Elly Lichenstein

MERCURY IN FLIGHT

The former home of Cinnabar Theater, Petaluma’s legendary little red schoolhouse become theater jewel on the hill, has reopened after a season of renovations and remodeling with a new name: Mercury Theater. The entity known as Cinnabar still exists but has moved a new location. This event was celebrated with a rocking gala fundraiser. As patrons arrived, not only funds, but also the roof was literally being raised by the joyous strains of the self-described retro jug band Rivertown Skifflers, filling the building and ringing out over the hill, setting the mood for the evening to come.

The theater itself was a welcome revelation. The audience space has been greatly increased, with the stage now taking up a corner of the room where stage left and the orchestra used to be, and additional audience risers now placed where the stage right wing used to be. The intimate nature of the space remains, but now there’s more breathing room. Refreshments continued to flow and the mood was jubilant.

Legendary Cinnabar stage director extraordinaire Elly Lichenstein and Young Rep alumna and actor Taylor Diffenderfer co-hosted the gala, which was well organized and well-cast, and not too lengthy. A handful of excellent singers and actors took to the stage and presented a brief program of entertaining theatrical, operatic and musical favorites.

Between numbers, individuals with special connections to, and significant history with, Cinnabar-Mercury (volunteer fundraisers, teacher-directors and former students) were brought to the stage by Ms. Lichenstein to be recognized. There was a tremendous amount of love and enthusiasm shared by all for this amazing little company. The whole evening was a testament to the profound, positive impact this local theater and music company has had on the community over the decades of its existence. From the actors and musicians to the directors and teachers, to the volunteers and fundraisers, to the countless children and teens who have grown up in this home-away-from-home, everyone spoke of the rewards and growth experienced, learning vital life and social skills by taking part in creating something as meaningful and beautiful as theater and music.

The entertainment portion was likewise reflective of the high quality Cinnabar-Mercury is known for. Powerhouse singer Alia Curshack, accompanied by the local “swing and gypsy jazz quintet” (The Beguilers) kicked off the program with a rollicking and effervescent performance of the ever-popular “Cabaret” by Kander and Ebb.

Next up were two young actors Sam Coughlin and Jimmy Gagarin, who presented a humorous scene from the Irish comedy Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones (courtesy of Spreckels Theater Company’s last season). Both actors sported Irish accents worthy of Colin Farrell.

Turning to opera, coloratura soprano Chelsea Hollow, accompanied by pianist Paul Dab, presented Olympia’s famous aria from Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman. This stratospheric piece, which already normally features high E-flats, Ms. Hollow further embellished with a couple of high Gs and A-flats (that’s above high C folks!). She later returned with the repertoire’s other most famous coloratura aria: the one belonging to The Queen of the Night from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. This one requires confident high Fs and perfect triplets which Ms. Hollow landed with no problem.

The second theatrical offering of the evening was a chaotically comedic scene from Shakespeare’s beloved A Midsummer Night’s Dream, involving a pair of confused lovers and the unfortunate effects of a magical love juice. Also courtesy of the Spreckels, this excerpt featured the highly skilled dialogue work of Taylor Diffenderfer and John Browning.

The program’s closer was appropriately “The Impossible Dream” from Leigh and Darion’s immortal Man of La Mancha, with a visually perfect and vocally gorgeous performance by Daniel Cilli (who sang the role with the company a few seasons back) with Mr. Dab accompanying. The words were given in the program and Mr. Cilli invited the audience to sing a reprise with him, which they lustily provided—a truly inspired moment. Festivities (and fundraising) continued afterwards with more refreshments and dancing with The Beguilers. Welcome to Mercury Theater!