nation’s capitol, which featured Earle, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Lucinda Williams. “That got a lot of media attention and brought a lot of support,” says Muller, adding that the purpose of all this celebrity action is to put pressure on the United States to sign the treaty.

“Music has consistently connected us to people–more so than any speeches or lectures that we give,” he explains. “When these people have stepped up as spokespeople, they capture audiences, and the message is amplified in support of our work in a way that as advocates we just don’t have the ability to do. And the musicians love to do it.

“So we’re all very excited about it.”

PROCEEDS from the concerts support several VVAF projects co-funded by the United States and several other nations. VVAF helps pay for the surveying of minefields and the clearing of explosives. The organization also operates the largest amputee rehabilitation projects in Cambodia, Angola, Kosovo (where the VVAF serves as the coordinating agency for the United Nations), and Sierra Leone.

During his visit to the Bay Area, Muller will meet with representatives from J Winery and other local vintners involved in Roots for Peace, a wine-industry project that is funding the removal of landmines in Croatia (a breakaway state of the Yugoslavian Federation) and helping to restore that republic’s devastated agricultural industry.

Such efforts make Muller hopeful that public support for the VVAF campaign is growing, but he remains discouraged that the U.S. government is steadfast in its refusal to support the international treaty.

“It’s very disappointing,” he says. “When we began this campaign, it was the United States that had inspired the movement around the world. A lot of people don’t remember that we were the first country in 1992, unilaterally, to give up the trade in landmines. That meant we couldn’t sell them or give them away.

When our key political liaison in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Patrick Leahy from Vermont, called upon the Senate for that initiative, on a roll call vote he got unanimous vote in support of the ban–something you don’t see every day.

“The next year, President Clinton went before the U.N. General Assembly and told delegates that this is a very dangerous weapon and that we’ve got to get rid of it. Two years later, he went back again and called on the world community to get rid of landmines through an international treaty. So after the United States led the way to get something going, at the end of the day not to have the United States as one of the 135 countries that have signed this treaty is a real bitter disappointment.

“We’ve got to get the United States on board if we want to pick up any more key players.”

The current concert series , Muller says, is a way to accomplish that goal. “We want to keep this issue out there in the public arena,” he says, “so that people understand that while we’re doing the humanitarian work of helping the victims and clearing the lands, we still need to turn off the spigot.”

At press time, there were a few tickets left for the Concert for a Landmine-Free World, Thursday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m. at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Tickets are $45-$85. 546-3600.

From the November 24-December 1, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

‘Toy Story 2’

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‘Toy Story 2’

Sonoma filmmaker John Lasseter, defender of plastic playthings, returns to tell a brand-new ‘Toy Story’

FEW FILM FANS will be surprised to hear that filmmaker John Lasseter–the mild-mannered creative genius behind the computer-animated hit film ‘Toy Story’–is, and has always been, an enthusiastic devotee of toys. Yes, he’s a toy fan: a defender, an advocate, a sympathizer, a fiercely passionate apologist for toys. He identifies with them, and he feels their pain.

“I love toys,” crows Lasseter, speaking by phone from his car phone on his way home from Pixar studios in Pt. Richmond. “I’m just a big goofy kid at heart when it comes to toys.”

Consider this: Lasseter co-wrote and directed the ultimate toy movie, the aforementioned Walt Disney/Pixar Studios mega-hit Toy Story, as well as its upcoming, equally toy-happy big-screen sequel Toy Story 2. (Lasseter, of course, had already made one film from a toy’s perspective: the charming Oscar-winning, 1988 computer-animated short Tin Toy.)

A longtime resident of the town of Sonoma, Lasseter is joined in his semi-idolatrous fondness for plastic playthings by his five energetic sons. Between the six of them, Lasseter & Co. are a devoted toy-appreciation society, a certified toy-collecting force of nature.

Just one thing, though.

“The kids have their toys,” Lasseter says. “And I have my toys.”

Lasseter’s personal stash–several floor-to-ceiling shelves worth–is nothing but a toy collector’s dream, with vintage one-of-a-kind tin toys, Hot Wheels, G.I. Joes, and lots of Toy Story toys, the last gleaned from the 1995 Oscar-winning film and all residing in Lasseter’s office at Pixar.

“The boys love to come to work and play with Daddy’s toys,” Lasseter says, laughing. “They’re like bulls in a china shop. I just freak out.”

It was his sons’ rambunctious relationship with their dad’s office toys–and his own growing ambivalence regarding his part in the enormous Toy Story collectible industry–that gave Lasseter the first germ of a plot for Toy Story 2, in which an eerie toy-collector kidnaps Woody, the tightly wound cowboy-doll and star of the first episode who, it turns out, is a valuable collectible. Woody’s one-time nemesis Buzz Lightyear ends up leading a band of toys in rescuing their friend from becoming a permanent museum piece. Unfortunately, Woody–who always had a bit of an insecure streak in him–has grown to like being thought of as a valuable collectible.

“This time, it’s Buzz who gets to say to Woody, ‘You are a toy! You’re not a collectible. You are a child’s plaything!’ ” says Lasseter.

Woody’s Roundup: Cast and crew members plan to attend the gala local premiere of the much-anticipated film.

TOY STORY 2 holds the special distinction of being only the second animated Disney film to receive a big-screen sequel. (The first was 1977’s The Rescuers, which was followed in 1990 by The Rescuers Down Under.) Follow-ups to such films as Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin have all been released directly to video.

“Once we’d come up with a story for the sequel,” says Lasseter, “based on the strength of that story and the enthusiasm of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen [who have reprised their work as the voices of Woody and Buzz, respectively], all of us at Disney and Pixar decided that this was a film that belonged on the big screen.”

In conceiving the sequel, Lasseter and his writers watched Godfather, Part 2 and The Empire Strikes Back, over and over.

“Those are two examples of movies that were not just good films unto themselves,” Lasseter explains, “but sequels that actually made the first films seem better and stronger when you looked back on them.”

According to Lasseter, that’s just the case with Toy Story 2, which hits the big screen on Nov. 24. Hollywood insiders are now predicting that Lasseter’s film will become one of the highest-grossing Thanksgiving week films of all time.

IT’S HARD to believe that just a few years ago, when word first got out that Disney was preparing a computer-animated feature, a number of industry critics suggested that Walt Disney–the hallowed progenitor of large-scale, hand-crafted animation–might be spinning in his grave.

Lasseter still cringes to hear such remarks.

“Are you kidding? Walt would have loved computer animation, from the moment he saw the first image of it,” Lasseter says. “He’d have loved what this medium is capable of. Walt was an innovator, a man who pushed technology to its limits in finding better and better ways to tell a story.

“Because first and foremost, Walt Disney was a brilliant storyteller.”

There’s little doubt that he’d have loved Toy Story, arguably the most tightly plotted, well-structured animated film in the history of the Disney studio.

Besides, Uncle Walt loved toys too.

“In the first movie,” says Lasseter, “we did a lot of thinking about how the world would look from a toy’s point of view. So I have to laugh at the way I sometimes reacted when my sons wanted to play with my toys, telling myself, ‘Hey John, didn’t you learn anything from the first movie?’ Toys were put on this earth to be played with. Just because some guy named Tom Hanks happens to have autographed my Woody doll doesn’t mean the toy deserves to be locked away on a shelf.

“I mean, what kind of life is that for a toy, to never again be played with by a child?”

And that, says Lasseter, is what Toy Story 2 is all about.

“The most tragic thing,” he says, “even worse than a toy being lost or stolen, is when a toy is outgrown by the child who once loved it. That’s the kind of rich, emotional terrain that made us want to do this movie.

“Think about it. Being outgrown by a child. It’s something that eventually happens to every single toy. It’s a toy’s version of mortality.

“A lot of people want to live forever,” Lasseter concludes. “But a toy just wants to be loved forever.”

From the November 18-24, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Cin Cin

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Cin Cin

Cinfully delicious: Chefs John Gillis and Gina Armanini, both of Glen Ellen’s Girl and the Fig fame, have moved their culinary expertise to Calistoga, creating the sensational Cin Cin.

