Broadway Stars to Perform at San Gabriel Mission Playhouse In
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SECTION B AROUND life community ALHAMBRA seniors / health MARCH 2018 dining / entertainment PUBLISHED BY THE ALHAMBRA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE auto / real estate Seeing eye to eye with a bald eagle on the mend at American Bald Eagle Habitat. Enjoying Catalina like a local Downtown Alhambra will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 17, with its ninth STORY AND PHOTOS annual Pub Crawl. Follow the bagpiper as he leads participants to local pubs. BY BARBARA BECKLEY Pub crawlers prep for Downtown Alhambra’s Sand on my toes. Waterfront restaurants. Bison, eagles, and foxes, oh my! Santa Catalina Island, 31 annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration miles off the Los Angeles coast, has been a vacation Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 in The first 50 crawlers will receive a free exclu- escape for generations of Southern Californians. Downtown Alhambra by participating in the City’s sive Pub Crawl event T-shirt. Participants will also A close friend, Lesley Lundgren of Glendale, has annual St. Paddy’s Day Pub Crawl. This year, the get the chance to win raffle prizes from various been going to Catalina since she was a girl, and her parents rented a cottage there every summer. Now event lands on a Saturday making it easier for crawl- Downtown Alhambra businesses. she owns a condo in the “flatlands” (the blocks clos- ers, who will get to enjoy a brew or two at partici- “Pub crawlers can join any time at the partici- est to the beach) of Avalon, the only town. I joined pating Downtown bars and restaurants. pating bars listed on the schedule, so don’t worry her on a recent weekend and got the insider scoop Kick off starts at 5 p.m. at Ohana Brewing Com- if you can’t make it to all the bars,” said event co- on what to see and do. pany, 7 S. First St. Following tradition, the bag- ordinator Monina Castillo. “You can also expect a Our first stop, after I arrived on the Catalina Is- piper will lead the pub-crawl per the schedule: lot of fun energy, especially with Dameion ‘Lucky’ land Express from Long Beach, was lunch at the oceanfront Descanso Beach Club Restaurant. Lo- Smith, our emcee, who will be leading the pack!” 5 p.m. - Ohana Brew 7:30 p.m. - Shakas cated in a five-minute golf cart ride past the land- 5:30 p.m. - 28 West Bar 7 p.m. - Budda Belly Stay up to date on this event by checking mark Casino, this open-air restaurant is a locals’ fa- 6 p.m. - Big Catch Seafood 8 p.m. - Big T Mini Mart www.downtownalahmbra.com. vorite, with gorgeous views of the beach, sea, and 6:30 p.m. - Tokyo Table 8:15 p.m. - Azul Ultra Lounge CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE, 2B Broadway stars to perform at San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in Broadway Divas The much-anticipated return in March of the San Gabriel Valley Music Theatre (SGVMT), San Gabriel’s premiere musical theatre company, to the Mission Play- house with Broadway Divas is generating new excite- ment. Starring four leading ladies of Broadway, the Mis- sion Playhouse’s Engage! program has partnered with SGVMT to produce this exclusive, salon style concert taking place at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, March 25. The San Gabriel Valley Music Theatre returns to the Mission Playhouse Broadway stars Kim Huber, Jennifer Leigh Warren, Sandra with Broadway Divas Sunday, March 25. Kim Huber is one of the four Allen, and Jennifer Paz will sweep the audience away in this featured divas. incredible, one of a kind musical theatre experience. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE, 2B SEE TICKET INFO AD ON PAGE 18B PAGE 2B COMMUNITY/ AROUND ALHAMBRA 3/2018 Broadway Divas to perform at San Gabriel Mission Playhouse, March 25 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B ing Broadway musicals back to the gor- The paths they took were different, but geous, historic San Gabriel Mission Play- the destination was the same - Broadway! house. From 2004 to 2012, SGVMT Ms. Warren (Broadway’s Little Shop of produced more than 20 productions on Horrors, Big River), Ms. Huber the playhouse stage, including the smash (Broadway’s Marie Christine, Sunset Bou- hits Miss Saigon, Forever Plaid, The King levard, Beauty and the Beast), Ms. Allen and I, South Pacific: In Concert, Guys (Broadway’s Sunset Boulevard, revival of and Dolls: In Concert, and The Sound Flower Drum Song), and Ms. Paz (Broad- of Music and Flower Drum Song. way Les Misérables) share their sensational SGVMT and the Mission Playhouse have journeys and serenade the audience with previously partnered on a community the music that made them stars. speaker series working