theater

Warning. The contents of this show may cause excessive laughter, giggles or really big smiles.

Random Acts of Improv, a South Lake Tahoe improvisation group, returns to the Lake Tahoe Community College's Duke Theater for another night of fun and off-the-wall comedy.

This one-night-only performance will be Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m.

This family-friendly show will feature seasoned improvisation performers, along with a few fresh faces. As always, willing kids will be invited on stage to help the performers out.

Many of us have driven on Highway 395 between South Lake Tahoe and Southern California. I’ve done that route many times myself on the way to and from San Diego and Disneyland. As heading South, the Owens Valley opens up after leaving the town of Bishop, just over 200 miles from Tahoe. You’ll pass through the town of Independence, and six miles later you’ll find yourself at the Manzanar National Historic Site (the town has an ironic name as you’re about to find out).

The year was 1914. Charlie Chaplin appears in his first movie. Ford Motor Company announces an 8 hour work day and a wage for employees of $5/day. Woodrow Wilson is President and Babe Ruth makes his major league debut. November 12th of that year was when Jean Dahlinger of South Lake Tahoe was born.

Today, 100 years later, Jean celebrated her 100th birthday at the Barton Mountain Cafe with family, friends and community members. Known as "The Dancing Machine," Jean was serenaded by the South Tahoe High Jazz Band as they played "Happy Birthday" and "America the Beautiful."

All 437 rooms of the South Shore's MontBleu Resort are going to get a makeover along with the casino floor and convention center.

Scott Valentine will explore Lake Tahoe's geological past in a free lecture and slideshow on Friday night. Valentine, an Earth Science instructor at Lake Tahoe Community College, will explain how a number of sometimes violent forces transformed the Basin and Lake Tahoe over the centuries.

"The Geology of Tahoe: A Story of Earthquakes, Glaciers and Volcanism" will be presented at the college's Duke Theater on October 10 at 7 p.m.

Attendees of the Valhalla Art, Music and Theater Festival learned how to use a cross-cut saw, the primary tool still used today to keep trails open and accessible in the Wilderness. The event celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 National Wilderness Preservation Act.

U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit staff provided saws, logs and gloves and guided over 50 participants of all ages as they cut through a 10-inch log and received the souvenir slice branded with the 50th Wilderness Anniversary logo.

Parking rates for Heavenly Village retailers wishing to validate customer's tickets were lowered from $1.50 per hour to $1 per hour in Tuesday's South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting. The movie theater validations were lowered from four hours to three hours as well.

I love Lake Tahoe history and have been looking forward to the much anticipated Chautauqua which is coming to Valhalla's Boathouse Theater on Thursday, August 7.

The Lake Tahoe Historical Museum has had the posters of the event up on its walls for months, getting history buffs and locals excited about seeing the likes of Mark Twain, Anita Baldwin, Hank Monk and Pony Express Rider Warren Epson, all who played important roles in Tahoe's past.

South Tahoe Graduate Ethan Nivan is directing the hilarious play, The Servant of Two Masters which can be seen at the historic Valhalla Boathouse Theater over the next two weekends.

Whether it’s date night, girls night out, or family night, make your plans to see this hilarious play directed by Nivan, who is a recent graduate of Ashland University and the veteran of many successful South Lake Tahoe performances. A high-flung/low-brow comedy about a hungry servant who hatches a scheme to double his wages (and his meals) by serving two masters at once.

The Tahoe Arts Project is once again hosting the Missoula Children's Theater this summer in South Lake Tahoe. There are 60 roles available for kids between the ages of 5 and 17 (must be at least 5 and completed Kindergarten). Tryouts will be held on July 7 between 10 a.m. and noon.

It is free to audition. If selected during auditions there is a $50 per child fee to participate. There are some scholarships available so please call Peggy Thompson at 530-542-3632 to apply.

Depending on the role, rehearsals will be held Tuesday through Thursday, July 8-10 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

It's that time of year again. The county fair, full of funnel cakes, carnival rides, animals, music, exhibits, wheelbarrow races, wine and beer competition and good old fashioned fun.

The El Dorado County Fair opened on Thursday and runs through Sunday, Father's Day at the fairgrounds in Placerville. The theme this year is "Photos, Fathers and Fairs."

The County Sheriff's Office invites community members to stop by their booth and see the brand new state of art patrol vehicles. They'll have a new SUV and sedan on display so people can see inside and check out their new features.

If you haven't been to the Heavenly Village lately, perhaps now is the time to make your way down there to see what's going on.

Measure L is the Library Special Tax on the ballot this year. Twenty years ago the South Lake Tahoe voters passed a library tax where those who owned parcels in the area would be charged $20/parcel per year for the next 20 years to fund the library.

Well, that time period is up so the tax is on the ballot once again. This is not a new tax, just a request for taxpayers to continue paying the same.