Cinsational!

Three cheers for Calistoga’s Cin Cin

By Paula Harris

SINCE CALISTOGA is just a hop, skip, and a scenic 18-minute drive on undulating Calistoga Road from Santa Rosa’s Rincon Valley, you can almost believe this small country town belongs in Sonoma County. What the heck, let’s forget boundary lines and adopt it. On a recent blustery fall evening, we strolled down the Old West-style main street, with its old-fashioned street lamps and warmly glowing shops, and were stopped in our lazy tracks by a chalkboard beckoning from one street corner. “Tonight,” it announced in large happy script, “Grilled rabbit–Lamb osso bucco with gnocchi–New wines beaujolais/chablis/zin/syrah!”

We were outside Cin Cin. The chalkboard worked its magic and lured us into the handsome restaurant for dinner. Chefs John Gillis and Gina Armanini, both of Glen Ellen’s Girl and the Fig fame, opened the Italian-inspired bistro in neighboring downtown Calistoga this summer, and we were eager to try it.

Cin Cin (pronounced Chin Chin and meaning “cheers” in Italian) has a very architecturally aesthetic dining room. Lots of clean lines but not at all cold or sterile. The walls are a light eggnog color, and incandescent egg-shaped lamps hang from the ceiling. A pair of potted palms stand like leafy sentinels by the door in their terra-cotta urns. The sound system plays tasteful classical and Italian selections.

There are beautiful framed black-and-white photographs depicting Georgia O’Keeffe-type blooms, and outdoor scenes of fields and clouds. The tables are all white and silver (crisp white linens, tea lights in glasses, silvery breadbaskets, white china, and gleaming wine goblets). There are also counter seats by the open kitchen.

The baked goat cheese ($8.50) was soft and luscious. The warm pile of cheese (which had only the softest bite of tanginess) was set on a crispy fig leaf (according to our server) from the owner’s garden. The leaf seemed glazed with a slight honey flavor. There were plenty of toast slices on which to smear the chèvre. As a nod to their last employ, the chefs included a handful of sweet, juice-laden black mission figs to the dreamy dish. One quibble: the vinaigrette on the accompanying salad greens was a bit too tart and jarring against the creaminess of the baked cheese.

The warm salad of duck confit ($8.50) may be called “salad” but sure ain’t rabbit food and was very welcoming on this autumn evening. It consisted of generous shredded duck, toothy white flageolet beans, French beans, and some feathery frisée greens all dressed in a pancetta-shallot vinaigrette. Highly recommended for its flavor combo, substantial texture, and ability to fill and warm the tummy.

Risotto with roasted wild and cultivated mushrooms and truffle oil ($15.50) boasted outrageously plump and moist grains of rice and a melange of mushrooms that seemed to invoke the smokiness of grilled meat. “It’s positively steaklike,” announced our vegetarian companion, sporting a silly grin. However, on another visit he was less pleased with a pasta special ($15) containing fava beans, goat cheese, and heirloom tomatoes, because the fettuccine was clumped together.

The grilled quail ($18) was well presented, with two slender birds resting on a bed of delicate butternut-squash risotto. The golden birds were not overcooked and were flavored with a thyme demi-glace.

ONE OF THE MOST outstanding dishes was the lamb osso bucco ($17). Served in an oversize soup bowl, the hearty but highly tender lamb shanks were surrounded by a super-thick rich gravy that begged to be dunked with crusty bread. Airy cushions of house-made gnocchi added soft texture, although their flavor was somewhat lost beneath all the brawny flavors. A marvelous robust dish to come home to after toiling in the fields (or at the computer) all day.

Armanini has created some fine desserts. Gravenstein apple galette ($6.50) was served warm in a pool of brandied caramel sauce and accompanied by vanilla bean ice cream. The shakes of powdered cinnamon around the edge of the plate gave the dish a spicy burst.

The wafer-thin baked cannoli ($7) was filled with sweet fresh ricotta, dark chocolate, and candied orange. Melted chocolate and a variety of candied nuts completed the yummy picture.

Cin Cin has an exciting eclectic wine list, with bottles from France, Spain, Australia, Italy, Sonoma and Napa counties, and California’s Central Coast. Many wines are available by the glass. Even so, many patrons bring in their own bottles (there’s an $8 corkage fee).

The staff is knowledgeable and caring, and the pace is luxurious and unrushed. But reservations are greatly recommended (the restaurant turned away many who arrived later in the evening without them).

Cheers to Cin Cin–it’s definitely worth the short jaunt.

Cin Cin Address: 1440 Lincoln Road, Calistoga; 942-1008 Hours: Wednesday-Monday, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Food: Italian-inspired bistro Service: Knowledgeable and professional Ambiance: Classy Price: Moderate to expensive Wine list: Excellent varied selection by the bottle or the glass Overall: 3 1/2 stars (out of 4)

From the November 18-24, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

‘Angels in America’

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AT’s ‘Angels in America’ soars

By Daedalus Howell

“THERE ARE NO angels in America,” suggests a character in playwright Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-and Tony Award-winning gay fantasia Angels in America. Actors’ Theatre’s intimate staging of the Broadway monolith (expertly directed by Argo Thompson) proves the character wrong. AT’s production is strewn with angels–in the form of a talented cast and crew.

A pre-apocalyptic tapestry of subplots concerned with the encroaching AIDS epidemic and political conservatism of the early ’80s, Angels is pulled together by the imminent demise of dandified paramour Prior Wallace (Cameron McVeigh), whose infection with AIDS gradually overtakes him throughout the duration of the play. This leads to the implosion of his relationship with his highstrung lover Lois Ironson (Peter Downey), a talkative, white-collar type who is emotionally ill-equipped to endure the tragedy.

Meanwhile, insufferably bombastic and ethically challenged attorney Roy W. Cohn (Joe Winkler) is also diagnosed with AIDS (though his power-broker ego is in denial) while he attempts to convince his lackey Joseph Porter Pitt (Dodds Delzell) to accept a Justice Department position to get him out of a scrape.

Pitt, a Mormon whose central conflict hinges on his moral approach to his work and the fact that he is a repressed homosexual, finds himself in several quandaries, not the least of which is the fact his Valium-addicted wife openly resents him.

Kushner’s blissfully meandering text raises innumerable issues germane to both ’80s and ’90s America and then offers cogent answers.

Director Thompson exceeds himself in bringing this three-act behemoth to the diminutive AT stage without forgoing any of the spectacle that is, in part, this show’s trademark. He has assembled and activated a top-drawer cast that brings out the poignancy and humor of the work.

McVeigh is a revelation as the unabashedly fey Prior: witty, pretty, and gay, McVeigh’s character never disintegrates into nellified clichés. Complementing McVeigh is the equally dexterous Downey as his nebbishy lover Louis. Brought in as a pinch hitter to replace another actor two weeks before opening night, Downey turns in an excellent performance that hits all the right notes.

Winkler’s Cohn, a garrulous poison-pen love letter to the real-life lawyer historically associated with the wrongful execution of Ethel Rosenberg, is a powerhouse performance rife with gruff intensity. Winkler draws Cohn as both hilariously comic and unexpectedly sympathetic. Winkler’s scenes with Delzell’s knock-kneed gofer Joe shine particularly as the two characters’ moral sensibilities repeatedly clash, producing myriad dramatic sparks.

Likewise, Danielle Cain’s Harper, the pill-popping wife, emerges as a truly tragic figure when sharing the stage with Delzell. Armond Dorsey does a delightfully frenetic turn with ex-drag queen Belize, often wresting scenes from his stage mates with a deft gesture or well-deployed line.

Throughout, the sonorous voice of an angel, spoken with heavenly effect by Bronwen Shears, hovers in the wings. Shears also steals the show as an elderly real estate agent who preserves half-smoked cigarette butts in a baggy in a brief scene with Phoebe Moyer.

