By John Farrell, Curtain Call Writer
Hungry Womanis Josefina Lopez’s latest play.
The play is a look at a Latina from Los Angeles who flees to when her life, her love, the very meaning of her life, is in jeopardy.
Hungry Women, based on her novel of the same name, opened this week at Casa 0101, the theater she founded in Boyle Heights. The play is often charming and the central character, Canela (Rachel Gonzalez), is a compelling actress.
Join the Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs & a Healthy Community as they take a take a closer look at the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees, starting at 5 p.m. July 10, at the MHA Village.
The group will learn how the board operate, what powers they have and the community can make their voices are heard.
The goal of this workshop series is to take the discussion from the People’s State of the City to the next step by using popular education to deepen our understanding of how local government works. Participants will build collective knowledge of where branches of government get their power, how it impacts the community and how residents can ensure local government works for all Long Beach residents.
Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske is hosting a community meeting on “Visioning the Future of the Main Library,” starting at 12:30 p.m. June 29, at the El Dorado Library Community Room in Long Beach.
Request for Qualifications Hints Someone Wants to Move Main Library.
Click hereto read the Request for Qualifications sent to developers and others about possibly tearing down City Hall and the Main Library and building new structures. Did you know that the RFQ also raises the possibility that the Main Library could be moved out of being near City Hall?
By James Preston Allen, Publisher
… as through this
world I’ve wandered I’ve seen lots of funny men; Some will rob you with a six-gun, And some with a fountain pen. –Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd by Woody Guthrie
The U.S. Supreme Court continues to send down split decisions on our civil rights. On the one hand, it overturned a portion of the 1960s Voting Rights Act, while on the other, they struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, commonly referred to as DOMA (For details, read Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg’s Fear of a Black (& Brown & Yellow) Electorate).
Yet, closer to home, the Los Angeles Superior Court, by administrative action not challenged by any constituency or attorney bringing a civil rights lawsuit, has closed access to thousands–if not millions of citizens– to their local courthouses. The San Pedro Courthouse stands as a prime example of this miscarriage of justice.
SACRAMENTO – California reporters and their news organizations would have five days notice of any subpoenas of their records, such as phone calls, or other invasions of their news gathering communications under a Sen. Ted W. Lieu measure that, June 25, passed its first policy review on a bipartisan vote.
The wiretaps of Associated Press phone records included calls from several East Coast bureaus and more than 20 lines, including personal phones and AP phone numbers in New York; Hartford, Connecticut; and Washington D.C. The records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period.
Lieu said his measure would specifically apply to so-called ‘third-party vendors’. In the case of AP, this would have required the Justice Department to notify AP at least five days ahead of time that the communications firm handling AP phone records would be subpoenaed.
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement, June 26, following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8.
The Supreme Court ruled that the 2010 federal district court’s decision that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
“After years of struggle, the U.S. Supreme Court today has made same-sex marriage a reality in California,” Brown said.
WASHTINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama asserted his power to cut carbon pollution during a speech, June 25, at Georgetown University, pledging to bypass Congress if necessary.
Obama outlined measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy use, as well as encourage efforts to reach a global climate agreement.
Gov. Jerry Brown issued a statement of support for President Barack Obama’s climate change plan.
By John Farrell, Curtain Call Writer
The Warner Grand Theatre has hostingOliver!, Lionel Bart’s delicious and timeless musical version of Charles Dicken’sOliver Twist.
The story has gone from a hit Broadway musical to a perennial at musical theaters all over the country. It has been revived on Broadway, made into a hit film, and contains more exuberant musical numbers than many easily forgotten new works.
And, if experience means anything, expect Encore Entertainers, which has now come to be the Warner Grand’s biggest musical comedy producer, to make sure the show is a great production, and an affordable one as well.
Tickets are $22 for adults and there are four performances scheduled. There will be a large number of younger patrons in the audience (Encore Entertainers has as its mission developing young talent) but every production they have presented at the Warner in the past few years has been good, even astonishingly good. And, the energy the audience brings not only to the Warner’s but to downtown San Pedro, even if it is for only a couple of weekends a year, suggests what can happen if and when the theater comes back.
The Warner Grand Theatre needs, demand even, professionally produced musicals on its ample stage. There have been attempts, including a so-far-abortive plan to use San Pedro’s sparkling theatrical venue for Music Theatre of the South Bay, and, several years back, great The Relevant Stage productions. But it still hasn’t found a company that can fill the house every few months.
Summer Cacciagioni started encore Entertainers in 2007 in Redondo Beach. She and her husband Marcelo work together to make these productions possible. Cacciagioni found the Warner in 2010 and started producing shows in San Pedro. The relationship has flourished.
Cacciagioni is directing the production of Oliver! and playing Nancy, a role she has long wanted to sing. She couldn’t talk on the phone (she needed to save her voice for performance) but answered questions by email after a recent rehearsal.