There is something for everyone this summer at the Valhalla Art, Music and Theatre Festival in South Lake Tahoe. The festival, on the beautiful shores of Lake Tahoe, opens on Wednesday,

The Cold Water Challenge. Unless you're still in hibernation you've probably heard of someone in South Lake Tahoe taking the Cold Water Challenge.

But What is it?

Someone takes a video of themselves jumping into a body of cold water (such as Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River or Trout Creek). Once they emerge from the water they record themselves saying the names of people they are challenging to jump in cold water as well, and within 24 hours.

You’d be an idiot to miss this!

South Tahoe High School’s drama department presents Robert E. Sherwood’s 1936 Pulitzer Prize winning drama “Idiot’s Delight”. A cast of eccentric and international guests - countesses, arms dealers, showgirls, revolutionaries, charlatans and lovers – spend a fateful weekend in a resort hotel in the Italian Alps. While songs are sung and dances danced and loves rekindled, the dark clouds of World War II come rolling in.

Movies were in a Quonset hut where movie goers had to bundle up to fight the cold. Lake Tahoe was full of one way roads and a 2 room school. The switchboard operator knew where all 50 winter residents were at all times. Cattle walking down Highway 50.

The history of the south shore came alive last week at the Camp Richardson Lodge during the Lake Tahoe Historical Society’s “Do You Remember?” series.

April is a big month for Live Violence Free. It is national Child Abuse Prevention, as well as, Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The entire month is dedicated to honoring victims and survivors of both child abuse and sexual assault. With 80 percent of sexual assault victims being under the age of 30 and a report of child abuse made every ten seconds, it is vital we stand up against the dangers of the abuse. As two of our primary focuses at LVF, we are illuminating the truths and celebrating the efforts to combat the violence directly impacting our community.

If the showroom overflowing with screaming and happy fans is any indication, the Tahoe Arts Project's Dancing with the Tahoe Stars was a success.

Ten couples performed numbers in front of a panel of judges: Marcia Sarosik, Paul Middlebrook and Don Bosson. MC Dreu Murin guided the evening of entertainment from the dancers to performances by Marcia Sarosik Dance Studio, South Tahoe High Performing Arts and Forever Dance.

The UCLA Bruin Marching Band will open up the 24th Season of The Amazing Race on Sunday, February 23 and a local young man will be part of it. South Tahoe High Graduate Thomas Smith, son of Michael and Madonna Doyle and Tom Smith, plays the trumpet with the Bruins. The Biology major is a Freshman at UCLA.

While at South Tahoe High, Thomas was involved in theater, music and dance.

You can see him on the very opening of this clip. Smith is the 2nd one in, near the 20 yard line, in the diagonal leg of "R."

Ten local dancers will hit the stage for the Tahoe Arts Project's 2nd Annual Dancing With the Tahoe Stars on March 8 at 6:30 pm.

Watch former Mayor Tom Davis, STHS Theater Director Liz Niven, Realtor Klaus Utecht, Director of Tahoe Center for Orthopedics Chris Proctor, Tahoe Tot Spot owner Amy Thompson, Environmental Engineer Eric Taxer, Soroptimist Roberta Benvenuto, Jazzercise Instructor Jodi Stewart, Sierra at Tahoe Director Sean Sweeney and Dental Hygienist Frances Caro as they are paired with professional dancers in a fun competition.

Lots of fun and great laughs are promised during the South Tahoe High performance of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, The Musical, which will hit the stage of the school's new theater over the next two weekends.

Based on the 1974 movie, Mel Brooks added music and dance numbers to bring the play to a whole new level. "The kids have been working hard with long hours, and they're enjoying it," according to Liz "Niv" Niven, the school's theater director since 1997.

It’s Alive! South Tahoe High presents the musical comedy “Young Frankenstein” written by Mel Brooks. Performed with permission from Musical Theatre International.

Friday, Jan. 17th, 7:00 pm
Saturday, Jan. 18th 7:00 pm
Sunday, Jan. 19th 2:00pm

Friday, Jan. 24th 7:00 pm
Saturday, Jan. 25th 7:00pm
Sunday, Jan. 26th 2:00pm

Tickets $15 adults/$10 Seniors/$5 students
South Tahoe High TADA Theater

Saturday, Jan. 25th 5:00 pm
3rd Annual GALA Dinner to benefit PABA (Performing Arts Booster Assoc.)

It’s Alive! South Tahoe High presents the musical comedy “Young Frankenstein” written by Mel Brooks. Performed with permission from Musical Theatre International.

Friday, Jan. 17th, 7:00 pm
Saturday, Jan. 18th 7:00 pm
Sunday, Jan. 19th 2:00pm

Friday, Jan. 24th 7:00 pm
Saturday, Jan. 25th 7:00pm
Sunday, Jan. 26th 2:00pm

Tickets $15 adults/$10 Seniors/$5 students
South Tahoe High TADA Theater

Friday, Jan. 25th 5:00 pm
3rd Annual GALA Dinner to benefit PABA (Performing Arts Booster Assoc.)