AT’s production marks a triumph for local stages, proving once and for all that size doesn’t matter when talent is at play.

‘Angels in America’ continues through Dec. 18 on Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs, Santa Rosa. Tickets are $8-$15. 523-4185.

From the November 18-24, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

The ‘Zapruder Film’

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Author Walter Mosley on the death of JFK and significance of Zapruder film

Writer David Templeton takes interesting people to interesting movies in his ongoing quest for the ultimate post-film conversation. This column is not a review; rather, it’s a freewheeling, tangential discussion of life, alternative ideas, and popular culture.

UP UNTIL NOW, author Walter Mosley has ranked among those very few Americans over the age of 35 who’ve never seen John F. Kennedy’s head explode. That’s about to change.

Sliding into a front-row seat at the Carolina Theater, in Durham, N.C., Mosley is upbeat, awaiting his first glimpse of the historic “Zapruder Film,” Abraham Zapruder’s legendary 44 seconds of accidental footage that graphically captures the bloody assassination of JFK in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. The still-shocking footage is being shown this morning as part of Duke University’s annual Double Take Documentary Film Festival, an international gathering of documentarians and fans of “reality-based moviemaking.”

Well, it doesn’t get more real than this.

The lights dim. The screen bursts into light, revealing, in silent, grainy black-and-white, the soundless approach of the presidential motorcade. There’s an audible intake of oxygen in the theater, as the audience holds its collective breath. Kennedy’s open-top vehicle glides into view. Sitting beside Jacqueline Kennedy, the first lady, JFK waves to the assembled crowd. Suddenly he leans over, clutching his throat.

“Was that it?” Mosley whispers, then flinches as the president is struck by a bullet in the skull. As Kennedy falls forward, Jackie frantically crawls out over the back of the car, pleading for assistance. The motorcade continues to roll along, as if nothing has happened, and finally disappears from view. The screen goes black, accompanied by a vast release of breath all around the room.

“That was kind of disturbing, wasn’t it?” remarks Mosley, a few minutes later, as we emerge from the theater in search of breakfast. “It’s weird that I never saw that before. Back then I wouldn’t have wanted to see it, and later on, we were never in the same place at the same time, me and that piece of film.”

Now based in New York, Mosley is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including Devil in a Blue Dress (the basis of the Denzel Washington film of the same name, and the first in a series of Easy Rawlins mysteries), along with the groundbreaking science fiction thriller Blue Light. Part storyteller, part philosopher, part moralist, Mosley has made a career of wrapping up keen cultural observations in the entertaining skins of numerous popular genres.

“It’s interesting, you know, the Kennedy assassination. I don’t think it means a whole lot to me now,” he tells me, after we’ve found a table in the restaurant of a nearby hotel. “At the time Kennedy was assassinated, we all compared it to Lincoln’s death. We thought it would have the same historical impact, but it doesn’t seem to have. Lincoln pervaded history for 100 years, because of his assassination. I don’t think you can prove that Kennedy’s death really changed anything.”

“But I know plenty of people,” I argue, “who look at Kennedy’s murder as the moment that American idealism was killed forever.”

“But Kennedy’s death was only part of that,” Mosley replies. “There was Vietnam, and all the riots on campuses, and then Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. America’s loss of innocence would have occurred whether or not JFK died.”

We spend the next few minutes trying to list the other American presidents who died in office.

“I have to reach to remember McKinley, ” Mosley admits, “who I think was killed in 1901. But who were the others? Garfield?”

“What was Garfield’s first name?” I ask.

“I don’t remember,” he replies. “But I think Garfield was killed in office. I think Lincoln was the first. Garfield was the second. McKinley was the third.”

“So Kennedy was the fourth?” I surmise. “Didn’t some president die from drinking a cold glass of milk on a hot day?”

“I thought it was from eating bad shellfish on a boat in Alaska,” Mosley counters, seriously. “But I can’t remember which president. See, look at this conversation. All this history gets tainted. We barely remember the names of the assassinated. It’s like a good trivia question. I think Kennedy will be one of those trivia questions that only hardened historians will remember.”

“I can’t tell if you think this is a good thing or a bad thing,” I observe. “How important are the little details of history?”

“Good question,” Mosley replies. “I’ve asked kids, ‘Who was Martin Luther King?’ and they say, ‘He was the first black president.’ I think about it and I say, ‘Hmmmm. I guess that’s good in a way that they’d think that, even if it’s wrong.’ ”

“Because it shows there’s a level of acceptance for the idea of a black man in the White House?” I ask.

“Exactly,'” Mosley replies, nodding. “If they think it’s already been done, they might vote for another one when they’re old enough to vote.

“You know,” he says, returning to our original point of discussion, “the ‘Zapruder Film,’ as a piece of filmmaking, is even a little metaphorical. You see the police coming around the corner on their motorcycles. Then you see the most powerful man in the country, the prince, roll into view with his princess sitting next to him–and he’s shot down in broad daylight. Bam.

“And it’s still a mystery!” he continues, throwing up his hands. “It’s a mystery! That’s kind of wonderful. In a way, the ‘Zapruder Film’ is a marvelous symbol of what living in America is like. That there are things going on here that we don’t get.

“We sit here, in America, and we look around saying, ‘What’s happening? Why can’t my kids get good jobs? Why can’t my kids buy a house and have a good life? Why is there homelessness? Why, when I go to a hospital, do they not give me the best available treatment?’

“There are reasons, of course,” Mosley allows, “but we can’t understand them. This film speaks to all that. It’s a symbol of obfuscation. We live in a country where nothing is ever made clear. We’re being messed with, but whom do we blame?

“So the ‘Zapruder Film’ is like the beginning of a story with no satisfactory ending. And if that isn’t our lives in a nutshell, I don’t know what is.”

From the November 18-24, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Holiday Movies

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Holiday Movies

Galaxy Quest.

Hollywood Holiday

Winter season delivers usual chestnuts and handful of true gifts

By

ONCE UPON A TIME, before chestnut blight, Americans used to troop out into the frost to gather the semi-edible fruit of these spreading trees. After roasting their nuts over an open fire, they’d dine on that characteristic chestnut flavor–underripe yam, puréed with instant mashed potatoes. What they couldn’t eat, they’d toss to the pigs or shove up a turkey. Today, we can only listen to Nat King Cole–them of us dinosaurs who have ears for Nat King Cole, that is–singing about those elusive chestnuts.

Or else we can pile into the car and head out to the googleplex, where cinematic chestnuts, turkeys, and pigs all three are available in cornucopic abundance. And here it is, the place itself. As they say in AA, everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned in these rooms.

Behind these glass doors in the winter season is the prestigious stuff, grade-grubbing pictures with Oscar written over them. Here, these glass doors would say if glass doors could talk, here awaits Tom Hanks and Robin Williams, fighting twin lumps in their throats . . . in this cubbyhole is Meryl Streep trying on a new accent or a new disease . . . and here’s Gwyneth Paltrow–wait, sorry, that’s a broom handle, honest mistake.

Before us lies the valedictory season, in which the explosions and crashed cars are put aside in favor of human drama, of attractive people with attractive problems. And so, the eternal cycle of the movie release schedule continues. A gentle snow is falling, metaphorically speaking. Soon it will be time to head into the hills to prepare for that most sacred of holidays–Sundance. Once again the Rockies will echo with the merry chirping of cell phones and the yodels of publicists.

Some noteworthy releases of the upcoming season:

Mansfield Park (late November or sometime in December) Patricia Rozema, who did the glossy, elegant women-loving-women film When Night Is Falling, adapts Jane Austen’s lesser-known novel about Fanny Prince (Frances O’Connor), poor relation of Lady Bertram and Sir Thomas. Harold Pinter co-stars (!).

Bicentennial Man (sometime in December) Robin Williams in a Pinocchio story as an android that covets human feelings.