“I love the old vibe of the Warner Grand Theatre,” she wrote. “From the moment I first walked into the building I knew I wanted to bring my productions there. There is so much life to that space and it is stunningly beautiful. The Warner Grand is a good fit for Encore because it is in the heart of a wonderful community! We have been overwhelmed by how welcomed we have felt by the people in San Pedro. It seems like everyone we come in contact with wants to assist us with building our program here. We were overwhelmed by the number of tickets we sold to our first production! The people of San Pedro are so supportive of their kids!”
There are problems with the theater, though.
“It is a bit tricky to direct productions at the Warner Grand because the stage is very shallow,” Cacciagioni said. “We always have to modify our set designs to make things work. For example, when we presentedAnniethere last year, we had a gorgeous circular staircase that was in four very large pieces. Now usually,those stairs stay onstage for the entire production and different set pieces and drops are used in front of them. However, at the Warner Grand those pieces wouldn’t fit and had to be taken on and off stage four different times in the production. It took a very large crew of people and a lot of maneuvering to make it work.”
Summer and Marcelo Cacciagioni are proud parents themselves, with two daughters who are already seasoned performers. Lily-Rose is just eight months old (she was born just before the last Encore Production) and has already been onstage three times. Her sister, Alora, is already an experienced actress, and she hasn’t quite turned five yet. She has been in more than 20 performances.
Next up for Encore Entertainers is a production ofHairspray!at the Warner Grand the weekend of July 25 to July 28.
“This is going to be a fun show,” Cacciagioni said. “We are planning on having our Sunday matinee be a ‘Sing-along’ during the performance.”
In the two years Encore has been in San Pedro, the company has grown.
“When we started Encore we were only doing productions in the Redondo Beach-Manhattan Beach area,” she said. “Now, we have two separate groups that do anywhere from four to seven productions a year. We also have a studio space in Redondo Beach where we teach acting, dancing and singing classes. In addition to the studio, we also have an all-girls performance troupe calledNo Boys Allowed!which is made up of 20 girls between the ages of seven-fourteen. The troupe tours around the Los Angeles and Orange County areas and performs in multiple venues throughout the year.
Encore has grown very quickly within the past two years in San Pedro. Our casts have gotten bigger with each production. Oliver!has a cast of 83, and yes – you will see them all onstage at one time!”
Tickets are $22 and $17 for students and seniors. Performances are June 28 at 8 p.m., June 29 at 2 and 8 p.m. and June 30 at 2 p.m.
Details: (310) 896-6459,www.encoreentertainers.org
Venue: Warner Grand Theatre
Location: 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
By Greggory Moore, Guest Writer for Random Lengths News
Despite its being an elected position, only a relatively small percentage of residents know who their city attorney is, let alone have any real idea what he or she does. And only a small percentage of that small percentage can tell you anything specific about what the individual currently holding that office has done during his/her tenure.
Long Beach’s city attorney is Robert E. Shannon. He has spent 39 years in the City Attorney’s Office, 14 years as the boss. Like all city attorneys, he has been responsible for non-misdemeanor prosecutions, defending the city against lawsuits, and providing city officials with legal advice. During his tenure as Long Beach’s head litigator, his office has won roughly 80% of its jury trials.
LONG BEACH — Ralph Allen Jackson Jr., who allegedly forced a 17-year-old girl to work as a prostitute, was charged with child sex trafficking June 24.
The Long Beach Police Department arrested the 40-year-old man, also known as “Mac Wimp,” on June 18, responding to a domestic disturbance call at his residence.
Jackson is made his first appear in federal court June 25
If he were to be convicted, he would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, the teenage girl told investigators that she met Jackson in March and, following a series of phone calls and text messages, met him for dinner earlier this month. The girl told Jackson that she was 17, which allegedly prompted Jackson to tell her this would be their “secret.”
The victim told investigators that Jackson subsequently forced her into prostitution, arranging for her to have sex with dozens of male clients and warning her that she would be beaten if she resisted. The affidavit states the victim was required to work the streets for about 12 hours a day and was allowed only one daily meal.
According to the affidavit, in mid-June Jackson took the victim to a tattoo shop and ordered her to get a tattoo that included his street name: “Mac Wimp’s bitch.” The victim told investigators that Jackson threatened to harm her if she did not comply.
After the teen victim fled Jackson’s residence about eight days ago, Jackson allegedly sent her text messages threatening to harm her family if she did not return.
When the girl went to Jackson’s home June 18, to retrieve her things, there was an altercation, which prompted the domestic disturbance call to the Long Beach Police
Department.
Anyone with information about this matter is encouraged to call line at (866) 347-2423 or visit www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp.
Real people. Real news. Random Lengths is the Los Angeles harbor area's remaining independently owned progressive news magazine. We cover news in Carson, Wilmington, Long Beach, Lomita, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro.
Contact us: letters@randomlengthsnews.com
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