to improve cul- Director Ray Rochelle sits around a tural diversity in the arts: the Broadway polished table in an eclectic Hollywood Locker Professional Speaker Series and restaurant discussing the concept for the podcast “I ART L.A.” show with the cast, and after a long pause, Through the Engage! program, as if each lady were waiting politely for SGVMT continues to strengthen its mis- the other to begin, laughter breaks out. sion of providing high quality musical One amazing story after another flow from theatre for the San Gabriel Valley com- the divas, bringing up nostalgic moments munity in an environment reinforcing from their careers, pathos for the trials they cultural enrichment, as well as providing have faced, and cheers of triumph and performing opportunities for national, laughter from achieving success. Mr. regional, and local talent. SGVMT and Rochelle turns to Maestro Jake Anthony the Mission Playhouse share in the goal with a grin ear to ear; they can feel the of solidifying their ties to the local com- magic. The cast chemistry and love for this munity and continuing the fine heritage show is undeniable. of performing arts in the beautiful San “I’m really looking forward to sharing Gabriel Valley. the stage with these ladies and living Tickets for Broadway Divas are $35 through these songs again,” said Ms. Paz. for general admission and $20 for stu- “We’ll be doing signature classics with fun dents. They are available to purchase at behind the scenes scoop. It’s sure to be a the Mission Playhouse box office from fun, intimate night of songs, backstories, noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and sisterhood,” by phone through Ticketmaster at 800- SGVMT was founded at the Mission 745-3000, or online at Playhouse in 2004 with the goal of bring- www.missionplayhouse.org. books, and gift items. Happy Hour found us at Luau Larry’s - a must-visit watering hole for tiki bar lovers like me - and I can vouch, the L.A. area’s only tiki bar with an ocean view. We ordered the signa- ture “Wiki Wacker,” a concoction of rum, brandy, pineapple and orange juice and grenadine, and proudly wore the big straw hat that comes with it. Antonio’s Pizzeria & Cabaret, a funky waterfront Italian eatery was perfect for dinner. From our ocean- view booth, we admired the harbor outside and the vintage license plates, old Barbie dolls, movie posters, and clutter of flotsam and jetsam that cov- ers the inside walls and ceilings. I en- joyed the build-our-own pizza, with a choice of 18 toppings. Saturday dawned sunny and clear - perfect for rolling across the island on paved and unpaved roads with the Catalina Island Conservancy’s Jeep EcoTour. Catalina is nearly 75 square miles of mountains – 2,097-foot Mt. Orizaba is the highest peak - and val- leys. About two-thirds is protected from development, making it a nature lover’s paradise. Peter Sharpe, our guide and the program manager for the Institute for Wildlife Studies (IWS), which runs Descanso Beach STORY AND PHOTOS BY BARBARA BECKLEY Catalina’s Bald Eagle cam and other wildlife protection programs, ex- plained how the bison were introduced Enjoying Catalina like a local for the filming of an early 20th cen- CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B Rentals and Cartopia Cart Rentals), we pany (I made a bee-line for the 50% off tury western, the bald eagles were re- Casino, and good food and drink. strolled along Avalon’s beachfront prom- fashions at the back), Sugar Beach (I introduced about 20 years ago, and the Lesley had a tasty burger, and I loved enade, enjoying an ice cream cone at found great tops in the $5 sale basket), threatened diminutive Santa Catalina my shrimp and artichoke quesadilla. Lloyd’s of Avalon Confectionery, an insti- Leo’s Catalina Drug Store for cute souve- Island fox evolved over thousands of Golf-carting back to town (you can tution since 1941, and perusing Lesley’s nirs, and the Island Toy Store Plus More years. rent them from Catalina Golf Cart favorite boutiques: the Avalon Bay Com- for adorable old-school and new toys, CONTINUED ON P. 4 B 3/2018 CHURCH / AROUND ALHAMBRA PAGE 3B First United Methodist Worship First United Methodist Church of Alhambra 9 N. Almansor St. Alhambra 91801 March 25 - Palm Sunday 11 a.m. in Chapel (English) March 29 - Maundy Thursday 5 p.m. Soup & Supper in Asbury Lounge 6 p.m. Service in Chapel (English) March 30 - Good Friday 6 p.m. in Sanctuary (Chinese) April 1 - Easter Sunday 6:30 a.m. Sunrise Service in Parking Lot 11 a.m. Easter Combined Service in Sanctuary Followed by dinner in Fellowship Hall Mandarin Baptist Worship Friday, March 30 Good Friday Lord’s Supper 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 1 Easter Sunday Service (Special Children’s Program) 9 a.m and 11 a.m.