Flawless (late November or sometime in December) After two brain-dead episodes of the Batman franchise and 8mm, a movie fearlessly critiquing the snuff-film industry, Joel Schumacher goes intimate with a New York story about a gruff security guard incapacitated with a stroke (Robert De Niro). Enter his upstairs neighbor and speech therapist, a drag queen (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

The End of the Affair.

The End of the Affair (Dec. 3) More Moore, in an adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel about infidelity and ambient Catholic guilt during the blitz in London. Neil Jordan (Interview with a Vampire) directs.

The Green Mile (Dec. 10) Directed by Frank Darabont, who filmed The Shawshank Redemption, this movie concerns a saintly death-row prisoner (Michael Clarke Smith) in the South in 1935 and a Gump-like guard (Tom Hanks) who begins to believe in the convict’s supernatural yet benign powers.

Stuart Little (Dec. 17) Robert Minkoff, co-director of The Lion King, directs a live-action and animated version of E. B. White’s well-loved children’s book about the suburban mouse-boy. Michael J. Fox does the voice of the mouse.

Magnolia (Dec. 20) Paul Thomas Anderson’s follow-up to Boogie Nights is a magical-realist Altmanesque survey of various disappointed lives in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. The cast includes Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Jason Robards, Tom Cruise (in a cameo), and Melinda Dillon–and welcome back to Dillon, who was one of the best actresses in ’70s movies, in such films as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Slap Shot.

Girl, Interrupted (Dec. 21) It’s a drama about a women’s psychiatric hospital with an all-star cast–Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Vanessa Redgrave, and Whoopi Goldberg)–as the inmates. James Mangold (Heavy, Cop Land) directs.

Snow Falling on Cedars (Dec. 22) Based on David Guterson’s novel, this story of murder in the Puget Sound during the 1950s stars Ethan Hawke. Scott Hicks (Shine) directs.

Man in the Moon (Dec. 22) Director Milos Forman’s biography of a historical enigma: the ill-fated comedian/performance artist Andy Kaufman, whose theater-of-cruelty routines made the man a sort of stand-up tragedian. Those old enough to remember Kaufman’s early death are still not convinced it wasn’t yet another of his cruel pranks. Jim Carrey plays Kaufman.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (Dec. 24) Patricia Highsmith’s novel–the source for that gorgeous Mediterranean chiller of 1960, Purple Noon–is revisited for a new version by Anthony Minghella, late of The English Patient. Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, and Cate Blanchett co-star in a story of a case of identity theft by Highsmith’s handsome sociopath Ripley.

Any Given Sunday (Dec. 25) Aided by appropriate quotes from Vince Lombardi, Oliver Stone does football, with Al Pacino as an aging coach, Dennis Quaid as a quarterback on the way down, James Woods as a sinister orthopedist named Dr. Mandrake, and Cameron Diaz–excuse me, no, that was another broom handle–as the owner of the Miami Sharks. Plus! Elizabeth “Showgirls” Berkley as “a gorgeous high priced escort.” And Charlton Heston as The Commissioner.

Galaxy Quest (Dec. 25) An irresistible comic premise: the semi-employed veterans of the 1970s television show Galaxy Quest are given a call for help from desperate extraterrestrials who have monitored Earth’s TV broadcasts. Sigourney Weaver and Tim Allen co-star.

Next Friday (Dec. 25) Ice Cube stars in the sequel (which he also scripted and directed) to Friday, his funny, pleasing, lackadaisical comedy about everyday life in South Central L.A.

Angela’s Ashes (January) Alan Parker directs Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle in the adaptation of the Frank McCourt bestseller of Irish starvation, immigration, and infant death–to which a rereading of Flann O’Brien’s bitter satire The Poor Mouth might be an after-movie anecdote (“Émigration is thinning out the remote areas, the young folk are setting their faces toward Siberia in the hopes of better weather”).

Fantasia/2000 (New Year’s Day) In IMAX: the millennial version of the Disney prestige item, complete with seven new sequences and two holdovers.

All dates subject to change. No guarantee of quality is implied by the above descriptions. Films may be smaller than described. No liability is assumed on the parts of the Sonoma County Independent or its heirs from moviegoers disappointed, confused, overcharged, lulled to sleep, or pestered by sassy teenagers. Happy holidays!

From the November 18-24, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Holiday Arts

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Holiday Arts

Photograph by Michael Amsler

Holiday schemes: Christmas Day brings trouble in the tropics when a hapless French Guiana family is threatened by evil relatives in Pacific Alliance Stage Company’s production of My Three Angels, opening Nov. 26 at Spreckels Center.

Holiday Arts

Deck the halls, ’cause here comes our selective guide to the season’s happenings

Edited by Patrick Sullivan

TREE? Check. Menorah? Check. Shopping list? Check. Checkbook? Check. And so we’re off, plunging faster than a speeding sleigh into another season of gifts and good cheer. But before you get all tangled up in tinsel and ribbons and credit card slips, we’d like to present the other side of Christmas, the sights and sounds of the holiday arts in Sonoma County. Every year, local creative types, from bearded fat men to bouncing ballerinas, present the gift of their talents on stages and dance floors and main streets across the North Bay.

How can you keep it all straight? We’ve got you covered: Below, you’ll find our selective guide to holiday happenings.

All listings penned by Paula Harris, Liesel Hofmann, Patrick Sullivan, and David Templeton.

Downtown Santa Parade
It’s wild. It’s wonderful. It’s a little bit weird. But it’s got Santa Claus, so we’ll be there. Santa Rosa’s 15th annual Downtown Santa Parade is always a don’t-miss spectacle of creative whimsy. This year, the course will be even longer. Starting at 10 p.m. on Nov. 20, the parade will stretch from Fourth and E streets to B Street, then north to Ross Street, east to Mendocino Avenue, and on to Courthouse Square, where a full day of activities and seasonal sunshine is planned. 284-2300.

Santa & Mrs. Claus in Petaluma
Santa Claus sure is smart. Somehow he always remembers that Petaluma is a river town. Instead of being dragged into town by reindeer, the Jolly Man always comes to Pet-aluma via water. This year, he and Mrs. Claus will arrive on the deck of their usual all-decked-out tugboat, at high noon on Nov. 27. After coming ashore at the Turning Basin, and after handing out iconic candy canes, they’ll take a ride through downtown Petaluma. Giddyap. 769-0429.

Give Santa a Call
One thing about that Santa Claus: he sure knows how to listen. Whether you’re on his knee or on the phone, the roly-poly man can’t seem to get enough of people jawing at him. He’s even made himself available for a little long-distance quality time on Dec. 7 and 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. On those nights only, the North Pole can be reached by calling 763-6051. Who can say “Ho! Ho! Hold the phone!”?

Tinsel

Yountville Festival of Lights
A daylong holiday street fair precedes a dazzling procession that sets the entire town aglow with thousands of lights on Nov. 26. Among the fair highlights: the first annual Napa Valley Ice Art Championship, in which some 20 ice carvers will create art from 300-pound blocks of ice. Festivities run from 2 to 9 p.m. along Washington Street in Yountville. Admission is free. 944-0904.

Bob Burke’s Christmas Party
For decades now, Forestville’s Bob Burke has taught us all a bit about the spirit of human kindness. Founder of a 26-year-old program that offers free year-round support groups and fun events to children with cancer and other serious illnesses in Sonoma County, the benevolent Burke is our own homegrown Santa. Revenues for the program come from donations made during events such as Burke’s annual Christmas Party. This year’s event, hosted by the Gonnella Family, will be held at the Union Hotel Restaurant in Occidental. It will feature a spaghetti plate supper, Christmas music from local schools, and appearances by various surprise guests and personalities. The party is on Wednesday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m. Admission is free, but donations (at any time) are greatly appreciated–all money goes directly to West County Community Services’ Bob Burke’s Kids Program. 887-2222.

Snoopy on Ice
If happiness is a warm puppy, shouldn’t Snoopy get the heck off the ice rink? Nah! This year the round-headed boy and his dog are at it again as the Redwood Empire Ice Arena presents its holiday show “A Christmas Celebration.” The visual feast also stars champion skaters, extravagant costumes, and holiday scenery. The fun runs Dec. 3 and continues through Dec. 28 with most shows at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Redwood Empire Ice Arena, 1667 W. Steele Lane Santa Rosa. Tickets are $10-$40. 546-3385.

Light up a Life
This annual tree lighting–sponsored by Hospice of Petaluma–has become a major focal point of the community over the years, as hundreds gather to cheer on the lighting of the enormous Christmas trees. On Dec. 3, starting at 6:30 p.m., celebrants will light candles, sing songs, and remember the departed ones who’ve brought joy and light into their lives. For information or to sponsor a tree light in the name of a loved one, call 778-6242.

‘Tis the Season for Crafts
It’s holiday hustle-and-bustle time once again, and this year why not give some lovingly crafted homemade gifts a try? The 23rd annual Spirit of Christmas Crafts Faire is the largest holiday gift show in the North Bay, with a cornucopia of handmade goodies to delight even the pickiest person on your Christmas list. Shop to your heart’s content from a myriad of marvelous items such as hand-blown glasswork, metal and wooden furniture, toys, wreaths, and other such Yuletide delights. Minstrels and carolers will also be wandering the aisles, spreading musical cheer to all the holiday shoppers. The fair is open Dec. 3-5 and 10-12, on Fridays from noon to 9 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for seniors and children ages 6 to 12. 575-9355.

Holiday Victorian Tea
Flex those pinkies: The Petaluma Museum will be transformed into an elegant setting for a genuine high tea, with buttery scones, dainty sandwiches, costumed servers, and much more as the Museum Association sponsors this annual delectable holiday tradition. Tea will be served at three seatings on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 1, 3, and 5 p.m. at Fourth and B streets, Petaluma. Tickets are $25. 762-3456.

Christmas Parlor Tour
The Victorian homes of Petaluma are famous for their beauty, their awesome seasonal decorations–and their sheer size. Four of these homes will be opening their doors this year for Petaluma’s annual Heritage Homes Christmas Parlor Tour on Dec. 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. (Parlors only: Stay out of the closets!) Sponsored by the Petaluma Historical Library–where the tour begins with Tea Time and special exhibits–this is a breathtaking opportunity to peek inside the homes we all drive by and salivate over. But, hey, no drooling on the hardwood floors. 762-3456.

Alexander Valley Area Wineries
Looking for an inexpensive way to make merry? Canyon Road, Trentadue, and Geyser Peak wineries in Geyserville will hold a Winter Wonderland Parade of Lights, a free community event for the whole family, on Dec. 9 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. The evening will feature light displays, outdoor bonfires, hot cider, mulled spiced wine, toasted marshmallows, and traditional carolers from the Santa Rosa Symphonic Choir, who will perform at 7 p.m. at Canyon Road Winery (19550 Geyserville Ave. S.). Other activities include winetasting and gift shopping. 857-3417.

Flotilla on Parade
Here’s a Christmas parade of a different sort: 25 festively lit and decorated boats will be on display in the Petaluma River Turning Basin. The local yacht clubs sponsoring this event invite individual boaters to join in this holiday parade on water. Visitors can view the brightly adorned boats all evening at the Turning Basin (Petaluma Boulevard North and B streets, behind the Great Petaluma Mill), Santa himself will trade in his sleigh to arrive aboard a sailing vessel known as the Bonnie Lass, and live music will entertain visitors. This event sets sail on Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. 765-6750.

Other Traditions

Hanukkah
For symbols of the season, the Christians have their manger, the Jews have their menorah. On an eight-branched candlestand, special Hanukkah candles are lit, one the first evening, two the second, and so on until the end of the eight-day holiday. Hanukkah, or the Feast of Dedication, is said to have been inspired by Judas Maccabeus and his brothers in 165 B.C. to commemorate the Jews’ triumphant battle against the Syrians and Greeks for desecrating the Jewish temples; later the holiday was linked to a miraculous cruse of oil that burned for eight days. Since Hanukkah always falls on variable dates in December, in this year of 5760 the celebration will be held Dec. 3-11. (So what’s to worry about the millennium? The next millennium, in the Jewish calendar, is Y6K, or 6000, arriving in the Christian year 2240.)

Here are some local Hanukkah festivities in the offing:

Beth Ami Congregation/Santa Rosa Jewish Community invites families to a dinner and play on Dec. 7, starting at 5 p.m., at the Friedman Center, 4676 Mayette Ave, Santa Rosa. Tickets for members and non-members, respectively, are $4/$5 for adults, $3/$4 for children, $10/$15 for a family. 545-4334.

Petaluma’s Congregation B’nai Israel holds a Hanukkah dinner (chicken or vegetarian) on Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. Bring your own menorah and candles for a special lighting ceremony. Cost is $20 for adults, $10 for kids; and those under 5 or over 90 get to feast for free. For reservations, call Phyllis at 762-0340.

On the Sabbath, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m., Congregation Ner Shalom will hold a free meditation service, along with chanting, to which Christians are invited. That evening, at 7 p.m., there’ll be a family party, with a potluck dessert and a latke contest, at the temple, 85 La Plaza, Cotati. Admission for a non-member family is $12. 665-8622.

Keeping the holiday humming, the River Choir, directed by Sonia Tubridy, performs Sonny Vale’s “The Magnificent Maccabe,” a modern Hanukkah cantata with a klezmer chamber ensemble. Based on Howard Fast’s novel My Glorious Brothers, the unique 45-minute composition will be played at Beth Ami Congregation on Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m.; at Congregation Ner Shalom on Dec. 5 at 4 p.m.; at the Guerneville Community Church (14520 Armstrong Woods Road) on Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m.; and at the Sebastopol Methodist Church (500 N. Main St.) on Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. Cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. 869-0516.

Winter Powwow
The American Indian Cultural Education Committee presents its third annual one-day intertribal celebration of American Indian culture. The event features traditional music, drumming, food, arts and crafts, and several kinds of dancing, including Pomo dancers, Aztec dancers, and Gourd dancing. All are invited, and even Santa Claus will put in an appearance. The Winter Powwow takes place on Dec. 4 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Veterans Building, 1351 Maple Ave., Santa Rosa. Admission is free. 869-8233.

Winter Ritual Celebration
They’ll be walking in a Wiccan wonderland in Sebastopol, when famed pagan novelist and spiritual leader Starhawk, joined by Luisah Teish, makes a little seasonal magic at the 11th annual Winter Ritual and Workshop, Dec. 19, from 7 to 10 p.m. Held at the Community Center, 390 Morris St., in Sebastopol, the event will be a time of reflection and joy, as members of Earth-based spiritual traditions join in dance, song, and storytelling to welcome the winter and call back the sun. Cost is a sliding scale: $3-5 for kids under 16; $10-15 for adults. 823-9377.

Winter Solstice Santa Rosa
The last winter solstice of the millennium will be celebrated on Dec. 22 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Santa Rosa’s Veterans Building (1351 Maple Ave.), with a spectacular performing arts celebration honoring Earth and the “rhythms of community.” Join Bo Estrella’s Exist Dance and an eclectic village-full of expert drummers and world musicians in a one-of-a-kind winter experience. A $10 donation will benefit Planting Earth Activation. 793-2126.

Dance

Nutcrackers Galore
Dancing mice, dazzling costumes, fairy-tale kingdoms–The Nutcracker has it all. Indeed, as far as we can tell, this timeless holiday classic has only one drawback: Nearly every dance company in the North Bay stages a version, so it’s tough to decide which one to see. We can’t make that decision for you, but here are your options.

As usual, Ballet California offers a jam-packed holiday season. First, meet the characters and view a mini-performance at the company’s annual Nutcracker breakfast on Dec. 5 from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Sonoma County Hilton, 3555 Round Barn Blvd., Santa Rosa. Tickets are $17 for adults and $12 for children. 537-0140.

Then it’s on to the full-scale production as Ballet California offers the only Nutcracker in Sonoma County with a full live orchestra. The musicians perform under the baton of Simyon Lohss, newly appointed assistant conductor of the Santa Rosa Symphony, and this year’s ‘cracker also features guest dancers from the Diablo Ballet. Catch the production on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m., Dec. 1 at 2 and 7 p.m., and Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. at the Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Tickets are $19-$22 for adults and $14 for children, students, and seniors. 546-3600.

See excerpts from The Nutcracker as well as a new interpretive conclusion on Dec. 4 and 5 at 5 and 7 p.m. at the Romantic Tearoom, 209 Davis St., Santa Rosa. Tickets are $7. 545-9323.

The Petaluma City Ballet and the Petaluma School of Ballet team up to present the city’s 13th production of The Nutcracker. This year’s presentation–which features Charles Torres, formerly of Smuin Ballet, as the Cavalier–takes place on Dec. 10 at 8 p.m., Dec. 11 at 2 and 8 p.m., and Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Person Theater, Sonoma State University, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park. Tickets are $16 for adults and $11 for children. 765-2660.

The Sonoma County Ballet Company features over 100 dancers from two companies in its eighth annual Nutcracker in Sebastopol. The production takes place on Dec. 10 at 8 p.m., Dec. 11 at 2 and 8 p.m., and Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Analy High School theater, 6950 Analy Ave., Sebastopol. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children. 824-8006 or 576-0506.

The Marin Ballet presents its 28th seasonal production of the holiday classic, offering the full tale, complete and uncut, on Dec. 11 and 12 at 1 and 4:30 p.m. at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. Tickets are $17-$22 for adults and $10.50 -$14.50 for children. 415/472-3500.

Finally, the Theatre Ballet of San Francisco serves up its version on Dec. 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre, Veterans Home of California, Yountville. Tickets are $18 for adults and $14 for children. 415/626-6623.

The Night before Christmas
The Healdsburg Ballet presents a new full-length ballet version of Clement B. Moore’s holiday classic. Some 100 dancers will perform, and guest artist Frank Russel will appear as Santa Claus. Catch the production on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Raven Theater, 115 North St., Healdsburg. Tickets are $9.50 for adults and $6.50 for children and are available at Amoruso Printing and Healdsburg Safeway. 431-7617.

Sophie & the Enchanted Toyshop
Marin Dance Theatre’s enchanting new ballet, created by two award-winning local choreographers, features a cast of 100 characters, including the Snow Prince and Princess, Valentina Ballerina, and the Dancing Bear. The toys come to life on Dec. 18 at 1 and 5 p.m. at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Marin Civic Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. Between performances, at 3 p.m., bring your child to the Teddy Bear Tea Party for food, face painting, and a chance to meet the characters. Performance tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for children; party admission is $5. 415/499-7687.

Three Angels
It’s trouble in the tropics on Christmas Day: three convicts must use their criminal arts to help a hapless family escape the schemes of their evil-minded relatives in this Pacific Alliance Stage Company production. Enjoy the Broadway classic Nov. 26-28, Dec. 2-5, and Dec. 9-12, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays at the Spreckels Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. Tickets are $10-$15. 588-3400.

The Swallow’s Tale
The Cinnabar Young Repertory Theater presents an original holiday musical. Based on Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince, The Swallow’s Tale features cooking crocodiles, dancing hippos, and singing statues. Catch the production on Dec. 3-4, 10-11, and 17-18 at 7:30 p.m. and on Dec. 5 and 12 at 2 p.m. at the Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Tickets are $9 for adults and $5 for youth. 763-8920.

A Child’s Christmas in Wales
The Cinnabar Teen Acting Ensemble presents a stage adaptation of the immortal poem by Dylan Thomas. Take a holiday trip to a tiny Welsh village on Dec. 10-11 and 17-18 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 12 and 19 at 2 p.m. at the Polly Klaas Theater, 417 Western Ave., Petaluma. Call for prices. 763-8920.

A Christmas Carol
Get a double dose of Tiny Tim and a bevy of ghosts this season. Theater @ the Center presents a musical version of Dickens’ classic tale on Dec. 10, 11, 16, and 18 at 8 p.m. and on Dec. 12 and 19 at 3 p.m. at the Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Tickets are $12. 938-4626.

Sonoma County Repertory Theatre reprises last year’s critically acclaimed production with Eric Thompson again bringing unusual depth to the role of the curmudgeonly Scrooge. The show opens on Nov. 19 and runs through Dec. 18, with evening showtimes at 8. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. at SCRT, 415 Humboldt St., Santa Rosa. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. 544-7278.

Songs of the Season

Going deep: Musician/storyteller David Auerbach performs “Carols in the Caves.”

Carols in the Caves
This popular event is celebrating its 14th year with performances by multitalented local musician David Auerbach. He will play traditional Christmas music from America and beyond on rare folkloric instruments in the cast-lined caves of local wineries. His vast collection includes the Celtic harp, hammer dulcimer, pan pipes, and bowed psaltery (an ancestor of the violin). Auerbach plays at the Clos Pegase Winery (1060 Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga), Nov. 27 at 2 and 7 p.m. and Nov. 28 at 4 p.m.; Storybook Mountain Winery (3835 Hwy. 128, Calistoga), Dec. 4 and 5 at 2 p.m.; Folie à Deux Winery (3070 St. Helena Hwy. N., St. Helena), Dec. 11 and 12 at 2 p.m.; and Schug Carneros Winery (602 Bonneau Road, Sonoma), Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $30. 224-4222.

Candlelight Christmas Concert
For its annual candle-lit concert, the Marin Symphony’s baroque ensemble will be joined by members of the College of Marin Community Chorus and the Winifred Baker Chorale. The evening includes excerpts from Handel’s Water Music and an audience sing-along. The concert takes place on Dec. 4 at 2 and 4:30 p.m. at St. Vincent’s Chapel, St. Vincent Drive, San Rafael. Tickets are $20. 479-8100.

Golden voices: Petaluma Sings! presents the songs of the season on Dec. 3 and 11.

Petaluma Sings
Audiences never know what to expect when Petaluma Sings! takes the stage for its annual Christmas Concert. Now under the direction Nina Shuman, the award-winning chorus–both the women’s contingent and the children’s ensemble–is sure to offer a stocking-full of auditory delights and acoustical surprises. Children’s concert: Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m., at the Church of Christ, 370 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma. Women’s and advanced children’s concert: Dec. 11 at 8 p.m., at St. Vincent Church, Bassett and Liberty streets, Petaluma. Call for price. 778-7441.

Napa Valley Symphony
The acclaimed Sonos handbell ensemble headlines the Napa Valley Symphony’s annual Holiday Pops concert, which will also feature music from Hänsel and Gretel and a selection of seasonal favorites. The concert, ending with a carol sing-along, takes place on Dec. 5 at 3 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater, California Veterans Home, Yountville. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and children. 226-8742.

Vivace Chorale
Check out a winter concert chock-full of Gloria selections, including Vivaldi, Haydn, and Rutter. The concert takes place on Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 2000 Humboldt St., Santa Rosa. Tickets $8. 576-1231.

Santa Rosa Symphony
The symphony celebrates the holiday season with a two-part concert featuring two masterworks by Mozart and a special appearance by Santa Rosa soprano Carol Menke. Face the music Dec. 11 and 13 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 12 at 3 p.m., at the Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Call for ticket prices. 546-8742.

Sing-Along Messiah
Though news to some, Handel’s Messiah actually does contain more words than just “Alleluia.” Even if you don’t know them, you can sing them, at the 19th annual Redwood Empire Sing-Along Messiah, Dec. 15 at 7:30, at the Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Join the Santa Rosa Symphony Chorus and a multitude of angels. Loner scores are available in the lobby. For more details, call 566-9600. Or tune in to the Messiah production on Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 500 N. Main St., Sebastopol. Hallelujah, etcetera! Tickets are $5. 823-2831.

Chanticleer Christmas
The Chanticleer Men’s Chorus performs the kind of music that makes people sit and stare in wonder. It wraps you up in a goose-bumpy blanket of beauty and amazement. Their annual Christmas tour of medieval and Renaissance sacred music (along with traditional carols) brings them to Petaluma on Dec. 18 at 8 p.m., at St. Vincent Church, Bassett and Liberty streets. Be amazed. Be very amazed. $21-$32. 415/392-4400.

New Year’s Eve

First Night
Revelers of all ages can descend on downtown Santa Rosa for the largest street party in miles. The fifth annual First Night promises to be a biggie. The drug- and alcohol-free celebration encompasses much of the downtown area from City Hall to Fourth and Fifth streets, through Santa Rosa Plaza, and on to Railroad Square. It will feature a myriad of musicians, performance artists, poets, dancers, food vendors, and activities for kids. Millennium treats include a Y2Kazoo band; organizers are also planning a “Time Tunnel” on Fifth St. where “people can walk through each decade.” This year will feature two fireworks shows: at 9 p.m. (to bond with East Coast revelers) and at midnight. The action begins at 4 p.m. Entry badges (available at Copperfield’s bookstores) cost $5 in advance, $10 on the night. 579-ARTS.

Hangman’s Daughter
They’ve got a new look–fewer pounds and less hair–but the sound, we presume, is the same bluesy magic that made Hangman’s Daughter a Northern California favorite before they took off for Nashville. 5AM opens, and the show starts at 9 p.m. at the Mystic Theatre, 23 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Tickets are $50. 765-2121.

Eric Lindell
Sonoma County’s favorite native son returns home for an end-of-the millennium night of blues-flavored rock, at the Inn of the Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Hwy., Cotati. Call for time and ticket prices. 664-1100.

Roy Rogers & Zigaboo Modeliste
This all-star, action-packed lineup tops off an evening that includes a five-course meal and champagne. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., and both bands come together for a jam at midnight at the Powerhouse Brewing Co., 268 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. Tickets are $250. 829-9171.

Michael Savage Live
Frankly, we wish Michael Savage would just go away. Instead, the ultra-right-wing talk-radio host and reigning Clown Prince of Thinly Veiled Hate Speech will be holding court at the Marin Center on New Year’s Eve, as the host of a unique New Year’s Party called Michael Savage Live. Boasting an assemblage of “Compassionate Conservatives”–if these conservatives are so darn compassionate, why don’t they shut up and leave us alone on New Year’s?–there will be music, food, drink, and speeches. Hallelujah. Call for times and ticket prices. 415/472-3500.

Angela Strehli & the Sundogs
The inimitable Texas blues belter swings into Marin for her last show of the year. The evening, which includes a five-course meal, begins at 9:30 p.m. at Rancho Nicasio, on the Town Square, Nicasio. Tickets are $200. 415/662-2219.

Holiday Headliners

Concert for a Landmine-Free World
If you’re looking for big names and a good cause, this may be the biggest bang of the holiday season. Check out this lineup: Emmylou Harris, Bruce Cockburn, Nanci Griffith, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, and some special guest still to be announced will deliver an intimate acoustic show on Dec. 2 at the Luther Burbank Center to benefit Campaign for a Landmine Free World. The concert starts at 8 p.m. in the Main Theater, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Tickets are $45, $65, or $85. 546-3600.

The Knitters
Here’s a rare chance to hear most of the members of legendary L.A. punk band X come together to show off their hillybilly roots. On Dec. 7, the show starts at 8:30 p.m. at the Mystic Theatre, 23 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Tickets are $18 in advance and $20 at the door. 765-2121.

Joanne Rand
The former Sonoma County singer returns home on Dec. 17, to grace us with her unmistakable voice and power-folk style. Billed as a Winter Solstice Gathering, the event will feature Rand & the Little Big Band, as well as the Ruminators and Spiral Bound. The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Inn of the Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Hwy., Cotati. Tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 at the door. 874-3150.

Bryan White
Oklahoma’s best-looking son, named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” by People magazine, brings his multiplatinum country music to the LBC. on Dec. 10. The concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $26-$30. 546-3600.

From the November 18-24, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Millennial Dining

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Millennial Dining

Toasting the new century: Mistral owner Michael Hirschberg will be offering a millennial menu for holiday revelers this year.

Dinner Date

Local restaurants unveil multicourse millennial menus for New Year’s Eve

By Paula Harris

FIFTY DAYS (or so) and counting. So, what will you be doing on New Year’s Eve? Even Y2K worry warts, who swore they wouldn’t stray from their La-Z-Boys and the broadcast of Times Square festivities, are beginning to wonder whether they shouldn’t mark the momentous occasion in some manner. A happy medium–between jetting to the South Pacific to gaze upon showers of fireworks reflected in tropical waters and barricading oneself in the basement with flashlight, freeze-dried food, and a firearm–might simply be a celebratory dinner at a local restaurant.

Local chefs are cooking up some mouthwatering festivities, but don’t procrastinate–seating is limited and reservations are filling fast.

Here’s just a taste of what’s on some millennium menus:

Santa Rosa’s Syrah is having a true blowout. “We’re calling it ‘An Obscenely Decadent New Year’s Eve Menu,’ ” says chef-owner Josh Silvers. And he’s not kidding. Bring your appetite and a loaded wallet. The 12-course extravaganza costs $225 per person plus tax (without wine). The mammoth menu: oysters on the half shell with blood orange and champagne sorbet; eggs with caviar, chive, and potato; lobster bisque cappuccino with tarragon chantilly; “ménage à trois” tartare of scallops, salmon, and tuna; grapefruit-chervil ice; sweetbread and foie gras vol-au-vents; wild mushrooms, whole-grain mustard cream, and herb demi-glace; grilled venison loin with mascarpone polenta and cranberry jus; tournados of filet mignon with lobster hash and fines herbes hollandaise; baby greens with a Meyer lemon and truffle vinaigrette; brioche beignet with café latte crème anglaise; syrah-port poached pear with caramelized filo; and finally, eggnog and orange baked Alaska with a glass of champagne at midnight.

For an extra charge, you can pair each course with a different libation–uh, Alka-Seltzer perhaps? Not at all, says Silvers. “This is just a tasting of these dishes. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to walk!”

Silvers says he wanted to create a traditional and opulent New Year’s supper. “How are you going to bring the millennium in with a Burger King dinner and the tube?” he asks. “These are almost all classic dishes from the last century. We wanted to go out with all the classic food.” Seating is between 7 and 9:30 p.m. Call 566-9468.

If you consider Syrah pricy then brace yourself–John Ash & Co. beats it. Bring your appetite and a bank loan. The damage will be $275 per person for six courses (each paired with alcoholic beverage) should you reserve the second seating from 8:30 to 10 p.m. The 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. first seating costs $175 per person. Dinner choices include baked Tomales Bay oysters on spinach leaves with champagne and chive vinaigrette; confit of Sonoma duck with arugula blood orange salad; and Maine lobster tail with risotto and chanterelle mushrooms. And there’ll be live music. Call 527-7687.

AT THE OTHER end of the spectrum, the folks over at Dempsey’s Alehouse in Petaluma tell us they’ve decided not to “gouge, spiff-up, or go hog wild” on New Year’s Eve. Instead, the restaurant and microbrewery will extend Happy Hour and offer notable nightly specials at the regular prices. Call 765-9694.

Mistral in Santa Rosa is offering two alternatives: ” ‘The Early Show’ is intended for diners who want to enjoy a special meal before proceeding to wherever they will be on the stroke of midnight,” explains owner Michael Hirschberg. “And ‘The Late Show’ is intended for diners who want to ring in the new millennium at Mistral.”

The Early Show four-course dinner is $35 per person. Tables are available from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The Late Show (which also features a tasting flight of sparkling wines, a dessert buffet at midnight, and dinner jazz) is $49 per person and begins at 10 p.m. For details, call 578-4511.

In Sonoma, Heirloom is celebrating with a six-course dinner for $95 per person. Highlights include quail consommé with truffle essence; monkfish medallions with lobster dumplings and chanterelle mushrooms; organic beef filet with salsify purée, marrow, and truffle jus; and warm chocolate torte with ginger sabayon. Staffers say the dinner will a relaxing affair with no live music. Seating is between 5:30 and 10 p.m. Call 939-6955.

Sondra Bernstein, owner of The Girl and the Fig, also promises a tranquil alternative, this time in Glen Ellen, with a five-course meal paired with Rhône wines for $75 per person. “It’s going to be a friendly, mellow fine dining experience as opposed to frenzy and noisemakers,” she says. Menu choices include grilled scallops with apple and smoked bacon; mushroom risotto; and pan-seared Liberty duck. Call 939-3634.

And Papa’s Taverna on the Petaluma River guarantees a rollicking good time for all in fine European fashion. The festivities (which cost $65 per person) will include a Greek singing duo, live polka music, and a belly-dance show, plus a four-item dinner featuring “New York steak, lamb, and fish–and champagne at midnight,” according to manager Jimmy Pappageorge. “It’s going to be very festive and nicely decorated,” he enthuses. “And everyone’s going to join in.” Call 769-8545.

From the November 11-17, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Vegetarian Mexican Cooking

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Vegetarian Mexican Cooking

Veg-Mex

Meatless Mexican cooking for the holidays

By Yovanna Bieberich

I LOVE MEAT. I’d be a failure as a vegetarian. Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not as if everywhere I eat, a cow must die. I just happen to enjoy an occasional slab of medium-rare juicy joy.

A couple weeks ago, when I obtained a copy of Nancy Zaslavsky’s Meatless Mexican Home Cooking (St. Martin’s Griffin; $15.95), I eyed it rather skeptically. Zaslavsky’s first book, A Cook’s Tour of Mexico, was nominated for the 1996 James Beard Award, and for good reason: her recipes are authentic culinary recordings of the flavorful heritage of Mexico.

From Nov. 11 to 13, Zaslavsky will be participating in a three-day series of workshops and seminars on traditional Mexican cooking methods and recipes at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. On Nov. 16, she brings a special presentation of Mexican-style holiday dishes to Ramekins, the Sonoma Valley culinary school. “Mexico, of course, doesn’t have a Thanksgiving celebration, but I’ve chosen some recipes used during the holidays in Mexico to suggest people try out,” she says.

The recipes include both meat and meatless dishes.

Originally from the East Coast, Zaslavsky was brought up in a household full of good cooks, so it was natural for her to experiment in the kitchen. She spent much time discovering international dishes and exploring the cultures from which they came. Zaslavsky moved to Southern California in 1970 and fell in love with not just the area, but the flavor of the fresh, rich Mexican food there.

“There was basically very little and very mediocre Mexican food in New York City. As I kid I can remember eating canned tortillas. . . . Mexican food was just too exotic back there at the time,” she says.

Zaslavsky’s new-found love of Mexican food led her to travel extensively throughout Mexico on quests for authentic culinary delights. The recipes she brings back for her books are given to her by the people she meets, often while in the Mexican marketplaces, while observing their purchases. “I just start chatting with them. At first, they’re in shock, but when they realize how serious I am, they become quite enchanted and flattered that a blonde gringa is interested in what they’re cooking for dinner that night,” says Zaslavsky.

She also has deep interest in what their mothers and grandmothers taught, and how recipes have been passed down in households. Through the recording of these traditional recipes, Zaslavsky is actually playing the part of an anthropologist: compiling cultural and family histories. The people she meets are quite receptive and happy that their family dishes are being written down–often for the first time. “Often times I’m invited into people’s homes to try their dishes and watch them prepare a meal,” she says. “The best part about doing this has to do with the friends I’ve made over the years. The Mexicans are such a warm and receptive people; I always feel welcomed.”

THE RECIPES found in the meatless cookbook are authentic dishes you’d find in the various regions of Mexico. Though not a vegetarian herself, Zaslavsky couldn’t help noticing how many of the dishes, particularly of southern Mexico, were meatless.

“I’m really hesitant to call anything I write ‘vegetarian.’ When I hear the word vegetarian, often I think of brown rice and tofu, so meatless to me doesn’t mean that at all,” Zaslavsky comments. “Meatless means having a great pile of spaghetti on your plate and after eating it saying, ‘Hey, I didn’t have any meat!’ ”

Nancy Zaslavsky’s will present “Thanksgiving in Southern Mexico” on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 6:30 p.m. at Ramekins, 450 W. Spain St., in Sonoma. Events will include a re-creation of a Mexican marketplace. The cost is $45. For details, call 933-0450. For information about the CIA’s “Worlds of Flavor International Conference and Festival,” call 967-1100.

From the November 11-17, 1999 issue of the Sonoma County Independent.

© Metro Publishing Inc.

Holiday Treats

Something new: Steve Bernstein of 21st Century Pastry in Petaluma puts new twists on traditional fare. Sweet Talk Local bakers share holiday secrets By Paula Harris FORGET VETIVER, geranium, and bergamot. At this time of year, the sweet fragrance of Christmas cookies, pumpkin pies, or rugelach turning...
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Concert for a Landmine-Free World

Blowin' in the Wind Music stars rally for landmine-free world By Greg Cahill ROBERT MULLER knows how it feels to get blown away. As a Marine lieutenant serving in Vietnam in 1969, Muller was walking next to an armored tank when it ran over a landmine. The heavy steel-tank tread absorbed most...
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‘Toy Story 2’

Sonoma filmmaker John Lasseter, defender of plastic playthings, returns to tell a brand-new 'Toy Story' FEW FILM FANS will be surprised to hear that filmmaker John Lasseter--the mild-mannered creative genius behind the computer-animated hit film 'Toy Story'--is, and has always been, an enthusiastic devotee of toys. Yes, he's a toy fan:...
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Cin Cin

Cinfully delicious: Chefs John Gillis and Gina Armanini, both of Glen Ellen's Girl and the Fig fame, have moved their culinary expertise to Calistoga, creating the sensational Cin Cin. Cinsational! Three cheers for Calistoga's Cin Cin By Paula Harris SINCE CALISTOGA is just a hop,...
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‘Angels in America’

AT's 'Angels in America' soars By Daedalus Howell "THERE ARE NO angels in America," suggests a character in playwright Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-and Tony Award-winning gay fantasia Angels in America. Actors' Theatre's intimate staging of the Broadway monolith (expertly directed by Argo Thompson) proves the character wrong. AT's production is strewn with angels--in the form...
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The ‘Zapruder Film’

Author Walter Mosley on the death of JFK and significance of Zapruder film Writer David Templeton takes interesting people to interesting movies in his ongoing quest for the ultimate post-film conversation. This column is not a review; rather, it's a freewheeling, tangential discussion of life, alternative ideas, and popular culture. ...
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Holiday Movies

Galaxy Quest. Hollywood Holiday Winter season delivers usual chestnuts and handful of true gifts By ONCE UPON A TIME, before chestnut blight, Americans used to troop out into the frost to gather the semi-edible fruit of these spreading trees. After roasting their nuts over an open fire, they'd dine...
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Holiday Arts

Photograph by Michael Amsler Holiday schemes: Christmas Day brings trouble in the tropics when a hapless French Guiana family is threatened by evil relatives in Pacific Alliance Stage Company's production of My Three Angels, opening Nov. 26 at Spreckels Center. Holiday Arts Deck the halls, 'cause here...
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Millennial Dining

Toasting the new century: Mistral owner Michael Hirschberg will be offering a millennial menu for holiday revelers this year. Dinner Date Local restaurants unveil multicourse millennial menus for New Year's Eve By Paula Harris FIFTY DAYS (or so) and counting. So, what will you be doing on New...
Read more

Vegetarian Mexican Cooking

Veg-Mex Meatless Mexican cooking for the holidays By Yovanna Bieberich I LOVE MEAT. I'd be a failure as a vegetarian. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not as if everywhere I eat, a cow must die. I just happen to enjoy an occasional slab of medium-rare juicy joy. ...
Read more
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